WRITTEN QUESTION P-1002/01 by Francisca Sauquillo Pérez del Arco (PSE) to the Commission. Reconstruction work in El Salvador.
Date: 2001-03-21
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: EU aid, El Salvador, earthquake, emergency aid

C 318 E/176

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

13.11.2001

(cid:129) requires appropriate information and advice to be given to consumers;

(cid:129) provides for restrictions to or interruption of the water supply if the latter constitutes a potential

threat to human health.

Does the Commission not consider that, in the case of La Vila Joisa, Directive 80/778/EC is once again
being infringed in the Valencia region?

(1) OJ L 229, 30.8.1980, p. 11.
(2) OJ L 45, 19.2.1999, p. 55.

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

(21 May 2001)

The Commission was not aware of the situation referred to by the Honourable Member.

The Community legislation which could be applicable in this case is Council Directive 80/778/EEC of
15 July 1980 relating to the quality of water intended for human consumption (1).

It should be noted that Directive 80/778/EEC will be replaced by Council Directive 98/83/EC of
3 November 1998 (2). The time limit for the transposition of this Directive expired on 25 December 2000.
The provisions of the new Directive must be applied by the Member States by 25 December 2003 at the
latest.

Both these Directives oblige the Member States to take the necessary measures to ensure that the quality of
water intended for human consumption meets the requirements laid down therein.

The Commission has asked the Spanish authorities to comment on the situation reported by the
Honourable Member in her written question, in order to ensure that the relevant Community legislation is
observed in this instance.

(1) OJ L 229, 30.8.1980.
(2) OJ L 330, 5.12.1998.

(2001/C 318 E/190)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-1002/01

by Francisca Sauquillo PØrez del Arco (PSE) to the Commission

Subject: Reconstruction work in El Salvador

(21 March 2001)

The earthquakes which have hit El Salvador in recent months have caused the death of 1 127 people,
injured a further 7 660, damaged 309 988 homes and left 1 497 556 people homeless. Although the
Commission is aware of the need for further emergency and reconstruction aid, there is due cause for
concern about the amount and provenance of the funds involved and the quality of the projects for which
they are earmarked.

Does the Commission consider € 8 million to be an adequate response to the emergency aid and
reconstruction needs, or will it be releasing new funds specifically intended for earthquake aid, over and
above those already earmarked for El Salvador as part of the Hurricane Mitch aid package?

Furthermore, given the additional risk that
the temporary housing built under the emergency aid
programme is not designed to withstand any further natural disasters, and in accordance with the findings
of the assessment made by the El Salvador rapid reaction unit and the mission of rehabilitation and
infrastructure experts, can ECHO undertake to provide funding for forms of emergency housing which can
then be gradually upgraded to permanent accommodation?

At the same time, is ECHO aware that the temporary housing funded by European humanitarian aid is
being used as permanent housing, with all the risks which this entails?

13.11.2001

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 318 E/177

Answer given by Mr Nielson on behalf of the Commission

(24 April 2001)

The Commission took an initial decision on an emergency contribution of € 2 million followed by a second
decision to grant € 8 million. Depending on how the situation develops, the Community(cid:146)s Humanitarian
Aid Office (ECHO) may supplement its emergency aid. Other Commission departments may contribute
under the heading of post-emergency rehabilitation. For development assistance purposes, the Commission
implements projects targeted at the reconstruction of infrastructure such as hospitals and schools. The
Member of the Commission responsible for development assistance visited El Salvador from 25 to
30 March.

The proposed temporary shelters are made of materials which can generally be reused for the building of
permanent housing. At the same time, training and technical assistance activities are being set up in order
to support and encourage the population(cid:146)s efforts to rebuild permanent housing. All these operations form
part of a more wide-ranging strategy,
including improved access to primary health care, psychosocial
support, access to water and basic sanitation.

ECHO is aware that the temporary accommodation may end up being used as permanent housing. The
extent of requirements in this sector makes technical decisions and the choice of beneficiaries extremely
complex, especially as, unfortunately, the most vulnerable sections of the population live in high-risk areas
or do not always have access to land. The main objective of ECHO in this six-month intervention is to
cover the beneficiary population(cid:146)s basic requirements. Despite the extent of the disaster, we have witnessed
in the field these people(cid:146)s dynamism and ability to cope and ECHO is taking care to allocate humanitarian
aid in such a way as to avoid undermining this very dynamism.

(2001/C 318 E/191)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1003/01

by Stavros Xarchakos (PPE-DE) to the Commission

Subject: Treasures from the Kushan tombs in Afghanistan

(30 March 2001)

The criminal acts recently perpetrated by the Taliban government in Afghanistan are the most dramatic
proof of the danger facing the cultural treasures located on Afghan territory. The Greek archaeologist
Viktoras Sariyannidis has carried out excavations in the Tilla-Tepe region at the foot of A(cid:239)-Ha(cid:239)noum hill in
northern Afghanistan, a region previously excavated by the French archaeologist Bernard who had found
a perfect miniature Greek city, one of the 1 000 cities founded in ancient Bactria by Alexander the Great
and his successors.

At the end of the 1980s the Greek archaeologist had discovered at the foot of this hill the tombs of five
Kushan leaders together with 25 000 golden and other precious objects. He handed these objects over to
the Afghan State to be preserved at Kabul Museum.

After the excesses committed by the Taliban there is now concern about the fate of this very important
cultural treasure which sheds light on the history of one of the main junctions on the ancient Silk Road
between China and Spain and gives us valuable information about the culture which flourished there after
the passage of Alexander the Great and his successors who spread Greek (cid:129) and thus European (cid:129) culture
in Asia.

Will the Commission say whether it has any information about the fate of this treasure since the recent
actions by the Taliban? Could the European Union buy up this treasure to save it from the destructive
frenzy of fanatical Islamic fundamentalists?

Answer given by Mr Patten on behalf of the Commission

(7 May 2001)

The Commission currently has no information on the fate of the specific objects referred to by the
Honourable Member. There have been recent reports coming out of Afghanistan of exhibits in the Kabul
Museum being destroyed by the Taliban. However, the Commission has had no confirmation of this.