WRITTEN QUESTION E-0414/04 by Charles Tannock (PPE-DE) to the Commission. The treatment of North Korean refugees in the People's Republic of China.
Date: 2004-02-17
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: China, EU relations, North Korea, aid to refugees, human rights, refugee, removal

C 84 E/788

Official Journal of the European Union

EN

3.4.2004

Answer given by Mrs Wallström on behalf of the Commission

(31 March 2004)

With the exception of timber species covered under the Convention on Trade in Endangered Species
(CITES) there is currently no Community legislation which would only allow the importation into the EU
of legally harvested timber. Furthermore there are no multilateral agreements,
including World Trade
Organisation (WTO) agreements, which directly address the issue of trade in illegally harvested timber.

The Commission set out a number of measures to address illegal logging and associated trade in its Forest
Law Enforcement Governance and Trade (FLEGT) Action Plan (1), adopted in 2003 and discussed in the
Parliament’s Industry, Trade, Research and Energy Committee. Amongst these measures is a proposal for
the EU to enter into voluntary FLEGT Partnership Agreements with timber exporting countries. Under
such agreements only timber from these countries with a legality ‘certificate’ would be allowed entry into
the EU. In the Communication the Commission also stated that it would examine other potential legislative
options.

in such a voluntary FLEGT partnership and is working with the
Indonesia has expressed interest
Commission in the design of a major project
logging.
to help it address the problem of
The Commission intends to put forward in 2004 a proposal for a Regulation which would allow the
implementation of the voluntary FLEGT certificate scheme at EU borders.

illegal

(1) COM(2003) 251 final.

(2004/C 84 E/0885)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0414/04

by Charles Tannock (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(17 February 2004)

Subject: The treatment of North Korean refugees in the People’s Republic of China

A group of 12 North Korean refugees have recently been arrested by the Chinese authorities in Beijing and
Quindao, (a port on the east coast, south east of Beijing). If they are sent back to North Korea they face
prosecution, torture, imprisonment and even execution for daring to question their leader Kim Jung II.

These refugees are often helped by Chinese Christians who risk their own freedom trying to help them to
safety.

Mindful of the fact that China has signed the 1951 United Nations Convention relating to the status of
refugees, and is therefore bound by the principle of not returning people to a country where they face
serious persecution, which has been made explicit by the horrific allegations in the UK press of the
systematic use of gas chambers to execute men, women and children, will the Commission condemn
North Korea’s blatant flouting of its international obligations and argue that such behaviour will not be
tolerated?

Answer given by Mr Patten on behalf of the Commission

(18 March 2004)

North Korea is currently a major concern for the international community including the European Union.
The Commission has various channels through which it can meet representatives of the North Korean
Government and put forward its concerns. Human rights issues, including the situation of North Korean
refugees on the border with China, are systematically raised during these regular political contacts, on the

3.4.2004

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 84 E/789

last occasion during a round of formal discussions held in December 2003 in Pyongyang. The Commission
has consistently expressed to the North Korean authorities its concern about the treatment of these people
once returned by China to the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea (DPRK). It has urged the DPRK to
respect the fundamental rights of these citizens.

Furthermore, the EU tabled a resolution on the human rights situation in the DPRK at the 2003 United
Nations (UN) Commission of Human Rights which was adopted on 16 April 2003. The EU is prepared to
table another resolution in 2004 underlining its continuing concern.

The EU is conducting a bilateral dialogue on human rights with China and the issue of the North Korean
refugees in China has also been systematically raised in that context. The EU’s constant position has been
to call on the Chinese authorities to handle the issue in a moderate and constructive manner and to apply,
therefore, the non-repatriation principle in accordance with the 1951 Geneva Convention on Refugees and
to allow the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees to have access to the North Korea-China
border area. Most recently, the EU recalled this position to the Chinese authorities during the last round of
the dialogue on human rights held in Dublin on 26/27 February 2004. Moreover, on 18 February 2004,
the EU Troika carried out a démarche to the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs concerning the arrest and
detention in China of the DPRK citizens who had left their country and urged China not to forcibly
repatriate them to the DPRK.

(2004/C 84 E/0886)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0418/04

by Gerhard Schmid (PSE) to the Commission

(17 February 2004)

Subject: Security of EC cards

Fraud involving cash dispensers in the EU is on the increase. There have been a number of cases recently
where data from EC cards has been transmitted from a cash dispenser set up specially for this purpose and
copied onto new cards. Only German EC cards contain extra built-in security features preventing this kind
of abuse. The replacement of magnetic strip cards with chip cards will take some time to complete.

Is the Commission planning to draw up measures to introduce such security features throughout the
internal market?

Answer given by Mr Bolkestein on behalf of the Commission

(5 April 2004)

The Commission is aware of the various techniques used by criminals to collect card data from automated
teller machines (ATMs) in the EU. These techniques include the setting up of fake ATMs or alterations to
genuine ATMs with the specific purpose of copying data from the magnetic stripe of Community cards.
After copying the magnetic stripe and capturing the PIN code, criminals generally transfer the data
obtained onto blank cards (‘white plastic’), which are fraudulently used mostly in unattended ATMs or
terminals.

According to the information received by the Commission,
the security features described by the
Honourable Member can prevent this kind of abuse and have been in place already for many years in
Germany. They consist of a modification in the magnetic stripe of the card and an additional device to be
installed in the ATM. To the Commission’s knowledge, such a solution is, for the time being, used only on
cards issued by German banks and only in order to perform cash withdrawals at ATMs located in
Germany. Such security features cannot be detected by terminals (POS) located in German shops or other
merchant terminals (e.g. petrol stations or vending machines).