WRITTEN QUESTION E-2395/01 by Erik Meijer (GUE/NGL) to the Commission. Inadequate monitoring of scrap metal for radioactive materials during transport, storage and processing.
Date: 2001-08-20
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: International Atomic Energy Agency, metal waste, occupational health, proposal (EU), public health, radiation protection, radioactive waste, report, waste recycling

C 134 E/28

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

6.6.2002

Will the Commission, therefore, say:

(cid:18) what the tax situation is in regard to the owners of houses and plots of land in the individual Member

States,

(cid:18) what European rules there are concerning the taxation of owners of houses and plots of land,

(cid:18) whether it monitors and verifies the individual Member States’ tax arrangements, and

(cid:18) where I can obtain more detailed information on the tax situation in the Member States?

Answer given by Mr Bolkestein on behalf of the Commission

(12 October 2001)

When talking about taxation of land and real estate, we need to distinguish between direct taxes and
indirect taxes.

Taking direct taxation of land and real estate first, there is no Community legislation in this field. National
legislation in this regard nevertheless needs to be compatible with the principles of Community legislation
on non-discrimination between, and free movement of, individuals and capital. Since this is not an area in
which there is harmonisation, the Commission is not in a position to look at information provided directly
by the Member States regarding their current legislation to monitor the situation routinely.

Moving on to indirect taxation, the common value-added tax (VAT) rules, based on the Sixth Directive
(Council Directive 77/388/EEC of 17 May 1977 on the harmonisation of the laws of the Member States
relating to turnover taxes (1)) give the Member States substantial discretion in defining the taxation
arrangements for real-estate transactions.

The transitional options and provisions in this field for which the Sixth Directive provided have resulted in
rules which vary widely between the Member States. In 1997, the Commission published an in-depth
study on the application of VAT to the real-estate sector (2).

Two summary tables setting out the situation with regard to direct and indirect taxes on owner-occupied
property, on new housing and buildings and on land are being forwarded direct to the Honourable
Member and to Parliament’s Secretariat. The tables illustrate the differences in national legislation.

(1) OJ L 145, 13.6.1977.
(2) European Commission, Directorate General Taxation and Customs UnionStudy on the application of Value Added

Tax to the property sector (cid:18) Arthur Andersen, 1997.

(2002/C 134 E/029)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2395/01

by Erik Meijer (GUE/NGL) to the Commission

(20 August 2001)

Subject: Inadequate monitoring of scrap metal for radioactive materials during transport, storage and

processing

1.
Is the Commission aware that cargoes of scrap metal, i.e. iron and steel waste for reuse, on board
ships still sometimes include constituents containing the radioactive elements caesium and strontium,
without advance notification?

2. Who is responsible for their inclusion, and how do they get away with it? Why has it so far proved
impossible to organise watertight monitoring, so as to ensure in sufficiently good time that no radioactive
material finds its way into scrap metal?

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Official Journal of the European Communities

C 134 E/29

3. When such consignments are transported, what impact does this have on the health of dock workers
and ships’ crews?

4. What is the impact on public health of the temporary storage of radioactive scrap metal at sites in
and around ports?

5. What are the consequences if the radioactive constituents in the scrap metal are not discovered in
time and they are processed in blast furnaces?

6. What has so far been done within EU Member States to ensure that scrap metal merchants comply
with the requirement that they themselves should report the importation and presence of radioactive
constituents?

7.
Do the national authorities of the Member States always report such ‘Category 2 nuclear incidents’ to
the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna in the agreed manner within 24 hours of discovery, i.e.
before they organise any inquiries as to the material’s origin, the causes and likely hazards?

8.
How ought monitoring of importation, storage and processing of radioactive scrap metal in the EU
Member States to be improved, and what responsibilities are incumbent on the EU and on national,
regional and municipal authorities in this respect?

Source: TV Nederland 1, ‘Netwerk’ programme, Monday, 31 July 2001

Answer given by Mrs Wallström on behalf of the Commission

(8 November 2001)

In the Community, protection against the risks of exposure to ionising radiation is ensured by Council
Directive 96/29/Euratom of 13 May 1996 laying down basic safety standards for the health protection of
the general public and workers against the dangers of ionising radiation (1).

The most serious risks for human health and the environment and the heaviest economic consequences to
the plant operators derive from the presence in scrap metal of a high activity radioactive source, such as
those used in therapy of cancers and in non-destructive examination of metallic products.

The work programme of the Commission for 2001 includes the adoption of a proposal for a Council
Directive aimed at strengthening the administrative control of such sources, which would, amongst other
things, contribute to prevent their entering the metal recycling loop.

The Commission is aware that consignments of scrap metal intended for recycling occasionally contain
radioactive material of various kinds and origins. It has organised meetings with experts from the Member
States, with a view to establishing the foundations for a common approach to the issue. Experts of the
Commission co-operated with the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) and with
the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in the preparation of an exhaustive report dealing with all
the points raised by the Honourable Member. It is expected that the report will be published shortly.

(including metals) to be released from regulatory
The Directive 96/29/Euratom provides for material
control if it is of no radiological concern from a health point of view. Member States determine these
‘clearance levels’ that must follow basic criteria laid down in the Directive and technical guidance, which is
provided by the Community.

The Commission is also working, in cooperation with the IAEA, on the harmonisation of these clearance
levels at international level.

(1) OJ L 159, 29.6.1996.