WRITTEN QUESTION E-1431/02 by Camilo Nogueira Román (Verts/ALE) to the Commission. Commission position on the Ministry of Development's forecasts for the arrival of high speed rail travel in Galicia.
Date: 2002-05-23
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: Cohesion Fund, Galicia, co-financing, high-speed transport, rail network, trans-European network

10.7.2003

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 161 E/7

Does this logging concession have any direct connection with the extraction of coltan? In other words, will
coltan be extracted from the area in which the logging takes place? If not, then what is the purpose behind
the clearance of such an enormous area?

Has the Commission already received the interim report of the six-member expert committee set up by the
UN Security Council? Has it been able to extract sufficient information therefrom for it to form an opinion
as to whether or not sanctions should be imposed on one or more of the parties involved in the (illegal)
exploitation of the natural resources of the Democratic Republic of Congo?

(1) OJ C 229 E, 26.9.2002, p. 27.

Answer given by Mr Nielson on behalf of the Commission

(2 May 2002)

According to the information gathered by the Commission, the ruling Zimbabwe African National Union-
Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) party, along with the Zimbabwe Defence Force (ZDF), are reported to have
forged several large-scale financial deals involving Congolese timber and other natural resources.

A joint venture between the Zimbabwean military controlled OSLEG (Operation Sovereign Legitimacy,
formed after the start of the war in 1999) and the Kinshasa-based company Comiex (whose majority
shareholder was former President Laurent Desiré Kabila)
led to the creation of Socebo (cid:1) (Société
Congolaise pour l’Exploitation du Bois), according to a recent report on Zimbabwe’s commercial and
military interests in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

in absence of any sound national

The Commission considers that
forestry policy, a sustainable
management plan should be adopted and implemented in order to ensure the sustainability of the
Congolese logging concessions and limit the environmental damage of the exploitation. However the
logging concession has been established in the context of a war economy in a country like DRC where re-
establishing the rule of law will be long and difficult. At the moment, the Commission has no possibility to
take measures to influence the contracting parties.

The logging concession does not have any direct connection with coltan extraction as it is not supposed to
be present in the region of the logging concession. Tropical timber is itself a valuable resource on the
world market that is worth the extensive exploitation of a vast area.

At present there are still not compelling elements for orienting the action of Union towards imposing
sanctions on any of the parties involved in DRC’s resources exploitation and/or trade. The United Nations
Security Council on 19 December 2001 decided to postpone a decision on sanctions for another six
months. It gave mandate to the six-member panel of experts to further deepen investigations on the illegal
exploitation of natural resources in DRC. An interim report is expected by end of April 2002 and a final
report by end of August. After that, it is hoped to have definite elements on which the international
community will base its action.

(2003/C 161 E/009)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1431/02

by Camilo Nogueira Román (Verts/ALE) to the Commission

(23 May 2002)

Subject: Commission position on the Ministry of Development’s forecasts for the arrival of high speed rail

travel in Galicia

On 30 April 2002, the Spanish press reported the Spanish Ministry of Development’s forecasts for the
implementation of the high-speed rail network with Spain, involving the linking of Madrid with Vallodolid,
Extremadura, Valencia, Cordoba, Asturias and Toledo, in addition to Barcelona, with no reference whatever
to a link with Galicia. What projects did the Spanish Government submit in this connection in order to
benefit from EU co-funding?

C 161 E/8

Official Journal of the European Union

EN

10.7.2003

Answer given by Mr Barnier on behalf of the Commission

(23 July 2002)

The Commission reminds the Honourable Member that where co-funding from the European Regional
Development Fund is concerned Member States are obliged under Council Regulation (EC) No 1260/1999
of 21 June 1999 laying down general provisions on the Structural Funds (1) to inform it only of major
projects as defined in Article 25 thereof.

The Spanish authorities have so far sent the Commission two requests for assistance from the Cohesion
Fund for high speed lines: Madrid-Barcelona-French frontier and Madrid-Valladolid. The Madrid-Cordoba
high speed line has been in service since 1992.

The Commission recalls to the Honourable Member’s attention the replies it has already given to a number
of questions about high speed rail lines in Galicia. Among the most recent are: H-0362/02 (2), H-0274/
02 (3) and E-2455/01 and E-2466/01 (4).

(1) OJ L 161, 26.6.1999.
(2) Written reply on 11.6.2002.
(3) Written reply on 14.5.2002.
(4) OJ C 115 E, 16.5.2002.

(2003/C 161 E/010)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1675/02

by Charles Tannock (PPE-DE) to the Commission

Subject: Repatriation of illegal immigrants from the EU

(12 June 2002)

Can the Commission confirm that tens of thousands of Chinese citizens are transported across Asia and
Europe, often through the Balkans, to the European Union every year? Is it correct that the Chinese
Government frequently refuses to accept its citizens who return because they have no proof of nationality,
and is this the case even when these nationals cooperate with the authorities in the Member States in
identifying themselves and their countries of origin?

Can the Commission list the states which refuse to cooperate with Member States in this way and indicate
whether or not they are recipients of aid from or are party to Association or trade agreements with the
European Union?

Could the Commission also indicate which of the Balkan states are exempt from visa requirements and
whether it believes that the imposition of such requirements would be helpful in stemming the flow of
illegal immigration?

Answer given by Mr Vitorino on behalf of the Commission

(3 September 2002)

Illegal immigration from China remains an important subject of interest for the Commission in the global
fight against this phenomenon. However, the number of illegal
immigrants from China into Europe
remained limited so far.

The Chinese Government indeed applies the principle of ‘repatriation after verification’ and thus agrees on
the return of individuals provided their Chinese nationality has been formally proven.

The Union and China started a dialogue on illegal migration, following the tragedy of Dover in June 2000,
during the meeting between Chinese Prime Minister Zhu Rongji and the President of the Commission on
11 July 2000 in Brussels. The problem of the so-called ‘Balkan route’, and in particular the issue of the
visa-free travel to the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY), facilitating the subsequent illegal entry to the
Union in the years 2000 and 2001, was addressed in the framework of the Union-China dialogue together
with the authorities of the FRY, which have meanwhile introduced a visa requirement for Chinese citizens.