WRITTEN QUESTION E-1755/02 by Hugues Martin (PPE-DE) to the Commission. Euro-Mediterranean partnership.
Date: 2002-06-19
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: Union for the Mediterranean, cooperation policy, local authority, local government

C 92 E/92

Official Journal of the European Union

EN

17.4.2003

Answer given by Mr Bolkestein on behalf of the Commission

(16 July 2002)

In June 2000 the Commission, in a Communication to the Council and the Parliament, proposed a new
strategy to improve the operation of the VAT system within the context of the internal market (1). This
new approach is focused not on changing the current transitional system but on its improvement by
simplification, modernisation and a more uniform application of the current rules as well as ensuring
closer administrative co-operation. Nevertheless, an origin based definitive system remains a long-term goal
for the Commission.

This new strategy has produced new impetus and has already led to the approval of the following
Directives:

(cid:1) the person liable for payment (2000/65/EC);

(cid:1) minimal level of the standard rate (2001/41/EC);

(cid:1) improving mutual assistance on recovery (2001/44/EC);

(cid:1) invoicing and electronic invoicing (2001/115/EC);

(cid:1) e-commerce (2002/38/CE). A Regulation (2002/792/CE) on administrative co-operation on this matter

was also approved by the Council.

Three other Commission proposals, presented in the light of the VAT strategy, are currently under
discussion in the Council:

(cid:1) administrative co-operation and mutual assistance (2);

(cid:1) Fiscalis 2007 Programme (3);

(cid:1) special scheme for travel agents (4).

A more detailed list of the above-mentioned Directives, Regulations and proposals is sent direct to the
Honourable Member and to Parliament’s Secretariat.

(1) COM(2000) 348 final.
(2) COM(2001) 294 final.
(3) COM(2002) 10 final.
(4) COM(2002) 64 final.

(2003/C 92 E/095)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1755/02

by Hugues Martin (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(19 June 2002)

Subject: Euro-Mediterranean partnership

The commitment of certain cities to fostering cooperation between cities in Europe and cities in southern
and eastern Mediterranean countries is one of the wellsprings of the Euro-Mediterranean partnership’s
dynamism.

For example, within the Eurocities network, the city of Bordeaux has succeeded in setting up a working
party dedicated to this type of cooperation. This working party has drafted a document entitled the
‘Euromed Pact’ which, along with a political declaration from the mayors of the cities involved, was
presented by Mr Alain Juppé, deputy mayor of Bordeaux, in Barcelona on 22 February 2002.

The European Parliament gave its support to the Euromed Pact in its Resolution C5-0128/2002 of
11 April 2002 on the Commission communication to the Council and the European Parliament to prepare
the meeting of Euro-Mediterranean Foreign Ministers at Valencia on 22-23 April 2002. The Ministers
approved the Euromed Pact as part of the Action Plan, and called for its thorough examination.

The European Union’s commitment to activating the Euro-Mediterranean partnership as an extension of
the Barcelona Declaration of 1995 must be put into practice. This can only be done by enhancing the role
played by cities.

17.4.2003

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 92 E/93

Consequently:

(cid:1) does the Commission plan to institute a programme of decentralised cooperation with the

Mediterranean countries similar to those with Latin America and Asia?

(cid:1) would the Commission agree to entering into close consultation with the Eurocities steering
committee for the Euro-Mediterranean cities of the Euromed Pact when drawing up the next MEDA
regional programme?

(cid:1) does the Commission envisage substituting Euromed Pact measures for programmes which have not
given the expected results, on the occasion of the MEDA Programme evaluation scheduled for the
second half of 2003?

Answer given by Mr Patten on behalf of the Commission

(19 July 2002)

The Commission takes a keen interest in initiatives by local and regional authorities as part of the Euro-
Mediterranean partnership, notably those by associations such as Eurocities or Coppem (Standing
Committee of the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership) which seek to involve local communities more closely
in the Barcelona process.

Municipal administrations have a key role to play in bringing the Mediterranean partner countries’ civil
society organisations together with their counterparts in the Member States. They can and must play an
important role in cooperation in the fields of social and human development, notably where those areas
come under local administrations such as local government, transport, environment, cultural heritage and
social services, etc. The Commission feels that this cooperation can be further developed through local
authorities.

It is worth pointing out that regional and national MEDA programmes, which are the subject of calls for
proposals, are open to local communities or networks of local administrations. They can receive funding
under programmes such as SMAP (Short and Medium-term Priority Environmental Action Programme),
Eumedis (Telecommunications), Euromed Heritage (cultural heritage and exchanges) and Euromed Jeunesse
(Youth), which comprise projects in which local authorities may cooperate.

(2003/C 92 E/096)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1789/02

by Stavros Xarchakos (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(24 June 2002)

Subject: Illiteracy and pupils dropping out of primary and lower secondary school in Greece

In reply to my question No E-0897/02 (1), Commissioner Reding sent me a table labelled: ‘Drop-out rates
from compulsory education broken down by EU Member State, together with Iceland and Norway
(percentage of young people aged between 18 and 24 who only completed the first cycle of lower
secondary school education) for 2001’. Unfortunately, the table does not show how many Greeks and how
many Europeans in the rest of the EU dropped out of primary school and lower secondary school, nor
does it define the ‘first’ and ‘second cycle of lower secondary school education’ which are referred to in the
text of the reply.

I am forced to repeat my question: what are the compulsory education drop-out rates (in Greece: for
primary school and lower secondary school) in the 15 Member States? Why are there no ‘full and reliable
statistics on the current rate of illiteracy in the 15 Member States’ as the Commissioner says? Where will
the missing statistics on illiteracy in the European Union come from? What is the illiteracy rate in Greece,
as far as the Commission is aware?

(1) OJ C 229 E, 26.9.2002, p. 156.