WRITTEN QUESTION No. 2600/98 by Anna KARAMANOU to the Council. Violence and sexual harassment at the workplace
C 96/122 Official Journal of the European Communities EN 8. 4. 1999 Answer given by Mrs Wulf-Mathies on behalf of the Commission (9 October 1998) On 1 September 1998, payments under the current Community Support Framework (CSF) for Greece amounted to ECU 7 213 million out of a planned total of ECU 13 933 million. This represents 52 % of the funding programmed for the entire 1994-1999 period and 68 % of that programmed up to the end of 1998. A great improvement is usually expected in the last three months of the year, given that expenditure is normally concentrated towards the year-end. The Commission stresses that the commitments under the CSF must be undertaken before 31 December 1999, although the payments can legitimately continue beyond this date. The Commission is sending direct to the Honourable Member and to the Parliament Secretariat a table detailing the payments for each operational programme and the percentages they represent. (1999/C 96/173) WRITTEN QUESTION E-2600/98 by Anna Karamanou (PSE) to the Council (1 September 1998) Subject: Violence and sexual harassment at the workplace A recent report by the International Labour Organization reveals that threats, physical violence and sexual harassment are the main causes of insecurity among workers. The ILO report states that, in Europe, the percentage of women who are subjected to physical assault at the workplace is almost twice the corresponding figure for men, while, in the UK, the number of workers who receive threats is over 53 %. In particular, psychological harassment has assumed alarming proportions in the western world, especially in Austria, Denmark, the UK, Germany and Sweden. As regards sexual assault, France is the world leader, with 20 % of working women having been victims of sexual harassment. In what ways does the Council intend to intervene and what measures does it propose to take to deal with this serious problem? Reply (22 October 1998) The Council would inform the Honourable Member that in March 1997 the Commission launched the second stage of consultation of the social partners on sexual harassment at the workplace. The Council has so far not yet received a formal proposal on the matter from the Commission. In connection with the question put, the Council would also point out to the Honourable Member that on 9 July 1998 it received from the Commission a proposal for a Decision on a medium-term Community action programme on measures providing a Community-wide support to Member Statesí action relating to violence against children, young persons and women (the Daphne Programme) (2000-2004). That proposal will shortly be examined by the Councilís bodies. (1999/C 96/174) WRITTEN QUESTION E-2607/98 by Patricia McKenna (V) to the Commission (1 September 1998) Subject: European Court of Justice The judgment of the European Court of Justice in Case C-321/95P has been described as áan unfortunate situation detrimental to the rule of lawí by the Belgian Environment Minister. It results in a situation whereby defenders of collective rights are barred from the outset from challenging the decisions of EU institutions, resulting in a serious vacuum in judicial protection in issues of collective interest. Does the Commission accept that this ruling presents a serious challenge to democracy and subsidiarity in the European Union?