WRITTEN QUESTION E-2416/00

by María Sornosa Martínez (PSE) to the Commission

(18 July 2000)

Subject: Need for a new directive on the assessment of the impact of certain public and private projects on historic, cultural and artistic heritage

The district of Cabanyal-Canyamelar in the city of Valencia, which the autonomous government, the Generalitat, has declared a site of cultural interest, is currently under threat from a project approved by the city council to extend Blasco Ibáñez Avenue to the sea. Were the project to go ahead, its route would lead to the demolition of 1 500 19th-century buildings in the historic centre hitherto afforded protection by the Valencian Government owing to their unique characteristics and cultural relevance. For instance, one of the buildings earmarked for demolition, the Lonja de los Pescadores (fish market), the oldest of its kind in Spain and one of the oldest in Europe, ranks amongst the most symbolic examples of European cultural heritage.

Several local bodies, cultural associations and universities have condemned this attempted assault on the district, which they have dubbed an open-air museum;

they maintain that the city council has allowed the area to fall into disrepair in order to be able to press ahead with the plan to extend the avenue. In addition, local bodies have shown that the 9 billion pesetas set aside for compulsory purchases and rehousing would be sufficient to renovate the entire district and thus afford it the official protection established by the Generalitat.

The case of Cabanyal-Canyamelar is representative of the many urban planning schemes currently under way in the EU which have an impact on its historic and cultural heritage and thus run counter to the provisions of Article 151 of the EC Treaty.

In order to avoid and redress situations such as that set out above, in which a government or interest group is able to take decisions affecting the cultural treasures which our peoples share, does the Commission not see the need for a draft directive to be submitted on the assessment of the impact of certain public and private projects on the historic, cultural and artistic heritage of the peoples of the EU in order to ensure compliance with the provisions of Article 151 of the EC Treaty, which would require that all projects undergo a prior impact assessment evaluating any potential destruction to heritage?

Joint answer to Written Questions E-2416/00, E-2417/00 and E-2418/00 given by Ms Reding on behalf of the Commission

(11 October 2000)

Article 151 (ex Article 128) of the EC Treaty gives the Community only limited powers in the area of culture. Community action must be aimed at encouraging cooperation between Member States and, if necessary, supporting and supplementing their action in a certain number of areas.

Against this background, the Commission would draw the Honourable Member's attention to the fact that it cannot adopt legislation in an area that is, and remains, the exclusive responsibility of the Member States.

As regards the drafting of a directive to make Recommendation No 75/65/EEC(1) (which, in 1974, recommended that Member States sign the convention on the protection of the world cultural and natural heritage, adopted by Unesco in 1972) compulsory, it should be noted that all the Member States have already ratified or agreed to this convention.

Mention should also be made of the existence 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, amended by Council Directive 97/11/EC of 3 March 1997, which obliges Member States to assess the effects on the cultural heritage of projects for the construction of motorways and expressways (see Article 3 and Annex I of the Directive). The construction of other types of road and town planning work are subject to an impact assessment whenever the Member States determine, through a case-by-case examination or using thresholds or criteria set by the Member State, whether the project is to be made subject to an assessment (Article 4 (2) and Annex II of the Directive). When determining whether this assessment is to be carried out, Member States must take account of the relevant selection criteria (Article 4 (3) and Annex III of the Directive).

Lastly, as far as the possibility of setting up a network of sites of cultural and historic interest throughout the Community is concerned, the Culture 2000 cultural cooperation programme, adopted by the European institutions for the period 2000-2004, provides for support for cooperation projects in the area of cultural heritage, inter alia support for projects to conserve and protect exceptional cultural heritage that can be described as European heritage laboratories.

(1) OJ L 21, 28.1.1975.