Parliamentary Questions
December 2007: Visa Waiver Programme and HIV positive persons
Written question to both the Commission and the Council by Sophia in 't Veld (ALDE) , Raül Romeva i Rueda (Verts/ALE) , Michael Cashman (PSE) , Baroness Sarah Ludford (ALDE) and Lissy Gröner (PSE), 6 December 2007
Subject: Visa Waiver Programme and HIV positive persons | |
1. Is the Commission aware that the Visa Waiver Programme of the US does not apply to persons with HIV (along with persons with a criminal record and persons who have been deported from the US)? (http://www.dhs.gov/xlibrary/assets/vwp_travelerguide.pdf) 2. Does the Commission agree that there are no objective reasons to label an HIV infected traveller as a risk to public health, given that the disease cannot be passed on easily, via air or normal body contact? 3. Has the Commission made any efforts to end this discrimination, in the same way as it is seeking to end visa discrimination on grounds of nationality? | |
November 2007: question JPA by Anne Van Lancker
Oral Question to the Commission during the Joint Parliamentary Assembly in Kigali 19-22 November 2007
by Anne Van Lancker
Subject: Health
Despite the largest youth population ever entering child-bearing years, European aid for family planning in poor countries is falling. Notwithstanding the strong commitment towards sexual and reproductive health in European development policy and the leading role of the EU on these issues in the past, health is no longer a priority in EC funding. It is clear that in most Country Strategy Papers health is not mentioned as a focal sector and SRHR is not mentioned at all. How will you ensure that sufficient financial EU resources are allocated to health and especially to SRH?
Reply by the Commission
The Commission is committed as ever to the ICPD agenda and to sexual and reproductive health as important part of European development policy. The Commission is also committed to supporting the achievement of the MDGs and fully subscribes to the new target under MDG5, which was agreed upon on October 9 by the UN General Assembly, to achieve by 2015 universal access to reproductive health.
Almost all Country Strategy Papers have now been agreed with ACP partner countries and according to the latest figures (which account for 94.8% of strategy papers), 3.4% will directly support health under the 10th EDF. Out of 74 ACP countries, 12 have focal sectors in health.
In addition, the Commission also supports health through global instruments such as the Global Fund for HIV and AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (GFATM). Under the Development Cooperation Instrument, the Thematic Programme 'Investing in People' includes a significant contribution of 300 million to health through GFATM inthe coming years. Within the Global Fund there will be more space for funding Sexual and Reproductive Health activities. Under 'Investing in People', the Commission is also preparing a specific call for proposals for 2008 on adolescent SRHR with a dual objective of 1) strengthening capacity of existing NGOs in the South to address the issue and 2) advocacy. Also there will be financing for RH Commodities for emergency situations.
The Commission is also committed to increase the quality of its support through increased harmonization, coordination and complementarity as well as greater alignment, greater use of budget support and, more generally, continuous improvements in the effectiveness of all aid modalities and a focus on outcomes. The results of the 10th EDF programming have to be seen jointly with these Commission efforts, which will continue throughout the implementation phase till 2013.
Greater use of budget support is entirely in line with our Paris commitment towards greater country ownership. Under the 10th EDF, some 40% of EC spending will be delivered through budget support. Budget support allows governments the fiscal space to make higher allocations to social sector budgets and supports full ownership of the development agenda by partner countries. Review of budget support carried out by OECD/DAC have shown that budget support has succeeded in increasing national budget allocations to the social sectors and has in turn, resulted in better social sector outcomes.
The Commission is also planning to use a new financing modality, i.e. 'MDG contracting', in which partner governments will enter into a contract with the Commission under which budget support will be made longer term and more predictable in return for agreed outcomes which contribute towards the achievement of the MDGs.
October 2007- Implementation European Programme for Action HIV/AIDS
Question Maria Martens (EPP-ED), 4 October 2007
Subject: Implementation of the European Programme for Action to Confront HIV/AIDS, Malaria and Tuberculosis through External Action (2007‑11) | |
In 2005, the European Commission adopted the communication on the European Programme for Action to Confront HIV/AIDS, Malaria and Tuberculosis through External Action (2007‑11). The communication states that ‘the EC will work towards agreement with partners in countries on the use of one monitoring and evaluation framework with common indicators’. It also states that ‘in 2008 and 2010, the Commission will present comprehensive progress reports to Parliament and Council on the implementation, outputs and impact of the PfA’. 1. Has the Commission with its partners in countries already developed a monitoring and evaluation framework with common indicators? If so, which indicators will be used to monitor and evaluate the implementation of the PfA? If not, when does the Commission expect to develop this monitoring and evaluation framework with common indicators? Will civil society be involved in developing this monitoring and evaluation framework? 2. Is the Commission considering involving civil society? 3. When will the comprehensive progress report be submitted to the Parliament in 2008? | |
October 2007- Equal Rights in Croatia
Question Eva-Britt Svensson (GUE/NGL) and Raül Romeva i Rueda (Verts/ALE) to the Commission, 2 October 2007 |
Subject: Equal rights in Croatia | |||||
The Commission’s 2005 and 2006 progress reports on Croatia’s accession to the EU specifically point out Croatia’s problems in fully enforcing its gender equality legislation and gender equality action plan (which requires the development of reproductive health education programmes in schools). Democracy and rule-of-law principles require transparent and participatory decision-making processes, an issue which the Commission raised as a general problem in its 2006 progress report on Croatia’s accession to the European Union. The process of selecting a mandatory health education programme has been far from transparent and inclusive of relevant stakeholders (lack of expertise on the issue and a doctor who was previously reprimanded by the Croatian Medical Chamber for his blatant homophobia sat as chair of one of the reviewing committees). Even the final conclusions of the reviewing committees have not been made available to the public by the Ministry of Science, Education and Sports. The content of the proposed health education programme’s sexuality education component has been found to be discriminatory against sexual minorities, women and other vulnerable groups. We would like to ask the Commission:
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August 2007- Female Genital Mutilation
Question Catherine Stihler, 1 August 2007
Has the Commission undertaken any research on the legal situation in Member States relating to female genital mutilation, and does the Commission foresee any EU action on this issue?
Answer Commission, 21 September 2007
It is today not possible to correctly estimate the extent of so-called ‘harmful traditional practices’ in Europe, including female genital mutilation (FGM), forced marriages and honour-related crimes, as there are no reliable and comparable data available that would give an accurate picture of the situation. However, it is clear that girls are victims of such practices in Europe and elsewhere and suffer every day from their consequences. All forms of female genital mutilation are associated with an increased risk of psychological and physical damage including haemorrhage, infection, infertility, incontinence and mental health problems. Female genital mutilation is also a cause of obstetric complications to the mother and infant including stillbirths, infant death and long term disability. These practices are a serious violation of their fundamental right to physical and mental integrity, which is recognised in all Member States of the EU. Although the Commission has not carried out any specific review of the legal situation regarding female genital mutilation in Member States, it trusts that the Member States are committed to combat these harmful traditional practices but believes that further efforts are required at national level to enact and implement appropriate legislation against it, to take preventive measures and to provide support to potential and actual victims.
The Commission has financed a number of projects aimed at preventing FGM, forced marriages and honour-related violence under the Daphne Programme which aims to prevent and combat all forms of violence against children, young people and women. Daphne has in particular contributed to creating and supporting a European network of Non Governmental Organisations (NGOs) fighting FGM, and to carrying out research on FGM and other harmful traditional practices, including projects which have studied and compared national legislation, collected data and statistics, and which have also recommended policy directions aimed at decision-makers in the EU and national governments. More information about Daphne projects can be obtained on the Daphne Toolkit website: www.daphne-toolkit.org.
The third edition of the Daphne Programme, which covers the period 2007-13, was adopted in June 2007. The legal base insists on the fact that violence against women takes many forms including harmful traditional practices associated with the exercise of physical violence against women, such as genital mutilation and honour-related crimes, which constitute a particular form of violence against women.
Another example at EU-level is the Council Directive 2004/83/EC(1) on the minimum standards for qualifying third-country nationals as refugees which states that the risk of gender-based violence (of which the definition would include female genital mutilation) is recognised as grounds for persecution.
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July 2007- Policies for Orphaned or Vulnerable Children
Question Claude Moraes, 23 July 2007
Would the Council make clear what current policies and actions are being implemented concerning HIV and AIDS in South Africa? In particular, what policies are aimed at orphaned or vulnerable children (OVCs)?
Answer Commission, 27 September 2007
The fight against HIV/AIDS and other poverty-related diseases remains at the top of the EU's agenda and constitutes a priority of the EU development policy. The EU Consensus on Development, signed by the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission on 20 December 2005, places HIV/AIDS and children's rights at the heart of the poverty eradication and MDGs agenda. There is a standing political commitment on the part of all EU Presidencies to keep HIV/AIDS as a priority in the development cooperation agenda.
On 23 April 2007, the Council and the Member States adopted conclusions on recently emerging issues regarding HIV/AIDS(1).
Furthermore, the European Council underlined in its conclusions of 21-22 June 2007 that HIV/AIDS remains a matter of serious concern and it is for the Member States to provide political leadership to fight this pandemic. The pharmaceutical industry should facilitate access to affordable medicines and cooperate in securing distribution channels for drugs against HIV/AIDS, together with government institutions and NGOs.
As regards the issue of funding, all EU Members are contributing to the global EU effort in fighting poverty diseases. In May 2005(2), the Council decided on a new collective European Union target of an ODA/GNI ratio of 0.56 % 2010. This implies an additional EUR 20 billion a year in ODA. Half of this amount will be spent in Africa, and a substantial part of it will certainly be spent on HIV/AIDS prevention, treatment, care and research.
Between 1999 and 2006 the European Community supported South Africa in the fight against HIV/AIDS in the framework of the European Programme for Reconstruction and Development with a total of more than EUR 135 million. Notable in this regard are the programmes which take into account the particular needs of children and orphans — Partnerships for the Delivery of Primary Health Care including HIV/AIDS (EUR 25 million), Support for the South African Government's Comprehensive Plan for the Care, Management and Treatment of HIV/AIDS, (EUR 25 million) and Expanded Programme of Partnerships for the Delivery of Primary Health Care and HIV/AIDS Services (EUR 45 million). The country strategy paper and the multi-annual indicative programme for 2007‑13 provide for cooperation in combating HIV/AIDS to continue.
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June 2007- Street children and HIV/AIDS
Question Catherine Stihler, 14 June 2007
There are 15 million street children worldwide, and this group is particularly vulnerable to HIV/Aids infection. Can the Commission report on what action is being taken at EU level to ensure HIV treatment for this group by 2010 with regard to the points below?
1. integration of street children into existing HIV/AIDS programmes,
2. improved access to HIV/AIDS prevention, care and treatment services for street children and all children at risk,
3. equitable allocation of existing funding for street children and children at risk.
Answer Commission, 26 July 2007
The Commission is aware and concerned with the situation of street children worldwide. Global estimates of children living and/or working in the street (some not even yet adolescents) vary from 100 million (half of them in Latin America) to 250 million, and their number is rapidly increasing. Millions of adolescents around the world suffer from lack of access to education, vulnerability to illness and infections including human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)/acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS), doing work inappropriate to establish a secure livelihood, or exposed to violence and early pregnancy.
Children and their rights is a cross-cutting issue for all actions of the European Community development policy. The Group of Commissioners on Fundamental Rights decided in April 2005 to work towards a ‘Pact for the Child’ to advance the promotion of children’s rights in internal and external EU policy. The Commission Communication towards a strategy on the rights of the child was adopted on 4 July 2006 as a major part of this Pact. One of the short-term actions identified in the communication is an Action Plan on Children in External Relations, which will be adopted in the next months. The action plan will pay special attention to children more vulnerable to neglect or abuse of their rights, such as street children and Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVCs).
In relation to children and HIV/AIDS, the Commission is particularly concerned by the fact that coverage of children in need for antiretroviral treatment is lagging behind in the progress made to expand coverage. By December 2006 only an estimated 15 % of children in need had access to treatment, in contrast to the total estimated antiretroviral treatment coverage of 28 %.
In this context the Commission has strongly supported the efforts of the German EU Presidency to bring issues related to children and AIDS high on the political agenda, leading to the recent endorsement on 23-24 April 2007 by the Council of Conclusions on HIV/AIDS — Recently Emerging Issues. The Conclusions emphasise the need also to focus on children infected with and affected by HIV/AIDS, including children orphaned by AIDS and children and infants in need of treatment.
In the Conclusions, the Council calls upon the Commission and the Member States to address as a priority the vulnerability of children affected by and living with HIV/AIDS, providing support to them and their families and caregivers, women and the elderly as well as promoting child-oriented HIV/AIDS policies and programmes and increased protection of children orphaned by AIDS through renewed efforts to develop treatment for children.
Furthermore, the Council suggests supporting the strengthening of social and legal protection systems as well as the creation of less susceptible livelihoods as an integral part of Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers of the countries concerned in order to support households caring for orphans and vulnerable children as well as child-headed households.
Similarly, in the context of the German G8 Presidency, the Sherpa and other representatives of the Commission have supported the inclusion of specific action related to children and AIDS in the G8 Summit Declaration on Growth and Responsibility in Africa. In the Declaration the G8 Members make the following pledge:
The Commission will work closely on these issues with partner countries through the EC Delegations and with Member States to ensure an optimal response and follow up of the European Union.
Meanwhile, in the Country strategies of the countries with the largest growing numbers of OVCs affected by HIV/AIDS such as South Africa, Lesotho, Swaziland and Zimbabwe, the EC is planning specific actions to support OVCs and gradually help governments develop comprehensive child social protection schemes.
Overall, access of vulnerable children to basic health and education is essential, and this is central to our discussions with partner developing countries in our cooperation strategies.
February 2007- Access to medicinal products
Question Kader Arif, 12 February 2007
World Aids Day has provided a further opportunity for considering the ravages caused by the Aids virus throughout the world — especially in the developing countries where over 95 % of sufferers live. The occasion was also a reminder that providing access to essential medicinal products at prices which patients can afford continues to be a real challenge.
Competition between drug manufacturers is an effective way of bringing prices down — indeed, the arrival on the market of generic versions of anti-HIV/Aids drugs was what enabled the cost of tritherapies to be reduced from USD 10 000 per patient per year in 2000 to the current USD 130 per patient per year. However, the latest generation of anti-retroviral drugs which has recently been produced in order to overcome the resistance which some sufferers have developed is not yet exposed to competition, hence it remains beyond the financial reach of the vast majority of patients.
Over the last few years the increasing number of bilateral agreements between developing and Western countries (where the major pharmaceutical countries have powerful means of exerting pressure) has resulted in levels of patent protection which are higher than those required under the TRIPS (Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights) Agreement. The difficulty — even impossibility — of securing access to the medicinal products in question prevents effective action from being taken against the spread of the virus and delays achievement of the Millennium Development Objectives.
Does the Commission acknowledge that the arrangements made to date are inadequate as a means of providing access to medicinal products at affordable prices? What action does it intend to take with a view to ensuring that the Doha Declaration on the TRIPS Agreement and Public Health (which clearly stipulates that the rules relating to intellectual property should not prevent countries from protecting their public health) is actually applied? What safeguard mechanisms will it set up in order to enable proper competition to be practised and hence the cost of treatments (including second-generation ones) to be reduced? What new strategy does it propose for developing countries which are not able to manufacture generic medicinal products? Lastly, what position does it adopt within the WHO's Intergovernmental Working Party on Public Health, Innovation and Intellectual Property Rights, which has been given the task of drawing up an action plan and a global strategy for dealing with the crisis surrounding access to medicinal products?
Answer Commission (only available in French), 23 March 2007
Comme le souligne l'Honorable Parlementaire, si le prix de certains médicaments a baissé de façon significative, le prix des médicaments nouvellement mis sur le marché reste élevé. Les solutions pour assurer un accès aux médicaments à un prix abordable sont diverses.
La Commission soutient pleinement l'application effective de la Déclaration de Doha sur l'accord sur les aspects des droits de propriété intellectuelle touchant au commerce (ADPIC) et la santé publique, dont elle a été un des promoteurs. Elle s'interdit d'introduire dans ses accords bilatéraux avec les pays en développement des dispositions qui pourraient remettre en cause les flexibilités prévues par l'accord sur les ADPIC.
Pour faciliter l'accès aux médicaments, le Conseil a adopté en 2003(1), sur proposition de la Commission, un règlement visant à encourager les entreprises pharmaceutiques à vendre, sous certaines conditions, des médicaments à des prix différents sur les marchés des pays développés et sur ceux des pays en voie de développement les plus pauvres. L'objectif de ce règlement est de garantir à ces pays la fourniture de produits pharmaceutiques essentiels à des prix fortement réduits.
En ce qui concerne les pays en voie de développement qui ne sont pas en capacité de produire des médicaments génériques, le Conseil et le Parlement, sur proposition de la Commission, ont adopté en 2006 un règlement(2) permettant aux entreprises de produire, sous licence, des copies de médicaments brevetés en vue de leur exportation vers des pays qui en ont besoin et qui n'ont pas les moyens de les produire. Ce règlement constitue une mesure cruciale pour aider les pays qui en ont besoin à accéder plus facilement à des médicaments efficaces, sûrs et d'un prix abordable. D'autre part, dans sa réponse à la résolution du Parlement du 30 novembre 2006 (P6‑TA-PROV(2006)0526) la Commission a fourni une analyse détaillée de ses activités contre les maladies transmissibles dans les pays en voie de développement.
Enfin, la Commission participe activement aux travaux du groupe de travail intergouvernemental de l'Organisation mondiale de la santé sur la santé publique, l'innovation et la propriété intellectuelle.
December 2006- Reproductive Healthcare in Poland
Question Eva-Britt Svensson, Kartika Tamara Liotard and Ilda Figueiredo to the Council, 20 December 2006
The European Union and Member States adopted the Beijing Platform and the action programme of the International Conference on Population and Development which established that governments must ‘provide more accessible, available and affordable primary healthcare services of high quality, including sexual and reproductive healthcare such as family planning information and services’ as well as ‘deal with the health impact of unsafe abortion as a major public health concern’.
On 8 February 2006, in its answer to Question 8209;4739/05, the Commission mentioned that ‘representatives of the Member States within the framework of the open method of coordination have agreed that ensuring the access to care, promoting high-quality care and guaranteeing the financial sustainability of accessible, high-quality care are their common objectives in the area of health and long-term care’.
It is widely known though that in Poland the Lower House of Parliament has been discussing a proposal to amend Article 38 of the Polish Constitution in order to make abortion completely illegal in all circumstances, even when the woman's life and/or health is threatened. According to the information received, access to contraception may be in danger in the future national programme for family support. They will launch a big campaign in order to emphasise the negative aspects of the use of oral contraception and condoms.
According to the Polish Federation for Women and Family Planning, ‘this will only increase the number of unsafe and illegally performed abortions’. Indeed, legalising limited access to contraception and making abortion completely illegal will result in a major public health concern and in a threat to women's lives in particular.
For the reasons mentioned above, we would like to ask the Council if it is intending to invite and encourage the Polish authorities, so that they will govern according to the European and international recommendations on sexual and reproductive health (care).
Council Reply, 7 February 2007
The right of initiative in the field of public health lies exclusively with the Commission. At present, the Council has no legislative proposal with regard to reproductive healthcare on the table. As the Honourable Member is surely aware, pursuant to Article 152(4) in conjunction with Article 251, any such proposal would fall under the co-decision procedure.
May 2006- Social and human development in the 10th EDF
Question Anne van Lancker, 29 May 2006
Which measures will the Commission take to ensure that in the new Financial Perspectives 2007-2013 sufficient resources will be allocated to HIV/AIDS, without a specific budget line for poverty-related diseases, but with the inclusion of HIV/AIDS in a broad thematic programme for human and social developments without guarantees for sufficient and sustainable financing? How will the Commission ensure sufficient attention for sustainable human and social development in the 10th EDF? How much money will be allocated in the 10th EDF by the EU for the fight against HIV/AIDS and its structural determinants (social exclusion, weak health systems, no access to basic education etc), considering the fact that until now social sector spending at the country-level has been low?
Commission reply, 15 June 2006
The contribution of the EC to the fight against HIV/AIDS can not en should not be expressed solely in financial terms. Throughout the years, the Commission has given strong support to the HIV/AIDS agenda both globally and at the country-level through its policy and advocacy. In the past, the Commission intensively collaborated with the Council and the Parliament in order to have a louder European voice in the fight against HIV/AIDS in the entire world and also within the EU and the neighbouring countries.
More specifically, the EU developed an extensive strategic framework in 2004 and a Programme for Action to confront HIV/AIDS, Malaria and TB in 2005, in which it committed itself to give priority to the response to these diseases and their structural determinants in the European Consensus on development cooperation, the Africa Strategy, the Caribbean Strategy and the Pacific Strategy. In the Commission Communication to fight HIV/AIDS within the EU and its neighbouring countries approved in 2005, the priority areas for this geographical area are fixed until the end of 2009. The proposed external actions completely fit within and contribute to the general policy framework for the ECís external actions on HIV/AIDS, Malaria and TB.
The financing for the period 2007-2013 will come from two sources: 1) the EU budget, by means of country programming for several areas in the world and thematic programming, and 2) the 10th EDF for the ACP countries. The country programming depends on country ownership and priorities and for this reason the Commission can not allocate funds independently. The Commission will do everything in its power, in the context of the above-mentioned policy, by means of policy dialogue, programming reviews and guidelines for EC Delegations, to support partner countries in their fight against HIV/AIDS and other diseases through strengthening health systems and access to basic education. However, it is up to the partner countries to decide their priorities and strategies for development and poverty eradication.
Also, the EC contributions to the Global Fund and the future financing of the thematic programmes, which will be decided as part of the DCECI, will ensure a predictable financing on behalf of the Commission for 2007-2013.
Between 2002-2005, the EC has allocated a total amount of 432,5 mln euros to the Global Fund, which corresponds to an annual average of more than 100 mln euros. In 2006, the EC will allocate 90 mln euros to the Global Fund. The President of the European Commission has recently declared his will to allocate an amount of money to the Global Fund for 2007 and confirmed that the EC would like to maintain, at least, the same level of financing as in previous years. The proposed contribution would probably be divided on a yearly basis over the 10th EDF, intra-ACP funds and the DCECI because this is the only way to reach this level of financing. The contributions in the past have been allocated in a similar way from the 9th EDF and the EU budget (from the budget line that Mrs. Van Lancker referred to in her question).
The thematic programme will continue to finance the same priorities as those included in the current budget line, based on regulation 1568/2003, and on top of that, will target other priorities in a comprehensive approach, such as those mentioned by Mrs. Van Lancker: social exclusion, health system strengthening, basic education and others.
At the moment, no decision has been taken yet on the legal basis or on the specific budget allocations.
February 2005- Follow-up to the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing
Question Lissy Groner, Amalia Sartori, Hiltrud Breyer, Eva-Britt Svensson, Konrad Szymanski, Urszula Krupa, Lydia Schenardi and Maria Carlshamre, 1 February 2005
On 18 May 2000, the European Parliament adopted a resolution on the follow up to the Beijing Action Platform. In the light of this resolution and of the 12 critical areas of the Beijing Platform for Action:
WOMEN AND EMPLOYMENT: What measures are envisaged with a view to tackling the gender gap in employment? Would the Council support legislative measures designed to achieve reconciliation between family and working life?
VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN: Does the Council intend to designate 2006 as the European Year against violence against women, as repeatedly requested by the European Parliament? Does the Council consider that there is any connection between prostitution and trafficking, and what measures will be taken to combat trafficking in human beings?
WOMEN AND POVERTY: In order to pursue a more concerted policy in the field of social protection, does the Council intend to adopt gender-specific indicators related to the feminisation of poverty?
WOMEN AND THE ENVIRONMENT: What measures are being taken in order to integrate the gender dimension into EU development cooperation policy and into the UN World Conferences such as the UN World Summit for Social Development, taking into account the UN Millennium Goals?
THE GIRL CHILD: Alongside the Daphne programme, what measures will the Council be taking so as to eradicate the sexual exploitation of children and women (trafficking, sex-tourism), in both internal and external policy, including asylum rights for victims?
WOMEN'S RIGHTS AND HUMAN RIGHTS: In the setting up of the new EU Human Rights Agency, how will the Council implement a gender-sensitive approach to human rights policies in order to highlight the particular human rights violations suffered by women?
WOMEN AND ARMED CONFLICTS: In its resolution on the participation of women in peaceful conflict resolution, the European Parliament called for a quota of 40% women as regards participation in reconciliation, peace-keeping, and conflict prevention posts, including fact-finding and observer missions, acting on behalf of the EU and its Member States. Is that quota being maintained?
No Commission reply available yet
