WRITTEN QUESTION E-0856/00 by Lord Inglewood (PPE-DE) to the Commission. Eurostar socio-economic data.
C 374 E/172 Official Journal of the European Communities EN 28. 12. 2000 constitutional changes in order to fully respect all minorities. In addition, there was also a reference to their commitment to starting work on adopting a law on education and the use of minority languages in accordance with the standards of the Council of Europe. Given the commitments accepted by the Croat Government and its first action plan, the Commission expects initial results in April. With regard to Slovenia, accession negotiations were opened in the light of the Commissionís opinion of July 1997, which stated that Slovenia fulfilled the political criteria laid down at Copenhagen. Slovenia presents the characteristics of a democracy, with stable institutions guaranteeing the rule of law, human rights, and respect for and protection of minorities. The Commission found in particular that Italian citizens in Slovenia had obtained recognition as a minority and the associated constitutional rights. The Commission is aware that the process of returning property is very slow in Slovenia. It is following the process carefully in the context of bilateral relations and discussed the matter at a recent Association Committee meeting on 23 March 2000. However, the Commission has no power to intervene directly on this matter. Article 295 (formerly Article 222) of the EC Treaty expressly states that it shall in no way prejudice the rules in Member States governing the system of property ownership. (2000/C 374 E/202) WRITTEN QUESTION E-0856/00 by Lord Inglewood (PPE-DE) to the Commission (21 March 2000) Subject: Eurostar socio-economic data What is the measure of statistical error in the socio-economic data produced by the Statistical Office of the European Community for GDP/PPS 1994-1996 and for the unemployment rate in 1995-1997? Answer given by Mr Solbes Mira on behalf of the Commission (19 April 2000) As regards GDP/PPS, the Commission does not have the necessary information to calculate the error rate requested by the Honourable Member. However, as part of its ongoing project to improve the quality of its statistics (Qualistat), the Commission has implemented various measures with the general aim of improv- ing the accuracy of these indicators. As regards unemployment rates, calculated using the Community Labour Force Survey, Article 3 of Council Regulation (EC) No 577/98 of 9 March 1998 (1) on the organisation of a labour force sample survey in the Community requires Member States to ensure that, for a group of unemployed people representing 5 % of the working age population, the relative standard error for the estimation of annual averages at NUTS II level shall not exceed 8 % of the sub-population in question. (1) OJ L 77, 14. 3. 1998. (2000/C 374 E/203) WRITTEN QUESTION E-0857/00 by Roger Helmer (PPE-DE) to the Commission (22 March 2000) Subject: Construction products directive The construction products directive was designed to remove barriers to trade within the European Union. It is designed to ensure that all products sold within the construction industry within the EU are fit for