WRITTEN QUESTION E-0468/01 by Christopher Heaton-Harris (PPE-DE) to the Commission. Reform of the Commission.
Date: 2001-02-20
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: European Commission, administrative reform, deadline for payment, invoicing

C 261 E/122

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

18.9.2001

(2001/C 261 E/130)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0468/01

by Christopher Heaton-Harris (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(20 February 2001)

Subject: Reform of the Commission

Has the actual time taken to check and pay an invoice increased or decreased since the implementation of
the Register of Invoices?

What is the current average time delay between receipt and payment of invoices?

What time delay is the Commission aiming for?

Answer given by Mrs Schreyer on behalf of the Commission

(17 April 2001)

is planned that

the information system for registering invoices common to all services of

It
the
Commission will be available for use as from 1 July 2001. This date is stated in Action 11 in Part II of
the White Paper (cid:145)Reforming the Commission(cid:146) adopted on 1 March 2000 (1). In the meantime the services
continue to use their own individual systems.

The average time delay between receipt and payment of invoices in the year 2000 was 50,2 days.

By 2002 the Commission is aiming to make 95 % of its payments within 60 days of receipt of a valid
request for payment. This aim is stated in Action 10.

(1) COM(2000) 200 final.

(2001/C 261 E/131)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0470/01

by Pere Esteve (ELDR) to the Commission

(21 February 2001)

Subject: Construction of a sewage treatment plant in Mallorca

Plans have been drawn up to build a large sewage treatment plant in the Prat de Sant Jordi area of the
municipality of Palma de Mallorca on the island of Mallorca, designated an area of unspoiled nature under
Law 4/1987 on conservation of the countryside and other specific laws. The choice of this for the project
in question is illegal and contrary to the environmental impact assessment carried out by the construction
company itself.

The planned construction site is less than 400 metres away from the communities of Sant Jordi and
S(cid:146)Aranjassa and is therefore in breach of Royal Decree 2414/61 approving a regulation on activities
involving inconvenience, health risks, harm or danger. Article 4 of that regulation stipulates that such
activities must be undertaken at a distance of at least 2 000 metres from any populated area.

For its part, the Ministry of the Environment is presenting the construction project as extension work.
However, this is far from being the case, since the project does not provide for any kind of link with the
existing plant and uses a different site set apart from the latter. Furthermore, there are no plans to carry
out structural or technical alterations to the existing plant or to the machinery already in place.

The environmental report commissioned by the construction company has found that putting the planned
plant into operation will result in an increase of up to 80 decibels in noise levels, further unpleasant
odours and a rise in the mosquito population, with the potential to provoke physical and psychological
illnesses amongst local residents.