EN Official Journal of the European Union CE 78/849

(2004/C 78 E/0902)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-3667/03

by Ilda Figueiredo (GUE/NGL) to the Commission

(2 December 2003)

Subject: Building of a dam in the lower Sabor

The River Sabor, which rises in Spain, in the Parada mountains, runs for over a hundred kilometres through the province of Trás-os-Montes, in Portugal, and flows into the River Douro near Torre de Moncorvo.

The Sabor valley has a great variety of habitats and plant and animal species: 17 of the different kinds of habitats to be found there are included in the Community Habitats Directive (transposed into Portuguese domestic law by Executive Law No 140/99), and four of these are regarded as conservation priorities.

The environmental impact assessment (EIA) of the project to build a dam in the lower Sabor states that, as far as flora is concerned, the site under study is an area with distinctive and indeed unique characteristics in the Portuguese national context. The Sabor valley also has the most extensive and best preserved holm-oak and cork oak groves in Trás-os-Montes, remnants of the Mediterranean forest that long ago was presumably the main feature throughout the Terra Quente region of Trás-os-Montes. In addition, olive trees are grown on a substantial scale in the region, which produces high-grade olive oil.

The importance of the Sabor valley from the point of view of fauna has been recognised to the extent that the site covered by the dam project is encompassed wholly within a Special Protection Area and partly within the Natura 2000 network.

The valley likewise has significant assets of ethnographic, historical, and archaeological interest, some closely linked to the traditions of the local population.

Furthermore, the fact that the International Douro Natural Park and the Côa Archaeology Park are situated nearby could be turned to account for sustainable development.

1. Will Community funding be provided for the plan to build a dam on the River Sabor?

2. What Community support can be granted to promote an alternative sustainable development project for the Sabor valley, to protect and enhance its natural, landscape, and cultural heritage, without building the dam?

Answer given by Mrs Wallström on behalf of the Commission

(8 January 2004)

The Project to build a dam in the Sabor River in Trás-os-Montes was the object of a complaint to the Commission, which was registered under number 2003/4523. The complaint concerns the possible infringement of Council Directive 79/409/EEC of 2 April 1979 on the conservation of wild birds (1) and Directive 92/43/EEC of 21 May 1992 on the conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora (2).

The complaint concerns the possible damage to the sites of Community interest proposed by Portugal under Directive 92/43/EEC ‘Morais’ and ‘Rios Sabor e Maçãs’ as well as to the special protection area ‘Rios Sabor e Maçãs’ designated by Portugal under Directive 79/409/EEC. The Commission has written to the Portuguese authorities requesting information on the situation in the light of Community Law.

The Portuguese authorities have not requested Community financing for the project.

The zone concerned by this project is included in the Objective 1 areas for structural funds. Projects for the sustainable development of the area, therefore, qualify generally for Community co-financing. The management of those funds at national level is the responsibility of the Portuguese authorities. Projects for the protection of the natural values that led to the inclusion in the Natura 2000 network of the sites mentioned above are also eligible for Community co-financing in the framework of the LIFE-Nature programme. The Commission's proposal for a new Regulation extending the LIFE programme until the end of 2006 is presently being discussed in the Council and Parliament and, therefore, details are not yet available.

(1) OJ L 103, 25.4.1979.

(2) OJ L 206, 22.7.1992.