WRITTEN QUESTION P-0282/04 by Paulo Casaca (PSE) to the Commission. Identification of the outermost regions on official Community maps.
Date: 2004-01-30
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: Azores, EU publication, Publications Office of the European Union, atlas, cartography, dissemination of EU information, peripheral region

3.4.2004

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 84 E/351

(cid:1) 4 posts (3 officials and 1 ALAT) created through redeployment of existing resources for reinforced
monitoring of trade (1A) and political issues (1A + 1 ALAT) and for aid management (1A); (+ 4);

(cid:1) on the other hand, 1 A-official post was redeployed from the Delegation in India for the opening of

the Delegation in Kathmandu; (− 1).

2.
Several temporary solutions were examined to accommodate the additional staff. Of these, the most
favourable was renting 31 rooms (1 308 m2) at the Taj Mahal Hotel. Compared to other proposals, its
advantages were the absence of heavy investment in the installations and refurbishing of small temporary
offices, and, compared with the other hotels analysed, it provided the cheapest solution. The monthly
rent is INR 1 953 000 (EUR 34 036 equivalent to EUR 26 per m2 a month), including electricity, air-
conditioning and heating, housekeeping and regular maintenance, and it is located at 500 m from the
main Delegation’s premises. This compares favourably with the rent paid at present for the Delegation’s
main building (65 Golf Links) which is EUR 29 700 for 837 m2 (equivalent to EUR 35,5 per m2 a month),
excluding any operational or overhead expenses.

The lease contract started on 15 May 2002 for a six-month (renewable) period. A new contract started on
16 February 2003 under the same conditions, and has been renewed since.

3.
The renting of offices at the Taj Mahal Hotel is a temporary and provisional installation of part of the
Delegation’s staff. The main Delegation building, unsuitable for the present size of the Delegation, is still at
65 Golf Links.

4.
The temporary solution of renting additional offices at the Taj Mahal Hotel was foreseen to last
six months, i.e. until 15 August 2003. However, the difficulties existing in the real estate market, which
have increased because of Indo-Pakistani tensions, has made the research even more difficult, and the lease
was renewed for a further six months, i.e. until 15 February 2004. The last proposal for a permanent
solution identified at the end of 2003 was turned down because of security concerns of the building.

As the devolution exercise is still ongoing, it is not possible to provide details of the total costs
5.
concerned. Only when the whole process is finished will the Commission be able to give precise figures
concerning the actual budgetary impact of the increase of its staff in Delegations. As the Commission does
not rent separate office premises solely for devolution purposes, in many cases the increase in office space
requirements is covered through an extension of the building already rented.

(2004/C 84 E/0408)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-0282/04

by Paulo Casaca (PSE) to the Commission

(30 January 2004)

Subject: Identification of the outermost regions on official Community maps

Article 299(2) of the Treaty identifies the outermost regions, which, naturally, are not to be confused with
the overseas countries and territories referred to in Article 299(3) and listed in Annex II, or with other
regions or countries having a different status and referred to elsewhere.

Nonetheless, the Official Publications Service of the European Communities, was still, in 2003 and under
the Commission’s copyright, perpetuating the error of referring to the outermost regions as ‘non-
continental and overseas territories of the Member States’’.

In the case of the Autonomous Region of the Azores (mentioned only summarily as ‘the Azores’), one of
the outermost regions with a geographical
location outside Europe, not one of the islands is actually
named, and the only town mentioned is Ponta Delgada: the historic towns of Angra do Heroísmo and
Horta are passed over.

C 84 E/352

Official Journal of the European Union

EN

3.4.2004

Can the Commission explain why it has not identified these regions correctly, i.e. as outermost regions,
and has used a term which could create confusion with the overseas territories listed in Annex II?

Has the Commission any objection to the future inclusion in the maps concerned of the designation
‘Autonomous Region of the Azores’ and the inclusion of the towns of Angra do Heroísmo and Horta?

Answer given by Mr Prodi on behalf of the Commission

(26 February 2004)

The Honourable Member refers to maps which the Commission publishes with the aim of informing the
general public about Europe. They are not official maps and do not serve any legal or administrative
purpose. In order to ensure that a map is readable, some editorial standards are needed concerning what
names to use. Among the standards followed, one is that the maps made freely available to the public use
the short form of names of countries and regions and that only one city per region is mentioned. Islands
are named, but not on smaller scale maps. Similarly, the expression ‘outermost regions’ referred to by
Article 299 of the EC Treaty has not been used for strictly editorial reasons, as this term is not widely
known and understood among the general public of all the Member States.

(2004/C 84 E/0409)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-0283/04

by Caroline Lucas (Verts/ALE) to the Commission

(2 February 2004)

Subject: Public procurement policy in timer

Could the Commission clarify what timbers are being used in the supply of security and fire doors during
refurbishment of the EU Joint Research Centre in Brussels, from which countries and by which timber
companies these timbers have been supplied, and what evidence has been received to confirm that all
timber used comes from legal and sustainable sources?

Answer given by Mr Kinnock on behalf of the Commission

(16 March 2004)

The refurbishment of the building occupied by the Joint Research Centre in Brussels which took place in
1995-1996 was carried out by its owner, a private company, according to a lease agreement signed with
the Commission in 1994.

the Commission revised the ‘immeuble type’ document (1) which dated from 1992, and
In 1997,
introduced a requirement that invitations to tender should specify that aspects of sustainable forest
management should be taken into account.

However, as the refurbishment of the JRC building took place before 1997, the requirements related to the
timber used in the supply of security and fire doors during refurbishment of the Joint Research Centre, as
defined in the lease agreement, did not include a specific requirement to provide evidence that the timber
came from such sustainable sources (through, for example, forest certification labels).

The renovation contract for the building was awarded by the owner of the building. Consequently, no
detailed information on the timber used for the refurbishment is available to the Commission.

As demonstrated by the revision of the ‘immeuble type’ document, the Commission attaches great to the
requirement to ensure that timber is provided from environmentally sustainable sources, and now has in
place arrangements to ensure that this requirement is respected.

(1) The ‘Immeuble Type’ document is the Commission’s standard specification for buildings and sets out the standards

for quality of space, use of materials and quality of technical installations.