WRITTEN QUESTION No. 1102/96 by Angela SIERRA GONZÁLEZ to the Commission. Building of Gomera airport
Date: 1996-04-25
Institutions: European Parliament, SIERRA GONZALEZ
Subjects: Canary Islands, European Regional Development Fund, Structural Funds, airport, environmental impact, environmental protection, impact study













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91996E1102

WRITTEN QUESTION No. 1102/96 by Angela SIERRA GONZÁLEZ to the Commission. Building of Gomera airport  


Official Journal C 322 , 28/10/1996 P. 0031 





WRITTEN QUESTION P-1102/96 by Angela Sierra González (GUE/NGL) to the Commission (25 April 1996)Subject: Building of Gomera airportHow does the Commission assess the investments made with Community funds (more than ECU 27 million from the ERDF) in the various projects carried out on the island of Gomera, Canary Islands, Spain?Does the Commission consider that the various transport infrastructure projects (construction of the island's airport, building of new roads, projects to create harbour areas, etc.) will improve its overall development and take account of environmental protection?What is the Commission's view of the Court of Auditors' report for 1994, which gives a detailed description of the irregularities committed in the implementation of the various infrastructure projects launched on the island of Gomera?Answer given by Mrs Wulf-Mathies on behalf of the Commission (28 May 1996)In the 1989-93 programming period, Structural Funds part-financed a number of operations on the island of Gomera under the Objective 1 Community support framework for Spain.Among these operations was one intended solely and specifically for the island - the Gomera integrated operational programme (IOP) - which was the only operation referred to in points 4.33 and 4.34 of the Court of Auditors' report to which the Honourable Member refers.Adopting the Gomera IOP on 30 July 1990, the Commission granted ECU 47.175 million (at 1989 prices) in Community aid, comprising ECU 38.847 million from the European Regional Development Fund, ECU 2.562 million from the European Social Fund and ECU 5.766 million from the European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund, of the ECU 95.025 million total investment.Although the IOP already appears promising in some respects, we must await the final report for an objective judgment of the real impact of the programme overall and of the projects part-financed in connection with other operations.The Commission considers that the development strategies identified for the island's transport infrastructure will generally contribute to its integrated development.However, Gomera's ecology and mountainous topography mean that any road and airport infrastructure project there is bound to have repercussions on the environment. Over the course of 1989-93 programming period, therefore, the Government of the Canary Islands decided, following comments by the Commission, to take all requisite measures to minimize environmental impact and to repair any damage that might be caused in the process of implementing the various projects.For the period 1994-99, the Objective 1 Community support framework for Spain of which Structural Fund aid to the Canary Islands forms a part clearly states the rules that the Member State must obey so as to comply with environmental and other Community legislation.The Commission would ask the Honourable Member to refer to its detailed response to the Court of Auditors' comments. ((OJ C 303, 14.11.1995. ))