WRITTEN QUESTION E-0032/04 by Erik Meijer (GUE/NGL) to the Commission. Long-term stateless-person status of one category of permanent residents of the three future EU Member States that were internal states of the Soviet Union until 1991.
Date: 2004-01-20
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: Baltic States, accession to the European Union, national minority, nationality, protection of minorities, stateless person

C 88 E/676

Official Journal of the European Union

EN

8.4.2004

‘No support

is to be given under this Regulation to incentives to encourage sterilisation or
that:
abortion …’. This line is in keeping with the Programme of Action adopted at the International Conference
on Population and Development in Cairo 1994, on which Community policy is based.

(1) OJ L 224, 6.9.2003.

(2004/C 88 E/0694)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0007/04

by Philip Claeys (NI) to the Commission

(16 January 2004)

Subject: Accession of Cyprus, official languages

Cyprus has two official languages, Greek and Turkish. The Constitution also says that one of the two Vice-
Presidents must be a Turkish Cypriot. Because of the Turkish occupation of the northern part of the island,
however, these constitutional provisions are not in force. In the current circumstances, recognition of
Turkish as an official language in the European Union could be interpreted as implicit recognition of the
Turkish occupation of the northern part of Cyprus.

Might the accession of Cyprus on 1 May 2004 (cid:1) if there is no change in the institutional and political
situation (cid:1) nonetheless mean that the Turkish will become an official language of the European Union? If
so, on the basis of what arguments does the Commission arrive at this view?

Answer given by Mr Verheugen on behalf of the Commission

(1 March 2004)

According to the Treaty of Accession 2003 Turkish is not an official language of the European Union,
since no such request had been made.

Following a political settlement of the Cyprus problem and a re-unification of the island, the United
Cyprus Republic is entitled to request that Turkish is recognised as an official Community language. The
Council would then have to amend Regulations no. 1/1958/EEC and 1/1958/Euratom determining the
languages to be used by the two Communities (1). The legal base for this adaptation and the modalities
related to it would be Article 4 of Protocol No 10 of the Act of Accession, which stipulates that the
Council shall decide, in the event of a settlement, on the adaptations to the terms concerning the accession
of Cyprus with regard to the Turkish Cypriot Community.

It should be noted that the Commission decided in 1999 to dedicate EUR 3 million for the translation of
the ‘acquis’ into Turkish in order to prepare and facilitate the process of bringing the northern part of
Cyprus closer to the European Union.

(1) OJ B 17, 6.10.1958.

(2004/C 88 E/0695)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0032/04

by Erik Meijer (GUE/NGL) to the Commission

(20 January 2004)

Subject: Long-term stateless-person status of one category of permanent residents of the three future EU

Member States that were internal states of the Soviet Union until 1991

1.
Can the Commission confirm that when Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania came into being as
independent states in 1991, not all of their permanently domiciled residents were enabled in good time
to exchange the nationality of the then defunct Soviet Union for that of their new state, so that such
persons became stateless?

8.4.2004

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 88 E/677

Can the Commission confirm that in those three former internal states of the Soviet Union only
2.
descendants of Russian colonists going back to the period of the Tsarist Empire ending in 1917 are
accepted as citizens, but not those who immigrated during the Soviet period between 1939 and 1991 and
their descendants, because they are seen as foreign occupiers and held responsible for government policy
of that period?

3.
Is the option for the excluded group still to apply for the nationality of their country of residence on
the basis of their knowledge of the present official state language being unnecessarily restricted by
subjecting them to tests that, in particular, select on the basis of knowledge of technical and legal terms
that are not generally known and form no part of everyday language use?

4.
Can the Commission indicate the percentages of the populations of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania
who were stateless persons in 1993 and 2003 respectively? What are its projections for the immediate
future? Does it expect those percentages to remain higher in the long term than in other EU Member
States?

5. What future prospects does the Commission hold out for such stateless persons? Does it assume that
all residents have a right to nationality as a matter of principle? Or must they chose between emigrating
from their country of residence and resting content with long-term exclusion from such rights as
participation in political activity and freedom to travel?

6.
How will the Commission seek to ensure that the percentage of stateless persons in those countries,
which will accede to the European Union on 1 May 2004, will cease within the next few years to be
higher than the average in other EU Member States?

Answer given by Mr Verheugen on behalf of the Commission

(1 March 2004)

By the time Estonia and Latvia regained their independence in 1991, around a quarter of their populations
were made up of immigrants from other Soviet Republics, following a deliberate policy of population
change under the Soviet regime. As this was not the case to the same extent in Lithuania, the question of
citizenship has not been an issue in that country.

Residents and their descendants who had the nationality of these states in 1940 were regarded as citizens
of the countries when they regained their independence in 1991. The other people residing permanently in
the territories of these countries (cid:1) this concerns mainly, if not exclusively, citizens originating from other
Soviet Union Republics (cid:1) were, and still are given the possibility to apply for citizenship. The conditions
for obtaining citizenship in Estonia and Latvia have been adjusted following advice from international
bodies with competence in these matters such as the High Commissioner on National Minorities of the
Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe. As stated in its Regular Reports on the progress in
EU accession preparation in these countries, the Commission is satisfied that the human rights in these
matters are respected.

According to information available to the Commission, today around 12 % of the population residing in
Estonia have no Estonian citizenship, nor one of another country. In Latvia, this figure would be around
21 %. These people hold residence permits and are able to work, study, benefit from social schemes, and
travel abroad. In order to allow for travelling abroad, special passports are issued, which are internationally
accepted. However, the Commission encourages the countries to continue to make every effort to integrate
these people into their societies and to facilitate the process of obtaining nationality. The Commission is of
the opinion that efforts are required from all involved. Financial support towards achieving this is being
provided. It is expected that the share of ‘non-citizens’ will further decrease after accession and at a faster
rate than in the past. Indeed, more people will apply for citizenship when they realise that it is in their
interest to integrate into the countries and into the EU, while maintaining their cultural identity.