WRITTEN QUESTION E-1568/01 by Hiltrud Breyer (Verts/ALE) to the Commission. Application and amendment of Directives 96/82/EC and 96/61/EC.
Date: 2001-05-29
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: accident prevention, application of EU law, chemical accident, dangerous substance, industrial hazard

C 364 E/148

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

20.12.2001

(2001/C 364 E/163)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1562/01

by Stephen Hughes (PSE) to the Commission

(28 May 2001)

Subject: Information for project planning and evaluation

The EU funds a wide range of programmes involving the financing of projects in a number of policy areas.
Is there a central information resource for companies specialising in project planning and evaluation or is
the information dispersed across the range of directorates administering the programmes/projects?

If such a central resource is not available, will the Commission consider setting one up?

Answer given by Mrs Schreyer on behalf of the Commission

(31 July 2001)

Project financing awarded by the Commission is generally done as part of a programme which has its own
legal framework and which is managed by an operational Directorate General in charge of the policy
area in question. Management or databases for project planning or evaluation are decentralised tasks,
where project appraisals are carried out by the responsible Directorates-General. The Commission
publishes an annual evaluation report, which is accessible on the europa website (http://europa.eu.int/
comm/budget/evaluation/en.index.htm).

To help organisations that are interested in applying for project financing (grants) from the Commission,
the Commission manages a database covering information on all grants awarded by the different
departments. This database can also be of use for firms offering services for project planning and
evaluation.

As for the question of the Honourable Member regarding plans for putting up a database, the (cid:145)grant
management(cid:146) web site already provides co-ordinated information to the public on all Commission
subsidies (which in most cases take the form of (cid:145)project financing(cid:146)); as in any similar organisation the
planning and appraisal of projects for selection for financing is part of
the Commission(cid:146)s internal
management task, sometimes with the help of executive committees, made up of representatives of
Member States.

The Official Journal is the main source for firms (or any member of the public) to find about what services
the Commission is intending to buy for project planning or evaluation, through calls for tender and calls
for expressions of interest. The Commission has also published an open call for expressions of interest for
companies that are interested in offering services for evaluation. The list of companies established on this
basis can be used by all Commission services. Information concerning this open call is available on the
above mentioned web site.

(2001/C 364 E/164)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1568/01

by Hiltrud Breyer (Verts/ALE) to the Commission

(29 May 2001)

Subject: Application and amendment of Directives 96/82/EC and 96/61/EC

Investigations into the explosion at the fireworks factory in Enschede on 13 May 2000 led to the
conclusion that:

(cid:129) Annex I to Directive 96/82/EC (1) does not make it clear that figure 4 also covers fireworks materials,

(cid:129) the (cid:145)special risks(cid:146) section in Directive 67/548/EEC (2) is not by itself adequate for the assessment of the

hazards arising from fireworks materials,

(cid:129) the requirements for the establishment, operation and monitoring of fireworks factories vary from one

Member State to another.

20.12.2001

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 364 E/149

1. Will the objective of Directive 96/82/EC be attained if hazardous substances, when used, are also
taken into account if they constitute parts of products or substances and/or are such themselves (not only
in the case of fireworks materials)?

Does the Commission deem it appropriate to change the reference in Annex I to Directive 96/82/EC
2.
in such as way that hazardous substances and preparations should also be taken into account if they
constitute parts of products or substances and/or are such themselves? If not, why not?

Does the Commission see any possibility, when it renews Directive 96/82/EC, of supplementing
3.
Annex I to Directive 96/61/EC (3) in such a way that that Directive also applies to factories where explosive
substances, preparations and products, etc. are produced, processed, stored or destroyed, so that
a document may be drawn up setting out uniform safety, authorisation and inspection requirements for
such factories based on best practice technology?

(1) OJ L 10, 14.1.1997, p. 13.
(2) OJ B 196, 16.8.1967, p. 1 (p. 234 of the 1967 Special Edition).
(3) OJ L 257, 10.10.1996, p. 26.

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

(24 July 2001)

Council Directive 96/82/EC of 9 December 1996 on the control of major-accident hazards involving
1.
dangerous substances (hereafter Seveso II Directive) applies to establishments where explosive substances
are present in quantities of 50 or more tonnes, as set out in Annex I, Part 2, No 4 of the Directive.
According to Note 2 (a) to Annex I, Part 2, the term (cid:145)explosive(cid:146) covers, amongst others, substances or
mixtures of substances designated to produce heat, light, sound, gas or smoke or a combination of such
effects through non-detonating self-sustained exothermic chemical reactions (pyrotechnic substances) and
pyrotechnic substances or preparations contained in objects. Furthermore, Article 3, No 4 defines the term
(cid:145)dangerous substance(cid:146) as meaning, inter alia, a substance, mixture or preparation present as a raw material,
product, by-product, residue or intermediate.

Therefore, the Commission considers that the Seveso II Directive also covers hazardous substances that
constitute parts of products or preparations.

As already explained in the answer to the previous question, the Commission considers that the
2.
Seveso II Directive already covers hazardous substances that constitute parts of products or preparations.
However, in the light of the (cid:145)Enschede accident(cid:146), the Seveso II Directive needs to be amended.

Although the company Fireworks SE had an operating licence for 159 tonnes of
the
establishment did not come under the Seveso II Directive. This is due to the fact that the calculation of
the qualifying quantities only takes the presence of pyrotechnic substances into account,
i.e. not the
packaging, etc. In the case of Fireworks SE, these added up to around 48 tonnes, just short of qualifying
the establishment as a (cid:145)lower tier(cid:146) establishment under the Directive.

fireworks,

Following the accident, the Commission organised two seminars on explosives and pyrotechnic substances
that were held at Marseille on 27 September 2000 and at the Joint Research Centre (JRC) of the
Commission at Ispra/Italy on 28/29 March 2001. Summary reports of the seminars can be received from
the Major Accident Hazards Bureau (MAHB) established within JRC (http://mahbsrv.jrc.it).

The reports suggest to make use of the classification system operated under the United Nations European
Agreement concerning the International Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Road (UN/ADR) for the purposes
of defining the scope of the Seveso II Directive and to significantly decrease the qualifying quantities for
explosive and pyrotechnic substances with a mass explosion hazard. On the other hand, the reports
acknowledge that the classification of explosive and pyrotechnic substances itself is treated differently in
different Member States and that imported explosive and pyrotechnic products are often incorrectly
classified and labelled.

C 364 E/150

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

20.12.2001

The reports, together with comments from the various stakeholders from industry, public authorities and
environmental organisations received during a public consultation process on a draft proposal
for
a Directive amending the Seveso II Directive, will constitute an important input for the Commission
services in order to revise the draft proposal. Its adoption by the Commission is scheduled for September
2001.

3.
Council Directive 96/61/EC of 24 September 1996, concerning integrated pollution prevention and
control (hereafter IPPC Directive) does cover the production of explosives in so far as it is part of chemical
industry, and it can be expected that the ongoing exchange of information on best available techniques for
include the relevant chemical processes. However, a typical
prevention and control of emissions will
installation that produces and/or stores fireworks would not be covered by this Directive.

The Commission has doubts as to the usefulness of covering these activities under the IPPC Directive as
reference documents on the best available techniques developed under this directive mainly focus on
emission control. Authorisation and inspection issues are not subject of these documents. The Commission
believes that the Seveso II Directive is the most appropriate instrument for major-accident hazard control
in facilities where explosive and pyrotechnic substances and materials are produced and stored.

(2001/C 364 E/165)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1574/01

by Luciana Sbarbati (ELDR) to the Commission

(1 June 2001)

Subject: Waste disposal: public health issues and environmental impact

In Italy waste disposal is becoming an ever greater problem. With a view to dealing with potential threats
to public health in some regions, thought is being given to transferring waste to neighbouring regions. The
Marche region has been asked to take in 30 000 tonnes of waste from Campania.

Even inside Europe toxic waste is being transferred from one country to another, with convoys
transporting such waste being allowed to pass through built-up areas. Permission is being granted to
bury huge quantities of all types of waste with no proper assessment being made of the damage this may
cause to groundwater tables and public health. The preliminary checks carried out are inadequate and the
disinfection measures used for foot-and-mouth cases were not subjected to any form of coordination in the
various EU Member States.

Things have reached such a pitch that this situation is seriously endangering both public health and the
environment.

Given the above, does the Commission intend to:

1.

2.

3.

step up awareness-raising action and exchanges of good practice with a view to contributing towards
real improvements on the waste front, rather than restricting itself to producing legislation which is
ineffectual;

encourage the sorting of waste and support research and the waste-recycling industry with a view to
ensuring that waste is converted into raw materials or alternative energy sources;

lay down penalties for those who, by refusing to take practical steps to solve the problem and passing
on responsibility to others or by speculating on the sale of certain types of toxic waste, contribute to
the development of an (cid:145)ecomafia(cid:146), and punish those who,
in order to qualify for aid, transfer
hazardous materials from one country to another,
thus endangering public health and causing
environmental damage?