WRITTEN QUESTION E-3235/02

by Sebastiano Musumeci (UEN), Cristiana Muscardini (UEN)and Franz Turchi (UEN) to the Commission

(15 November 2002)

Subject: Etna

The eruption of Mount Etna underlines how little we know about the links between seismic and volcanic activity and is having serious repercussions for the economy of an area which depends heavily on agriculture and tourism.

The closure of Catania airport has resulted in the collapse of the tourism sector, which has now seen 90 % of bookings being cancelled.

The inhabitants of Santa Venerina and Giarre were direct victims of the earthquake there, and whole swathes of economic operators have also been hit by serious economic crises. In view of this, will the Commission put the disaster fund recently established in the EP budget to immediate use to help the people of Santa Venerina, Giarre and the surrounding areas who have lost their homes?

Will it take steps to establish a European Authority that not only operates in response to events that are out of the ordinary but also monitors volcanoes and seismic activity on a continuous basis.

Will the Commission endeavour to ensure that Sicily is not sidelined as a result of alarmist images of a phenomenon that has been occurring regularly for over fifty thousand years, and which should be managed as if it were an ordinary event?

Answer given by Mr Barnier on behalf of the Commission

(28 January 2003)

The Commission expresses its sympathy with the inhabitants of Santa Venerina and Giarre and the adjoining districts, severely affected by the recent eruption of Etna.

It is ready, for the purpose of helping these areas, to examine any request from the Italian authorities for adjustment of the Operational Programme for Sicily Region. In the past it has responded favourably to requests by regions struck by natural disaster for flexibility in Structural Fund use within the constraints of the rules in force. Additional resources will also be available from the performance reserve. From 2004 this will be allocated to the programme provided that its mid-term evaluation is positive.

Sicily Region can also use measure 4.15 of action C of its 2000-2006 Structural Fund Objective 1 Operational Programme part-financed from the EAGGF Guidance Section. This measure allows for the possibility following a natural disaster of assistance being granted both for non-farm infrastructure investment needed for active protection of production and for investment for the recovery and re-establishment of perennial cropping plants, animals, buildings and infrastructure, and machinery and equipment. The public assistance available totals EUR 20 million, the EAGGF contributing EUR 10,4 million.

In addition the Italian authorities have recently sent the Commission an application, now being examined, for mobilisation of the European Union Solidarity Fund(1). If the application is considered to meet the Regulation's requirements the Commission will with all speed propose to the budgetary authority a supplementary and amending budget for mobilising the aid amount deemed appropriate.

On State aid, Article 87(2)(b) of the EC Treaty allows aid to make good the damage caused by natural disasters or exceptional occurrences. The Commission therefore approves aid of up to 100 % compensation for damage caused by a natural disaster.

The Commission shares the Honourable Member's view on the need for ongoing surveillance of Etna. The Joint Research Centre can in fact offer scientific support for surveillance action in two fields: the tropospheric aerosol and earth movements resulting from volcanic activity. Its work, carried out in collaboration with the Milan Polytechnic Institute, has a real contribution to make to establishment of a continuous surveillance system run by the Italian authorities.

(1) Council Regulation (EC) No 2012/2002 of 11 November 2002 establishing the European Union Solidarity Fund, OJ L 311, 14.11.2002.