WRITTEN QUESTION No. 2232/97 by Alexandros ALAVANOS to the Council. Exercise of electoral rights by Albanian migrants in the EU
C 158/4 EN Official Journal of the European Communities 25. 5. 98 To date, ephedrine-based medicinal products available in the Community have only received national marketing authorisations, in accordance with the provisions on the quality, safety and efficacy of medicinal products laid down in Council Directive 65/65/EEC of 26 January 1965, as amended, on the approximation of provisions laid down by law, regulation or administrative action relating to medicinal products (1). Marketing authorisations must be sought for medicinal products containing ephedrine; they are granted for prescriptions which must observe the constant principle in human medicine of striking a balance between the health benefits/drawbacks of taking the medicinal product. The importation into Community territory of medicinal products from non-member countries must meet the requirements of Chapter IV of the second Council Directive 75/319/EEC of 20 May 1975, as amended, on the approximation of provisions laid down by law, regulation or administrative action relating to proprietary medicinal products (2). Use of these products is subject to the provisions on monitoring and pharmacovigilance laid down in that Directive. Given that, to date, no medicinal product containing ephedrine has been authorised under the new Community procedures, centralised or decentralised, the Commission has not had to pronounce on the concentrations of ephedrine considered dangerous for human consumption. (1) OJ 22, 9. 2. 1965. (2) OJ L 147, 9. 6. 1975. (98/C 158/05) WRITTEN QUESTION E-2232/97 by Alexandros Alavanos (GUE/NGL) to the Council (18 July 1997) Subject: Exercise of electoral rights by Albanian migrants in the EU Hundreds of thousands of Albanian migrants work in EU countries, and principally in Greece and Italy. Despite the good intentions expressed by certain governments with a view to facilitating the passage of those workers to their home regions so that they could exercise their right to vote, very few of them will be able to do so. Bearing in mind the importance of the forthcoming elections in Albania, the very large number of migrants and the need for all Albanian citizens to participate, will the Council call on the Albanian Government and the member states of the OSCE to promote initiatives to make it possible for Albanian migrants to vote in their countries of residence so that the outcome of the elections will be as representative as possible? Answer (19 January 1998) The Honourable Memberís question does not fall within the Councilís field of competence. The Council is not in fact competent to express an opinion on a question concerning the manner in which a non-Member State, Albania, organizes the participation of its emigrant nationals in elections held in Albania. (98/C 158/06) WRITTEN QUESTION E-2321/97 by Leonie van Bladel (UPE) to the Council (18 July 1997) Subject: Legal certainty with regard to possession of a Netherlands passport 1. On 2 October 1997 Amsterdam municipal executive informed the father (a naturalized Netherlands national) of the 14-year old Jolanda Bona, a girl of Surinamese origin, as follows concerning her nationality and