WRITTEN QUESTION E-0812/03 by Maurizio Turco (NI), Marco Cappato (NI),Emma Bonino (NI), Marco Pannella (NI)and Gianfranco Dell'Alba (NI) to the Council. War on drugs in Thailand.
Date: 2003-03-17
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: EU relations, Thailand, death penalty, drug traffic, fight against crime, homicide, human rights

C 280 E/90

Official Journal of the European Union

EN

21.11.2003

At present, the Commission has referred six cases to the Court of Justice, namely cases C-301/2001 (non-
conformity of national measures transposing Directive 85/337/EEC into Greek law), C-83/2002 (failure to
communicate the information required under Article 11 of Directive 96/59/EC) (3), C-119/2002 (the
absence of a collection system or a plant for the tertiary treatment of urban waste water in the Thriassio
region), C-351/02 (failure to notify national measures transposing Directive 1999/31/EC) (4), C-352/02
(failure to notify national measures transposing Directive 2000/14/EC) (5) and C-420/02 (the operation of a
landfill at Pera Galinoi).

The Commission has also decided to refer four infringement cases to the Court of Justice. The cases were
still being prepared on 10 April 2003. The infringements in question relate to the incompatibility of Greek
legislation on the bird hunting season, the collection and treatment of waste oils in Greece, pollution in
the Thriassio Pedio region, and the operating conditions of a power station at Linoperamata on Crete.

(1) Council Directive 85/337/EEC of 27 June 1985 on the assessment of the effects of certain public and private

projects on the environment (cid:1) OJ L 175, 5.7.1985.

(2) Council Directive 97/11/EC of 3 March 1997 amending Directive 85/337/EEC on the assessment of the effects of

certain public and private projects on the environment (cid:1) OJ L 73, 14.3.1997.

(3) Council Directive 96/59/EC of 16 September 1996 on the disposal of polychlorinated biphenyls and poly-

chlorinated terphenyls (PCB/PCT) (cid:1) OJ L 243, 24.9.1996, p. 31.

(4) Council Directive 1999/31/EC of 26 April 1999 on the landfill of waste (cid:1) OJ L 182, 16.7.1999.
(5) Directive 2000/14/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 8 May 2000 on the approximation of the
laws of the Member States relating to the noise emission in the environment by equipment for use outdoors (cid:1)
OJ L 162, 3.7.2000.

(2003/C 280 E/096)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0812/03

by Maurizio Turco (NI), Marco Cappato (NI),
Emma Bonino (NI), Marco Pannella (NI)
and Gianfranco Dell’Alba (NI) to the Council

(17 March 2003)

Subject: War on drugs in Thailand

Taking into account the fact that according to information on ‘UN Wire’ of 4 March 2003:

(cid:1) the Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra affirmed that Thailand’s month-old drugs crackdown will
be stepped up, despite expressions of concern by the UN rapporteur on extrajudicial killings, Asma
Jahangir, and others over reports that summary executions have been committed in the context of the
campaign; he notably declared: ‘The crackdown will become more intense, I guarantee … Don’t worry.
(The) UN isn’t my father. If they want to come, come. If they want to inspect, go ahead’;

(cid:1) the Thai Prime Minister also affirmed that more than 1 140 have been killed in the crackdown, which
began on 1 February and is to last three months; police also said that as of Friday, 29 501 suspects
were arrested in the crackdown; they said officers acting in self-defence killed 31 people and that drug
gangs killed the others; a Ministry spokesman furthermore affirmed that ‘Nothing is above the law in
this campaign’;

Did the Council express EU concern to the Thai authorities about the government-sponsored massacres in
the war on drugs? Did it ask the government to stop these widespread killings that are contrary to all
internationally recognised human rights and fundamental freedoms?

What progressive measures will be enacted by the Council if the Thai government continues the massacre
and ignores international requests to stop?

21.11.2003

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 280 E/91

Is the Council aware of the fact that, like Thailand, China, Malaysia, Vietnam, Singapore, Kuwait, Iran,
Philippines and Indonesia also apply the death penalty for drugs-related crimes, and does it agree that a
way forward would be to amend the international conventions on drugs to expressly prohibit the death
penalty, notably in view of the April 2003 UN meeting on drugs?

Reply

(21 July 2003)

The Council shares the Honourable Members concerns over the dramatic increase in drugs-related

1.
deaths during the Thai Government’s recent campaign against drugs.

The Council has conveyed its serious preoccupations over the situation in a confidential demarche to
2.
the Thai government in late March 2003. The Council will keep the further evolution of this problem
under close scrutiny, and will,
if necessary, decide on appropriate reactions should the situation not
improve.

The European Union has systematically conveyed its principled opposition to the death penalty,

3.
including for drugs-related crimes, to other countries in the region and will continue to do so.

(2003/C 280 E/097)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0814/03

by Robert Goebbels (PSE) to the Commission

(17 March 2003)

Subject: Famine in Ethiopia

The Commission has just allocated an additional EUR 5 million for emergency food operations in Ethiopia,
bringing the sum total of EU food aid to some EUR 102 million for 2002-2003.

The Commission is to be congratulated on all the excellent initiatives it is taking in this area, but could it
indicate:

1. what percentage of the aid approved had been granted up to the beginning of March 2003;

2. whether it considers the EU aid sufficient to enable the Ethiopian authorities to provide food to the

communities affected by continuous drought;

3. whether additional aid is needed until such time as the 2003 harvest is gathered;

4. what bilateral aid has been provided by the Member States and whether they have coordinated their

efforts;

5. how, on implementation of the Cotonou Agreement, it will work with the Ethiopian authorities to
draw up the structural reforms that are required to enable Ethiopia to avert recurring famines? (Need
to develop the country’s infrastructure (cid:1) road system, energy supply; water catchment and irrigation
systems (cid:1) more effective education of local inhabitants; seed selection; etc., and above all better
market organisation. The liberalisation of the trade in grain has not given rise to the expected reforms,
as has been documented by Eleni Gabre-Madhin in her study for the International Food Policy
Research Institute.)

Answer given by Mr Nielson on behalf of the Commission

(23 April 2003)

Total Commission food aid allocations for Ethiopia to date amount to EUR 98 million, equivalent to an
estimated quantity of 373 000 million tonnes (MT) of food aid,
for delivery from October 2002 to
December 2003. An additional EUR 4 million has been allocated in humanitarian aid. To date,