WRITTEN QUESTION E-2824/99 by Elisabeth Schroedter (Verts/ALE) to the Commission. Transport of large quantities of dangerous waste from Hungary into EU countries.
Date: 2000-01-18
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: Czechia, EU Member State, EU environmental policy, Hungary, Slovakia, accession to the European Union, application of EU law, competence of the Member States, export of waste, international agreement

3.10.2000

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 280 E/139

and eastern Europe(cid:146) is forwarded direct to the Honourable Member and to the Secretariat General of the
Parliament. Further details are available on the website: http://europa.eu.int/comm/dgs/enlargement/
index.htm.

The Commission participates in the Council of Europe(cid:146)s Roma expert group, which meets bi-
8.
annually. In 1999, an agreement was signed with the Council of Europe in order to promote close co-
operation between the European monitoring centre on racism and xenophobia and the Commission
against racism and intolerance (ECRI) of the Council of Europe. In this context, joint programmes have
been proposed on the situation of the Roma in Europe.

9.
The situation of the Roma minority is taken into account in the relations with Ukraine and Moldova
and the Commission has supported programmes aimed at improving the situation of the Roma population
in these countries.

(1) COM(99) 500 final.
(2) COM(99) 531 final, COM(99) 530 final, COM(99) 525 final, COM(99) 521 final.

(2000/C 280 E/150)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2824/99

by Elisabeth Schroedter (Verts/ALE) to the Commission

(18 January 2000)

Subject: Transport of large quantities of dangerous waste from Hungary into EU countries

In the next few days 14 000 tonnes of waste and soil residues containing PCBs are due to be transported
from GarØ in Hungary into European Union countries for incineration although Hungary has sufficient
facilities for the incineration and final storage of that waste.

Does the Commission know whether and to what extent Regulation (EEC) No 259/93 (1) on the
1.
supervision and control of cross-border shipment of waste has already been adopted and transposed into
national law in the countries applying for accession, such as Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic
(the latter two as transport corridors)?

2.
Does the Commission know whether the provisions of Regulation (EEC) No 259/93 relating to
preventive environmental protection, public order, public safety and health protection and applicable to
transport conditions, carriers and the authorities responsible for authorising such shipments of dangerous
waste are actually being complied with?

Has the Commission exercised its supervisory powers in this respect, and if so, what was the

3.
outcome?

4.
Does the Commission believe that the principle of proximity took precedence when the decision as
to the place of incineration was taken to transport highly dangerous waste from GarØ to distant EU
countries?

(cid:129) If so, how does it justify this decision?

(cid:129) If not, what action is it taking to prevent any danger to the population and the environment?

(1) OJ L 30, 6.2.1993, p. 1.

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

(11 February 2000)

Council Regulation (EEC) No 259/93 of 1 February 1993 on the supervision and control of shipments of
into and out of the Community does not apply as such to third countries. However,
waste within,

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Official Journal of the European Communities

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3.10.2000

irrespective of future accession to the Community, both Hungary, the Slovak Republic and the Czech
Republic are parties to the Basel Convention on transboundary movements of hazardous wastes and their
safe disposal and are therefore bound by the control procedures of the Convention as outlined notably in
its Articles 4 to 9.

in this case Hungary,

For the area of the Community, Regulation (EEC) No 259/93 transposes the provisions of the Basel
Convention. On the understanding that the shipment in question is an import of waste for disposal into
the Community, Articles 19 and 20 of Regulation (EEC) No 259/93 are relevant. According to Article 19
(3), the export country,
is required to present a duly motivated request to the
authority of the importing Member State on the basis that it does not have and cannot reasonably acquire
the technical capacity and the necessary facilities in order to dispose of the waste in an environmentally
sound manner. Furthermore,
import into the Community presupposes notification to the authority of
destination, i.e. the Member State of import. According to Article 20 (6), the shipment may only be
effected after the notifier has received authorisation from the authority of destination, i.e., the Member
State in question. The authorisation may also be subject to transport conditions pursuant to Article 20 (5).
The Commission does not dispose of any information which would indicate that the relevant procedures
have not been respected for the imports in question.

The Commission as such does not exercise any control functions with regard to specific waste shipments
under the Regulation. The supervision and control procedures established by the Regulation and directly
applicable in the Member States are applied by the authorities designated by the Member States according
to Article 36 of the Regulation.

As noted above, the need to take account of the proximity principle in the case of waste imports into the
Community is reflected in Article 19 (3). This serves to transpose Article 4 (9) (a) of the Basel Convention
which balances the objective of proximity in waste disposal with the need for waste disposal
in an
environmentally sound manner.

The Commission does not have sufficient information on the case in question to enable it to assess
whether or not the disposal of the waste in question could have also taken place in Hungary in an
environmentally sound manner.

(2000/C 280 E/151)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2827/99

by Ioannis Souladakis (PSE) to the Commission

(18 January 2000)

Subject: Looting and trafficking in cultural objects of value in Kosovo

Press reports claim that instances of the looting of monuments in Kosovo and trafficking in valuable
objects stolen from them are constantly increasing in number, while no effort at all is being made to
protect and save them. Archaeological monuments dating from Hellenic and Roman times, monasteries
and churches containing priceless relics handed down through the centuries are now defenceless against
marauding looters. No effort has yet been made to track down the perpetrators or to protect monuments
from looting and there is, therefore, an immediate risk that priceless cultural objects will be destroyed or
disappear.

Has the Commission taken any action to protect the monuments of Kosovo, which form part of the
European cultural heritage, and what steps does it intend to take in the future to stamp out the trafficking
in such objects?

Answer given by Mr Patten on behalf of the Commission

(15 February 2000)

The Commission recognises the importance of the cultural heritage in Kosovo. In the context of its
reconstruction programme in Kosovo (under the Obnova programme), activities in the cultural sector are