WRITTEN QUESTION E-3971/03 by Mario Borghezio (NI) to the Commission. Failure by Germany to compensate former Italian military internees (IMIs).
Date: 2004-01-05
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: International Organisation for Migration, Italy, Second World War, administrative formalities, indemnification, war damage, war victim

27.3.2004

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 78 E/843

(2004/C 78 E/0896)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3649/03

by Erik Meijer (GUE/NGL) to the Commission

(9 December 2003)

Subject: Serious delays in payments by the International Organisation for Migration in Geneva relating to

the German forced labour compensation programme

Is the Commission aware of the delays in disbursing the EUR 5 billion which was made available by
1.
the German Government and German businesses in June 2000 as a contribution to compensation
payments for unpaid slave labour performed under degrading conditions during the Second World War?

Is the Commission furthermore aware that this money is being managed by the International
in Geneva with a view to making payments of a maximum of

2.
Organisation for Migration (IOM)
EUR 7 700 per person, in the form of the ‘IOM/German forced labour compensation programme’?

Has the Commission heard that, of the 600 000 Dutch forced labourers who worked in Germany,

3.
15 443 have claimed compensation and that so far only 1928 have been awarded it?

4.
Has the Commission also heard that the reasons for this delay are that claimants are required to
communicate in languages other than those they have learned themselves, that attempts to telephone the
organisation lead only to a voicemail box where it is possible to leave a message, that letters are left
unanswered and that documentary evidence has to be submitted which does not exist?

Does the Commission also know of similar complaints from former forced labourers living in
5.
countries other than the Netherlands concerning the poor functioning or complete breakdown of this IOM
programme?

Is it a satisfactory outcome that payment of this compensation to people whose average age is 80

6.
should be delayed for many years to come or that the compensation should not be paid at all?

7. What can the Commission do to help find a quick and equitable solution to this problem, which is
not confined to any one country?

Source: TV Nederland 1, ‘Netwerk’, 25 November 2003 (www.netwerk.tv).

(2004/C 78 E/0897)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3971/03

by Mario Borghezio (NI) to the Commission

(5 January 2004)

Subject: Failure by Germany to compensate former Italian military internees (IMIs)

The International Organisation for Migration (IOM), which was commissioned by the German foundation
‘Remembrance, Responsibility and Future’ to consider claims for compensation for slave labour and forced
labour during the Second World War, has not only incorrectly excluded a large proportion of Italian
applicants from the payment of compensation, but has also so far failed to pay the sums owing to those
deemed eligible for compensation.

Applicants are entitled to appeal against these decisions to the IOM’s appeals body in Geneva (IOM
Appeals Body, P.O. Box 174, CH-1211, Geneva 19, Switzerland) although, according to the IOM’s own
communication to Italian applicants of 11 November 2002, this body is bound by the decision of the
German Government and German foundation that Italian military internees had prisoner of war status
during the Second World War, excluding them from compensation.

C 78 E/844

Official Journal of the European Union

EN

27.3.2004

Does the Commission not see an urgent need to take action to ensure the payment of compensation, so
far refused or delayed, for this serious violation of the human rights of these elderly and vulnerable
survivors of the tragic experience of war?

Joint answer
to Written Questions E-3649/03 and E-3971/03
given by Mrs Diamantopoulou on behalf of the Commission

(11 February 2004)

The Commission is not aware of the legal and factual details regarding the implementation of the German
forced labour compensation programme by the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) because it
is a matter for the German Government, which has set out the details of this programme in a German
Law. It is, therefore, for the German Government to decide the conditions for eligibility. Equally, it depends
on the procedures foreseen by this Law as to how the persons concerned may appeal regarding the delays
in payments.

In any case, Regulation (EEC) No 1408/71 of the Council of 14 June 1971 (1) does not apply to schemes in
favour of war victims. The Commission would, therefore, like to refer to its reply to Written Question
E-2757/00 by Mr Alavanos (2) regarding the same compensation programme, and in particular to the fact
that the Petitions Committee of the Parliament had, therefore, decided that it would address the Petitions
Committee of the German Bundestag in order to try to improve the situation of these victims.

(1) OJ L 149, 5.7.1971; last consolidated version: Council Regulation (EC) No 118/97 of 2 December 1996 amending
and updating Regulation (EEC) No 1408/71 on the application of social security schemes to employed persons, to
self-employed persons and to members of their families moving within the Community and Regulation (EEC)
No 574/72 laying down the procedure for implementing Regulation (EEC) No 1408/71, OJ L 28, 30.1.1997.

(2) OJ C 136 E, 8.5.2001.

(2004/C 78 E/0898)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-3652/03

by Dana Scallon (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(2 December 2003)

Subject: Stem cells and stem-cell lines

Has the Commission funded the production of any stem cells and stem-cell lines? How many projects were
funded? In which countries? How much money was spent?

How many embryos were used to create the two stem-cell lines in the UK and the seven stem-cell lines in
Sweden?

Does this represent the total number of stem cell lines created in Europe since 27 June 2002?

Has the European Commission funded the import of any embryonic stem cells or embryonic stem cell
lines? How many have been imported? How much did they cost?

Answer given by Mr Busquin on behalf of the Commission

(16 January 2004)

No Community funds have been spent until now on research activities aiming at producing human
embryonic stem cell lines.

In the Fifth Framework Programme (1998-2002), around 60 research activities having at least one stem
cell research activity component, have been funded. A list of these projects is sent direct to the Honourable
Member and to the Secretariat general of the Parliament. Among those, only two projects have a research
component aiming to involve existing human embryonic stem cell lines. All these projects represent in