WRITTEN QUESTION No. 2573/97 by Bill MILLER to the Commission. Enlargement of the Union
17. 3. 98 EN Official Journal of the European Communities C 82/109 Answer given by Mr Van den Broek on behalf of the Commission (10 September 1997) The Member States ensure respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms through effective control systems implemented at national and international level, including the European Convention on Human Rights which they all signed and ratified some time ago. (98/C 82/180) WRITTEN QUESTION P-2573/97 by Bill Miller (PSE) to the Commission (15 July 1997) Subject: Enlargement of the Union Does the Commission agree that the lack of institutional reform achieved in the Amsterdam Treaty will delay the enlargement of the Union? Answer given by Mr Santer on behalf of the Commission (10 September 1997) The conclusion of the intergovernmental conference in June, which resulted in the Amsterdam Treaty, opened the way for the launching of the enlargement process (conclusions of the presidency of the Amsterdam European Council). In accordance with the protocol on the institutions attached to the treaty, before any enlargement the re-weighting of votes must accompany the reduction of the number of commissioners to one for each Member State. Further substantial reform of the institutions must precede an enlargement comprising more than five new Member States through triggering a new intergovernmental conference. The Commission proposed in its Agenda 2000í to open enlargement negotiations with six candidate Member States and to convene, as soon as possible after the year 2000, a new intergovernmental conference to carry out the institutional reforms which are needed before actual enlargement. It follows from the above that the task of accomplishing the necessary institutional reforms complicates the enlargement process, but does not necessarily delay it. (98/C 82/181) WRITTEN QUESTION E-2575/97 by Nikitas Kaklamanis (UPE) to the Commission (24 July 1997) Subject: Staff and Work of the European Environment Agency (EEA) The nature and the activities of the EEA are very specifically defined, and its duties are purely consultative, as the leaflet Putting Information to Workí published by the organisation in 1995 shows. Despite this, there has been a significant increase in the number of staff employed there, and its budget estimates for 1997 and 1998 seem to be high. Will the Commission › which supervises this service › state why the EEA called for an increase in its staff complement in 1997, and can it give a breakdown of staff by nationality and specify the exact nature of the scientific work it is supposed to carry out?