WRITTEN QUESTION No. 3776/97 by Mihail PAPAYANNAKIS to the Commission. Arsenic tank in Albania
Date: 1997-11-21
Institutions: European Parliament, PAPAYANNAKIS
Subjects: Albania, EU financing, EU programme, ecological balance, environmental protection, storage, toxic substance, waste disposal

C 158/144

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

25. 5. 98

(98/C 158/190)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3739/97

by Gianni Tamino (V) to the Commission

(21 November 1997)

Subject: Albania

The health and hygiene situation in Albania has now reached alarming proportions, having further deteriorated
after the recent uprising and the resulting power vacuum. The water supply and sewage system is inadequate,
antiquated  or  non-existent,  and  causes  53%  of  gastric  and  intestinal  disorders  among  the  population,  with
120 000 severe cases of diarrhoea per year, and a serious threat of epidemics of cholera and hepatitis. There are
no controls over food and animal production. Water reserves in the cities are totally inadequate because of the
pollution  of  artesian  wells,  and  the  problems  of  reclaiming  contaminated  land  and  the  storage  of  toxic  and
harmful substances in abandoned factories remain. At Fier, for example, 800 cubic metres of arsenic salts are
allegedly lying in a fertilizer factory stored in a highly corrosive storage silo, which may have disastrous results
for the whole southern Mediterranean.

What kind of and how much aid has been granted to Albania in the environmental field up to the present (in terms
of both quantity and percentage of the total)?

Does the Commission consider environmental issues to be a priority for its present and future financing?

What steps does it intend to take to tackle the above-mentioned emergencies?

Were environmental emergencies on the agenda of the recent meeting of the Conference of Donors for Albania
and what decisions were taken on the subject?

(98/C 158/191)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3776/97

by Mihail Papayannakis (GUE/NGL) to the Commission

(21 November 1997)

Subject: Arsenic tank in Albania

According to press reports and allegations by the President of the Italian Senate who recently visited Albania,
there is a tank of arsenic in the region of Fier which is about to burst. This tank is located in a disused chemicals
factory and contains 800 cubic metres of the substance. If this tank bursts, this dangerous liquid will reach the
southern Adriatic and pollute the shores of the Albania and also coastal areas in Greece and Italy. These two
countries have agreed to provide Albania with economic assistance to repair the tank.

Will the Commission say whether it is aware of these circumstances and whether it intends to provide Albania
with economic assistance in order to avert this ecological disaster?

Joint answer
to Written Questions E-3536/97, E-3739/97 and E-3776/97
given by Mr Van den Broek on behalf of the Commission

(5 January 1998)

The principles of sustainable development guide the Community support to Albania in the field of environment.
It  is  in  particular  based  on  the  environment  policy  of  the  Albanian  government  as  set  out  in  the  national
environmental action plan approved in 1993. The Commission has explicitly supported the identified priorities
and developed the following initiatives:

›  between  1993  and  1999,  a  total  of  28.7  MECU  (out  of  an  overall  amount  of  474  MECU)  have  been
earmarked for environment related projects within the Phare programme (institutional strengthening, policy
advice,  wetland  management,  strategies  for  water  and  waste  management,  water  and  wastewater
infrastructures, pesticides disposal). In addition, funding is under consideration for wastewater treatment
projects under the cross-border programmes with Italy and Greece. This is complemented by small scale
initiatives funded through the Albanian development plan which have a direct impact on the environment;