EN Official Journal of the European Union CE 78/777

(2004/C 78 E/0827)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-3090/03

by Antonios Trakatellis (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(14 October 2003)

Subject: Declassification of forest land and forests and redefinition of the term ‘forest’ under new legislation proposed by the Greek Government.

Under the new forestry bill tabled by the Greek Government, around 3 million hectares of forest and forest land will be declassified. The proposed legislation will also redefine the term ‘forests’ and reset the legal limits for authorisation of land and clearance operations.

In view of this and the numerous grey areas existing under the proposed legislation:

1. To what extent does this proposed legislation comply with the directives on the preservation of natural habitats (92/43/EEC (1)) and environmental impact assessment (85/337/EEC (2)).

2. How great is the danger which could arise from declassifying forest areas for construction or infrastructural development purposes, given that it could result in soil erosion and increase flood risks?

3. Has a general Community strategy and a programme of action been formulated for nature conservation and protection regarding forests and if so, are the new measures being proposed by the Greek Government in line with this?

4. To what extent is the new bill in line with Common Position (EC) No 46/2003 (3) of 13 June 2003 adopted by the Council with a view to adopting a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council concerning the monitoring of forests and environmental interactions in the Community (Forest Focus) and to what extent does the definition of the term ‘forest’ contained in this regulation coincide with that contained in the new Greek Government bill?

Answer given by Mrs Wallström on behalf of the Commission

(12 November 2003)

The Commission has not yet been officially informed about the prepared Greek forestry Law in question. Besides, the Law is currently a proposal and has not yet been adopted by the Greek Parliament. Given that the legislative procedure of adoption is ongoing, the Commission is not in a position to evaluate the possible effects of the future Law.

However, the Commission would like to draw the attention of the Honourable Member to the following:

1. The Commission would like to underline that according to Article 1(5) of Council Directive 85/337/EEC of 27 June 1985 on the assessment of the effects of certain public and private projects on the environment, the Directive shall not apply to projects the details of which are adopted by a specific act of national legislation, since the objectives of this Directive, including that of supplying information, are achieved through the legislative process. As regards Council Directive 92/43/EEC of 21 May 1992 on the conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora, the Commission would like to mention that the Directive does not explicitly refers to land use, but to habitat types. The designation of Sites of Community Interest under the Directive is based on the ecological quality of the habitats existing in a site and not on its classification as forest, agricultural area, wetland or other possible land uses. The proposal of Sites of Community Interest has not been based on land use criteria and the sites already proposed are not expected to change. The Commission, however, will evaluate the possible changes in classification that the law will introduce after its adoption and implementation, in order to assess if the proposed Sites of Community Interest could be affected.

2. Regarding the assessment on potential risks of increased soil erosion and flooding from the declassification of the Greek forests and their use for infrastructural development and construction purposes, this falls within the competence of the Greek authorities, in the framework of legal procedures granting permissions for such type of development and construction.

3. The EC Treaty makes no explicit provision for a comprehensive common forestry policy. However, in 1998 the Union has established a Union Forestry Strategy. The Strategy underlines that the management, conservation, protection and sustainable development of forests are vital concerns of existing Union policies. The Community is supporting Member States in the management and protection of forests: Council Regulation (EC) No 1257/1999 of 17 May 1999, on support for rural development from the European Agri-cultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund (EAGGF) (4) for the management and protection of forests, the European Biodiversity Strategy and specifically the Action Plan for Natural resources (5) set guidelines for the conservation, protection and sustainable management of the forests. Neither of the previous Community legislation nor the Union Forest Strategy request compliance with a specific ‘forest’ definition. Greece has to comply with the requirements of the existing Community legislation.

4. The Commission's proposal for a Regulation concerning monitoring of forests and environmental interactions in the Community (6), on which the Council has adopted the Common Position (EC) No 46/2003 of 13 June 2003, is currently under its second reading. The Commission cannot make an assessment about the ‘forest’ definition in the Forest Focus and the definitions of forest under the proposed Greek Forestry Law.

(1) OJ L 206, 22.7.1992, p. 7.

(2) OJ L 175, 5.7.1985, p. 40.

(3) OJ C 233 E, 30.9.2003, p. 1.

(4) OJ L 160, 26.6.1999.

(5) COM(2001) 162 final.

(6) OJ C 20 E, 28.1.2003.