WRITTEN QUESTION E-3867/02 by Margrietus van den Berg (PSE) to the Commission. Salvage of the ferry Le Joola.
Date: 2003-01-10
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: Commission Delegation, EU relations, Senegal, aid to disaster victims, death, family law, ferryboat, transport accident

C 84 E/708

Official Journal of the European Union

EN

3.4.2004

Joint answer
to Written Questions P-3821/02 and P-3826/02
given by Mr Patten on behalf of the Commission

(29 January 2003)

Regarding the possible violation of asylum rights in a Member State the situation is the following: although
it is the duty of the Commission to ensure observance of fundamental rights in the field of Community
law, it has no power to examine the compatibility of national legislation and practice lying outside the
scope of Community law with the European Convention of Human Rights.

This is established by the case law of the Court of Justice (Demirel, Wachauf and ERT) and Article 51 of
the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union. In the field of asylum, there are no Community
provisions in place based on Article 63 of the EC Treaty related to the situation described in the two
questions. In particular, the two proposals for a directive on minimum standards for asylum procedures
and for a directive on the qualification as a refugee or as a person otherwise in need of international
protection are still under negotiation in the Council. Therefore, the Commission has no power to intervene
on that basis with the Italian authorities.

According to Syrian authorities, Mr Al-Sakhri is in detention and under investigation in relation to the
events in Hama in the early 1980’s, his family is not in detention. Requests have also been made to the
Syrian authorities to treat Mr Al-Sakrhi according to international standards.

The Commission is in contact with the Union Presidency and Member State missions in Damascus
regarding continued monitoring and follow-up of this issue.

(2004/C 84 E/0795)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3867/02

by Margrietus van den Berg (PSE) to the Commission

(10 January 2003)

Subject: Salvage of the ferry ‘Le Joola’

Has President Wade of Senegal already submitted a request to the Commission for financial, technical

1.
and logistical help with the salvage of the ferry ‘Le Joola’?

2.
Does the Commission deem it morally acceptable that the ferry is still lying on a sandbank while the
possibility and the means exist to recover at least 1 500 bodies and while all the victims’ relatives are
calling for such action?

3.
Can the Commission indicate whether Senegal has a Burial and Cremations Act, similar to that which
exists in the Member States of the European Union, which would oblige President Wade to have the bodies
recovered if the victims’ relatives so requested?

4.
Is the Commission, acting in conjunction with those European countries from which some of the
victims came (France, Belgium, Spain and the Netherlands), prepared to approach President Wade about
this issue? Has the Commission taken account of the fact that no country can deal with the consequences
of such a catastrophe on its own?

5.
Is the Commission prepared to do its utmost to seek a political solution with President Wade and
have the bodies of the victims recovered in order to attenuate as far as possible the problems caused for
the victims’ relatives?

6.
Is it possible to authorise the EU delegation to take direct action? Is the Commission prepared in this
instance to turn a blind eye to formal requirements, since ‘life-threatening circumstances’ are not at issue
here, and to address the problem above all from a humanitarian point of view?

3.4.2004

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 84 E/709

Is the Commission prepared to give its total support to the interests of the victims’ relatives vis-à-vis
7.
the Senegalese Government which has been claiming for the last two and a half months that salvage of the
wreck is a priority but has done nothing except make promises?

Can the Commission indicate what the EU discussed, at the request of the relatives of European
8.
victims, with the Senegalese authorities and the African Union with regard to the possible salvage of the
‘Le Joola’ at the EU-Africa Summit which was held from 27 to 30 November 2002?

Answer given by Mr Nielson on behalf of the Commission

(27 February 2003)

The President of Senegal has not submitted a request to the Commission concerning the salvage of

1.
the ‘Le Joola’ ferry.

The Commission has already expressed its condolences to the victims’ families. The technical aspects

2.
of the salvage are difficult to assess.

3.
The Commission can confirm that Senegal’s family code contains provisions relating to burial and to
death certificates for missing persons. The Commission cannot assess the legal obligations incumbent on
the Senegal government in this case.

4.
The Commission is not in a position to take the kind of initiative proposed by the Honourable
Member. It is up to the Member States concerned to take political initiatives with the Senegal government
in the manner proposed by the Honourable Member.

The Commission is prepared within its legal means and obligations to support Member States in

5.
their contacts with the Senegal government.

6.
The Commission delegation has not been inactive. Through its office in Banjul it provided immediate
help, after the ferry sank, with the identification of bodies and, from Dakar, in investigating with the
government and with Member States and other donors present in Senegal the alternatives for restoring the
Dakar-Ziginchor maritime link in safer conditions.

The Commission considers that defending the interests of

7.
the families vis-à-vis the Senegal
government is primarily a matter for civil society bodies in Senegal, which have already taken effective
measures, and for the Member States concerned by the tragedy through their consulates.

The ministerial meeting of the EU-Africa Dialogue held in Ouagadougou on 28 November 2002 did

8.
not deal with that matter as it is a bilateral issue.

(2004/C 84 E/0796)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3868/02

by Ria Oomen-Ruijten (PPE-DE)
and Bartho Pronk (PPE-DE)
to the Commission

(10 January 2003)

Subject: Netherlands Student Grants Act

In the Netherlands, grants are awarded to students aged over 18. That applies to all forms of education.
Child benefit is not paid in respect of students aged over 18.

If the students concerned pursue their studies in Belgium or Germany, student grants are awarded in
respect of higher education and university courses but not in respect of secondary, basic or intermediate
vocational training courses.