WRITTEN QUESTION No. 3296/97 by Nikitas KAKLAMANIS to the Commission. Moves by Turkey to destabilize the Aegean
C 102/168 EN Official Journal of the European Communities 3. 4. 98 It appears that not all certificates issued by the authorities are issued properly. As a result, and on the recommendation of the Commission, Bangladesh has declared 15 000 certificates of origin invalid with retroactive effect. The Commission intends to levy import duties in respect of imports made in the years 1994-1996. This will cause considerable financial problems for many European importers. Does the Commission feel that the Bangladesh authorities have sufficient expertise in preparing certificates 1. of origin? If not, has the Commission provided them with adequate assistance in issuing them correctly? 2. When did the Commission become aware of the technical problems involving the certificates? Did it then immediately notify the imparters? If not, why not? Does the Commission expect importers themselves to check the validity of official 3. government certificates of origin? If so, how can businesses do so? 4. Does the Commission feel that it is right to levy duties retrospectively because of invalid official certificates? If so, does the Commission think it is reasonable to charge duty retrospectively three years after the date of import? 5. How does the Commission intend to prevent this of problem in the future? Answer given by Mr Kinnock on behalf of the Commission (18 November 1997) In view of the length of its answer, the Commission is sending it direct to the Honourable Member and to Parliamentís Secretariat. (98/C 102/254) WRITTEN QUESTION E-3296/97 by Nikitas Kaklamanis (UPE) to the Commission (20 October 1997) Subject: Moves by Turkey to destabilize the Aegean It has been reported in the press that the Turkish secret services are drawing up plans aimed at destabilizing the Aegean under the pretext of ápursuingí persons masquerading as Kurdish guerrillas to one of the islands of the Eastern Aegean. The whole operation is intended to discredit one of the Member States of the EU, namely Greece, by suggesting it is a centre of terrorism and to undermine Greek sovereignty, while ostensibly combating and preventing acts of terrorism. Given that Turkey is a state linked to the EU by association agreement, which means that it is duty-bound to respect the rules of international law, will the Commission say what it intends to do in order to forestall a general destabilization of the Aegean, the consequences of which would be felt by the EU itself? Answer given by Mr Van den Broek on behalf of the Commission (17 November 1997) The Commission takes the view that it has no jurisdiction in this matter