WRITTEN QUESTION E-0064/02 by Camilo Nogueira Román (Verts/ALE) to the Council. The Spanish presidency's position on relations with Mercosur, and Argentina in particular.
Date: 2002-01-25
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: Argentina, EU relations, Mercosur, common commercial policy, economic situation, negotiation of an agreement (EU)

29.8.2002

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 205 E/65

It would be absurd if the EU, which must play a fundamental political and economic role in the world,
should underestimate the value of these two languages as preferred working languages, when, out of all the
languages which are or are going to be the official languages of the EU, they are among the three most
spoken languages in the world. What will the Spanish presidency’s position on this issue be?

Reply

(13 May 2002)

Article 290 TEC states that the rules governing the languages of the institutions of the Community shall be
determined by the Council, acting unanimously. The position of the Council on this issue is set out in its
Regulation No 1 (EU) of 1958, as subsequently amended on the accession of new Member States, which
states that there are currently eleven official working languages of the Community.

(2002/C 205 E/071)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0064/02

by Camilo Nogueira Román (Verts/ALE) to the Council

(25 January 2002)

Subject: The Spanish presidency’s position on relations with Mercosur, and Argentina in particular

The Spanish presidency’s priorities presented by the Spanish Foreign Minister,
include
relations with Latin America, but give lower priority to relations with Mercosur than to relations with
Chile, although the organisation should be given preference since it consists of countries as important as
Brazil and Argentina 8 the second of which has extremely serious problems and needs genuine help from
the EU 8 as well as Uruguay and Paraguay. What are the reasons for this?

Josep Piqué,

Reply

(21 May 2002)

The Council wishes to stress to the Honourable Member that the EU’s relations with Mercosur are of
1.
equal
importance to its relations with Chile. An EU-Mercosur Summit (in parallel with the European
Union-Latin America-Caribbean Summit) is to take place in Madrid on 18 May 2002. As the programme
of the Spanish Presidency indicates,
‘These meetings could provide a good opportunity to conclude the
negotiations on the Association Agreement with Chile and to give a decisive boost to those taking place
with Mercosur so as finally to secure a commitment from the European Union which will ensure that
preferential relations with this area are maintained and developed.’ This statement is a fair reflection of the
present state of current negotiations with Chile on the one hand and Mercosur on the other.

2.
The Council would also remind the Honourable Member that conclusions on Mercosur were adopted
at the General Affairs Council on 28 January 2002. In those conclusions the Council emphasises that,
given the context of the current crisis in Argentina,
it welcomes the determination displayed by the
Mercosur Foreign Affairs Ministers in their Joint Declaration adopted in Buenos Aires on 11 January 2002
to strengthen the integration process between their countries. In addition, the Council believes that a
strengthened Mercosur will be the key to the development of the region and it reaffirms the importance it
attaches to the future Association Agreement between the EU and Mercosur. It welcomes the progress
achieved so far in the negotiations and reiterates the EU’s commitment to continue to make progress in
those negotiations.

3.
As regards the crisis in Argentina specifically, the Ecofin Council examined the situation in that
country at length on 22 January 2002 and conclusions stressing the economic and financial aspects of the
crisis were adopted and made public. The situation in Argentina was examined again at the Foreign Affairs
Ministers’ lunch on 28 January.

C 205 E/66

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

29.8.2002

In conclusion, the Spanish Presidency reaffirms the importance it attaches to relations with Mercosur.
4.
The Presidency will do all that is necessary to secure progress in the negotiations progress with a view to
establishing an Association Agreement between the EU and Mercosur as swiftly as possible. In addition, it
will continue to follow closely the situation in Argentina and its possible repercussions in Latin America.

(2002/C 205 E/072)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0068/02

by Camilo Nogueira Román (Verts/ALE) to the Council

(25 January 2002)

Subject: The Spanish presidency’s priorities and the issue of the self-determination of the former Spanish

Sahara

The Spanish presidency’s priorities presented by the Spanish Foreign Minister,
include
worldwide issues, but not the settling of the problem of self-determination for the former Spanish Sahara,
approved by the UN and demanded by the Sahrawi people and the Sahrawi Republic.

Josep Piqué,

What is the Council’s position on this important issue, still unresolved in the context of the decolonisation
of the African continent?

Reply

(21 May 2002)

Without any doubt, a stable and lasting solution to the conflict in Western Sahara will be an essential
factor for the stability of the region and also for the inter-Maghreb cooperation which the EU has always
supported. In order to find a solution to the conflict in Western Sahara, successive Presidencies of the
Council have been in regular contact with James Baker and are ready to help create a climate of trust
which might facilitate a solution acceptable to the parties concerned. It is clear, however, that the leading
role in seeking a solution belongs to the UN, and this is the approach being followed by the Spanish
Presidency.

Consequently, the European Union fully supports the efforts of the UN Secretary-General and his Personal
Envoy, James Baker. In Resolution 1359 (2001) of 29 June 2001 the Security Council clearly indicated the
way forward: it invited all the parties to meet under the auspices of the Secretary-General’s Personal Envoy
to discuss the draft Framework Agreement and to negotiate any changes they would like to see in the
proposal, as well as to discuss any other proposal for a political solution that might be put forward by the
parties in order to arrive at a mutually acceptable agreement.

Resolution 1359 (2001) also stated that, in parallel with these discussions, the official proposals submitted
by the Polisario Front to overcome the obstacles preventing implementation of the Settlement Plan would
be considered.

The Council hopes that the talks between the parties will bring significant progress towards a stable and
just solution in the interests of everyone and of strengthened cooperation in the Maghreb. In this context,
due note has been taken of the fact that the Minurso mandate has been extended 8 by Resolution 1380
(2001) 8 to enable the current efforts to continue, and of the UN Secretary-General’s interim report of
10 January 2002 in which he says that he ‘intends to provide, before … 28 February 2002, an assessment
the situation and, as appropriate, recommendations on the future mandate and composition of
of
Minurso’.

The Council considers, however, that there is no need to wait until the talks between the parties are
concluded in order to settle certain pressing humanitarian questions, such as the exchange of family visits.
It remains deeply concerned at the situation of more than 1 350 prisoners of war still being held 8 after
20 years in most cases 8 which requires an urgent solution in accordance with the obligations of the
Geneva Conventions. The Council welcomes the recent freeing of 115 prisoners of war but regrets that no
more substantial progress has been made. Another matter of growing concern is the situation of the
Sahrawi refugees in the camps at Tindouf. In this context, the Council will continue its efforts on the
humanitarian issues arising from the conflict in Western Sahara.