WRITTEN QUESTION P-3288/02

by Roberto Bigliardo (UEN) to the Commission

(13 November 2002)

Subject: Environmental degradation and destruction of the Tifatini hills

In a previous parliamentary question (P-0154/02(1)) on the subject of the particularly serious degradation of the Tifatini hills around the city of Caserta, I asked the Commission what measures could be taken to protect this area which had been the scene of reckless exploitation? The answer given to me was that the Tifatini hills were the subject of an assessment by the Commission with a view to possible inclusion of the area in an environmental protection plan (IT80010016). This apparently means that the site is protected even in the intervening period and that Member States are obliged, under Directive 92/43/EEC(2), to abstain from any activity that may cause such a site to deteriorate.

In actual fact, the hills which serve as a backdrop to the Reggia Vanvitelliana palace are in a state of total destruction. Eight quarries are currently in operation in the area of Caserta and 12 others are abandoned but many of them are in fact still being worked secretly. The total area of all the quarries was estimated a few years ago at more than 1 000 m2. A report, also compiled some time ago, referred to ITL 7 000 billion worth of damage. The area has now been completely disfigured and its natural geomorphology altered beyond all recognition. The scale of the destruction caused by quarrying in the Caserta area is unequalled anywhere else in Europe.

What monitoring and intervention measures does the Commission intend to take vis-à-vis the local authorities responsible for this failure to honour their obligations under Community Directive 92/43/EEC?

(1) OJ C 205 E, 29.8.2002, p. 83.

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

Answer given by Mrs Wallström on behalf of the Commission

(17 December 2002)

Article 6 of Council Directive 92/43/EEC of 21 May 1992, on the conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora provides for the protection of Sites of Community Importance which will, according to the procedure laid down by the Directive, be designated as Special Conservation Areas. These obligations apply to all authorities of the Member States, at national, regional or local level. In particular, under Article 6, paragraph 3, any plan or project not directly connected with or necessary to the management of the site but likely to have a significant effect thereon, either individually or in combination with other plans or projects, shall be subject to appropriate assessment of its implications for the site in view of the site's conservation objectives.

The above-mentioned provision applies to Sites of Community Importance (SCI) and to Special Conservation Areas (SCA) under Directive 92/43/EEC. Even if it may not, at present, be fully binding for proposed Sites of Community Importance (pSCI) under Directive 92/43/EEC, these being sites which have been proposed by Member States but not yet included in an official list of sites of Community interest adopted by the Commission, Member States have an obligation to act in a way that does not jeopardise the objectives of the Directive and ensure, therefore, that measures are taken to prevent the deterioration of proposed sites.

Monte Tifata IT8010016 is a pSCI under Directive 92/43/EEC. Therefore, it is covered by the above-mentioned obligation.

In the specific case, not being aware of the situation described by the Honourable Member, the Commission will take the appropriate steps in order to gather detailed information about it.

Should the Commission be informed that Community law is being breached in the specific case, it would not hesitate, as the guardian of the EC Treaty, to take all necessary measures, including infringement procedures under Article 226 of the EC Treaty, in order to ensure the observance of relevant Community law.