WRITTEN QUESTION No. 961/98 by Anita POLLACK to the Commission. Cycling
C 402/48 Official Journal of the European Communities EN 22. 12. 98 What joint measures has the Commission carried out with UNESCO on the basis of the operational agreement signed in February 1996? Answer given by Mr Oreja on behalf of the Commission (17 June 1998) The basis for cooperation between the Community and the Council of Europe and other international organisations in the field of culture such as the United Nations Organisation for Education, Science and Culture (Unesco) is Article 128(3) of the EC Treaty. On 5 November 1996 there was an exchange of letters between the Commission and the Council of Europe updating the exchange of 16 June 1987. This makes provision in particular for informal contact between representatives of the Commission and representatives of the Secretariat-General of the Council of Europe designed to ensure that their officials attend sectoral meetings on a reciprocal basis in accordance with their respective procedures. Since December 1997 representatives of the Council of Europe have been invited regularly to meetings of the Cultural Affairs Committee. This follows the authorisation given to the Committee by the Council on 11 December 1996 to hold informal discussions on cultural matters outside meetings where it is deliberating as part of the Councilís decision-making process. Similarly, the Community and Unesco more recently exchanged letters with a view to facilitating operational cooperation between Unesco and the Commission. Cultural cooperation between the two has mainly revolved around specific projects supported by the Community as part of its programmes and by Unesco as part of the activities within its own terms of reference. (98/C 402/059) WRITTEN QUESTION E-0961/98 by Anita Pollack (PSE) to the Commission (30 March 1998) Subject: Cycling Does the Commission have any plans to press Member States to produce a cycling master plan along the lines of that in the Netherlands and UK? Answer given by Mr Kinnock on behalf of the Commission (25 May 1998) The Commission is aware of and welcomes the comprehensive cycling plans adopted by the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. It does not plan to introduce a similar plan at European level as this subject clearly falls under the responsibility of Member States. As part of the follow-up to the Citizensí Network Green Paper (1), however, the Commission is sponsoring the creation of a computerised database of good practice in local and regional passenger transport › the Citizensí Network Information Serviceí › which should be available from the middle of 1998. Cycling is one of the subjects covered by this database. The Commission is also launching a pilot exercise in benchmarking local passenger transport systems. Again, the contribution of cycling to the performance of these systems is one of the issues that will be addressed. In relation to longer distance cycling, the Commission is supporting an assessment of the feasibility of establishing and financing the EuroVelo network of international cycle routes. While this network would primarily benefit leisure and tourist cycling, it would also enhance cycling provision in and near towns. (1) COM(95) 601 final