WRITTEN QUESTION E-2960/97 by Angela Sierra González (GUE/NGL) to the Commission (17 September 1997)

Subject: Plan to erect a sculpture on Mount Tindaya (Canary Isles)

On the island of Fuerteventura (Canary Isles), the Canary Isles Government is planning to erect a sculpture inside Mount Tindaya by hollowing out the mountain and creating an interior cube of 50 cubic metres in line with a project by the sculptor Eduardo Chillida.

Mount Tindaya is currently a place of major cultural, ethnographical and archeological interest (in addition to its significance as a natural and geological site) and has been designated a 'national monument' by the law on protected areas of the Canaries and an 'important cultural asset' by the law on Spain's historical heritage (as the site of very important pre-Hispanic foot-shaped engravings).

Various legal experts, environmentalists and citizens' groups have voiced their opposition to the project, on the grounds that it would cause irreparable damage to the mountain's environment and the cultural values it embodies, irrespective of the artistic quality of the work of the sculptor, Eduardo Chillida.

Is the Commission aware of this project and of the public opposition to it?

In the light of the provisions contained in the EU Treaty on the protection of Europe's cultural heritage, the conclusions of the Council, notably those of 12 November 1992, concerning guidelines for Community cultural policy and the various European Parliament resolutions on the conservation of the cultural assets and heritage of the peoples of Europe, what will the Commission do to ensure that the spirit of the provisions referred to above is respected in the case of Mount Tindaya?

Does the Commission believe that projects of this kind run counter to the thinking behind Community programmes such as Raphael, which require the Member States to encourage the conservation of the cultural heritage?

Answer given by Mr Oreja on behalf of the Commission (4 November 1997)

The Commission is aware of the project in question and of the opposition to it.

The Commission is certainly concerned with the preservation of Europe's cultural heritage and this is clearly demonstrated through its actions, which are based on the conclusions of the Council of November 1992, on the various resolutions of the Parliament as well as on Article 128 of the EC Treaty.

As the Honourable Member is aware, the Commission's actions in the field of cultural heritage are now contained in the Raphaël programme, through which - as Article 128 of the EC Treaty stipulates - the Community can only encourage cooperation between its Member States to implement actions in favour of the preservation of Europe's cultural heritage. However, the Community and the Commission in particular does not have the competence to intervene at national or regional level and in matters where the responsibility belongs exclusively to the national or regional authorities.

In this light, any action for the protection of the cultural, ethnographical and archaeological aspects of mount Tindaya belongs exclusively to the responsibility of the national or regional authorities of Spain.

In this context, the Commission does not consider that the projects of this kind run counter to the thinking of the Raphaël programme, as its objective is to encourage cooperation between Member States in the field of cultural heritage conservation.