WRITTEN QUESTION No. 2593/97 by Katerina DASKALAKI to the Commission. Fires in Greece
Date: 1997-07-29
Institutions: DASKALAKI, European Parliament
Subjects: Greece, afforestation, degradation of the environment, ecosystem, environmental protection, financial aid, fire, fire protection, forestry policy, wooded area

30. 4. 98

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 134/13

(98/C 134/17)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2574/97

by Nikitas Kaklamanis (UPE) to the Commission

(24 July 1997)

Subject: Contemptuous and dangerous decisions by the new Turkish Government

The  Turkish  Minister  for  Agriculture  has  officially  stated  that  the  area  of  opium  cultivation  in  Turkey  will
increase from the present area of 300 000 ha. to 700 000 ha.: the new cultivation sites will be near the towns of
Eskisehir and Manisa.

In addition to this inflammatory decision, the new Turkish Government, in the person of Vice-President Ecevit,
has  announced  that  the  government  has  decided  to  lift  restrictions  on  transfrontier  trade  ›  a  measure  that
concerns primarily trade between Turkey and Iraq and is in flagrant violation of all the relevant UN resolutions.

Will the Commission say how it intends to react to these actions by the official Turkish authorities which show
contempt  for  resolutions  of  organisations  such  as  the  UN,  ignore  appeals  by  governments,  including  the  US
administration  which  has  repeatedly  called  for  the  cultivation  of  opium  to  be  halted,  and  show  indifference
towards the deaths of hundreds of young Europeans every year from drug abuse?

Answer given by Mr Van den Broek on behalf of the Commission

(31 October 1997)

Turkey is one of the countries given permission by the United Nations to grow opium.

The Turkish authorities intend to increase the area under opium to 80 000 hectares in 1998 › not to 700 000
hectares as stated by the Honourable Member.

As it is obliged to, Turkey (Ministry of Foreign Affairs) on 14 July instructed its representative to the United
Nations, in Vienna, to inform the United Nations Drug Control Programme of the area to be used for growing
opium in 1998.

The  Turkish  authorities  have,  furthermore,  informed  the  Commission  that  trade  between  Turkey  and  Iraq
complies  with  the  limits  under  the  United  Nations’  embargo  on  Iraq  and  that  no  contrary  decision  has  been
reached.

(98/C 134/18)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2593/97

by Katerina Daskalaki (UPE) to the Commission

(29 July 1997)

Subject: Fires in Greece

In  recent  years,  large  areas  of  public  forest  in  Greece  have  been  incinerated  during  the  summer  months,
destroying Europe(cid:146)s Mediterranean ecosystem. Early in July, the Sheik-Sou forest constituting the Thessaloniki
green belt was destroyed by fire, while incalculable fire damage also occurred in Ilia, Messinia, the island of Ios
and elsewhere.

Almost every case has revealed the lack of a planned response to the outbreak of fires and failure to maintain
fire-fighting aircraft in a state of readiness. In addition, forest land destroyed by fire has been declassified and
subsequently built upon and redeveloped, which is quite unacceptable. Given that, within the EU, Greece is the
Member State with the largest areas of forest land destroyed by fire, can the Commission provide the following
information:

In  addition  to  essential  financial  assistance,  will  the  Commission  (in  accordance  with  the  EP  resolutions  of
29 September 1994 (1) and 21 September 1995 (2), review the effectiveness of the measures taken by the Member
State in question? What steps can it take to ensure that, within the framework of environmental protection in the
EU, forest land damaged by fire is not used for redevelopment, that reafforestation is made compulsory and that
Member States failing to comply are censured?