(2004/C 88 E/0038)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1497/03

by Glyn Ford (PSE) to the Commission

(5 May 2003)

Subject:   Destruction of EU property in Palestine

What is the current situation regarding EU-financial infrastructure in Palestine that has been destroyed or damaged the continuing conflict in the region?

Answer by Mr Patten on behalf of the Commission

(23 June 2003)

The Commission, upon the request of the Union's Presidency, compiled a preliminary list of EU-funded (Commission and Member States) projects which have either been destroyed or damaged by Israeli military forces. The list of destroyed projects is regularly updated by the Commission office in Jerusalem in coordination with the Member States' representative offices in Jerusalem and Ramallah. This task has been made difficult by the conditions on the ground. The list was last updated on 14 December 2002 bringing total damages to EUR 24 014 000. Of this total, about one-quarter was financed by the Community and the remainder by the Member States.

The exercise is limited to the replacement costs of physical infrastructure (construction and equipment), excluding indirect losses such as project delays or suspensions. Moreover the list does not make reference to a number of EU-funded projects which are unable to funtion properly due to Israeli military actions, for instance access to the European hospital in Gaza or delays (as a result of closures of access to raw materials) to infrastructure projects.

This matter has been raised with the Israeli authorities on several occasions, most notably by the Presidency of the Union in January 2002, and also at the Association Council with Israel on 21 October 2002.