WRITTEN QUESTION E-1502/03 by Kathleen Van Brempt (PSE) to the Commission. Portability of bank account numbers.
Date: 2003-05-05
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: EU Member State, bank, bank deposit, competition law, consumer protection, international standard, intra-EU payment, personal data, single market

C 51 E/100

Official Journal of the European Union

EN

26.2.2004

The American military campaign of the past three weeks has brought about the collapse of the Iraqi
regime. In the absence of a government, one can only wonder who is now protecting the seven national
museums and some 10 000 archaeological sites throughout the country.

How does the European Union wish to show its support for the Iraqi people and help them protect their
exceptional heritage?

How does the European Union intend to mobilise the Member States against the illegal trade in stolen
property?

Reply

(29 September 2003)

The Council is strongly concerned about the tragic destruction of cultural goods, archaeological sites and
monuments of irreplaceable historical value in Iraq, and the vandalism and looting of the museums and
libraries of vital importance not only to Iraq but to the whole world.

The 1970 Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the illicit import, export and transfer of
ownership of cultural property and the 1995 Unidroit Convention on stolen or illegally exported cultural
objects provide a global
is
centralising and distributing the relevant information and has set up a special website with recently stolen
works of art.

legal basis for fighting the illicit

transfer of cultural property.

Interpol

The Council (Culture) at its meeting on 6 May agreed unanimously on a declaration in which it stressed in
particular the need to protect in an efficient way the cultural goods of Iraq and to return the objects
illegally removed from museums or archeaological sites, and in which it declared the European Union’s
active support of Unesco’s related initiatives and actions.

The Council informs the Honourable Parliamentarian that it is through the Member States full cooperation
within the Interpol framework that stolen works of Iraqi art, may be found and returned.

(2004/C 51 E/112)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1502/03

by Kathleen Van Brempt (PSE) to the Commission

(5 May 2003)

Subject: Portability of bank account numbers

The portability of mobile phone numbers can be described as a success. In Belgium, tens of thousands of
mobile phone users have taken advantage of the option of transferring to a different operator while
retaining the same number. Now, increasing numbers of people are calling for analogous arrangements to
render bank account numbers portable. This would enable customers to take their account number with
them if they switch to a different bank.

What is the Commission’s view of this?

Will the Commission take steps to secure the introduction of portability of bank account numbers? If so,
when, and can it provide further details of its plans in this regard?

26.2.2004

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 51 E/101

Answer given by Mr Bolkestein on behalf of the Commission

(9 July 2003)

The Commission has looked at the question of the portability of bank account numbers on several
occasions. At present, it does not seem possible to do with bank account numbers what has been done
with telephone numbers. However, it may be possible to achieve the same objective by other means.

The Commission is planning in the near future to propose a new legal framework for payments in the
internal market. The subject of portability has come up in the various discussion documents published
during preparation for this project.

The following conclusions can be drawn from the comments received to date.

(cid:1) Firstly, portability of bank account numbers is less useful

in that the customers give their bank
account numbers only to a limited number of correspondents, usually those who make payments to
their accounts. Portability would not solve the problem of standing orders, for example;

(cid:1) Secondly, portability is very difficult to implement because there is no real international bank account
numbering system comparable to the telephone numbering system currently in existence. A bank
account number in one country is not necessarily structured in the same way as one in a
neighbouring country, nor does it contain the same information;

(cid:1) Finally, in-depth studies carried out in the Netherlands and in the United Kingdom on introducing

portability at national level concluded that the measure would be very costly.

However, the objective behind the idea of ‘portability’ (cid:1) facilitating customer mobility so as to maximise
the benefits of increased competition within the internal market (cid:1) should be pursued. It is probably in the
field of mobility that initiatives could be taken (cid:1) making it easier to change banks. For example, the old
bank could provide the new one with details of all automatic debits or standing orders so that there would
be no break in service.

It is likely that the Commission will adopt a communication on a new legal framework for payments in
the near future. This communication will probably deal with the portability of bank account numbers and
customer mobility. As soon as it is adopted, a copy will be sent to the Honourable Member and to
Parliament’s secretariat.

(2004/C 51 E/113)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1513/03

by Helle Thorning-Schmidt (PSE) to the Council

(5 May 2003)

Subject: The sentencing to death by stoning of Amina Lawal

On 22 March 2002 in Nigeria, Amina Lawal Kurami was sentenced to death by stoning on the grounds
that she had given birth to a child outside marriage. Amina Lawal Kurami appealed against the verdict,
which was to have been reviewed on 25 March 2003 by the sharia court of appeal in the state of Katsina.
However, the case was postponed until 3 June 2003.

What is the Council’s position on this particular sentence and others like it? What steps does the Council
intend to take to have Amina Lawal Kurami’s death sentence quashed?