WRITTEN QUESTION P-2201/03 by Marie-Arlette Carlotti (PSE) to the Commission. Observation of the presidential elections in Mauritania.
Date: 2003-06-27
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: Mauritania, election monitoring, fact-finding mission, presidential election, the EU's international role

C 11 E/252

Official Journal of the European Union

EN

15.1.2004

(2004/C 11 E/280)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-2201/03

by Marie-Arlette Carlotti (PSE) to the Commission

Subject: Observation of the presidential elections in Mauritania

(27 June 2003)

Presidential elections are scheduled to be held in November 2003 in Mauritania. Preparations for these
important elections are being hampered by an unprecedented wave of repression which is affecting every
political and religious grouping.

Mauritania constitutes a bridge between the Mediterranean and Black Africa and is an essential factor for
regional stability.

These presidential elections must constitute a decisive step along the road to stability and to the restoration
of the rule of law in Mauritania.

That means that the preparations for and the conduct of the elections must be free, transparent and
democratic.

As a supporter of democratic processes, the European Union must monitor the proper conduct of the
ballot by providing logistical support and sending observers.

Is the Commission planning to send an election observation mission to Mauritania?

Answer given by Mr Nielson on behalf of the Commission

(17 July 2003)

The Commission shares the Honourable Member’s analysis of the issues at stake in the presidential
elections scheduled for November 2003 in Mauritania. It is also concerned about the wave of arrests made
before the attempted coup at the beginning of June and the conditions in which the arrests and dismissals
that have taken place since then have been conducted.

More specifically on the question of sending an election observation mission to Mauritania, the EU deploys
between eight and ten election observation missions a year. Indeed, the Commission communication on
election assistance and observation, and the Council conclusions and Parliament’s Fava resolution, stress
the need for the EU to observe a limited number of elections each year. A list of priority countries for
election observation is therefore drawn up, after consultations with Council’s geographical groups and
Parliament’s electoral coordination group. Mauritania was not included among the priority countries for
election observation in 2003. In addition, the Commission has received no official request from the
government of Mauritania to send international observers, an essential prerequisite for sending an EU
election observation mission.

The Commission is in favour of stepping up the political dialogue with the Mauritanian authorities in
order to make them aware of the importance that the EU attaches to compliance with the basic rules of
law and the organisation of free, transparent and democratic elections.

(2004/C 11 E/281)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2239/03

by Mario Borghezio (NI) to the Commission

(7 July 2003)

Subject: Plague in Algeria and checks on illegal and legal immigrants from areas at risk

The total information black-out imposed by the Algerian authorities on cases of plague reported in Oran is
reminiscent of the mistake made by the Chinese government in the first days of the SARS virus outbreak.
The appalling health and hygiene conditions prevailing in Algeria, however, mean that there is a very real
risk of a plague epidemic in European ports, in a region from which many illegal immigrants travel to the
European Union Member States.