WRITTEN QUESTION E-3115/03 by Maurizio Turco (NI) to the Commission. Spreading of false scientific claims regarding the effectiveness of condoms in combating AIDS by Catholic Church leaders/the Holy See/the Vatican City State.
Date: 2003-10-22
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: AIDS, EU relations, Holy See, disease prevention, disinformation, health policy, interinstitutional relations (EU), public awareness campaign, scientific research

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prohibit discrimination on the ground of sexual orientation. At Community level there is an integrated
strategy to combat discrimination and social exclusion. Focusing on the labour market, EQUAL forms part
of that strategy. Member States shall formulate their strategy for EQUAL on the basis of thematic fields in
the four pillars of the European Employment Strategy. Within these fields Member States shall ensure that
their proposals principally benefit those subject to the main forms of discrimination (based on sex, racial
or ethnic origin, religion or belief, disability, age or sexual orientation) and inequality.

We are informed that under the current EQUAL programme, only four partnerships out of 1 400 are
related to sexual orientation discrimination. Could the Council
inform us whether this information is
correct?

Could the Council inform us whether all Member States have included sexual orientation discrimination in
the national call for proposals under the current EQUAL programme? If not, could the Council give us an
explanation for these omissions by the individual Member States?

The next round of EQUAL will be launched in spring 2004. Could the Council inform us whether all
Member States, including the accession countries, intend to explicitly mention in their national call for
proposals discrimination on the ground of sexual orientation? If not, what action is the Council prepared
to undertake to increase the number of applications focusing on sexual orientation?

(1) OJ L 303, 2.12.2000, p. 16.

Reply

(8 March 2004)

The EQUAL Initiative is implemented in the framework of the Structural Funds Regulations and,

1.
more specifically, through the European Social Fund.

The Council would draw the Honourable Members’ attention to the fact that, pursuant to Council
Regulation (EC) No 1260/1999 (1) of 21 June 1999 laying down general provisions on the Structural
Funds,
those funds and therefore the Community initiatives is the shared
responsibility of
the European Commission and the Member States’ governments working in close
cooperation.

the administration of

2.
In accordance with the guidelines and Council Regulation (EC) No 1260/1999, the Commission, and
not the Council, is responsible for monitoring, implementing and evaluating the interventions covered by
EQUAL. Therefore, the Council is not in a position to confirm whether the information reported by the
Honourable Members of the EP is correct and would suggest that they forward their question directly to
the Commission.

(1) OJ L 161, 26.6.1999.

(2004/C 84 E/0057)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3115/03

by Maurizio Turco (NI) to the Commission

(22 October 2003)

Subject: Spreading of false scientific claims regarding the effectiveness of condoms in combating AIDS by

Catholic Church leaders/the Holy See/the Vatican City State

Knowing that:

(cid:1) On 10 October 2003 the British daily newspaper ‘The Guardian’ published an article entitled ‘We have
faith in condoms’ stating that Catholic Church leaders/alias the Holy See/alias the Vatican City State
are warning against using condoms to prevent AIDS, claiming that the HIV virus can pass through the
thick mesh of rubber in condoms, hence making them useless for protection;

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(cid:1) The article announced that the BBC’s Panorama programme, due to be televised the following Sunday,
would broadcast an interview with the president of the Vatican’s Pontifical Council for the Family,
Cardinal Alfonso Lopez Trujillo, who told British journalists ‘The Aids virus is roughly 450 times
smaller than a spermatozoon and can therefore easily pass through the “net” that is formed by the
condom … These margins of uncertainty should represent an obligation on the part of the health
ministries and all these campaigns to act in the same way as they do with regard to cigarettes, which
they state to be a danger’;

(cid:1) In response to these statements the World Health Organisation said ‘These incorrect statements about
condoms and HIV are dangerous when we are facing a global pandemic which has already killed more
than 20 million people, and currently affects at least 42 million …’

(cid:1) The anti-condom campaign by the Catholic Church/alias the Holy See/alias the Vatican City State is
being conducted in particular in third-world countries devastated by AIDS, where it has substantial
power over the distribution of medicine and health-care supplies and where the campaign is likely to
have catastrophic effects.

In view of the European Union’s institutional and diplomatic relations with the Holy See,

Can the Commission say:

(cid:1) whether it considers that the statements made by leaders of the Catholic Church/alias the Holy See/
alias the Vatican City State regarding condoms are correct according to the scientific information it
has as its disposal;

(cid:1) what measures in the form of information, prevention, sanctions and diplomatic moves it intends to
promote in response to these claims and in order to oppose the irresponsible campaign by the
Catholic Church/alias the Holy See/alias the Vatican City State, which threatens to nullify the European
and international policies to combat the spread of AIDS, the deaths caused by it and other sexually
transmitted diseases in Europe and worldwide;

(cid:1) whether it considers that

the draft European
Constitution in order to ensure that ‘recognising their identity and their specific contribution’ does not
entail having to accept as ‘scientific’ statements dictated by prejudice?

there is an urgent need to revise Article 51 of

Answer given by Mr Patten on behalf of the Commission

(10 December 2003)

On the basis of research conducted during the last 15 years and partly funded by the Community, it can
be claimed that condoms, when used properly, are an effective means of preventing human
immunodeficiency virus (HIV) transmission, with an efficacy close to 100 %. A press release on this
subject has recently been published by the Commission (1).

These findings are consistent with those obtained by leading international bodies in the field of health such
as the World Health Organisation and United States National Institutes of Health.

In terms of information and prevention in response to the mentioned claims, Directorate General (DG)
Development and DG Research stated in the above-mentioned press release of 20 October 2003 the
Commission’s position and the dangers of the claims made by the Holy See officials. The Commission is
concerned about the potentially negative input of these claims.

The Community has been active in the promotion of access to effective prevention methods since the
beginning of the HIV/AIDS epidemic.
In 2000, the Community developed a broader, more strategic
approach towards confronting HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis. The consultations around the High
Level Round Table held in September 2000 led to the ‘Programme for Action: Accelerated action on HIV/
AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis in the context of poverty reduction’ (2), which established a broad and
coherent Community response for 2001-2006. The Communication’s ground-breaking strategy builds on

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the experience of a coherent comprehensive approach, the principle of a country-led development process
(cid:1) ownership (cid:1) and the interrelationship of health and poverty and its implications for macro-economic
policy and development. It incorporates the crucial global elements of partnerships in development, trade
and research.

The Commission fails to see any connection between the scope and the breadth of the draft Constitution
and the personal opinion of a member of one church.

Article 51 of the draft European Constitution on the status of churches and non-confessional organisations
reads as follows:

The Union respects and does not prejudice the status under national

1.
religious associations or communities in the Member States.

law of churches and

2.

The Union equally respects the status of philosophical and non-confessional organisations.

Recognising their identity and their specific contribution, the Union shall maintain an open,

3.
transparent and regular dialogue with these churches and organisations.

(1) http://europa.eu.int/rapid/start/cgi/guesten.ksh?p_action.gettxt=gt&doc=IP/03/1410|0|RAPID&lg=EN&display=
(2) COM(2001) 96 final.

(2004/C 84 E/0058)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3116/03

by Maurizio Turco (NI) to the Council

(22 October 2003)

Subject: Illegal imports of textile products from China

On 10 October 2003 the textile workers’ union of Barletta (BA) organised a protest against the illegality of
Chinese textile imports and called on the European Union to take practical steps to combat such imports.

Can the Council say:

(cid:1) what information it has concerning controls at borders and in Community territory on all forms of
illegality (circumvention of the law, tax evasion and counterfeiting of trademarks), compliance with
international agreements on imports from non-Community countries, in particular from the Far East,
and the payment of customs duty, and what steps it will take to step up these controls;

(cid:1) what measures it will promote for the introduction into Far Eastern countries of checks on respect for
international conventions on human rights, including those dealing with pay conditions for workers?

Reply

(8 March 2004)

1.
The imports the Honourable Member refers to are subject to the same EC rules as any other imports
into the EC. At the EU-China Summit held on 30 October 2003 in Beijing, both sides expressed their hope
for an early conclusion of a customs co-operation agreement, and looked forward to starting negotiations
very soon, with the common aim of concluding the agreement in the first half of 2004. They agreed that
such an agreement should cover mutual administrative assistance on customs matters, particularly in the
field of combat against commercial frauds including counterfeiting.

2.
As for the Honourable Member’s second question, the Council is not considering at this stage any
further specific measures to promote the respect for international conventions on human rights in Far
Eastern countries.