WRITTEN QUESTION E-1412/02 by Bart Staes (Verts/ALE) to the Commission. Exclusive shop for EU officials in Brussels.
Date: 2002-05-23
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: European Commission, European official, administration of the Institutions, fringe benefit, image, interinstitutional relations (EU), linguistic discrimination, supermarket

C 309 E/120

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

12.12.2002

On 16 April 2002, the European Commissioner for Development and Humanitarian Aid, Poul Nielson,
presented ECHO’s annual report. The Commissioner took the opportunity to draw attention to the
growing tendency to disregard international humanitarian principles. The Commissioner considered that
there were no circumstances which could justify this attitude. In addition to Israel, he mentioned Russia
(Chechnya), where aid workers were unable to work unhindered or to use VHF radio communications.

Will the Council use this information from Commissioner Nielson to persuade the Russian authorities that
they must seek a political solution to the conflict in Chechnya in the spirit of the European Parliament’s
resolution of 10 April 2002? If not, why not?

How and to what extent did the Council raise the issue of Chechnya, and is it continuing to do so, at the
preparatory and preliminary meetings before the EU-Russia summit on 29 May 2002?

(1) Oral answer of 13.3.2002.

Reply

(3 October 2002)

The Council
is fully informed of Commission concerns regarding the difficulty of carrying out
humanitarian operations in the Chechen Republic of the Russian Federation. It goes without saying that
the Council fully supports Commission positions on this in all political dialogue meetings with the Russian
authorities. As previously stated in answer to parliamentary questions E-0264/02 and H-0358/02, the EU
is convinced that only a political solution can solve the Chechen conflict. For this reason, the issue of
Chechnya was raised at all preparatory meetings for the EU-Russia summit of 29 May 2002, as well as at
the summit itself.

(2002/C 309 E/142)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1412/02

by Bart Staes (Verts/ALE) to the Commission

(23 May 2002)

Subject: Exclusive shop for EU officials in Brussels

Commissioner Kinnock recently had a shop opened in Wetenschapsstraat/rue de la Science in Brussels
which is reserved for the use of European officials. It is a branch of Delhaize, which evidently submitted
the best tender under the public procurement procedure. According to newspaper articles, the shop is
‘solely for the use of European officials’, signs are bilingual in French and English, and the language spoken
is French. More generally, the shop sells a relatively wide range of luxury goods.

this ‘EU supermarket’

in Wetenschapsstraat/rue de la Science, will
At
adherence to the bilingualism provided for by the Belgian Constitution for the Brussels Capital Region?

the Commission arrange for

Do European officials really need a shop specially reserved for them or could they not, like the million
other residents of Brussels, make do with the goods already on offer elsewhere in this multicultural
metropolis? In other words, what do EU officials gain from this shop?

Does the Commission agree that such exclusive shops, far from reducing the gulf between Europe and its
citizens, is liable to increase it and that they are therefore very bad for Europe’s general image?

12.12.2002

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 309 E/121

Answer given by Mr Kinnock on behalf of the Commission

(19 July 2002)

On the issue of adherence to bilingualism, the Commission refers the Honourable Member to the answer
given to his oral question H-359/02 during question time at Parliament’s June 2002 session (1).

A staff shop for officials of the Commission and other Institutions in Brussels has existed for many years,
first in the Berlaymont and later in the Commission building at 27 Rue de la Science/Wetenschapsstraat.
The fact that use of the shop is limited is related entirely to requirements of proof of identity and security
and not to ‘exclusivity’. The shop can therefore be used by staff of all the EU Institutions, Members of the
Parliament and their assistants, staff of EU Permanent Representations and Embassies, accredited journalists
and staff of certain other Institutions, such as, for instance, Eurocontrol.

As the Honourable Member will know, most Commission buildings in Brussels and the places of work of
other Institutions are situated in proximity to Rue de la Loi/Wetstraat and Rue Belliard/Belliardstraat, an
area in which shopping facilities are very limited. Because of that, the Commission continues to believe
that it is in the interest of the staff and of the Institutions that a shop should be conveniently located in
this area.

However,
in 2000, as part of its conclusions on the Peer Group Review (cid:1) which were reported to
Parliament (cid:1) the Commission also decided that it should not use its own personnel to run the staff shop.
A tender was therefore launched with a view to externalising the management of the staff shop.

Following the completion of the tender procedure, the contract to manage the shop was awarded to S.A.
Delhaize Le Lion, who had proposed to re-equip and renovate the shop at their own expense in line with
their ‘City’ supermarket concept. Delhaize took over management of the shop in January 2002 and the
renovations were completed in April 2002. It should be noted that Delhaize pays a fixed annual sum to
the Commission to cover infrastructure costs.

The shop is a small supermarket of the ‘Delhaize City’ type which offers the same range of products that is
typically found in a normal supermarket and the management has no intention of offering what the
Honourable Member describes as ‘luxury’ goods to an ‘exclusive’ clientele.

For these reasons, the Commission does not agree with the assertion contained in the conclusion of the
Honourable Member’s question.

(1) Written reply 11.6.2002.

(2002/C 309 E/143)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1424/02

by Eluned Morgan (PSE) to the Commission

(23 May 2002)

Subject: Cross-border cheque payments

Will the Commission outline what is being done to make it easier for UK citizens to interact with the
single market due to the difficulties of paying a cheque cross-border?

Answer given by Mr Bolkestein on behalf of the Commission

(25 June 2002)

Cheque processing on a cross-border basis is very expensive because it is not fully automated and requires
manual handling. This situation is not likely to change, and banks are gradually withdrawing this kind of
service. The Commission is urging the European banking community to develop alternative electronic