WRITTEN QUESTION P-0070/01 by Joost Lagendijk (Verts/ALE) to the Commission. Use of depleted uranium ammunition in the Balkans.
Date: 2001-01-18
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: European official, fact-finding mission, firearms and munitions, health risk, occupational health, radioactive pollution, war damage

13.11.2001

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 318 E/25

Answer given by Mr Verheugen on behalf of the Commission

(15 February 2001)

Improvements in the human rights situation in Turkey are indeed required in the framework of Turkey(cid:146)s
preparation for accession to the Union. The Accession Partnership (AP) for Turkey adopted by the
Commission on 8 November 2000 (1) sets out priorities in this respect. The implementation of those
priorities by Turkey would clearly improve the situation of all Turkish citizens irrespective of their origin.

As to the situation of refugees (cid:129) whether or not of Kurdish origin (cid:129), the Justice and Home Affairs (cid:145)acquis(cid:146)
clearly states the obligations for membership in this respect. In particular, this includes the lifting of the
geographical reservation to the 1951 Geneva Convention, to create a legal obligation to exercise all asylum
claims whatever the geographical origin of the asylum seeker. Asylum in general has been one of the
subjects of a mission of Union experts that took place in September 2000 to Turkey in the field of Justice
and Home Affairs. On this occasion, experts on asylum insisted on the importance of this dimension and
identified a number of shortcomings and potential fields of financial co-operation that will soon be
discussed with Turkey to support the practical consequences of the implementation of such a major
change in asylum legislation in Turkey. The question of refugees is also addressed by the AP, which
notably calls for the development of accommodation facilities and social support for refugees in Turkey.

(1) COM(2000) 714 final.

(2001/C 318 E/026)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-0070/01

by Joost Lagendijk (Verts/ALE) to the Commission

Subject: Use of depleted uranium ammunition in the Balkans

(18 January 2001)

Was the European Commission informed, as were the NATO Member States and aid organisations active
in the Balkans, by NATO in July 1999 of the (cid:145)possible toxic risk(cid:146) associated with the use of depleted-
uranium ammunition (1)?

If so, what action has the European Commission taken to protect its staff present in the Balkans against
possible harmful effects?

If not, will the Commission now be prepared, on the basis of the information that has recently come to
light, to take action to protect Commission staff in the Balkans?

Does the Commission agree that it should, in view of its activities in the Balkans, play a part in the
international inquiry that has been announced?

Does the Commission share the position not only that the international
inquiry must investigate the
possible effects of depleted uranium on the health of NATO personnel, but also that the impact on the
health of local communities in the affected areas visited by UNEP (2) must be investigated to an equivalent
standard?

(1)
(2)

(cid:145)NRC Handelsblad(cid:146) for 8 January and (cid:145)Berliner Morgenpost(cid:146) for 7 and 8 January 2001.
(cid:145)Le Monde(cid:146) 6 January 2001.

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

(20 February 2001)

The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation(NATO)recently confirmed that ammunition containing depleted
uranium had been used. The Commission was already aware of the potential toxic risks of this, notably
through the provisional report of the United Nations (UNEP) of October 1999, essentially based on
extrapolations from the data known after such weapons had been used in the Gulf.

C 318 E/26

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

13.11.2001

The Commission appreciates the worry this might cause for staff sent to the Balkans on mission and its
associates in the region, and has taken the necessary steps to inform those involved as to the nature of the
risk and to carry out the analyses and examinations needed if the risk is confirmed.

The group of experts set up under Article 31 of the Euratom Treaty will soon be making a statement on
the possible radiological risk. The Commission is also in close contact with all
the international
organisations which have begun enquiries and studies on the matter.

(2001/C 318 E/027)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0077/01

by Erik Meijer (GUE/NGL) to the Commission

(29 January 2001)

Subject: The threat of a major air disaster because of shrinking capacity for civil aviation

1.
Can the Commission confirm that the (cid:145)Single European Sky(cid:146) report which it and the Council will
receive in late January gives serious cause for concern at the move from near disasters towards real
disasters, because air traffic control authorities no longer have an overview of all the consequences of their
actions, there will be a growing shortage of air traffic controllers, there is pressure to land before runways
are clear and in an overfull air space it is not possible to increase the intervals between successive
landings?

2.
To what extent, in the Commission(cid:146)s opinion, are these problems the result of an unresolved power
struggle between different air traffic control bodies and conflicting ideas about their territory and their
responsibilities? What solution does the Commission feel it can support?

Based on the capacity of the air space above the Member States of the European Union which, given
3.
the current technical state of air traffic control, can be used safely if all military restrictions persisting since
the end of the Cold War are removed, can the Commission say what percentage of this capacity is
currently actually used for civil aviation?

4. What is the percentage use of the capacity which can be used safely, as referred to in the previous
question, if the military restrictions continuing after the end of the Cold War are maintained?

In the twentieth century it was generally assumed that the capacity for growth in long-distance
5.
transport was limited on land and unlimited in the air, but that appears to be increasingly untrue. In the
Commission(cid:146)s view, what are the future limits on the volume of air traffic (cid:129) assuming the requirements of
full safety and that achieving that level of safety does not lie in a further increase in the area taken up by
airports and greater noise pollution?

6.
Does the Commission view the report as a reason, in future assessments of developments in air
transport, to lay less emphasis one-sidedly on complaints about flight delays and lengthening of travelling
time or on the economic interests and growth expectations of regions around airports, and to concentrate
more on the limits of the available capacity which have to be taken into account in order to continue to
maintain a high level of safety?

Answer given by Mrs de Palacio on behalf of the Commission

(13 March 2001)

Owing to the major delays caused by the lack of air traffic controllers noted in 1999 the
1.
Commission set up a High Level Group of representatives of the national civil and military air traffic
control authorities. That Group delivered its report in November 2000. The report has provided the
pointers needed in order to boost air traffic control for the purpose of consolidating safety and improving
performance. One may list, among the intended measures, the development of a regulatory approach
enabling more assurances to be given as regards compliance with safety standards, together with incentives