WRITTEN QUESTION E-3687/01 by Rosa Miguélez Ramos (PSE) to the Commission. Community funding for regasification plant at the bay of Ferrol (Spain).
Date: 2002-01-16
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: EU financing, Spain, gas industry, location of industry, natural gas

C 301 E/20

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

5.12.2002

The Commission believes that more is to be gained by improved coordination of existing programmes
than could be made available by another small budget line and, therefore, the Commission does not
foresee proposing a separate heading for the Northern Dimension. The Commission is in general against
the creation of small thematic or specialised small budget lines, which hinder effective management of the
Community budget.

Activities within the Northern Dimension continue to benefit from the existing budget lines, the TACIS
programme for actions in Russia, from the PHARE and ISPA programmes for the candidate countries and
from Interreg in the Member States concerned. For example, the budget line (B7-521) for Cross-Border
Cooperation (CBC) is used predominantly in the Northern Dimension area; its subsidiary line for the Baltic
Sea (B7-5211) is of course entirely aimed at the Northern Dimension area. This is also the case as regards
the PHARE CBC programme in the region (B7-0311). In addition, the Commission intends to be a major
contributor to the Northern Dimension Environmental Partnership Support Fund once this Fund is set up.

(2002/C 301 E/018)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3687/01

by Rosa Miguélez Ramos (PSE) to the Commission

(16 January 2002)

Subject: Community funding for regasification plant at the bay of Ferrol (Spain)

is promoting a project for the creation of a
(Reganosa)
The company Regasificadora del Norte S.A.
liquefied natural gas plant at Punta Promontoiro, on the inner side of the narrow bay of Ferrol (Ría de
Ferrol) in Spain. This major project would entail the construction of four tanks of 150 000 cubic metres,
and would also mean the entry each year of over 40 methane tankers (dimensions: 280 m x 42 m x 12-13 m).

Reganosa is in receipt of financing from the Galician regional government as well as from the companies
Unión Fenosa, Endesa and Mugardesa de Energía, S.A.

The project has met with widespread rejection from the local community, and the Ferrol city council has
declared itself against. A number of citizens’ organisations have filed complaints with the Commission’s
DG Environment and DG Transport and Energy,
in view of the severe risks of such an industrial
development in this area. The Ferrol city council believes the plant could be located within Ferrol’s
projected outer port complex (this was in fact the original option). Nonetheless, the location currently
proposed, i.e. the inner side of the bay, is a densely populated area which is only one kilometre from the
built-up area of Mugardos and Ferrol. This location means that the plant could become a real accident
trap: displacement would be virtually impossible, and the methane tankers could only put to sea at high
tide. The proposed site of the regasification plant would border on such existing installations as fuel tanks,
military vessels and a military arsenal, and there could be a domino effect in case of accident, with
unforeseeable consequences.

Is this project, or has it ever been, in receipt of Community funding of any kind? Has any request for
funding been received? If so, what amounts were asked for, and from which of the Community Funds?

Supplementary answer
given by Mr Barnier on behalf of the Commission

(10 June 2002)

During the 1994-1999 programming period the Structural Funds provided no part-finance for the
installation referred to by the Honourable Member. The Spanish authorities have told the Commission that
they do not currently intend to seek part-finance for this project during the current period 2000-2006.

Those authorities have not so far made any application for part-finance.