WRITTEN QUESTION E-1339/03 by Maurizio Turco (NI) and Marco Cappato (NI) to the Commission. Persecution of homosexuals in the Palestinian Authority territories and Israeli expulsions of Palestinian homosexuals.
Date: 2003-04-09
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: EU relations, Israel, Palestine, discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, human rights, removal

8.4.2004

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 88 E/25

Answer given by Mr Bolkestein on behalf of the Commission

(15 May 2003)

In the case of intra-Community supply of goods, VAT must, in principle, be calculated and paid in the
country of destination. However, if the distance sales regime applies and provided the EUR 35 000 or
EUR 100 000 yearly threshold is not exceeded, VAT is calculated and paid in the country of origin. In any
event, VAT must be calculated and paid only once.

On the basis of the question presented by the Honourable Member,
it is not clear whether the VAT
calculated on the price of Italian books before they are exported to other Member States is actually paid by
the taxable persons to the Italian State.

Should the taxable persons pay the VAT to the Italian State, the goods in question would be subject to
double taxation contrary to the Sixth VAT directive (1). The Italian State would then have to modify its
legislation in order to provide that the goods leave the territory of the country exempted from Italian VAT.

Should the taxable persons not pay the Italian VAT to the State, although it is part of the export price of
the goods, there would be no double taxation. In this case, the issue would have to be analysed from a
non-fiscal perspective.

In this respect, should the Honourable Member dispose of complementary or new information that might
prove that there is an infringement of Community law, the Commission would be most grateful to receive
it.

(1) Sixth Council Directive 77/388/EEC of 17 May 1977 on the harmonisation of the laws of the Member States
relating to turnover taxes (cid:1) Common system of value added tax: uniform basis of assessment, OJ L 145,
13.6.1977.

(2004/C 88 E/0027)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1339/03

by Maurizio Turco (NI) and Marco Cappato (NI) to the Commission

(9 April 2003)

Subject: Persecution of homosexuals in the Palestinian Authority territories and Israeli expulsions of

Palestinian homosexuals

According to the GLBT Israeli association ‘Aguda’ and the Haaretz newspaper, on 6 March 2003 two gay
Palestinians were tried for being in Israel illegally and consequently expelled to the Palestinian Authority.
On 16 March 2003, another gay Palestinian was put on trial for the same charge and after serving his
sentence he will be expelled to the Gaza Strip. According to information provided by Aguda, homosexuals
in the Palestinian Authority suffer persecution, arrest, injury and torture, at times ending in death, and
many of them are likely to be executed. Until a month ago the authorities in Israel did not arrest and/or
expel these people, but then this policy was changed and the youths were arrested and brought to trial,
and the automatic process of expelling them to the Palestinian Authority began. International human
rights organisations are acting to prevent these expulsions, and notably pleaded with the Israeli Interior
Minister, Mr Avraham Poraz, to use the authority vested in him by Israeli Law to stop the expulsions by
granting temporary residency visas, but Mr Poraz has replied negatively.

Can the Commission confirm this information? Is the Commission monitoring this issue? Will the
Commission intervene with the Israeli authorities and particularly the Interior Minister to express EU
concern at the fact that these expulsions could endanger the lives of gay Palestinians? Will the Commission
intervene with the Palestinian Authority to ensure that fundamental human rights are respected and that
persecution against homosexuals stops?

C 88 E/26

Official Journal of the European Union

EN

8.4.2004

Answer given by Mr Patten on behalf of the Commission

(6 May 2003)

The Commission is aware of some of the press reports referred to by the Honourable Member concerning
alleged persecution of homosexuals in addition to informal accounts of human rights violations in the
Palestinian Territories.

The Commission is concerned by allegations and reports of human rights violations and has, in conjunction
with international donors, called on the Palestinian Authority to undertake democratic reforms, to ensure
the rule of law, and to respect basic human rights.

The Union is actively participating in the Quartet and the International Task Force on Palestinian Reform,
which was established in July 2002 to monitor and support the implementation of Palestinian civil
reforms, and to guide the international donor community in its support for the Palestinian’s reform
agenda. The Task Force is composed of the United States, the Union, the Russian Federation, the United
Nations, Norway, Japan, Canada, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. It is monitoring
progress across key areas such as civil society, public administration and rule of law and recommends
further actions to be undertaken by the Palestinian Authority.

The Commission will continue to monitor progress on reform within the framework of Union’s bilateral
relations with the Palestinian Authority as well as in conjunction with other international donors.

The question of Human Rights in Israel is regularly raised by the Community in its official contacts with
Israeli authorities and also when Union-Israel Association Council or Association Committee meets.

Specific cases are followed with attention by the Commission, notably via its Delegations on the ground.

(2004/C 88 E/0028)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-1345/03

by Mario Borghezio (NI) to the Commission

(3 April 2003)

Subject: EU penalties for collusion by European banks with the Baghdad regime

Recent newspaper reports have carried details of the Baghdad regime’s financial network, which consists of
a great many European banks. These banks are mainly French or German, but also include the
omnipresent Italian bank BNL.

In the ‘Full final and complete declaration’ submitted by Iraq to the UN experts, these banks are in fact
referred to as the Iraqi Central Bank’s ‘correspondent banks’, which bore the cost of the letters of credit
issued by the Iraqi Central Bank for the purchase of suspicious materials. They include the German banks
Dresdner Bank, Deutsche Bank, Commerz Bank, Vereins-und West Bank, UBAE, Berliner Handels-und
Frankfurter Bank, DG Bank, Westdeutsche Landesbank and Bayerische Landesbank, and the French banks
Banque de France, Société Générale, Crédit Lyonnais, BNP, Crédit Commercial de France and UBAF.

Does the Commission not consider it very serious that some of the most prominent institutions in the
European banking system, along with other western establishments, should gladly have supported at a
financial level the Baghdad regime’s large-scale operations to purchase chemical weapons and weapons of
mass destruction, even during the embargo?

What urgent steps will it take to penalise these banks for colluding with the criminal activities of the
Baghdad regime?