WRITTEN QUESTION E-0715/00 by Glyn Ford (PSE) to the Commission. Third-country resident ethnic entrepreneurs.
26. 1. 2001 EN Official Journal of the European Communities C 26 E/93 Furthermore the Commission is aware of the high value of the area concerned for nature conservation including the protection of wild birds as part of the important bird area (IBA) Donautal: Regensburg ü Vilshofení. This IBA has therefore been highlighted in the reasoned opinion sent by the Commission to the German authorities with regard to their failure to apply correctly Directive 79/409/EEC. The Commission is also aware of the outstanding Natura 2000 value under the Habitats Directive 92/43/EEC of the Alluvial plains of the Danube between Geisling and Vilshofení site. The information that the site is of particular importance for the priority habitat type of the alluvial forests and some non-priority fish species of the Danube is backed up by scientific studies. The Commission does not have the information to which the Honourable Member refers and is 3. to 5. therefore not in a position to comment further on the issue. The Commission takes the view that, once the Court has rendered its judgement, Germany is obliged to take the necessary measures to comply with the ruling. This includes ensuring respect of the procedures with regard to projects, which may have a significant effect on the area concerned. (1) OJ L 103, 25. 4. 1979. (2) OJ L 206, 22. 7. 1992. (2001/C 26 E/113) WRITTEN QUESTION E-0715/00 by Glyn Ford (PSE) to the Commission (17 March 2000) Subject: Third-country resident ethnic entrepreneurs What steps is the Commission preparing to make it easier for third-country resident ethnic entrepreneurs to operate across the EU? Answer given by Mr Bolkestein on behalf of the Commission (26 May 2000) The Commission would like to inform the Honourable Member that, as part of the Employment-Integra initiative, the Member States have implemented various projects aimed at nationals of third countries or persons belonging to ethnic minorities, who are resident in the Community and account for a dispropor- tionately high number of the unemployed and those in insecure and low-skilled jobs. Very few of these projects were, however, aimed specifically at entrepreneurial activity. Similarly, under the Employment- Now initiative, a number of projects have focussed on business start-ups by women, including those belonging to ethnic minorities. Furthermore, the purpose of the new Community EQUAL initiative (the guidelines for which were adopted on 14 April 2000 (1)) is to attack all forms of discrimination and inequality relating to the labour market. One of the major themes of the initiative is to open up business start-up procedures to all parties. On a more general between an enterprise acting as a legal person and an entrepreneur acting as a natural person. level regarding the activities of an entrepreneur, the distinction should be made When an entrepreneur who is a third country national has legally set up a company which has its registered office, central administration or principal place of business in a Member State, the company as such forms an integral part of the Member State under the terms of Article 48 (ex Article 58) of the EC Treaty, and benefits from the right of establishment (Article 43 (ex Article 52) of the EC Treaty) and the freedom to provide services (Article 49 (ex Article 59) of the EC Treaty) within the internal market. However, the residence requirements for a third country national who is a manager or partner in such a company are not covered by Community law and are still governed by national legislation. On the basis of the new Title IV of the EC Treaty, it will be possible to adopt Community rules on the conditions of entry and residence for nationals of third countries for the purposes of paid employment or working in a self- employed capacity (Article 63(3)(a)), and on the rights under which nationals of third countries who are C 26 E/94 Official Journal of the European Communities EN 26. 1. 2001 legally resident in a Member State may reside in other Member States (Article 63(4)). In the Scoreboardí (2) presented by the Commission and endorsed by the Council on 27 March 2000, it is stated that studies are under way on the admission of third country nationals with a view to the Commission presenting proposals for Directives. On the other hand, an entrepreneur who is a third country national acting as a natural person already legally resident in the territory of a Member State does not benefit from the right of establishment under the terms of Article 43 of the EC Treaty. However, paragraph 2 of Article 49 of the EC Treaty enables the Council to extend the freedom to provide services to service providers who are third country nationals legally established in a Member State. In February 1999, the Commission therefore presented a proposal for a Council Directive extending the freedom to provide cross-border services to third country nationals established within the Community (3). As part of the scheduled consultation procedure, the Parliament welcomed this proposal (see the Berger report (4)) subject to certain amendments, particularly concerning the issue of ábogus self-employed personsí. Following the Parliamentís opinion of 3 February 2000, the Commission will present an amended proposal as soon as possible. On a more general note, the Commission has presented a package of measures based on Article 13, including the proposal for a Council Directive implementing the principle of equal treatment between persons irrespective of racial or ethnic origin (5), which was the subject of the Buitenweg report adopted by Parliament on 18 May 2000. (1) COM(2000) 853. (2) Scoreboard to review progress on the creation of an area of Freedom, security and justiceí in the European Union ü COM(2000) 167 final of 24 March 2000. (3) OJ C 67, 10. 3. 1999. (4) Berger report of 2 February 2000 (A5-0012/00). (5) COM(1999) 566. (2001/C 26 E/114) WRITTEN QUESTION E-0718/00 by Encarnación Redondo JimØnez (PPE-DE) to the Commission Subject: 300 million cut in appropriations under heading 1 (17 March 2000) Further to the statements that Mrs Schreyer, Commissioner in charge of budgets, made on 22 February 2000 to the European Parliamentís Committee on Budgets and the answers she gave to the questions put by members of that committee regarding the annual reduction of EUR 300 m that the Commission intends to make in appropriations entered in respect of heading 1, that under no circumstances would heading 1B be involved, can the Commission say exactly which budget line within heading 1A it intends to make that cut from? to the effect Answer given by Mrs Schreyer on behalf of the Commission (27 April 2000) In its orientation debate in February 2000, the Commission decided on the priorities for the 2001 budget and proposed that an amount of 300 M€ per year for the reconstruction of Kosovo and its extension to the Western Balkan should be transferred from heading 1 to heading 4 for 2001 and 2002. In 2001, expected needs for agricultural expenditures in heading 1(a) have been adjusted as compared to the very first estimates in late December 1999. This was in particular possible in the light of more favourite evolution of the American dollar exchange rate and recovery in world cereal markets. Proposals to amend the existing legislative framework are therefore not required and support to farmers will remain unchanged. Consequently, no budget line has to be cut in order to permit the transfer of € 300 million to heading 4