WRITTEN QUESTION E-3164/01 by Theresa Villiers (PPE-DE) to the Commission. Money laundering convictions.
Date: 2001-11-19
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: EU statistics, money laundering, penalty

16.5.2002

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 115 E/237

The Commission will be represented in the second World Congress against Commercial Sexual
Exploitation of Children to be held in Yokohama on 17-20 December 2001. The Commission is confident
that the second World Congress provides an opportunity to obtain information on what action the 122
countries, including EU Member States, have taken to deliver on that commitment. The Commission will
present the principal responses of the European Union and actions by the European Commission in
fulfilment of its commitment to the Stockholm Declaration and Agenda for Action. The Commission
remains committed to the Stockholm Agenda for Action adopted by the first World Congress against
Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children in August 1996.

(2002/C 115 E/255)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3164/01

by Theresa Villiers (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(19 November 2001)

Subject: Money laundering convictions

Does the Commission have any statistics on the number of convictions for money laundering in EU

1.
Member States?

If so, can the Commission please state how many convictions there have been in total across the EU

2.
and in each individual Member State, during the last 10 years?

Answer given by Mr Vitorino on behalf of the Commission

(21 December 2001)

The Commission does not have statistics on the number of convictions for money laundering pronounced
in the Members States. Existing Community legal instruments do not oblige Member States to provide the
Commission with this information.

(2002/C 115 E/256)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3169/01

by Sergio Berlato (UEN) to the Commission

(19 November 2001)

Subject: Unfair competition in the European aquaculture sector

While production costs in the aquaculture sector are very similar around the European Union (and
especially in certain Member States such as France, Spain, Greece and Italy), many companies in Greece are
selling their products (in particular, sea bass and bream) at prices which are unquestionably lower than the
production costs, thereby placing the sector in serious difficulty in various other EU Member States.

The reasons for this marketing policy, which can surely be defined as ‘unfair competition’, would seem to
be the following:

7 30 % of medium-sized companies in Greece are apparently heading towards bankruptcy and are
therefore marketing their products at any price for the sake of bringing in cash, in the hope of being
able to see the crisis out;

7 a number of medium-sized companies have apparently laid down the rules for obtaining a listing on
the stock market under which they must show that their turnover is on the increase; representatives of
the companies quoted on the stock market have themselves admitted that accounts were touched up
in recent years to show substantial profits and thus improve their stock market position; however,
these measures have now proved counterproductive, with the result that the same companies are
having to find ways of increasing their turnover in order to balance their accounts.