WRITTEN QUESTION P-0314/02 by Isabelle Caullery (UEN) to the Commission. Airline competition.
Date: 2002-02-06
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: State aid, Walloon region (Belgium), air transport, complaint to the Commission, exchange of information, restriction on competition

C 172 E/182

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

18.7.2002

Answer given by Mrs Wallström on behalf of the Commission

(22 March 2002)

In the sixth Environmental Action Programme of the Community, the Commission has indicated five
strategic approaches to meeting the environmental objectives for 2001-2010. These are all preventive
instruments aimed at protecting the environment rather
than to cure. One way to bring about
is by helping people to make environmentally friendly choices.
improvements to the environment
Individual citizens, as well as business, make daily decisions that directly or indirectly impact
the
environment. Better quality and easily accessible information on the environment and on practical matters
will help shape opinions and thus decisions.

Environmental education and awareness raising activities will be essential to this process. The Union will
continue to promote good practice and share ideas for improving young people’s access to environmental
information. The education systems and school curricula remain, however, the responsibility of Member
States and applicant countries.

The Commission already supports a number of projects, where young people learn about the environment
in the school, as volunteers or in youth projects. The theme of environment is frequently dealt with in
projects financed by the Community action programmes Socrates (in the field of education) and Youth.
Both programmes, which are administered by the Directorate General (DG) Education and Culture, are
open for participation also by applicant countries.

In addition, DG Environment has recently developed several learning tools to improve the environmental
awareness among young people. The new website ‘Environment for Young Europeans’ (1) contains, for
example, suggestions of school-class activities in addition to games and quiz for individual learning. DG
Environment has also taken into consideration environmental education and the involvement of young
people in its calls for proposals aimed at supporting awareness raising projects and environmental non-
governmental organisations (NGOs).

(1) http://europa.eu.int/comm/environment/youth/news_en.html.

(2002/C 172 E/191)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-0314/02

by Isabelle Caullery (UEN) to the Commission

(6 February 2002)

Subject: Airline competition

Can the Commission confirm, further to a complaint concerning Charleroi airport, that it is conducting an
inquiry into distortions of competition due to state aid from the Walloon regional authority to the airline
Ryanair?

Can it tell us the background to this case and inform us of the procedure being followed and the present
state of the inquiry?

(2002/C 172 E/192)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-0434/02

by Jacqueline Foster (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(12 February 2002)

Subject: Ryanair

Further to the European Commission’s announcement that it is investigating Ryanair’s operations at
Charleroi airport on grounds that the company may be gaining an unfair competitive advantage, could it
indicate the stage that this investigation has reached and whether it plans to take any action?