WRITTEN QUESTION E-2109/02 by Stavros Xarchakos (PPE-DE) to the Commission. Bomb-making instructions on the Internet.
Date: 2002-07-17
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: Internet, child protection, computer crime, control of communications, juvenile delinquency, public safety, regulation of telecommunications

C 309 E/198

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

12.12.2002

Answer given by Mr Byrne on behalf of the Commission

(23 September 2002)

It is not the intention of the Commission to promote a particular choice of diet, such as vegetarianism, to
the exclusion of other dietary choices. The Commission has to be mindful in this respect of the principle
of subsidiarity and the freedom of individuals to make their own dietary decisions.

The objective of nutrition policy in the Union is instead to improve the health and the quality of life of the
population at all stages of life, and to reduce the risk of diseases by promoting healthy diets and lifestyle.
The Commission is of the opinion that there are several ways to obtain a healthy diet, based on different
cultural traditions, availability of food and other factors. Vegetarianism is one, but not the only such
tradition. Community policies have a role to play in making food for healthy, nutritious diets available at
affordable prices, and to educate the consumer to make the appropriate dietary choices. Ability to access
food products (including purchase, transport and distribution aspects) rather than availability of such
products on the world markets is of principal concern.

The Community has funded promotion and information measures on the Community Internal Market for
several agricultural products, not only beef. Promotion of fresh and processed fruit and vegetables, olive
oil, wine and of milk and milk products, as well as organic products inter alia, has also been funded. The
initiatives to start such campaigns come from different organisations within the Member States.

The Commission has just tabled its mid-term review of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). The aim of
this review is to ensure that the CAP meets the expectations of European society through supporting farm
incomes, improving food quality, promoting the preservation of the environment and animal welfare,
landscapes, cultural heritage, and enhancing social balance.

The Commission also committed itself at the Gothenburg European Council (15-16 June 2001) to work
on sustainable development, where one of the measures outlined is to reorient support from the CAP to
reward healthy, high-quality products and practices, rather than quantity.

(2002/C 309 E/227)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2109/02

by Stavros Xarchakos (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(17 July 2002)

Subject: Bomb-making instructions on the Internet

According to reports in the Greek press, there are sites on the Internet which provide all the information
needed to make anything from a ‘Molotov cocktail’ to an atomic bomb. Moreover, once they are published
on the Internet, these bomb-making manuals are also accessible to children.

In its edition of 4 April 1998, the Washington Post described (in a report by Fern Shen) electronic
conversations between 14-year-old children concerning which materials make the most effective bomb
casing. Furthermore, children have used instructions found on the Internet to construct explosive devices
which they have tested on actual targets. Examples include three high-school students from Utah in the
USA who were arrested for blowing up a church and two 15-year-olds from Ogden who were sent to a
rehabilitation centre for having a bomb in their possession.

Is the Commission aware of this issue and what are its views thereon? What measures has it taken or will
it take in the future to protect not only children but also adults from such information via the Internet?

12.12.2002

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 309 E/199

Answer given by Mr Liikanen on behalf of the Commission

(3 September 2002)

It is possible to find pages on the Internet which give information, or which purport to give information,
on how to make bombs. This is a matter for serious concern, which the Honourable Member is right to
raise.

Whether such sites are illegal depends on their exact content and the provisions of national law. Action by
the police to arrest the author is possible if the content is illegal. Illegal content should be removed by the
provider hosting it on notice. Members of the public can report such content to hotlines which will assess
the report and pass it on the appropriate body.

It is also possible for concerned parents who wish their children not to have access to sites of this type to
use filtering software on the computer with Internet access, or to subscribe to a filtered Internet access
service.

It is important for Internet users, particularly children, to be aware of the risks of the Internet as well as its
benefits and ways of dealing with them. Heightened awareness of users is an effective way of countering
misleading, dangerous and irresponsible information.

The Commission currently provides financial support for hotlines, for development of filtering software
and for awareness actions under the Safer Internet Action Plan, a four-year programme which expires on
31 December 2002. The Commission has proposed an extension of two years to the Action Plan, which is
currently under examination in the European Parliament and Council.

(2002/C 309 E/228)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2112/02

by Jorge Hernández Mollar (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(17 July 2002)

Subject: EU Community rules governing the activities of beauty clinics

The Spanish Society of Cosmetic Medicine and Surgery has written to the Andalusian Regional
Government’s Ministry of Health calling for the adoption of specific rules applicable to beauty clinics in
that part of Spain.

The above Ministry has replied that its Legal Office is gathering information with a view to determining
whether or not any specific legal framework exists, even though specialists have established that there are
no particular rules applicable to beauty clinics.

Will the Commission say whether or not there are any EU-wide rules which regulate beauty clinics in a
more specific fashion than the rules which apply to clinics practising general medicine and which, in the
opinion of the above-mentioned Spanish Society of Cosmetic Medicine and Surgery, are inadequate in the
case of beauty clinics?

Answer given by Mr Bolkestein on behalf of the Commission

(4 September 2002)

In answer to the question by the Honourable Member,
applicable to beauty clinics.

there is no specific Community legislation