WRITTEN QUESTION No. 1191/98 by Hugh McMAHON to the Commission. Projects in Tarija, Bolivia
C 323/116 EN Official Journal of the European Communities 21. 10. 98 Answer (6 July 1998) The Council would draw the Honourable Memberís attention to the fact that the European Patent Organisation (EPO) is not a Community body but an organization set up by intergovernmental agreement. This means both that it is not for the Council to express an opinion on that organizationís rules and that the status of Swedish within that organisation has no effect as regards its status within the European Union where its status is governed by the Treaties. The status of languages within the Union is defined in Regulation No 1 (1), Article 1 of which stipulates that Swedish is one of the eleven official languages and working languages of the Community. (1) OJ 17, 6. 10. 1958. (98/C 323/178) WRITTEN QUESTION E-1191/98 by Hugh McMahon (PSE) to the Commission (29 April 1998) Subject: Projects in Tarija, Bolivia Can the Commission provide Parliament with an update on the situation in Tarija, Bolivia, concerning projects carried out under the auspices of Prodizavat and, in particular, can it indicate the current position concerning the larger projects being funded by the EU in this area? Answer given by Mr Mar ·n on behalf of the Commission (12 May 1998) The Prodizavat ( Programa de Desarrollo Integral en la Zona Andina y el Valle Alto de Tarijaí, Bolivia) programme has a budget of MECU 18. 5 in total, of which the Community accounts for MECU 14. 16, the rest being financed by the counterpart (Prefectura de Tarija) and the beneficiaries. After the signature of the financing agreement, the project started in October 1994 with the arrival of the european technical assistance. It is foreseen that the project terminates by October 1998. Apart from the Prodizavat programme, the Communityís food security programme also operates in the Tarija area. The Community has committed a total of MECU 80 for 1995-1999 to support actions in favour of food security in Bolivia. The overall programme falls into three categories: improving economic access to food, improving physical access to food and increasing availability of food. Specific actions and projects funded by the programme are primarily prepared on the basis of requests presented by local authorities and communities. At he territorial level, projects are concentrated in 78 rural municipalities (population 775 000), selected on the basis of the official poverty index. These municipalities are grouped into seven areas, one of which is within Tarija, with the intention of achieving a reasonable degree of integration among programme actions. (98/C 323/179) WRITTEN QUESTION P-1203/98 by Patricia McKenna (V) to the Commission (6 April 1998) Subject: Multilateral Agreement on Investment The member countries of the OECD are currently negotiating the Multilateral Agreement on Investment (MAI). The most recent draft of this agreement contains a number of provisions which could jeopardize the freedom of the European Union to manage the fishing industry in the Community according to its own priorities and policies. It could also threaten the ability of the EU to fulfil the undertakings given within certain international treaties and conventions which the EU has signed