WRITTEN QUESTION E-1345/98

by Laura González Álvarez (GUE/NGL) , Pedro Marset Campos (GUE/NGL) and Alonso Puerta (GUE/NGL) to the Commission

(29 April 1998)

Subject: Indications of unsuitable use of EU funds in relation to the Parque Lineal (Madrid, Spain)

The Parque Lineal del Manzanares in Madrid has suffered since 1985 from the attitudes of the Madrid City Council: originally a vacant lot, it was earmarked for a projected aqua-park but is now no more than a huge rubbish-tip and supposed site for the aqua-park. It is an eyesore on the horizon of the surrounding quarters and is the source of offensive odours.

The local community associations have endeavoured to promote the idea that this site should become a quasi-rural park which would serve as a focus for community-based economic activities, in a declining area with severe social problems. After great efforts, they managed to obtain a decision from the Madrid City Council to seek support from the Cohesion Fund for the rehabilitation of the area within the local integrated redevelopment plan.

The local communities are now concerned over a proposal by the Regional Government of Madrid for the privatization of the park and its subdivision into lots, to be sold off to profit-making enterprises. They suspect that behind these speculative activities there lies a substantial EU investment, which may now be siphoned off for other purposes.

Attempts are being made to strike a deal from which the neighbourhood and environmentalist organizations would be excluded. This is contrary to the EU's Green Paper on the urban environment and its provisions concerning the participation of the communities affected by proposals.

1. Is the Commission aware of this situation?

2. What action can the Commission take to ensure that the Spanish authorities apply the Community environmental legislation, and, in particular, Directive 85/337/EEC(1) on the assessment of the effects of certain public and private projects on the environment?

3. Can the Commission state whether this project is supported by EU structural interventions? Can the Commission state whether the Parque Lineal has received any money from the Structural Funds and, if so, for what purposes?

4. Does the Commission not consider that there may be a fraud against the EU, supposing an EU investment intended for land rehabilitation to have been diverted into the service of property speculation?

5. Can the Commission forward all and any information it can obtain on the matter from the Spanish authorities, with a view to ensuring free access to information on environmental matters?

Answer given by Mrs Wulf-Mathies on behalf of the Commission

(24 June 1998)

1. and 3. The Commission has not been informed of the situation regarding the Parque Lineal del Manzanares, as presented by the Honourable Members. However, it has received a request for aid for an environmental improvement project for the Manzanares. This project aims in particular at the restoration of a section of the river more than 20 kilometres long by a process of solid waste elimination, the dredging of 20 000 m3, the canalisation of a 7 - kilometre section, the installation of a closed-circuit television network to scan the watercourse, and the creation of a green area of 50 hectares.

On 26 July 1996, the Commission approved part-financing of this project by the Cohesion Fund, to the tune of 80 %, for an amount of ECU 9,97 million. It is useful to underline in this connection that projects part-financed by this Fund have to comply with all Community policies, including environment policy.

2. According to information received in the presentation of the project, the work envisaged does not come under Annex I to Council Directive 85/337/EEC of 27 June 1985 on the assessment of the effects of certain public and private projects on the environment and, consequently, an evaluation of the environmental impact is not obligatory.

Moreover, since the area in which the work is being carried out does not form part of the protected areas covered by Council Directive 79/409/EEC of 2 April 1979 on the conservation of wild birds(2) and Council Directive 92/43/EEC of 21 May 1992 on the conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora(3), the authorities responsible for the environment judged that an evaluation of impact was not necessary, pursuant to Annex II to Directive 85/337/EEC.

4. The implementation of the project is overseen by the monitoring committee, which meets twice a year. The Commission will check at the next meeting of the committee, which will take place in October 1998, or possibly on the occasion of an on-the-spot check, if there have been irregularities in the implementation of the Manzanares project.

5. The Commission can transmit the information which it has concerning specific points. However, the Honourable Members can obtain more information from the Madrid city authorities, who are responsible for implementation of the project in question.

(1) OJ L 175, 5.7.1985, p. 40.

(2) OJ L 103, 25.4.1979.

(3) OJ L 206, 22.7.1992.