WRITTEN QUESTION No. 1475/99 by Ioannis MARINOS Persecution of Gypsies in Kosovo
29. 1. 2000 EN Official Journal of the European Communities C 27 E/85 (2000/C 27 E/104) WRITTEN QUESTION P-1474/99 by Mihail Papayannakis (GUE/NGL) to the Commission (1 September 1999) Subject: Management of waste oils According to the Commissionís answer (E-3211/97 of 5 February 1998 (1)) to my question concerning the management of waste oils, á. the Commission will open a file. on the basis of which it will contact the Greek authorities in order to ask for information on the actual implementation in Greece of Directive 75/ 439/EEC, as amended by Directive 87/101/EEC (2). When it receives a reply from Greece the Commission shall not fail to invoke the powers conferred upon it by Article 169 of the EC Treaty, if appropriate. í What was the Greek authoritiesí reply concerning the implementation of the above Directives, in particular Articles 4 and 8 of Directive 87/101? Should Greece have failed to implement the Directives, will the Commission actually invoke the powers conferred upon it by Article 169 of the EC Treaty and when? (1) OJ C 223, 17. 7. 1998, p. 1. (2) OJ L 42, 12. 2. 1987, p. 43. Answer given by Mrs Wallström on behalf of the Commission (7 October 1999) The Commission has, on several occasions, asked the Greek authorities to provide information on the implementation of Council Directive 75/439/EEC of 16 June 1975 on the disposal of waste oils, as amended by Council Directive 87/101/EEC of 22 December 1986. As the Greek authorities did not communicate any information concerning this issue, the Commission has opened infringement procedings against Greece on the basis of Article 226 of the EC Treaty (ex Article 169) for failure to provide the implementation report required under Article 18 of the Directive. (2000/C 27 E/105) WRITTEN QUESTION E-1475/99 by Ioannis Marínos (PPE-DE) to the Council (1 September 1999) Subject: Persecution of Gypsies in Kosovo A few days ago, Euronews and RAI television broadcast pictures of the entire Gypsy community of Kosovo abandoning the province en masse. It is has been estimated that some 100 000 Gypsies living in Kosovo will be forced to abandon their homes by the Kosovars, who are accusing them of being Serb collaboratorsí. What is the Councilís position on this new round of ethnic cleansing whose victims, this time, are the entire Gypsy community of Kosovo, who are suffering the same kind of persecution as the Serbs allegedly meted out to the Kosovars and what measures will it propose to put an end to this persecution and to enable the people affected to return to their place of origin and their homes? Reply (8 November 1999) The Council shares the Honourable Parliamentarianís concern that the Serb and other non-Albanian populations have to a large extent left or have been forced to leave Kosovo. The Council recalls that UNSCR 1244 foresees the right to return of all refugees and displaced persons. The Council fully supports the efforts of UNMIK to promote reconciliation and cooperation between the various ethnic and other groups in Kosovo and remains strongly committed to a democratic and multi-ethnic Kosovo