WRITTEN QUESTION E-3161/01 by Bertel Haarder (ELDR) to the Commission. Denmark's role in the fight against the sexual exploitation of children.
Date: 2001-11-19
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: Denmark, EU police cooperation, European arrest warrant, child pornography, child protection, criminal law, drafting of EU law, organised crime, paedophilia

C 115 E/236

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

16.5.2002

(2002/C 115 E/254)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3161/01

by Bertel Haarder (ELDR) to the Commission

(19 November 2001)

Subject: Denmark’s role in the fight against the sexual exploitation of children

In the light of the recent discovery in Denmark of a major international paedophile network with
1.
links to Denmark, Norway, Romania and other countries, will the Commission investigate the international
child pornography ring and Denmark’s role in it?

Does Denmark punish child sex abuse less severely than other countries,

2.
States?

including EU Member

Denmark’s criminal code makes criminal

3.
criminality. Is Denmark the only country where this is the case?

liability for child sex abuse conditional upon dual

If the answer to the two above questions is yes, does this contribute to Denmark’s position as a

4.
haven and centre for paedophiles? Are there any other contributory factors?

5.
At the first World Conference on the Sexual Exploitation of Children in Stockholm in 1996, 122
countries committed themselves to drawing up a plan of action to fight child sex abuse. Can the
Commission state which of the EU Member States have delivered on that commitment to date? What
action will the Commission take with regard to Member States which have not done so?

6.
How will the Commission ensure that EU Member States fulfil the obligations they may be placed
under at the next World Conference on the Sexual Exploitation of Children, to be held in Japan in
December?

Answer given by Mr Vitorino on behalf of the Commission

(21 December 2001)

The European Union has the competence to take action in the field of criminal matters in a number of
sectors of European interest,
including sexual exploitation of children and child pornography. The
competence is limited to cooperation between police and judicial authorities and 7 under certain
incriminations and
conditions 7 the approximation of criminal
sanctions. The Commission has accordingly put forward, in December 2000, a proposal for a Framework
Decision on combating sexual exploitation of children and child pornography. The proposal concerns
approximation of the criminal laws (common definitions and penalties) of the Member States and does also
address criminal procedure (jurisdiction, prosecution and protection of victims). The Belgian Presidency has
made the proposal on sexual exploitation of children and child pornography a priority.

law through common definitions,

The Commission, however, has no legal competence to intervene in proceedings in the Member States of
the European Union. Neither has it any competence to take action against Member States that are not
fulfilling their commitments to declarations or obligations under international law. Consequently, it can
not investigate the international child pornography ring discovered in Denmark with links to Norway,
Romania, and other countries.

Recently a comparative study on the criminal laws of the Member States in this field was carried out by
Europol. The study is not exhaustive when it comes to actual punishment. The requirement for dual
criminality is currently being discussed at
the
the level of
Commission’s proposals for a Framework Decision on a European Arrest Warrant. In this context a
positive list of offences for which this requirement should be abandoned is being elaborated. The view of
the Commission is that such a list should include sexual exploitation of children and child pornography.

the European Union in the context of

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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.