WRITTEN QUESTION No. 1644/99 by Antonio TAJANI , Giuseppe GARGANI , Francesco FIORI , Mario MAURO Freedom of access to education in Italy
29. 1. 2000 EN Official Journal of the European Communities C 27 E/155 (2000/C 27 E/189) WRITTEN QUESTION E-1634/99 by Mary Banotti (PPE-DE) to the Commission (15 September 1999) Subject: Lifeguards at swimming pools Can the Commission say whether there is any legislation in the Community requiring lifeguards to be in attendance at swimming pools in holiday resorts? What rights do tourists buying holidays have to be informed about the supervision at holiday complexes in the Community? Is there any EU legislation on the provision of lifeguards at public bathing spots? Answer given by Mr Byrne on behalf of the Commission (5 October 1999) The question of attendance by lifeguards at swimming pools in holiday resorts as well as that of the provision of lifeguards at public bathing spots are the competence of national legislation, and there are therefore no Community rules on these issues. Concerning the rights that tourists, buying holidays, have in relation to the disclosure of supervision within the holiday complexes, Council Directive 90/314/EEC of 13 June 1990 on package travel, package holidays and package tours (1) stipulates only that a number of elements listed in the Annex to the Directive should be contained in the contract. Among these elements the Annex includes the special requirements which the consumer has communicated to the organiser or retailer when making the booking, and which both have accepted. Therefore, at Community level, only if the contract includes a term (obviously accepted by both parties) requiring, on an individual basis, specific measures in relation to the disclosure of the supervision within the holiday complex, has the tourist a right protected by Community law. Nevertheless, given that Directive 90/314/EEC is a piece of minimum legislation, the national legislative instruments governing this issue can go beyond the requirements of the Directive. (1) OJ L 158, 23. 6. 1990. (2000/C 27 E/190) WRITTEN QUESTION E-1644/99 by Antonio Tajani (PPE-DE), Giuseppe Gargani (PPE-DE), Francesco Fiori (PPE-DE) and Mario Mauro (PPE-DE)to the Commission Subject: Freedom of access to education in Italy (22 September 1999) In Italy there is still a serious violation of the right to freedom of education. People are not free to choose between public and private schooling because of the high cost of private education and the lack of funds available to it. The European Parliament has on various occasions (1) expressed its support for freedom of education in the European Union, emphasising the need to guarantee student mobility with a view to providing quality education, as advocated by the Treaty of Amsterdam (Article 149). At the meeting of the Committee on Petitions of 25-26 May 1999, this matter was raised and the clear discrimination suffered by European citizens was highlighted. At the meeting, the Commission undertook to ask Eurydice to update the survey conducted in 1993 on private and public education systems in the Member States to look into the existence of such discrimination