WRITTEN QUESTION E-3543/02 by Glenys Kinnock (PSE) to the Commission. Western Sahara.
Date: 2002-12-11
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: Morocco, Western Sahara, petroleum exploration, settlement of disputes, territorial dispute, the EU's international role

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C 70 E/13

recent Communication on Trade and Development (1),
In line with the recommendations
the Commission intends to use the mid-term review of country and regional strategies to review the
availability of funds for trade-related assistance.

in its

level,

Finally, at a more general
it is important to add that in collaboration with other development
partners, the policy dialogue with developing countries will address the issue of better integrating trade
policy matters into the Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers and other national and regional development
plans. Moreover, the Commission plays an important role in the Integrated Framework for Trade-Related
Technical Assistance to Least Developed Countries (LDC) and has accepted to be a facilitator in three ACP
LDCs.

(1) COM(2002) 513 final.

(2004/C 70 E/013)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3543/02

by Glenys Kinnock (PSE) to the Commission

(11 December 2002)

Subject: Western Sahara

Would the Commission agree that Morocco is doing all it can to keep the Western Sahara off the agenda?
Is there not evidence of Morocco’s efforts to deny free access to the Western Sahara to journalists? What is
the Commission’s estimate of the impact of oil exploration on the prospect of a peaceful resolution of the
issues involved (cid:1) particularly since the United States and France’s oil companies are prospecting for oil off
the African coast?

Answer given by Mr Patten on behalf of the Commission

(16 January 2003)

The Commission has no evidence that Morocco tries to keep the Western Sahara question off the agenda.
On the contrary, the Commission can actually confirm that during his last visit to Brussels, the Moroccan
Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr Benaïssa, addressed this issue in an open way in his talks with the
Commission representatives.

The Western Sahara conflict is also on the Agenda of the United Nations Security Council, which will
address this question at the end of January 2003, shortly after the United Nations Secretary General has
presented a new Report on the situation in Western Sahara.

The Commission’s view concerning the Western Sahara conflict is that only a solution to which the parties
in conflict agree will be fruitful. This is why the Commission continues to support the efforts of the United
Nations Secretary General, Mr Kofi Annan, and his Personal Envoy, Mr. James Baker III, in order to bring
the parties in conflict to reach a fair, lasting and mutually acceptable solution.

Regarding Morocco’s efforts to deny free access for journalists to the Western Sahara territories, the
Commission has not received any complaint nor found any mention of this matter in the ‘Reporters
without Borders 2002 Report’.

Concerning the impact of oil exploration in Western Sahara on the prospect of a peaceful resolution of the
conflict, the Commission considers that this issue does not seem particularly relevant to the resolution of
this conflict.

Other considerations about the oil exploration in Western Sahara have been thoroughly explored in the
legal opinion given by the United Nations Legal Counsel on this subject, in its letterof 29 January 2002,
to the President of the Security Council.

The Commission is the main donor of humanitarian aid to the Sahrawis refugees through the European
Humanitarian Aid Office (ECHO) in conjunction with its partner non-governmental organisations. This aid
consists of food and medical aid, amounting to EUR 81 million between 1993 and 2001; and another
EUR 14,3 million for Global Plan 2002. In addition, the Commission is asking the parties to adopt of

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confidence-building measures, such as the release of war prisoners, the facilitation of contacts and visits
between members of separated families and the respect of the civil guaranties. Those measures will help
create better conditions for a fruitful dialogue between the parties in conflict.

At the last Ministerial Troika meeting in Algiers, on 5 June 2002, the Union transmitted simultaneously to
Morocco, Algeria and the Polisario, European concerns and demands on humanitarian aspects of the
Western Sahara conflict. The Union confirmed its support to the United Nations efforts to find a mutually
acceptable solution, urging both parties in conflict to solve the problem of the fate of people unaccounted
for and to release all those held since the start of the conflict. The Union also asked for the full respect of
civil guaranties and human rights in the Western Sahara territories; and for both parties facilitate contacts
and visits between members of the families separated by the conflict.

Finally, the importance of the ratification of the Association Agreements with Morocco (1) and Algeria (2) in
this context should not be underestimated. These agreements foresee a regular and institutional political
dialogue between the Union and each related country.

In force since 1 March 2000.

(1)
(2) Signed in Valencia, on 22 April 2002, ratified by the European Parliament on 11 October 2002, needs to be

ratified by every national parliament concerned, before it enters in force.

(2004/C 70 E/014)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3553/02

by Marco Cappato (NI) to the Commission

(12 December 2002)

Subject: Serious violations of religious freedom in Belarus

The Belarus Parliament recently approved a new law on religion which bans any form of activity on the
part of religious organisations which have not been registered by the State,
introduces censorship on
religious literature and considers acts of worship held in private houses to be illegal.

These new provisions are added to an adverse legislative and political background of serious restrictions on
freedom of worship for non-Orthodox citizens:

(a)

(b)

(c)

the Belarus authorities’ refusal to register a number of religious organisations (protestant organisations,
the Belarusian Autocephalous Orthodox Church, oriental religious movements and four reformed
Jewish communities) constitutes de facto discrimination in favour of the Russian Orthodox Church;

the implementation of a decree issued by the Council of Ministers in 1995 restricting the activities of
religious operators, in a attempt to protect the Russian Orthodox Church and inhibit the growth of
evangelical religions;

the introduction of rules governing the entry into the country of foreign clerics on the basis of which
representatives of foreign religious organisations may be invited only by agreement with the State
Committee for Religious and National Affairs, whose decision is final.

What diplomatic, political and economic pressure does the Commission intend to exert on the Belarus
Government in order to induce it to ensure that freedom of religion, freedom of worship and freedom to
change religion and express religious feeling in a form of worship are recognised as rights for the citizens
of that country?

Does the Commission not consider that it should immediately review the effectiveness of its projects in the
context of TACIS and assess the possibility of closing the TACIS office in Belarus for as long these serious
violations of democratic rights persist in the country?