EN Official Journal of the European Union CE 78/735

(2004/C 78 E/0783)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2218/03

by Monica Frassoni (Verts/ALE) to the Commission

(2 July 2003)

Subject: High-speed rail link between Milan and Genoa and Milan and Verona

In its answer of 20 June 2003 to my Written Question P-1826/03 (1) on the high-speed rail link (Lyon-Turin-Venice-Trieste-Ljubljana), the Commission failed to respond to the questions concerning shortcomings in the environmental impact assessment procedure for the Milan-Genoa and Milan-Verona links.

In particular:

— in the case of the Genoa-Milan line, the implications for many archaeological sites (including Libarna), the hydrogeological implications (a 46 km tunnel, quarries, excavation of sections of the River Scrivia), the impact on 4 SCIs (banks of the River Scrivia, Capanne di Marcarolo, Praglia and Monte Gazzo) and one SRI (Arenziarie di Serravalle) and the loss of agricultural land, woodland and countryside have been underestimated;

— in the case of the Milan-Verona line, no study is being carried out of the impact on areas of outstanding natural beauty or importance (including ten areas subject to planning constraints in four municipalities in the Verona district) or on the SCI in Laghetto del Frassino, and there has been no discussion of the protection of hydrological resources and noise pollution.

What measures does the Commission intend to take to ensure that the EIA procedure is applied correctly to these two links, not just in form but in substance, so that it takes account of all the above-mentioned factors which have been excluded from the assessment?

Answer given by Mrs Wallström on behalf of the Commission

(10 September 2003)

Under Article 3 of Council Directive 85/337/EEC of 27 June 1983 (2), as modified by Council Directive 97/11/EC of 3 March 1997 on the assessment of the effects of certain public and private projects on the environment (3), ‘The environmental impact assessment’ (EIA) shall identify, describe and assess in an appropriate manner, in the light of each individual case and in accordance with Articles 4 to 11, the direct and indirect effects of a project on the following factors:

— human beings, fauna and flora;

— soil, water, air, climate and the landscape;

— material assets and the cultural heritage;

— the interaction between the factors mentioned in the first, second and third indents.

Construction of lines for long-distance railway traffic are found in Annex I point 7. An environmental impact assessment is mandatory for all projects found in Annex I. In this case, the information to be provided by the developer should contain the requirements of Article 5 and Annex IV. The issues invoked by the Honourable Member, namely a description of the aspects of the environment likely to be significantly affected such as archaeological heritage, fauna, flora, water and noise are found in Annex IV.

As regards the two projects, in none of these cases the authorities appear to have yet granted consent. Therefore, a complete assessment of the compliance of the EIA procedure carried out on these cases is not possible at this stage. In addition, as regards the Genoa-Milan project, it is not explained why and to what extent the described impact and implication have been underestimated while, as regards the Milan Verona project, the impacts on natural sites, mentioned by the Honourable Member, are not sufficiently described and it is not clear whether a study on the impact of the project on water and noise pollution was carried out or not.

In the light of the above, the information provided by the Honourable Member is not sufficient to draw concrete conclusions as regards the correct application of the EIA Directive.

(1) See page 727.

(2) OJ L 175, 5.7.1985.

(3) OJ L 73, 14.3.1997.