WRITTEN QUESTION P-3011/01 by Rodi Kratsa-Tsagaropoulou (PPE-DE) to the Council. Commercial and sexual exploitation of children.
Date: 2001-10-22
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: child labour, child pornography, children's rights, international conference, prostitution, the EU's international role

6.6.2002

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 134 E/175

Can the Commission say whether it intends:

1.

to set up a committee of inquiry to consider as a matter of urgency any possible risk of epidemics, to
identify their hygiene/health or criminal origin (such as germ warfare) and to assess the possibility of
providing aid for Kazakhstan and for all
those countries working in Central Asia as part of
humanitarian aid missions.

2.

to set up a monitoring committee responsible for assessing the measures required to tackle any
possible contamination?

Answer given by Mr Byrne on behalf of the Commission

(11 December 2001)

Plague is considered a serious imported disease by Commission Decision No 2000/96/EC of 22 December
1999 (1) and is, therefore, one of the diseases to be progressively covered by the Community network for
the surveillance of communicable diseases established under Decision No 2119/98/EC of the Parliament
and of the Council of 24 September 1998 setting up a network for the epidemiological surveillance and
control of communicable diseases in the Community (2).

The Directorate General Health and Consumer Protection is fostering epidemiological surveillance and
control of communicable diseases and other health threats by granting financial support to leading
structures in the Member States and by coordinating early warning and response activities of the national
public health authorities. Among other initiatives the Commission has reached an agreement with the
Member States on the adoption of harmonised case definitions for communicable diseases including plague
with a view to improving comparability of surveillance data.

The Commission is,
in light of the recent events, fully aware of the increased risk of epidemics of
communicable diseases including the intentional release of biological agents. The public health services
have, therefore, launched several actions towards building up capacities and strengthening coordination of
preparedness at national and Community level with the aim to establish a ‘European Pandemic
Preparedness Plan’.

(1) OJ L 28, 3.2.2000.
(2) OJ L 268, 3.10.1998.

(2002/C 134 E/178)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-3011/01

by Rodi Kratsa-Tsagaropoulou (PPE-DE) to the Council

Subject: Commercial and sexual exploitation of children

(22 October 2001)

The Second World Congress against Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children is to be held in
Yokohama, Japan, from 17 to 20 December 2001.

Will the Council be taking part in that Congress? What views will it express and what commitments will it
give as the European Union’s contribution to the international fight against the sexual and commercial
exploitation of children, and what is its assessment of its policy so far?

Does it have an evaluation of the implementation of the action plans adopted at the First World Congress
held in Stockholm in 1996?

Reply

(14 February 2002)

There are plans for a representative of the Council or the Council Presidency to attend the Second World
Congress against Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children although a decision has not yet been taken.

C 134 E/176

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

6.6.2002

The Council has already had the opportunity @ in reply to Question 8 No H-0431/01 put by
the Honourable Member @ to stress the importance it attaches to combating the sexual exploitation of
children and to draw up a list of the initiatives it has taken in the field. The Council’s position on previous
initiatives will serve as a rule of thumb for its representative if it is decided to participate in this
conference.

The Council does not have an assessment of the implementation of the action plans adopted at the
previous conference.

(2002/C 134 E/179)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3018/01

by Caroline Lucas (Verts/ALE) to the Commission

(29 October 2001)

Subject: Transport and health in the Alpine countries Austria, France and Switzerland

A recent WHO study, published in the UK health journal ‘The Lancet’, showed that in Austria, France and
Switzerland in 1996, circa 22 000 people died as a result of transport’s negative health effects. Almost
300 000 children below the age of 15 developed acute bronchitis and more than 150 000 children
suffered from asthma.

Is the Commission aware of this and other studies, and what conclusions does the Commission draw for
the future of European transport policy, especially for sensitive areas, such as the entire Alpine transborder
region?

Answer given by Mrs de Palacio on behalf of the Commission

(21 December 2001)

The Commission is aware of the World Health Organisation (WHO) study and a wide range of similar
studies, some financed by the Commission itself, examining the considerable social costs of transport.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) study provides valuable new data on the health impacts of one of
the most important sources of air pollution and contributes to the significant body of research findings
concerning health effects that are being built up as a result of national, Community and other
internationally supported research projects. The Community is currently supporting 10 projects under
the 5th Research and Technological Development
(RTD) Framework Programme, with a funding
contribution of approximately € 12,5 million. (In addition a number of other projects are also being
supported in the fields of allergy and asthma.) These air pollution and health projects are to be further
co-ordinated with the developing Clean Air For Europe (CAFE) policy initiative, through a thematic
network (Airnet) structurally linked to the policy development framework. The main author of the WHO
study is included in the network as one of the partners.

In its White Paper ‘European transport policy for 2010: time to decide (1)’ of 12 September 2001, the
Commission pays a particular attention to the problems encountered by sensitive areas and gives a priority
to shifting the balance between modes and to resolving problems of congestion, particularly by clearing
bottlenecks. This issue goes beyond the Alpine region and constitutes a sensitive problem for the whole
European Union.

The Commission will thus use the results of the studies in developing and implementing its policies to
address the negative effects of transport especially in the sensitive areas. In this context, priority will be
including major investments,
given to the implementation of the range of general measures planned,
introduction of instruments to better reflect transport costs and financing programmes such as the new
Marco Polo financial assistance scheme.

(1) COM(2001) 370 final.