WRITTEN QUESTION E-2553/03 by Marco Cappato (NI) to the Council. The Tunisian journalist Abdallah Zouari.
Date: 2003-08-04
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: Tunisia, communications profession, freedom of expression, information society, repression, summit meeting, web surfer

27.3.2004

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 78 E/745

Number of active members

Number of deferred
members

Number of retired persons

Germany

Spain (2000) (1)

Ireland

Italy (1)

Luxembourg

Netherlands (2000)

Austria

Portugal (1)

Finland

Sweden

United Kingdom

NA

3 928 682

NA

1 811 022

NA

5 140 000

325 713

283 244

75 071

427 119

NA

NA

931 940

NA

NA

NA

NA

134 967

NA

118 050

NA

6 247 000

1 968 000

NA

NA

33 665

339 048

NA

39 658

112 813

45 541

133 620

NA

(1)

Figures for Spain, Portugal and Italy also contain data for some pension funds of the third pillar, these are personal pension schemes
where there is no involvement from the employer.

The Commission does not have information on the number of privately funded pension schemes in each
Member State which would currently be unable to meet their existing obligations at current levels of
financial markets. The recently adopted Directive 2003/41/EC of the Parliament and of the Council on the
activities and supervision of institutions for occupational retirement pensions, which will come into force
two years after its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union, contains a host of prudential
provisions to ensure that pension schemes will be able to meet their obligations to their members. It also
ensure that an effective system of prudential surpervision be established to the same end.

(1) Available on: http://europa.eu.int/comm/employment_social/soc-prot/pensions/index_en.htm
(2) Number of active members: the number of members who are actively contributing to the pension scheme.

Number of deferred members: number of members who have left the pension scheme, but retain deferred rights.
Number of retired members: number of persons who receive pension benefits (including widows, orphans, …).

(2004/C 78 E/0793)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2553/03

by Marco Cappato (NI) to the Council

(4 August 2003)

Subject: The Tunisian journalist Abdallah Zouari

The court in the Tunisian town of Zarzis sentenced the journalist Abdallah Zouari to four months in
prison on 18 July 2003. The court held that the journalist’s complaint about being barred from using a
cybercafe amounted to ‘defamation’ against the manageress of the cafe.

Abdallah Zouari has been constantly harassed and spied on for months. After being forbidden to go online
at a cybercafe in Zarzis on 19 April, he said he would call his lawyer. The manageress then filed a
complaint against him for defamation. Sentence was passed on 18 July 2003.

Zouari’s conviction is only the latest example of the increasing lack of freedom of expression in Tunisia.

C 78 E/746

Official Journal of the European Union

EN

27.3.2004

Two cases may be considered as typical of the situation:

(cid:1) the journalist Sihem Ben Sedrine, after setting up an online publication called ‘Kalima’ because she had
not obtained authorisation to publish a newspaper, was attacked by the police of President Zine
el-Abidine ben Ali in an attempt to eliminate any form of dissidence on the Internet;

(cid:1) Zouhair Yahyaoui, webmaster of the Tunisian site TuneZine, was arrested last year and sentenced to
two years’ imprisonment on 10 July 2002 for ‘spreading false information’. Yahyaoui was the first
person to publish online a letter to President Ben Ali
(Zouhair
Yahyaoui’s uncle) criticising the complete lack of judicial independence in Tunisia.

from Judge Mokhtar Yahyaoui

In view of the fact that Tunisia has been chosen to host the 2005 meeting of the World Summit on the
Information Society (WSIS), what steps will the Council take to induce the Tunisian government to give up
its repressive attitude towards journalists and Internet users?

Does the Council not consider that it should use every form of political, diplomatic and economic pressure
to induce the Tunisian government to relax the laws on the press and ensure the right to freedom of
speech in Tunisia?

Does the Council consider it appropriate to try to ensure that the decision to hold the second meeting of
the WSIS in Tunisia in 2005 is suspended until Tunisian legislation actually guarantees full enjoyment of
freedom of expression?

Reply

(4 March 2004)

The Council
completely with his analysis of the situation with regard to freedom of expression in Tunisia.

the cases mentioned by the Honourable Member and agrees

informed about

is well

At the last meeting of the EU-Tunisia Association Council on 29/30 September 2003, the European Union
reminded Tunisia once again that respect for democracy, human rights and the rule of
law are a
fundamental aspect of the Association Agreement. The European Union noted on that occasion that
Tunisia still had to make progress, in particular with regard to freedom of speech. It also called on Tunisia
to effectively implement the commitments that it has entered into through UN international conventions.

On the basis of the May 2003 Commission communication aimed at reinvigorating EU actions on human
rights and democratisation with Mediterranean partners, the European Union proposed that Tunisia enter
into a dialogue on implementation of the recommendations made in that communication. Moreover, in
the Decision of the Association Council setting up subcommittees of the Association Committee which
was adopted at the last meeting of the Association Council, Tunisia endorsed the provision emphasising
the importance attached to issues relating to democratic principles and human rights. The text of the
Decision states that they will be afforded due attention in the various forums set up under the Association
Agreement and, if the parties so decide, these issues may also be discussed within a subcommittee of the
Association Committee or within a specific Working Party.

The European Union believes in the benefits of a continual dialogue and therefore intends to raise the issue
of Tunisia’s human rights commitments on a regular basis and at all levels.

With regard to the desirability of holding the second phase of the World Summit on the Information
Society in Tunis in 2005, the Council would remind the Honourable Member that the meeting is being
organised by the International Telecommunication Union under the patronage of the United Nations.