WRITTEN QUESTION E-1275/02 by Christopher Huhne (ELDR) to the Commission. Mobile phone masts.
Date: 2002-05-07
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: EU law, EU law - national law, environmental protection, health policy, mobile phone, telecommunications equipment

26.9.2002

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 229 E/199

In this context, the Honourable Member is referred to Article 2 of the above-mentioned Directive which
provides that certain contracts are outside its scope. This includes ‘supply contracts which are declared
secret or the execution of which must be accompanied by special security measures in accordance with the
laws, regulations or administrative provisions in force in the Member States concerned or when the
protection of the basic interests of the Member State’s security so requires’.

As a derogation from the general rule that public contracts must be awarded by public tender on the basis
of criteria designed to ensure best value for money, Article 2 has to be restrictively construed on a case by
case basis. Relevant factors could, however, include a perceived need at the time of the contract not to
announce the existence or nature of the contract for public security reasons. Statements made by the
European Court of Justice in Case C-273/97 of 26 October 1999 to the effect that Member States have a
degree of discretion when adopting measures which they consider to be necesssary in order to guarantee
public security, may also be a relevant factor in this type of case.

It is understood that other Member States which have recently procured smallpox vaccines have adopted a
similar approach to that taken by the United Kingdom authorities in this case on grounds of the security
concerns surrounding such contracts.

(1) OJ L 199, 9.8.1993.

(2002/C 229 E/230)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1275/02

by Christopher Huhne (ELDR) to the Commission

(7 May 2002)

Subject: Mobile phone masts

Can the Commission make available information on the relative legislation in force in the Member States
with respect to the siting of mobile phone masts?

Does the Commission see any need for or intend to bring forward any proposals itself on this matter?

Answer given by Mr Liikanen on behalf of the Commission

(10 June 2002)

In its answer to Written Question E-1975/01 of Mr Naranjo Escobar (1), the Commission indicated that
there is currently no Community legislation harmonising the siting rules for mobile telephone masts. This
matter however raises at least two sets of issues, i.e. the protection of the visual environment and the
protection of health.

The protection of the visual environment has been very much a matter for local, regional and Member
State authorities. The procedures in use and criteria applied vary largely across and even within Member
States and reflect the diversity of planning rules and traditions in the Community. The Authorisation
Directive (Directive 97/33/EC (2)) allows the imposition by Member States of public interest conditions on
the establishment and/or operation of telecommunications networks or the provision of telecommuni-
cations services for the protection of the environment and town and country planning objectives.

The recently adopted Framework Directive (3) and Authorisation Directive (4) continue to encourage
Member States to impose environmental and town and country planning and public health protection
requirements including co-location and facility sharing.

Where it concerns the protection of safety and health of the citizen, measures and recommendations have
been adopted at Community level
the public is not unduly exposed to
electromagnetic waves.

in order to ensure that

C 229 E/200

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

26.9.2002

Directive 1999/5/EC (5) governing radio equipment (including mobile telephone masts) obliges manu-
facturers to ensure that they are safe. In particular Article 3.1.a of the Directive sets a general obligation for
manufacturers to protect the health of the user and of any other person by radio equipment when used for
their intended purpose. Article 7.2 of that same Directive explicitly enables national authorities to impose
restrictions on the use of radio equipment for the purpose of protection of public health; this may include
for example the imposition of minimum distances between telephone masts and the public.

Council Recommendation 1999/519/EC of 12 July 1999 on the limitation of exposure of the general
public to electromagnetic fields (0 Hz to 300 GHz) (6) provides guidance on the safety levels to be
respected. It invites Member States to limit the exposure of the general public to electromagnetic fields
between 0 Herz (Hz) and 300 Gigaherz (Ghz) to certain levels. The basic restrictions and reference levels
included in the Recommendation aim at ensuring users a high level of protection against acute and long-
term effects of non-ionising radiation emitted by radio equipment.

Member States, in accordance with the EC Treaty, may provide for a higher level of protection than set out
in the above-mentioned Council Recommendation, but are in general implementing the limits thereof.
Furthermore, European standards drafted by the European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardisation
(Cenelec) will, as requested by the Commission, ensure the compliance of devices put on the market with
the limits set up in the Council Recommendation. These standards will be recognised under Directive
1999/5/EC and replace national conflicting standards.

This Recommendation further invites the Commission to keep the matter under review taking into
consideration ongoing research and relevant aspects of precaution and considering the development of
new technologies and the necessity to respond more rapidly to new scientific evidence.

At the request of the Commission, the Scientific Committee on Toxicity, Ecotoxicity and the Environment
adopted on 30 November 2001 an opinion on the matter and confirmed the limits recommended by the
Council (7).

Having addressed potential health aspects of mobile phone masts, the Commission currently does not plan
to propose a Community-wide harmonised procedure for controlling the positioning of mobile phone
masts.

(1) OJ C 147 E, 20.6.2002, p. 6.
(2) Directive 97/33/EC of

the Council of 30 June 1997 on interconnection in tele-
communications with regard to ensuring universal service and interoperability though application of the principles
of Open Network Provision (ONP), OJ L 199, 26.7.1997. The provisions of this Directive are expected to be
included in a new framework Directive, currently under discussion in the Parliament and the Council.

the Parliament and of

(3) Directive 2002/21/EC of the Parliament and of the Council of 7 March 2002 on a common regulatory framework

for electronic communications networks and services, OJ L 108, 24.4.2002.

(4) Directive 2002/20/EC of the Parliament and of the Council of 7 March 2002 on the authorisation of electronic

communications networks and services, OJ L 108, 24.4.2002.

(5) Directive 1999/5/EC of

the Parliament and of

the Council of 9 March 1999 on radio equipment and

telecommunications terminal equipment and the mutual recognition of their conformity, OJ L 91, 7.4.1999.

(6) OJ L 199, 30.7.1999.
(7)

Implementation Report on the Council Recommendation limiting the public exposure to electromagnetic fields
(0 Hz to 300 GHz) see http://europa.eu.int/comm/food/fs/sc/sct/outcome_en.html.

(2002/C 229 E/231)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1281/02

by Armin Laschet (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(8 May 2002)

Subject: Compatibility with EU law of the Belgian Royal Decree of 31 December 1953 on the registration

of vehicles

The Belgian Royal Decree of 31 December 1953 governs the registration of foreign vehicles in Belgium. A
foreign vehicle is to be registered in Belgium if its keeper has his place of residence in Belgium, and
Belgian legislation recognises only a person’s main residence.