WRITTEN QUESTION No. 3368/97 by Kirsi PIHA to the Commission. Ensuring the funding of enlargement
C 158/92 EN Official Journal of the European Communities 25. 5. 98 Answer given by Mr Pinheiro on behalf of the Commission (26 November 1997) 1. The Commission is extremely worried about the situation of children in third world countries in general, and about any form of exploitation, forced labour, even slavery, in particular. It supports the position the Community conveyed to the UN Human Rights Commission in which it condemned serious violations of childrenís human rights and urgently appealed to all signatories to the Convention on the Rights of the Child to ratify the Convention without delay and implement it in full everywhere. The Commission stresses that eliminating child slavery and sexual exploitation of children should be considered a priority for all. 2. More specifically on Africa, the Commission would remind the Honourable Member that observance of human rights, democratic principles and the rule of law is an essential element of the revised fourth Lome· Convention. Child slavery is an issue that is covered by the Convention. The Commission feels that positive measures, notably in the field of education, are crucially important in 3. this context. As part of its development programmes, it is financing schemes designed to improve the situation of children in various countries and will continue to do so in conjunction with international and non-governmental organisations. (98/C 158/120) WRITTEN QUESTION E-3368/97 by Kirsi Piha (PPE) to the Commission (22 October 1997) Subject: Ensuring the funding of enlargement In the chapter in the Commissionís Agenda 2000í on the funding of enlargement it is stated that each current Member Stateís share of the cost of enlargement may not exceed 1. 27% of its GNP. Although a surplus for distribution for structural reforms to the EUís support policy will be available partly as a result of strong economic growth, the assessment that this funding will be enough at the current level seems over-optimistic. Recent discussions both in the Council and in the European Parliament show that it is unlikely that the membership negotiations will begin in the áfive plus oneí form which the Commission proposes. This may lead to the total funding package diverging significantly in the medium and long term from the Commissionís estimate. In view of the above, does the Commission believe that its total funding package will remain under all circumstances within the framework set out in Agenda 2000 in all circumstances? How has the Commission insured, and how will it in future insure, against a situation in which the current funding estimates may turn out to have been under-estimated? Answer given by Mr Liikanen on behalf of the Commission (9 December 1997) In Agenda 2000í (1), the Commission set out the conditions and assumptions underlying its belief that it would be possible to finance both the development of Community policies and the integration of the first wave of applicant countries without going above the present 1. 27% GNP limit on own resources, and even maintaining a margin for manoeuvre within that limit. As that limit applies to the Community as a whole, it will be calculated after enlargement by reference to the GNP of the enlarged Community. However, the overall financial framework table appearing in Agenda 2000 proceeds from a number of working hypotheses in relation to enlargement (number of new Member States, timing, terms of accession). One of these hypotheses is that five applicant countries of Central and Eastern Europe and Cyprus will accede in 2002. If the enlargement followed a substantially different pattern from the one assumed by the Commission, the amounts set out in Agenda 2000 might have to be revised accordingly. (1) COM(97) 2000