WRITTEN QUESTION E-2185/01

by Pere Esteve (ELDR) to the Commission

(23 July 2001)

Subject: EU Blue Flag operation

One of the general measures employed by the Union to protect its seas is the Blue Flag operation, coordinated by the Environmental Education Foundation and supported by the Commission, in which beaches and ports are awarded the Commission quality label if they satisfy certain criteria.

The Commission is to be applauded for its efforts to protect the environment and in particular to preserve beaches and ports. Furthermore, many beaches have benefited from improvements in safety, information, and so forth. However, as far as the Blue Flag operation is concerned, the criteria required can sometimes produce the opposite of the desired effects from the point of view of environmental protection.

The operation has thus acted as an incentive for:

- facilities to be built on beaches, in many cases affecting the natural environment,

- showers to be installed on beaches, and

- seaweed to be cleared away.

In the light of the foregoing:

- Is the Commission aware of the above facts?

- Has it made any plans to alter the criteria on which the operation is based, by moving away from the current bias towards tourism towards criteria aimed more specifically at protecting beaches?

- Will it attempt to relate the criteria governing the operation to the environment in which a beach is situated, for example a protected nature reserve, an urban area, etc.?

Answer given by Mrs Wallström on behalf of the Commission

(12 October 2001)

The Blue Flag Campaign is not a Commission initiative. It is an initiative by the non-governmental organisation (NGO) named Federation for Environmental Education in Europe (FEEE), based in Copenhagen (Denmark). In the past, the Commission participated in the work of the jury of FEEE. Until 1998, FEEE also received financial support from the Commission.

FEEE uses for its award of Blue Flags a range of criteria, one of them being compliance with the Bathing Water Directive(1).

The Bathing Water Directive has indeed achieved an enormous improvement of bathing water quality in Europe. However, it dates from 1976 and therefore reflects the state of knowledge and experience of the early 1970s. This is why the Commission has started work on a revision of the Bathing Water Directive. To this aim the Commission published in December 2000 a Communication on a New Bathing Water Policy(2). It recommends for the new directive the concept of improved beach management, carried out by the responsible authority. A beach profile made up by the local authorities will not only provide information on pollution sources, but can be used for long-term planning for preservation or beach improvement programmes.

The Coordinates of FEEE are: The Blue Flag Co-ordination, FEEE, c/o The Danish Outdoor Council, Scandiagade 13, DK-2450 Copenhagen SV, Denmark, Tel. +45 33 79 00 79, Fax +45 33 79 01 79; e-mail: bf.int@friluftsraadet.dk; Internet: http://www.blueflag.org/.

(1) Council Directive 76/160/EEC of 8 December 1975 concerning the quality of bathing water, OJ L 31, 5.2.1976.

(2) Communication from the Commission to the Parliament and the Council, Developing a New Bathing Water Policy COM(2000) 860 final.