WRITTEN QUESTION E-1923/99 by Chris Davies (ELDR) to the Commission. Responding to parliamentary questions.
20. 6. 2000 EN Official Journal of the European Communities C 170 E/125 also reported good cooperation with the ICRC concerning access to detention centres and their willingness to continue such cooperation. Finally, they expressed readiness to receive legal assistance and expertise from the EU with a view to the ratification and implementation of the UN Covenants. (2000/C 170 E/148) WRITTEN QUESTION E-1923/99 by Chris Davies (ELDR) to the Commission (4 November 1999) Subject: Responding to parliamentary questions How long, on average, has it taken the Commission to respond to non-priority written questions 1. tabled by MEPS over the last year? 2. How comparable is this to similar procedures within the parliaments of the Member States? 3. What proposals does the Commission intend to put forward with a view to reducing the time taken to answer such questions? Answer given by Mrs de Palacio on behalf of the Commission (4 November 1999) The Commission gave 3 013 answers to non-priority questions forwarded by the Parliament in 1998, 1. taking on average six weeks and four days for each of these answers. 2. The Commission does not possess information about questions asked in Member Statesí parliaments. It may, however, be observed that the situations of the Commission and national administrations are not really similar, given in particular the need for coordination between Commission services, the adoption procedure ensuring collegiate responsibility, and the requirement to answer in the language of the author of the question. In the context of the nomination of the new Commission, the Vice-President responsible for relations 3. with the Parliament indicated her clear intention to speed up answers to parliamentary questions. Since then changes have been made to the Commissionís internal procedures which should result in a real reduction in the average reply time. The Commission agrees however that it should be possible to answer all written questions within the six week period identified in Parliamentís procedures, and it will continue to tighten up its procedures to achieve this. (2000/C 170 E/149) WRITTEN QUESTION E-1925/99 by Luis Berenguer Fuster (PSE) to the Commission (4 November 1999) Subject: Inclusion of specific data in the state aid proceedings relating to the Spanish electricity sector In its answer to the Socialist MP Juan Manuel Eguiagaray on 17 September 1999, in the Chamber of Deputies, the Spanish government stated that, in its opinion, the sixth transitional provision of Electricity Sector Law on costs of transition to competition (CTCs) for Spanish electrical companies does not, with respect to the wording of Regulation 50/1998, ácontain any element of state aid within the meaning of Article 92 (1) of the EC Treaty. í