WRITTEN QUESTION P-2925/02 by Konstantinos Hatzidakis (PPE-DE) to the Commission. Effectiveness of training programmes in Greece.
Date: 2002-10-09
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: Community support framework, EU employment policy, European Social Fund, Greece, continuing vocational training, financial aid, unemployed person, use of aid

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The Commission would also point out that, in the Helsinki Report on Sport (3), it showed its commitment
to a vision of sport which respects the principle of solidarity, the ethics of sport, the social role of sport
and the protection of young sportsmen and women. The question of protecting young sportsmen and
women was also addressed in the Declaration ‘on the specific characteristics of sport and its social function
in Europe, of which account should be taken in implementing common policies’, which was adopted at
the European Council in Nice (4). The Declaration deals with the way in which the solidarity principle can
be guaranteed and with the need for sports organisations and the Member States to take appropriate steps
to put a stop to commercial transactions targeting minors in sport from non-Community countries.

The concerns expressed by the Honourable Member have been echoed by some Member States and sports
organisations, which have occasionally launched initiatives to compensate for certain imbalances. The
Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), for example, has announced its intention to adopt a
number of measures to ensure greater solidarity among the clubs taking part in European competitions.

The Commission can only encourage such initiatives to be adopted, while ensuring that
compatible with Community law.
educational dimension of sport, as advocated in the Nice Declaration.

they are
In this context, the Commission takes account of the social and

(1) Council Directive 89/552/EEC of 3 October 1989 on the coordination of certain provisions laid down by Law,
Regulation or Administrative Action in Member States concerning the pursuit of television broadcasting activities,
OJ L 298, 17.10.1989.

(2) Directive 97/36/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 June 1997 amending Council Directive
89/552/EEC on the coordination of certain provisions laid down by law, regulation or administrative action in
Member States concerning the pursuit of television broadcasting activities, OJ L 202, 30.7.1997.

(3) Report from the Commission to the European Council with a view to safeguarding current sports structures and
maintaining the social function of sport within the Community framework (cid:1) The Helsinki Report on Sport (cid:1)
COM(1999) 644 final.

(4) European Council

in Nice (cid:1) 7, 8 and 9 December 2000 (cid:1) Annex IV to the conclusions of the Presidency:
‘Declaration on the specific characteristics of sport and its social function in Europe, of which account should be
taken in implementing common policies’.

(2003/C 92 E/278)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-2925/02

by Konstantinos Hatzidakis (PPE-DE) to the Commission

Subject: Effectiveness of training programmes in Greece

(9 October 2002)

According to information in the report from the European Commission’s Enterprise Directorate-General
entitled ‘Benchmarking Enterprise Policy Results from the 2001 Scoreboard’, only 1 % of the population
aged between 15 and 64 in Greece has participated in training and education programmes. In contrast,
other Member States have much higher rates, approaching 20 %. This is despite the fact that for the 1994-
1999 period, the budget for credits in Greece, through the second CSF, from the operating programmes
‘Life-Long Learning and Employment Promotion’,
‘Combating Exclusion from the Labour Market’ and
‘Education and Initial Training’ amounted to EUR 3 411 million.

Why do we in Greece have this disastrous shortfall in the numbers of people trained despite generous
Community funding, and what steps has the Commission taken to ensure that better use is made of
Community aid?

Answer given by Mrs Diamantopoulou on behalf of the Commission

(8 November 2002)

In the Enterprise DG’s report entitled ‘Benchmarking Enterprise Policy Results from the 2001 Scoreboard’,
to which the Honourable Member refers, the section on human resources shows the percentage of the
population in the 25 to 64 age-group which participated in training measures in all the EU Member States.
Training aimed at this age-group is mainly concerned with lifelong learning. This policy has only recently

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been put in place in Greece, which accounts for the low percentage figures for 1997 and 2000. However,
the policy of developing lifelong learning is now a priority within the current Community support
framework (CSF) and is a particular focus of attention for both the Member State concerned and the
Commission.

The sum mentioned in the parliamentary question, on the other hand, refers to the total budget of three
specific operational programmes in the period 1994 to 1999: the programmes on continuing training and
employment promotion, on combating labour market exclusion, and on education.

According to the information contained in the final claims for payment under these programmes,
it
appears that 731 040 people were provided with initial or continuing training, making an average of
146 208 people a year. Given that the active population (aged 15 to 64) comprised 3 767 980 persons
(national statistics), the average percentage of people taking part in training and education programmes in
the period from 1994 to 1999 was 4 %. The total sum earmarked for these programmes by the European
Social Fund was EUR 2 952,8 million.

it should be stressed that during this period, national priorities were focused on improving
However,
arrangements and structures in education and the jobs market on the one hand, and on tackling
unemployment and social exclusion on the other. Much of this funding was therefore used in pursuit of
these objectives. This is why the proportion of unemployed people who took part in training (45 584
persons a year on average) was only 10 % of the total number of persons registered as unemployed
(an annual average of 460 760).

Given that many of the arrangements and structures in the fields of education, training and employment
were put in place in the period from 1994 to 1999, the main priority in the current programming period
2000-2006 is on back-up measures for the European employment strategy (tailored approach, active
lifelong learning, equal opportunities). The number of persons provided with
employment measures,
training thus rose to 311 601 in 2001, i.e. around 7,1 % of the active population. Furthermore,
it is
expected that this figure will increase to 454 987 in 2002.

(2003/C 92 E/279)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2932/02

by Olivier Dupuis (NI) to the Commission

(17 October 2002)

Subject: Persecution of the wife and son of Mr Hada, detained leader of the Southern Mongolia Democratic

Alliance

Ms Xinna, wife of the Inner Mongolian political prisoner Mr Hada arrested in 1995 for having founded the
Southern Mongolia Democratic Alliance and sentenced in 1996 to 15 years’ imprisonment for ‘separatist
activities and espionage’, reports that her 17-year old son Uiles is being brutally treated by the Chinese
authorities in a prison in Inner Mongolia. In 2002 Mr Hada’s son was accused of involvement in robbery
and sentenced to 2 years in jail. He is currently being detained in the Inner Mongolian Autonomous
Region No.1 Juvenile Prison. According to a report by the Southern Mongolian Human Rights Information
Centre, Uiles shares an 8m2 cell with 13 other young offenders and is forced to do 13 hours’ hard labour
every day. He is under constant pressure from the prison authorities to break off all relations with his
mother. During a recent visit to her son Mrs Xinna was physically abused by prison guards because she
spoke in Mongolian. She also revealed that during her visit she had seen evidence of torture on her son’s
body; his hands and feet had been bound with a chain weighing over 20 kg for more than 40 hours
because he had resisted ill-treatment by prison guards and his cellmates. Following her husband’s arrest in
1995 the police shut down the Mongolian Study Bookstore and Mongolian Study Reading Club run by
Mrs Xinna and had Uiles expelled from school shortly afterwards for having resisted acts of brutality
against him. The report by the Southern Mongolian Human Rights Information Centre alleges further that
after Mr Hada’s arrest, Ms Xinna was detained for 3 months for having granted an interview to Voice of
America. In 1997, during celebrations in Huhhot City marking the 50th anniversary of the establishment