WRITTEN QUESTION No. 3426/98 by Alexandros ALAVANOS to the Commission. Ban on use of the Kurdish language by a prisoner in Dutch prisons
C 207/68 Official Journal of the European Communities EN 21. 7. 1999 Answer given by Mr Bangemann on behalf of the Commission (14 January 1999) Standardization in the machinery area has begun slowly, and there has been a steady output of standards for only a few years now. This is due mainly to the need to find a consensus amongst all interested parties, and to ensure a high level of safety, even if this implies longer periods for the adoption of standards. The Commission implements the various measures indicated in the report on efficiency and accountability in European standardization under the new approach (1), in order to speed up the process. In particular, it has insisted to the European standards bodies to make available a common Web site indicating the state of progress in standardization. Furthermore, the Commission has invited the European committee for standardisation (CEN), the European committee for electrotechnical standardisation (Cenelec) and the European telecommu- nications standards institute (ETSI), which are primarily responsible for the management of the standard- ization process, to explain their measures on efficiency to national authorities, grouped in the senior officials groups for standardization. The Commission is not aware of significant difficulties in relation to the free movement of goods. The essential requirements are drawn up in a very detailed way, and more than 95 % of types of machinery can be put on the market by a manufacturer’s declaration, even in the absence of European standards. It would be interesting to have concrete evidence of double controls, to which reference is made. It is precisely the respect of Community legislation that allows the products to circulate freely in the Community without repetition of controls. To this end the CE marking offers a useful indication that these rules have been respected. (1) COM(98) 291 final. (1999/C 207/088) WRITTEN QUESTION E-3426/98 by Alexandros Alavanos (GUE/NGL) to the Commission (24 November 1998) Subject: Ban on use of the Kurdish language by a prisoner in Dutch prisons Husein Baybasin, a Kurd being held in Dutch prisons, has begun a hunger strike because the Dutch authorities have forbidden him to use the Kurdish language to communicate with his family on the grounds that under the prison regulations the Kurdish language is not one of the ‘standard’ languages of Europe. Since this ban prevents him from communicating with his relatives, constitutes a violation of the European Convention on Human Rights and disregards the rules for the protection of ‘minority’ languages. Will the Commission say: 1. What action does it intend to take to enable this Kurdish prisoner to communicate with his family in his mother tongue? 2. Are there any other penal establishments in Europe which apply similarly unacceptable rules and, if so, can it name them? Answer given by Mrs Gradin on behalf of the Commission (22 January 1999) The Commission has no competence regarding rules and conditions in prisons under Title VI of the Treaty on European Union. Decisions in this field are within the responsibility of the appropriate authorities of the Member States. In case of any possible violation of the European Convention of human rights, this would be a matter to pursue with the European court of human rights