WRITTEN QUESTION E-1617/02 by Luigi Vinci (GUE/NGL) to the Commission. The third satellite at Malpensa airport (Milan, Italy).
Date: 2002-06-06
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: Italy, access to information, airport, application of EU law, environmental impact, environmental law, environmental protection

C 301 E/194

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

5.12.2002

Other obligations of the Directive apply after April 2002. For example, Member States must ensure
compliance with the minimum reuse, recovery and recycling targets set out by the Directive by
1 January 2006.

2.
Under Article 10 of the Directive, Member States shall bring into force the laws, regulations and
administrative provisions necessary to comply with this Directive by 21 April 2002 and shall immediately
inform the Commission thereof. By the end of April 2002, all Member States had failed to communicate to
the Commission the measures taken to transpose this Directive into national law.

In case of non-communication by the Member States of the laws, regulations and administrative
3.
provisions brought in force in order to comply with Community Directives within the time limits set out
for transposition, the Commission initiates infringement proceedings against the concerned Member States,
based on Article 226 of the EC Treaty. The same proceedings are followed in cases where the measures
adopted by the Member States are not in conformity with the provisions of the relevant Directives as well
as in cases where Member States fail to properly apply the provisions of the relevant Directives in practice.
The Commission has sent letters of formal notice for non-communication to all Member States.

4.

The Commission does not envisage any reform of the legislative process or enforcement procedure.

(1) Directive 2000/53/EC of the Parliament and of the Council of 18 September 2000 on end-of life vehicles.
(2) Member States which do not have established a deregistration system by 21 April 2002, should set up a system
according to which a certificate of destruction is notified to the relevant competent authority and inform the
Commission thereof.

(3) Commission decision 2002/151/EC of 19 February 2002 on minimum requirements for the certificate of
destruction issued in accordance with Article 5 (3) of Directive 2000/53/EC of the Parliament and the Council on
end-of life vehicles, OJ L 50, 21.2.2002.

(4) Council Directive 75/442/EEC of 15 July 1975 on waste, OJ L 194, 25.7.1975.

(2002/C 301 E/204)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1617/02

by Luigi Vinci (GUE/NGL) to the Commission

Subject: The ‘third satellite’ at Malpensa airport (Milan, Italy)

(6 June 2002)

The construction of a ‘third satellite’ at Milan’s Malpensa airport blatantly infringes the directive on
environmental impact assessment. The Italian Government, via a letter dated 7 February 2002 from ENAC
(the national civil aviation authority), registered as No 20439/S.P/M7, addressed to the Italian Permanent
the ‘third satellite’ does not need to be subjected to an
Representation in Brussels, claims that
environmental impact assessment because the extension of the airport is included in the areas (cid:1) and the
associated volumes of traffic (cid:1) already authorised by the PRG (General Regulatory Plan) of 1985.
However, in a note dated 9 April 2002 (registered as No 4124) the mayors and ‘people’s committees’ in
the areas affected denounce this position as ‘misleading’, because in actual fact the building site is much
larger than that authorised by the PRG in 1985, as regards both the airport and the other facilities
(runways and parking areas).

What assessments has the Commission made on the documentation and opinions of the mayors and
‘people’s committees’ in the areas concerned, which testify to serious infringements of European law, in
particular the directives on environmental impact assessment?

the company SEA, which manages Milan’s airports, has refused access to information
Furthermore,
two projects (file number 582/3/01 of
concerning the extension of the airport as regards at least
September 2001 and the one of June 2001, or projects 003-11000 and 006-Info 1). Does the Commission
not consider that this behaviour is incompatible with Directive 90/313/EC (1) on the freedom of access to
information on the environment?

Finally, the company SEA has already issued, without a prior environmental impact assessment, a call for
tenders for the contracts (projects ex L.109/94) with a deadline of 30 June 2002. Does the Commission
not consider that the failure to carry out an environmental
impact assessment invalidates the call to
tender?

(1) OJ L 158, 23.6.1990, p. 56.

5.12.2002

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 301 E/195

Answer given by Mrs Wallström on behalf of the Commission

(18 July 2002)

According to Council Directives 85/337/EEC of 27 June 1985 on the assessment of the effects of certain
public and private projects on the environment (1) and 97/11/EC of 3 March 1997 (2) which has modified
Directive 85/337/EEC, Member States are obliged to ensure that, before consent is given, projects likely to
have significant effects on the environment by virtue, inter alia, of their nature, size or location are made
subject to a requirement for development consent and an assessment with regard to their effects. Projects
covered by the Directive are identified in the annexes. The Commission has the task of ensuring the
correct application of Community law and, therefore, in this case, of assessing whether the Community
legislation on the environmental impact assessment (EIA) has been correctly applied in the Member State
concerned.

On the basis of the information given by the Honourable Member, the work to which the question makes
reference, a project for a new building, known as the ‘third satellite’, at Milan’s Malpensa Airport, which
will deal with the terminal’s aircraft docking systems, as well as all passenger and freight loading and
unloading operations is different from the main ‘Malpensa project’ approved in 1987 and could fall either
into class 12 Modifications to development projects included in Annex I of Annex II of Directive
85/337/EEC prior to the amendments or into class 13 Any change or extension of projects listed in
Annex I or Annex II, already authorized, executed or in the process of being executed, which may have
significant adverse effects on the environment of Annex II of Directive 85/337/EEC, as modified by
Directive 97/11/EC.

Under Directive 85/337/EEC prior to the amendments, projects falling into Annex II are to be made
subject to an EIA where Member States consider that their characteristics so require. However, Member
States are considered to be obliged to make a pre-assessment in order to establish whether Annex II
projects need to be made subject to an EIA procedure. Under Directive 85/337/EEC, as modified, for
Annex II projects, Member States are obliged to determine through a case-by-case examination or
thresholds or by the setting of criteria whether the project shall be made subject to an assessment in
accordance with Articles 5 to 10.

The Commission has already opened a complaint on the project and two letters have been sent to the
Italian authorities to request information on the issue. The case is under assessment and the Commission
will take appropriate steps in order to ensure the observance of Community law. After examining the case,
should the Commission consider that a breach of Community law has occurred, an infringement
procedure could be started.

As regards the application of Council Directive 90/313/EEC of 7 June 1990 on the freedom of access to
information on the environment, the information given by the Honourable Member is not sufficiently
detailed. Due to a lack of grounds of complaint on the application of Directive 90/313/EEC, no breach of
the Directive mentioned above can be identified at present.

(1) OJ L 175, 5.7.1985.
(2) OJ L 73, 14.3.1997.

(2002/C 301 E/205)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-1627/02

by Ursula Schleicher (PPE-DE) to the Commission

Subject: Directive on the disposal of waste oils

(3 June 2002)

the Directive on the disposal of waste oils (75/439/EEC (1), amended by Directives
Article 3(1) of
87/101/EEC (2) and 91/692/EEC (3))
‘Where technical, economic and organisational
constraints so allow, Member States shall take the measures necessary to give priority to the processing
of waste oils by regeneration.’

stipulates

that

According to my information, the Member States Austria, Ireland, France, Denmark, Belgium, the United
Kingdom, the Netherlands and Finland have not yet complied with that provision.