WRITTEN QUESTION E-2407/99 by John McCartin (PPE-DE) to the Commission. Esperanto.
Date: 1999-12-16
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: EU programme, education, language teaching, vocational training

3.10.2000

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 280 E/43

(2000/C 280 E/041)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2407/99

by John McCartin (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(16 December 1999)

Subject: Esperanto

Has the Commission undertaken any studies on the use of Esperanto across the Union? Does it feel that
there is any place for Esperanto as a tool for creating cohesion between the present and future European
Union nations, and is Esperanto included in any of the current EU language schemes?

Answer given by Mrs Reding on behalf of the Commission

(10 February 2000)

Respect for cultural and linguistic diversity is a crucial element of European integration. Promoting better
knowledge and understanding of the cultures and languages of other Europeans is therefore of particular
importance. Languages will continue in future to be the key to knowing others.

Esperanto does not feature in the Community(cid:146)s programmes on education and vocational training. The aim
of these programmes is to promote linguistic diversity with a view to granting equal status to each of the
Union(cid:146)s languages. It is therefore necessary to vary language teaching and language use in order to enable
all Europeans to experience the cultural wealth that is embedded in the EU(cid:146)s linguistic diversity.

(2000/C 280 E/042)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2414/99

by Mihail Papayannakis (GUE/NGL) to the Commission

(16 December 1999)

Subject: Illegal burial of toxic waste

Residents and organisations in the general area of the Gulf of Yera on the island of Lesbos complain that
the firm Mamidakis has been illegally operating its storage facilities in the Skala Loutron region for the
past two years, since the State Council(cid:146)s decision of 10 November 1997.

The issue of illegal burial of fuel tank waste by Mamidakis has also come to light recently. Under Joint
Ministerial Decision 72751/3064/84 this waste is classified as toxic and dangerous. For many years, in
fact, waste from tank-cleaning in the Mamidakis storage facilities in the Skala Loutron region was illegally
buried in a ditch approximately five metres deep, despite the fact that according to the environmental
impact study the waste from tanks was supposed to be stored in a specially covered area, in drums marked
(cid:145)Danger(cid:146), until
it was transferred to other locations outside Lesbos that are provided for toxic and
dangerous waste.

It should also be noted that the petroleum products firm operates its storage facilities entirely inside the
residential area of Skala Loutron, and that the safety distances fixed by law are not adhered to, entailing a
risk of explosion or escape of toxic substances in the event of an accident.

Since the Gulf of Yera forms a sensitive terrestrial and marine ecosystem of great ecological value,
incompatible with the operation of
fuel storage facilities, and since the illegal burial of waste has
substantial effects on the water table and, more generally, on the area(cid:146)s environment, does the Commission
consider that the above-mentioned practices on the part of Mamidakis constitute a breach of the relevant
Community legislation, sufficient to warrant starting proceedings in the Court of Justice?