WRITTEN QUESTION E-3460/03 by Erik Meijer (GUE/NGL) to the Commission. Foot-dragging by the future Member State Czech Republic in connection with efforts to stamp out child prostitution in areas close to its border with Germany.
Date: 2003-11-21
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: Czechia, Germany, accession to the European Union, child protection, fight against crime, non-governmental organisation, paedophilia, police cooperation, prostitution, sexual tourism, trafficking in human beings

C 78 E/556

Official Journal of the European Union

EN

27.3.2004

including the Waste
Enforcement of (cid:1) and inspection of compliance with (cid:1) Community legislation,
Shipment Regulation is the responsibility of the Member States. In line with Article 211 of the EC Treaty
the Commission ensures that the Community legislation is correctly applied. Moreover, the Commission
encourages co-operation between Member States to ensure proper and full
the
Regulation.

implementation of

(1) Council Regulation (EEC) No 259/93 of 1 February 1993 on the supervision and control of shipments of waste

within, into and out of the European Community, OJ L 30, 6.2.1993.

(2004/C 78 E/0591)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3460/03

by Erik Meijer (GUE/NGL) to the Commission

(21 November 2003)

Subject: Foot-dragging by the future Member State Czech Republic in connection with efforts to stamp out

child prostitution in areas close to its border with Germany

1.
Is the Commission aware that, according to a report by the German aid organisation KARO, since
the early 1990s their parents’ poverty has forced hundreds of children between the ages of 9 and 14 into
prostitution in areas on the Czech side of the border with Germany and that these children are being
abused by sex tourists from Germany?

2.
Is the Commission aware, moreover, that the Czech Government has thus far refused to acknowledge
the substance of KARO’s report, is rejecting calls from Unicef to take the matter seriously and has ignored
the recent offer from the German Government to lend assistance in dealing with these evils?

3.
Does the Commission regard it as acceptable that the future EU Member State Czech Republic,
instead of taking measures to deal with this abuse of children, is investigating possible criminal offences by
KARO involving defamation, partly on the grounds that the details supplied by KARO for many years
concerning the colour and registration numbers of the cars driven by regular users of prostitutes did not
take the form of official legal reports?

4.
Does the Commission regard it as acceptable, in general, that EU Member States should refuse to
acknowledge their cross-border problems which affect other Member States, that they should take action
against non-governmental organisations and that they should refuse to cooperate with neighbouring
countries with a view to solving the problems in question?

5.
How can the Commission help to resolve this problem before the Czech Republic becomes an EU
Member State on 1 May 2004, thereby ensuring that this unacceptable state of affairs along what will
shortly be an EU internal frontier does not become permanent?

Source: The 6 November 2003 edition of the Netherlands daily newspaper de Volkskrant.

Answer given by Mr Vitorino on behalf of the Commission

(7 January 2004)

The Commission is aware of the KARO project, which offers support for prostitutes and victims of human
trafficking and sexual exploitation, including children. KARO receives financial support from the Interreg
Programme of the Union.

The Commission is also aware of the book ‘Kinder auf dem Strich. Bericht von der deutsch-tschechischen
Grenze’, written by Ms. Cathrin Schauer, who is working for KARO, and edited and presented by the
German Committee for United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef) and End Child Prostitution and Trafficking
(ECPAT) Germany on 28 October 2003.

The Commission took note of the statements made by the Government of the Czech Republic in this
context and of the ongoing debate about the publication concerned. The Commission is in permanent
contact with the Government of the Czech Republic and will continue to observe the situation as well as
the future steps of the Czech Government in order to provide any possible support for the fight against
child abuse.

27.3.2004

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Official Journal of the European Union

C 78 E/557

In its Regular Report 2002, the Commission concluded that the Czech government had undertaken
significant steps to address the issue of human trafficking. Over the past years, the Czech government has
undertaken several steps to improve the legal framework in this respect. An amendment to the Criminal
Code in 2002 extends the scope of the definition of ‘trafficking’ to also cover children and an amendment
of the Criminal Proceedings Code has accelerated and simplified the proceedings involving child victims.
In 2000, the Czech government adopted a national plan combating commercial sexual abuse of children
and in 2003 a national plan combating trafficking in human beings for purposes of sexual exploitation.
The implementation of the plans is followed up on a regular basis. The Commission encourages the Czech
authorities to take further action, in particular for ensuring an effective monitoring system, detecting and
prosecuting of perpetrators. It is also important that Czech authorities ensure close co-operation between
relevant police departments, internally as well as with neighboring countries.

Under the PHARE programme, the Commission has provided substantial funding to the Czech authorities
for fighting organised crime and trafficking in human beings. To this effect, approximately EUR 5,5 million
has been made available to the Czech Republic over the last four years. Further support can be provided
after accession under the Transition Facility.

The Commission reiterates that the prevention of and the fight against child trafficking, child prostitution
and sexual exploitation of children needs to be addressed by Member States and Accession and Candidate
Countries in a co-operative manner following a multidisciplinary approach. Such an approach includes
consequent action against criminals sexually abusing children as well as measures preventing children from
being forced into prostitution and sexual abuse. Co-operation between the competent public authorities
and the relevant international, inter-governmental or non-governmental organisations should be intensified
wherever possible in an enlarged Union.

The Framework Decision on combating the sexual exploitation of children and child pornography, once
formally adopted by the Council and implemented by Member States, would be another important step in
the fight against these abhorrent phenomena.

(2004/C 78 E/0592)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3466/03

by Theresa Villiers (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(21 November 2003)

Subject: Animal welfare at abattoirs in Greece

A new report by the Commission’s Food and Veterinary Office (FVO) concludes that Greece has made
efforts to improve compliance with EU requirements on animal welfare at slaughter, but that there has
been insufficient progress with surveillance and enforcement. The FVO points out that the procedures they
saw at slaughterhouses in Greece were not routine. The clear implication is that less attention is given to
animal welfare when the FVO inspectors are not present. Problems witnessed by the FVO include: 2 out of
12 sheep received a pre-stun electrical shock; some animals may not have been effectively stunned; and for
some the interval between stunning and sticking was too long, which creates the risk of animals recovering
consciousness.

What steps does the Commission plan to take to press Greece to strengthen enforcement and sanctions
and to improve the training of slaughtermen?

Answer given by Mr Byrne on behalf of the Commission

(27 January 2004)

in January 2003 were
The problems noted in the FVO’s inspection in Greece (MR 9002/2003)
communicated to the Greek authorities in the regions visited during the inspection,
to the central
authorities in the closing meeting in Athens and formally in the final report sent to the Greek authorities.
In the action plan submitted to the Commission in response to the published report, the Greek authorities