WRITTEN QUESTION E-0515/00 by Christoph Konrad (PPE-DE) to the Council. Creation of a single European (controlled) airspace.
C 81 E/2 Official Journal of the European Communities EN 13. 3. 2001 (2001/C 81 E/002) WRITTEN QUESTION E-0316/00 by Anna Karamanou (PSE) and Minerva Malliori (PSE) to the Council Subject: Effective measures to combat AIDS (14 February 2000) Some 95 % of persons infected with AIDS live in the developing countries of Africa and Asia, the disease is responsible for one in five deaths in Africa and average life expectancy has dramatically fallen owing to the huge scale of the epidemic and the inability of sufferers to meet the high financial cost of drugs to combat the disease. In response to this situation, Dr. Gro Harlem Brundtland, Director-General of the WHO, has launched an appeal to all the industrialised countries in which she stresses that, while the northern hemisphere has a near monopoly of anti-AIDS drugs the disease is predominantly found in the southern hemisphere, and calls for an end to the inequality in the prevention and treatment of AIDS. Given the recent aid granted by the USA and Canada ($ 150 million and 50 million, respectively), will the Council say by what means and what special programmes the European Union intends to help the developing countries as regards both AIDS prevention and treatment, so that those suffering from the disease have access to drugs treatment, thereby bringing about a dramatic decline in the number of AIDS deaths, as has occurred in the industrialised countries? Reply (29 September 2000) The Council entirely shares the Honourable Membersí concerns regarding the seriousness of the AIDS epidemic, especially in Africa, and agrees with their analysis of its consequences, it has emphasised the need to step up efforts to give more support to national strategies. In particular, this involves support for strategies aimed at more effective prevention of transmission based on education, the promotion of sexual and reproductive health and transfusion safety, along with strategies to help the HIV-positive and the sick, in particular by strengthening health systems and combating discrimination and social exclusion. In cooperation with the Parliament and acting on a proposal from the Commission, the Council adopted a Regulation in March 1997 on HIV/AIDS-related operations in developing countries, particularly in the poorest of those countries. The Regulation provides for a sum of € 45 million to implement the anti-AIDS programme for the period 1997-1999. It sets priorities for Community action which basically involve prevention and delay of onset of the disease. The Regulation also defines in considerable detail actions which may be funded to promote the reduction of HIV/AIDS transmission. On the more specific question of treatment, the Commission has not to date proposed any extension of Community funding to cover the costs of medicines appropriate for the control of AIDS. (2001/C 81 E/003) WRITTEN QUESTION E-0515/00 by Christoph Konrad (PPE-DE) to the Council (25 February 2000) Subject: Creation of a single European (controlled) airspace On 1 December 1999 the Commission adopted a communication (COM(1999) 0614) on the 1. creation of the single European sky, in which it advocates the joint management of airspace. What political steps does the Council intend to take to cope with the exponential increase in the volume of air traffic, the attendant delays and the absence of coordination of air traffic control services? 13. 3. 2001 EN Official Journal of the European Communities C 81 E/3 Over half of these delays are due to air traffic control, for which each country bears sole 2. responsibility in Europe. What practical action does the Council intend to take to bring about the urgently needed harmonisation of the fragmented nature of the European control system under the umbrella of a single administration? (British Airways and Deutsche Lufthansa, among others, have called on their respective transport ministers to take such action. ) 3. When will the Council of Transport Ministers consider the Commissionís proposals on the EUís accession to Eurocontrol, the intergovernmental European air traffic control organisation that operates on the basis of consensus, and what timetable is envisaged for achieving this accession? 4. Are there any plans to create for the control of European airspace within the EU a new structure empowered to issue uniform and binding regulations, rather than having the EU join Eurocontrol? If so, what form will this new structure take, and what powers will it have? Reply (29 September 2000) In its Resolution of 19 July 1999 (1), the Council had the opportunity to point out that delays in air traffic affect the efficiency of air transport in the Community, which causes serious problems for passengers and could increase pressure on the environment. In particular, the Council invited the Commission to submit a communication on recent and ongoing measures aimed at reducing air traffic delays and congestion in Europe so as to enable the Council to evaluate the impact of such measures and decide, if necessary, on new initiatives to be taken. At the beginning of December 1999 and in response to this invitation, the Commission presented a communication on áthe creation of the single European skyí. At its meeting on 9 and 10 December 1999, the Council welcomed the action to be taken following this communication and took note of the setting up by the Commission of a high level group to examine all relevant issues. The Commission, at the Transport Council on 28 March 2000, presented some preliminary information on the proceedings of the high level group. The Council received an interim report from the chairman of that group at the beginning of June, and the Commission has stated its intention of working on the presentation of the final report in October 2000. Concerning the accession of the Community to Eurocontrol (European Organisation for the Safety of Air Navigation) and considering the role of this organisation in the field of air traffic management in Europe, the Council invited Member States to make every effort to reach a positive conclusion to the ongoing negotiations. These negotiations are at a very advanced stage. Furthermore, the setting up an European Aviation Safety Authority is currently under study. The main objective is to achieve a high uniform level of safety in Europe by the formulation, approval and uniform application of all necessary aviation safety regulations and by promoting them throughout the world. Such an Authority would have to deal with the facilitation of free and fair competition in Europe and the mutual recognition and equal treatment of aeronautical products, parts and equipment and of bodies and persons concerned with the design, manufacture, maintenance and operation of products on the condi- tions and in accordance with a time schedule to be established upon the creation of the new Authority. (1) OJ C 222, 4. 8. 1999, p. 1. (2001/C 81 E/004) WRITTEN QUESTION P-0770/00 by Paulo Casaca (PSE) to the Commission (9 March 2000) Subject: Judicial cooperation with regard to paedophilia The introduction in the Treaty of Maastricht of a policy of cooperation in the field of justice and home affairs was an important step in the process of European integration