WRITTEN QUESTION E-0625/04 by Mario Borghezio (NI) to the Commission. If the French State prevents Jean-Marie Le Pen from standing in the regional elections it would represent a serious breach of Article 6 of the EU Treaty.
Date: 2004-03-01
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: France, electoral law, extreme right, political rights, regional election, right to stand for election

3.4.2004

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 84 E/437

Answer given by Mr Monti on behalf of the Commission

(1 April 2004)

At this moment in time, Spain has not notified under the State aid rules the measures referred to by

1.
the Honourable Member.

2.
At this early stage it is not possible to say whether the measures constitute State aid, and if so,
whether they are compatible or not. Furthermore, since the measures appear to be intended for a number
of years, it is difficult to judge whether, as the Honourable Member states, they are disproportionate.

3.
The Commission is closely following the issue and will request information from the Spanish
authorities. In another file, in which proceedings were opened according to Article 88(3) of the EC Treaty
(suspected State aid to Spanish public civil shipyards in the form of capital injections to IZAR) (1), the
Commission requested Spain to clarify how overhead costs are distributed in IZAR and to clarify the costs
for a civil ferry built in one of IZAR’s military shipyards.

Concerning the suggestion of a crisis team for shipbuilding, the Commission is not fully sure of how
4.
such a team could work from a practical or legal point of view. However, the Honourable Member can be
assured that allegations of unfair competition in the EU shipbuilding market are taken very seriously in the
Commission, and that adequate human resources are already used in the State aid departments to follow
the shipbuilding industry.

(1) OJ C 201, 26.8.2003.

(2004/C 84 E/0509)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0625/04

by Mario Borghezio (NI) to the Commission

(1 March 2004)

Subject: If the French State prevents Jean-Marie Le Pen from standing in the regional elections it would

represent a serious breach of Article 6 of the EU Treaty

The candidacy of the former MEP Jean-Marie Le Pen at the forthcoming French regional elections in the
Provence-Alpes-Côtes d’Azur (PACA) region appears to have been blocked for specious, bureaucratic
reasons, which appear all the more petty and politically motivated given that this politician, who received
the most votes after Chirac in the recent French presidential elections, could legally have stood and been
elected as a regional councillor in the aforementioned region of France.

Does the Commission consider that the possible exclusion for captious formal reasons of the right-wing
political leader Jean-Marie Le Pen represents a serious breach of the principle of political freedom which
forms the basis of the EU and that it goes against the guarantees laid down by the European Convention
on safeguarding human rights and basic freedoms in terms of civil and political rights, which in a
democracy must be enjoyed by all citizens?

In the case in point, does not the Commission consider that this is a clear and flagrant breach of Article 6
of the EU Treaty (cid:1) intended to safeguard the principles set out above (cid:1) and in particular of its
paragraphs 1 and 2, on the part of the French authorities?

Answer given by Mr Vitorino on behalf of the Commission

(22 March 2004)

Under the EC Treaty and the Treaty on European Union, the Commission does not have any general
powers regarding fundamental rights. It may act only in cases where those rights have been infringed in
connection with the application of Community law.

C 84 E/438

Official Journal of the European Union

EN

3.4.2004

Since no aspect of Community law is involved here, the Commission does not consider itself competent to
answer the questions put by the Honourable Member.

(2004/C 84 E/0510)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-0633/04

by Saïd El Khadraoui (PSE) to the Commission

(24 February 2004)

Subject: Integration of the Commission in Brussels

The European Commission employs approximately 21 000 staff in Brussels and has an extensive range of
buildings. In its communication on buildings policy and infrastructures in Brussels (1) the Commission
develops an approach to its premises in Brussels with particular reference to quality of life in the European
Quarter.

The communication sets out an action plan concerning various aspects of integration in Brussels: Europe’s
image in Brussels, mobility plan for the Commission, housing policy for staff, dialogue with the Belgian
authorities at various levels.

Has the European Commission discussed these plans with the other European institutions and the various
Belgian authorities? If so, when did the relevant consultations take place,
if not what were the main
obstacles to preventing this?

Will the Commission take the lead in starting discussions with the other institutions on this issue and
convincing them of the need for a coherent approach?

The Belgian Government recently decided (cid:1) following the example set by the Flemish government (cid:1) to
offer its staff free travel from home to work; is the Commission also considering measures of this kind?

Is Commission prepared to integrate its child-care and education facilities more closely with the existing
infrastructure in Brussels and open them up to the entire population of Brussels (in terms of cost as well),
to encourage greater contacts between the local population and Commission staff?

(1) COM(2003) 755.

Answer given by Mr Kinnock on behalf of the Commission

(23 March 2004)

The European institutions have set up an Inter-Institutional Infrastructure, Logistics and Internal Services
Working Group, whose objective is to coordinate the policies of the Institutions’ in Brussels on buildings
and infrastructure and their dealings with the host country’s authorities. The Working Group has discussed
the communication from the Commission on the building policy and infrastructures in Brussels (1) and the
Plan Médiateur (2), a consultative Belgian outline for achieving improvements in the part of Brussels that
includes the European quarter. The discussions have shown that each Institution is convinced of the need
for a consistent and constructive approach to these issues. Contact with the Belgian authorities is, similarly,
continuing at several levels (Brussels Region, Federal Government, Buildings Department and semi-public
entities such as MIVB/STIB). The Commission wishes to further strengthen contact with those authorities
through consideration of the Plan Médiateur.

A Commission proposal for reducing travel costs for officials using public transport between home and
work is under consideration as part of a draft Mobility Plan which is currently being drawn up by the
Commission’s Office for Infrastructure and Logistics. This proposal is due for completion later this year.
The first step is for the Commission to determine whether funding is available for implementing such a
plan or, if not, to find alternative sources of financial support.