WRITTEN QUESTION E-1691/02 by Mihail Papayannakis (GUE/NGL) to the Commission. Application of the directive on the recognition of diplomas.
Date: 2002-06-12
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: Greece, infringement of EU law, national implementing measure, recognition of diplomas

C 301 E/210

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

5.12.2002

(2002/C 301 E/221)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1687/02

by Herbert Bösch (PSE) to the Commission

(12 June 2002)

Subject: ECB, EIB and directives on public procurement

Can the Commission indicate whether the EU directives on public procurement also apply to the European
Central Bank (ECB) and to the European Investment Bank (EIB)?

Answer given by Mr Bolkestein on behalf of the Commission

(25 July 2002)

The Community directives on public procurement are aimed at regulating the behaviour of awarding
authorities in the Member States (State, regional and local authorities, bodies governed by public law and
associations formed by one or more of the aforementioned authorities or bodies) so that their public
contracts are open to enterprises from other Member States.

In consequence, the Community directives on public procurement are not addressed per se to international
organisations such as the Union and its institutions, which do not fit the Community definition of
awarding authority.

In the interests of sound financial management and transparency, the Council nevertheless considers that,
when awarding contracts, the institutions must comply with the same obligations as are incumbent on
bodies in the Member States by virtue of the Council directives coordinating procedures for the award of
public works, supply and services contracts with a value equal to or higher than the thresholds established
by those directives.

This obligation was
introduced by Council Regulation (EC, Euratom, ECSC) No 2333/95 of
18 September 1995, amending the Financial Regulation of 21 December 1977 applicable to the general
budget of the European Communities (1) and has been incorporated in Article 56 of the above-mentioned
Financial Regulation.

Nevertheless, it should be pointed out to the honourable Member that the ECB and the EIB are not subject
to the provisions of the above-mentioned Financial Regulation. However, according to the information at
its disposal, the Commission would like to point out that these two institutions have adopted their own
contract-award regulations which, whilst taking account of the specific nature and objective of their tasks,
draw heavily on Community legislation on public procurement and the above-mentioned Financial
Regulation.

(1) OJ L 240, 7.10.1995.

(2002/C 301 E/222)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1691/02

by Mihail Papayannakis (GUE/NGL) to the Commission

Subject: Application of the directive on the recognition of diplomas

(12 June 2002)

Further to the Greek Education Minister’s letter to the Commission stating that Greece is not obliged to
recognise educational qualifications awarded by foreign institutions, can the Commission say what it
proposes to do to enforce the application of Directive 89/48/EEC (1)?

Commissioner Bolkestein has in fact sent a letter of formal notice to Greece requesting it to take all
necessary measures to implement the directive concerned and leaving open the possibility of proceedings
in the Court of Justice.

(1) OJ L 19, 24.1.1989, p. 16.

5.12.2002

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 301 E/211

Answer given by Mr Bolkestein on behalf of the Commission

(19 July 2002)

As Council Directive 89/48/EEC of 21 December 1988 on a general system for the recognition of higher-
education diplomas awarded on completion of professional education and training of at least three years’
duration (1) was not transposed by Greece within the specified time, the Court of Justice ruled on the
failure to comply in a judgment of 23 March 1995 (case C-365/93 ‘Commission versus Greece’). When
Greece failed to comply with this judgment by informing the Commission of the measures for transposing
the Directive, the latter initiated new infringement proceedings on the basis of Article 228 of the EC Treaty
with a request for the fixing of penalty payments. After a Court hearing on the matter, Greece gave
notification of Presidential Decree No 165 of 23 June 2000 transposing Directive 89/48/EEC. Since Greece
had thus responded to the complaint about failure to transpose the Directive, the Commission was
prompted to stop the Court proceedings.

The Commission’s examination of Presidential Decree No 165 of 23 June 2000, together with the
complaints which it had received, nevertheless showed that the directive had not been correctly transposed
and that it had not been properly applied. New infringement proceediings against Greece were thus
opened, this time for non-compliance of Presidential Decree No 165/2000 with Directive 89/48/EEC and
for wrong application of the latter.

Greece was given notification of a letter of formal notice on 27 July 2001, and this was followed on
21 December 2001 by a supplementary letter of formal notice in the light of further information from
complainants.

The Greek authorities gave their comments to the Commission in letters on 12 October 2001,
13 March 2002 and 17 April 2002. The last two letters contained draft versions of texts which would
apparently remedy certain complaints in connection with the non-compliance of Greek law with Directive
89/48/EEC. However, inasmuch as these texts have not been adopted and since there still remain some
important complaints with regard in particular to the wrong application of the Directive, the Commission
decided on 26 June 2002 to send Greece a reasoned opinion.

(1) OJ L 19, 24.1.1989.

(2002/C 301 E/223)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1693/02

by Concepció Ferrer (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(12 June 2002)

Subject: Barcelona-Vic-Ripoll-Puigcerdà-La Tour de Carol-Toulouse railway line

The December 2001 Commission White Paper on transport in the period up to 2010 establishes three
priorities for the railways: to revitalise railways as a strategic sector, to eliminate railway ‘bottlenecks’
(involving the development of a secondary network to counter the risk of congestion on main lines), and
to promote Structural Fund investment in order to improve access to the trans-European network by
means of an amendment to the financing rules so as to allow maximum Community participation (up to
20 % in the case of cross-border rail projects which cross natural barriers or eliminate railway bottlenecks).

It should be pointed out that the White Paper acknowledges trans-Pyrenean communications within the
trans-European network to be highly restricted (two road passes and two rail ones), particularly by
comparison with the situation in the Alps (six road and seven rail passes).

In any event,
it would seem that the proposal put forward by the French and Spanish Governments
includes only (as regards rail transport) the Zaragoza-Canfanc-Pau line; there is no mention whatsoever of
the Barcelona-Puigcerdà-La Tour de Carol-Toulouse line.

In December 2001 the Spanish Parliament’s Joint Committee on the European Union adopted a resolution
on the White Paper in which it calls for the list of major projects to include more than one rail crossing in
the Pyrenees, in order to ensure that the latter remain passable.