WRITTEN QUESTION E-3474/03 by Herbert Bösch (PSE) to the Commission. Contracts with management consultants in Commission offices.
Date: 2003-11-24
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: European Commission, administration of the Institutions, administrative expenditure (EU), contract, outsourcing, personnel administration, provision of services, self-employed person

27.3.2004

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 78 E/559

development bank. The draft law has been examined by the Commission services and (cid:1) after taking into
account the Commission services’ comments (cid:1) found to be a correct implementation of the Commission
Decision of 27 March 2002 (1). This has also been the case with the other submitted German laws on
public development banks to be amended in the light of this Commission decision.

In strict compliance with Commission Decision of 27 March 2002 recommending appropriate measures to
Germany regarding ‘Anstaltslast’ and ‘Gewährträgerhaftung’, this amendment will allow the new pure
public development bank to keep the state guarantees for the refinancing of its public developments tasks,
in particular, the fulfilment of the public promotional activities in compliance with the state aid rules of
the Community.

On the basis of the information available, the new public development bank will then be in the same
position to keep state guarantees for their public tasks as about a dozen other German public development
banks, including KfW. Despite its name of Landesbank (which is actually envisaged to be changed), it will
not, by its very nature, pursue commercial activities. The conversion does not circumvent
the
Commission’s Decision of 27 March 2002. The State guarantees will be abolished for all Landesbanks
and savings banks performing commercial banking activities with effect from 19 July 2005. The necessary
legal changes have already been implemented.

It should be noted that most commercial activities of

2.
the former Westdeutsche Landesbank
Girozentrale were already regrouped into the new limited liability bank WestLB AG created in 2002.
in existence in Landesbank have to be hived off into a separate
Commercial activities currently still
undertaking (WestLB AG or other) without any State support. A similar split into two separate legal
entities, respectively fulfilling public tasks (with State support) and commercial activities (without any State
support), has for instance also to be implemented by the federal public development bank KfW.

The new legal framework seems thus adequate to avoid distortions of competition in the future. The
Commission will of course also monitor in the future whether undue advantages from State resources will
be granted to commercial banking activities in an individual case and, if necessary, take appropriate action.

(1) Authorisation for State aid pursuant to Articles 87 and 88 of the EC Treaty (cid:1) Cases where the Commission raises
no objections, OJ C 150, 22.6.2002; referring to publication on the Commission’s website under http://
europa.eu.int/comm/secretariat_general/sgb/state_aids/industrie/e010-00.pdf

(2004/C 78 E/0594)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3474/03

by Herbert Bösch (PSE) to the Commission

(24 November 2003)

Subject: Contracts with management consultants in Commission offices

Given that no final answer has yet been provided to Written Question E-0844/03 (1) of 18 March 2003 on
contracts with management consultants, although eight months have now passed since it was submitted,
can the Commission initially provide the following information:

(cid:1) How many contracts have the cabinets of individual Commissioners concluded with management

consultants since 2000, and what is their total value?

(cid:1) What tasks were assigned to the management consultants?

(cid:1) Why were Commission officials not called on to carry out these tasks?

(cid:1) Can the Commission state whether these tasks cost less to carry out externally than if they are carried

out internally, and provide figures to back this up?

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Official Journal of the European Union

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27.3.2004

(cid:1) Has the Commission ever become aware of consultancy work being carried out to an unsatisfactory

standard? What criteria does the Commission apply when assessing consultancy services?

(cid:1) Has a consultancy contract ever proved damaging to the Commission, and, if so, to what extent?

(1) OJ C 192 E, 14.8.2003, p. 220.

Answer given by Mr Kinnock on behalf of the Commission

(5 February 2004)

The allocations to the Cabinets cover the organisation of meetings (heading A-7030) and appropriations
for the employment of auxiliary agents, but do not cover consultants.

The principal heading, A-7002, and also headings A-7050 and A-7060 depending on the field of activity
(cid:1) some of which may cover the use of consultants (cid:1) fall within the responsibility of the various
Commission DGs and Services.

No Cabinets of Commissioners have concluded any contracts with consultants since 2000.

Members of the Commission may also use the services of special advisers, either without remuneration or
using heading A-1113 for which EUR 300 000 has been allocated for 2004.

(2004/C 78 E/0595)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3477/03

by Baroness Sarah Ludford (ELDR) to the Commission

(24 November 2003)

Subject: Women in prison

Can the Commission supply details of the number of women currently in prison in each European Union
Member State?

Can the Commission provide a total number of mothers with dependent children in prison in each
European Union Member State?

What percentage of the total prison population do women constitute in each European Member State?

Per capita of the population, can the Commission list which Member States have the most women in
prison in the European Union?

What is the most common offence committed by women imprisoned in each European Union Member
State?

How do all the above contrast with the male prison population in each European Member State?

Answer given by Mr Vitorino on behalf of the Commission

(27 January 2004)

The Commission does not have the statistics to give the Honourable Member an appropriate reply to her
written question.