WRITTEN QUESTION E-0196/02 by Bert Doorn (PPE-DE) to the Commission. Restitution of property to Jewish citizens and Jewish communities in the applicant countries.
Date: 2002-02-05
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: Czechia, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, accession to the European Union, discrimination on the basis of nationality, expropriation, indemnification, nationality, ownership, privatisation

12.12.2002

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 309 E/15

(2002/C 309 E/018)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0195/02

by Bert Doorn (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(5 February 2002)

Subject: Progress of Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Slovenia towards accession

Is the Commission aware that in several applicant countries legal acts which discriminate on ethnic
grounds are still in force, or at least have legal effect, in relation to the withdrawal of citizenship and
expropriation of EU citizens and that the persons affected are to this day denied their fundamental civil
rights and any form of legal protection?

(2002/C 309 E/019)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0196/02

by Bert Doorn (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(5 February 2002)

Subject: Restitution of property to Jewish citizens and Jewish communities in the applicant countries

Could the Commission provide a detailed summary of the legal position in the central and eastern
European applicant countries on the issue of the restitution of property stolen from Jewish citizens and
Jewish communities and does the Commission share the view that countries which have not already done
so should adopt appropriate legislation for the return of stolen property?

(2002/C 309 E/020)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0197/02

by Bert Doorn (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(5 February 2002)

Subject: Compatibility of the lack of compensation for expropriation in Slovenia with European law

What is the Commission’s view of the decision adopted on 21 November 1944 by the ‘Antifascist Council
of the National Liberation of Yugoslavia’ (AVNOJ) on the transfer of enemy property to the state, Article 1
of which transfers all property of persons of German nationality to the state, particularly given that it still
has legal effect Slovenia? Does the Commission consider this legal instrument to be compatible with the
Copenhagen criteria and fundamental rights in the European Union, and can it continue to form an
integral part of the Slovenian State’s structure following that country’s accession?

Joint answer
to Written Questions E-0194/02, E-0195/02, E-0196/02 and E-0197/02
given by Mr Verheugen on behalf of the Commission

(17 May 2002)

The Commission is constantly monitoring the compliance of candidate countries with the political
i.e. democracy, rule of law, human and civil rights, protection of
accession criteria of Copenhagen,
minorities. Since the Commission opinion on the candidates’ application for membership of the Union in
1997, each year the Commission describes and evaluates in detail the developments in these fields in its
Regular Reports on the candidate country’s progress towards accession. The reports (cid:1) the most recent
ones were adopted in November 2001 (1) (cid:1) have been transmitted to the Parliament and have been made
public. In addition, monitoring takes place in meetings provided for in the Europe Agreements (e.g.
Association Councils, Association Committees) as well as in the framework of the accession partnerships
on specific priorities.

In the Regular Report’s general evaluation, the Commission concludes that the 12 candidate countries
presently negotiating with the Union fulfil the above political accession criteria. When deciding to open
accession negotiations with candidate countries,
in Luxembourg (12 and
13 December 1997) and Helsinki (10 and 11 December 1999) endorsed the Commission’s assessment on
the political criteria expressed in the opinions and the Regular Reports. In 1999, the Helsinki European
Council stipulated explicitly that compliance with the political Copenhagen criteria is a prerequisite for the

the European Councils