WRITTEN QUESTION P-3431/01 by Pere Esteve (ELDR) to the Commission. Sand extraction in the Balearic Islands.
Date: 2001-12-06
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: Balearic Islands, application of EU law, bad weather, coastal region, degradation of the environment, dredging, environmental protection, project evaluation

C 147 E/178

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20.6.2002

in thorough, lengthy and often excessive technical inspections of the vehicles’ mechanical instruments, the
weight borne by each axle, pointless measurements of every detail, checks on the goods carried, etc, etc.

All these formalities constitute a serious waste of time (cid:28) often delays of several hours (cid:28) which cause
financial losses and bring traffic to a standstill, in addition to the pollution caused by gas emissions and
vehicle noise. These measures contravene the provisions of the Treaties establishing the Union, which
sanction the free movement of goods, and the provisions of the Accession Treaty signed by Austria. In the
past checks of this kind and the levying of tolls considered to be excessive led the Court of Justice in
Luxembourg to impose heavy sanctions on the Austrian Government and the Land of Tyrol. Does the
Commission intend to take urgent steps to prevent serious damage and ban unacceptable discrimination of
this kind, which infringes the Treaties?

Answer given by Mrs de Palacio on behalf of the Commission

(8 February 2002)

The Commission is aware of the problem raised by the Honourable Member concerning the considerable
increase in checks on heavy goods vehicles on a stretch of Austria’s Brenner motorway, which is
hampering road traffic.

It is examining the legality of these practices in the light of Council Regulation (EC) No 2679/98 of
7 December 1998 on the functioning of the internal market in relation to the free movement of goods
among the Member States (1).

The Commission intends to ensure that the common rules in this regard are complied with.

(1) OJ L 337, 12.12.1998.

(2002/C 147 E/185)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-3431/01

by Pere Esteve (ELDR) to the Commission

(6 December 2001)

Subject: Sand extraction in the Balearic Islands

One of the worst storms ever to hit the Balearic Islands has caused a huge amount of sand to be lost from
the beaches. The Spanish Environment Ministry has announced that sand is to be extracted off the islands’
coastline: specifically, from the sandbanks located off the coast at Banyalbufar (Majorca) and to the north
of Ibiza.

This prospect has provoked alarm amongst scientists and community representatives on the grounds that
the loss of sand which has occurred on certain beaches is a temporary phenomenon: the beaches will
recover in a few months’ time if conditions are at all favourable and if there is no countervailing human
activity. Most of the sand which has disappeared is lying just a short distance off the beach (in the water)
and it will return when the wave pattern is suitable.
that artificial
regeneration is a temporary, expensive and highly damaging solution to the problem. According to
scientists, the various forms of damage include the destruction of demersal communities living in the
sandbanks which are due to be dredged, thereby affecting certain species which are of particular value to
fishermen; drastic changes in the ecological conditions prevailing on the dredged seabed, with the creation
of ridges and hollows and the replacement of the original biological communities by others; the muddying
of the waters in the extraction area, which is detrimental to species which require very clear waters, such
as Posidonia oceanica, and the burial of natural communities in the area in which the sand is to be
deposited, which in certain cases will affect protected flora communities (Posidonia).

It should also be pointed out

In view of the fact that environmental policy consists (as stated in Directive 85/337/EEC (1)) in preventing
damage to the environment rather than remedying it at a later stage, would the Commission say whether
or not it is aware of the project described above? Is it intending to warn the Spanish authorities regarding

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the impact which such extraction would have on the ecosystem of the two areas concerned, bearing in
mind Directive 85/337/EC on the assessment of the effects of certain public and private projects on the
environment?

It should be recalled that, in 1994, the Spanish government department responsible for coasts had to back
down on a similar project in Cala Agulla (Majorca), since the environmental impact study carried out by
the Spanish Government was seriously flawed: mistakes in the maps drawn up led to sand being extracted
in areas colonised by posidonia.

(1) OJ L 175, 5.7.1985, p. 40.

Answer given by Mrs Wallström on behalf of the Commission

(11 January 2002)

The Commission was not aware of the facts raised by the Honourable Member.

Projects consisting in the extraction of sand, such as the one mentioned by the Honourable Member, may
fall within the scope of Council Directive 85/337/EEC of 27 June 1985 (1), as amended by Council
Directive 97/11/EC of 3 March 1997, on the assessment of the effects of certain public and private
projects on the environment (2), since they are listed in Annex II thereof (cid:28) point 2 c),
‘extraction of
minerals by marine or fluvial dredging’.

Pursuant to the above Directive, Member States shall determine through a case-by-case examination,
thresholds or criteria or a combination of both approaches whether a project listed in Annex II shall be
made subject to an assessment in accordance with articles 5-10 of the Directive. For this purpose, Member
States shall take into account the selection criteria set out in Annex III of the Directive, which refer to the
characteristics of the project, its location and the characteristics of the potential impact. Member States
shall ensure that the determination made by the competent authorities is made available to the public.

As the Honourable Member requests, the Commission intends to remind the Spanish authorities of the
provisions of the above mentioned Council Directives in order to ensure that they are taken into account,
should a concrete project result from the announcement of the Spanish Environment Ministry.

(1) OJ L 175, 5.7.1985.
(2) OJ L 73, 14.3.1997.

(2002/C 147 E/186)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3435/01

by Terence Wynn (PSE) to the Commission

(21 December 2001)

Subject: Old style UK driving licences

It would seem that Spain no longer recognises the old green UK driving licence. It will now only accept
the new style driving licence, which includes a photograph of the driver. Can the Commission indicate
whether or not it is legal for Spain to refuse to accept valid UK driving licences?

Anwer given by Mrs de Palacio on behalf of the Commission

(21 January 2002)

Council Directive 91/439/EEC of 29 July 1991, on driving licences (1) stipulates in article 1(2), that driving
licences issued by Member States shall be recognised.

Commission decision 2000/275/EC of 21 March 2000 on equivalences between certain categories of
driving licences (2) specifies in its first recital that directive 91/439/EEC provides that all driving licences