WRITTEN QUESTION P-1690/99 by Rosa Díez González (PSE) to the Council. Death penalty handed down to Spanish citizen Joaquín José Martínez in the US.
C 170 E/76 Official Journal of the European Communities EN 20. 6. 2000 (2000/C 170 E/085) WRITTEN QUESTION E-1684/99 by Reino Paasilinna (PSE) to the Commission (22 September 1999) Subject: Retirement age for fire fighters The retirement age for fire fighters is 65 in Finland, while in other European countries it is set by each countryís legislation. At the Conference on the Conditions of Employment and Work of Fire-fighting Personnel, which was held in Geneva from 9 to 16 May 1990, the International Labour Organisation recommended a substantial lowering of the retirement age for fire fighters. It is common knowledge that the work of fire fighters is tough and dangerous and it would be justified to follow the ILO recommenda- tion in all EU countries. Does the Commission intend to draw up legislation or, at least, a recommendation concerning lowering the age of retirement for fire fighters in all EU countries? Answer given by Mrs Diamantopoulou on behalf of the Commission (26 October 1999) The Commission does not intend to propose any harmonisation of the retirement age for firefighters in the Member States. (2000/C 170 E/086) WRITTEN QUESTION P-1690/99 by Rosa Díez GonzÆlez (PSE) to the Council (20 September 1999) Subject: Death penalty handed down to Spanish citizen Joaquín JosØ Martínez in the US On 2 November 1999 the Supreme Court in the US state of Florida will hear an appeal against the death sentence handed down to Spanish citizen Joaquín JosØ Martínez, an inmate on ádeath rowí at Starke prison in the United States. The defence team for this European citizen has stressed that legal guarantees and the presumption of innocence were ignored in reaching such an unspeakable verdict, which many US states still enforce. Given the urgent nature of this case and the fact that such an inhumane punishment is irreversible: 1. What steps has the Council taken to ensure that a universal moratorium on executions (resolution of 18 June 1998) is honoured and that a punishment which constitutes an affront to the most basic democratic values is abolished once and for all, bearing in mind, inter alia, European Parliament and United Nations resolutions and Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights? 2. What action can and will the Council take to prevent the execution of Joaquín JosØ Martínez from going ahead and ensure that he receives a free and fair trial? Reply (2 December 1999) EU action against the use of the death penalty is a key element of the EUís overall human rights 1. policy. In June 1998, the Council adopted guidelines for EU policy towards third countries on the issue of the death penalty. The final objective is a worldwide abolition of the death penalty. With the view of reaching this objective, where the death penalty still exists, the Council calls upon States to introduce a moratorium and insists that minimum standards be respected. It further encourages States to become party to the international legal instruments that prohibit capital punishment 20. 6. 2000 EN Official Journal of the European Communities C 170 E/77 In line with these guidelines, the EU has taken the initiative to introduce jointly for the first time, at 2. the 55th session of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights (1999), the draft resolution on the death penalty which had hitherto been introduced by Italy. This initiative was very successful; not only did it contain stronger language than previous resolutions, it also attracted more co-sponsors ü 72 States against 65 in 1998. The EU has also taken the initiative to organise in the margins of the CHR a discussion panel on the death penalty in which NGOs and government representatives from different countries participated. 3. In view of the success encountered by the draft resolution on the death penalty at the 55th session of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights, the EU also presented a draft resolution on the death penalty for the first time at the UN General Assembly (54th session), which took place this year. The resolution calls upon all States that still maintain the death penalty to establish, inter alia, a moratorium on executions with a view to completely abolishing the death penalty. The Council is confident that this EU initiative will further reinforce the international trend towards abolition of capital punishment. 4. In addition to general initiatives in multilateral or bilateral contexts, there are occasions when the European Union makes specific demarches concerning individual cases. The European Union is particularly concerned with cases which violate minimum standards in terms of human rights. For instance, the death penalty should never, in any circumstances, be imposed on persons below 18 years of age at the time of the commission of their crime, pregnant women and mothers, and persons who have become insane. The European Union also attaches great importance to the respect of standards offering minimum legal guarantees, such as clear and convincing evidence, the competence of the court and its strict observation of procedures as well as adequate legal assistance. In the case of Mr Joaquín JosØ Martínez, the European Union will closely follow the results of his 5. appeal to the Florida Supreme Court and will react in the light of the principles set out above. (2000/C 170 E/087) WRITTEN QUESTION E-1692/99 by Manuel PØrez `lvarez (PPE-DE) to the Commission (29 September 1999) Subject: Measures to support the elderly The budget items designed to support the elderly for 1996 ü Item B3-4104 ü and 1997 were blocked owing to the case brought before the Court of Justice by the United Kingdom on the grounds of a lack of legal basis. Can the Commission outline the current situation with regard to the above items in support of the elderly, and does it see any possibility of these two lines corresponding to 1996 and 1997 being unblocked? Answer given by Mrs Diamantopoulou on behalf of the Commission (12 November 1999) An inter-institutional agreement on legal bases and implementation of the budget was reached on 17 July 1998 between the Parliament, the Council and the Commission. This stated that using funds from the Community budget required a ábasic instrumentí (secondary legislation providing a foundation in law for Community action and for incurring the expenditure entered in the budget), with only certain specified exceptions. In the light of this inter-institutional agreement, the United Kingdom did not feel it necessary to continue with case C-239/96 challenging the Commissionís call for applications for grants from budget line B3-4104 and the case was withdrawn. One exception allowed by the inter-institutional agreement is for funding for preparatory measures intended to prepare the way for proposals for the adoption of future Community action. On this basis, actions relating to older people were supported in 1998 by budget line B3-4116 (co-operation with