WRITTEN QUESTION No. 1303/97 by José APOLINÁRIO to the Commission. Destruction of a vessel belonging to the firm of ACTAPESCAS in Guinea-Bissau
10. 2. 98 EN Official Journal of the European Communities C 45/21 (98/C 45/25) WRITTEN QUESTION E-1303/97 by Jose· Apolina·rio (PSE) to the Commission (11 April 1997) Subject: Destruction of a vessel belonging to the firm of ACTAPESCAS in Guinea-Bissau In the night of 5 to 6 October 1996 the freezer trawler Curacaí belonging to the firm of ACTAPESCAS was dragged off by a storm and began listing, so that part of the vessel became submerged. The firm sought compensation from the relevant insurance company, apparently to no avail. Will the Commission say whether it is aware of this problem which has already been reported in the Portuguese press, and what steps the Community authorities can take? Answer given by Mrs Bonino on behalf of the Commission (27 May 1997) The freezer trawler Curacaí, which was wrecked in the night of 5 to 6 October 1996 in Guinea-Bissau, was the subject of a transfer to that non-member country under a joint venture project pursuant to Article 21b of Council Regulation (EEC) No 4028/86 of 18 December 1986 on Community measures to improve and adapt structures in the fisheries and aquaculture sector (1). The Commission was informed of the shipwreck at the time the application for payment of the balance of aid for the project was submitted. That application is currently under examination. However, the dispute between the shipowner and its insurance company is outside the Commissionís field of competence. (1) OJ L 376, 31. 12. 1986. (98/C 45/26) WRITTEN QUESTION E-1360/97 by Maren Gu¤ nther (PPE) to the Commission (21 April 1997) Subject: Shortcomings in the implementation of the Erasmus programme I have received personal reports from students on the Erasmus programme that its implementation in the host countries is often unsatisfactory. There is a lack of coordination (in some cases, it is alleged, there is no local Erasmus coordinator), and many students break off their Erasmus studies owing to difficulties such as lack of flexibility in the choice of subject options and problems with recognition by their universities at home. Does the Commission intend to introduce rules to eliminate these and other shortcomings, and does the Commission monitor the way in which the programmes are implemented? Answer given by Mrs Cresson on behalf of the Commission (6 June 1997) The Commission feels that certain difficulties encountered by Erasmus students in their host countries are due to the lack of appropriate information for students and teachers on differences in the organisation of higher-education courses (content, examinations, etc. ) in the various Member States. The new phase of Erasmus as part of the Socrates programme and in particular the covering of the cost of mobility implementation by the central administrations of universities from September 1997 (áinstitutional contractsí), will allow the Commission to intervene in the event of any failure to respect agreements signed between universities receiving Community funding for student mobility