EN Official Journal of the European Union CE 84/72

(2004/C 84 E/0077)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-3619/03

by Miquel Mayol i Raynal (Verts/ALE) to the Commission

(1 December 2003)

Subject: Enlarging the Son Sant Joan de Palma de Mallorca airport (Balearic Islands)

In 2001 the present Spanish Government's Ministry of the Presidency approved the Master Plan for the Son Sant Joan de Palma de Mallorca airport (Balearic Islands). The Palma city council then adopted a specific amendment to the Palma General Plan so as to incorporate the provisions of the Airport Master Plan, which involved extending the facilities and runways so as to increase Balearic air traffic, which estimated forecasts indicate would rise to 38 million passengers by 2015.

Can the Commission confirm this extension of the airport?

Does the Commission believe that these forecasts run counter to the principle of sustainability and adequate assessment of impact on human beings, culture, countryside, natural environment, heritage and quality of life laid down in Articles 2 and 6 of the Treaty of Nice for sustainable development, and in European Parliament and Council Directive 2001/42/EC on the effects of certain plans and programmes on the environment.

What steps, if appropriate, does the Commission intend to take?

Answer given by Mrs Wallström on behalf of the Commission

(6 January 2004)

The Honourable Member refers to a modification of the Palma General Plan incorporating the provisions of the Master Plan for the Son Sant Joan de Palma de Mallorca airport. The Commission is not aware of this programme or of the amendments approved.

At present, Union law does not require Member States to carry out a strategic environmental assessment (SEA) of their draft plans or programmes, or of proposed modifications. The position will change on 21 July 2004, the date by which Member States must complete their transposition of Directive 2001/42/EC, the so-called SEA Directive (1). Thereafter, Member States will have to carry out an environmental assessment of plans and programmes which meet the definition in the Directive. In some circumstances, plans or programmes begun before 21 July 2004 but not adopted until after 21 July 2006 might also require assessment.

On the other hand, Council Directive 85/337/EEC (EIA Directive) as amended by Council Directive 97/11/EC of 3 March 1997 deals with the environmental assessment of certain public and private projects on the environment (2). It provides that Member States must ensure that, before development consent is given, projects likely to have significant effects on the environment by virtue, ‘inter alia’, of their nature, size or location are made subject to an assessment of the environmental effects. These projects are defined in Article 4 that refers to Annexes I and II of the Directive. Any change or extension of projects listed in Annex I or II, fall under Annex II point 13 of the EIA Directive. This seems to be the case of the extension of facilities and runways. In this case, the Spanish authorities have to determine, either through a case by case examination or according to thresholds or criteria, whether the project is to be made subject to an assessment because of its likely significant effects on the environment taking into account the relevant selection criteria set out in Annex III of the Directive.

From the information provided it is not clear if applications for development consent for the described projects have been made. In any case, the Spanish authorities will have to comply with the above-mentioned provisions of the EIA Directive.

On the basis of the information provided by the Honourable Member, the Commission has no reason to assume that Union legislation is not being correctly applied. If the Honourable Member wants to provide additional information concerning the future development of this plan, the Commission will examine the issue further.

(1) Directive 2001/42/EC of the Parliament and of the Council of 27 June 2001 on the assessment of the effects of certain plans and programmes on the environment, OJ L 197, 21.7.2001.

(2) OJ L 73, 14.3.1997.