WRITTEN QUESTION E-3960/03 by José Ribeiro e Castro (UEN) to the Commission. Angola — reintegration of ex-combatants and disarmament of civilians.
Date: 2004-01-05
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: Angola, civil war, disarmament, force reduction, settlement of disputes, social rehabilitation

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27.3.2004

With regard to the import and commercial exploitation of genetically modified fish within the European
Community, the Commission would like to point out that, under Directive 2001/18/EC of the Parliament
and of the Council of 12 March 2001 on the deliberate release into the environment of genetically
modified organisms (1), a GMO cannot be marketed in the European Union without first obtaining
authorisation for placing on the market in accordance with part C of the Directive, based on a case-by-case
scientific evaluation of the potential risks that the GMO in question could pose to human health and the
environment. To date no request has been made to release the organism in question into the environment
for experimental or commercial purposes.

(1) OJ L 106, 17.4.2001.

(2004/C 78 E/0722)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3953/03

by Catherine Stihler (PSE) to the Commission

(22 December 2003)

Subject: Wheelchair design specifications

Can the Commission inform me whether there is a European standard for wheelchair design specifications?

Answer given by Mr Liikanen on behalf of the Commission

(29 January 2004)

Wheelchairs are medical devices and, as such, fall under the scope of Council Directive 93/42/EEC of
14 June 1993 concerning medical devices (1).

The following European Standards exist for wheelchairs.

When complied with, they give presumption of conformity with the relevant essential requirements.

(cid:1) EN 12183: 1999 rev, on manually propelled wheelchairs (cid:1) requirements and test methods;

(cid:1) EN 12184: 1999 rev, on electrically powered wheelchairs, scooters and their charges (cid:1) requirements

and test methods;

(cid:1) EN 12182, on technical aids for disabled persons (cid:1) general requirements and test methods.

In meeting the requirements of the Directive, technical files must be available which include design
information.

(1) OJ L 323, 26.11.1997.

(2004/C 78 E/0723)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3960/03

by José Ribeiro e Castro (UEN) to the Commission

(5 January 2004)

Subject: Angola (cid:1) reintegration of ex-combatants and disarmament of civilians

According to a communiqué issued by the Unita Standing Committee at the meeting which it held from
31 October to 2 November 2003 for the purpose of analysing the party’s internal situation and Angola’s
social, economic and political situation, there has been an increase in the number of acts of intimidation
and violence committed in the country against former FALA combatants and against Unita supporters. The

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destruction of villages followed by the forced removal of people from their homes along the Quembo
River in Kuando Kubango province to areas in the Lupiri district (where land-mines are still present) is just
one example.

The Unita Standing Committee deplores and condemns such acts and it has called upon the government to
take whatever action is necessary in order to prevent any repetition and any spread thereof, and it regrets
the fact that the bilateral mechanism stemming from the Luena Memorandum which is intended to enable
such cases to be dealt with was not brought into operation.

In the same communiqué the Unita Standing Committee also calls on the President of the Republic to
make every effort to promote peace amongst Angolans by insisting upon the disarmament of the civilian
population and the abolition of the Civil Protection Organisation (ODC), the existence of which it regards
as a flagrant violation of the country’s Constitution.

In view of the above, would the Commission answer the following questions:

(cid:1) What information does the Commission hold regarding verification of the above facts? Does it fear
that they may have some impact on the current process of institutional consolidation and the
establishment of peace in the country?

(cid:1) How does it rate compliance with the specific points contained in the Memorandum of Understanding
which relate to this issue, with particular reference to the normal functioning of the instruments
created for the purpose (or of other, replacement, ones) and the results achieved?

(cid:1) What action has it taken (or is it intending to take) with a view to remedying the situations reported,
should the latter be confirmed? How does it consider that the EU might influence the Angolan
authorities with a view to promoting effective action against such occurrences and bringing into
operation the bilateral mechanism referred to above?

(cid:1) What view does it take of the extent to which the civilian population has so far disarmed and of the

ODC’s activities? Does it consider these to be potentially destabilising factors?

Answer given by Mr Nielson on behalf of the Commission

(30 January 2004)

The Commission is aware of the Unita Standing Committee’s communiqué and also of an article by Unita’s
Terra Angolana on the matter. While it is difficult to obtain further information on the substance of these
allegations, it cannot be excluded that such acts have occurred and the Government should do its utmost
to prevent these. However, the limited information available leads to the conclusion that these seem to be
isolated incidents that do not present a substantial threat to the consolidation of the peace process.

On a more general note, these issues fall into the area of respect of human rights, and this will be one of
the items on the agenda of the structured EU-Angola political dialogue which was formally opened on
3 December 2003. Furthermore, the Commission has declared Angola a priority country for the European
Initiative for Democracy and Human Rights. Finally the United Nations (UN) has a specific mandate to deal
with human rights questions, and an office in Luanda.

As regards the functioning and mechanisms of the Memorandum of Understanding, the Commission
believes that the Troika and the UN, as official witnesses to the document, have a prominent role and
should be the parties to address in case of conflict or violation of the Agreement or where the Agreement
is not considered to have been properly followed by the two signatory parties.

As regards the situation of
the World Bank, which is
the demobilized soldiers and their families,
co-operating with and supporting the Government through the Angola Demobilization and Reintegration
Program (ADRP) (to which the Commission contributes, with part of its EUR 20 million contribution to
the Multi-Donor Trust Fund for the Greater Great Lakes area), considers that the demobilization process is
satisfactory. The ADRP has started and specific actions for reinsertion of the demobilized are expected to
begin soon (by now almost all of the demobilized should have returned or resettled and are being
re-integrated). The resettlement process in general
is indeed not flawless and in many resettlement
locations the minimum conditions are not in place, this also including the problem of landmines. The
Commission’s de-mining programmes (on-going and planned) and the European Humanitarian Aid Office’s
(ECHO) activities address these issues directly.

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While the peace process continues to make progress, difficult living conditions for people could lead to an
increase in banditry in the future. The large quantities of small arms and light weapons constitute a
problem in this context, which, while not considered as a threat to stabilization, is still serious and needs
to be addressed. The Government seems to consider the disarmament of civilians a growing priority and
has conducted a number of
(isolated) operations in this sense. The United Nations Development
Programme (UNDP) is prepared to support the Government with a specific programme.

(2004/C 78 E/0724)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-3998/03

by Konstantinos Hatzidakis (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(19 December 2003)

Subject: Use of CSF funds to finance an advertising campaign in Greece

In Greece the government is unfortunately continuing to use Community Support Framework funds to
promote its position through television and press advertising. The main purpose of this publicity is
supposed to be to promote the CSF operational programmes, but in fact it forms part of the governing
party’s advertising campaign.

The advertisements by the Ministry of Health are a case in point: under the slogan ‘A New Era for Health’,
the Ministry publicises the construction of new hospitals and the upgrading of certain services in the
health sector. However,
it presents these as government achievements, hardly mentioning the EU’s
contribution. At the end of the TV spot a tiny flag of the European Union appears next to the Greek flag
for a fraction of a second, but no other reference or allusion is made to this. It should be pointed out that
no mention is made either of the Operational Programme ‘Health and Welfare’ with whose funds these
projects have been realised, or even of the CSF. Of course, this whole publicity campaign is being financed
with CSF information campaign funds.

1.
How does the Commission intend to intervene with the Greek authorities to prevail upon them to
change the configuration of this and other similar advertising campaigns (for Public Works, Employment,
etc.) which blatantly violate the spirit of the structural fund regulation and do nothing to promote the CSF?

2.
Given that Greece has de facto entered the pre-election period, when does the Commission intend to
intervene with the Greek authorities (cid:1) as has occurred in the past (cid:1) to suspend this type of publicity
campaign which may serve to promote the government party in view of the forthcoming elections?

Answer given by Mr Barnier on behalf of the Commission

(30 January 2004)

The Commission is attentive to the issues raised by the Honourable Member:

(a) As concerns publicity regarding the constructing of new hospitals, this was discussed in the margin of
the Monitoring Committee meeting of the Greek Community Support Framework (CSF) III on the
17 December 2003.
It was agreed that although the publicity campaign in question is funded
exclusively through national sources, the Greek authorities will change the TV spot in order to
mention the contribution of the EU to the construction of new hospitals.

(b) With regard to the period before the national elections, the Commission is informed that the national
authorities issued instructions concerning Information and Publicity on the 8 January 2004. These are
addressed to all ministries and other bodies involved in the management of Structural Funds. They
reflect the agreement in Chapter 4.8, 3rd paragraph, of the CSF.