WRITTEN QUESTION E-2295/03 by Christopher Huhne (ELDR) to the Commission. EU funded projects.
Date: 2003-07-11
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: EIB loan, EU financing, United Kingdom, commitment of expenditure, project management

13.3.2004

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 65 E/127

The reasons for the lack of success in cod enhancement are not fully understood, but a number of factors
may be involved, e.g. problems of reared cod to adapt to natural conditions, competition with the natural
populations and limits to the capacity of the ecosystem. It should also be noted that even if stock
enhancement of cod should lead to some improvement, it would be virtually impossible to separate this
effect from natural stock fluctuations. Furthermore, cod rearing is expensive and the cost benefits of an
enhancement program are questionable even if it were successful.

Based on the available information on stock enhancement, as described above, the Commission has not
considered it a priority to promote research in this area.

(2004/C 65 E/141)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2288/03

by Ozan Ceyhun (PSE) to the Commission

(11 July 2003)

Subject: Treatment of third-country nationals in prisons in the EU Member States

The Turkish daily newspaper Hürriyet carried an article drawing attention to restrictions on the rights of
third-country nationals held in prisons in the EU.

Those restrictions concerned the right to visits, to make complaints and to day release.

To what extent is the Commission aware of these problems? What areas are affected by these restrictions?
What is the legal basis for their imposition? Are these restrictions being dealt with as part of the process of
approximating home affairs policies, or will they continue to differ from Member State to Member State?

Answer given by Mr Vitorino on behalf of the Commission

(18 September 2003)

The Commission does not have a copy of the article to which the Honourable Member refers and so it is
unable to reply in detail to the questions, which are based on information contained in that article. Matters
relating to the way in which penalties (including those affecting conditional release) are enforced will be
the subject of a Green Paper (on the approximation, recognition and enforcement of criminal penalties in
the Union) that will probably be adopted by the Commission in October. As things stand, the right of
appeal of detainees is not governed by any specific rules of Union legislation and is essentially covered by
the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, concluded under the
auspices of the Council of Europe (Article 6), and by the Member States’ national law.

(2004/C 65 E/142)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2295/03

by Christopher Huhne (ELDR) to the Commission

(11 July 2003)

Subject: EU funded projects

Will the Commission list the projects for which EU funds (including any EIB loans) were committed, and
for which funds were disbursed, during the last financial year in Hampshire/Kent/Surrey/west Sussex/east
Sussex/Isle of Wight/Oxfordshire/Berkshire/Buckinghamshire?

C 65 E/128

Official Journal of the European Union

EN

13.3.2004

Supplementary answer
given by Mr Prodi on behalf of the Commission

(11 November 2003)

In view of the length of its answer, the Commission is sending it direct to the Honourable Member and to
Parliament’s Secretariat.

(2004/C 65 E/143)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2298/03

by Esko Seppänen (GUE/NGL) to the Commission

(11 July 2003)

Subject: Entry of emission allowances in businesses’ balance sheets

When the European Parliament was considering the directive on emission allowances (report A5-0207/
2003) in plenary on 1 July, Commissioner Margot Wallström did not reply exactly to the question as to
how the emission allowances allocated administratively to businesses would be entered in businesses’
books and thus in their balance sheets, on the basis of which businesses’ stock exchange quotations are
likely to be determined. How can the Commission ensure that emission allowances are treated in the same
way in all Member States and all businesses, and what provisions does the Commission intend to adopt on
this subject?

Answer given by Mrs Wallström on behalf of the Commission

(10 September 2003)

The Commission is aware of
the importance of harmonised accounting standards for the efficient
functioning of the Community capital market and the Internal Market. Accounting issues are regulated by
the Fourth Council Directive 78/660/EEC of 25 July 1998 based on Article 54(3) (g) of the Treaty on the
annual accounts of certain types of companies (1), and the Seventh Council Directive 83/349/EEC of
13 June 1983 based on Article 54(3) (g) of the Treaty on consolidated accounts (2). These Directives do not
contain any specific rules on emission rights (allowances) as such, but the Recommendation on the
recognition, measurement and disclosure of environmental
issues in the annual accounts and annual
reports of companies (3) published on 30 May 2001 by the Commission deals with this specific subject. In
this Recommendation the Commission recommends the Member States to ensure that companies covered
by the two Directives apply the provisions of the Recommendation, which also cover emission rights.

Moreover, according to Regulation (EC) No 1606/2002 of the Parliament and of the Council of 19 July
2002 on the application of international accounting standards (4), Community companies, whose securities
are admitted to trading on a regulated market in any Member State shall, from 2005 onwards, prepare
their consolidated accounts in conformity with international accounting standards that have been adopted
by the Commission. Member States may also permit or require other companies to use such accounting
standards in their annual and/or consolidated accounts. This was further facilitated by the Directive of the
Parliament and of the Council to modernise and update accounting rules adopted on 6 May 2003 (5).

The Commission adopts international accounting standards by way of a comitology procedure in
accordance with Regulation (EC) No 1606/2002. It provides that the Commission can adopt International
Accounting Standards (IAS), International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), and related Interpretations
(SIC-IFRIC interpretations) to the extent that their application results in a true and fair view of the financial
position and performance of an enterprise, is conducive to the European public good and meets the basic
criteria as to the quality of information required for financial statements to be useful to users (Article 3 of
the Regulation).