WRITTEN QUESTION E-2155/02 by Fernando Fernández Martín (PPE-DE) to the Commission. Marshall Islands.
Date: 2002-07-18
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: Community budget, EU financing, Marshall Islands, activity report, aid policy, exchange of information, investment, statistics

17.4.2003

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 92 E/115

(2003/C 92 E/162)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2155/02

by Fernando Fernández Martín (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(18 July 2002)

Subject: Marshall Islands

With reference to Marshall Islands, will the Commission draw up a list of projects approved for financing
under the EU budget in 2001 and state the total amount of investment for that year?

Joint answer
to Written Questions E-1867/02, E-1868/02, E-1869/02, E-1870/02,
E-1871/02, E-1872/02, E-1873/02, E-1874/02, E-1875/02, E-1876/02, E-1877/02, E-1878/02,
E-1879/02, E-1880/02, E-1881/02, E-1882/02, E-1883/02, E-1884/02, E-1908/02, E-1909/02,
E-1996/02, E-1997/02, E-1998/02, E-1999/02, E-2000/02, E-2001/02, E-2002/02, E-2003/02,
E-2004/02, E-2005/02, E-2006/02, E-2007/02, E-2008/02, E-2009/02, E-2134/02, E-2135/02,
E-2136/02, E-2137/02, E-2138/02, E-2139/02, E-2140/02, E-2141/02, E-2142/02, E-2143/02,
E-2144/02, E-2145/02, E-2146/02, E-2147/02, E-2148/02, E-2149/02, E-2150/02, E-2151/02,
E-2152/02, E-2153/02, E-2154/02 and E-2155/02
given by Mr Nielson on behalf of the Commission

(23 September 2002)

In view of the length of its answer, the Commission is sending direct to the Honourable Member and to
Parliament’s Secretariat a table containing the information requested.

It should be noted that the figures contained in the summary table by country are also to be found in the
‘Financial Tables’ portion of the Annual Report on the Implementation of the EC’s External Assistance.

(2003/C 92 E/163)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1912/02

by Robert Goebbels (PSE) to the Commission

(2 July 2002)

Subject: FIFA and UEFA’s de facto monopoly

The Commission and the European Union of Football Associations (UEFA) recently reached agreement on
a set of new rules governing live broadcasting rights with regard to major football matches. According to
Commissioner Monti, the agreement would be good news for clubs, for broadcasters and for consumers.

However, consumers are having to depend more and more on the good will of certain broadcasters or on
the latter’s ability to finance the broadcasts from commercial advertising. As the FIFA World Cup shows,
more and more matches are becoming available only on pay-channels.

Nevertheless, most of the infrastructure used by football clubs was funded from the public purse. Security
at matches has to be provided by central government or by local authorities. In other words, the costs are
borne by the public, but the profits go into private pockets. Uninformed by any sporting spirit, these
economic entities are exploiting the public’s infatuation with football as a de facto monopoly which
enables them to rake in the profits without doing anything in return for the central government or local
authorities which have to bear any collateral expenditure.

What measures will the Commission take to put an end to this manifest abuse perpetrated by the bosses of
FIFA (who rule like potentates over a multinational undertaking which is not subject to any public
scrutiny), of UEFA and of the major football clubs? Should not minimal public service rules be imposed
with respect to sporting events such as the World Cup and the European Cup?