WRITTEN QUESTION E-0183/02 by Stavros Xarchakos (PPE-DE) to the Commission. Funding for cultural organisations in Greece.
Date: 2002-02-06
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: Community support framework, EU aid, European Regional Development Fund, Greece, aid system, cultural organisation, financial aid

C 229 E/60

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

26.9.2002

(2002/C 229 E/066)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0263/02

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

Subject: The prisoners in the US ‘Camp X-Ray’ at Guantánamo

(8 February 2002)

What is the Council’s policy position vis-à-vis the US Government with regard to reports that the prisoners
in the camp at Guantánamo, caught in Afghanistan, are treated like wild animals, being deprived of the
senses of sight, hearing, smell and touch . the kind of treatment meted out in torture camps?

Joint answer
to Written Questions E-0168/02, E-0236/02, E-0239/02 and E-0263/02

(27 June 2002)

The Council confirms that it considers it important that every detainee be treated humanely in accordance
with general standards of international law. The Council is not in a position to ascertain whether the
conditions of detention at Guantánamo meet those standards solely on the basis of media reporting.
President Bush made a public statement on the subject on 31 January 2002. The Council, however, does
not have at its disposal the information necessary to judge correctly whether the detainees at Guantánamo
must be regarded as prisoners of war. It would point out that Article 5 of the Third Geneva Convention of
1949 regarding the treatment of Prisoners of War provides that, in the event of doubt, a prisoner must be
granted the protection of the Convention until such time as a competent tribunal can determine his status.
In the interval, detainees must be treated humanely and receive proper medical care, clothing and food.
The detaining power is, however, entitled to take such measures as are necessary to ensure the security of
the facility and the detainees in accordance with international law.

The Council does not intend to send observers to Guantánamo. The Council welcomes the fact that the
International Committee of the Red Cross has been granted full access to the detainees and will be in a
position to exercise its mandate. The delegations of the United Kingdom, French, Spanish and Belgian
Governments have also had access to their respective nationals detained at Guantánamo Bay.

(2002/C 229 E/067)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0183/02

by Stavros Xarchakos (PPE-DE) to the Commission

Subject: Funding for cultural organisations in Greece

(6 February 2002)

The EU provides funding for the promotion of cultural activities in Greece from the Community Support
Frameworks (CSF).

Precisely how much funding has Greece received for operational programmes relating to cultural activities
since 1994 to date under the CSF, including the third CSF? Will the Commission provide details of the
cultural organisations and cultural programmes which received funding? What was the level of the
Community’s contribution in each case and how many of the programmes actually materialised? In which
cases did the Commission ask for repayment of Community appropriations?

Answer given by Mr Barnier on behalf of the Commission

(3 April 2002)

During the 1994-1999 programming period, culture in Greece received part-financing from the European
Regional Development Fund (ERDF) through the Community support framework (CSF) under the ‘Culture’
sub-programme of the ‘Tourism and Culture’ operational programme (OP), which was allocated a total of

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Official Journal of the European Communities

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€ 208,4 million,
authorities, all these funds have been committed at national level.

including a Community contribution of € 135,9 million. According to the Greek

For the 2000-2006 programming period, the ‘Culture’ OP of the CSF has a total budget of € 604,9 million,
including € 414,3 million from the ERDF. The programme’s priorities are the protection and development
of the cultural heritage and the promotion of modern culture.

The European Union does not part-finance projects but
regional and multiregional development
programmes. Evaluation and the selection of projects and the final beneficiaries of Community assistance
are not the responsibility of the Commission but of the regional and national managing authorities, to
which the projects are submitted. These authorities are required to keep the data available for the
Commission for inspection purposes. The Commission would therefore request the Honourable Member to
ask the Greek Ministry of Culture for an exact list of projects.

The Commission has not recovered any Community funds under these programmes.

(2002/C 229 E/068)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0189/02

by Massimo Carraro (PSE) to the Commission

(6 February 2002)

Subject: Labour medicine

On 12 December 2001 the Italian Senate adopted Act No 824, by which decree-law No 402 of
12 November 2001 on urgent measures relating to health personnel acquires the status of a law proper.

Article 1a of this act extends the right to take responsibility, as ‘competent doctor’, for health and safety
measures in the workplace to doctors specialising in either hygiene and preventive medicine or legal and
insurance medicine.

Does the Commission not consider this law to be in flagrant breach of the EU directive on health and
safety in the workplace, under which this competence is reserved for doctors specialising in labour
medicine?

Does the Commission not consider further that doctors specialising in hygiene and preventive medicine or
legal and insurance medicine should be allowed to practice at national level only, given that their training,
unlike that of specialists in labour medicine, is not recognised at European level?

In addition, given the deficiencies of the existing training arrangements for specialists in hygiene and legal
medicine as far as workplace health and safety is concerned, does the Commission not consider that the
implementation of the above-mentioned Article 1a could jeopardise employees’ health and safety?

What action does the Commission intend to take to deal with this breach of Community law?

(2002/C 229 E/069)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0890/02

by Antonio Di Pietro (ELDR) to the Commission

(3 April 2002)

Subject: Health and safety of workers

In Italy, the main Community directives on health and safety at the workplace have been transposed into
national law by legislative decree 626/94, subsequently amended by legislative decree 242/96.