WRITTEN QUESTION P-3393/01 by Fernando Fernández Martín (PPE-DE) to the Commission. ACP countries' access to the information society.
Date: 2001-12-06
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: ACP countries, information society, international affairs, international meeting

18.7.2002

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 172 E/51

In this context, the Commission recalls the explicit recognition of Israel by the Palestinian Liberation
Organization (PLO) in 1993, and would point out that the boundaries between Israel and the future
Palestinian state will be determined in future final status negotiations.

The Commission regrets that official maps of several countries in the region, including Syria (showing
parts of Turkey as Syrian territory), Lebanon (in respect of the Sheba’a farms) and Israel (showing the
Golan and East Jerusalem as Israeli territory and referring to the West Bank as Judea and Samaria) are
inconsistent with international law and United Nations (UN) Security Council resolutions.

The Commission will continue to monitor the situation.

The Palestinian Authority is in the process of re-writing its education curriculum and is being aided by the
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (Unesco) and several Member States. The
Commission does not provide funding to the Palestinian Authority for the purchase of books.

(2002/C 172 E/055)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-3393/01

by Fernando Fernández Martín (PPE-DE) to the Commission

Subject: ACP countries’ access to the information society

(6 December 2001)

At the Third ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly of October 2001 the Commission and the European
Parliament gave a commitment to organise conferences and seminars aimed at enabling ACP countries to
gain access to the information society.

These conferences should provide a forum for discussions and initiatives with a view to promoting realistic
projects, whilst taking account of the information society summits which are to be held in Geneva in 2003
and in Tunis in 2005.

Bearing in mind the emphasis placed on ensuring that ACP countries have access to the information
society, has the Commission drawn up a calendar of conferences and seminars aimed at achieving this vital
goal?

initiatives does the Commission propose in order to facilitate ACP countries’ access to the

What
information society?

Answer given by Mr Nielson on behalf of the Commission

(17 January 2002)

The African, Caribbean and Pacific States and the Union’s (ACP-EU)
Joint Parliamentary Assembly’s
Resolution 3228 ‘on the means of access to global communication for ACP countries as a contribution to
sustainable development, and the need for such access’, adopted on 1 November 2001, invites,
in its
paragraph 60 the Commission and the Parliament, to organise preparatory meetings prior to the World
Summit on Information Society-(WSIS). The same resolution,
invites the Joint
Assembly to organise a workshop at its next session in South Africa.

in its paragraph 64,

With regard to the WSIS, the preparatory process is currently being finalised. There will be three
Preparatory conferences (PrepCom), respectively in the summer of 2002, in the spring of 2003 and in the
autumn of 2003. Moreover, there will be regional conferences. The one for Africa will probably be led by
the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa.

The Community intends, in view of its many competences on the subject, to participate as full member
and play an active role in the preparation of the Summit, be it in the PrepCom or the regional conferences.
However, rather than planning additional events, the Commission will provide its input in the many events
already foreseen.

C 172 E/52

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

18.7.2002

The workshop planned at the occasion of the next Joint Parliamentary Assembly is an initiative of the
Assembly, not a Commission one. The Commission is ready to assist it in its preparation as needed.

There are several programmes with information and communication technology (ICT) components in the
ACP region but no major one specifically devoted to information society. Such a programme is being
currently appraised for the Indian Ocean countries and discussions are ongoing with the Caribbean region
for them to join, with European Development Fund (EDF) funds, the @LIS programme covering Latin
America. Within the existing policy and financing frameworks, similar programmes for the African region
may be considered in the context of the 9th EDF programming exercise.

(2002/C 172 E/056)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3399/01

by Nelly Maes (Verts/ALE) to the Commission

(21 December 2001)

Subject: Exploitation of patent on breast cancer gene

Around seven years ago, the American firm Miread deciphered the genetic code of a breast cancer gene,
and thereby acquired the right to patent the gene which it had found. Belgian genetics centres do not
dispute this right, but they do object to the shameless way in which the firm intends to exploit the patent.
It intends to enforce its monopoly very strictly. Everyone except Miread is to be compelled to stop testing
for the breast cancer gene. This will give the firm the exclusive right to screen women for mutations in
breast cancer genes, in return for hefty payments of course. This will constitute an enormous deterioration
in the level of service to patients, as DNA testing forms an integral part of a clinical diagnosis. The
European Parliament does not consider methods of diagnosis to be patentable. Moreover, the firm uses a
computerised test which, according to a spokesman for the Marie Curie Institute in France, detects only 10
to 20 % of mutations in genes.

Ought not freedom of testing to be guaranteed? Should not the public benefits available from medical
screening always be paramount, so that
to commercial
is not right
considerations?

to subordinate this aspect

it

If the Commission does not agree with these points, then does it approve of the high costs arising from
the use of patented information, which are an obstacle to diagnostic and therapeutic testing?

Will not the result be a monopolistic system for exploitation of the gene?

If this is true, what measures will the Commission take against this precedent?

Answer given by Mr Bolkestein on behalf of the Commission

(27 March 2002)

The Honourable Member has drawn the Commission’s attention to a patent granted by the European
Patent Office on a test for the screening of female breast cancer.

It should, first of all, be noted that as a result of the appeals lodged against this patent by third parties, it is
for the Opposition Division and Boards of Appeal of the European Patent Organisation to decide on the
validity of the patent awarded and on the scope of protection to be granted.

The Commission would like to stress that Directive 98/44 is not intended to call into question the general
principle of exemption for research which exists in the legislation of the Member States of the European
Community.
In view of the information at the Commission’s disposal and in accordance with this
principle, acts done privately and for non-commercial purposes, as well as acts done for experimental
purposes relating to the subject-matter of the patented invention do not constitute acts of infringement.
inventions (1) did not deviate from this
Directive 98/44 on the legal protection of biotechnological
the Directive does not seek to monitor research and the use or
principle and points out

that