WRITTEN QUESTION P-1251/03 by Carlos Bautista Ojeda (Verts/ALE) to the Commission. Crisis in the European tourist industry.
Date: 2003-03-26
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: Iraq, military intervention, sectoral aid, tourism, tourism policy

8.4.2004

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 88 E/343

(2004/C 88 E/0349)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1247/03

by Robert Evans (PSE) to the Commission

(2 April 2003)

Subject: Burmese refugees

Is the Commission aware of the current plight of Burmese refugees inside Thailand?

Constituents have raised concerns around the Thai Government’s inability to cope with the refugees and
the Government’s desire to close the refugee camps and return them across the border. Is the European
Union providing any financial or diplomatic support to the Thai Government or the refugees to prevent a
human rights disaster?

Answer given by Mr Patten on behalf of the Commission

(7 May 2003)

The Commission is well aware of the situation of Burmese refugees, mainly of ethnic minority origin,
sheltered in camps on the Thai-Burma border.

The Commission is currently one of the most important donors to the Burmese refugee population in
Thailand. Its assistance, implemented by European non-governmental organisations (NGOs), predominantly
takes the form of provision of food and basic goods teamed with medical assistance and training. During
the last years the Commission has provided between EUR 7 and 7,5 million per year to these activities.

The Commission Delegation in Thailand follows the situation of the Burmese refugees very closely,
through direct visits to the camps and via frequent contacts with NGOs and other organisations
supporting the refugee population.

In addition, the Commission continues to have an open dialogue with the Thai authorities about the
situation in the refugee camps and on its policy towards the Burmese refugees. Its concerns regarding the
treatment of Burmese refugees and reports of forced deportations by Thai authorities have been raised in
recent bilateral meetings, such as the Community-Thailand Senior Officials’ Meeting which took place on
29 and 30 January 2003 in Brussels.

The Commission will continue to monitor the situation and remains ready to take further action should
the situation of the Burmese refugees deteriorate dramatically.

(2004/C 88 E/0350)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-1251/03

by Carlos Bautista Ojeda (Verts/ALE) to the Commission

Subject: Crisis in the European tourist industry

(26 March 2003)

At the end of 2002 the possibility that an armed conflict might break out in Iraq put a freeze on the
reserves for summer 2003 and this brought to a halt the tentative recovery which the tourist industry had
been experiencing since the middle of 2002. The outbreak of war in Iraq has only made matters worse.

This state of uncertainty may have a damaging effect on the European tourist industry and, consequently,
on the EU’s economy.

Has the Commission done anything to alleviate this state of affairs and if so, what? If not, is it intending to
take any action?

C 88 E/344

Official Journal of the European Union

EN

8.4.2004

Answer given by Mr Liikanen on behalf of the Commission

(23 April 2003)

The Commission has no evidence that the ongoing armed conflict in Iraq would result in a general crisis of
the European tourism sector. It is aware of difficulties increasingly noticed for certain segments of the
tourism industry, in particular big tour operators and their mainstream package travel product. There is,
however, uncertainty as to what extent these phenomena should be attributed to the Iraq conflict, or to
general problems of national economies or rapid changes in tourist consumer preferences and in the way
that tourists appraise and buy the product. The Commission would also not exclude that any potential
impact of the Iraq conflict on the tourist consumer choice could effect certain regional destinations in
Europe more than others. The situation can therefore not be faced with general measures, but would
require a differentiated and fine-tuned response.

Prior to the military intervention in Iraq, the Commission consulted with the European tourism industry
on what measures in respect of tourism the Commission should undertake in the case of such event. It
raised this issue also in the framework of the World Tourism Organisation’s Recovery Committee, early in
March 2003.

The reaction received from tourism professionals indicated that no specific action should be taken as long
as the armed conflict in Iraq was underway. The sector felt that the support they would need during that
time was travel advice, messages that the sector is prepared for the situation, national contingency plans
etc., which however do not fall under Community competence. However, the European tourism industry
and the international sector bodies indicated that significant measures should be envisaged after the
military actions have come to an end. Nevertheless, it also considers that these measures should largely
focus on marketing and promotion of European tourism, which is a sphere for which the Commission had
until now, neither a mandate nor the specific means.

Given the current uncertainty as to how long the armed conflict in Iraq will last, the Commission and the
European tourism industry agreed to look in detail at the issues in due time. However, the Commission
will carefully observe the developments in the tourism industry and is prepared for more careful analysis as
it had done after the 11 September 2001.

(2004/C 88 E/0351)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-1287/03

by Olivier Dupuis (NI) to the Commission

(31 March 2003)

Subject: Macabre electoral farce in Chechnya

Several newspapers,
including The Financial Times, Le Monde and Libération, as well as eye-witness
reports, state that the ‘referendum’ organised by the Kremlin on Sunday, 23 March on the adoption of a
new ‘constitution’ by the people of Chechnya (cid:1) and Russian troops (cid:1) was conducted in a completely
irregular manner. According to the Russian authorities, 65 % of the electorate took part in the vote and
95 % of the voters who went to the polling booths voted in favour of the ‘constitution’ proposed by the
Kremlin. However, according to the information gathered by various international correspondents, the
polling stations were equipped with ‘supplementary electoral rolls’ which made all kinds of manipulation
possible, to the extent that a French journalist even managed to add his name to the electoral roll and vote
at polling station No 372. According to the same reports, a bus service was organised to take groups of
‘voters’ from one polling station to another in order to give the impression of a constant flow of voters
and,
the ‘supplementary rolls’ with new voters. Lastly, according to a
representative of the OSCE, who emphasised that he was not there as an observer, the circumstances
surrounding the organisation and conduct of the vote were ‘far from ideal’.

likelihood,

to swell

in all