WRITTEN QUESTION E-0371/01 by Reinhold Messner (Verts/ALE) to the Commission. Brescia-Padova motorway concession company and the Valdastico motorway.
Date: 2001-02-15
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: Italy, application of EU law, contract, exchange of information, management, motorway, organisation, public contract, public institution, service concession

21.8.2001

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Official Journal of the European Communities

C 235 E/189

Relex Service) and some of the staff of the Directorate-General for External Relations and the Directorate-
General for Development.

The six directors of the former SCR, a director from the Directorate-General
for Development and
a principal adviser administratively attached to the Directorate-General for Administration and due for
reassignment were redeployed and assigned to the new administrative body in the interests of the service.

The Commission is aware of the present situation regarding gender balance in the Office. Every effort is
being made to apply equal opportunities policy when filling vacant posts, particularly at middle manage-
ment level, in the Office.

(1) SEC(2000) 814.

(2001/C 235 E/222)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0370/01

by Antonio Tajani (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(14 February 2001)

Subject: The common organisation of the market in flax

Is the President of the Commission aware that since 1993 in Spain, following the Constitutional Court(cid:146)s
judgment of 28 May 1992 in Case 79/92, scrutiny of the documents concerned, and the granting and
monitoring of subsidies deriving from the common organisation of the market in flax fall within the
exclusive competence of the regional authorities of the Autonomous Communities of Spain?

Does the President of the Commission know that the report addressed to OLAF on 19 December by the
prosecutor with special responsibility for the case of flax in Spain mentions several times that since 1993
scrutiny of the documents concerned, and the granting and monitoring of subsidies deriving from the
common organisation of the market in flax has fallen within the exclusive competence of the regional
authorities of the Autonomous Communities of Spain?

Answer given by Mr Prodi on behalf of the Commission

(28 March 2001)

Yes, the Commission is aware that, in accordance with the division of responsibilities characteristic of
Spanish law, the granting and monitoring of the payment of subsidies deriving from the common
organisation of the flax market fall within the exclusive competence of the regional authorities of the
Autonomous Communities of Spain. The special prosecutor(cid:146)s report mentions this division. That said, in
the Commission always deals formally with the central
its relations with the national authorities,
authorities even if this means that these authorities have to deal in turn with the authorities under whose
jurisdiction the matter comes.

(2001/C 235 E/223)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0371/01

by Reinhold Messner (Verts/ALE) to the Commission

(15 February 2001)

Subject: Brescia-Padova motorway concession company and the Valdastico motorway

Last May, without having issued a public call for tenders, the agreement between the company holding the
concession for the Brescia-Padova motorway and the Azienda Nazionale Autonoma Strade (ANAS), the
public agency responsible for managing Italy(cid:146)s national road network, was extended for a further nine
years (until 2011).

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Under the (cid:145)Ciampi-Costa(cid:146) directive (1) motorway concessions may be extended, by way of exception, only
in order to settle existing disputes (failure to adjust charges, recognition of the work carried out in
connection with the 1990 World Cup and the Columbus celebrations in 1992 and any other disputes on
which the opinion of the State legal advisory office must be requested).
In this case, however, the
justification put forward for the extension was the construction of new motorway links, including the
A31 (cid:145)Valdastico motorway(cid:146) which would link Vicenza to Rovigo (A4-A31 interchange) by a 60-km road
link. This motorway is additional to the Valtrompia motorway, which is also included in the Brescia-
Padova concession company(cid:146)s financial plan and was the subject of my earlier question to the Commission
(4047/00) (2).

Does the Commission not consider that the renewal of this concession is incompatible with Directives 92/
50/EEC, 93/37/EEC and 89/440/EEC (3)?

Does the Commission consider it admissible to justify this extension, without a public call for tenders
being issued, on the basis of a transfer of investment to the construction of a new motorway?

Irrespective of the need for a road axis through the valley in question, does the Commission not consider
that accepting such a policy of exchanges between concession holders and the public authorities in favour
of new motorways undermines the priority objective of redressing the balance between road and rail
transport in the European Union?

(1) Directive of the Minister of Public Works and the Minsiter for the Treasury, the Budget and Economic Planning of

20 October 1998, Protocol No 011790 of the Ministry for the Treasury.

(2) The investments authorised under the concession company(cid:146)s financial plan amount to a total of ITL 2466 billion

(€ 1 273 million).

(3) Published in OJ L 209, 24.7.1992, OJ L 199, 9.8.1993 and OJ L 210, 21.7.1989.

Answer given by Mr Bolkestein on behalf of the Commission

(5 April 2001)

The question put by the Honourable Member comes under the more general framework of the procedure
for granting motorway concessions in the various Member States. The Commission has asked all Member
States to provide detailed information of their position in this respect.

The Commission is in the process of examining information provided by the authorities in Italy and in the
other Member States, so as to establish a coherent position for all the motorway concessions in the
Community, bearing in mind the considerable economic implications involved.

The Commission intends to ask the Italian authorities for all information needed to assess whether the
public contracts for the construction of a new motorway link between Vicenza and Rovigo and the
extension of the concession to the company holding the concession for the Brescia-Padova motorway to
which the Honourable Member refers comply with Community law. If, on examining this information, the
Commission finds that the procedures followed are incompatible with Community law, it may be relied
upon to draw appropriate conclusions.

As regards the impact of extending concessions on redressing the balance between road and rail transport,
as a general rule the Commission considers it preferable for direct users of the infrastructure to bear the
cost of its use. However, in its preparation of the White Paper on the Common Transport Policy, which is
shortly to be adopted, the Commission is examining measures to redress the balance between road and rail
transport in the Community, in particular, by revising the rules on charges and financing the infrastruc-
ture. One particular point to emerge, in cases where agreements on financing the rail infrastructure are
attached to the extension of concessions, is that such arrangements may indeed help to redress the balance
between road and rail transport.

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Moreover, as already pointed out to the Honourable Member in response to Written Question No P-4047/
00, the Commission would stress that the extension of a motorway concession by a public body, possibly
in breach of Community rules on the award of public contracts, must also be examined in the light of
Community rules governing state aid in the transport sector, where the beneficiary of the operation is not
required to bear the same risks as private investors in a market economy.

(2001/C 235 E/224)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0372/01

by Reinhold Messner (Verts/ALE) to the Commission

(15 February 2001)

Subject: Extension of the concession granted to Autostrade SpA

Further to my earlier Questions, E-2293/99 (1) and E-1457/00 (2):

(cid:129) Has the (cid:145)independent(cid:146) committee responsible for managing the award of public works contracts in

connection with the concession granted to Autotrade SpA actually been set up?

(cid:129) Is that committee truly independent and impartial, as required by the Commission, given that it
appears to include two representatives nominated by ANAS (the Italian roads agency) and one by
Autostrade SpA?

(cid:129) What action does the Commission intend to take to ensure compliance with the conditions laid down
in its letter of 30 July 1998 to the Italian government if it transpires that the above information
concerning the membership of this (cid:145)independent(cid:146) committee is correct?

(cid:129) Does the Commission agree that the extension of the concession, on the grounds that it was necessary
to cover the cost of works that had not been paid for and other contentious issues, was in fact an
administrative act accorded in exchange for investment in new infrastructures?

It should be noted that the concession provides for new investment of around ITL 8 400 billion, 5 600
billion of which are allocated to upgrading the whole Florence-Bologna section (34 km), although the
government agreements of July 1996 authorised only the construction of the Aglio-Canova section and the
improvement of the Florence (North) (cid:129) Florence (South) section.

(1) OJ C 225 E, 8.8.2000, p. 89.
(2) OJ C 53 E, 20.2.2001, p. 144.

Answer given by Mr Bolkestein on behalf of the Commission

(3 April 2001)

In a letter of 25 May 2000, the Commission asked the Italian authorities for information about the
independent committee referred to by the Honourable Member, in order to ensure that the committee(cid:146)s
commitments to impartiality and independence are respected. The authorities only responded to this letter
on 18 December 2000.

The Italian authorities have communicated that they plan to establish three independent committees that
will be responsible for the award of Autostrade S.p.A. public works contracts on the basis of geographical
the Italian
responsibility. The aforementioned committees have yet
authorities have stated that a draft decree for the appointment of committee members has already been
prepared and have given an assurance that the members will be chosen from amongst competent and
independent persons from the licensing authority as well as the license-holder,
in order to guarantee
a maximum level of impartiality in the award procedures.

to be established. Nevertheless,

In all cases, the Commission reserves the right to initiate the infringement procedure laid down in Article
226 (ex Article 169) of the EC Treaty if the commitments made by the Italian authorities to which the
Honourable Member refers are not respected.