WRITTEN QUESTION No. 3157/97 by Esko SEPPÄNEN to the Commission. Legal basis for budget headings B3-4103 and B3- 4104
Date: 1997-10-13
Institutions: European Parliament, SEPPAENEN
Subjects: action for failure to fulfil an obligation, elderly person, judgment of the Court (EU), poverty

C 134/100

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

30. 4. 98

Regarding the Brussels agglomeration, the Belgian authorities have identified the River Senne, into which the
agglomeration’s waste water is discharged, as a sensitive zone within the meaning of the Directive. This means
that this waste water must undergo, at the latest by 31 December 1998, secondary (i.e. biological) treatment as
well as further nitrogen and phosphorus treatment before being discharged into the Senne.

Two waste water treatment plants, situated in the North and South of Brussels respectively, are planned in order
to meet the requirements laid down in Directive 91/271/EEC.

In  its  capacity  as  guardian  of  the  Treaty,  the  Commission  ensures  that  Community  legislation  in  this  area  is
implemented, in Brussels as in all other agglomerations in the Community.

(1)  OJ L 135, 30.5.1991.

(98/C 134/128)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3157/97

by Esko Seppa¤nen (GUE/NGL) to the Commission

(13 October 1997)

Subject: Legal basis for budget headings B3-4103 and B3-4104

In the draft budget for 1998 no appropriations are allocated for budget headings B3-4103 (measures to combat
poverty and social exclusion) and B3-4104 (measures for the elderly).

What measures does the Commission intend taking to guarantee the legal basis for these budget items?

Answer given by Mr Flynn on behalf of the Commission

(28 November 1997)

The Commission awaits with great interest the judgments of the Court of Justice in the cases pending (C-106/96,
C-239/96 and C-240/96) concerning the Community’s competence to act in matters relating to the elderly and
social  exclusion  in  the  absence  of  a  legislative  decision.  The  hearing  in  case  C-106/96  took  place  on
4 November 1997.

The Commission is currently exploring all the possibilities that the new Treaty of Amsterdam will offer once
ratified  by  the  15  Member  States,  with  a  view  to  pursuing  its  actions  in  relation  to  the  elderly  and  social
exclusion.

(98/C 134/129)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3160/97

by Katerina Daskalaki (UPE) to the Commission

(13 October 1997)

Subject: Risk of collapse of Newstead Abbey, ancestral home of Lord Byron

On the outskirts of Nottingham lies the historic building of Newstead Abbey, the ancestral home and place of
birth  of  Lord  Byron,  who  was  not  only  the  greatest  British  poet  but  also  a  hero  of  the  Greek  national
independence movement. Coal deposits had long since been discovered beneath the Abbey but no attempt was
made throughout the Industrial Revolution to mine them, precisely for fear of the Abbey collapsing. Recently,
that risk has become real since private interests are making moves to extract the coal, despite acknowledging that
mining may cause the Abbey to collapse.

(a)  Is the Commission aware of the threat to this important monument in the European cultural heritage, and

(b)  what practical measures will it take to prevent the destruction of the building?