WRITTEN QUESTION E-3364/97 by José García-Margallo y Marfil (PPE) to the Commission (22 October 1997)

Subject: Floods in the EU: preventive task force

The recent floods in the Spanish Mediterranean region in the last week of September have caused major personal and material damage. In the Valencian community, Murcia and Andalucia, material damage is estimated at PTA 20 000 million, according to preliminary provisional figures issued by the Union of Small Farmers.

These natural disasters are not sporadic occurrences, but recur periodically, because of the geomorphological and climatic characteristics of the area, and they affect other Member States such as Italy and France. Furthermore, they have serious environmental consequences, since they accelerate the rate of soil erosion and deforestation, in areas already suffering from very advanced ecological deterioration.

Has the Commission considered the possibility of setting up a task force to study this problem and coordinate the implementation of practical solutions?

Joint answer to Written Questions E-3363/97, E-3364/97 and E-3365/97 given by Mr Santer on behalf of the Commission (25 November 1997)

The Commission wishes to extend its full sympathy to the European citizens hit by the floods in the Communities of Valencia, Murcia and Andalusia in September 1997.

The Commission feels that prevention, which is so important, must be - and can be - improved through existing cofinancing resources, in particular under Objective 1, which extends to the three autonomous communities. Accordingly, the Commission is prepared to help the Spanish authorities to solve this problem through the European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund, the European Regional Development Fund and the Cohesion Fund. It will receive and examine any request to reprogramme current measures or unallocated appropriations for the purpose of protecting the sensitive area in question against such disasters in the context of the financial allocations available under the Community support frameworks for the regions concerned.

In addition, in the course of its civil protection activities, the Commission encourages the exchange of experience between experts in the Member States as well as research and consolidation of new knowledge by means of pilot projects. The Council is currently discussing a proposal for an action programme.

With regard to the setting up of a task force to study the occurrence of floods on Community territory and to coordinate practical solutions, a working party was set up on 1 February 1995 to examine measures to be undertaken to help minimise the effects of floods. This working party incorporated its conclusions in a report which was studied by the Commission at the end of March 1995. The Commission approved the report's suggestions to make adequate use of the available instruments.

The specific programme of research in the field of the environment and climate ((OJ L 361, 31.12.1994. )) contains a section on flooding, which made provision for ten or so research projects designed to forecast flooding and reduce damage. The results of this research work were presented at seminars and conferences and were published in proceedings available on request.