ISSN 0252-0656 COUNCIL CONSEIL OF EUROPE DE L’EUROPE PARLIAMENTARY ASSEMBLY 2001 ORDINARY SESSION (Fourth part) 24-28 September 2001 DOCUMENTS WORKING PAPERS VOLUME VIII DOCUMENTS 9155-9241 Strasbourg 2001 COUNCIL CONSEIL OF EUROPE DE L’EUROPE PARLIAMENTARY ASSEMBLY 2001 ORDINARY SESSION (Fourth part) 24-28 September 2001 DOCUMENTS WORKING PAPERS VOLUME VIII DOCUMENTS 9155-9241 Strasbourg 2001 Council of Europe Publishing F-67075 Strasbourg Cedex ISBN 92-871-4739-6 Printed at the Council of Europe Documents (Working Papers) comprise the agenda of Assembly sessions, requests for opinion and communi- cations from the Committee of Ministers, motions for resolutions, recommendations and orders, and written questions tabled by Representatives, reports of the committees and any amendments that have been tabled, the statutory reports from the Committee of Ministers to the Assembly and other periodical reports and communica- tions addressed to the Assembly by international organisations. These documents are numbered in the order in which they are tabled, and the numbering is continuous from session to session. A classified index of the documents contained in all eight volumes of the 2001 Ordinary Session is found at the back of this volume. Opinions, recommendations, resolutions and orders adopted by the Assembly at the conclusion of the debates on the reports of committees and the list of references to committees are published in a separate volume which is entiled Parliamentary Assembly – Texts adopted. The publications of the Assembly also include the Official Report of debates, Orders of the Day and Minutes of Proceedings. Abbreviations used by political groups SOC – Socialist Group EPP/CD – Group of the European People’s Party EDG – European Democratic Group LDR – Liberal, Democratic and Reformers’ Group UEL – Group of the Unified European Left PARLIAMENTARY ASSEMBLY Invite the Swiss Government and Graubünden Can- ton to remove all obstacles to freedom of movement by OF THE COUNCIL OF EUROPE the inhabitants of the Lei Valley, in view of the fact that the Council of Europe has always advocated the enhancement of mountain agriculture. They consider it 1 unacceptable for a private company to be allowed arbi- Written Declaration No. 327 trarily to close roads which, even if the company Doc. 9155 – 3 July 2001 constructed them, have been declared public by Graubünden Canton. Freedom of movement for the inhabitants Signed: of the Lei Valley (Italy) Besostri, Italy, SOC The undersigned, members of the Parliamentary Bockel, France, SOC Assembly, Akçali, Turkey, EDG Briane, France, EPP/CD Denounce the intolerable relations between the Brunetti, Italy, UEL inhabitants of the Lei Valley, Valtelina, Italy, and the Chapman, United Kingdom, EDG Swiss company Kraftwerke Hinterrein (KHR), which Davis, United Kingdom, SOC has a franchise on a dam and hydroelectric power sta- Gross, Switzerland, SOC tion in Graubünden Canton, on the border with this Hegyi, Hungary, SOC valley; Iwiƒski, Poland, SOC Kurucsai, Hungary, EPP/CD Denounce, in particular, the tense relations that Lauricella, Italy, SOC have developed between, on the one hand, the two fam- Olivo, Italy, SOC ilies permanently resident in the valley, which earn their Pinggera, Italy, EPP/CD living by milk production and by managing a mountain Provera, Italy, LDR refuge, and, on the other hand, the said company. Owing De Puig, Spain, SOC to this tense climate, the families are now under-sup- Risari, Italy, EPP/CD plied with electricity and, worse still, the company has Robol, Italy, EPP/CD taken upon itself the right to block in winter, without Schicker, Austria, SOC prior notice, the only road leading to the properties of Squarcialupi, Italy, SOC the two families, which has had a harmful effect on their Vella, Malta, EPP/CD economic activities; Vermot-Mangold, Switzerland, SOC 1. This written declaration commits only the members who have signed it. 1 PARLIAMENTARY ASSEMBLY Minority Languages, possibly by means of a recom- mendation to member states”, OF THE COUNCIL OF EUROPE Recommends that the Committee of Ministers report to the Assembly on the action that it has taken to protect sign languages and on the specific measures it Motion for a recommendation1 has proposed or proposes to recommend to member Doc. 9156 – 3 July 2001 states to ensure the protection of minorities. Signed: Protection of sign languages in member states Bruce, United Kingdom, LDR Gülek, Turkey, SOC presented by Mr BRUCE and others Jansson, Finland, LDR Jafiab, Czech Republic, LDR The Assembly, Jaskiernia, Poland, SOC Magnusson, Sweden, SOC Recalling paragraph 12.xiii of its Recommenda- Marty, Switzerland, LDR tion 1492 (2001) which recommended that the McNamara, United Kingdom, SOC Committee of Ministers “give the various sign lan- Olteanu, Romania, SOC guages utilised in Europe a protection similar to that Tabajdi, Hungary, SOC afforded by the European Charter for Regional or Tallo, Estonia, SOC 1. Referred to the Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights and, for opinion, to the Social, Health and Family Affairs Committee, for report to the Standing Committee: Reference No. 2635 (see 26th Sitting, 25 Sep- tember 2001). 3 PARLIAMENTARY ASSEMBLY 5. the political and constitutional-based integration of Europe from the Atlantic to the Caspian Sea was the OF THE COUNCIL OF EUROPE original project of the pioneers of European integration and the founding fathers of the Council of Europe, The Assembly decides to ensure the participation Motion for a resolution1 of a delegation of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Doc. 9157 – 3 July 2001 Council of Europe in the constitution-making body designed as the “convention plus model”, giving it the right to speak and to make contributions, without the Contribution of the Council of Europe right to vote, and to see to it that this proposition is taken up by the presidents of the political groups in the Euro- to the future constitution-making process pean Parliament and in the Parliamentary Assembly of of the European Union the Council of Europe. presented by Mr GROSS and others The Assembly, Signed: Taking into consideration that: Gross, Switzerland, SOC Atkinson, United Kingdom, EDG 1. the European Parliament and the new European Barto‰, Czech Republic, EDG Union Presidency want to replace the intergovernmen- Bindig, Germany, SOC tal “conference model” (behind closed doors) by a Björck, Sweden, EDG “convention” model, which has been successfully Cileviãs, Latvia, SOC applied in the elaboration of the European Charter of De Puig, Spain, SOC Fundamental Rights 1999-2000 and in which the Coun- Derycke, Belgium, SOC cil of Europe was represented by two observers, one Hornhues, Germany, EPP/CD from the Secretariat and one from the European Court of Iwiƒski, Poland, SOC Human Rights; Jansson, Finland, LDR Judd, United Kingdom, SOC 2. the Treaty of Nice envisages the construction of a Jurgens, Netherlands, SOC “new architecture of Europe” until 2004; Landsbergis, Lithuania, EDG 3. the Belgian Presidency of the European Union Marty, Switzerland, SOC wants to establish the new “convention plus” model at Ragnarsdóttir, Iceland, EDG the end of this year at the summit in Laeken; Shakhtakhtinskaya, Azerbaijan, EDG Stoisits, Austria, SOC 4. the member states of the Council of Europe and par- Van der Linden, Netherlands, EPP/CD ticularly those who aspire to EU membership have a Varela i Serra, Spain, LDR great interest in the emerging new European constitu- Vermot-Mangold, Switzerland, SOC tion; Zapfl-Helbling, Switzerland, EPP/CD 1. Referred to the Political Affairs Committee and, for opinion, to the Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights: Reference No. 2636 (see 26th Sitting, 25 September 2001). 5 PARLIAMENTARY ASSEMBLY five countries are applying this to buildings. This move towards a cultural exception is to be welcomed. OF THE COUNCIL OF EUROPE 9. The conservation lobby is already active in this field and notably Europa Nostra. The tourist and building industries should also be involved. Motion for a recommendation1 Doc. 9158 – 3 July 2001 10. The Assembly recommends that the Committee of Ministers: – review existing systems for tax relief and fiscal Tax incentives for cultural heritage encouragement relating to heritage protection; conservation – make outline proposals for ways in which fiscal presented by Mr LEGENDRE and others incentives might be used to encourage heritage protec- tion (survey and maintenance, actual restoration work, 1. The cultural heritage has universal significance, but inheritance, etc.) and on a pan-European level; responsibility for the conservation of any particular – engage in a direct dialogue with the relevant Euro- object or site rests first with the immediate owner. pean Union authorities so as to ensure that future EU Where necessary that owner should be given whatever legislation on VAT includes recognition of heritage pro- support and encouragement the wider community might tection along with other possible exceptions for the be able to offer. cultural field; 2. Direct public funding is increasingly unavailable – give immediate encouragement to member coun- for conservation. However, too much cannot be tries that are free to do so to take advantage of fiscal demanded of the private sector. The middle path of fis- policies to encourage the participation of the private sec- cal encouragement of heritage conservation is therefore tor in the conservation of the cultural heritage; urgently needed. – recognise and encourage the role being played by 3. Fiscal encouragement can be a part of cultural pol- non-governmental organisations in this area. icy and linked to economic development (housing, tourism, etc.). Signed: 4. Its application may be restricted to specific areas, Legendre, France, EDG such as the upkeep of churches in western Europe, or it Billing, Sweden EDG may be much wider, as for the conservation of dena- Birraux, France, EPP/CD tionalised historic property in central and eastern Cherribi, Netherlands, LDR Europe. Cryer, United Kingdom, SOC Debono Grech, Malta, SOC 5. Tax relief may apply differently to property in pub- Duka-Zólyomi, Slovakia, EPP/CD lic, institutional or private hands.