WRITTEN QUESTION P-0235/00 by Christopher Heaton-Harris (PPE-DE) to the Commission. Educational priorities of the Portuguese Presidency.
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? 8. 8. 2000 EN Official Journal of the European Communities C 225 E/225 Answer given by Mrs Reding on behalf of the Commission (14 February 2000) The Commission fully shares the priorities of the Portuguese Presidency in the area of education, which are part of the promotion of a Europe of knowledge based on lifelong education and training. The Commission supports, inter alia, the Presidencyís initiative to set up a new rolling agenda in order to give greater continuity and effectiveness to the Councilís work in the areas of education and training. It expects that this will increase the impact of the Community action programmes Socrates and Leonardo, one of whose main objectives is to strengthen the European dimension of education and training. As far as the respective roles of the Member States and the Commission in promoting these objectives are concerned, it should be pointed out that the Communityís responsibilities in the area of education are clearly defined in Article 149 (ex-Article 126) of the EC Treaty. This Article stipulates that the Community áshall contribute to the development of quality education by encouraging cooperation between Member States and, if necessary, by supporting and supplementing their action, while fully respecting [their] responsibility for the content of teaching and the organisation of education systems and their cultural and linguistic diversityí. (2000/C 225 E/262) WRITTEN QUESTION E-0247/00 by Alexandros Alavanos (GUE/NGL) to the Commission (7 February 2000) Subject: Withholding of the premium for tobacco producers for the Community Tobacco Fund In its resolution of 17. 7. 1997 (1) on the common organisation of the market in raw tobacco, the European Parliament called on the Commission to supply information on the activities so far of the Tobacco Research and Information Fund as a precondition for any agreement to increase the resources available to it. 1. Has any information been published about the use of the resources withheld between 1993 and 1988 by the Tobacco Research and Information Fund? Which programmes have been funded for Greece so far? 2. Given that no implementing regulation has been issued to increase the deduction decided by Council Regulation 1636/98 (2) on the Community Tobacco Fund, does the Commission intend to examine the possibility of not withholding the premium for tobacco producers for the above Fund in 1999? (1) OJ C 286, 22. 9. 1997, p. 237. (2) OJ L 210, 28. 7. 1998, p. 23. Answer given by Mr Fischler on behalf of the Commission (8 March 2000) The Commission is collecting the information it needs to answer the question. It will communicate its findings as soon as possible