WRITTEN QUESTION No. 1785/98 by Joaquín SISÓ CRUELLAS to the Commission. Statements by the Austrian Minister for Home Affairs
19. 11. 98 EN Official Journal of the European Communities C 354/125 (98/C 354/201) WRITTEN QUESTION E-1785/98 by Joaqu ·n Siso· Cruellas (PPE) to the Commission (11 June 1998) Subject: Statements by the Austrian Minister for Home Affairs The Austrian Minister for Home Affairs, Karl Schlo¤gl, recently asked Hungary and the Czech Republic to introduce a visa requirement for Romanian citizens. The Association of the States General of European Students (AEGEE), which has been established in Romania since 1990 and has a network of 17 branches in the country, has expressed its concern, believing that this statement runs counter to the desire for Europe-wide integration and the statements made by European political leaders. What are the Commissionís views on Mr Schlo¤glís remarks? Answer given by Mr Monti on behalf of the Commission (13 July 1998) It is Commission policy not to comment on public statements by politicians in the Member States. (98/C 354/202) WRITTEN QUESTION E-1797/98 by Amedeo Amadeo (NI) to the Commission (11 June 1998) Subject: Linguistic discrimination For some weeks álinguistic cleansingí has been carried out along the mountain paths of southern Tyrol: signs in Italian have been removed from 5 000 km2 of mountain tracks so that all that remains are place-names in German on Italian territory to inform tourists from throughout Europe of peaks, refuges, paths, railways, waterways etc. For the sake of the German minority there is a specific requirement of bilingualism in the statute of special autonomy which the southern Tyrol region enjoys. Will the Commission intervene as a matter of urgency vis-a‘-vis the Italian authorities so that they put pressure on the Alpenverein Su¤dtirol (AVS, the equivalent of the Club Alpino Italiano) to put an end to this absurd and anachronistic discrimination against Italian citizens? Answer given by Mr Santer on behalf of the Commission (16 July 1998) The Commission has no jurisdiction to deal with the question asked, which is a matter solely for the national authorities concerned. (98/C 354/203) WRITTEN QUESTION E-1804/98 by Nikitas Kaklamanis (UPE) to the Commission (11 June 1998) Subject: Use of Community funds for government propaganda The Greek Government is using Community funds from the Delors II packageí (more than Drs 1. 5 billion) for outright party political propaganda in the form of biased television broadcasts and promotional publicity via the electronic media, thereby providing the Greek public with a selective range information. The governmentís actions are designed to claim the credit for projects to which the EU has made vital contributions