WRITTEN QUESTION E-0189/03 by Erik Meijer (GUE/NGL) to the Commission. US initiatives for securing access to oil supplies in countries around the Caspian Sea.
Date: 2003-01-31
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: Caspian Sea, EU programme, European Union, USSR, United States, crude oil, energy supply, former socialist countries, gas, hydrocarbon

C 192 E/162

Official Journal of the European Union

EN

14.8.2003

Answer given by Mr Barnier on behalf of the Commission

(11 March 2003)

Within the Community Support Framework III, the Operational Programme (OP) on Culture finances
interventions in order to improve the quality of tourism services in Greece and to reinforce the overall
development of the cultural sector. Special attention is given to actions that have an immediate and visible
impact on the attractiveness and accessibility of archaeological sites and museums.

According to the information received by the Managing Authority of the OP on Culture, the Greek
Ministry of Culture has declared the Filoppapos hill an archaeological site, which as such is protected
under national
includes fence
law. The Filopappos project, which fulfils the project selection criteria,
works, an electromechanical network and improvements for an open-air exhibition of sculpture. It totals
EUR 3,4 million and is implemented by the Agency for the Integration of Archaeological Sites of Athens
(EAXA). The Central Archaeological Council has approved the project design, while the authorities
responsible in Athens have approved the environmental
impact assessment and the environmental
conditions to be met.

The fence works are considered necessary to protect the site from vandalism, pollution and other damage.
It is planned to have 25 toll free entrances, which will be closed during the night. In this way, access to the
hill will be safe and free of charge while the archaeological site will be protected. The construction of the
fence works aims to give the Filopappos hill a status similar to the National Park of Athens.

In accordance with the Structural Funds Regulation (1), the selection and approval of projects lie with the
Managing Authority which is also responsible for the supervision and follow-up of the project.

(1) Council Regulation (EC) No 1260/1999 of 21 June 1999 laying down general provisions on the Structural Funds (cid:1)

OJ L 161, 26.6.1999.

(2003/C 192 E/199)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0189/03

by Erik Meijer (GUE/NGL) to the Commission

(31 January 2003)

Subject: US initiatives for securing access to oil supplies in countries around the Caspian Sea

1.
Is the Commission aware that there is growing interest in the petroleum reserves believed to be lying
under the ground in states created on the territory of the former Soviet Union, where 20 % of the world’s
oil reserves and 50 % of the world’s gas reserves are to be found?

Can the Commission confirm that the USA is increasingly involved in measures to enable it to secure

2.
a constant supply of petroleum and natural gas from reserves around the Caspian Sea?

3.
Can the Commission confirm that the laying of a new 1 760 km long oil pipeline from Baku in
Azerbaijan via Tblisi in Georgia to Ceyhan on the Mediterranean near the Syrian border in Turkey is the
most expensive and least cost-effective of all the alternatives previously considered?

Is the pipeline to Ceyhan, which is scheduled to be completed in 2005, mainly linked to US interests

4.
and participation, or are companies and the authorities in the EU also involved in this project?

is the Commission’s view of

the
5. What
International Institute for Asian Studies in Amsterdam, who in his book ‘Great Game’, due to be published
shortly, states that if these trends continue Europe and Asia will become completely dependent on oil and
gas distributed by the US?

the conclusions of Dr Parvizi Amineh, researcher at

6.
Do agreements exist with the EU and/or its Member States on the supply of this oil for use in
Europe, or is the oil being wholly, or to a significant extent, reserved for US consumption, which is
continuing to grow strongly?

Source: Netherlands daily newspaper ‘De Volkskrant’ of 18 January 2003

14.8.2003

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 192 E/163

Answer given by Mrs de Palacio on behalf of the Commission

(14 March 2003)

The Commission is aware of the oil and gas potential of the States which emerged from the former Soviet
Union, particularly in the Caspian Sea region. This interest was demonstrated, notably, with the
development in 1995 of the special Inogate programme within the TACIS framework. In addition, the
Commission is of course very sensitive to the key role which Russia now plays in supplying oil and gas to
the Union. The Commission has built up and formalised an energy dialogue with Russia, which is the
Community’s leading external supplier of gas and the Union’s second largest external supplier of oil.

Like the EU, the United States is seeking to promote geographical diversification of the international oil
supply, a diversification in which the countries which emerged from the former Soviet Union have a role
to play. The Commission believes the decision must remain with the companies concerned as to where to
lay pipelines, on the basis of economic and commercial considerations.

The Commission is not familiar with the contents of the work Mr Parvizi Amineh is about to publish.

The Commission would point out that in its Green Paper on Security of Supply (1), adopted in 2000, it
referred clearly to the problem of the Union’s energy dependency and outlined proposals for dealing with
that problem. In this context, the dialogue between producer countries and consumer countries, and
especially the closest countries, is of great importance for the diversification of the Union’s sources of
supply.

(1) COM(2000) 769 final.

(2003/C 192 E/200)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-0214/03

by Olivier Dupuis (NI) to the Commission

(27 January 2003)

Subject: Economic and financial situation in Tunisia

The Association Agreement between the EU and Tunisia is entering an important phase but very little
information is available about progress in the measures to support the establishment of a free trade area.
The need for much greater transparency reflects the importance of this Association Agreement. It is
therefore crucial that Parliament should be informed of the Commission’s assessment of the use made of
MEDA funding during the past seven years. The programmes for upgrading undertakings and important
sectors of the Tunisian economy have merely been the subject of expressions of self-satisfaction on the
Tunisian side, despite the fact that there are clearly very serious problems. As an illustration, the reform of
the banking system has been the subject of very little public information in Tunisia. The recent financial
scandal involving the Batam company and the Bonprix network has once again highlighted the problem of
doubtful and non-recoverable debts which is seriously jeopardising the reform of the banking system
supported by the European Union. This lack of transparency also encourages the development of large-
scale corruption in the circles of power, which has been the subject of intense comment in the foreign
press during the past few months.

What is the Commission’s assessment of the use made by the Tunisian authorities of MEDA support funds
during the past seven years? What information does the Commission have on progress and problems in
the reform of the banking sector? What information does the Commission have about the recent financial
scandals and the alleged development of illicit get-rich practices primarily among circles close to power
and what measures does it intend to take on this matter?

Answer given by Mr Patten on behalf of the Commission

(19 February 2003)

Tunisia occupies a special place in the MEDA programme, receiving a total of EUR 841 million over the
period 1995-2004 in the form of bilateral grants under MEDA I and II.