WRITTEN QUESTION E-2197/99 by Anna Karamanou (PSE) to the Council. Combating world hunger.
1. 8. 2000 EN Official Journal of the European Communities C 219 E/117 However, the Commission takes the view that the low cost of this shuttle (DRA 250/€ 0,75 from 5 a. m. to midnight and DRA 500/€ 1,25 from midnight to 5 a. m. ) and the journey time (10 minutes) are unlikely to prompt passengers travelling to a Greek island or a provincial town in Greece served by Olympic Airways to opt for an international flight with this carrier rather than another. In any event, the Commission notes that following the liberalisation of access to intracommunity domestic links (1 April 1997) and the liberalisation of access to links with the Greek islands (1 April 1998) Olympic Airways is faced with certain competition on the domestic market from newly established Greek carriers (e. g. Cronus Airlines, Air Greece). These carriers all fly from the East terminal, so passengers using the international services of carriers operating from this terminal can take connecting flights without having to change terminal. (2000/C 219 E/148) WRITTEN QUESTION E-2197/99 by Anna Karamanou (PSE) to the Council (30 November 1999) Subject: Combating world hunger The first report recently published by the UN Food & Agriculture Organization (FAO) paints a bleak picture of the world situation since the target set in 1996 to halve the numbers suffering from hunger by the year 2015 does not seem to be materialising. 204 million people in India, 164 million in China, half the population of North Korea and Mongolia, 1/3 of the peoples of Cambodia, Laos and sub-Saharan Africa are suffering from hunger, while two in every five children are undernourished. Bearing in mind that the UN had decided that the developed countries should spend 0,7 % of their GDP on humanitarian aid to the developing countries, will the Council say whether that decision is being implemented and by which Member States of the European Union? Reply (31 January 2000) The final declaration of the World Food Summit held in Rome in November 1996 fixed the long-term objective of eliminating hunger in all countries and in particular halving the numbers suffering from hunger by the year 2015. Meeting this target would constitute a tremendous advance for humanity. For its part, the Council has given high priority, in the framework of the measures to reduce poverty, to activities aimed at increasing food security. In this context, the Council intends to study closely the results of the evaluation shortly to begin of the working of the June 1996 Regulation on food aid and food security. It hopes to be able to draw conclusions which will lead to an increase in the quality and efficiency of operations to ensure food security in developing countries. The Council has no precise information on the progress made by Member States towards achieving the target of providing 0,7 % of their GDP as development assistance. (2000/C 219 E/149) WRITTEN QUESTION E-2203/99 by Juan Naranjo Escobar (PPE-DE) to the Commission Subject: Extreme poverty and social exclusion (29 November 1999) Article 137 of the Treaty of Amsterdam establishes a new legal basis for the adoption of measures to combat social exclusion. Unfortunately, hard statistics on the scale of this social reality, which might make it possible to reach all those affected by social exclusion and/or extreme poverty more effectively, are not available