WRITTEN QUESTION E-3651/01 by Roberta Angelilli (UEN) to the Commission. The dangers of the Rome underground system.
Date: 2002-01-15
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: Italy, transport policy, transport safety, underground railway

C 160 E/158

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

4.7.2002

The Commission is not fully informed of the conditions attached to this privatisation. However, it should
be recalled that the Commission does request to candidate countries to remain cautious with respect to
‘stranded costs’ in entering into any new long term commitments.

As regards the transmission network, the Czech Transmission operator is currently an independent legal
entity and is thus compatible with the current acquis, Directive 96/92/EC of the Parliament and of the
Council of 19 December 1996 concerning common rules for the internal market in electricity (1). The
Commission’s proposal (2) to amend the relevant Directive foresees criteria for ensuring the independence
of the transmission operator.

As regards the tendering procedure,
the Czech Republic is required to align with Union public
procurement rules by the time of accession but has not yet done so. This delay was criticised in the
Commission’s 2001 Regular Report (3) which called upon the Czech authorities to ensure ‘clarity and
predictability in this field, including necessary legislative amendments strictly limiting the use of fast-track
procedures to emergency situations and excluding the possibility of arbitrary government decisions’.

(1) OJ L 27, 30.1.1997.
(2) OJ C 240 E, 28.8.2001.
(3) COM(2001) 700 final.

(2002/C 160 E/198)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3650/01

by Cristiana Muscardini (UEN) to the Council

(15 January 2002)

Subject: Somalia and anti-terrorism measures

As part of the action being taken to combat terrorism the al-Barakat financial network has been blocked
with a view to preventing fundamentalist terrorists from having large sums of money to use for illegal
activities. However, this financial network is used by Somali emigrants to send money back to relations in
Somalia.

Accordingly, can the Council ask the national governments to open an official channel through their
national credit institutions which will enable political refugees and emigrants from Somalia who are legally
resident in other countries to send money back to relations in Somalia?

Reply

(25/26 March 2002)

The Council has not discussed the question raised by the Honourable Parliamentarian concerning the
opening of an official channel through which political refugees and emigrants from Somalia, who are
legally resident in other countries, can send money back to their relations in Somalia.

(2002/C 160 E/199)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3651/01

by Roberta Angelilli (UEN) to the Commission

(15 January 2002)

Subject: The dangers of the Rome underground system

The Public Prosecutor’s Office and the Provincial Fire Brigade recently carried out safety inspections on the
Rome underground system, particularly Line A, where the safety facilities and procedures have been found
to have a large number of serious shortcomings.

4.7.2002

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 160 E/159

The main problems include:

? the average number of passengers carried each day, which stands at around 450 000, thus exceeding

the system’s capacity by 200 000;

? inadequate fire extinguishing facilities and procedures and evacuation routes and a lack of proper
facilities and adequate staff to provide first aid treatment to the injured prior to the arrival of the
emergency services.

Given that the main problem identified during the inspections is that of evacuating passengers sufficiently
quickly in the event of an emergency, and in view of the risk of further terrorist attacks following the
events of 11 September, would the Commission state:

1. whether there are any directives covering this area;

2. whether it intends to make representations to or take action vis-à-vis the relevant authorities;

3. what view it takes of this matter?

Answer given by Mrs de Palacio on behalf of the Commission

(20 February 2002)

1.

There are no Community directives covering the area of safety and security management for metros.

2. Metro systems in different cities are normally subject to local safety and security requirements and
the design, engineering principles, extension of the network and the traffic intensity vary a lot between
Member States and cities. For these reasons safety measures and emergency plans to assure the security of
the users must be adapted to the local situation and elaborated in cooperation with the local rescue
services and other relevant authorities. All these measures are best taken at Member State level,
in
accordance with the principle of subsidiarity.

For the moment, and for this reason, the Commission does not plan to propose Community legislation
with detailed safety and security requirements on metro systems and has no intention to intervene in the
situation in Rome, which has to be handled by the competent national or local authorities.

3.

For above-mentioned reasons the Commission has no possibility to take a view on the matter.

(2002/C 160 E/200)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3657/01

by Elisa Damião (PSE) to the Council

(15 January 2002)

Subject: State support for ship-building

The specialised press has reported that the German Government is willing to subsidise sea transport and
the ship-building industry, and has submitted a proposal to this effect to Parliament.

In view of the distortion of competition this may cause and the fact that it is an example of a Member
State directly or indirectly protecting the ship-building and maritime transport sectors, can the Council
supply information about the context of these practices and assess the consequences for the industries of
other Member States?