WRITTEN QUESTION No. 2823/98 by Umberto BOSSI to the Commission. Measures to tackle the crisis in Russia
29. 4. 1999 EN Official Journal of the European Communities C 118/151 (1999/C 118/188) WRITTEN QUESTION E-2823/98 by Umberto Bossi (NI) to the Commission (17 September 1998) Subject: Measures to tackle the crisis in Russia Among the victims of the recent economic crisis in Russia are the Italian banks. According to the latest surveys carried out by the Bank for International Settlements, Italian banksí exposure in Russia amounts to $4,3 billion, the equivalent of over LIT 8 000 billion. In particular, the SACEís exposure totals LIT 10 600 billion. Any deterioration in the crisis in Russia could give rise to the so-called ácontagion effectí which would worsen the general crisis in market confidence. Does the Commission intend to adopt measures to protect European investments in Russia, in view of the fact that it encourages investment in the former USSR through specific Community programmes such as TACIS? In the light of the economic and political situation in Russia, does the Commission plan to make changes to the Community programmes aimed at helping the former Soviet Union? Answer given by Mr Van den Broek on behalf of the Commission (7 October 1998) Russia is in the middle of a very serious economic and financial crisis against the background of a continuing political crisis and growing social unrest. The Commissionís preliminary assessment, at this stage, is that the direct effects of a Russian crisis on the Community are likely to be limited. The trade effects, except in some sectors such as agriculture, will be small as Russia accounts for only around 4 % of Community trade. The effects through the banking sector are likely to be manageable as, although exposure is high compared to American or Japanese banks, it is certainly relatively limited compared to total external exposure elsewhere. Under the current circumstances, the Commissionís efforts will concentrate on: › making maximum use of the flexibility in the Tacis programme to focus as much as possible on areas where immediate remedial action needs to be taken, for instance public finances, financial sector reform and institution building; › emphasising cooperation through the partnership and cooperation agreement (PCA) in order to reinforce Russian institutional and economic structures; › encouraging more private sector involvement to help resolve the crisis; › working towards better coordination, both within the Community itself and between the Community and others, especially the international financial institutions. (1999/C 118/189) WRITTEN QUESTION P-2825/98 by Robert Evans (PSE) to the Commission (11 September 1998) Subject: The orangutan crisis in Indonesia Is the Commission aware of the Call for Action for Conservation of Orangutans, issued by the Environmental Investigation Agency Limited? Does the Commission agree with the necessity for the elements outlined within the document, and is the Commission prepared to help enforce these conditions through conditionality of aid?