WRITTEN QUESTION E-1010/00 by Cristiana Muscardini (UEN) to the Commission. Measures to combat the AIDS epidemic in Africa.
C 53 E/54 Official Journal of the European Communities EN 20. 2. 2001 Answer given by Mrs de Palacio on behalf of the Commission (22 May 2000) the Council of 19 December 1996 In implementing Directive 96/92/EC of concerning common rules for the internal market in electricity (1), Germany has opened up its market immediately at a rate of 100 %, thereby going beyond the requirements of the Directive. As a result, electricity prices have already come down considerably in the German market. the Parliament and of However, it is important that the intention to open the market fully translates into concrete commercial activities in practice. According to the latest available information (2), the share of electricity imported into Germany amounts to around 8 % of total electricity consumption in Germany. To increase cross-border trade will require non-discriminatory access to the network for all companies wishing to sell within and to the German market. In this respect, the Commission, on the basis of a first, provisional analysis, has expressed its concerns about some rules contained in the second association agreement ( Verbändever- einbarungí), in particular with regard to the charges for transit between the southern and the northern part of Germany and imports, and has informed the associations accordingly. At the Community level, the Florence Forum, which brings together the Commission, the Parliament, national administrations, the council of European regulators and the Association of European transmission system operators (ETSO), has been working on the development of a Community wide system of cross- border tarification. At the fifth Florence Forum in March 2000 an agreement was reached to develop a provisional cross border tarification mechanism based on compensation payments between national system operators, applicable for one year, to be replaced by a refined final system. The intention is that once the Community wide system is in place all existing national import and export charges, including in Germany, will be withdrawn. In general, the Commission is aware that the different degrees of market opening in Member States can lead to difficulties in practice. The Commission therefore welcomed the call from the European Council at its meeting in Lisbon to speed up liberalisation in gas and electricity, with a view to a fully operational internal market in these areas. (1) OJ L 27, 30. 1. 1997. (2) Quarterly statistics on oil, gas, coal and electricity of the International Energy Agency (IEA), 4th Quarter 1999. (2001/C 53 E/064) WRITTEN QUESTION E-1010/00 by Cristiana Muscardini (UEN) to the Commission Subject: Measures to combat the AIDS epidemic in Africa (31 March 2000) The statistics on the spread of AIDS in Africa and its devastating consequences in sub-Saharan Africa are striking. Of 33,6 million AIDS sufferers worldwide, 23,3 million are to be found in this region. The disease has already killed 13,7 million persons in Africa (ten times more than warfare in the region) and has left 10 million children orphaned, a figure that will rise to 13 million by the end of 2000. After the remarks by the United Nations Secretary-General that AIDS is the African plague of the 21st century and that we must take immediate preventive action, produce low-cost drugs and distribute them as a matter of the utmost priority, the United Nations Security Council allocated a further 100 million dollars to the fight against AIDS. 1. What was the European Unionís contribution to this? 2. What countries are to be targeted by this aid? 20. 2. 2001 EN Official Journal of the European Communities C 53 E/55 3. Are there any instruments to monitor the management and efficiency of this aid? Given the scale of 4. concentrate efforts in that region? the tragedy in sub-Saharan Africa, would it not be more appropriate to Is the European Union cooperating with other international organisations to systematically coordi- 5. nate the fight against AIDS in Africa? Answer given by Mr Nielson on behalf of the Commission (12 May 2000) The Commission is extremely concerned by the tragic dimension the human immunodeficiency virus- acquired immune deficiency syndrome (HIV-AIDS) epidemic is taking in Africa and, over recent years, has been very active in developing strong partnerships with the most affected countries through two major instruments. Under programmes financed through the European development fund (EDF) actions targeted at HIV-AIDS for 1999/2000 represent € 30 million. EDF programmes also include support to the development of health systems based on the reasoning that long-term success in prevention and care for HIV-AIDS also needs to be rooted in multi-sectoral approaches. In 1999, € 16,5 million were committed to HIV-AIDS intervention through the special HIV-AIDS/population budget line of which more than 50 % were allocated to Africa. For the year 2000, € 20 million will be allocated for actions related to the overall improvement of access to sexual and reproductive health services, the prevention of mother-to-child HIV transmission, the development of affordable ways to increase access to essential care for people living with HIV-AIDS and sexually transmitted diseases, the understanding of the key economic and public health issues related to a potential AIDS vaccine and the development of sector strategies to make microbicidal products available to the most vulnerable women in developing countries. for the year 2000, for In addition, Partnership for Africaí aiming at an increased political leadership and mobilisation for an expanded response to HIV-AIDS in Africa and has signed a € 20 million agreement with African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries for specific interventions in the sector. the Commission has acknowledged the United Nations appeal The Commission allocates the major part of its resources to Africa but in line with other partners, shares the view that prevention in countries at a pre-epidemic stage such as Asian or Latin America countries remains essential for a world-wide impact on the spread of the disease. The aid provided by the Commission is regularly monitored. Two major evaluations were already carried out in 1993 and 1997. A third exercise was started in 1999 aiming at reviewing all health sector activities. The Commission works in very close collaboration with United Nations partners, particularly with the joint and co-sponsored United Nations programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) and the World Health organisation (WHO) but also with the United States Agency for International development (USAID) and the World Bank. The Commission is involved with all international partners in the major debates relating to access to drugs in the wider scope of the Trade related aspects of intellectual property rights (TRIPS) agreement and through negotiations with the pharmaceutical industry. The communication to the Parliament and the Council (1) entitled For increased solidarity to confront HIV- AIDS in developing countriesí emphasises the Commissionís commitment to strengthening co-operation with all public and private actors of the sector, to improving access to care and developing new mechanisms for increased financial solidarity. In recent years, the Commission has been able to organise and fund very significant research under its framework programme on the subject including the most recent study showing progression of HIV in groups of very young women in East Africa. Vaccine research efforts have been very substantially upgraded as well, with the launch of the beginning of this year of a HIV vaccine cluster representing a multi-partner effort in the Community worth some € 20 million. An extensive trial on Community C 53 E/56 Official Journal of the European Communities EN 20. 2. 2001 developed microbicides as an additional female-controlled way to prevent HIV transmission and further research on how to organise control of tuberculosis, the first cause of mortality associated to AIDS, are under way. The Commission intends to upgrade its research efforts substantially in the next future. (1) COM(98) 407. (2001/C 53 E/065) WRITTEN QUESTION E-1011/00 by Cristiana Muscardini (UEN) to the Commission (31 March 2000) Subject: Computer hackers and security In recent weeks the international press has contained reports on the crimes committed by hackers, who have broken into Internet sites in America in order to fraudulently obtain data and confidential codes and to block use of the network. Similar events have also occurred in Europe. Given the danger that such activities, which represent a genuine threat to the right to privacy and confidentiality, may become more widespread: ü has the Commission made provision for any measures to prevent the activities of these hackers? ü has it taken measures to establish cooperation at international level on the development of projects designed to counteract this criminal interference? ü what proposals will it pt forward to improve the security of European operators and citizens using the Internet ü does it think funds should be made available to so that this matter can be included in research programmes? Answer given by Mr Liikanen on behalf of the Commission (22 May 2000) One of the main challenges of the information society and one of the conditions for the success of e-commerce is to ensure the confidence of users in the information communication networks. Directive 95/46/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 October 1995 on the protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data (1) and Directive 97/66/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 December 1997 concerning the processing of personal data and the protection of privacy in the telecommunications sector (2) provide for the implementation of appropriate security measures to protect personal data against accidental or unlawful destruction, alteration or access which has not been authorised by those responsible for processing personal data. It is for the Member States to adopt implementing measures and lay down the sanctions to be imposed in cases of infringement. The Commission, assisted by the working party set up by Article 29 of Directive 95/46/EC, ensures that these provisions are properly applied and among other things carried out a verification of the correct transposition of Directive 97/66/EC as part of the 1999 review of the regulatory framework for communications. The Commission is planning to clarify and update this to take account of technological progress. The European Council, meeting in Tampere, stated its commitment to reinforcing the fight against transnational crime and implementing the means for crime prevention and cooperation. At international level, the Commission is monitoring the efforts made by the various international and supranational In particular, the Council of Europe Committee of Experts on Crime in organisations in this fight. Cyberspace is preparing a convention on cyber crime; the United States, Canada, South Africa and Japan are involved in this work. Moreover, the Ministers for Justice and Internal Affairs of the group of eight leading industrial nations (G8) have approved an action plan to combat the use of the Internet and other new technologies to carry out criminal activities. In this connection, a network of contact points which are operational 24 hours a day, seven days a week, has been set up