WRITTEN QUESTION No. 2022/98 by Laura GONZÁLEZ ÁLVAREZ , Pedro MARSET CAMPOS to the Commission. Construction of a plant for the transfer of solid urban waste in Quel (La Rioja, Spain)
C 13/136 Official Journal of the European Communities EN 18. 1. 1999 Answer given by Mr de Silguy on behalf of the Commission (3 September 1998) The technical preparation of the proposals for regulations on the reform of the Structural Funds for the period 2000-2006 was carried out by a Commission interdepartmental working group chaired by the Directorate-General for Regional Policy and Cohesion. Although Eurostat was not directly involved in the work of this group, it was informally consulted on a number of occasions on the pertinence and availability of the statistical indicators which are to be used under these proposals. In accordance with Commission procedures, Eurostat was subsequently formally consulted on the final drafts of the proposals prior to their adoption by the Commission. (1999/C 13/192) WRITTEN QUESTION E-2021/98 by Gary Titley (PSE) to the Council (29 June 1998) Subject: Persecutions of Christians in Pakistan On 27 April 1998 a Punjab District Court sentenced the Pakistani Christian Ayub Masih to death for blasphemy following remarks he had made about The Satanic Versesí by Salman Rushdie. Over 100 Christians, including children, are currently under sentence of death for blasphemy. In view of the numerous and often poorly substantiated charges of blasphemy made against Christians in Pakistan, will the Council renew its pressure on the Pakistani Government to address the problem of abuse of the blasphemy law, to abolish the death penalty and to restore the joint electoral system, under which fairer representation for all religious groups would be possible? Reply (24 September 1998) The existence and arbitrary use of the blasphemy law in Pakistan have been a matter of great concern for the Council over the past years. The European Union has carried out a number of demarches to address this issue and has systematically raised the issue at its institutionalized political dialogue consultations with the government of Pakistan. The Council must acknowledge that in spite of earlier assurances by the Pakistan authorities that the blasphemy legislation would be amended in such a way that misuse would be rendered impossible, recent events show that the basic problems remain unchanged and that religious intolerance seems to be unfortunately on the rise in Pakistan. Therefore, the EU is going to consider in the competent Council bodies how best to address this issue in the near future. The European Parliament will be informed of the outcome of the Councilís decisions. In this context, the questions of the death penalty and of the restoration of the joint electoral system will also be addressed by the appropriate Council bodies in early September 1998. (1999/C 13/193) WRITTEN QUESTION E-2022/98 by Laura GonzÆlez `lvarez (GUE/NGL) and Pedro Marset Campos (GUE/NGL) to the Commission (30 June 1998) Subject: Construction of a plant for the transfer of solid urban waste in Quel (La Rioja, Spain) The construction of a plant for the transfer of solid urban waste has created a climate of alarm and opposition among the majority of the inhabitants of Quel (La Rioja, Spain), who have launched a campaign against the proposed location for this plant; some of those involved have been subjected to threats. According to the plan, this