WRITTEN QUESTION E-1291/02 by Alejandro Cercas (PSE) to the Commission. Closure of the Fontaneda biscuit factory in Aguilar de Campoo (Palencia, Spain).
Date: 2002-05-08
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: European social policy, Spain, business policy, cessation of trading, less-favoured region, socioeconomic conditions, transfer of businesses

29.8.2002

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 205 E/257

Answer given by Mr Prodi on behalf of the Commission

(23 May 2002)

No circular has been issued at the Commission which forbids its officials to use their mother tongue or
obliges them to use only English or French.

The Commission would first of all stress that under Article 28(f) of the Staff Regulations of Officials of the
European Communities, one of the general conditions of recruitment is that applicants have ‘a thorough
knowledge of one of the languages of the Communities and a satisfactory knowledge of another language
of the Communities to the extent necessary for the performance of their duties’. It is therefore not
stipulated that knowledge of a particular Community language takes precedence over knowledge of other
languages.

The Commission would furthermore point out that according to the implementing provisions in its Rules
of Procedure, it uses three languages in practice, namely German, French and English.

The Commission therefore does not see any objective reason for compelling its officials to use a particular
language - even if this is their mother tongue - and depart from the existing rules and established
practice.

As regards the specific case of the Commission’s participation in parliamentary committee meetings where
interpretation into all the EU’s official languages is available, the Commission’s officials are free to choose
the language they wish to speak. Thus, for example, some choose - for convenience - to express
themselves in the language in which they have been dealing with a particular question, whilst others -
because of the technical nature of the discussions - use a language familiar to the largest number of
participants so that most of them can follow the proceedings directly.

(2002/C 205 E/286)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1211/02

by Glyn Ford (PSE) to the Commission

(30 April 2002)

Subject: Mirko Tremaglia

Following the publication of an article in Corriere della Sera on 4 February in which Mirko Tremaglia,
Italy’s Minister for Italians Overseas, expressed his regret that Il Duce’s Italy did not win the Second World
War, with the words ‘of course, one wages war as a volunteer to win it’; does the Commission wish to
dissociate itself from such remarks?

Answer given by Mr Prodi on behalf of the Commission

(15 May 2002)

The Commission would refer the Honourable Member to its answer to his Written Question E-0813/02 (1).

(1) OJ C 172 E, 18.7.2002, p. 225.

(2002/C 205 E/287)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1291/02

by Alejandro Cercas (PSE) to the Commission

(8 May 2002)

Subject: Closure of the Fontaneda biscuit factory in Aguilar de Campoo (Palencia, Spain)

The biscuit factory in Aguilar de Campoo (Palencia province, Spain), which dates back to 1881, has long
represented an oasis of prosperity in a district located in an Objective 1 region, characterised by severe
socio-economic and labour problems.

C 205 E/258

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

29.8.2002

A few days ago, the multinational United Biscuits, the new owner of the factory and its brand-name, which
is the leading one in Spain and has been an emblem of quality for generations, announced the factory’s
closure, on arbitrary grounds related to a brutal and uncontrolled relocation policy which will cause
suffering to an entire community.

Is the Commission aware of this problem, which is already giving rise to serious disturbances in the social
and public order spheres? Can the Commission propose any means of preventing this attack on labour
rights from succeeding?

Answer given by Mrs Diamantopoulou on behalf of the Commission

(5 June 2002)

The Commission would refer the Honourable Member to the reply it gave to Oral Question H-0312/02 by
Mrs Rodriguez Ramos during question time at Parliament’s Mai I 02 part-session (1).

(1) Debates of the Parliament (May 2002).