WRITTEN QUESTION E-1599/00 by Antonio Tajani (PPE-DE) to the Commission. Construction of a thermal power plant in Montalto di Castro.
Date: 2000-05-23
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: EU environmental policy, Latium, air quality, location of industry, power plant

20.3.2001

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 89 E/57

(2001/C 89 E/055)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1593/00

by Isidoro SÆnchez Garc(cid:237)a (ELDR) to the Commission

(19 May 2000)

Subject: Breakdown of the Interreg III Community initiative by Member State and outermost region

Will the Commission say what amounts have been distributed to each Member State and outermost region
from the funds provided for under sections B and C of the Interreg III Community initiative?

Answer given by Mr Barnier on behalf of the Commission

(26 June 2000)

initiative (1).
On 28 April 2000 the Commission adopted guidelines for the Community Interreg III
The table below shows the indicative financial breakdown by Member State, calculated on the basis of
objective criteria.

Member State

Indicative breakdown
(1999 prices)

(€ million)

Belgium
Denmark
Germany
Greece
Spain
France
Ireland
Italy
Luxembourg
Netherlands
Austria
Portugal
Finland
Sweden
United Kingdom

Network

104
34
737
568
900
397
84
426
7
349
183
394
129
154
362

47

15 Member States

4 875

The amounts allocated by Member State must be assigned in accordance with the following breakdown:
50 %-80 % of the total appropriation for strand A of Interreg III (cross-border cooperation), 14 %-44 % for
strand B (transnational cooperation), and 6 % for strand C (interregional cooperation).

The most remote regions (the French overseas departments, the Canary Islands, the Azores and Madeira)
are eligible for strands B and C of Interreg III.

The financial breakdown within Member States will depend on the national authorities(cid:146) decisions, which
have not yet been notified to the Commission.

(1) OJ C 143, 23.5.2000.

(2001/C 89 E/056)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1599/00

by Antonio Tajani (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(23 May 2000)

Subject: Construction of a thermal power plant in Montalto di Castro

Given that the district of Montalto di Castro already has a large energy production facility (7400 MW,
equal to 14 % of total national production), which has a considerable impact on the coast of Latium,

C 89 E/58

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

20.3.2001

will the Commission say whether the building of a thermal power plant at Pian dei Gangani (Montalto di
Castro) proposed by Elettro Ambiente spa, a member of the Enel group, a project overwhelmingly rejected
by the Latium region, would be in breach of EEC rules on the subject?

The plant would be fuelled by biomass and CDR with a power of 14 MW, a fuel derived from waste which
could produce dangerous emissions.

What will the Commission do to protect public health and the environment and safeguard business and
tourist activities in the area, while ensuring that the region of Montalto di Castro is not further exposed to
harmful emissions, in line with the appeals made on various occasions by the Province of Viterbo to
different Community bodies?

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

(5 July 2000)

The aspect concerning the prevention of air pollution from a plant which is still at the project stage is to
be considered in the framework of the Community environmental
impact assessment (EIA) legislation
Council Directive 85/337/EEC on the assessment of the effects of certain public and private projects on the
environment (1) as amended by Directive 97/11/EC (2).
In particular, Article 1 of Directive 97/11/EC
provides that Member States shall adopt all measures necessary to ensure that, before consent is given,
projects likely to have significant effects on the environment by virtue of their nature, size or location are
made subject to a requirement for development consent and an assessment with regard to their effects. Air
pollution is among the impacts to be assessed.

The project to which the Honourable Member makes reference appears to be one of the classes listed
under Annex II of Directive 97/11/EC. Article 4, paragraph 2, of this directive states that subject to
Article 2(3), for projects listed in Annex II, the Member States shall determine through a case-by-case
examination, or thresholds or criteria set by the Member State whether the project shall be made subject to
an assessment in accordance with Articles 5 to 10.

However, as reported by the Honourable Member, the regional authorities have rejected the project.
Therefore, the Commission considers that, at present, there are no grounds for intervention in this specific
case. Should the project be approved in the future without taking appropriate account of the Community
EIA directives, a breach of Community law will occur and, according to the EC Treaty, the Commission
will be entitled to intervene.

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

(2001/C 89 E/057)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1600/00

by Erik Meijer (GUE/NGL) to the Commission

(19 May 2000)

Subject: Public disclosure of decision-making on interest rates (cid:129) applying the British model to the

European Central Bank

1.
Has the Commission taken note of the current strong position of the Pound sterling relative to the
euro, having regard to the latter(cid:146)s recent steep fall in value (from 71 pence on its launch date to 59 pence)?

2.
Public interest in changes in interest rates and in how such changes are determined has played an
important part in the recent jockeying for a dominant position as an international trading currency
between the euro, the pound sterling and the US dollar. In the US Federal Reserve the decision is taken by
one person, whereas in the European Central Bank the decision is a collective one, arrived at in deepest