WRITTEN QUESTION E-1113/02 by Carlos Bautista Ojeda (Verts/ALE) to the Commission. Situation of local Ministry of Defence staff working for the United States armed forces in Spain.
Date: 2002-04-18
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: Spain, United States, civilian personnel, competence of the Member States, military base, national law, pay, working conditions

26.9.2002

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 229 E/179

(2002/C 229 E/206)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1105/02

by Christopher Huhne (ELDR) to the Commission

(18 April 2002)

Subject: Regional GDP figures

Further to the answer given to my Written Question E-0100/02 (1), will the Commission state whether
there are any regional price series (i.e. regionally collected consumer price indices) in any Member States
that allow regions to assess the real growth of their GDP figures from one period to another?

Are there any other series collected privately or officially of a basket of goods and services which allow
some regional versus national inflation comparisons?

(1) OJ C 160 E, 4.7.2002, p. 182.

Answer given by Mr Solbes Mira on behalf of the Commission

(19 June 2002)

Following is the information requested:

6 Germany: No information is available since July 2000, when regional prices were collected but not
income comparisons. Consumer price indexes (CPIs) were however

such as to permit regional
published for the former German Democratic Republic (GDR) and the former West Germany.

6 Spain: No information is available since July 2000, when regional CPIs were being published at the

NUTS-3 level.

6 Italy: No information is available since July 2000, when the Italian statistical office, ISTAT, was
publishing CPIs for the main city in each of 20 regions. In addition, about 80 municipalities published
their own CPIs.

6 Austria: Disaggregation of the national CPI at the NUTS-2 level are not published but are available on

request (a charge is made). No information is available on any other regional price indices.

6 Portugal: No information is available since July 2000, when regional CPIs were being published at the

NUTS-2 level.

6 Finland: Regional CPIs at the NUTS-2 level are published, but they are not regarded as suitable for
providing regional gross domestic product estimates in real terms. No other relevant regional price
indices are produced.

Belgium, Denmark, Greece, France, Ireland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Sweden and United Kingdom do
not publish regional CPIs, and as far as can be ascertained no other relevant indices are produced in these
countries.

(2002/C 229 E/207)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1113/02

by Carlos Bautista Ojeda (Verts/ALE) to the Commission

(18 April 2002)

Subject: Situation of local Ministry of Defence staff working for the United States armed forces in Spain

With reference to Petition No 299/2001, to which no reply had yet been received, the plight of these
workers remains grave, since on average they have lost between 13 % and 35 % of their income.

They have still not been paid the net amounts owing to them and the local firemen from Rota have been
working a 72-hour week since 1985. There has also been discrimination over employment as regards local

C 229 E/180

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

26.9.2002

catering staff, despite an official United States document from 1980 saying that the matter would be
resolved within two years at most. The Spanish Minister for Defence has told the Spanish press (ABC) that
local staff are refusing to accept the offers made by the United States armed forces to settle the problem of
the money owed to them, when in actual fact no such offers have ever been made, while a further 20 staff
have been given notice. The Spanish ombudsman (twice) and the ombudsman for Andalusia (once) have
drawn up reports supporting the workers’ position, which have been ignored. A number of articles of the
Spanish Constitution (14, 37(1)) and of the Spanish statute of workers (4(1)(c)) are being breached and the
dismissal notices from the United States accounting department (AAA) are based on fictitious reasons cited
by the United States armed forces (documents sent to Spanish Ministry of Defence). These workers are also
asking for their salaries to be updated, as they are lower than those paid on other European bases.

Is the Commission aware of this situation?

Does it have the power to intervene?

What measures could be taken at European level to resolve the uncertainty affecting the jobs of these
workers?

Answer given by Mrs Diamantopoulou on behalf of the Commission

(31 May 2002)

It is not apparent from the information provided by the Honourable Member that the situation he
describes falls within the scope of Community directives. Furthermore, it is up to the institutions of the
Member States to ensure that national
legislation is applied correctly, even where it derives from
Community law.

(2002/C 229 E/208)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-1117/02

by Dana Scallon (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(15 April 2002)

Subject: Grocers’ sales of younger leeks under Regulation (EC) No 2396/2001

Regulation (EC) No 2396/2001 (1) states that grocers must not sell younger leeks with a diameter of less
than 8 mm or older ones that measure less than 10 mm. The size is determined by the diameter measured
at right angles to the longitudinal axis above the swelling of the neck. There must be no soil between the
leaves which should be neatly cut. The white to greenish-white part must represent at least one-third of the
total length or half the sheathed part. However, in early leeks, the white to greenish part must represent at
least one-quarter of the total length or one-third of the sheathed part.

Is the Commission aware that these standards are not compatible with the natural cultivation of leeks?

In order to fulfil these standards, I have been informed that this is possible only with the use of chemicals
and that it is not possible to grow a crop to this specification without excessive use of chemicals. What is
the Commission position on this, and how is the quantity of chemicals used to grow these crops
evaluated?