WRITTEN QUESTION E-3758/02

by Miquel Mayol i Raynal (Verts/ALE) to the Commission

(23 December 2002)

Subject: Planned diversion of water from the Rhone

After realising late in the day that the Spanish government's National Hydrological Plan would have catastrophic effects on the Ebro basin and particularly on the Ebro delta, the Catalan Regional Government has approved a plan to extend the canal that channels water from the Rhone to Montpellier by constructing a 516-kilometre-long conduit from Montpellier to Camprodon.

According to the Catalan Government, the 473 cubic hectometres of water that will be diverted in this way each year will enable the volume of water taken from the Ebro basin to be cut from 1 050 to 577 cubic hectometres.

The plan provides for the extension of the conduit to the regions of Valencia and Murcia, meaning that it will cover over 1 000 kilometres.

Does the Commission feel that this planned diversion of water from the Rhone basin to the Ebro basin and beyond squares with sustainable water policy and conforms to Directive 2000/60/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2000(1) establishing a framework for Community action in the field of water policy?

(1) OJ L 327, 22.12.2000, p. 1.

Answer given by Mrs Wallström on behalf of the Commission

(27 February 2003)

The Commission considers that, in principle, water-related problems should be addressed at source. The principles of sustainable development and of addressing environmental problems at source, are laid down in the EC Treaty and taken up as one of the pillars of the Directive 2000/60/EC of the Parliament and of the Council, of 23 October 2000, establishing a framework for Community action in the field of water policy, hereafter, the Water Framework Directive.

This Water Framework Directive provides for an obligation for Member States to address their water problems in shared river basins, but not necessarily for a large-scale water transfer between river basins.

Where specific projects respect the environmental objectives laid down, the Water Framework Directive would not in any way prohibit such solutions. Nevertheless, they have to comply with the obligations of the Directive. These include attainment of environmental objectives, provision of sufficient water quantity in the water destined for abstraction/diversion to enable compliance with good ecological status, respect for the cost-recovery principle as well as respect for other Community legislation such as the Birds(1), Habitats(2) and Environmental Impact Assessment Directives(3) by the transfer construction.

Regarding an eventual water transfer Rhône-Barcelona, it should be noted that the information received by the Commission shows that the project is still at a preliminary stage of discussion. The Commission has only received as related information the preliminary agreement of the regional Government of Cataluña (Acord de Govern) on developing a project on the issue. Consequently, the Commission cannot at this time make any specific assessment of the likely impact of the Rhône-Barcelona project.

(1) Council Directive 79/409/EEC of 2 April 1979 on the conservation of wild birds, OJ L 103, 25.4.1979.

(2) Council Directive 92/43/EEC of 21 May 1992 on the conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora, OJ L 206, 22.7.1992.

(3) Council Directive 97/11/EC of 3 March 1997 amending Directive 85/337/EEC on the assessment of the effects of certain public and private projects on the environment, OJ L 73, 14.3.1997.