WRITTEN QUESTION No. 3749/98 by Glyn FORD Independence of the Faroe Islands
11. 10. 1999 EN Official Journal of the European Communities C 289/83 Reply (29 March 1999) With regard to the decision of 1991 on the tax-free sales for intra-community travellers, the Vienna European Council asked the Commission and the Council (ECOFIN) to examine by March 1999 the problems which could arise with regard to employment and to address on the basis of proposals from the Commission possible means of tackling these problems, including the possibility of a limited extension of the transitional arrangements. (1999/C 289/110) WRITTEN QUESTION E-3749/98 by Glyn Ford (PSE) to the Commission (11 December 1998) Subject: Independence of the Faroe Islands What arrangements and treaties would have to be renegotiated between the Faroe Islands and the EU if Denmark were to grant the Islands independence? How long would this take? Answer given by Mr Santer on behalf of the Commission (10 February 1999) Relationships between the Community and the Faroe Islands are, at present, set out in two basic agreements; one on fisheries (Council Regulation (EEC) 2211/80 of 27 June 1980 on the conclusion of the Agreement on fisheries between the European Economic Community and the Government of Denmark and the Home Government of the Faroe Islands (1)), the other on trade (Council Decision of 6 December 1996 concerning the conclusion of an agreement between the Community, of the one part, and the Government of Denmark and the Home Government of the Faroe Islands, of the other part (2)). The issues involved in any renegotiation of these agreements would need to be adressed if and when the question of independence for the Faroe Islands came to the fore. (1) OJ L 226, 29. 8. 1980. (2) OJ L 53, 22. 2. 1997. (1999/C 289/111) WRITTEN QUESTION P-3771/98 by Olivier Dupuis (ARE) to the Council (4 December 1998) Subject: Situation in Angola In view of recent developments in the situation in Angola, and especially the blocking of the peace process = and the commitments arising from it = by President Dos Santos’s party, the government’s refusal to permit the UN Secretary-General’s representative to move freely in the regions controlled by UNITA, the severe restrictions and pressure imposed on members of UNITA who have settled in Luanda under the Lusaka Protocol agreements and with a guarantee from the international community, what measures has the Council taken, or does it intend to take, to enable the peace process in Angola to be resumed and to ensure the protection and well-being of UNITA members who are now hostages of the peace process? More generally, does the Council not consider it necessary to organise an international conference on the current serious crisis in Africa, which might be designated the ‘first African world war’, to be attended by representatives of all the warring factions in this part of Africa and to enable an end to be put to the UN Security Council’s partial and often biased crisis management, its aim too often being to favour the particular interests of one country rather than finding a genuine solution to local problems?