WRITTEN QUESTION E-2596/02 by Stavros Xarchakos (PPE-DE) to the Commission. Destruction of ancient Greek and Roman monuments in Turkey.
Date: 2002-09-18
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: EU financing, EU relations, Türkiye, architectural heritage, cultural cooperation, heritage protection

C 280 E/8

Official Journal of the European Union

EN

21.11.2003

With its proposal for a Directive on the conditions of entry and residence of third-country nationals for
the purpose of employmen (1) the Commission is pursuing the aim of laying down common criteria for
admitting third country nationals to employed activities and self-employed economic activities based on
preference for the domestic labour market and offering a number of different options for demonstrating
compliance with this criteria. The draft Directive proposes a single national application procedure leading
to one combined title, encompassing both residence and work permit within one administrative act, in
order to simplify and harmonise the diverging rules currently applicable in Member States.

Given the rapidly changing nature of the demand for labour in the Union, the Commission has not
immigrants.
proposed the establishment of European quotas or programmes for the recruitment of
However, the Commission believes that the gradual development of a common policy will reinforce
cooperation between the Member States and encourage further coordination of admissions arrangements
in the longer term.

(1) Proposal for a Council Directive on the conditions of entry and residence of third-country nationals for the purpose

of paid employment and self-employed economic activities (cid:1) OJ C 332 E, 27.11.2001.

(2003/C 280 E/009)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2596/02

by Stavros Xarchakos (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(18 September 2002)

Subject: Destruction of ancient Greek and Roman monuments in Turkey

The Turkish press reports that extensive cracks have appeared in the ancient theatre of Ephesus in Asia
Minor after a number of rock concerts were held there by permission of
the Turkish authorities.
Furthermore, camel fights (!!) have been held in the ancient stadium of Ephesus which has damaged the
monuments and, needless to say, is an affront to its history.

This is not the first time that monuments have been damaged in Turkey, while something similar is
happening to the ancient Greek and Christian monuments in northern Cyprus, which is occupied by the
Turkish army.

Is the Commission aware of the damage to the monuments at Ephesus? What is its view of the events held
there? On how many occasions (and which specifically) has the Commission officially taken up the subject
of the destruction of monuments in Turkey with Turkish officials (monuments which were created by
other peoples and only happen to be situated on the territory of present-day Turkey) and how many times
(and on which specific occasions) did the Turkish officials give adequate and satisfactory explanations?

Answer given by Mr Verheugen on behalf of the Commission

(17 October 2002)

The Commission is not aware of the specific facts mentioned by the Honourable Member. It is well known
that the Ephesus theatre hosts events connected to theatre and music festivals during the summer. Some of
these events have great political significance. On 30 August 2002, for the first time, the antique theatre in
Ephesus hosted a concert of songs in Armenian, Kurdish and Greek.

The Commission attaches great
importance to the protection of archaeological heritage. There are,
however, no specific provisions in the Community acquis related to the protection of ancient monuments.
The Culture 2000 Community programme, established for the period 2000-2004, contributes to the
promotion of good practices concerning the conservation and safeguarding of the common cultural
heritage of European significance and it supports projects of co-operation in the field. Seventy-five heritage
projects were funded for the year 2000 through this programme.

Although Turkey does not currently participate in the programme, the Commission is willing to facilitate
its involvement in the future.

21.11.2003

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 280 E/9

In 2001 the Community committed EUR 11,5 million to protect Turkey’s cultural heritage in the
southeastern part of the country. Implementation of this project will be spread over the coming three to
four years. Given the availability of funds, the Commission does not at this stage foresee other projects
devoted to cultural heritage in Turkey.

(2003/C 280 E/010)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2601/02

by Ilda Figueiredo (GUE/NGL) to the Commission

(18 September 2002)

Subject: Regulation on crossborder payments in euros

1 July 2002 saw the entry into force of the regulation on crossborder payments, which states that
customers should pay no more to withdraw euros from cash machines or make card payments in euros in
other EU Member States than they pay for the same services in the Member State where they live. This
principle is to be extended to bank transfers by 1 July 2003.

A Commission press release of 27 June 2002 (IP/02/941) declared:
‘New EU rules mean cheaper cash
withdrawals and bank card payments abroad’, claiming that domestic withdrawals and payments are free of
charge while transactions abroad attract an average charge of approximately EUR 4. Complaints have
recently been voiced in the press, in Portugal and elsewhere, not only over the implementation of the
directive but also on the grounds that some banks have chosen to increase their charges for domestic
withdrawals or payments. The result is that customers end up paying more. In addition, there has been a
tendency to introduce or increase commissions and other bank charges,
in an attempt to replace old
sources of revenue, notably those deriving from exchanging operations, by new ones. One of the benefits
of the single currency, i.e. lower transaction costs, thus seems to be failing to materialise.

Given the above:

(cid:1) Can the Commission supply information on the evolution over the last decade of commissions and

other bank charges for each member country of the eurozone?

(cid:1) Can the Commission confirm that commissions and other bank charges have increased in the

eurozone?

(cid:1) What

is the Commission’s assessment of

the implementation of

the regulation on crossborder

payments and commissions and charges on domestic and crossborder payments?

Answer given by Mr Bolkestein on behalf of the Commission

(31 October 2002)

1 July 2002 saw the entry into force of the payment cards provisions of European Parliament and Council
Regulation (EC) No 2560/2001 of 19 December 2001 on cross-border payments in euro (1). On the basis
of the information at its disposal, the Commission considers that, with a few exceptions, implementation
of this Regulation has been entirely satisfactory (2).

The Commission does not have any data on the evolution of bank charges over the last ten years for the
12 Member States in the euro zone. Nevertheless, it has had the opportunity to examine the charges for
some banks’ payment services before and after 1 July 2002. This reveals that there has been a substantial
drop in charges for cross-border payments within the euro zone as a result of their being aligned on
charges for strictly domestic transactions. In some cases, the scale of charges has been reorganised with the
result that the charge for some of the services offered by cash dispensing machines has increased.
However, such vases are very limited in number.

In July 2004 the Commission, as required by the Regulation, will report on its application, in particular on
its effects on charges for payments within the Member States. Several statistical surveys will be launched to
that end.

(1) OJ L 344, 28.12.2001.
(2) Situation in September 2002.