WRITTEN QUESTION E-2509/03 by Roberto Bigliardo (UEN) to the Commission. Observance of multilingualism — EPSO website.
Date: 2003-07-29
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: European civil service, Internet site, dissemination of EU information, equal treatment, multilingualism, official language, recruitment, use of languages

6.3.2004

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 58 E/175

Answer given by Mrs de Palacio on behalf of the Commission

(11 September 2003)

As the Honourable Member notes, following a number of complaints the Commission launched an
investigation procedure on 6 August 1999 (1) in respect of aid paid to the companies of the Tirrenia
Group (Tirrenia di Navigazione, Adriatica, Siremar, Saremar, Toremar and Caremar) within the framework
of six public service agreements between those companies and the Italian State.

In its final Decision of 21 June 2001 (2) concerning Tirrenia di Navigazione, the Commission authorised
the aid paid to that company between 1990 and the end of 2000 and made any future aid which might be
paid to Tirrenia di Navigazione, until the public service agreement expires, subject to the following
conditions:

(cid:1) over the period 2001-2004, aid paid to Tirrenia di Navigazione must be limited to covering the

additional costs arising from the loss incurred during the provision of the public services;

(cid:1) any change to the level of such services over the period 2001-2004 must be notified to the
Commission in advance. The public service obligations imposed on Tirrenia di Navigazione for the
period 2005-2008 must be notified to the Commission in advance;

(cid:1) as of 2001, the additional costs deriving from the loss incurred during the provision of services
imposed by Italy on Tirrenia di Navigazione must be the subject of separate accounts for each of the
lines concerned.

The aid paid to the other companies in the Tirrenia Group is still being examined, though a final decision
is due to be reached very shortly.

In accordance with Article 5 of the Decision of 21 June 2001, the Italian authorities communicated to the
Commission the interdepartmental decree formalising the commitments they entered into in the context of
the examination procedure for the 2001-2004 period.

Since then, the Commission has received several complaints from private operators alleging that the Italian
authorities have failed to comply with the final Decision of 21 June 2001. Those complaints are being
investigated and the Italian authorities have been contacted regarding the matter.

(1) Case C 64/99, ex NN 68/99.
(2) OJ L 318, 4.12.2001.

(2004/C 58 E/188)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2509/03

by Roberto Bigliardo (UEN) to the Commission

Subject: Observance of multilingualism (cid:1) EPSO website

(29 July 2003)

No one language spoken in the Member States has ever been designated the official language of the Union.
Furthermore, Parliament’s and the Commission’s information policy must conform to criteria guaranteeing
a wide measure of transparency.

1. Could the Commission explain why the material presented on the EPSO (European Communities

Personnel Selection Office) website can be read in English, French, and German only?

2. Given that every Union citizen has the right to be informed in his or her own language, does the
Commission not think that the situation described above is tantamount to discrimination against
millions of citizens?

3. What will the Commission do to put matters right?

C 58 E/176

Official Journal of the European Union

EN

6.3.2004

Answer given by Mr Kinnock on behalf of the Commission

(22 September 2003)

As the Honourable Member will be aware, the European Personnel Selection Office (EPSO) was formally
created, as part of the Reform process and by the agreement of all Institutions, on 26 July 2002. EPSO is
an inter-institutional body whose remit
the European
Communities on behalf of all European institutions. As the matters raised by the Honourable Member
fall within EPSO’s area of responsibility, the following information reflects the advice provided by EPSO.

is to select officials and other servants of

The official EPSO website was launched on 20 November 2002 and is a useful source of information for
potential candidates for Union competitions. While the pre-cursor to the current website was presented in
two languages, the covering pages of the new site are presented in English, French and German. It is a
‘quick reference’ facility which makes the latest information available to the widest possible audience with
minimum delay. It would be technically impossible to preserve this speed and spontaneity in the current
11 (or the future 20) official
languages of the EU languages. However, most standard information is
provided through links to official documents and publications, such as the Union Staff Regulations and the
Official Journal, and to other websites,
including the main websites of the European institutions and
bodies. The web version of the EPSO recruitment brochure was available on the site in 11 languages. This
document has been temporarily withdrawn for updating but will be re-instated, as soon as possible, in
20 languages.

There is no evidence to suggest that the EPSO website is inaccessible to large groups of Union citizens.
On the contrary, the site received some 2 000 000 hits in its first 10 days. Notwithstanding the very
considerable number of visitors to the site each day, during the 10-month period that the site has been
operational EPSO has received few, if any, complaints regarding the language coverage. Furthermore, there
has been no observed shift in the balance between applications from different Member States.

It should be noted that the website represents only one strand of the EPSO communication strategy.
Competitions continue to be advertised in the national press of Member States in the language of the
country concerned, and notices of competition targeting all Member States are published in the Official
Journal in 11 languages both in hard copy and on the web. Publicity is geared towards identifying the
most able candidates, capable of integrating effectively into a multi-cultural, multi-lingual environment
where English, French and German are the languages in most frequent use.

The Commission has taken note of the Honourable Member’s concern and EPSO will continue to monitor
competition statistics and feedback from web visitors, to identify any problems arising out of the current
policy.

(2004/C 58 E/189)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2513/03

by Koenraad Dillen (NI) to the Commission

(29 July 2003)

Subject: VAT rates in the hotel, restaurant and catering sector

According to a number of reports in the media, the European Commission, following approval by the
finance ministers, is prepared to authorise France to apply a VAT rate of 5,5 % in the hotel, restaurant and
Jacques Chirac made a pledge to introduce such a measure during his presidential
catering sector.
campaign in 2002. However, when the Raffarin government moved to implement the proposal, the
European Commission called it to order.

Is it the case that, on an exceptional basis, the Commission intends to authorise a VAT rate of 5,5 % for
the hotel, restaurant and catering sector in France?

Why has the Commission changed its mind on this matter?

Will other Member States which make such a request also be authorised to introduce special VAT rates?