WRITTEN QUESTION E-1003/02 by María Valenciano Martínez-Orozco (PSE) to the Commission. Honouring the commitments made to women in connection with the Afghanistan reconstruction process.
Date: 2002-04-12
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: Afghanistan, ECHO, EU aid, decision-making, financial aid, human rights, non-governmental organisation, participation of women, position of women, social policy

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(2003/C 92 E/036)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0979/02

by Herbert Bösch (PSE) to the Commission

(12 April 2002)

Subject: Missions by OLAF officials

Can the Commission provide statistics showing the number of days spent on mission by each individual
OLAF official since 1 January 2001?

Can the Commission also provide a list of all missions to countries outside the EU and state the duration
and purpose of each of these missions, together with the costs incurred?

Answer given by Mrs Schreyer on behalf of the Commission

(2 July 2002)

Regulation (EC) No 1073/1999 of the Parliament and of the Council of 25 May 1999 concerning
investigations conducted by the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) (1) and Council Regulation (Euratom)
No 1074/1999 of 25 May 1999 (1) provide in Article 12, paragraph 3 that the Director of OLAF shall
report regularly to the Parliament, the Council, the Commission and the Court of Auditors on the findings
of investigations carried out by the Office, whilst respecting the confidentiality of those investigations, the
legitimate rights of the persons involved and, where appropriate, national provisions applicable to judicial
proceedings.

With respect to the Honourable Member’s request for statistics showing the number of days spent on
mission by each individual OLAF official since 1 January 2001, the Commission is unable to provide such
information as it might risk compromising ongoing investigations or prejudice the rights of economic
operators and/or individuals, who have been or are being investigated for the detection of irregularities.

The Commission is also unable to provide a list of all missions to countries outside the Union and state the
duration and purpose of these missions, together with the costs incurred as the Honourable Member has
requested, for the same reasons given above.

The Commission is however able to inform the Honourable Member that officials of OLAF have spent a
total amount of 2 244,50 days on missions during 2001 and that the total costs of these missions was
EUR 743 690,84. The average amount of days spent by each OLAF official on mission during 2001 is
therefore equal to 15 days. This amount includes the number of days spent on missions in countries
outside the Union.

(1) OJ L 136, 31.5.1999.

(2003/C 92 E/037)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1003/02

by María Valenciano Martínez-Orozco (PSE) to the Commission

(12 April 2002)

Subject: Honouring the commitments made to women in connection with the Afghanistan reconstruction

process

What action has the Commission taken (or is it intending to take) in order to ensure that Afghan women
are involved in the decision-making process and in determining the use of the financial aid granted by the
EU to Afghanistan for reconstruction purposes, and that they are the direct beneficiaries of between 25 %
and 30 % of that aid, as called for by the European Parliament on 13 December 2001?

Answer given by Mr Patten on behalf of the Commission

(4 June 2002)

As the Honourable Member will be aware, the factions in Afghanistan agreed on 5 December 2001 in
Bonn/Petersberg an Agreement on provisional arrangements in Afghanistan pending the reestablishment of
permanent government institutions.

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This Agreement contains numerous specific references to the role and participation of women in the
Interim Administration and the Emergency Loya Jirga and recognises that the interim arrangements set out
in the Agreement are intended as ‘a first step towards the establishment of a broad-based, gender sensitive
… and fully representative government …’.

that compliance with the terms of

In its dealings with the Interim Administration, the Commission has consistently made clear to the
authorities
is a fundamental
conditionality of its support to the reconstruction process in Afghanistan. To this end, the Commission
has committed up to EUR 2 million to set up the Emergency Loya Jirga in conformity with the Bonn
principles. The work of
the Emergency Loya Jirga Commission is being closely monitored by the
Commission and the other international community representations present in Afghanistan.

the Bonn/Petersberg Agreement

As the Commission has made clear in response to previous questions from Members of the Parliament on
this subject, the situation of women and girls in Afghanistan has been a specific concern over many years
and its humanitarian aid programme has implemented health, education, nutrition and employment
internally displaced persons and other vulnerable groups have consistently
projects aimed at refugees,
contained significant components which addressed the plight of Afghan women.

With regard to its own current interventions in the reconstruction phase in Afghanistan, the Commission
has sent expert missions into the field to make proposals for initial quick impact projects in the areas of
education, rural development/food security, urban regeneration. A health sector mission is still in the field.
A gender specialist accompanied these missions, with the specific objective of ensuring that gender issues
and the need to improve social conditions and opportunities were fully taken into account from the
earliest stage of the project cycle.

The expert’s proposal are now being incorporated into programme design. For example, one of the
interventions for urban recovery (cid:1) under the already approved Initial Recovery Programme (cid:1) foresees the
rehabilitation of a number of hammans in several cities. This will provide women with (cid:1) often the only (cid:1)
possibility to wash and with the opportunity to meet with other women outside of their direct family.
Another project includes a health education and community-based sanitation component, through the
establishment of a network of women to work as health and sanitation educators and community
mobilisers to work in a number of urban districts.

The Commission is also intent on mainstreaming a number of gender concerns into the second Recovery
Programme (EUR 70 million) expected to be approved in the fourth quarter of 2002. Specifically,
interventions in health and provision of infrastructure will address contraints faced by women in urban
and rural areas.

Regarding emergency humanitarian aid provided by the Humanitarian Aid Office (ECHO), women have
always been implicated in various types of projects, even in the Taliban era: all medical and nutritional
projects funded by ECHO aim to treat malnutrition among children under five years of age, as well as
monitor the health status of women,
lactating and pregnant women. Usually, non-
governmental organisations (NGOs) organise elementary hygiene education for women.

in particular

NGOs have access to all beneficiaries, women included, and can employ women as local NGO personnel in
medical related programmes, in spite of the fact that separation between the two genders has to be strictly
observed. Medical NGOs play a great role in the medical training of women.

Furthermore, for two years, income generating activities for women, have started to encourage their self-
sufficiency, and are increasingly being supported by ECHO. ECHO has financed ‘Food For Work’ (FFW)
projects for men and women through various partners. While men are occupied in land recovery works
and city drain cleaning, women are given raw material and knit quilts and sweaters to be distributed to

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other beneficiaries. This operation implies that some educated women will first conduct a survey to
identify the most vulnerable women, among the widows, handicapped and internally displaced people.
This kind of programme ensures the participation of women coming from a variety of socio-economic
classes, from educated to illiterate women, each of them using their knowledge and/or manual ability. The
programmes have proved successful and will be continued as they provide an immediate impact on
people’s livelihood.

(2003/C 92 E/038)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-1012/02

by Daniel Hannan (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(4 April 2002)

Subject: Delay in answering question on funding of the Convention

the
I have received no answer from the Commission to my questions concerning the funding of
Convention on the Future of Europe within the six-week timescale laid down in the rules (Written
Question E-0337/02). Bearing in mind the importance of accountability in the Commission, shouldn’t
regard be paid to these rules?

To repeat my questions therefore: What is the attendance allowance for members of the Convention on
the Future of Europe? What basis is it calculated on and by whom?

Answer given by Mrs Schreyer on behalf of the Commission

(15 May 2002)

The written question E-0337/02 by the Honourable Member (1) was answered late by the Commission,
because it was considered adequate to draft a common reply to this question and to the written questions
E-0139/02 by Mr Garriga Polledo (1) and E-0419/02 by Mr Sjöstedt (1), and to update it following the
procedural developments after the adoption of the Interinstitutional Agreement of 28 February 2002 on
the financing of the Convention on the future of the Union.

By letter of 13 March 2002, the Secretary General of the European Convention transmitted the draft
budget of the Convention to the Parliament, the Council and the Commission. The Commission gave its
approval on 3 April 2002, and the Parliament voted its approval on 10 April 2002. The Budget of the
Convention for 2002 was adopted on 18 April 2002 by the Representatives of the Member State
Governments.

Concerning the attendance allowance of the Convention, the understanding of the Commission is that no
attendance allowance is foreseen in the Convention’s budget, except for the members of the Convention’s
Praesidium. The General Secretariat of the Convention is responsible for drafting and proposing the
Convention’s budget, and may therefore complete this information or provide further details if requested
by the Honourable Member.

(1) OJ C 28 E, 6.2.2003, p. 15.

(2003/C 92 E/039)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1077/02

by Erik Meijer (GUE/NGL) to the Commission

(18 April 2002)

Subject: US pressure on the EU to restrict human rights by making changes to criminal

law and law

enforcement

1.
Can the Commission confirm the report by the British NGO ‘Statewatch’ that there is not only talk of
coordination between the Member States of the EU in the area of integration of criminal law and law