WRITTEN QUESTION E-0402/04 by Concepció Ferrer (PPE-DE) to the Commission. Crossborder hospital in La Cerdanya.
Date: 2004-02-16
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: Catalonia, European Regional Development Fund, France, medical institution, project evaluation

C 84 E/582

Official Journal of the European Union

EN

3.4.2004

identifies support for the establishment of networks in Western Africa to fight against the trafficking of
human beings, in particular women and children. Further pertinent measures taken by the Commission
include a wide range of projects funded under the EU budget to address the plight of children affected by
armed conflict, as set out in the recent overview prepared by the Commission, as an initial follow-up to
the adoption of the EU Guidelines on Children and Armed Conflict in December 2003.

(2004/C 84 E/0658)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0399/04

by Camilo Nogueira Román (Verts/ALE) to the Commission

(16 February 2004)

Subject: Secret detention in the USA of foreigners suspected of terrorist activities because their visa is not

in order

Has the Commission taken any political or humanitarian steps in view of arrests of this kind in the USA,
which have even been ratified by the Supreme Court, and affect 700 individuals, against whom the sole
existing charge is that they have infringed the immigration laws of the USA?

Answer given by Mr Patten on behalf of the Commission

(22 March 2004)

Terrorism represents a fundamental attack to the values of the European Union laid down in Articles 6 and
11 of the Treaty on European Union, namely the promotion and protection of human rights and
fundamental freedoms and attachment to the principles of liberty, democracy and the rule of law as
essential elements of EU policy.

The Commission supports bringing suspected terrorists to justice and reaffirms that terrorism represents a
threat to security in Europe and beyond.

However, the Commission also emphasizes its conviction that the fight against terrorism must fully respect
human rights and the rule of law.

The Commission is not in a position to ascertain whether the charges leading to the arrests mentioned by
the Honourable Member, as reported by the media, were solely based on alleged violations of any
particular type of internal United States laws.

(2004/C 84 E/0659)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0402/04

by Concepció Ferrer (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(16 February 2004)

Subject: Crossborder hospital in La Cerdanya

Recently, the Catalan and French health authorities obtained funding from the Interreg programme to
in La Cerdanya,
investigate the viability and construction costs of a crossborder hospital in Puigcerdà,
a valley on the Franco-Spanish border.

Could the Commission tell me what stage has been reached with regard to the possible building of this
crossborder hospital, which, should it go ahead, would help both to deepen the reality of European
citizenship and improve the levels of healthcare provision available to the area’s inhabitants?

3.4.2004

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 84 E/583

Answer given by Mr Barnier on behalf of the Commission

(30 March 2004)

Under the France-Spain Interreg III A programme EUR 45 000 was granted from the European Regional
Development Fund for the study on the viability of creating a cross-border hospital at La Cerdanya. Carried
out by the Languedoc-Roussillon Regional Council (project leader) and the Generalitat de Catalunya, it is
now in the final stages.

At the moment therefore we await the study’s findings. We favour part-financing of this type of project
that can have a real lever effect on the quality of the daily life of border zone populations. In the case in
point the question to be answered by the study is whether health resources and infrastructure can feasibly
be pooled to the benefit of geographically adjacent populations.

(2004/C 84 E/0660)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-0416/04

by Dorette Corbey (PSE) to the Commission

(9 February 2004)

Subject: Goose hunting in Zeeland

The province of Zeeland has granted an exemption to the ban on hunting geese. The exemption applies to
areas that do not fall within the scope of the Birds Directive, with a buffer zone of 200 to 700 metres in
operation. The area is home to a number of goose varieties that are listed in Annexe II/2 of the Birds
Directive, one of them being the Brent goose (Branta bernicla). The Netherlands is not listed as a Member
State that can give permission for hunting Brent geese under Article 7(3). The same goes for the Pink-
footed goose (Anser brachyrhynchus) and the Greater white-fronted goose (Anser albifrons), which are also
frequently in residence in Zeeland. Exceptions to the ban on hunting are only allowed under Article 9(1)(a)
if there is no other possible solution to serious problems such as major damage to crops. In the regional
press the exemption from the hunting ban is described as an economy measure: the provincial government
does not wish to spend money on repairing the damage caused by geese.

Is the payment of compensation to farmers for damage to crops a satisfactory solution within the

1.
meaning of Article 9(1)?

In the opinion of the Commission, does the exemption from the hunting ban violate the Birds

2.
Directive? If so, what steps will the Commission take?

Are the buffer zones that have been established sufficiently large to provide protection for the birds

3.
that live in the protected areas?

Can the Commission investigate the extent to which the province of Zeeland has made use of the

4.
possibility of obtaining subsidies for agricultural environment management?

Answer given by Mrs Wallström on behalf of the Commission

(16 March 2004)

The Honourable Member refers to the pink-footed goose (Anser brachyrhynchus), the white-fronted goose
(Anser Albifrons) and the brent goose (Branta bernicla) which are all mentioned in Annex II/2 of Council
Directive 79/409/EEC of 2 April 1979 on the conservation of wild birds (1). According to Article 7(3) of
the Directive, the species referred to in Annex II/2 may be hunted only in the Member States in respect of
which they are indicated. Annex II/2 indicates that the Netherlands may authorise the hunting of the Anser
albifrons.