WRITTEN QUESTION E-0246/00 by Alexandros Alavanos (GUE/NGL) to the Commission. Increase in the premium for the Kaba Koulak classic group of tobacco varieties.
24. 10. 2000 EN Official Journal of the European Communities C 303 E/165 (2000/C 303 E/184) WRITTEN QUESTION P-0241/00 by Ioannis Marínos (PPE-DE) to the Council (4 February 2000) Subject: Cost for Greece of implementing the Schengen Agreement Over the last few years Greece has persistently endeavoured to set up the infrastructure necessary for the implementation of the Schengen Agreement: it has notably set up the Border Guard Serviceí, strengthened its border services by recruiting an additional 756 police officers and its Port Police by recruiting a further 500 officers and port guards and ordered and purchased high-tech equipment. In particular, the Greek state has equipped its services with portable heat detection cameras to monitor the borders, photophone- type image teletransmission apparatuses to detect forged documents, binocular systems for night observa- tion and surveillance and apparatuses for the mechanical processing of travel documents. It has also taken delivery of speedboats from Sweden and the USA and sophisticated four-wheel drive jeep-type vehicles in order more effectively to monitor the hundreds of kilometres of land and sea borders it shares with non- EU and non-Schengen countries. Greece has thus already equipped itself with, or ordered, very expensive high-tech systems and instruments in order to meet its obligations, since its neighbours are all non-EU countries and some of these (Turkey and Albania) are sources of large numbers of illegal immigrants. It should be pointed out that some countries which are also parties to the Schengen Agreement, such as Luxembourg, have not only not incurred any additional cost since the entry into force of this Agreement, but actually face less of a financial burden than before, since they have withdrawn the security forces which used to be at the borders of other countries which are now Schengen statesí to the interior. In view of the above, will the Council say whether the Schengen Agreement countries have received any funding to furnish themselves with the necessary equipment, whether Greece has made any official request to the EU in this connection and, if aid has been provided, what is the extent of this aid? Reply (10/11 April 2000) Member States applying the Schengen acquis have not received financial assistance from the Community to implement the measures required at their borders by the Schengen Convention. This is also true for the period when, before the Amsterdam Treaty come into force, Schengen cooperation was governed by decision-making procedures external to the Union. The matter of financial compensation was raised, in particular by Greece, during the negotiations with those States that joined the Schengen group after the Schengen Convention was signed in 1990, but it was established that no such financial compensation was provided for therein. Since the incorporation of the Schengen acquis into the Union framework the Council has not received any request from Greece for compensation. It should, however, be noted that the Tampere European Council called for closer cooperation and technical assistance between the services controlling Member Statesí borders, in particular in the form of exchange and technological transfer programmes, especially at sea borders, and for the applicant countries to be involved in such cooperation without delay. (2000/C 303 E/185) WRITTEN QUESTION E-0246/00 by Alexandros Alavanos (GUE/NGL) to the Commission (7 February 2000) Subject: Increase in the premium for the Kaba Koulak classic group of tobacco varieties During the 1992 revision of the tobacco regime the Kaba Koulak classic group of tobacco varieties (group VIII) was unfairly treated, since while this tobacco was considered to be of exceptional quality and exceptionally in demand, the premium was set at the same level as that for group V varieties which receive the least aid. C 303 E/166 Official Journal of the European Communities EN 24. 10. 2000 Since Greek tobacco producers suffer from this unfair treatment and the Community budget showed an overall surplus of some ECU 28,5 million for the 1993-98 period as a result of this measure, will the Commission say whether it intends to put an end to the unfair treatment to which the Kaba Koulak classic group of tobacco varieties has been subjected since 1993 and increase the premium by 15 % without any corresponding reduction in the quota? Answer given by Mr Fischler on behalf of the Commission (8 March 2000) The Annex to Council Regulation (EEC) No 2075/92 of 30 June 1992 on the common organisation of the market in raw tobacco (1) places tobacco variety Kaba Koulak classic in group VIII. The amount of the premium for this variety is laid down in Council Regulation (EC) No 660/1999 of 22 March 1999 amending Regulation (EEC) No 2075/92 and fixing the premiums and guarantee thresholds for leaf tobacco by variety group and Member State for the 1999, 2000 and 2001 harvests (2). This Regulation strikes a balance between guarantee thresholds and premiums for the various groups of varieties. Nevertheless, the Commission can inform the Honourable Member that a thorough analysis will be made of the special situation of Kaba Koulak classic producers in the framework of the report on the operation of the common market organisation for raw tobacco which the Commission must submit to Parliament and the Council by 1 April 2002. (1) OJ L 215, 30. 7. 1992. (2) OJ L 83, 27. 3. 1999. (2000/C 303 E/186) WRITTEN QUESTION E-0253/00 by Daniel Hannan (PPE-DE) to the Commission (7 February 2000) Subject: Regulations What is the total number of regulations the Commission estimates were agreed in 1998, broken down by (a) Commission Directives, (b) Commission Decisions, (c) Council Directives, (d) Council/European Parlia- ment Directives, (e) instruments not published in the Official Journal, (f) routine management instruments valid for a limited time? How does this vary with previous years and the latest estimate for 1999? Reply given by Mr Prodi on behalf of the Commission (3 March 2000) The numbers of Regulations, Directives and Decisions adopted by Parliament and the Council or by the Council alone or by the Commission from 1995 to 1999, excluding management instruments with a limited life, have been sent direct to the Honourable Member and to Parliamentís Secretariat. The data are taken from the interinstitional data base, Celex. Since 1997, they have been included in the General Report on the Activities of the European Union (tables 28 (1997 and 1998) and 29 (1999)). To keep track of the trend in the number of legislative instruments in force, the number repealed or having expired during the year in question is also shown. Routine management instruments with a limited life (sometimes a few days or a few months) published in the Official Journal (L series) with the title in light type are all Commission regulations and mainly concern agricultural policy. Their number is as follows (source: Celex): 1831 in 1999, 1809 in 1998, 1603 in 1997, 1402 in 1996 and 1877 in 1995