EN Official Journal of the European Union CE 78/477

(2004/C 78 E/0500)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3156/03

by María Sornosa Martínez (PSE) to the Commission

(24 October 2003)

Subject: Residential building in the Serra de la Renegà and the Oropesa-Benicàssim SCI (Castellón, Spain)

In the Serra de la Renegà, which lies within the municipal district of Oropesa del Mar (Castellón), the building work which has begun on 1 000 chalets and two hotels will have an irreversible impact on the area's exceptional natural treasures and the ‘Oropesa-Benicàssim’ site of Community interest (SCI) placed on the Natura 2000 network by the Spanish authorities (a marine SCI put forward because of its important posidonia beds), bordering on the Serra de la Renegà.

The sites mentioned are the home of species protected by the Birds Directive (79/409/EEC (1)) such as the peregrine falcon, the grey nightjar, the mountain lark, the wheatear and the long-tailed warbler, and contains ecosystems classed as priorities under the Habitats Directive (92/43/EEC (2)), and particularly, rupicolous calcareous or basophilic grasslands of the Alysso-Sedion albi and pseudo-steppe with grasses and annuals of Thero-Brachypodieta, and thermo-Mediterranean and pre-steppe brush.

Given that under the provisions of the current planning regulations scheme, the entire Serra de la Renegà is designated as ‘building land’:

— Could the Commission specify what stage has been reached with the processing of Complaint 2003/4833, SG (2003) A/7394/2, submitted by the Serra de la Renegà Defence Platform?

— Does the Commission not believe that in order to protect the species covered by Community legislation, it would be advisable to extend the SCI so that it also covers the territory of the Serra de la Renegà?

— Does the Commission not believe that the construction of the planned chalets and tourist installations violate both the Bird and Habitats Directives, due to the negative effects that this residential building will have on the protected species?

Answer given by Mrs Wallström on behalf of the Commission

(1 December 2003)

The Honourable Member has expressed her concern regarding the effects of an urban and tourist development project in the Renegà Range, within the Site of Community Importance ES5223037 (‘Costa d'Orpesa-Benicàssim’), proposed by the Spanish authorities in view of the constitution of the Natura 2000 Network.

According to Article 6.3 of Council Directive 92/43/EEC of 21 May 1992 on the conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora, any plan or project not directly connected with or necessary to the management of a Natura 2000 Site but likely to have a significant effect thereon, shall be subject to appropriate assessment of its implications for the site in view of the site's conservation objectives. If the conclusions of this assessment reveal themselves to be negative, the authorities shall agree to the project only under certain conditions: absence of alternative solutions, presence of an overriding public interest in carrying out the project and the adoption of all compensatory measures necessary to ensure that the overall coherence of Natura 2000 is protected.

The Commission has made representations to the Spanish authorities in order to ensure that the conditions of Article 6.3 of Council Directive 92/43/EEC are respected in the case of matter.

As for the enlargement of the proposed SCI suggested by the Honourable Member, only two of the three types of habitats of Community importance mentioned by the Honourable Member are, according to the Natura 2000 data base, represented in the Site ES5223037:

— Habitat type 6220 *: Pseudo-steppe with grasses and annuals of the Thero-Brachypodietea;

— Habitat type 5330: Thermo-Mediterranean and pre-desert scrub.

Within the framework of the analysis of the Spanish proposal of sites of Community importance for the Mediterranean region it has been assessed that habitat type 6110* has been considered as sufficiently represented and no further sites need to be proposed. For habitat types 6220 and 5330 they were assessed as sufficient subject to correction of data.

Therefore, the Commission considers that the Spanish proposal for these types of habitats is sufficient and no further sites need to be proposed by the authorities although some corrections in the Natura Standard form need to be carried out.

(1) OJ L 103, 25.4.1979, p. 1.

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