WRITTEN QUESTION P-0434/02 by Jacqueline Foster (PPE-DE) to the Commission. Ryanair.
Date: 2002-02-12
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: 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?

18.7.2002

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 172 E/183

Joint answer
to Written Questions P-0314/02 and P-0434/02
given by Mrs de Palacio on behalf of the Commission

(11 March 2002)

The Commission can confirm that it is currently examining the agreements signed, at the end of 2001,
between the Walloon region, the Charleroi airport management company and the airline Ryanair.

The Commission wishes to make sure that the benefits obtained by Ryanair on setting up in the Walloon
region are indeed commercial and that the agreements, a copy of which it received at the end of 2001, do
not contain anything likely to contravene the rules of the Treaty on State Aid (Articles 87 and 88 of the EC
Treaty).

Examination of these agreements began following the appearance of articles in the press and complaints to
the Commission. The next stage of the examination will be to send a letter to the Belgian authorities to ask
for additional information.

(2002/C 172 E/193)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0318/02

by Roger Helmer (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(12 February 2002)

Subject: Preparations for the European Council meeting in Barcelona

The 2000 Lisbon European Council called on ‘the Council and the Commission, together with the Member
States where appropriate … to map by 2001 research and development excellence in all Member States in
order to foster the dissemination of excellence’. Was this target met?

Answer given by Mr Busquin on behalf of the Commission

(11 March 2002)

The mapping of research and technological development excellence in Europe, as called for at the Lisbon
European Council on 23-24 March 2000, is being undertaken in close conjunction with a High Level
Group of representatives designated by the Member States. A pilot exercise covering a limited number of
scientific and technological topics was launched on the basis of the methodology described in the
Commission document (1). This pilot exercise should lead to the validation of a methodology which should
into widespread use in the Sixth Framework Programme for Research and Technological
be put
Development, as foreseen in the Commission’s proposal concerning activities to strengthen the foundations
of the European Research Area.

it has proved essential to carry out
However, before implementing the comprehensive pilot exercise,
preparatory studies due to the complexity of the exercise and the innovative nature of such a task at
European level. Significant progress has already been made and the conclusions of these preparatory
studies are presently available. Moreover, contracts to develop the comprehensive pilot exercise are
currently under negotiation and should be concluded in March 2002.

The conclusions of the pilot exercise will be presented at the end of 2002.

(1) SEC(2001) 434.