WRITTEN QUESTION P-2206/02 by Walter Veltroni (PSE) to the Commission. Situation of the poor in Nairobi.
Date: 2002-07-12
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: EU relations, Kenya, cooperation policy, expulsion from housing, housing need, land and buildings, poverty, social policy, social situation

C 242 E/10

Official Journal of the European Union

EN

9.10.2003

programmes presently under implementation, and further projects are being considered. However, it must
be realised that the first responsibility for addressing these issues lays with the countries themselves.

The Commission has not undertaken a quantitative assessment of the economic damage resulting from
such obstacles, which are being tackled in various forms.

(2003/C 242 E/015)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-2206/02

by Walter Veltroni (PSE) to the Commission

(12 July 2002)

Subject: Situation of the poor in Nairobi

55 % of the population of Nairobi, approximately 2 million people, are living in slums scattered around
the urban area without
there being any relevant building policy. The economic, social and health
conditions in these settlements are appalling and unfit for human beings. Most of the slums are on
publicly-owned land which the government considers as unoccupied land which it can sell. When that
happens the poor inhabitants, who have no legal entitlement, are forcibly evicted and their shacks are
demolished, without there being any prospect of alternative accommodation.

Can the Commission say, in the context of its cooperation policy with the developing countries, what it
thinks of this urgent and complex issue and whether it has taken the problem into account in its relations
with the Kenyan authorities?

Answer given by Mr Nielson on behalf of the Commission

(6 August 2002)

1.
The Government of Kenya, supported by the international community, has undertaken a large-scale
consultation process, with the active participation of civil society, in order to define a coherent strategy to
fight poverty and to eradicate it in the long term. This has led to the drafting of a Poverty Reduction
Strategy Paper (PRSP) which is at the centre of the co-operation strategies of Kenya’s main donors,
including the Community.

No donor (cid:1) including the Community (cid:1) is in a position, however, to tackle the full range of Kenya’s
poverty issues alone. The coordination between the Government of Kenya and the donors leads to a
sharing of work on the various aspects of poverty.

In this context, the Commission’s main objective in Kenya is the fight against poverty in rural areas,
reflecting the priorities of the PRSP. Three quarters of the poor live in rural areas.

The concentration on rural areas does not mean, however, that there is no contribution to fighting urban
poverty: such contribution is made through support to national policies (e.g. health) which greatly
influence the determinants of poverty in Kenya. In addition, support is given through a number of specific
actions in areas such as education, water and sanitation. Income-generating projects are also financed
through a micro-enterprise support programme. Furthermore, the Commission also funds a number of
non governmental organisation (NGO) co-financed projects in the Nairobi slums supporting vocational
training, the reinsertion into society of street children and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)/acquired
immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) prevention.

2.
Questions relating to land tenure in African countries are complex and usually difficult to resolve.
They are far from being a particularity of urban areas alone and are usually linked to issues such as
traditional property rights and colonial and post-independence legislative developments. By contributing to
a more sustained development
the Commission seeks to alleviate the flow of rural
populations to the slums of major cities. It is preparing, in consultation with Member States, guidelines on

in rural areas,

9.10.2003

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 242 E/11

related to housing and land tenure.
sustainable urban development, which deal with questions
The Commission is also currently associated with the World Bank/United Nations- sponsored partnership
‘Cities Alliance’, the main focus of which is supporting urban development strategies,
including slum
upgrading. Kenya is one of Cities Alliance’s target countries.

(2003/C 242 E/016)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-2209/02

by Ian Hudghton (Verts/ALE) to the Commission

(12 July 2002)

Subject: VAT on safety helmets and hats in the UK

With reference to Annex H to the Sixth Directive on goods and services which may be subject to reduced
rates of VAT and to the Commission’s document entitled VAT Rates Applied in the Member States of the
European Community, wherein the UK Government’s zero rate of VAT for motor cycle and pedal cycle
helmets is recorded, would the Commission please clarify what category in Annex H the UK Government
used to justify application of VAT at 0 % for these items?

Could the Commission further give its opinion on whether safety hats used by horse riders could be
covered by the definitions used by the UK Government to give motor cycle and pedal cycle helmets
entitlement to zero-rated VAT?

Answer given by Mr Bolkestein on behalf of the Commission

(13 September 2002)

Under Community value added tax (VAT) legislation, Article 12(3)(a) of the Sixth VAT Directive (77/388/
EEC (1)) lays down that Member States may apply a reduced VAT rate of no less than 5 % to supplies of
goods and services referred to in Annex H of that directive. As this Annex H does not cover safety
helmets, the standard VAT rate should apply to them.

In addition to this, in the course of negotiations of the Directive, or as part of their negotiations for joining
the Community, certain Member States have retained separate rules in specific areas, an example in the
United Kingdom being the zero-rates. These rules provide that Member States who applied exceptional
rates on 1 January 1991 may continue to apply such rates for a further transitional period, under the
conditions lay down in Article 28 of the Sixth VAT Directive. These rules are transitional, pending the
adoption in Council, by unanimous decision, of a definitive VAT system under which far greater
harmonisation is required. The Council has to date been reticent to adopt such changes.

As an exception to the normal rules, which foresee that the standard VAT rate should apply to any taxable
transaction as a consumption tax, to avoid distortion of competition, provisions concerning reduced rates
should be construed in the most restrictive way. For zero-rates, this applies all the more because they are
specific derogations granted to some Member States.

The Commission is of the view that the current United Kingdom zero-rates could not be extended to cover
safety hats worn by horse riders.

(1) Sixth Council Directive 77/388/EEC of 17 May 1977 on the harmonisation of the laws of Member States relating to
turnover taxes (cid:1) Common system of value added tax: uniform basis of assessment (cid:1) OJ L 145, 13.6.1977,
Directive as last amended by Directive 2002/38/EC (cid:1) OJ L 128, 15.5.2002.