WRITTEN QUESTION E-0717/00 by Carlos Carnero González (PSE) to the Commission. Preparations for the Eighth summit on progress and development in Equatorial Guinea.
13. 2. 2001 EN Official Journal of the European Communities C 46 E/31 information to other parts of the electricity company. Most Member States have decided to go further than the obligations of the Directive, in the sense that they have either legally unbundled the TSO, or even unbundled ownership of the TSO. The Commission has asked Member States that have unbundled only the management of the TSO to provide information as to the practical implementation of this requirement. The Commission is assessing the answers and will the management unbundling has not been sufficiently ensured. take the appropriate action if feels that it It is the task of the regulatory authorities to regulate transmission prices, and it is the objective of all 2. independent regulators to keep transmission prices as low as possible. 3. The transmission tariffs have recently been set in the Member States due to the implementation of the Electricity Directive. The transmission tariffs are monitored by regulatory authorities in Member States. The Commission is of the opinion that a comparison of transmission tariffs in the Member States is important for transparency of the electricity market. Non-discriminatory and fair access to the network is fundamental for arriving at a competitive electricity market. For this reason it will launch a comparative study on the transmission tariffs in the Member Sates this year. 4. As the transmission tariffs have only recently been developed and are still under development in the Member States that had an additional period to implement the Directive, these data have not yet been collected for the Community. 5. The Commission through its contacts with the market players is however aware of the fact that quite substantial differences exist in transmission tariffs throughout the Community. The reasons for these differences will be one of the elements of the study that the Commission intends to launch this year. However, it can already be stated that these levels will differ due to differences in size of networks, in consumer base over which to allocate the costs due to productivity and efficiency levels, and due to different levels of investments, also for investment in interconnection capacity to facilitate trade in the internal market. 6. Monitoring of the different levels of transmission tariffs is an important element in ensuring that the internal electricity market functions on a non-discriminatory basis. The Commission regards it very much as its task to ensure that transmission tariffs guarantee equal access to the transmission grid. (1) OJ L 27, 30. 1. 1997. (2001/C 46 E/036) WRITTEN QUESTION E-0717/00 by Carlos Carnero GonzÆlez (PSE) to the Commission (17 March 2000) Subject: Preparations for the Eighth summit on progress and development in Equatorial Guinea The press agency Agence France Presse reported on 11 February that a meeting had been held in Malabo on 10 February between Teodoro Obiang, President of Equatorial Guinea, and Friedrich Nagel, Head of the Commission Delegation in YaoundØ, Cameroon. According to this report, Mr Nagel stated on the radio that the object of his visit was to deliver to Mr Obiang an áofficial letter of notificationí concerning the Eighth summit on progress and development in Equatorial Guineaí. There was no public announcement of the date and place of this summit. As many NGOs have pointed out, including the Spanish NGO Asodegue and the international organisation MØdecins sans FrontiŁres, the situation in Equatorial Guinea is deteriorating constantly, to the point where MØdecins sans FrontiŁres has had to abandon the humanitarian work it was engaged in on the ground. C 46 E/32 Official Journal of the European Communities EN 13. 2. 2001 for human rights, with The deterioration results from an ongoing lack of democracy and respect widespread poverty among the population, despite the countryís natural resources being exploited with increasing rapidity. The responsibility for this lamentable situation clearly rests with the regime of Mr Obiang, who has systematically failed to fulfil all his promises of progress towards a constitutional State. Under these circumstances, Mr Nagelís visit raises justifiable concern, as it gives the impression that the Commission intends to resume cooperation with Guinea despite the inertia of the countryís ruling dictatorship. In view of the above: ü can the Commission provide detailed information about Mr Nagelís visit to Malabo? ü what is its view of the lack of progress towards democracy in Guinea? ü does it intend to make resumption of cooperation with this country conditional on a democracy clause? ü what is the content of the Eighth summit for progress and development in Equatorial Guineaí? Answer given by Mr Nielson on behalf of the Commission (18 April 2000) The information published on the Commissionís relations with Equatorial Guinea is incorrect. The Commission has no knowledge of the Eighth summit on progress and development in Equatorial Guineaí. However, on 11 February the Head of the Commission delegation in Equatorial Guinea did indeed meet President Obiang. The meeting had two aims: to give Mr Obiang the letter of notification stating the amount allocated to Equatorial Guinea under the Eighth European Development Fund (EDF), and to inform him of the imminent arrival of a Community human rights mission. In recent years, relations between the Community and Equatorial Guinea have been significantly affected by the latterís difficulties with its process of democratisation and respect for human rights. Together with the Member States represented there, the Commission is conducting an intensive political dialogue with the government in order to take the democratisation process forward. Equatorial Guinea is a country in which Community cooperation can nevertheless play a significant role in terms of impact on the poorest sections of the population. for instance, The Commission is, financing a project to rehabilitate the drinking water supply and sanitation networks of the town of Malabo and plans to fund a similar project for Bata. Both projects will go a long way towards improving the living conditions of the most vulnerable population groups in Equatorial Guinea. The Commission is also due to send a mission of three independent experts to Equatorial Guinea in the near future to establish a plan of action for democratisation, human rights, the fight against poverty and the development of civil society. The Commission is closely following the situation in the country via its office in Malabo and by means of frequent contacts with the Member States and other international donors. The Commission has acted and will continue to act with the greatest caution in relations with Equatorial Guinea to promote the establishment of the rule of law and facilitate the democratisation process, two areas which will continue to be given priority in discussions with the countryís authorities