WRITTEN QUESTION E-2736/99 by Carlo Fatuzzo (PPE-DE) to the Commission. Retired widow Mrs Maria Luisa Bolzoni ‐ 16-year wait for pension.
3. 10. 2000 EN Official Journal of the European Communities C 280 E/119 Answer given by Mrs Diamantopoulou on behalf of the Commission (1 March 2000) The Commission has no legal basis to request a Member State to repeal such a measure. The organisation of social protection systems within the Member States is a national competence, provided that certain fundamental principles of Community law are respected. Community law does not, however, confer any right to equal treatment between different age groups. On 25 November 1999, the Commission adopted a package of two legislative proposals and a programme to combat discrimination in the Community based on Article 13 (ex Article 6a) of the EC Treaty (1). These proposals must be accepted by the Council before they can take effect. One of these initiatives is a horizontal directive to combat discrimination on grounds of disability or age. However, the scope of the proposal is limited to the field of employment and occupation. Therefore, social protection benefits are not covered by this proposal. (1) COM(99) 564 final. (2000/C 280 E/126) WRITTEN QUESTION E-2736/99 by Carlo Fatuzzo (PPE-DE) to the Commission (18 January 2000) Subject: Retired widow Mrs Maria Luisa Bolzoni ü 16-year wait for pension Is the Commission aware of the fact that in a number of Member States there are very serious delays in the payment of old-age pensions? Does the Commission intend to approach the INPS, which is responsible for paying pensions in Italy, in order to ensure that Mrs Maria Luisa Bolzoni, born on 3 November 1928 in Scandolara Ravara and resident in Bergamo, at 15 via Bonomelli, is at last paid the pension increase requested on 26 November 1994 in accordance with Article 6 of Law No 638/1983 and due to her, under Italian law, from 1 October 1983, not least because she has been waiting patiently for 16 years to be paid the pension increase to which she is entitled as a category SO-96000064 widow? Can the Commission say how many more years this seventy-one year old Italian pensioner will have to wait? Answer given by Mrs Diamantopoulou on behalf of the Commission (7 February 2000) The Commission has no say in the matter raised by the Honourable Member, as it is a purely internal matter which is outside Community jurisdiction. With regard to social welfare, the only binding Community provisions are the Regulations on social security for migrant workers and the Directives on equal treatment for men and women in social security schemes. The organisation and operation of a scheme, eligibility for an old-age or retirement pension and the question of when the various benefits are to be awarded are matters which fall within the exclusive competence of the national authorities, provided that the above Community provisions are observed