WRITTEN QUESTION E-0493/03 by Glyn Ford (PSE) to the Commission. Consumer Credit Directive and the fight against financial crime.
Date: 2003-02-21
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: EC Directive, anti-discriminatory measure, consumer credit, fight against crime, fraud, money laundering, personal data, real estate credit

C 161 E/222

Official Journal of the European Union

EN

10.7.2003

specific purpose of meeting needs in the general interest, without having any industrial or commercial
character. In fact, only a body meeting all of the said requirements can be considered as a ‘contracting
authority’ subject to the public procurement rules established by the above-mentioned Directive 92/50/
EEC.

In this respect, it is to be noted that, on the one hand, the Danish authorities state that the aims of the
Danish gambling model, which is largely made up of state-controlled gaming companies such as DanToto
and its owner Dansk Tipstjeneste, are to protect the gambler and combat crime as well as supporting
charitable and non-profit organisations. It would therefore seem that DanToto was indeed established for
the specific purpose of meeting certain needs in the general interest.

However, on the other hand, the law regulating DanToto states that the profits are split between the
parent company Tipstjenesten (whose profits support charitable organisations) and a fund to promote and
finance horse racing. According to jurisprudence of the European Court of Justice, if a body is managed
according to criteria of performance, efficiency and cost-effectiveness and operates in a competitive
environment, it cannot be considered as a body established for the specific purpose of meeting needs in
the general interest, since it does have an industrial or commercial character.

Therefore, on the basis of available information, the Commission is at present not in a position to assess
whether Dan Toto has an industrial or commercial character. The Commission intends to further enquire
on this issue.

Should the Commission come to the conclusion that the Danish authorities are not in compliance with the
the Danish
relevant Community rules,
government in the accordance with Article 226 of the Treaty establishing the Community.

infringement procedures against

the Commission may start

(1) OJ L 209, 24.7.1992.

(2003/C 161 E/233)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0493/03

by Glyn Ford (PSE) to the Commission

(21 February 2003)

Subject: Consumer Credit Directive and the fight against financial crime

The Consumer Credit Directive, in its current format, runs the risk of preventing the sharing of data for
the purposes of identification of customers, fraud prevention or money-laundering prevention. It will have
the following adverse effects:

(cid:1) Anti-fraud data-sharing schemes such as CIFAS and HUNTER, which help building societies to prevent
fraudulent mortgage advances of approximately GBP 25 million per year, would come to an end. This
would leave them open to exploitation.

(cid:1) By lending to fraudsters, building societies take on more bad debt, and then inevitably have to pass the

cost of this on to genuine customers.

(cid:1) If building societies are unable to carry out anti-money-laundering identification checks by sharing
data, their ability to comply with the 1993 Money Laundering Regulations and 2001 FSA rules would
be put in jeopardy.

What plans does the Commission have to take these factors into consideration?

Answer given by Mr Byrne on behalf of the Commission

(25 March 2003)

The proposal for a new Directive on credit for consumers (1)
lays down provisions on information
collected by lenders and intermediaries from consumers, guarantors or third persons in connection with
the conclusion and management of credit and surety agreements covered by the Directive. These
provisions provide that processing of the obtained information has to be limited to the purpose of
assessing the financial situation of the consumer or guarantor and their ability to repay.

10.7.2003

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Official Journal of the European Union

C 161 E/223

The focus of the proposal for a Directive is the lender (intermediary)/borrower relationship and the
purpose of the restrictions is to avoid irrelevant questions on matters like race, age, sex, etc. or abusive
exploitation of the data collected.

Identification of customers, or the prevention of fraud, money laundering, and other criminal activities
should not be affected by the provisions of the proposal which is currently being discussed in the
Parliament and the Council.

This proposal should not affect the legal position of third parties other than the lender or intermediary,
such as Cifas and Hunter, as long as they operate in conformity with current Community and the national
legislation pursuant to it.

(1) OJ C 331 E, 31.12.2002.

(2003/C 161 E/234)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0495/03

by Joan Vallvé (ELDR) to the Commission

(21 February 2003)

Subject: Respecting and promoting linguistic diversity in Europe

Paragraph 13(f) of Parliament’s resolution of 14 January 2003 on the role of regional and local authorities
in European integration (P5_TA_PROV(2003)0009) calls for the following new Article 151a to be inserted
in the EC Treaty:

The Community shall, within its spheres of competence, respect and promote linguistic diversity in
Europe, including regional or minority languages as an expression of that diversity, by encouraging
cooperation between Member States and utilising other appropriate instruments in the furtherance of
this objective.

Can the Commission say what action it intends to take to achieve this goal, bearing in mind that 2002 was
declared the ‘European Year of Languages’ and there are languages in Europe which enjoy official status in
their respective regions of the Member States but receive no official recognition at EU level, as is the case
with Catalan? What concrete proposals does the Commission have for promoting this group of languages,
which are in a special situation?

Answer given by Mrs Reding on behalf of the Commission

(19 March 2003)

Following the European Year of Languages, which has without doubt contributed to the promotion of
linguistic diversity and language learning, as can be seen from the report on its implementation (1), there
has been a widespread desire to maintain the momentum in favour of language learning and linguistic
diversity that was generated by the Year. Commission staff have prepared a Consultation Document on
promoting language learning and linguistic diversity (2) around which a wide public consultation was
launched in December 2002, and which was also addressed to the Parliament. On the basis of the results
of the consultation, the Commission intends in mid 2003 to adopt an Action Plan to promote language
learning and linguistic diversity based on actions using resources available in existing Community
programmes and activities.

The Commission has proposed the adoption of an inclusive approach in which regional and minority
languages are included. One of the questions put forward in the discussion document concerns the ways in
which the Union could support Member States in promoting linguistic diversity.