WRITTEN QUESTION No. 3532/97 by Hiltrud BREYER to the Commission. Environmental impact assessments
Date: 1997-11-12
Institutions: BREYER, European Parliament
Subjects: application of EU law, environmental impact, environmental protection, impact study, industrial project, private sector, project evaluation, public sector, regional policy

16. 6. 98

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 187/17

(98/C 187/26)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3532/97

by Hiltrud Breyer (V) to the Commission

(12 November 1997)

Subject: Environmental impact assessments

1.
Is the Commission aware that the environmental impact assessment (EIA) procedure may be abused and
hence is meaningless if, in the case of an integrated regional plan, only elements which are subsequently varied
are  subjected  to  EIAs,  so  that  no  comparison  is  made  between  the  environmental  compatibility  of  a  variant
included in the original plan and that of a new variant which departs from the plan?

Is the Commission planning to amend the EU Directive on EIAs so as to guarantee that EIAs serve their

2.
original purpose?

Answer given by Mrs Bjerregaard on behalf of the Commission

(18 December 1997)

The  Commission  would  remind  the  Honourable  Member  that,  for  the  moment,  the  environmental  impact
assessment  procedure  for  public  and  private  projects  subject  to  Community  legislation  and  planning  are  not
interconnected.

A project will be subject to an obligatory procedure if it is one of the types of projects listed in Annex I of the
Community Directive or if, by its nature, size or location, the Member State believes that it should undergo such a
procedure.

The Commission is not aware of any misuse of this procedure such as referred to by the Honourable Member.

The  Honourable  Member  is  undoubtedly  aware  that  Council  Directive  97/11/EC  amending  Directive
85/337/EEC on the assessment of the effects of certain public and private projects on the environment (1) will
come into force in March 1999. The Commission does not intend to modify this new legislation.

(1)  OJ L 73, 14.3.1997.

(98/C 187/27)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3533/97

by Nikitas Kaklamanis (UPE) to the Council

(14 November 1997)

Subject: Turkish aggressiveness towards Greece

On 16 October 1997 the continuous acts of provocation by Turkey towards Greece, an EU Member State, reached
a  hitherto  unprecedented  level  when  a  C-130  aircraft  transporting  the  Greek  Minister  of  Defence  and  his
entourage from Cyprus to Crete was intercepted by Turkish warplanes in Greek airspace.

This action constitutes a threat to peace in the south-east Mediterranean, infringes all EU rules and shows total
disregard  for  the  Madrid  Agreement  (now  a  dead  letter  in  any  case)  and  for  Council  and  Commission
admonitions regarding peaceful co-existence between the two countries. In addition, it constitutes a violation of
all international treaties.

Furthermore, Turkey displayed total disregard for the lives and safety of the passengers on board the aircraft.

What measures will the Council take with regard to Turkey, a country associated with the EU, in view of its
repeated provocations?

Will the President-in-Office raise this matter for discussion in the Council of Foreign Ministers or at the summit
meeting in December?