WRITTEN QUESTION E-1468/03 by Cristiana Muscardini (UEN) to the Commission. On-line child pornography and paedophilia.
Date: 2003-04-30
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: Europol, Internet, child pornography, database, fight against crime, paedophilia, police cooperation, public awareness campaign

C 33 E/122

Official Journal of the European Union

EN

6.2.2004

The Honourable Member can be assured that unemployment and poverty are matters of great
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concern to the Commission. What matters for the achievement of full employment and prosperity is a
sustained high rate of economic growth. The latter can only be established on the basis of conditions of
stability as far as prices, public finances and the external account are concerned.

In conformity with what has been argued above, the Commission reaffirms its conviction that the
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stability-oriented framework provided by the Stability and Growth Pact is conducive to economic growth,
thereby setting the necessary conditions for the sustainability of social policies. The economic performance
of those Member States that are in full compliance with the Pact gives no evidence of such adverse effects
as are asserted by the Honourable Member.

(2004/C 33 E/122)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1468/03

by Cristiana Muscardini (UEN) to the Commission

Subject: On-line child pornography and paedophilia

(30 April 2003)

On-line paedophilia has become extremely widespread, specialised and lucrative and it is closely linked
‘Cultural paedophilia’, which is freely available on-line, is even
with crime committed against children.
more worrying because it attracts followers, funding and a degree of respectability. This is something to
which the authorities should pay greater attention (as, of course, they should to the production and
distribution of materials aimed at paedophiles). Between June and December 2002 an Italian voluntary
association identified 4 656 child-pornography websites, which it reported to the FBI, to Interpol and to
the police forces of various countries (Spain, Brazil, Switzerland and France). In certain cases the sites were
also reported to Europol. Between June 2002 and March 2003, 1 322 sites were identified. Since it was set
up in 1998 the Italian post-office police has monitored approximately 70 000 sites. One social study of
on-line paedophilia (carried out by the above-mentioned association Meter) has revealed that there exists a
paedophile ‘cultural lobby’ which endeavours to justify both the ‘right to be paedophile’ and the claim that
a paedophilic relationship is beneficial to children. Alongside this there is a thriving criminal-paedophilia
industry which produces, distributes and sells child pornography, the turnover in which is difficult to
estimate; rates vary from USD 35 for a weekly subscription providing access to 50 pornographic
photographs of children to USD 150 for ‘rare’ photographs of small children between 2 and 6 years of
age. In 60 % of cases the servers are located in the USA, with a further 30 % in the countries of eastern
Europe.

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Is the Commission aware of this state of affairs?

Can Europol provide accurate, up-to-date information?

Is the Commission able to disclose the results of the initiatives promoted by the EU in order to

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combat on-line paedophilia?

Once the websites have been investigated and the criminal nature of their activities has been

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established, what action can be taken in order to put a stop to such activities?

Does the Commission not consider that

the Member States’ attention should be drawn (with
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reference to their educational policies) to the implications of a so-called ‘cultural’ concept of paedophilia,
by means including a media-based information policy aimed at families?

Answer given by Mr Vitorino on behalf of the Commission

(4 June 2003)

The Commission shares the opinion of the Honourable Member that child pornography on the Internet is
a severe and growing problem. There is a clear need to persevere in the efforts to co-operate
internationally, among governments, particularly law enforcement and judicial authorities, but also
between governments and the Internet industry, hotlines and non-governmental organisations to effectively
tackle this horrible phenomenon.

6.2.2004

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 33 E/123

Primary responsibility for dealing with illegal content (including child pornography) is with the appropriate
law enforcement and judicial authorities of the Member States, which co-operate internationally in the
fight against child pornography on the Internet through the existing channels of communications, such as
Europol and Interpol. But since 1996 the Union has been a forerunner in the fight against illegal and
harmful content. The Safer Internet Programme provides funding for activities to deal with illegal and
harmful content, as part of a coherent approach by the European Union. The Safer Internet Action Plan,
which ended on 31 December 2002, had been extended. This allows activities to continue for a further
two years by taking account of lessons learned and new technologies, and to ensure co-ordination with
parallel work in the field of network and information security. Safer Internet aims to ensure more
extensive interfacing with national programmes and actions, improved exchange of information and best
practice between Member State activities as well as between the action lines of the programme, including
the setting up of software which enable parents and/or teachers to limit children’s’ access to inappropriate
material on the Internet and dedicated web services which provide safe access to the Internet.

Other elements of the Union strategy to combat child pornography include legal instruments and practical
measures against computer crime and child pornography. These include the Commission proposal for a
Council Framework Decision (1) on approximation of laws and sanctions of the in the field of the sexual
exploitation of children, with particular reference to child pornography on the Internet (2), and the Council
the Recommendation of 24 September 1998 (3) on Protection of Minors and Human Dignity and the
Council Decision of 29 May 2000 to combat child pornography on the Internet (4).

In January 2003 the Commission received the ‘International Child Exploitation Database’ feasibility study,
which has been co-funded under the STOP II Programme and run by a project group composed by experts
from several Member States. Europol has been fully associated to the works of the project group. The
group has produced various recommendations, including the key recommendation that a sophisticated
networked international child sexual exploitation image database, building on the fledgling system at
Interpol, is urgently required, and both technically and legally possible. The project group agreed that the
database would have to take into account the different national laws governing images of child sexual
exploitation and protection of personal data. It was also agreed that Europol would be given access to the
database for analytical purposes.

The Commission is not responsible for the actual setting up of such an international database. This is left
to the appreciation of the EU Member States and other countries wishing to participate. The Commission
has received on 7 March 2003 an application by several Member States, Europol and other third countries
under the AGIS programme for funding an implementation study as concrete follow-up to the above
mentioned feasibility study. The application is now evaluated according to the rules of the funding
programme. A final decision will be announced by mid-June 2003.

(1) OJ C 62 E, 27.2.2001.
(2) The Council reached a common approach on this Commission proposal on 14 October 2002. Two Member States

(NL and SW) have still parliamentary reservations on the proposal.

(3) OJ L 270, 7.10.1998.
(4) OJ L 138, 9.6.2000.

(2004/C 33 E/123)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1473/03

by Stavros Xarchakos (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(30 April 2003)

Subject: Multiple-fatality accidents on roads in Greece

There is a very high frequency of road accidents in Greece, which puts the country in the unenviable
position of top of the EU ‘league table’. A typical example was the multiple-fatality accident which
occurred on 13 April 2003 at Tembi, while a similar accident happened a month ago when a bus careered