WRITTEN QUESTION E-2783/03 by Cristiana Muscardini (UEN), Antonio Mussa (UEN)and Adriana Poli Bortone (UEN) to the Council. Elections in Albania.
Date: 2003-09-17
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: Albania, EU relations, election monitoring, electoral reform, organisation of elections, parliamentary election

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Official Journal of the European Union

EN

20.3.2004

(2004/C 70 E/143)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2774/03

by Theresa Villiers (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(16 September 2003)

Subject: Classification of Hamas as a terrorist organisation

1.

2.

Does the European Commission classify Hamas as a terrorist organisation?

If it does not, how does the Commission justify its stance on this?

Does the Commission believe that refusal to label Hamas as a terrorist oganisation would constitute a

3.
dangerous obstacle to peace in the Middle East at what is a crucial stage of the peace process?

Answer given by Mr Patten on behalf of the Commission

(10 October 2003)

The Union has, further to Resolution 1373(2001) of the United Nations (UN) Security Council, adopted
terrorism (1).
Common Position 2001/931/CFSP on the application of specific measures to combat
The Common Position provides that these specific measures apply to persons, groups and entities involved
in terrorist acts and listed in the annex to that Common Position. That list is established and updated by
Council.

In December 2001, the Council listed Izz al-Din al-Qassem, the terrorist wing of Hamas. On 12 September
2003, it decided to list Hamas in its entirety (2).

Listing essentially means that Member States offer each other the widest possible assistance in preventing
and combating terrorist acts through police and judicial co-operation in criminal matters (3), and that the
financial restrictions set out in Council Regulation (EC) No 2580/2001 of 27 December 2001 on specific
restrictive measures directed against certain persons and entities with a view to combating terrorism (4)
apply.

(1) OJ L 344, 28.12.2001.
(2) Common Position 2003/651/CFSP, OJ L 229, 13.9.2003.
(3) See for modalities of this co-operation Council Decision 2003/48/JHA, OJ L 16, 22.1.2003, p. 68.
(4) OJ L 344, 28.12.2001. See also Council Decision 2003/646/EC of 12 September 2003 implementing Article 2(3) of
Regulation (EC) No 2580/2001 on specific restrictive measures directed against certain persons and entities with a
view to combating terrorism and repealing Decision 2003/480/EC, OJ L 229, 13.9.2003.

(2004/C 70 E/144)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2783/03

by Cristiana Muscardini (UEN), Antonio Mussa (UEN)
and Adriana Poli Bortone (UEN) to the Council

(17 September 2003)

Subject: Elections in Albania

The people of Albania are to elect new members of the National Assembly 10 October 2003. The OSCE,
in an attempt to make the election process more transparent and devise an effective reform, has explicitly
requested that the national electoral committee should reflect the political situation in the country and be
composed of members of the current majority and opposition, in equal proportions (3 + 3).

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Can the Council say:

1. whether it is aware that the electoral committee now consists of five members of the present socialist

majority and only two members of the democratic opposition;

2. whether it does not consider that the present composition of the electoral committee is unjust and

may arouse serious suspicions of partiality;

3. whether it does not consider it appropriate at this point to set up a body to monitor all the operations

involved in the election to be held on 10 October?

Reply

(8 December 2003)

is fully aware of the importance of the local elections in Albania which took place on
The Council
12 October 2003. In its Conclusions of 29 September 2003 the Council (External Relations) ‘emphasized
that the orderly conduct of fair local elections in October is part of the process to bring Albania closer to
the EU’.

The local elections in Albania on 12 October 2003, including the implementation of the new Electoral
Code and the performance of the Electoral Committee, were monitored by the OSCE/ODIHR Election
Observation Mission to which many EU Member States have already contributed monitors. An international
assessment on the conduct of the local elections in Albania will be provided shortly after the elections.

(2004/C 70 E/145)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-2800/03

by Paulo Casaca (PSE) to the Commission

(17 September 2003)

Subject: Implementation of Regulation (EC) No 1227/2001 of 18 June 2001

The Portuguese tax authorities have recently informed recipients of compensation for temporary cessation
of the activities of vessels and crew members operating under the Fisheries Agreement between the
European Community and Morocco (Regulation (EC) No 1227/2001 (1)) that they are liable to personal
income tax.

1.
Does the Commission believe that the compensation granted should be viewed as ‘unemployment
benefit’, which under Portuguese tax law is exempt from income tax, or does it consider instead that the
compensation falls into a different category and is such that it should be taxed as described above?

2.
Does the Commission think that the principle of equality before the law, as laid down in the
European Charter of Fundamental Rights, allows different amounts to be allocated to citizens who,
although they are nationals of different countries, Portugal and Spain, are also European citizens?

3.
Does the Commission not believe that the Community legislation on the FIFG, whereby Community
measures must be financed in part by national funding, might be rendered meaningless in practice if the
amount of the national contribution were to be offset fully or to some extent by a tax charge?

4.
Does the Commission not think that, as a matter of urgency, it should approach the Portuguese
authorities to clarify its position so as to enable recipients of compensation to understand what actual
support they are entitled to receive?

(1) OJ L 168, 23.6.2001, p. 1.