WRITTEN QUESTION No. 2369/97 by Carmen FRAGA ESTÉVEZ to the Commission. Abuse of power by the President of the Commission
C 76/96 EN Official Journal of the European Communities 11. 3. 98 (98/C 76/192) WRITTEN QUESTION P-2334/97 by Daniel Varela Suanzes-Carpegna (PPE) to the Commission (30 June 1997) Subject: Commission position on joint Spanish-British fisheries undertakings According to the statements which the British Prime Minister and his Minister for Agriculture made to the British Parliament and the press on 18 June 1997, following the recent Amsterdam summit, the British Government has received written support (in the form of a letter) from the President of the Commission for its fisheries policy as regards the introduction of new conditions governing the operation of joint Spanish-British fisheries undertakings fishing in Community waters off the United Kingdom. Did the Commission give a written undertaking to support measures put forward unilaterally by the British 1. Government? 2. What legal and political significance does the Commission place on the above letter? 3. What exactly did the letter say? 4. 5. Did the Commission take the Spanish Governmentís opinion into account before forwarding the letter? Did it consult the undertakings concerned before taking such a step? 6. Does it feel that it has fulfilled its duty faithfully to uphold the treaties and the fundamental principles and freedoms deriving therefrom by intervening in support of a national government proposal concerning a matter on which the Court of Justice has already handed down several rulings regarding the legality of the activities of such undertakings (many of which are still waiting for the British authorities to pay them compensation in compliance with those rulings), which are operating in compliance with the fundamental principles and freedoms of the single market enshrined in the Treaty? (98/C 76/193) WRITTEN QUESTION P-2369/97 by Carmen Fraga Este·vez (PPE) to the Commission (1 July 1997) Subject: Abuse of power by the President of the Commission On 17 June 1997 the President of the Commission, Mr Santer, wrote to the British Prime Minister, Mr Blair, placing the services of DG XIV at the disposal of the British Government to assist it in resolving, in a way which would satisfy its interests, its dispute with other Member States regarding the right to register boats in any EU Member State, a right which has until now figured among the fundamental principles of the Treaties, which enshrine the free movement of persons, capital and goods throughout Community territory; the letter also offered a range of initiatives on ways of restricting the above freedoms to one Member State. In view of the serious nature of this action by Mr Santer, which may imply that neither the Treaties nor the Community Courts have any value in the face of a Presidentís purely personal wishes and friendships, can the Commission offer any explanation for Mr Santerís decision and motives, bearing in mind that, in addition to the doubtful legality of the measures proposed in the letter, this unilateral action seriously harms the democratic image of Community institutions among the public and strengthens in a most regrettable way the feeling that the increasingly frequent criticism of the Commissionís ádemocratic deficití is far from being unfounded? (98/C 76/194) WRITTEN QUESTION E-2389/97 by Carmen Fraga Este·vez (PPE) to the Commission (10 July 1997) Subject: Procedure established by the Commission with regard to quota hopping It has been known for some time that members of the British government have been holding talks for months with officials seconded from DG XIV with a view to finding a solution favourable to the British in connection