WRITTEN QUESTION E-2800/01 by María Sornosa Martínez (PSE) to the Commission. Urban development on the island of Tabarca, a site of special Community interest and a special protection area for birds, in Alicante (Spain).
Date: 2001-10-09
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: Andalusia, application of EU law, exchange of information, illegal building, protected area, protection of animal life, protection of plant life

16.5.2002

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 115 E/161

is neither treated nor composted. Finally, INUSA has failed to meet the deadlines and conditions set in
July 2000 when the municipal government awarded INUSA the contract to manage the tip until
2012.

! At the sewage slurry desiccation plant operated by the Emarasa joint venture, the slurry is poured
onto the site without any prior treatment and gives rise to plagues of insects and an unsupportable
stench; moreover, the site is not guarded and this leads to illegal tipping.

! In view of the absence of any controls by the municipality, another company, Abornarsa, has opened
a third disposal area for sewage slurry next to the two original sites. This third site, which is used for
the disposal of sewage slurry from other municipalities, is illegal and lacks in any kind of municipal
license.

The local residents have joined together to form the Plataforma Ciudadana por la Calidad Ambiental
(Citizens’ Platform for the Quality of the Environment) to protest and to raise public awareness. They have
gathered more than 2500 signatures in support of the various complaints lodged with the local, national
and European authorities and of the charges of environmental crime filed with the Civil Guard’s Service for
the Protection of Nature (Seprona).

What measures does the Commission intend to take in order to ensure that the Alicante waste disposal
tips comply with Community legislation on the protection of the environment and in order to guarantee
the safety, and protect the health, of residents of the rural districts of Alicante?

Answer given by Mrs Wallström on behalf of the Commission

(7 December 2001)

The Honourable Member draws attention to the degradation of
in the Sierra de
Fontcalent, caused by the Alicante solid urban waste tip, a sewage slurry desiccation plant and other tips in
the area.

the environment

As a result of this state of affairs the local population have had to suffer harm and health risks.

The Commission has no knowledge of the facts mentioned by the Honourable Member. It has therefore
asked the Spanish authorities for their comments on the facts to ensure compliance with the Community
legislation applicable in this case, particularly with:

! Council Directive 75/442/EEC of 15 July 1975 on waste (1), as amended by Council Directive 91/156/

EEC of 18 March 1991 (2);

! Council Directive 91/689/EEC of 12 December 1991 on hazardous waste (3).

(1) OJ L 194, 25.7.1975.
(2) OJ L 78, 26.3.1991.
(3) OJ L 377, 31.12.1991.

(2002/C 115 E/168)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2800/01

by María Sornosa Martínez (PSE) to the Commission

(9 October 2001)

Subject: Urban development on the island of Tabarca, a site of special Community interest and a special

protection area for birds, in Alicante (Spain)

The island of Tabarca is proposed by Spain as a site of special Community interest and as a special
protection area for birds for the future Natura 2000 Network. The reason why it has been chosen as such
lies in its great wealth in flora and fauna protected by national and Community law, notably its large
colonies of posidonia oceanica.

C 115 E/162

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

16.5.2002

Last year, the High Court in the Community of Valencia issued an injunction ordering the building of six
bungalows on the island to be suspended as a precaution in view of the way in which such building work
would encroach on the shoreline and in view of the threat that this would pose to the protected enclave.
Despite the negative report issued by the Spanish Ministry for the Environment regarding the new Special
Plan for the Island of Tabarca, drawn up by the Municipality of Alicante and permitting the development
of the shoreline, the construction work on the bungalows continues.

What measures does the Commission intend to take vis-à-vis the Spanish authorities in order to safeguard
the conservation of the island of Tabarca, designated by Spain as a site of special Community interest and
as a special protection area for birds for the future Natura 2000 Network.

Can the Commission supply further information on the biogeographical seminars with regard to the
Mediterranean basin to which the Commission referred to in its reply to Written Question E-1253/01 (1)?
Can the Commission now deliver an opinion as to whether the proposals by Spain regarding the
protection of the natural habitat of posidonia beds in the specific case of the Alicante coast are adequate?

(1) OJ C 340 E, 4.12.2001, p. 205.

Answer given by Mrs Wallström on behalf of the Commission

(28 November 2001)

1.
The island of Tabarca and the surrounding marine environment have very good posidonia beds on
the Spanish coast. The Spanish authorities have proposed this natural area as a site of Community
importance (SCI) which may eventually be integrated in the Natura 2000 network pursuant to Council
Directive 92/43/EEC (1) of 21 May 1992 on the conservation of natural habitats and of wild flora and
fauna.

The Commission has no knowledge of the project referred to by the Honourable Member and its impact
on this site. The Commission’s appropriate department has therefore contacted the Spanish authorities,
asking them for their observations on the facts reported and to determine whether the project in question
is likely to have a significant effect on the site in the light of the objectives of Directive 92/43/EEC, in
which case the procedure provided for in its Article 6 should be applied.

As indicated in the answer

the
2.
biogeographical seminars are mainly a mechanism serving as an aid to determine whether the Member
States have provided complete national lists in the light of the objectives of Directive 92/43/EEC. Only
after discussions have taken place at these seminars will the Commission be in a position to compile the
lists of sites of Community interest that may be adopted subsequently.

to the Honourable Member’s Written Question E-1253/01,

As regards the ‘Posidonia beds’ habitat (Posidonion oceanicae), one of the conclusions of the first seminar
for the Mediterranean was that it was necessary to improve the geographical representation of this habitat
by France and to add new sites in order to ensure sufficient representation by Spain. It should be noted
that the second seminar for the Mediterranean biogeographical region is planned for July 2002.

(1) OJ L 206, 22.7.1992.

(2002/C 115 E/169)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2801/01

by Gian Gobbo (NI) to the Commission

(9 October 2001)

Subject: Protection of typical foods and strategy to safeguard European agriculture

Given that:

! the spread of mad cow disease (BSE) has profoundly disturbed public opinion and raised important

questions about the exclusive use of industrial processes in agricultural production;