WRITTEN QUESTION E-2290/02 by Elizabeth Lynne (ELDR) to the Council. Conditions for the reception of asylum-seekers in the United Kingdom.
Date: 2002-07-25
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: United Kingdom, admission of aliens, basic needs, political asylum, rights of aliens, social facilities

17.4.2003

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 92 E/149

(2003/C 92 E/202)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2290/02

by Elizabeth Lynne (ELDR) to the Council

(25 July 2002)

Subject: Conditions for the reception of asylum-seekers in the United Kingdom

Does the Council believe that the plan of the UK Government to build an accommodation centre for
750 asylum-seekers at Throckmorton, on a former airfield used as a burial site for animals during the
Foot-and-Mouth crisis, near a small village of 160 inhabitants and with only 2 593 people living in the
surrounding 4 parishes, allows ‘sufficient scope for guaranteeing access to all benefits’ referred to in
forthcoming Directive laying down minimum standards for the reception of asylum-seekers in Member
States?

Does the Council believe that such a site is appropriate to ensure ‘harmonious relationships between local
communities and accommodation centres’
‘access to the education system under similar
conditions as nationals of the host Member State’ for minor children (Article 10(1), or ‘the possibility of
communicating with relatives, legal advisers’ (Article 14(2))?

(recital 14),

Does the Council believe that Member States should not engage in individual asylum policies which
contradict imminent policies and legislation of the European Union?

Reply

(16-19 December 2002)

The Council does not have information on the plans to build the accommodation centre referred to in the
question from the Honourable Member.

As regards the draft Council Directive laying down minimum standards for the reception of asylum-seekers
in Member States, the Honourable Member is reminded that, pursuant to Article 211 TEC, once the
Directive has been adopted it will be for the Commission to ensure that the provisions thereof are applied
in the different Member States.

(2003/C 92 E/203)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2291/02

by Richard Corbett (PSE) to the Council

(25 July 2002)

Subject: Rule of law in Austria

Is the Council aware of the case of Mr Shalom Weiss, a US citizen convicted of fraud in Miami in 1999
and sentenced to 845 years in prison, who had sought refuge from this inhumane sentence in Austria?

Is the Council aware that the Austrian Minister of Justice handed over Mr Weiss into American custody
before Mr Weiss’s appeal against deportation had completed the appropriate procedures and despite an
injunction from the Administrative Court forbidding his extradition?

Is the Council aware that the European Court of Human Rights had indicated that interim measures should
be adopted pursuant to Rule 39 of its Rules of Procedure, and asked Austria to ensure that Mr Weiss was
not extradited pending its examination of the case?

Is the Council aware that the United Nations Human Rights Committee had also issued interim measures
asking Austria not to deport Mr Weiss while it examined the human rights issues under the International
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights?

Does the Council consider such conduct to be compatible with Austria’s commitment to the principles of
liberty, respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms and the rule of law as set out in Article 6 of
the EU Treaty?