WRITTEN QUESTION No. 3678/97 by Rosemarie WEMHEUER to the Commission. Construction of a power station in Crete
Date: 1997-11-19
Institutions: European Parliament, WEMHEUER
Subjects: Crete, EU aid, EU financial instrument, building subsidy, electrical energy, power plant, solar energy, thermal energy

8. 6. 98

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 174/97

(98/C 174/150)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-3676/97

by Gianni Tamino (V) to the Commission

(10 November 1997)

Subject: Extension of the concession held by the company Autostrade spa

On  27  October  1997  the  Italian  Court  of  Auditors  rejected  an  interministerial  decree  designed  to  extend  by
20 years, until the year 2038, the concession held by Autostrade spa. In August its office responsible for the
monitoring of government acts had already expressed severe doubts about the proposed extension. The reasons
for rejecting the decree include its failure to comply with Community law. The Court considered the extension to
be defective because of the inclusion of a concession for a new project, an alternative route for the mountain pass
between Florence and Bologna, for which a European-wide call to tender would be required. This expedient has
also been used in the past to obtain extensions.

Can the Commission confirm the doubts expressed by the Italian Court of Auditors?

Does the Commission intend to ensure respect for all the European regulations applicable to this sector, including
in the case in point?

Can  the  Commission,  within  the  scope  of  its  competence,  give  its  views  on  the  management  of  concessions
granted to Italian motorway companies?

Answer given by Mr Monti on behalf of the Commission

(6 January 1998)

The Commission is not in possession of either the interministerial decree referred to by the Honourable Member
or any information that would enable it to assess that instrument in the light of Community public procurement
legislation.

By virtue of the prerogatives assigned to it by Article 155 of the EC Treaty, the Commission will be contacting
the Italian authorities with a view to obtaining the factual and legal particulars necessary to verify the decree(cid:146)s
compatibility with the relevant Community legislation.

Until  such  time  as  that  verification  has  been  carried  out,  the  Commission  is  unable  to  give  its  views  on  the
concessions granted to Italian motorway companies.

(98/C 174/151)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3678/97

by Rosemarie Wemheuer (PSE) to the Commission

(19 November 1997)

Subject: Construction of a power station in Crete

Can the Commission say whether a photovoltaic power station is to be built in Crete › and if so when ›,
1.
what capacity a power station of this kind has, how much EU aid is to be provided and which undertakings are
being awarded the contract?

It has been repeatedly reported in the press that Greenpeace has had some influence over the construction of

2.
plants of this nature. Can the Commission say what this influence amounted to?

3.
Can the Commission state what progress has been made in respect of a project promoted under the Thermie
Programme for the construction of a solar power station in Crete with a nominal generating capacity of 50 MW
and say where this project is due to be built?

4.
Is there any connection between the construction of a photovoltaic power station in Crete and the project
already  being  promoted  on  this  island  under  the  Thermie  Programme  for  the  construction  of  a  solar  power
station? Can it confirm reports that the solar power station is to be replaced by the photovoltaic power station?