WRITTEN QUESTION E-2874/01 by Rosa Miguélez Ramos (PSE) to the Commission. Community guidelines for the trans-European transport network and Galicia.
Date: 2001-10-17
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: EU aid, Galicia, Portugal, financial aid, rail transport, trans-European network, transport network

C 134 E/130

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

6.6.2002

(2002/C 134 E/130)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2874/01

by Rosa Miguélez Ramos (PSE) to the Commission

(17 October 2001)

Subject: Community guidelines for the trans-European transport network and Galicia

The College of Commissioners adopted the draft Regulation updating the Community guidelines for the
link through the
trans-European transport network on 2 October 2001. This proposal
Pyrenees and the interoperability of the Spanish high-speed network, which is to be adapted to the gauge
of the rest of Europe.

includes a rail

That same day, the Transport Commissioner, presenting the proposal to the EP part-session, said in a reply
to a question that ‘the Galician sections of the high-speed network are included’ (in the Commission
proposal), ‘as are the interconnections with Portugal, in so far, I stress, as all these lines are to be adapted
and changed to the European gauge, whether we are speaking about new lines or remodelling the existing
ones. I want this to be very clear’.

The first part of this statement led one newspaper to assure its readers in a headline that ‘Brussels confirms
the Galicia-Portugal high-speed link’ (1).

If we are to ascertain the specific content of the proposal, and just what the European Union has
undertaken to co-fund with regard to high-speed trains in Galicia, the following questions need answered:

3 Which sections was the Commissioner referring to, and what work on them is Commission

co-funding planned for?

3 Does the proposal include additional funding for high-speed projects in Galicia? How much?

3 What high-speed network sections is the European Community going to co-fund in Galicia within the
lifetime of the present financial perspective (2000-2006), and what are the figures for the funding
involved?

3 What high-speed sections in Galicia will the Community co-fund under the subsequent financial

perspective, and what are the figures for the funding involved?

3 When does the Commission envisage the high-speed sections in Galicia coming into operation?

3 On the basis of these forecasts, how long will it take to get from Santiago to Madrid and from

Santiago to Lisbon by train?

(1) La Voz de Galicia, 3 October 2001.

Answer given by Mrs de Palacio on behalf of the Commission

(6 December 2001)

The Commission would refer the Honourable Member to its answers to written questions E-1046/01 (1),
E-2030/01 (2) and E-2189/01 (3) by Mr Nogueira Román.

In the Commission proposal of 2 October 2001 amending Decision No 1692/96/EC on Community
guidelines for the development of the trans-European transport network (4), the new rail network maps
show all the high speed lines planned for Galicia. The proposal has been transmitted to the European
Parliament and the Council.

When the proposal is adopted, the common interest projects on these links will be eligible for Community
for the trans-European network and the Cohesion Fund. The
financial support
Commission will examine what funding can be given on the basis of the criteria for each financial
instrument, the merits of the project and the available budget.

from the budget

The purpose of the aforesaid Decision is to set up a trans-European network by 2010. The exact date on
which the high speed lines will start operating in Galicia will depend on national planning.

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The journey times from Santiago to Madrid and Santiago to Lisbon will depend on the techniques used in
conformity with Directive 96/48/EC on the interoperability of the trans-European high-speed rail system (5)
which will apply to the projects included in the proposal once it has been adopted.

(1) OJ C 340 E, 4.12.2001, p. 155.
(2) OJ C 93 E, 18.4.2002, p. 49.
(3) OJ C 115 E, 16.5.2002, p. 36.
(4) COM(2001) 544.
(5) OJ L 235, 17.9.1996.

(2002/C 134 E/131)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2876/01

by Erik Meijer (GUE/NGL) to the Commission

(22 October 2001)

Subject: Failure to disclose radioactive contamination in Member States after the Chernobyl disaster and

better protection against thyroid cancer

1.
Can the Commission confirm that the authorities failed to disclose or denied the presence of airborne
radioactive contamination by caesium-137 in the east and south-east of France after the disaster at the
Chernobyl nuclear power station (Ukraine) on 26 April 1986, probably to allay public fears and to
safeguard domestic expansion of nuclear power stations?

2.
Can the Commission say whether there are other areas outside France in the then and now Member
States of the European Union where inadequate information was provided on the risks of radioactive
contamination of pasture and other crops by rainfall? If so, in which areas? Did this result in inadequate
measures being taken to limit the risks?

Has the incidence of thyroid cancer per 100 000 inhabitants risen in the Member States of the EU

3.
since 1986? Can any increase be explained by reasons other than the Chernobyl accident?

Are there areas within the Member States where the number of cases of thyroid cancer has risen

4.
significantly more sharply since 1986 than in other areas? If so, where?

5.
At present what are the risks of products susceptible to radioactive contamination being used in food
for human consumption, for example goat’s milk and goat’s cheese? Are the risks of mushrooms and meat
from wild boar even greater and longer-lasting than those of goat’s milk and goat’s cheese?

6. What guarantees are there that, in the event of similar accidents in the future involving radioactive
contamination from a source at a large distance, people living in the EU Member States will all receive
accurate and adequate information in good time?

Source: Network news, Dutch TV1 channel, 3 October 2001

Answer given by Mrs Wallström on behalf of the Commission

(17 December 2001)

1.
No. The Commission has no evidence indicating that the French authorities would have failed to
disclose information on levels of radioactivity in France after the Chernobyl accident. An ‘Atlas of caesium