WRITTEN QUESTION E-1760/00 by Joaquim Miranda (GUE/NGL) to the Commission. Quality of water for human consumption on the Azores.
Date: 2000-05-31
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: Azores, Portugal, drinking water, infringement of EU law

6.3.2001

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 72 E/109

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

(19 July 2000)

The placing of underground electricity cables is not covered by Directive 85/337/EEC as amended by
Directive 97/11/EC (1).

However, in response to a complaint received recently the Commission will examine the environmental
impact of the whole DEI (public electricity company) project concerning energy transfer in the region.

(1) Council Directive 97/11/EC of 3 March 1997 amending Directive 85/337/EEC on the assessment of the effects of

certain public and private projects on the environment (OJ L 73, 14.3.1997).

(2001/C 72 E/136)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1752/00

by Mark Watts (PSE) to the Commission

(31 May 2000)

Subject: Numbers of persons holding licences to drive motor vehicles

Will the Commission please state

1. The total number of persons currently holding full

licences to drive motor vehicles,

in each EU

Member State,

2. The number of new full licences to drive motor vehicles issued in each EU Member State, in the most

recent year for which statistics are available.

Answer given by Mrs de Palacio on behalf of the Commission

(11 July 2000)

The Commission does not have a complete set of the relevant statistics, and indeed in some Member
States, where licences are or were issued locally, there are no complete statistics.

(2001/C 72 E/137)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1760/00

by Joaquim Miranda (GUE/NGL) to the Commission

Subject: Quality of water for human consumption on the Azores

(31 May 2000)

It has been reported that the Commission has urged the Portuguese authorities to take steps to ensure
compliance with Community legislation on the quality of water destined for human consumption on the
Azores. It appears that the Commission acted in response to an investigation carried out on the islands
which revealed that the standards laid down in Council Directive 80/778/EEC (1) were not being met.

Can the Commission:

1. Confirm these reports?

2.

If so, can it:

(cid:129) provide information on the terms and number of warnings already issued to the Portuguese

authorities (national and regional) in this connection;

(cid:129) outline the content of the opinion forwarded to the Portuguese authorities;

(cid:129) say what further action it intends to take on the matter?

(1) OJ L 229, 30.8.1980, p. 11.

C 72 E/110

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

6.3.2001

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

(11 July 2000)

The Commission would like to inform the Honourable Member that it has indeed asked the Portuguese
Government on several occasions to take the action needed to implement Directive 80/778/EEC of
15 July 1980 on the quality of water intended for human consumption (1) in the Azores Autonomous
Region.

As made public in its press release of 12 May 2000, the Commission is able to inform the Honourable
Member that the reasoned opinion of which it informed Portugal as part of infringement procedure No 98/
5083 concerned the failure of the Azores regional authorities to adopt the provisions needed in order to
implement Directive 80/778/EEC in the Autonomous Region and failure to keep to the limit values
provided for in the above-mentioned Directive in respect of the water intended for human consumption
used in the municipality of Ribeira Grande.

The Commission must point out to the Honourable Member that it attaches prime importance to the
proper implementation of the Directives on the quality of water for human consumption and that,
therefore, it will not cease to use all of the means available to it, and more particularly continuing with the
infringement procedure referred to above, in order to require the Portuguese authorities to take the action
needed in order correctly to implement Directive 80/778/EEC in the Azores Autonomous Region.

(1) OJ L 229, 30.8.1980; as last amended by OJ L 224, 3.9.1993.

(2001/C 72 E/138)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1761/00

by Daniela Raschhofer (NI) to the Commission

(31 May 2000)

Subject: Travel to the elections in Greece

Elections were held in Greece on 9 April 2000. Since Greek citizens living abroad may not vote by post,
Olympic Airways offered air tickets at greatly reduced prices to enable as many Greeks as possible to vote.

1.

Is the Commission aware of the above?

Can the Commission say whether the offer was valid for Greek citizens only or whether all Union

2.
citizens were able to purchase these reduced tickets?

Can the Commission indicate who paid the difference between the reduced and the ordinary fare and

3.
how much this amounted to?

4.

5.

On what routes was this offer available?

Does the Commission consider that this constituted a distortion of competition?

Answer given by Mrs de Palacio on behalf of the Commission

(18 July 2000)

Under Council Regulation (EEC) No 2409/92 of 23 July 1992 on fares and rates for air services (1), airlines
are free to set their own fares. Due to the fact that Greek citizens living abroad have to return to Greece to
vote, the Commission understands, from the information available, that this was a charter arrangement
between the airline and the political parties.