WRITTEN QUESTION E-1257/00 by Erik Meijer (GUE/NGL) to the Commission. Delays in salvaging the cargo of the stranded tanker Erika because of secrecy surrounding the presence on board of special industrial waste.
Date: 2000-04-19
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: administrative transparency, carcinogenic substance, carriage of goods, dissemination of information, industrial waste, oil industry, oil pollution, tanker

C 81 E/22

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

13.3.2001

Joint answer
to Written Questions E-1208/00 and E-1250/00

(28 September 2000)

The question of the 13 Iranian Jews has been raised in talks, on all possible occasions and at all levels,
between EU representatives and Iranian official representatives, notably during the visit of the Iranian
Foreign Minister Kharrazi to Helsinki in September 1999 and at the EU-Iran dialogue meeting in December.

In response to these representations (cid:129) and to such representations undertaken by the Member States of
the European Union (cid:129) the Iranian Government assured and re-assured the European Union that the
detained Jews would get a fair and transparent trial.

In April, just before the opening of the trial, the European Union expressed again to the Iranian authorities
the importance the EU attaches to this issue and recalled the Iranian commitments as to the conduct of the
trial.

The European Union has learnt with concern of the verdict pronounced by the revolutionary court in
Shiraz. It is disappointed that the trial was held in camera despite the assurances given by the Iranian
authorities. The European Union notes that the decision is open to appeal. In view of the significance it
attaches to this issue, it strongly hopes that the court of appeal will overturn the convictions. The European
Union will continue to express its concern to the Iranian authorities.

(2001/C 81 E/024)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1213/00

by Daniel Hannan (PPE-DE) to the Council

(27 April 2000)

Subject: Working groups

Will the Council supply a full list of all working groups, with their terms of reference?

Reply

(10 October 2000)

Under the second subparagraph of Article 19(3) of the Council(cid:146)s Rules of Procedure of 5 June 2000 (1)
(cid:145)The General Secretariat shall update and publish the list of preparatory bodies. Only the committees and
working parties on this list may meet as Council preparatory bodies.(cid:146)

The General Secretariat of the Council will send the Honourable Member the latest version of the list.

(1) OJ L 149, 23.6.2000, p. 21.

(2001/C 81 E/025)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1257/00

by Erik Meijer (GUE/NGL) to the Commission

(19 April 2000)

Subject: Delays in salvaging the cargo of the stranded tanker (cid:145)Erika(cid:146) because of secrecy surrounding the

presence on board of special industrial waste

1.
Is the Commission aware of press reports ((cid:145)Le Parisien(cid:146) of 31 March and (cid:145)Rotterdams Dagblad(cid:146) of
1 April 2000) which assume that the (cid:145)Erika(cid:146), the tanker lost off the West coast of France in February, was

13.3.2001

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Official Journal of the European Communities

C 81 E/23

carrying not only heavy fuel oil but also, according to Ineris (the French institute for the environment and
energy), a carcinogenic substance which is presumed to be special industrial waste which is so toxic that it
may not be transported?

Is the Commission also aware of the assumption in these press reports that the French Prime
2.
Minister, Mr Jospin, had promised the oil company TotalFina which had chartered the (cid:145)Erika(cid:146) that he would
keep secret any information on the tanker(cid:146)s cargo and that this is one of the reasons why Smit Tak, the
Rotterdam salvage company, has still not been able to start the salvaging work?

3.
Does the Commission believe it is acceptable for the likely consequences of the disaster to be kept
secret from the public because of an undertaking by one of the governments concerned to an interested
party, with the result
the
environment and public health?

that greater importance is attached to financial

interests than to safety,

4.
Is the Commission prepared to work towards openness on the part of everyone concerned, in the
immediate future, as to the impact on the living environment at sea and on the coast and on public
health?

5. What does the Commission intend to do to speed up the salvage work so that further pollution
caused by residues of cargo escaping from the ship can be stopped forthwith?

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

(18 July 2000)

1.
The Commission has heard certain allegations, widely reported by the media, regarding the type of
oil the Erika was carrying. In this connection it considered with interest the information the French
authorities provided regarding the carcinogenic nature of the substance and the instructions to take
precautions when carrying out cleaning operations. The Commission also took note of the French
authorities(cid:146) statement, repeated on several occasions, that the Erika was carrying a category 2 heavy fuel,
according to the usual classification of commercial petroleum products.

The Commission would ask the Honourable Member to refer to the press release issued by the
(cid:145)Pumping of the Erika: transparency and the

2. to 4.
French authorities on 31 March 2000 with the heading:
protection of industrial secrets(cid:146), available at:
http://www.equipement.gouv.fr/actualites.

The Commission believes that decisions relating to the pumping of the Erika are the responsibility of

5.
the French authorities.

(2001/C 81 E/026)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1273/00

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

(27 April 2000)

Subject: Aid for Mozambique

The World Food Programme has been highlighting the poor response to the appeal for aid to the victims
of the floods in Mozambique, while at the same time various NGOs have, according to the press, been
denouncing the fact that the world has already forgotten the problems in that country as a result of the
tragic events of only a few weeks earlier. Does this criticism also apply to European Union action? What is
the European Union doing to improve the situation in Mozambique, particularly as regards to repairing
the infrastructure destroyed by the flooding caused by the Limpopo and Save rivers?