WRITTEN QUESTION No. 175/98 by Mark WATTS to the Commission. Disposal of sewage and waste water
Date: 1998-02-05
Institutions: European Parliament, WATTS
Subjects: aquatic environment, industrial pollution, marine pollution, pollution control measures, pollution from agricultural sources, quality of the environment, urban area, waste management, wastewater, water treatment

17. 7. 98

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 223/133

When the UK Government has just issued a Green Paper totally revolutionizing its policy on mainstreaming › is
it not a very serious omission from the Presidency programme?

Some  18%  of  the  European  Union  population  experience  specific  learning  difficulties.  An  estimated  40%  of
prison inmates are proven dyslexic. In order to enhance the social inclusion, welfare and employment prospects
throughout  the  European  Union  of  children  and  young  adults  with  specific  learning  difficulties  ›  does  the
Council not agree that preventative measures must be taken?

If so, what measures, short and long-term, does the Council, in general and the UK Presidency in particular,
envisage?

Answer

(27 April 1998)

The promotion of equality of opportunity in education as well as in training and at work is an essential part of the
debate on employability which is at the core of the Presidency(cid:146)s education and social affairs agenda. Addressing
the  needs  of  children  with  specific  learning  difficulties  is  an  implicit  element  of  the  principle  of  equality  of
opportunity in education.

Moreover, as part of the Presidency(cid:146)s programme a conference on Special Educational Needs in schools has been
organized, taking place in Windsor on 7 May 1998. The aim of this conference, which is intended for experts in
the field, is to explore comparisons between the provision in Member States and is linked with the work of the
new European Agency for Special Educational Needs. Indeed, it is believed that there is much to be learned in
general from the exchange of ideas and good practice in different school systems of the Member States, as, for
example, within the context of the SOCRATES programme.

(98/C 223/171)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0175/98

by Mark Watts (PSE) to the Commission

(5 February 1998)

Subject: Disposal of sewage and waste water

What are the relevant EU directives and regulations relating to disposal of sewage and waste water into the sea?

Answer given by Mrs Bjerregaard on behalf of the Commission

(5 March 1998)

The  Community  legislation  in  force  concerning  discharges  of  waste  water  into  the  sea  and  other  aquatic
environments (fresh water, estuaries) consists of the following directives:

›  Council Directive 91/271/EEC of 21 May 1991 concerning urban waste-water treatment (1);

›  Council  Directive  96/61/EC  of  24  September  1996  concerning  integrated  pollution  prevention  and

control (2); this Directive concerns industrial discharges;

›  Council  Directive  76/464/EEC  of  4  May  1976  on  pollution  caused  by  certain  dangerous  substances

discharged into the aquatic environment of the Community (3);

›  Council Directive 91/676/EEC of 12 December 1991 concerning the protection of waters against pollution
caused by nitrates from agricultural sources (4). This Directive provides in particular for measures to prevent
water  pollution  caused  by  runoff  of  liquids  containing  livestock  manure  and  vegetable  effluent  such  as
silage.

(1)  OJ L 135, 30.5.1991.
(2)  OJ L 257, 10.10.1996.
(3)  OJ L 129, 18.5.1976.
(4)  OJ L 375, 31.12.1991.