WRITTEN QUESTION P-1722/00 by Piia-Noora Kauppi (PPE-DE) to the Commission. Measures to guarantee the safety of road tunnels.
Date: 2000-05-20
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: common transport policy, road safety, tunnel

C 53 E/178

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

20.2.2001

The Commission is currently reviewing and consolidating all hygiene rules that are at present available in
Community legislation. The need to provide for flexibility in particular for small businesses is being
considered and any proposals will be submitted to the Parliament and the Council as soon as possible.

(1) OJ L 268, 24.9.1991.
(2) OJ L 332, 30.12.1995.

(2001/C 53 E/232)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1704/00

by Jonas Sj(cid:246)stedt (GUE/NGL) to the Commission

(29 May 2000)

Subject: Ban on the docking of dogs(cid:146) tails

Is the Swedish ban on the docking of dogs(cid:146) tails consistent with the EU(cid:146)s internal market, given that there
is no such ban throughout the EU?

Answer given by Mr Byrne on behalf of the Commission

(14 July 2000)

The Commission understands that the Swedish prohibition on the docking of dogs(cid:146) tails is imposed for
animal welfare reasons.

In the absence of Community legislation on this aspect of animal welfare Member States may in principle
maintain their national rules subject to the respect of the general rules of the EC Treaty.

The Commission is currently not aware of any internal market problems resulting from the Swedish
prohibition.

(2001/C 53 E/233)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-1722/00

by Piia-Noora Kauppi (PPE-DE) to the Commission

Subject: Measures to guarantee the safety of road tunnels

(20 May 2000)

European road users(cid:146) organisations have commissioned a study designed to establish, by means of spot
checks, safety levels in 25 road tunnels in eight European countries. The study focused on those tunnels
most used by tourists.

The study laid down ten different criteria which were used to assess the degree of safety of the tunnels. The
most important were fire safety, the width of the lanes, the availability of sufficient space to enable
ambulances and fire engines to reach the scene of accidents, the presence of video surveillance equipment
in the tunnels and the degree to which the ventilation of the tunnels is geared to the possibility of
accidents.

In addition, tests were carried out to determine how quickly the fire, ambulance and other emergency
services can reach the scene of accidents. Along with ease of access for emergency service vehicles, the
study examined whether emergency service personnel are trained to deal with accidents in tunnels. In the
case of some tunnels, the operators seemed entirely indifferent to the issue of safety or had given little
proper thought to it, owing to a lack of practical knowledge.

The study revealed that a number of tunnels appear to be very dangerous and offer an inadequate level of
safety.

The Commission has also received the study in question, prompting the following question: What
measures is it taking in order to ensure that road tunnels in Europe are safe?

20.2.2001

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 53 E/179

Answer given by Mrs de Palacio on behalf of the Commission

(30 June 2000)

The survey referred to by the Honourable Member has indeed shown that there have been disparities
among the safety levels displayed by road tunnels in Europe, more particularly where there have been
conflagrations. This is mainly due to the state of technology applying when tunnels are placed in service
and to changes in traffic conditions. This means that the most recent tunnels generally embody a higher
level of safety.

It is first of all the responsibility of the authorities involved, the main customers or the concession holders
to take action enabling a sufficiently high level of safety to be ensured in tunnels. That action may take the
form of technical modifications to structures or safety equipment, the application of traffic-management
rules that are intended to reduce exposure to hazards, or of provisions intended to make emergency action
easier in the event of an accident.

Very long road tunnels differ too widely as regards their geometry, location and age for anyone to be able
to apply a traditional standardised approach.

However, their safety must constantly be reassessed in order to be able to apply innovations and technical
progress. The Commission would like to prompt the devising of a harmonised method for that purpose.

the international bodies such as the Organisation for Economic
It also supports the activities of
Cooperation and Development or the World Roads Association that is intended to improve tunnel safety
by pooling the experience gained by their members and listing the various techniques and procedures. The
Commission does not intend to duplicate or repeat those activities.

Finally, as part of the 5th Research Programme, the Commission has also called for proposals to improve
the techniques to reduce the likelihood and consequences of accidents in tunnels. The search for specific
technologies should, in particular, concentrate on improving systems to contain or extinguish incipient
conflagrations, but above all to prevent these.

(2001/C 53 E/234)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-1723/00

by Mauro Nobilia (UEN) to the Commission

(20 May 2000)

Subject: Proposed amendment of Directive 97/67/EC of 15 December 1997

The proposal to amend Directive 97/67/EC (1) which is currently being discussed would entail substantial
reductions in weight/price limits and the total liberalisation of direct advertising and outgoing cross-border
mail while introducing the concept of (cid:145)special services(cid:146), which would include the delivery of normal mail
generated by means of the new technologies.

The charges made for universal postal services vary greatly from one Member State to another, partly for
structural reasons, and the proposal in question would threaten some systems(cid:146) capacity to sustain the
burden of providing a universal service, with the result that in countries such as Italy it would be
necessary,
for structural reasons, to provide some form of compensation at the expense of private
operators and/or the general taxpayer.

This being so:

(cid:129) To what extent has the Commission taken account of the European Parliament(cid:146)s resolutions (of
14 January 1999 and 18 February 2000) with regard to the need to produce the feasibility and
sustainability studies on which the liberalisation proposals are based and consult the various universal
service providers to consider the implications of the proposals under discussion?

(cid:129) Is the Commission aware that these proposals will favour the stronger Member States, which were
already at an advantage in structural terms when the first directive was issued and have been pursuing
a strategy of expansion for years, to the detriment of weaker Member States?