(The sitting was suspended at 17.40 pending Question Time and resumed at 18.00.)

IN THE CHAIR: Manuel António dos SANTOS
Vice-President

12. Question Time (Commission)

Verbatim reports

Parliament considered a number of questions to the Commission (B6-0017/2007).

Part one

Question 42 (Alain Hutchinson): Blackmail of VW Forest workers - reverse relocations.

Vladimír Špidla (Member of the Commission) answered the question and supplementaries by Alain Hutchinson, Jörg Leichtfried and Danutė Budreikaitė.

Question 43 (Ignasi Guardans Cambó): Potential arbitrary and contradictory application of the new air security measures.

László Kovács (Member of the Commission) answered the question and supplementaries by Ignasi Guardans Cambó, Reinhard Rack and Justas Vincas Paleckis.

Question 44 (Jacek Protasiewicz): Application of state aid rules to support for the employment of disabled persons.

László Kovács answered the question and a supplementary by Jacek Protasiewicz.

Part two

Question 45 (Martin Dimitrov): Amendment of Directive 92/84/EEC with a view to increasing the minimum rates of excise duty on alcoholic beverages.

László Kovács answered the question.

Proinsias De Rossa spoke on question 46 (the President replied that question 46 had been withdrawn).

László Kovács answered supplementaries by Martin Dimitrov, John Purvis, Danutė Budreikaitė and Proinsias De Rossa, whose supplementary referred to question 45.

Carl Schlyter spoke.

Question 47 (Gianluca Susta): European Schools - enrolment.

Siim Kallas (Vice-President of the Commission) answered the question and supplementaries by Lapo Pistelli (deputising for the author), Richard Seeber and Marie Panayotopoulos-Cassiotou.

Question 48 (Proinsias De Rossa): Restructuring of Eurydice.

Siim Kallas answered the question and a supplementary by Proinsias De Rossa.

Question 49 (Leopold Józef Rutowicz): Management of EU funds.

Siim Kallas answered the question and supplementaries by Leopold Józef Rutowicz and Paul Rübig.

Question 50 would receive a written answer.

Question 51 (Claude Moraes): European Regional Development Funds.

Danuta Hübner (Member of the Commission) answered the question and supplementaries by Claude Moraes and Paul Rübig.

Question 52 (Marie Panayotopoulos-Cassiotou): Regional policy in respect of island regions.

Danuta Hübner answered the question and supplementaries by Marie Panayotopoulos-Cassiotou and Georgios Papastamkos.

Question 53 (Glenis Willmott): Promoting EU funding in the regions.

Danuta Hübner answered the question and a supplementary by Glenis Willmott.

Question 54 (Lambert van Nistelrooij): Status of Netherlands Antilles and the Structural Funds.

Danuta Hübner answered the question and a supplementary by Lambert van Nistelrooij.

Questions which had not been answered for lack of time would receive written answers (see annex to the Verbatim Report of Proceedings).

Commission Question Time closed.