WRITTEN QUESTION E-0253/00 by Daniel Hannan (PPE-DE) to the Commission. Regulations.
C 303 E/166 Official Journal of the European Communities EN 24. 10. 2000 Since Greek tobacco producers suffer from this unfair treatment and the Community budget showed an overall surplus of some ECU 28,5 million for the 1993-98 period as a result of this measure, will the Commission say whether it intends to put an end to the unfair treatment to which the Kaba Koulak classic group of tobacco varieties has been subjected since 1993 and increase the premium by 15 % without any corresponding reduction in the quota? Answer given by Mr Fischler on behalf of the Commission (8 March 2000) The Annex to Council Regulation (EEC) No 2075/92 of 30 June 1992 on the common organisation of the market in raw tobacco (1) places tobacco variety Kaba Koulak classic in group VIII. The amount of the premium for this variety is laid down in Council Regulation (EC) No 660/1999 of 22 March 1999 amending Regulation (EEC) No 2075/92 and fixing the premiums and guarantee thresholds for leaf tobacco by variety group and Member State for the 1999, 2000 and 2001 harvests (2). This Regulation strikes a balance between guarantee thresholds and premiums for the various groups of varieties. Nevertheless, the Commission can inform the Honourable Member that a thorough analysis will be made of the special situation of Kaba Koulak classic producers in the framework of the report on the operation of the common market organisation for raw tobacco which the Commission must submit to Parliament and the Council by 1 April 2002. (1) OJ L 215, 30. 7. 1992. (2) OJ L 83, 27. 3. 1999. (2000/C 303 E/186) WRITTEN QUESTION E-0253/00 by Daniel Hannan (PPE-DE) to the Commission (7 February 2000) Subject: Regulations What is the total number of regulations the Commission estimates were agreed in 1998, broken down by (a) Commission Directives, (b) Commission Decisions, (c) Council Directives, (d) Council/European Parlia- ment Directives, (e) instruments not published in the Official Journal, (f) routine management instruments valid for a limited time? How does this vary with previous years and the latest estimate for 1999? Reply given by Mr Prodi on behalf of the Commission (3 March 2000) The numbers of Regulations, Directives and Decisions adopted by Parliament and the Council or by the Council alone or by the Commission from 1995 to 1999, excluding management instruments with a limited life, have been sent direct to the Honourable Member and to Parliamentís Secretariat. The data are taken from the interinstitional data base, Celex. Since 1997, they have been included in the General Report on the Activities of the European Union (tables 28 (1997 and 1998) and 29 (1999)). To keep track of the trend in the number of legislative instruments in force, the number repealed or having expired during the year in question is also shown. Routine management instruments with a limited life (sometimes a few days or a few months) published in the Official Journal (L series) with the title in light type are all Commission regulations and mainly concern agricultural policy. Their number is as follows (source: Celex): 1831 in 1999, 1809 in 1998, 1603 in 1997, 1402 in 1996 and 1877 in 1995. 24. 10. 2000 EN Official Journal of the European Communities C 303 E/167 Instruments not published in the Official Journal have no legal force. They vary widely (for example, they may include grants of financial assistance to Member States, groups or enterprises, or decisions concerning the appointment of officials and the application of the Staff Regulations), and a consolidated statement would be of no significance. (2000/C 303 E/187) WRITTEN QUESTION E-0263/00 by Christopher Heaton-Harris (PPE-DE) to the Council (8 February 2000) Subject: Educational priorities of the Portuguese Presidency Following the publication of the documented Programme of the Portuguese Presidency, could the Council clarify exactly what is meant by the stated aim to áexplore the idea of a European dimension in educationí? Can the Council fully outline how it proposes to achieve this aim and, more specifically, the role that it intends both the European Commission and the governments of individual Member States to play? Reply (13 April 2000) In its programme, the Portuguese Presidency has indicated that it á will explore the idea of a European dimension in education, both by sharing good educational practices and analysing proposals to be submitted by the Commission. í The existing Community programmes in the field of education and training: (the second phases of Socrates and Leonardo) are the keystone of the promotion of the European dimension in education, and the ministerial conference in Lisbon on 17-18 March to launch the new generation of programmes will underline their importance in achieving mobility and co-operation within the framework of the European Union (and also the associated countries) in the service of a European citizenship and a joint approach to common problems. The Presidency is in fact also organising a series of conferences on a range of educational and training topics ranging from curriculum development to lifelong learning all of which have an important European dimension and in which each Member State has a vital role to play, namely the exchange of best practice. At the special European Council on Employment (22-23 March Lisbon) the Presidency intends to call attention to the role of education and training, as is made clear in its preparatory document Employment, economic reforms and social cohesion ü towards a Europe based on innovation and knowledge (1)í which refers not only to the contribution of education to employment policies but also to the possibility of drawing up a European Charter of Basic Skills. í Apart from the above considerations the Presidency recalls that much of the Councilís ü and the Parliamentís current agenda is very much concerned with fostering the European dimension of education, such as the proposal for the European Year of Languages 2001 and the proposed recommendations on mobility and quality evaluation in schools. The Presidency would also like to point out that its programme is very much in line with, and carries forward, the work commenced under the Finnish Presidency by giving priority to the questions of education and employment, quality in education and vocational training as well as the promotion of mobility, which were identified as priority themes in the Council Resolution of 17. 12. 99 (2) on Into the new millennium: developing new working procedures for European cooperation in the field of education and training. í