WRITTEN QUESTION P-3703/03 by Ulla Sandbæk (EDD) to the Commission. HIV and Commission support for development of affordable microbicide.
Date: 2003-12-03
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: AIDS, budget, developing countries, disease prevention, health policy, medical research, research and development, sexually transmitted disease

C 78 E/632

Official Journal of the European Union

EN

27.3.2004

Commissioner Patten said in reply to my Written Question E-3098/02 (1), that the Commission continued
to be committed to maintaining close relations with Macau.

Can the Commission answer the following:

(cid:1) has the date for the holding of the tenth meeting of the Joint Committee been fixed;

(cid:1) what are the reasons for it not having been scheduled or announced to date;

(cid:1) does the Commission believe that the existence of an official specifically responsible for EC-Macau
cooperation,
the need for which both Commission and Parliament have acknowledged, would
guarantee more effective continuity in following up relations with the Special Administrative Region;

(cid:1) in the light of the foregoing, and pursuant to my previous Written Questions P-1961/01 (2) and
E-3098/02 and taking account of the recent developments described in Question E-3278/03 (3), does
the Commission believe that
it can now go ahead with recruiting an official responsible for
cooperation with Macau?

(1) OJ C 242 E, 9.10.2003, p. 39.
(2) OJ C 364 E, 20.10.2001, p. 232.
(3) See page 248.

Answer given by Mr Patten on behalf of the Commission

(22 January 2004)

The EEC-Macau Cooperation Agreement of 14 December 1992 provides for an annual joint committee
meeting to review trade relations and the state of bilateral cooperation between the Community and the
Macau Special Administrative Region. The Commission is committed to holding these meetings annually.
During informal talks with the Economic and Trade Office, Macau’s mission to the Communities,
it
suggested a date for the tenth meeting of the committee in December 2003. Unfortunately Macau was
unable to accept that date. The Commission is currently discussing other possible dates, i.e. February or
March 2004, with its counterparts from Macau.

On the question of the appointment of an official with special responsibility for cooperation with Macau,
the Commission still does not consider that the size of its current cooperation programme in Macau,
consisting of a single project expiring this year, justifies recruiting an official for this purpose.

(2004/C 78 E/0669)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-3703/03

by Ulla Sandbæk (EDD) to the Commission

(3 December 2003)

Subject: HIV and Commission support for development of affordable microbicide

Can the Commission provide a comprehensive account of
for
microbicide research and development, including community preparedness efforts, both within the EU
and in developing countries to date, and specifically provide detailed information on the timing of such
support, to whom it was allocated and from which budget lines it was drawn?

its previous and ongoing support

Answer given by Mr Nielson on behalf of the Commission

(23 December 2003)

There are several Community initiatives to help develop microbicides and make them readily available.

27.3.2004

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 78 E/633

The communication on ‘increased solidarity to confront AIDS in developing countries’ (1) adopted by the
Commission on 3 July 1998 provided a framework for the European response to appeals for greater
international solidarity with developing countries in their fight against the human immunodeficiency virus
(HIV/AIDS) and, in particular, to appeals for wider access to HIV/AIDS treatment and the development of
HIV vaccines and microbicides for the developing countries. The Commission’s communication explores
the possibility of supporting the accelerated development of vaccines and microbicides.

The Community has initiated and supervised a study into the market potential for vaginal microbicides
which could protect against sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), notably HIV.

Research was carried out on 4 000 individuals in Brazil, Côte d’Ivoire, Egypt, France, India, Kenya, the
Philippines, Poland, South Africa, Thailand and Venezuela.

In 2000, a call for proposals was launched under budget heading (B7-6211) to support innovative
programmes in the fields identified in the communication on increased solidarity. The project ‘Microbicide
Awareness, Investment and Demand’ was selected. It advocates support for microbicides in Europe, Africa
and Asia and putting in place networks to develop them more rapidly and make them available to the
most vulnerable, notably women in developing countries. This project, worth EUR 1 450 071 and signed
in December 2001 for a duration of three years, is being implemented by International Family Health.

One of the objectives of Regulation (EC) No 1568/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council of
15 July 2003 on aid to fight poverty diseases in developing countries (2), covering the period 2003-2006,
is to intensify research and development, notably on vaccines, microbicides and innovative treatments.

the budget

item concerned (21 02 07 02) provides

for a grant of
The 2004 action plan for
EUR 0,87 million for the International Partnership for Microbicides. That organisation’s goal is to speed
up the discovery, development and access to microbicides to prevent HIV infection, notably in places
where incomes are low. The grant will
for rapid access to
finance a project
microbicides in those countries where they are needed and implement this preparatory framework in the
form of case studies in four countries. The Commission is part of a consultative group on the preparedness
of those countries within this International Partnership For Microbicides.

to develop a model

The sixth European framework programme for research (2002-2006) has a special field for poverty
diseases which includes research into microbicides. The Commission selected in 2003 two basic research
projects on microbicides, one on blocking entry of the HIV virus into the cell and the other on replication
of the virus in the mucus. These two projects bring together the best European specialists in this field
along with teams of specialists from Africa, comprising 40 partners in all, of which three in Africa. Their
budget amounts to more than EUR 15 million and they are in the process of negotiating with the
coordinators with a view to starting in the first quarter of this year.

(1) COM(98) 407.
(2) OJ L 224, 6.9.2003.

(2004/C 78 E/0670)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3718/03

by Paul Rübig (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(10 December 2003)

Subject: Eco-design requirements for energy-using products

The European Commission has proposed a directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on
establishing a framework for the setting of eco-design requirements for energy-using products and
amending Council Directive 92/42/EEC (1).