WRITTEN QUESTION E-3546/02 by Michel-Ange Scarbonchi (GUE/NGL) to the Council. Creation of a fleet of European coastguard ships.
Date: 2002-12-11
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: Eurocorps, coastal region, environmental policy, environmental protection, maritime safety, maritime surveillance, prevention of pollution

3.7.2003

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 155 E/165

The reality, however is, that a phenomenon called ‘simplification’ is more and more frequent, namely the
reduction in practice of the number of official languages which are also used as working languages. And
yet the cost of multilingualism is not exorbitant: for 11 languages, it is 1 % of the EU’s budget, that is,
EUR 2,7 per citizen per annum.

It needs to be stressed that the EU is not a private company, obliged to minimise spending at all costs. It is
a political edifice funded on law and democracy. One of the practical preconditions for a democratic
debate is the right of all European citizens to take part, using their own languages. The price that has to be
paid is part of the price of democracy, just like the cost of European elections, which no one is talking
about ‘simplifying’ or eliminating.

More alarming still is the news published in ‘La Quinzaine européenne’ of 18 November 2002, claiming
that Commission President Romano Prodi and Commissioner Günter Verheugen have given orders that all
accession negotiations are to be held in English, to the general astonishment of certain candidate countries
such as Bulgaria, which apparently reminded them that both French and German are equally widely used
in government circles in Sofia.

Given these very disturbing facts, can the Commission provide some clarification with regard to the
published claims and, more generally, can it state its own position on this issue?

Answer given by Mr Verheugen on behalf of the Commission

(16 January 2003)

The Commission shares the commitment of the Honourable Member as regards the fundamental principles
and objectives of the language regime in the Union.

Enlargement will strengthen the diversity of languages. European citizens from 25 Member States will be
able to use their own language in contacts with the European Institutions.

The Commission can assure the Honourable Member that neither President Prodi nor the Member of the
Commission responsible for Enlargement have ever ‘given orders’ that all accession negotiations are to be
held in English.

Accession conferences are intergovernmental conferences. As a consequence, the language regime for these
conferences is determined by the representatives of participating States and not by the Commission.

In the Commission’s experience of the accession negotiations at different levels, there has not been any
restriction of the language regime to English or any other official language of the European Union and all
official languages of the Union have been available for use.

(2003/C 155 E/184)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3546/02

by Michel-Ange Scarbonchi (GUE/NGL) to the Council

Subject: Creation of a fleet of European coastguard ships

(11 December 2002)

After the sinking of the Erika, the Prestige oil spill on 19 November 2002 off the coast of Galicia, Spain
has shown us the serious inadequacies in the control and monitoring of ships at sea.

The Commission must act as quickly as possible in the face of environmental disasters like these. The
decision taken at the Franco-Spanish Summit in Malaga,
in accordance with Article 56 of the United
Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, to limit access for the most dangerous oil tankers to the
exclusive economic zone (EEZ), less than 200 nautical miles (360 km) from the coast, gives cause for
hope.

C 155 E/166

Official Journal of the European Union

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3.7.2003

However, the crisis that an oil spill presents for local communities and the local authorities and its
consequences for the environment and sectors of the economy such as fishing and tourism, requires that
new rules concerning the transport of high-risk goods, as well as new monitoring measures, are drawn up
on a European scale.

The precautionary principle means that the setting up of a European police force of the seas must now be
considered. The creation of a fleet of European coastguard ships would allow maritime law to be enforced
more effectively.

There are many arguments in favour of a new administrative body, which could be placed under the
control of the European Parliament and under the responsibility of the maritime authorities of the Member
States. On the eve of the next enlargement of the European Union, this would send a strong message in
favour of a Europe of the sea. What is the Council’s view on this?

Is the Council willing to make proposals that would serve as a common basis for a European campaign for
safety at sea, with emphasis on the strict monitoring of the ships in circulation?

Reply

(4 March 2003)

In particular,

the Council recalls that, on 20 December,

1.
The Council agrees with the Honourable Member that with a view to facing the situation created by
those maritime accidents, there is a clear need for a co-ordinated EU response. This is the position it has
constantly repeated and sustained.
it has
unanimously adopted a Regulation instituting specific measures to compensate the Spanish fisheries,
shellfish industry and aquaculture, affected by the oil spills from the Prestige. The Commission presented
its proposal on 19 December. The European Parliament gave its Opinion on the same day. The aims of the
proposal are to help compensating the damages, by a contribution of the Community. A financial
assistance is foreseen through the reallocation of funds including the reprogramming of the Spanish share
(around EUR 80 million) of the Financial Instrument for Fisheries Guidance (FIFG). Part of the budgetary
resources (around EUR 30 million) for the conversion of the Spanish vessels that were up to 1999
dependent on the fishing agreement with Morocco will also be used for the reparation of the damages in
question.

2.

At its meeting on 19 December 2002 the Council adopted the following statement:

The Council, having in mind the serious accident of the oil tanker Prestige off the north west coast of
Spain, welcomes the steps taken for the purpose of the rapid adoption of the draft Framework
Decision on the protection of the environment through criminal law.

In this context, the Council notes the conclusions of the European Council of 12/13 December 2002
regarding Maritime safety/marine pollution, that welcomes the action undertaken by the Commission
to confront the consequences derived of that event and ‘its intention to examine the need for further
specific measures’ and, among them, ‘questions relating to liability and the corresponding sanctions’.
Therefore, in full consistency with the measures to be considered in accordance with the Community
powers in the fields of protection of transport safety (1) and protection of the environment (2), the
Council should consider complementary measures to strengthen the protection of the environment, in
particular the seas, through criminal law.

As for the creation of a European Coast Guard, it is not for the Council to give its views on any

3.
submissions made to, or proposals discussed by, the Convention on the future of Europe.

(1) Transport Council Conclusions (6 December 2002).
(2) Environment Council Conclusions (10 December 2002).