WRITTEN QUESTION E-3435/03 by Stavros Xarchakos (PPE-DE) to the Commission. Act of provocation by Bulgaria towards a Member State.
Date: 2003-11-20
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: Bulgaria, Greece, accession to the European Union, bilateral relations, postal charges

C 88 E/144

Official Journal of the European Union

EN

8.4.2004

The Commission along with the Member States carries out a very active dialogue on a wide range of
matters including progress on democracy, human rights and the use of oil revenues for the good of the
people as a whole. The Commission is one of the largest donors assisting Azerbaijan’s refugees and
Internally Displaced People through its programme for the rehabilitation of war damaged areas.

The Government of Azerbaijan has started to use its Oil Fund for the benefit of refugees who have been
settled in different regions of Azerbaijan.

(2004/C 88 E/0152)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-3402/03

by Anna Karamanou (PSE) to the Commission

(11 November 2003)

Subject:

‘Cross amputation’ of sixteen-year-old in Sudan

A recent Amnesty International bulletin reports that a court in Sudan has imposed a sentence of ‘cross
amputation’ (i.e. amputation of the right hand and the left foot) on a sixteen-year-old suspected of armed
assault. If this judgment is upheld, it will be carried out forthwith.

The punishment of amputation is in essence torture and a brutal violation of human rights, while Sudan
has ratified numerous conventions protecting human rights and condemning torture. Such sentences are
not uncommon in a country in which the judicial system and the penal code have also incorporated
provisions of Islamic law (Sharia).

What steps will the Commission take to exert pressure on the Sudanese Government to suspend the
judgment concerned and abolish torture so that Sudan complies with the conventions on the protection of
human rights to which that country is a signatory?

Answer given by Mr Nielson on behalf of the Commission

(10 December 2003)

The application of corporal punishment has been subject to repeated interventions with the Government
of Sudan, in the framework of the EU-Sudan political dialogue, which includes human rights as one of the
main components. The reaction of the Government in Khartoum has usually been elusive, pointing out
that Sharia is and will be the legal basis in Sudan. This has also been confirmed, at least for the northern
and central part of the country, in the Machakos Protocol of July 2002, an important milestone in the
peace process, which the Union generally supports.

The Commission will ask its Delegation in Khartoum to inquire about the circumstances and details of the
case referred to by Amnesty International, and bring the case to the attention of the Union Troika with a
view to raising it during the forthcoming high-level mission to Khartoum in December 2003.

(2004/C 88 E/0153)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3435/03

by Stavros Xarchakos (PPE-DE) to the Commission

Subject: Act of provocation by Bulgaria towards a Member State

(20 November 2003)

Articles in the Greek press report that a postage stamp is in circulation in Bulgaria which shows part of
Mount Athos (specifically the Zografos Monastery) as a part of Bulgarian territory. Despite protests from
the Greek authorities, the Bulgarians refuse to withdraw the stamp on the grounds that it was issued in
June 2001, under the Kostov government, and that to halt its circulation could provoke reactions from the
opposition.

8.4.2004

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 88 E/145

Is such provocative conduct by Bulgaria consistent with that befitting a country applying for accession to
the EU? Will the Commission take action, and in what way, to prevent the circulation of the stamp
concerned and make the Bulgarians realise that progress towards EU accession is not compatible with such
conduct?

Answer given by Mr Verheugen on behalf of the Commission

(12 January 2004)

According to information available to the Commission, the postage stamps referred to by the Honourable
Member show the Zografos Monastery, a monastery in Greece with a Bulgarian speaking order.

However, the Union has no competence in matters relating to postage stamps. The Commission is,
therefore, not in a position to take measures to prevent the circulation of the stamp concerned.

(2004/C 88 E/0154)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3443/03

by José Ribeiro e Castro (UEN) to the Commission

(20 November 2003)

Subject: Palestinian authority (cid:1) diversion of funds

The media report that the ‘Sixty minutes’ programme broadcast by the US television channel CBS has
stated that Yasser Arafat has accumulated, in personal accounts, 800 million dollars from the coffers of the
Palestinian National Authority, of which he is president.

The same source indicates that CBS is claiming that the Palestinian National Authority annually deposits
100 million dollars in the personal accounts of Arafat’s wife who currently lives in Paris, and that the sums
diverted by Arafat come from aid funding regularly sent by the international community for programmes
to help the Palestinian population.

What information does the Commission have about this alleged diversion of funds? Does it know, or has it
succeeded in clarifying whether these alleged facts involve the possible diversion of Community funds?

Has it approached the Palestinian National Authority, or will it do so, with a view to clarifying its version
of the facts, and making it aware of the need for financial and budgetary rigour?

What implications could these accusations and their possible confirmation have on the current and future
granting of financial aid to the Palestine National Authority? Specifically, what financial transparency
criteria does the Commission believe it needs to reinforce and demand as a pre-condition for maintaining
the scheduled aid?

Answer given by Mr Patten on behalf of the Commission

(15 January 2004)

The Commission is aware of the claims in the recent CBS Programme referred to by the Honourable
Member. These claims concern commercial activities,
investments and off-budget revenue which were
detailed in an International Monetary Fund (IMF) report of 15 September 2003. These activities took place
over the period 1995-2000, and amount, according to the IMF, to approximately USD 898 million. They
do not involve Union funds.

The Commission is also aware of claims of payments by Mr Arafat to the personal account of his wife.
The Palestinian Authority’s (PA) Ministry of Finance has informed the Commission that such payments of
the order of tens of thousands (not millions) of dollars have been made from the budget of the President.