WRITTEN QUESTION E-0316/00 by Anna Karamanou (PSE) and Minerva Malliori (PSE) to the Council. Effective measures to combat AIDS.
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?