WRITTEN QUESTION No. 2307/98 by Hiltrud BREYER to the Commission. Cross-border cooperation on the treatment of urban waste
Date: 1998-07-22
Institutions: BREYER, European Parliament
Subjects: EU programme, Structural Funds, air quality, application of EU law, co-financing, competence of the Member States, cross-border cooperation, environmental policy, waste incineration, waste management













EUR-Lex - 91998E2307 - EN






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91998E2307

WRITTEN QUESTION No. 2307/98 by Hiltrud BREYER to the Commission. Cross-border cooperation on the treatment of urban waste  


Official Journal C 297 , 15/10/1999 P. 0012 





WRITTEN QUESTION E-2307/98by Hiltrud Breyer (V) to the Commission(22 July 1998)Subject: Cross-border cooperation on the treatment of urban waste1. Which basic national and European legislation - similar to the technical regulations on air pollution control or the Federal pollution protection law in the Federal Republic of Germany - is the precondition for authorization of plants designed specifically for the thermal treatment and utilization of urban waste in neighbouring European countries?2. Which plants for the treatment and utilization of urban waste in the EU are supported through EU funds and to what extent?3. What legal requirements apply to urban waste from the FRG which is treated and utilized in plants in other EU Member States?4. Does the Commission consider that a price of ECU 40 per tonne for heat treatment or utilization in a planned new plant in Esbjörg (Denmark) is realistic? If so, how can this price be justified and, in the Commission's view, how will such prices affect waste flows in the FRG?Answer given by Mrs Bjerregaard on behalf of the Commission(23 October 1998)1. and 3. Under the European law currently in force urban-waste incinerators must, inter alia, meet the requirements set out in Directive 75/442/EEC(1) on waste, as currently amended by 89/369/EEC(2) and 89/429/EEC(3) on the reduction of air pollution from existing municipal waste-incineration plants. Once Directive 96/61/EC(4) concerning integrated pollution prevention and control enters into force its requirements, too, will apply.Under the structural funds' programme approach the Member States or regions approve, on their own responsibility, any individual projects cofinanced by the structural funds, such as waste incinerators or recycling plants. Compliance with Community legislation is obligatory. In its 7th annual report on the structural funds the Commission estimated that in the 1994-99 objective-1 programmes around ECU 225 million were allocated to waste collection and waste treatment. However, in this context the Commission has no systematic data on allocations of or amounts granted to any individual installations co-financed by structural funds.2. In addition the management and treatment of urban waste count among the urgent forms of action in terms of cohesion-fund environmental co-financing. The estimated amounts involved in co-financing in this sector for 1993-97 total ECU 77 million for Spain, ECU 268 million for Portugal, ECU 46 million for Greece and ECU 12 for Ireland. The following projects are either still in progress or have recently been completed:>TABLE>4. It is not possible to produce any estimates concerning the planned new facility in Esjbjerg, more particularly because prices depend very heavily upon local factors.(1) OJ L 194, 25.7.1975.(2) OJ L 163, 14.6.1989.(3) OJ L 203, 15.7.1989.(4) OJ L 257, 10.10.1996.