WRITTEN QUESTION No. 2562/97 by Patricia McKENNA to the Commission. Discrimination against non-British residents by Eurostar
C 82/108 EN Official Journal of the European Communities 17. 3. 98 Can the Commission give details of the amount given in each payment and the purposes for which the payments are supposed to be used by the company running Sellafield, British Nuclear Fuels Ltd (BNFL)? Answer given by Mr de Silguy on behalf of the Commission (15 September 1997) Euratom extended a loan to British Nuclear Fuels Ltd. A loan agreement for an amount of USD 142 million (then countervalue of GBP 100 million) was concluded on 11-17 December 1986 to finance partially the construction of a thermal oxide reprocessing plan at Sellafield, Cumbria, in supporting the THORP fuel receipt and storage facility in 1987 (the technical description is sent direct to the Honourable Member and to the Parliamentís secretariat). The loan was guaranteed by the British government. The total costs of this construction were estimated to amount to GBP 1 550 million, of which EURATOM financed GBP 100 million. The loan was disbursed on 15 January 1987 and repaid in one amount in full on 15 January 1997. Nothing is outstanding from this loan and there are currently no applications for a new loan from Euratom. (98/C 82/178) WRITTEN QUESTION E-2562/97 by Patricia McKenna (V) to the Commission (24 July 1997) Subject: Discrimination against non-British residents by Eurostar A constituent of mine, who travels regularly on the Eurostar train from London to Brussels, recently wrote to Eurostar concerning the benefits offered by its áfrequent travellerí programme. He was told that the benefits can only be claimed by residents in Britain, who are on the British electoral role. Because he is an Irish resident, the benefits were therefore not open to him. Is the Commission aware of this discrimination against non-British residents? Because the principle of non-discrimination is central EU policy, will it contact Eurostar and the British authorities urging that this negative discrimination ceases? Answer given by Mr Kinnock on behalf of the Commission (3 October 1997) The Commission would refer the Honourable Member to the reply it gave to Oral Question H-566/97 by Mrs Banotti during question time at Parliamentís July 1997 part-session (1). (1) Debates of the Parliament (July 1997). (98/C 82/179) WRITTEN QUESTION E-2570/97 by Glyn Ford (PSE) to the Commission (24 July 1997) Subject: Persecution in a Member State What minimum standards of democracy have to be in place in order to ensure that persecution could not take place in an EU Member State?