WRITTEN QUESTION E-0703/00 by Camilo Nogueira Román (Verts/ALE) to the Council. The European Union and the genocide in Chechnya.
C 26 E/90 Official Journal of the European Communities EN 26. 1. 2001 5. treatment (1), on In accordance with Directive 91/271/EEC concerning urban waste-water 11 February 2000 Greece supplied to the Commission official notification of its sensitive areas ü including Thessaloniki harbour at the end of the bay. The Commission considers that the whole of Thessaloniki bay probably show signs of eutrophication and the Greek authorities have therefore been asked to examine this point in more detail. The Commission is also verifying whether all Member States are identifying sensitive areas correctly in accordance with the Directive. A report of its findings will be published at the beginning of 2001. (1) OJ L 135, 30. 5. 1991. (2001/C 26 E/109) WRITTEN QUESTION E-0699/00 by John Bowis (PPE-DE) to the Commission (17 March 2000) Subject: Meetings between Commission officials and Patrick Peter How many meetings have Patrick Peter (of GTR and ADISA) and his consultant, Maitre Christian Lamonin, had with Commission officials? Which officials were present at these meetings and when did they take place? Answer given by Mr Monti on behalf of the Commission (19 April 2000) The Honourable Memberís question relates to a pending competition investigation. As regards parliament- ary questions on pending cases, the Commission would refer the Honourable Member to the letter of the then member of the Commission in charge of competition policy dated 28 January 1999 to the then Chairman of Parliamentís committee on Economic and monetary affairs and industrial policy which explained that only limited, general and non-confidential information can be provided in relation to pending cases. Consequently, the Commission can only confirm that it has had several meetings with the representatives of the company GTR after GTR had introduced, in November 1997, a complaint against the FØdØration Internationale de líAutomobile (FIA) and a number of other companies, in particular FOA and ISC. The Commission has never held private meetings with Mr Peter or his consultant Mr Lamonin as individuals. For confidentiality reasons, the Commission is not in a position to disclose the number of meetings with the complainant in questions, namely the GTR company, or the identity of those who took part in those meetings. (2001/C 26 E/110) WRITTEN QUESTION E-0703/00 by Camilo Nogueira RomÆn (Verts/ALE) to the Council Subject: The European Union and the genocide in Chechnya (14 March 2000) Since the fall of Grozny, the genocidal nature of the war waged by the Russian army has become even clearer. Should the military action be followed through to its final conclusion, it would lead to the extermination of the Chechen people and Russiaís taking over the depopulated territory of Chechnya. Russiaís genocidal action in Chechnya is far worse than Serbiaís in Kosovo, but the European Council, a prisoner of unjustifiable and unacceptable ideological prejudices and political interests, has taken not one serious measure to help prevent the tortures and deaths inflicted on the Chechens, and the appalling destruction of their country. 26. 1. 2001 EN Official Journal of the European Communities C 26 E/91 What steps will the Council take to condemn the genocide and restore civil society and liberty in Chechnya? (2001/C 26 E/111) WRITTEN QUESTION E-0707/00 by Andre Brie (GUE/NGL) to the Council (14 March 2000) Subject: Councilís position regarding media reports of extremely serious human rights violations, notably murder, torture, rape and looting, by Russian forces in Chechnya Across a very wide section of the international media, there has recently been extensive reporting of numerous instances of murder, torture, rape and looting by Russian forces in Chechnya. 1. Can the Council confirm these reports, and what is its own assessment of these alleged occurrences? 2. What steps has the Council taken to reliably investigate the truth of these very serious allegations? 3. What action does the Council accurate? intend to take against Russia, should these reports prove to be 4. Does the Council intend to seek, or, possibly, support, international action to prosecute and convict those directly responsible, and those responsible at state level, for murder, torture, rape and looting alleged to have been committed by members of the Russian forces in Chechnya? 5. What are the criteria applied by the Council in determining its position on such international criminal proceedings, in particular on what scale does murder, torture, rape, looting and expulsion for which a state is answerable, which is tolerated by the state or which is caused in some other way by the actions of a state or by the failure of a state to act have to take place in order for the Council of the European Union to support such international action to prosecute and convict those responsible? Joint answer to Written Questions E-0703/00 and E-0707/00 (26 June 2000) The Council has repeatedly condemned as totally unacceptable the Russian military action in Chechnya. As stated in repeated public declarations, the Council views all the human rights abuses in Chechnya with the gravest concern. Pressure has been maintained at all levels on the Russian authorities to stop human rights abuses against the Chechen population and the Council will continue to strive for progress in achieving a political settlement to the conflict. It is the belief of the Council that its sustained efforts have begun to yield demonstrable results. The EU has taken every available opportunity to investigate the situation in Chechnya. In this it has been hampered by the difficulty of gaining access to the region. It has, however, organised a fact-finding visit to Chechnya by EU ambassadors to Moscow. The Council has also actively associated itself with other initiatives in the region. There are strong links and good cooperation with the OSCE, of which Austria is the Chair in office, and the Council of Europe, of which Ireland is the Chair in office. The conclusions of the Helsinki European Council on 10 and 11 December 1999 condemned the Russian action in the most forthright terms. Since the Helsinki Declaration, it has been working with the European Commission on a revised TACIS programme, which would reduce the aid available to Russia to certain priority areas. This programme will centre on institution building, the promotion of democracy and the rule of law. More recently, the conclusions of the Lisbon European Council on 23/24 March 2000 continued to call on Russia to take immediate steps towards a peaceful solution to the conflict. On 27 March, following the election of President Putin, the High Representative of the Council called for peace in Chechnya to be the first priority of the new administration. On 6 and 7 April, the Troika is set to