WRITTEN QUESTION E-1859/99 by Emmanouil Mastorakis (PSE) to the Commission. Map of the European Union.
18. 7. 2000 EN Official Journal of the European Communities C 203 E/73 (2000/C 203 E/089) WRITTEN QUESTION E-1859/99 by Emmanouil Mastorakis (PSE) to the Commission (14 October 1999) Subject: Map of the European Union The Official Publications Office has published a brochure (Luxembourg, 1999) entitled The customs policy of the European Unioní in several languages. I have seen the English, French and Greek editions. On page five of the brochure, there is a colour map of Europe showing the Member States of the European Union in yellow and the applicant countries in brown. Included among the áapplicantí countries is Turkey. Will the Commission monitor the procedure for officially providing such information and will it withdraw the brochure concerned immediately? Answer given Mr Bolkestein on behalf of the Commission (8 December 1999) The map shows all the countries which have applied for Community membership. Turkeyís application was submitted on 14 April 1987. The Commission does not, therefore, consider that withdrawal of the brochure is necessary. (2000/C 203 E/090) WRITTEN QUESTION E-1862/99 by Glyn Ford (PSE) to the Commission (14 October 1999) Subject: The establishment of a European human rights network In December 1998 an inter-ministerial meeting at Vienna decided that the European Union would issue an annual human rights report. Does the Commission consider that the establishment of a European NGO human rights network would provide a useful channel of communication between NGOs working on human rights issues and the European Commission? Will it support a feasibility study to examine how such a network would operate? Answer given by Mr Patten on behalf of the Commission (8 November 1999) The Commission attaches a great deal of importance to the work of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in the field of human rights and their considerable contributions to safeguarding and promoting human rights. In the declaration it adopted in Vienna on 10 December last year, the Union undertook to consider organising a regular human rights forum involving the EU institutions and representatives of academic institutions and NGOs. The Forum organised by the Presidency on 30 November, bringing together representatives of the institutions, NGOs and academia, will represent the first stage of an in-depth dialogue. The Commission also welcomes the setting-up in 1997 (on the initiative of Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and the International Federation of Human Rights) of a contact group for the free exchange of views on human rights issues between NGOs, parliamentarians, the Commission, the Council and