WRITTEN QUESTION E-0178/00 by Erik Meijer (GUE/NGL) and Helmuth Markov (GUE/NGL) to the Commission. Discontinuing of train services between the Netherlands and Germany after upgrading of the Nieuweschans ‐ Weneer section of the TEN.
8. 8. 2000 EN Official Journal of the European Communities C 225 E/223 (2000/C 225 E/258) WRITTEN QUESTION E-0336/00 by Alexandros Alavanos (GUE/NGL) to the Commission (14 February 2000) Subject: Exclusion of the prefecture of Arta from assistance under the Community Interreg 2000-2006 initiative The Commission recently forwarded a draft notification to the EU Member States concerning the Communityís Interreg 2000-2006 initiative. From this it emerges that, although it meets the necessary criteria, the prefecture of Arta has not been included in a list of regions eligible for assistance under the cross-border cooperation arrangements (Section A), which will take up most of the funding. Since this effectively amounts to discrimination against the prefecture of Arta: 1. Can the Commission give the reasons for its decision to exclude Arta from the list of regions eligible for funding within the framework of cross-border cooperation? 2. Will the Commission remedy this injustice against the prefecture of Arta and include it in the list of regions selected in its final draft? Joint answer to Written Questions E-0150/00, E-0229/00 and E-0336/00 given by Mr Barnier on behalf of the Commission (6 March 2000) The Commission is collecting the information it needs to answer the question. It will communicate its findings as soon as possible. (2000/C 225 E/259) WRITTEN QUESTION E-0178/00 by Erik Meijer (GUE/NGL) and Helmuth Markov (GUE/NGL) to the Commission (31 January 2000) Subject: Discontinuing of train services between the Netherlands and Germany after upgrading of the Nieuweschans ü Weneer section of the TEN 1. Is the Commission aware that passenger rail services between Groningen in the Netherlands and Bremen in Germany have so far been restricted to three trains a day in each direction and that there has even been talk of cancelling the service, which would mean that there would no longer be any public transport between the northern regions of the two countries. 2. Is the Commission also aware that for years the main argument put forward in support of this restricted service was that the section of the line between the border localities of Nieuweschans (Nether- lands) and Weener (Germany, Lower Saxony) was dilapidated and single-track, as a result of which the speed had to be restricted to 30 km an hour in some places, and that the necessary repairs were not regarded as viable? Can the Commission confirm that as from 1 April 2000 rail traffic on the border section of the track 3. will be suspended for six months (and replaced by a bus service) so that this neglected line can at last be upgraded at a cost of at least EUR 16,5 million and the train speed increased to 120 km per hour, except on the swing bridge over the Ems between Papenburg and Leer, which is needed because of shipbuilding, and that the cost of the German section of the work is being funded partly with monies allocated to the trans-European networks? C 225 E/224 Official Journal of the European Communities EN 8. 8. 2000 Does the Commission realise that the Netherlandse Spoorwegen (NS) have cancelled the Deutsche 4. Bahn VT624 train used hitherto so that the new regional rail company NordNed can take over the service but that NooordNed has not has not yet come to any agreement on a subsidy with the Netherlands Province of Groningen and the German Land of Lower Saxony and that no application for a timetable for the winter period 2000-2001 has been submitted to the rail authorities? 5. What steps does the Commission intend to take to prevent a situation in which, as a result of the withdrawal of the two national railway companies involved and insufficient regional subsidies, passenger services on this railway line do not resume on completion of the repair work in October 2000, which would mean that upgrading the TEN link had been pointless? Answer given by Mrs de Palacio on behalf of the Commission (25 February 2000) The Commission is collecting the information it needs to answer the question. It will communicate its findings as soon as possible. (2000/C 225 E/260) WRITTEN QUESTION E-0233/00 by Luigi Vinci (GUE/NGL) to the Commission (4 February 2000) Subject: Restructuring of the group ABB Alstom Power The management of the group ABB Alstom Power, which is the product of a merger of 30 June 1999, has announced that it is to undergo restructuring, involving job losses in some regions where the company has branches. The group ABB Alstom Power or the companies involved in the merger have benefited from Community aid. Will the Commission give details of the amounts and conditions involved and say whether this aid was conditional on jobs being created? Should it transpire that all the relevant conditions have not been met, will the Commission demand repayment of the aid granted to the group? Answer given by Mr Barnier on behalf of the Commission (10 March 2000) The Commission is collecting the information it needs to answer the question. It will communicate its findings as soon as possible. (2000/C 225 E/261) WRITTEN QUESTION P-0235/00 by Christopher Heaton-Harris (PPE-DE) to the Commission Subject: Educational priorities of the Portuguese Presidency (31 January 2000) the Portuguese Presidency, could the Following the publication of Commission clearly outline its interpretation of the stated aim to explore the idea of a European dimension in education? the documented Programme of How does the Commission envisage both its own role in achieving this aim and also that of the governments of individual Member States?