WRITTEN QUESTION E-0944/02 by Ilda Figueiredo (GUE/NGL) to the Commission. European Schools.
Date: 2002-04-09
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: Brussels region, EU Member State, EU financing, European school, decision-making, family relationship, financing, number of pupils, world organisation

C 277 E/112

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

14.11.2002

As regards value added tax (VAT), the Commission acknowledges that there are differences between
Member States in the application of tax to supplies of food for dogs kept for racing and breeding. This
may depend upon the fact that, according to the Sixth VAT Directive (3), Member States may apply either a
standard rate or a reduced rate to foodstuffs for animal consumption, or even (under certain specific
circumstances and on a transitional basis) a zero rate. Thus, in the Sixth Directive, the VAT treatment does
not depend upon the greyhounds being classified as agricultural or domestic animals.

The variation between Member States which the Honourable Member refers to, reflects the present degree
of harmonisation of Community law.

(1) OJ L 151, 30.6.1968.
(2) OJ L 193, 31.7.1993.
(3) Sixth Council Directive 77/388/EEC of 17 May 1977 on the harmonisation of the laws of the Member States
relating to turnover taxes 3 Common system of value added tax: uniform basis of assessment, OJ L 145,
13.6.1977.

(2002/C 277 E/126)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0944/02

by Ilda Figueiredo (GUE/NGL) to the Commission

(9 April 2002)

Subject: European Schools

The first European School was set up in 1953, on the initiative of a group of ECSC officials supported by
the Community institutions and the Luxembourg Government. Encouraged by the success of
this
educational experiment, which extended to children of different nationalities and mother tongues, the
governments of the Member States decided in 1957 to establish the first official European School in
Luxembourg, bringing it into being under a protocol.

Since their inception, the number of schools has continued to increase. Three of the existing schools are
now located in Brussels to meet the substantial demand for enrolment, accounted for in the main by
children of officials and other servants of the European institutions.

Given that these officials and other servants are expatriates, who are called upon to perform highly
responsible tasks as efficiently as possible, it is essential for their children’s schooling to be compatible with
the school curricula in their countries of origin. Recently, however, in the middle of the school year, many
parents with children at the three Brussels schools have learnt that, following a decision by the Board of
Governors of the European Schools, their children are apparently to change school from September 2002.
Their original choice of school, determined according to their children’s academic interests and their own
professional obligations, would thus seem to have been completely overturned.

In the light of the foregoing:

1. Does the Commission consider that the European Schools, especially those in Brussels, meet the needs
of officials and other servants of the Union institutions and take account of the children’s rights?

2. What criteria are observed when deciding which of the three Brussels schools a pupil should attend?

Do they include parental choice? If not, why not?

3. How are the European Schools run, specifically:

3 How are they financed, and what percentage is paid by each contributor?

3 Who serves on the Board of Governors of the European Schools?

3 How is decision-making power shared out within the Board?

3 What role does the Commission play on the Board? How many votes does it have?

14.11.2002

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 277 E/113

Answer given by Mr Kinnock on behalf of the Commission

(22 May 2002)

1.
The Commission believes that the European Schools have so far been successful in meeting the needs
of officials and other servants of the Union institutions and that proper account has been taken of pupils’
rights. As with all institutions in all countries, however, the European Schools must unavoidably operate
within the limits imposed by available resources and by the constitutional framework relevant to them.

2.
Parents are free to apply to have their children educated at any of the three European schools in
Brussels. Where demand exceeds the available places the schools are naturally obliged to use selection
which is based on the proximity of the pupils’ homes and on the presence or otherwise of a sibling in the
school concerned.

The background to the issue of the change of school which will affect some children in September 2002 is
as follows: The Brussels III school, in Ixelles, was set up to relieve congestion in the Brussels I (Uccle) and
Brussels II (Woluwé) schools, which were particularly over-subscribed at the time. At its meeting on 28
and 29 April 1998, the Board of Governors (details of membership given below) redistributed the
language sections between the three schools in Brussels, primarily to respect the principles of ‘geographical
balance’ and the ‘rational utilisation of resources available’. At the same time, substantial repair and
reconstruction works made it necessary for the Brussels I school to provisionally move some of its classes
from the Uccle site to Ixelles. In September 2002, the remaining classes of the Brussels I school that are
still based in Brussels III will return to the Uccle site, and the Brussels III school will have its own full
primary cycle including some of the pupils from Brussels I and Brussels II.

All of these operations have regrettably but inevitably required the movement of staff and pupils. To
manage these movements, the Representative of the Board of Governors of the European schools set up a
coordinated management group for the three Brussels schools and the headteachers, the staff and the
parents’ associations were represented on that group.

When it became clear that the number of parents who were prepared to volunteer to move their children
to another school was insufficient to carry out the necessary movements, a transfer strategy was drawn up
on the basis of objective criteria such as the capacity of the school, attendance at the school by a sibling,
and nearness to home. Allocations were decided on the basis of the information provided by the parents to
the school concerning the education of siblings and the location of the family home. A procedure for
lodging complaints was opened for special cases. The complaints made were considered individually by
committees made up of members of the management and representatives of parents of pupils in each
school.

teachers (22 %); school

The European schools are financed as follows: salaries paid by the Member States to seconded
3.
national
fees for pupils who are not the children of Community staff and
deductions from the salary of staff seconded to the schools, such as the temporary contribution (19 %), and
a balancing grant from the Community budget (59 %). A special contribution for the provision and
maintenance of the school buildings and equipment is made by the Member States where the schools are
located, in accordance with agreements signed by the Board of Governors with each of those Member
States.

Formal members of the Board of Governors of the European schools are the Ministers with responsibility
for education and/or cultural relations with foreign countries from each Member State of the EU, and one
Member of the Commission. The European Patents Office also has a seat and a vote on the Board of
Governors for all matters concerning the Munich European school. No provision is made for represen-
tatives of parents or of teachers to be members of the Board of Governors.

The Board of Governors takes decisions on pedagogic and budgetary matters by unanimous vote. It adopts
decisions on administrative matters by a two-thirds majority. In all cases, members have one vote each.

C 277 E/114

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

14.11.2002

As a member of this intergovernmental organisation, the Commission has just one vote out of the 16.
Through its presence on the Board of Governors, the Commission does its utmost to ensure that the needs
of officials and other servants of the Union Institutions are fully met but, naturally, both the powers and
responsibilities of the Commission reflect the fact that its representative is one of 16 members of the
Board.

(2002/C 277 E/127)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0948/02

by Konstantinos Hatzidakis (PPE-DE) to the Commission

Subject: Infringements of Community law in the Member States

(9 April 2002)

Can the Commission provide a comparative table of the most recent data on infringements of Community
law per Member State?

Answer given by Mr Prodi on behalf of the Commission

(15 May 2002)

The Commission would refer the Honourable Member to its annual report on monitoring the application
of Community law. The nineteenth annual report covering 2001 is currently being drawn up for
presentation to Parliament.
In the meantime updated particulars can be found on the Commission
Secretariat-General’s Europa site at the following address: http://europa.eu.int/comm/secretariat_general/
sgb/droit_com/index_en.htm#infractions.

(2002/C 277 E/128)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0952/02

by Konstantinos Hatzidakis (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(9 April 2002)

Subject: Failure of Greece to comply with EU environmental legislation

Will the Commission say in how many instances Greece may be presumed to be in breach of Community
environmental legislation, and in relation to which matters?

In how many instances (if any) is the Commission preparing to bring Greece before the Court of Justice,
and in relation to which matters?

Answer given by Mrs Wallström on behalf of the Commission

(14 May 2002)

At the beginning of April 2002 the Commission was dealing with 100 cases of suspected infringement of
Community environmental legislation involving Greece. Of these 100 cases, 35 concern Directive 85/337/
EEC (1), as amended by Directive 97/11/EC (2), 20 relate to Community waste management legislation, 19
concern nature protection, 10 concern water protection, 10 concern air pollution and 6 relate to other
sectors of Community environmental legislation. The Commission has decided to initiate infringement
proceedings against Greece in 32 of these cases.

On 10 April 2002 the Commission had already referred 7 cases to the Court of Justice: C-371/2001
(failure to notify national measures transposing Directive 98/81/EC (3)), C-374/2000 (failure to notify