WRITTEN QUESTION E-1984/99 by Cristiana Muscardini (UEN) to the Commission. Alleged illegal discharges of waste material.
Date: 1999-11-05
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: Lombardy, environmental protection, plastics, public health, storage of waste, waste recycling

C 219 E/58

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

1.8.2000

1.

2.

Does the Commission really intend to issue this communication?

In what way will the legitimate expectations of credit institutions be guaranteed?

3. What action will the Commission take to counter the considerable uncertainty experienced by actors
on the financial market

Is the Commission aware that in critical instances the credit institutions would dispense with a state
4.
guarantee for their loans, with the result that the state would have to directly finance loans eligible for aid
and hence the fiscally beneficial effect of simply proving a loan guarantee would no longer apply?

Given the confusing plethora of (cid:145)communications(cid:146),

(cid:145)guidelines(cid:146) and ad hoc decisions concerning
5.
subsidies, does the Commission intend to create greater transparency and legal certainty by publishing a
comprehensive and systematic overview of the law on European subsidies?

Answer given by Mr Monti on behalf of the Commission

(6 December 1999)

On 24 November 1999 the Commission adopted the notice on the application of Articles 87 and

1.
88 (formerly Articles 92 and 93) of the EC Treaty to state aid in the form of guarantees.

The communication should not undermine the confidence of credit institutions, It is intended solely

2.
to clarify the rules applicable to aid in the form of guarantees.

The precise objective of the communication is to increase transparency and,

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mitigate the uncertainty felt by actors on the financial markets.

in so doing, help

The Commission is not seeking to prohibit guarantees but simply to ensure their conformity with the

4.
aid rules.

5.

The notice is designed to achieve greater transparency of rules hitherto contained in various texts.

(2000/C 219 E/069)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1984/99

by Cristiana Muscardini (NI) to the Commission

(5 November 1999)

Subject: Alleged illegal discharges of waste material

European law lays down precise rules for the recycling and discharge of solid urban waste and similar
material, which is supposed to end up in rubbish tips. It transpires that in Lombardy, between Milan and
Varese, some firms have engaged in recycling activities using new technologies. They rent entire hangars
for their recycling activities, take plastic waste, process it and send it to cement works to be used as fuel. In
practice, however, these hangars are soon abandoned and used simply as depositories for solid waste,
plastics, tarpaulins and PVC, in other words as unauthorised waste-tips.

As the turnover of such firms seems to have reached spectacular levels, but more particularly in view of
the serious threat to public health and the environment: Is the Commission aware of this practice? If so,
will it take action to draw up a directive laying down precise conditions for the storage and disposal of
refuse and plastic waste to ensure that the use of such hangars does not become a full-scale activity,
usurping the role which is currently played by waste tips?

1.8.2000

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 219 E/59

Answer given by Mrs Wallstr(cid:246)m on behalf of the Commission

(9 December 1999)

On the basis of the information given by the Honourable Member, the Commission is not in a position to
draw the attention of the Italian authorities to the practice mentioned by the Honourable Member.
Therefore, the Commission invites the Honourable Member to submit more details on the matter,
in
particular identifying precisely the places concerned by the practice mentioned, in order to allow the
Commission to possibly start an investigation.

Existing Community legislation on waste provides that Member States have to ensure that waste is
recovered or disposed of without endangering human health and without using processes or methods
which could harm the environment. The abandonment, dumping or uncontrolled disposal of waste is in
general prohibited (Article 4 of Council Directive 75/442/EEC of 15 July 1975 on waste (1)). These rules
are specified as regards landfilling of waste by virtue of Council Directive 1999/31/EC of 26 April 1999
on the landfill of waste (2). Therefore, uncontrolled dumping of plastic waste even within buildings, such as
hangars, is certainly prohibited under existing Community legislation.

(1) OJ L 194, 25.7.1975.
(2) OJ L 182, 16.7.1999.

(2000/C 219 E/070)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1985/99

by Cristiana Muscardini (NI) to the Commission

(5 November 1999)

Subject: Call for proposals published in Official Journal C 227 of 10 August 1999

The edition of the Official Journal cited above contained a call for proposals for projects under the
campaign against violence against women. The deadline for the submission of proposals was 21 September.
On that day an association wishing to submit a proposal, after various earlier attempts to obtain the
application form (which the local Commission office knew nothing about), succeeded in obtaining it by
electronic mail, after repeated telephone calls to the office of the head of the information department of
DG X. The recipient was told that there was no point in sending the form, as the successful proposals
would be submitted by the Netherlands and Finland.

Does the Commission generally know the identity of successful applicants before the proposals are

1.
submitted or before the deadline for the submission of proposals has expired?

2. Why are the Commission offices in the Member States(cid:146) capital cities not capable of providing specific
information about calls for proposals published in the Official Journal?

3. What are the (cid:141)no doubt serious and understandable (cid:141)reasons that prompt Commission officials to
select the winning applicants before the deadline for submitting proposals?

If proceedings of this kind have become an unfortunate habit, is there any hope that the situation

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will be improved with the entry into office of the new Commission?

Answer given by Mrs Reding on behalf of the Commission

(16 December 1999)

This call for proposals consisted of two tranches: the first tranche was published on 7 April 1999 (1) with a
deadline of 21 May 1999.

In this first tranche 69 projects were submitted, and 30 were selected. The second tranche, which was
justified because it was not possible to cover all Member States in the first tranche, was published on
10 August 1999 with a deadline for presentation of projects of 21 September 1999.