WRITTEN QUESTION P-2118/01

by Christos Folias (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(10 July 2001)

Subject: Asbestos in Brussels European School I at Uccle

The school year just ended began for pupils of the European School I in Brussels (Uccle) a month late as carcinogenic asbestos was being removed from the school buildings. The authorities gave assurances at that time that there was no longer a problem and that there was, therefore, no cause for concern. Further testing for asbestos carried out by an expert during the Easter holidays, however, showed that the problems had not been resolved. Asbestos was once again detected on the school premises. After much vacillation about whether to close the building concerned or not, a decision was finally taken that the work to remove asbestos from the building would take place during the summer.

In the light of last year's experience and the extreme concern for the health of the thousands of pupils attending the Brussels I school in Uccle owing to the conflicting opinions on the subject, will the Commission provide answers to the following?

- Is it aware that, although assurances were given at the beginning of the 2000-2001 school year that every trace of asbestos would be definitively removed, an entire building full of asbestos was suddenly discovered at Easter?

- Who are those responsible for placing thousands of parents in such a terrible dilemma? Will they be held liable for negligence and failure to carry out satisfactory checks?

- Who can guarantee that this time the school will re-open free of any suspicion of asbestos and absolutely safe for the health of pupils and staff?

Answer given by Mr Kinnock on behalf of the Commission

(9 October 2001)

The Commission draws the attention of the Honourable Member to the fact that the European Schools are not run by this Institution, they are governed by a Conseil Supérieur (Board of Governors) which is an inter-governmental body that was established under the Convention of 12 April 1957 and is made up of the Ministers of the Member States responsible for education and/or foreign cultural relations. Following an agreement concluded on 11 December 1957, a Commission representative also sits on the Board.

Under the agreements concluded by the Board of Governors with each of the host countries in which European Schools are located, the Governments of those Member States make a special contribution to the Schools in the form of providing and maintaining suitable premises and facilities in order to meet the necessary material and operating requirements of the Schools. The agreement between the Board of Governors and Belgium was signed on 12 October 1962 and ratified on 8 November 1975. The Belgian Authority (Régie des Bâtiments RdB) is therefore responsible for the four European Schools currently functioning in Belgium.

In relation to the specific matters raised by the Honourable Member in his Question: The Commission had access to the various technical reports on the presence of asbestos which were provided to the European School in Uccle by the RdB. An updated asbestos inventory report, provided in December 2000 by European Environment Consultants (a specialist firm appointed by RdB), was based on visual inspection and on a verification of suspicious material with an optical microscope, in conformity with Belgian legal requirements. Another report was nevertheless requested from Gefahrstoffe in Bauten GmbH GSB), because of a possibility that asbestos was present in inaccessible areas and was not detected by earlier inspections that were based on visual detection under the terms of existing law. The report, drawn up by Mr Teichert of GSB, listed new findings of asbestos and recommended removal.

A Working Group, chaired by a Representative of the Board of Governors, has been established to ensure the follow up of the renovation works in the European School in Uccle. In its role as a member of this Working Group, the RdB gave its assurance that the removal of the asbestos would take place during the summer 2001 school holidays and that all necessary measures would be taken in order to guarantee the safety and health of pupils and staff.

According to the Head of the Uccle European School, removal of asbestos work was carried out as planned during the recent summer holidays and the results of environmental air measurements taken in the Science building, the Fabiola building, the Van Houtte building, the Château and the swimming pool show that there is no presence of asbestos fibres. A inspection report, drawn up by an expert of GSB after these works were completed, confirms these results.