WRITTEN QUESTION E-2927/01 by Hiltrud Breyer (Verts/ALE) to the Commission. Cost of conference Life Sciences and Biotechnology — A Strategic Vision held on 27-28 September 2001 in Brussels.
Date: 2001-10-24
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: Community budget, EU expenditure, EU financing, conference proceedings

C 205 E/14

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

29.8.2002

(2002/C 205 E/013)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2927/01

by Hiltrud Breyer (Verts/ALE) to the Commission

(24 October 2001)

Subject: Cost of

conference

‘Life Sciences

and Biotechnology (cid:30) A Strategic Vision’ held on

27-28 September 2001 in Brussels

On 27 and 28 September 2001, the Commission held a conference in Brussels entitled ‘Life Sciences and
Biotechnology (cid:30) A Strategic Vision’.

Will the Commission provide a breakdown of the costs involved in holding this event?

Answer given by Mr Prodi on behalf of the Commission

(28 November 2001)

The Commission’s stakeholder conference ‘Life Sciences and Biotechnology (cid:30) A Strategic Vision’ was an
integral part of the Commission’s preparation of a policy paper by the end of 2001 as announced in
March 2001 in its report to the Stockholm European Council (23-24 March 2001). The Commission
launched on 4 September 2001 a broad public consultation with the publication of a comprehensive and
detailed consultation document (1).

The conference was held over two days on 27-28 September 2001, organised into six separate conference
sessions (including four parallel workshops on selected topics), for a broad coverage of relevant subjects.
Nearly 40 persons took an active role as session chairs or members of discussion panels, including several
members of the European Parliament and national parliaments. The conference gathered approximately
320 participants representing a broad range of views. They included scientific experts, consumer and
environmental
interest groups, technology providers and other industries, healthcare providers, science
communicators and the media, experts and policy makers from Community institutions and Members
States, as well as experts from third countries, including developing countries.

The resulting workshop reports, together with the consultation document, have been published on a new
dedicated website on the EUROPA server (http://europa.eu.int/comm/biotechnology) which also offers a
possibility for submission and publication of comments from the public.

The total direct costs of the conference amount to about € 104 000, composed of € 78 000 for travel and
subsistence costs for private experts from the Union and third countries, € 16 000 for participation of
governmental experts from Member State and candidate countries, and € 10 000 for conference logistics.
The cost of this conference compares favorably with costs of similar events organized by the Commission
in the past.

(1) COM(2001) 454 final.

(2002/C 205 E/014)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2936/01

by Juan Naranjo Escobar (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(24 October 2001)

Subject: Aeroplanes displaying the EU logo

Certain airlines in certain Member States display the European Union logo on their planes, although most
of them continue to ignore this identifying symbol which contributes so effectively to propagating a sense
of EU identity.

It is obvious that the display of the logo will not become standard practice as long as this is left up to the
discretion of the airlines. Some other way of ensuring that all the Union’s airlines display the Community
symbol is therefore called for.