WRITTEN QUESTION E-3087/01 by Erik Meijer (GUE/NGL) to the Commission. Plans to build 109 wind turbines on the route taken by migratory birds along the Dutch section of the Wadden Sea and early notification of incompatibility with directives.
Date: 2001-11-13
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: Netherlands, bird, coastal region, engineering structure, environmental protection, protection of animal life, wind energy

C 134 E/194

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

6.6.2002

If a level of implementation of commitments of under 80 % is regarded as indicating delay, the number of
programmes concerned, under the various Community Support Frameworks, would be as follows:
13 programmes out of 53 in Greece, 12 programmes out of 98 in Spain, 4 programmes out of 33 in
Portugal and no delay for the 18 programmes in Ireland.

(2002/C 134 E/201)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3086/01

by Rosa Miguélez Ramos (PSE) to the Commission

(13 November 2001)

Subject: Trips by the Director-General for Fisheries

Senior figures in the Commission, both Commissioners and Directors-General, know how important it is
to travel to the Community regions in which the sectors linked to their sphere of competence are based.
Such trips help make the people concerned and public opinion in the Member States aware of Community
initiatives and actions designed to support them, as well as enabling the Commission to size up sectoral
problems and problems facing the regions on the spot.

With this in mind, how many working trips has the current Director-General for Fisheries made to each of
the Member States since his appointment?

Is there any geographical criterion within the Fisheries DG on the grounds of which the Director-General
travels to northern countries and some other official to southern countries?

Answer given by Mr Fischler on behalf of the Commission

(19 December 2001)

The Commission certainly agrees, that visits not only by Members of the Commission but also by civil
servants of the Commission to various regions and sectors in Europe can help citizens become better
aware of Community initiatives and actions that can help solve local and regional problems.

Such visits can be initiated in different ways. As far as the Directorate General for Fisheries is concerned
visits organised for officials at the highest level have lately very much been dominated by the ongoing
debate on the Reform of the Common Fisheries Policy and the organisation of meetings and conferences
on different themes of the reform in different places in Europe. For each of the officials at the highest level
in the Directorate General for Fisheries their trips during 2000 and 2001 have, therefore, very much been
dominated by invitations they have received for participation and contributions to these meetings and
conferences.

(2002/C 134 E/202)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3087/01

by Erik Meijer (GUE/NGL) to the Commission

(13 November 2001)

Subject: Plans to build 109 wind turbines on the route taken by migratory birds along the Dutch section of

the Wadden Sea and early notification of incompatibility with directives

1.
Is the Commission aware that on 18 October 2001 the Dutch government decided to build 109 wind
turbines ranging from 60 to 75 million in height along the southern shore of the Wadden Sea. The wind
turbines will stand in the water on either side of the Afsluitdijk dam built in 1932 between the shallow,
saltwater and eutrophic Wadden Sea which leads into the North Sea and the Ijsselmeer, which is cut off
from the sea and now filled with fresh river water?

6.6.2002

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 134 E/195

Is the Commission also aware that the whole of the Dutch coast is on the route taken by migratory
2.
birds including geese, oyster catchers and eider duck migrating between Scandinavia and northern Russia
and the west coast of Africa and that, in addition, the Wadden Sea is not only a permanent habitat for sea
birds but also a feeding ground for migratory birds?

3.
Does the Commission not consider that in these circumstances the Dutch coast, and the Wadden Sea
in particular, are unsuitable sites for wind turbines which are likely to cause large-scale carnage of birds
every year and, consequently, that the siting of these wind turbines is incompatible with the proper
application of the Birds and Habitats directives?

4.
Is the Commission aware that the German and Danish governments intend to keep their areas of the
Wadden Sea free from wind turbines but that the Dutch government is still hoping that this project will
comply with European Union directives?

5.
Is the Commission prepared to notify the Dutch government at the earliest possible stage of its
investigation into the admissibility of implementing this plan if it considers that the siting of wind turbines
in and along the Wadden Sea is in breach of the directives, to avoid preparatory investments being made
for a plan that cannot be implemented?

6.
Is the Commission prepared to discuss with the Dutch government other possible sites for the
construction of a large windfarm, either on land or far offshore in the North Sea, that do not have the
disadvantages of the current plans and could generate the targeted green electricity for between 250 000
and 300 000 households?

Answer given by Mrs Wallström on behalf of the Commission

(7 January 2002)

1.
The Commission was not aware that on 18 October 2001 the government of the Netherlands
decided to build 109 wind turbines ranging from 60 to 75 metres in height along the southern shore of
the Wadden Sea.

2.
The Commission is aware of the importance of the Dutch coast as a staging and feeding post for
migratory birds on the western Atlantic flyway between the Arctic and the west coast of Africa. This was
the reason why the Wadden Sea and other coastal sites have been classified by the government of the
Netherlands as Special Protection Areas pursuant to the provisions of Article 4 of Council Directive
79/409/EEC of 2 April 1979 on the conservation of wild birds (1).

The Commission considers that any plans or projects having a significant effect on sites belonging to
3.
the Natura 2000 network,
including Special Protection Areas, as is the case of the Wadden Sea in
particular, should be assessed according to the provisions of Article 6 (3) of Council Directive 92/43/EC of
21 May 1992 on the conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora (hereafter the ‘Habitats
Directive’) before consent is given. Moreover, the Commission considers that where the Member State
intends to carry out the plan or project, in spite of a negative assessment of the implications for the site,
provisions of Article 6(4) should be complied.

The Commission has not requested nor received any information from the German and Danish

4.
governments about their intentions to keep their areas of the Wadden Sea free from wind turbines.

5.
The Commission has no powers to impose on Member States detailed instructions about the choice
of the siting of windfarms or any other energy projects. It will however make representations before the
government of the Netherlands to ensure that the provisions of Article 6(3) and (4) of the Habitats
Directive are complied with in this case.

(1) OJ L 103, 25.4.1979.