WRITTEN QUESTION No. 3857/98 by Maren GÜNTHER to the Commission. DG VIII - Service Commun Relex (SCR)
28. 6. 1999 EN Official Journal of the European Communities C 182/129 Answer given by Mr Marín on behalf of the Commission (19 January 1999) The Commission has taken note of the final declaration adopted by the Euro-Mediterranean Parliamentary Forum following its meeting in Brussels on 27 and 28 October 1998 and welcomes the contribution made by the Forum to the democratic dimension of the Partnership. It will be working with Parliament to implement the principles set out in the declaration, particularly as regards involving civil society in the partnership. Regarding the call in paragraph 12 of the declaration for Libya to participate in full in the Barcelona process, the Commission would point out this is primarily a matter for the 27 members of the Partnership. For its own part the Commission is guided by the statement made by the Presidency on behalf of the EU on 28 August 1998, which refers to ‘recent developments in the Lockerbie case’ and notes that the Union ‘expects Libya to. fully implement the provisions of UNSCR 1192 and all other relevant Security Council Resolutions. ’ As far as the Commission is aware, talks are still going on between the interested parties to ensure that these resolutions are implemented in full. (1999/C 182/177) WRITTEN QUESTION E-3857/98 by Maren Günther (PPE) to the Commission (4 January 1999) Subject: DG VIII 7 Service Commun Relex (SCR) As a result of the restructuring of DG VIII and the establishment of the SCR the Commission’s administrative structures have been rearranged. While the SCR is accommodated in Charlemagne 3 in Brussels, the Commission has decided to move DG VIII to the Rue de Genève. The two Commission services are, however, very closely linked by their working methods and functions. The files that are needed, for example, constantly have to be transported between the two addresses, causing major delays, inefficiency and considerable expense. Why did the Commission opt for so unfavourable a geographical division of the two services? Answer given by Mr Liikanen on behalf of the Commission (29 January 1999) The creation of the Service commun Relex (SCR) did not affect DG VIII alone. Staff were also drawn from DG IA and IB in large numbers. In view of the SCR’s final size (650 people) it was not possible to establish it entirely in the Charlemagne, only the third floor being used for this purpose. The rest of the SCR is located in the Belliard 28/Science 14 complex. The internal reorganisation of DG VIII, after the creation of the SCR, did not involve any further move of the services from rue de Genève. In fact, DG VIII has been located there since the evacuation of the Berlaymont. It did prove possible, however, to regroup all staff in one building (Genève 12). It is planned for DG VIII to move back to the centre (Quartier européen) at the latest when the Commission reoccupies the Berlaymont which is foreseen for 2002. The Commission is aware that this is not an optimal arrangement. However, within the framework of its budgetary and space constraints, it has no better alternative to propose at the present time. The matter is under review within the context of Decode and the financial perspectives for 2000-06 for section V of the budget