WRITTEN QUESTION No. 2210/97 by Lyndon HARRISON to the Commission. Human rights in Croatia
10. 2. 98 EN Official Journal of the European Communities C 45/159 (98/C 45/208) WRITTEN QUESTION E-2210/97 by Lyndon Harrison (PSE) to the Commission (30 June 1997) Subject: Human rights in Croatia Is the Commission aware of reports from Womenís Aid for Peaceí (a humanitarian organization working with all ethnic groups in former Yugoslavia) that Croat returnees to the Lika area are being deliberately denied their human rights? In particular, is it aware that the returnees are often refused access to their former homes and employment? Is the Commission further aware that the Croatian police also show little diligence in pursuing the perpetrators of crimes against Serbs? What steps is the Commission taking to monitor human rights violations in Croatia? What are the results of this monitoring and what pressures is the Commission putting on the Croatian authorities to stamp out such abuses? Answer given by Mr Van den Broek on behalf of the Commission (14 July 1997) The Commission is aware that Croatian Serb returnees are frequently exposed to harassment and a high level of insecurity in Croatia and unable to move into their former homes. While procedures have been set up to facilitate the return of Croatian Serb displaced persons from other parts of Croatia to their place of origin, implementation appears to be deficient in many cases. The return of Croatian Serb refugees to Croatia often meets with deliberate obstacles created by the Croatian authorities. The Commission has not the means to monitor systematically violations of human rights in Croatia. The Communityís monitoring mission, led by the respective Presidencies of the Community, as well as the Organization on security and cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and the United Nationsí special rapporteurs for human rights observe the situation. They regularly report on their findings concerning the respect of human and minority rights in this country, and the Commission receives these reports. The Community in general, and the Commission in particular, continuously press the Croatian authorities to respect internationally agreed standards of human and minority rights and to comply with their international obligations. In the framework of the regional approach, the development of relations between the Community and Croatia will crucially depend on the latterís respect of human and minority rights and the creation of real opportunities for refugees to return to their places of origin. (98/C 45/209) WRITTEN QUESTION P-2214/97 by Karla Peijs (PPE) to the Commission (13 June 1997) Subject: Implementation of Directive 83/189/EEC by the Netherlands Government Is the Commission aware of the substantial number of laws and regulations of which the Netherlands 1. Government has failed to notify the Commission in connection with the internal market (as required by Directive 83/189/EEC (1) amended in 1989) since 1983? Is the Commission aware that the Netherlands Government has said that this problem is not confined to the 2. Netherlands but also exists in a number of other EU Member States? If so, which Member States, what is the extent of the negligence and what damage has been done to the 3. internal market by the negligent Member States? How does the Commission monitor the implementation of EU legislation in the Member States › i. e. both 4. legislation in general and the relevant Directive in particular? 5. What are the legal consequences of the negligence of the Netherlands Government?