WRITTEN QUESTION E-2940/01 by Massimo Carraro (PSE), Fiorella Ghilardotti (PSE),Giovanni Fava (PSE), Giovanni Pittella (PSE), Paolo Costa (ELDR)and Luigi Cocilovo (PPE-DE) to the Commission. Accident at Linate airport.
Date: 2001-10-24
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: Italy, air safety, air traffic, air traffic control, airport, safety standard, traffic regulations

C 147 E/64

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

20.6.2002

The situation of the River Segura will be improved by these measures. The Spanish authorities have
informed the Commission of the Segura basin environmental recovery plan currently being drawn up by
the Ministry of the Environment and the Autonomous Communities of Murcia and Valencia, which will
include the building of purification plants, agreements between the authorities and industry, administrative
monitoring measures and major investment.

the river Segura is included under Priority 3 (Environment) of

The cleaning up of
the integrated
operational programme for the Murcia region which forms part of the Community Support Framework for
Objective 1 regions in Spain for the period 2000-2006. Community aid from the Structural Funds for all
the Priority 3 measures totals € 428,5 million. Moreover, projects concerning the cleaning up and
purification of the waters of the Segura basin are also eligible for cofinancing from the Cohesion Fund.

(1) OJ L 129, 18.5.1976.
(2)

Judgment in case C-214/96, 25.11.1998.

(2002/C 147 E/065)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2938/01

by Luciano Caveri (ELDR) to the Commission

(24 October 2001)

Subject: Radar systems at airports

The serious accident that occurred on 8 October 2001 at Linate airport in Milan involving a runway
collision between a scheduled airliner and a small private jet raises serious concerns in that the airport was
not equipped with ground radar for controlling air traffic.

Although this technical equipment exists in other European airports its installation is not compulsory.

Does the Commission not think that it would be useful to require the installation of ground radar systems
to control runway movements at the larger and busier airports in the Union in order to prevent similar
disasters in the future?

(2002/C 147 E/066)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2940/01

by Massimo Carraro (PSE), Fiorella Ghilardotti (PSE),
Giovanni Fava (PSE), Giovanni Pittella (PSE), Paolo Costa (ELDR)
and Luigi Cocilovo (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(24 October 2001)

Subject: Accident at Linate airport

In view of the serious accident that occurred on 8 October 2001 at Linate airport, can the Commission
say:

1. what it intends to do to ensure adequate safety standards at European airports;

2. whether there are currently plans for European regulations to make flight authorisation conditional

upon effective radar systems;

3. whether there are plans for European regulations to ensure adequate and uniform standards for

runway signs at European airports?

20.6.2002

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 147 E/65

Does the Commission consider that, in general, its remit covers the safety of European citizens, including
adequate checks on the safety standards applied by air traffic control authorities and companies that
manage airports in Europe?

Joint answer
to Written Questions E-2938/01 and E-2940/01
given by Mrs de Palacio on behalf of the Commission

(11 January 2002)

The Commission shares the Honourable Members’ concern about the risk of runway incursions, as
happened at Linate airport.

The Commission has started work in this area under the research programmes and two years ago a project
called BETA was launched to assess the benefits that can be achieved through a common definition of
requirements, and field demonstrations are being organised now. The Commission is working with the
International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) and Eurocontrol to define technical requirements, and the
results of present activities are being presented to ICAO fora.

Once the technical requirement will be assessed,
the Commission’s recent proposals on the Single
European Sky1 (1) will make it possible to mandate the necessary measures to be taken at each European
airport in order to ensure a very high safety standard. This will include any means, including runway signs,
to ensure a comprehensive and efficient way of surveying surface movements.

(1) COM(2001) 123 final and 564 final.

(2002/C 147 E/067)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2954/01

by Charles Tannock (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(25 October 2001)

Subject: Common immigration policies in the light of the terrorist attacks in the US

In the light of the widespread abuse of asylum provisions in the European Union in recent years, the need
to preserve public support for the principle of asylum for genuine refugees and the fact that in the light of
the recent attacks in the US it is ever more vital to ensure that only those who have legal entitlement are
resident in Europe, does the Commission accept that one of the principal reasons why human traffickers
continue to find it profitable to ply their trade and why there are so many people living clandestinely
(including many people who had had asylum claims refused in the courts and then ‘disappeared’ into the
community) within the European Union is that there is a failure of political will in Europe to apply the law
and remove those who are not entitled to enter or remain within the borders of Member States?

If so, does the Commission believe that it is essential that the new common policy on immigration being
developed should at the very minimum ensure that:

D a list is drawn up by the Council of states which do not practise state persecution;

D Member States agree a common definition of asylum, streamline appeals procedures and set in place
mechanisms for the removal of those whose applications are judged unfounded which are respected
by other Member States;

D economic and political pressure is brought to bear by the Union on states which refuse to accept back
their nationals on the grounds that they do not have the necessary documents, and criminal sanctions
are introduced for those whose asylum applications are judged unfounded or who are otherwise
required to leave a Member State if they refuse to cooperate with the lawful authorities in identifying
and establishing their countries of origin;

D no Member State has laws preventing removal of non-EU citizens not given political refugee status?