WRITTEN QUESTION E-0451/02 by Juan Naranjo Escobar (PPE-DE) to the Commission. ARGO action programme.
Date: 2002-02-22
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: action programme, administrative cooperation, budget, budget policy, implementation of the budget

C 301 E/42

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

5.12.2002

(2002/C 301 E/043)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0451/02

by Juan Naranjo Escobar (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(22 February 2002)

Subject: ARGO action programme

The financial statement contained in the proposal for a Council decision adopting an action programme
for administrative cooperation in the fields of external borders, visas, asylum and immigration (ARGO)
indicates funding of EUR 25 million for the five-year programme (2002-2006), to be drawn from budget
heading B5-820.

The amount shown for 2002 in the proposal (1) is EUR 5 024 million. However, in the working document
(containing a detailed analysis for each budget heading) which was drawn up by the Commission for the
purposes of the preliminary draft budget, only three million euros are set aside for ARGO in 2002.

Does the Commission intend to obtain the missing amount (EUR 2 024 million) from some other activity
financed under budget heading B5-820, or does it intend to recover the amount by increasing the funding
for ARGO in subsequent financial years? Could the Commission provide the budgetary authority with up-
to-date information concerning the financial programming of budget heading B5-820?

(1) OJ C 25 E, 29.1.2002, p. 526.

Answer given by Mr Vitorino on behalf of the Commission

(4 April 2002)

The Commission would like to confirm that the operational budget foreseen for the ARGO (1) Action
Programme in 2002 is EUR 3 million leaving technical and administrative assistance support expenditure
apart. The fact that the year of the adoption of the legal basis, expected in May 2002, corresponds also to
the first year of implementation and execution of the assigned budget has actually an impact on the
capacity of the Commission to commit appropriations. It was therefore decided to decrease the initial
amount of EUR 5 million given in the financial statement of the Commission proposal. The remaining
amount of the global envelope, i.e. EUR 22 million, will be consumed over the years 2003-2006.

The Commission will provide the Budgetary Authority with updated information on the financial planning
of the budget line B5-820 when submitting the financial statement of the preliminary draft budget (PDB)
for 2003 and the budget implementation plan for 2002.

(1) ARCO: New Action Program for External Frontiers Control.

(2002/C 301 E/044)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0484/02

by Nelly Maes (Verts/ALE) to the Commission

(22 February 2002)

Subject: Political trial of the journalist Dede Abdulhalim in Greece

Recently, legal proceedings have been brought against a number of democratic journalists in Greece. One
in Thrace, a journalist
example is the prosecution and conviction of Dede Abdulhalim of Komotini
specialising in minority affairs and proprietor of the newspaper Trakianin Sesi and of the local radio
station ISIK FM.

The circumstances were as follows. On 14 January 2000, during a music programme on the local radio
station ISIK FM, a piece of music was broadcast at the request of a listener who identified himself as
Boskurt (Grey Wolf). Next day, a complaint was lodged against the journalist because of this request. The
accusation was that the request referred to the Turkish-based extreme right-wing organisation the ‘Grey
Wolves’, which was described as a ‘criminal act’ and a ‘national betrayal of Greece’. The recording of the
broadcast in question proves that only the name of the listener, Mr Boskurt (Grey Wolf), was mentioned
without any further details.