WRITTEN QUESTION E-0036/04 by Jules Maaten (ELDR) to the Commission. SARS outbreak in China and the Philippines.
Date: 2004-01-20
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: China, Philippines, disease prevention, epidemic, health control, health policy, respiratory disease, zoonosis

27.3.2004

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 78 E/919

(2004/C 78 E/0971)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0036/04

by Jules Maaten (ELDR) to the Commission

(20 January 2004)

Subject: SARS outbreak in China and the Philippines

Another case of SARS has come to light in China. The virus found bears similarities with a virus found in
civet cats. A probable case of SARS has also been reported in the Philippines. The patient is a woman who
had been living in Hong Kong. As a result, the Philippine authorities confined to their homes 34 people
who had come into contact with the woman.

1.
It is clear from the last SARS epidemic that the SARS virus can strike at lightning speed. The
Commission’s reply of 18 July 2003 to my Written Question E-1651/03 (1) indicated that, to date, the EU
had no crisis management plans to combat this kind of outbreak.

2.
Can the EU now in fact take action within 24 hours of a SARS outbreak coming to light? Are
measures already in preparation to screen passengers travelling from the People’s Republic of China or the
Philippines to Europe’s airports?

Does the consumption of civet cats or similar animals occur in the EU or in future Member States,

3.
and, if so, is the EU in a position to take action against this?

Does the Commission consider it desirable to place people in quarantine should an outbreak of the

4.
SARS virus occur in Europe?

(1) OJ C 11 E, 15.1.2004, p. 208.

Answer given by Mr Byrne on behalf of the Commission

(19 February 2004)

Health authorities in China recently announced a confirmed case and two suspected cases of Severe Acute
Respiratory Syndrome (SARS).

1.
A questionnaire on SARS preparedness prepared by the Commission has been distributed to Member
States, Acceding Countries and European Economic Area (EEA)/European Free Trade Association (EFTA)
including Switzerland. The returns show that vigilance with respect to SARS in all these
Countries,
countries is high and that a high level of preparedness is being pursued.

2.
New technical guidance documents on SARS have been agreed with the Member States including the
revised Union case definition of SARS. They include instructions to facilitate rapid communication among
the Member States and the Commission in case SARS re-emerges in the Union. The documents are
published on the internet. Concerning the measures to be implemented at airports, the World Health
Organisation strongly points to the evidence that the screening of incoming passengers (entry screening)
from countries with SARS-affected areas is not an effective measure to control the spread of SARS.

The Commission is not aware that civet cats are consumed in Europe and their meat cannot be

3.
legally imported.

4.
The EU, in co-operation with the Member States and through the EU Network of Communicable
diseases, now has a strong system in place to monitor and co-ordinate the response to the SARS virus. If
SARS returns, intensive surveillance will be applied again and the recommended measures to control SARS
(ie case detection, patient isolation and infection control, and contact tracing), will be restored. These
measures have proved to be effective in the past and will form the basis of future measures. A great deal

C 78 E/920

Official Journal of the European Union

EN

27.3.2004

was learnt from the SARS outbreak. The EU should move to a position where a system for obtaining
advice on a Europe-wide scale is in place. The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control
proposed by the Commission should contribute to this and be relied upon for timely and effective
interventions to deal with threats like SARS.

(2004/C 78 E/0972)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0040/04

by Elspeth Attwooll (ELDR) to the Commission

(20 January 2004)

Subject: Size of the Commission

Can the Commission provide information on the number of fonctionnaires employed by the Commission
at the various grades (A, B, C, D, etc.)?

Answer given by Mr Kinnock on behalf of the Commission

(12 February 2004)

The Commission interprets the question from the Honourable Member as referring to officials in active
employment (Staff Regulations Article 36).

The permanent staff employed by the Commission on 1 January 2004 was 18 603 officials. The
breakdown of officials per category, as defined in the Staff Regulations, under all budget lines, was as
follows:

A

LA

B

C

D

Category

Number

6 891

1 670

3 712

5 722

608

Total

18 603

Furthermore, the Commission informs the Honourable Member that, at the same date, the Commission
employed 2 409 temporary agents.

(2004/C 78 E/0973)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0041/04

by Elspeth Attwooll (ELDR) to the Commission

(20 January 2004)

Subject: Trade between Scotland and the rest of the European Union

What key actions, either at the EU or domestic level, does the Commission believe are needed to improve
trade between Scotland and the rest of the European Union?