EN Official Journal of the European Union CE 84/278

(2004/C 84 E/0323)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3979/03

by Joan Valivé (ELDR) to the Commission

(6 January 2004)

Subject: Planning amnesty in Ibiza

The government of the Balearic Islands is set to adopt a draft act on taxation and administrative measures on 18 December 2003. Additional clause No 18 to this draft act makes it quite clear that existing isolated single-family dwellings in protected coastal areas on the island of Ibiza could be granted legal status provided that:

(a) the dwelling is not located inside the 250-metre-wide coastal fringe contiguous to the shoreline;

(b) the dwelling is located below the height of 250 metres above sea level;

(c) the dwelling is not located in a Zone A area within the meaning of the subsidiary planning regulations definitively adopted by the government of the Balearic Islands on 26 July 1990;

(d) and the application for the granting of legal status is accompanied by a landscape restoration plan specifically designed to reduce the dwelling's impact.

There has, since 1991, been a house at Santa Agnès de Corona, located in an area of special natural interest. The area is also a Site of Community Importance (SCI) and a Special Bird Protection Area (SBPA). The aforementioned draft act stipulates that construction is not permitted on a mountain top, which is precisely where the house is located. The Law on Nature Conservancy Areas adopted by the government of the Balearic Islands in 1991 also prohibits any construction on mountain tops. There is also a series of EU directives regulating protected areas of this type.

Does the Commission consider measures such as this planning amnesty to infringe in any way Council Directive 92/43/EEC (1) of 21 May 1992 on the conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora? What measures has the Commission envisaged for situations that infringe the general principle of long-term sustainable development, especially in cases such as this involving an area of special natural interest and hence a natural habitat of Community interest?

Answer given by Mrs Wallström on behalf of the Commission

(17 February 2004)

The facts raised by the Honourable Member refer to land use regulations that fall beyond the scope of the intervention powers of the Commission. As a matter of fact, Article 6 of Council Directive 92/43/CEE of 21 May 1992, on the conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora (2), applies to 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. The Commission does not deem that administrative measures aimed at granting legal status to an isolated single-family dwelling within a Natura 2000 site can be considered as a plan or a project in the light of Article 6 of the aforementioned Council Directive. Moreover, the Honourable Member states that the house at Santa Agnès de Corona was built in 1991, three years before Directive 92/43/EEC came into force and nine years before the Spanish authorities designated the area Site of Community Importance ES0000241 (Costa dels Amunts) — September 2000. Consequently, the Commission considers that this measure does not infringe Council Directive 92/43/EEC in any way.

The Commission, in its role of guardian of the Treaties, supervises compliance of the provisions of Community Law by Member States and takes action whenever there is evidence of an infringement, in particular if Natura 2000 sites are concerned.

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

(2) OJ L 206, 22.7.1992.