WRITTEN QUESTION E-0398/04 by Camilo Nogueira Román (Verts/ALE) to the Commission. Child slavery networks.
Date: 2004-02-16
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: action programme, child labour, child protection, slavery, sub-Saharan Africa, the EU's international role, trafficking in human beings

3.4.2004

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 84 E/581

Answer given by Mr Fischler on behalf of the Commission

(16 March 2004)

We have always been alert to the need to keep the detailed rules of the scheme for aiding the most
deprived persons in the Community adapted to changing circumstances and have amended them on
introducing in particular two major changes to provide greater flexibility that the
several occasions,
Honourable Member refers to,
the possibility of buying food products on the market that are
temporarily unavailable from intervention and, very recently, the practice of exchanging intervention
stocks for other food products.

i.e.

We are aware that the scheme provides one of the sources of supply to many associations active in this
field. These are consulted both by the Member States when they draw up their annual plan requests and by
the Commission at meetings held at least once a year.

We will continue to monitor the changing environment of the scheme and will not fail to adjust the rules
as necessary. We are considering the measure’s future in the face of the considerable reduction in public
stocks (cid:1) even the disappearance of stocks of some products such as beef and olive oil (cid:1) that is one of the
intended results of ongoing reform of the common agricultural policy.

(2004/C 84 E/0657)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0398/04

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

(16 February 2004)

Subject: Child slavery networks

Does the Commission believe that the appalling phenomenon of the enslavement of children in sub-
Saharan African countries could be affecting the EU? Is the Commission taking any measures with regard
to those African countries where, according to some NGOs, 200 000 children are engaged in slave labour?

Answer given by Mr Patten on behalf of the Commission

(14. April 2004)

The Commission fully supports the strong stance which the EU has taken against slavery. That stance is
illustrated by the EU’s statement on the rights of the child delivered to the 59th Session of the United
Nations Commission on Human Rights (UNCHR) in 2003, in which the EU expressed alarm at the increase
in the worst forms of child labour,
in the
International Labour Organisation (ILO) Global Report for 2002, which estimated the number of children
in the worst forms of labour at 179 million and those in slavery at 8,4 million). Moreover, the resolution
tabled by the EU on the rights of the child at the 59th UNCHR also included a call to States to take action
to combat child labour and to eliminate its worst forms immediately.

including all forms of slavery (as documented,

‘inter alia’,

The EU’s commitment to combating slavery is further reflected in Article 5 of the Charter on Fundamental
Rights, which prohibits slavery and forced labour, and in the support articulated by the EU for
including the UN Protocol to Prevent,
international
Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children and ILO Conventions 29,
105, 138 and 182.

instruments to combat slavery-related activities,

In the specific context of Africa, an action plan against trafficking in human beings has been elaborated for
agreement in the context of the EU-Africa Dialogue. Moreover, support has been extended through the EU
budget to address the issue of child slavery. A recent example is the allocation of EUR 1 252 375 to Alisei
under the European Initiative for Democracy and Human Rights (EIDHR) to combat child trafficking,
modern forms of slavery and the exploitation of minors in Gabon, Benin, Togo and Nigeria. In addition,
the EIDHR programming update for 2004 (adopted by Commission Decision of 1 December 2003)

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?