WRITTEN QUESTION P-0790/00 by Rosa Miguélez Ramos (PSE) to the Commission. Construction of port facilities on the river Arousa (Spain) without an environmental impact assessment.
Date: 2000-03-09
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: EU financing, Galicia, Spain, application of EU law, environmental impact, harbour installation, use of aid

28.12.2000

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 374 E/153

Unfortunately, that new pillar of European policy failed to address international crime in the area of the
abuse and trafficking of children and women, which can be seen to be on the rise.

This might be termed as the area of crime practised on a large scale which most seriously threatens the
democratic society in which we live.

A recent case involving a Belgian citizen (Frans de Ryck) and Portuguese children from the Autonomous
Region of Madeira has highlighted the shortcomings arising from the lack of cooperation in the area of
justice with regard to this type of situation.

The Belgian state refused to extradite the citizen accused of the crime to Portugal, while the Portuguese
State, through the Office of the Public Prosecutor of the Republic, refused to provide the victims with any
legal support.

As reported in the press (DiÆrio de Not(cid:237)cias), only private efforts by the Portuguese Victim Support
Association and the support of a Portuguese law firm succeeded in resolving the problem. In the meantime
the accused has lodged an appeal against the decision, and the victim has no information on the progress
of the appeal.

Does the Council not take the view that cooperation in the area of justice provided for by the Treaty on
European Union should be extended to include international crimes involving the abuse and trafficking of
minors and women?

Reply

(18 May 2000)

The Council shares the Honourable Member(cid:146)s concern to combat more effectively international crime
involving the abuse of and trafficking in minors and women.

Article 29 of the Treaty on European Union as amended by the Amsterdam Treaty, moreover, refers
specifically, amongst ways of creating an area of freedom, security and justice, to the fight against
trafficking in human beings and crimes against children. It should also be noted that powers have been
given to Europol in the field of child pornography (1).

The example quoted by the Honourable Member relates to a specific situation encountered in the field of
extradition and is governed by the European Convention on Extradition of 13 December 1957. The
reasons which prevented the requested extradition from taking place in the case in question relate to the
fact that the Convention allows the Contracting Parties to refuse to extradite their own nationals. That
situation is supposed to change following ratification of the Convention relating to extradition between the
Member States of the European Union (2), which encourages Member States to review their domestic
legislation, including their constitutional legislation, on this point. Furthermore, Portugal is shortly to put
before the Council a significant initiative aimed at improving the situation of victims in the context of
criminal procedure.

(1) Council Decision of 3 December 1999 (OJ C 26, 30.1.1999, p. 21).
(2) OJ C 313, 23.10.1996, p. 11.

(2000/C 374 E/182)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-0790/00

by Rosa MiguØlez Ramos (PSE) to the Commission

(9 March 2000)

Subject: Construction of port facilities on the river Arousa (Spain) without an environmental

impact

assessment

The construction of port facilities for oil and chemical tankers, together with the creation of a storage area
for oil and petro-chemical products, has prompted protests from the local population concerning the
effects on the environment of the whole region. No environmental impact assessment was carried out for
any of these building projects.

C 374 E/154

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

28.12.2000

The association for the protection of the river Arousa has submitted a complaint to the Commission
concerning failure to comply with Community legislation on environmental impact assessments (Directive
85/337/EEC (1)).

Furthermore, the Spanish Government has not met the deadline for transposing Directive 97/11/EEC (2) on
the assessment of the effects of certain public and private projects on the environment, which amends
Directive 85/337/EEC.

Following the recent environmental disaster caused by the sinking of the oil tanker Erika, public awareness
is rising and means that public representatives must be increasingly sensitive to environmental issues. With
this in view, the European Parliament recently adopted two resolutions (20 January and 2 March 2000). In
addition, it has debated at length the coordination of EU environment policies with other policies such as
the Structural Funds.

Was an environmental impact assessment necessary for the construction of the above-mentioned port
facilities?

Can the Commission say whether these projects received any Community funding? When and how much?
Which companies benefited?

What steps did the Commission take to ensure that these projects complied with the requirements of
Community legislation on the environment?

(1) OJ L 175, 5.7.1985, p. 40.
(2) OJ L 73, 14.3.1997, p. 5.

(2000/C 374 E/183)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0804/00

by Camilo Nogueira RomÆn (Verts/ALE) to the Commission

(16 March 2000)

Subject: Installation of storage tanks for fuel and chemicals in the port of Vilagarcia de Arousa in Galicia

without an environmental impact assessment

A new quay is being built in the port of Vilagarcia de Arousa in Galicia, with funding provided by the
European Union through the ERDF, on which storage tanks with a capacity of 80 000 m3 for fuel and
impact assessments required by Directive
chemicals are to be placed, even though the environmental
85/337/EC (1) have not been carried out and the Council(cid:146)s planning regulations have not been complied
with. The installations, which are owned by the FINSA and Foresa undertakings, are situated on an estuary
which is highly vulnerable to pollution caused by the handling of these products and to the consequences
of potential accidents involving ships transporting the products. The Arousa estuary is extremely rich in
shellfish and, among other species, the bulk of the 300 000 tonnes of mussels produced annually in Galicia
comes from here, representing 50 % of world production of mussels. Activities linked to fishing and
shellfish farming provide a source of income for 26 000 people on the Arousa estuary, while the chemical
installations on the quay will create only three jobs.

All the economic and social sectors affected have protested against the construction of these tanks and
have appealed on many occasions to the municipal council, the Galician government and the Spanish
government, and now to the European Commission, with the aim of preventing the storage tanks from
coming into operation.

The regional and central administration, under the pretext that the Spanish government did not comply
with the provisions of the EC directive and clearly disregarded the need for an environmental impact
assessment for this type of installation for the storage of oil and petrochemical and chemical products,
while failing to take due account of the productive activities which provide the best guarantee for the
present and future livelihood of people along the estuary, is permitting work to continue, with the result
that there is a serious risk that the installations will come into operation in defiance of the law and to the
detriment of the vital economic and social interests of the many people affected. It might also be pointed
out that the Commission has recently brought a case against Spain before the European Court of Justice
for failure to comply with Directive 85/337/EC.