WRITTEN QUESTION P-2260/02 by María Sornosa Martínez (PSE) to the Commission. Increase in the environmental damage caused by the Fervasa solid urban waste treatment plant in Aldaia and Quart de Poblet.
Date: 2002-07-17
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: Community of Valencia, budgetary control, degradation of the environment, industrial pollution, protected area, waste management

6.2.2003

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 28 E/211

Answer given by Mrs Diamantopoulou on behalf of the Commission

(17 September 2002)

In accordance with Article 8(3) of Council Regulation (EC) No 1260/1999 of 21 June 1999 laying down
general provisions on the Structural Funds (1), the implementation of assistance is the responsibility of the
Member States, in application of the principle of subsidiarity. According to the information received from
the Portuguese authorities, the firm in question did not benefit from co-financing under the European
Regional Development Fund during the 1989-1993 and 1994-1999 programming periods.

As far as Community legislation applicable to the facts outlined by the Honourable Member regarding
dismissal is concerned, the Commission would like to point out that Directive 98/59/EC (2) would not
appear to apply in this case (3). Furthermore, under present Community law, questions relating to
individual dismissals, such as those raised by the Honourable Member, are in principle subject to the
national laws of the Member States.

However, the Commission would like to refer to Directive 2001/23/EC (4) which, in Article 4, provides that
the transfer of an undertaking, a business or a part of an undertaking or business shall not in itself
constitute grounds for dismissal by the transferor or the transferee. Nevertheless, this provision does not
stand in the way of dismissals that may take place for economic, technical or organisational reasons
entailing changes in the workforce.

Moreover, Article 6 of the said Directive lays down the conditions for the preservation of the status and
function of the representatives of the employees and for the protection of these representatives in the
event of the transfer of an undertaking.

In addition, Article 7 requires the transferor and the transferee to inform the representatives of their
respective employees affected by the transfer of, inter alia, the social implications of the transfer for the
employees and any measures envisaged in relation to the employees.

It is up to employees who consider themselves wronged by failure to comply with the obligations arising
from the Directive to pursue their claims, including through the courts, in the Member State concerned (5).

(1) OJ L 161, 26.6.1999.
(2) Council Directive 98/59/EC of 20 July 1998 on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to

collective redundancies (OJ L 225, 12.8.1998).

(3) Cf. Article 1(1)(a)(i), second indent thereof.
(4) Council Directive 2001/23/EC of 12 March 2001 on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating
transfers of undertakings, businesses or parts of

to the safeguarding of employees’ rights in the event of
undertakings or businesses (OJ L 82, 22.3.2001).
(5) Cf., in this respect, Article 9 of the said Directive.

(2003/C 28 E/241)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-2260/02

by María Sornosa Martínez (PSE) to the Commission

(17 July 2002)

Subject: Increase in the environmental damage caused by the Fervasa solid urban waste treatment plant in

Aldaia and Quart de Poblet

In my question E-2084/01 (1), I informed the Commission of the situation concerning the solid urban
waste treatment plant run by the company Fervasa on the outskirts of the municipalities of Aldaia and
Quart de Poblet. Besides being obsolete and working at overcapacity, the Fervasa plant fails to comply with
legal provisions (on planning and licences) and has a range of serious impacts on the environment, which
were described in detail both in my question E-2084/01 and in the technical report drawn up by the
Aldaia municipal council and then forwarded to the Commission. Of these environmental impacts, the
following require an urgent solution: noxious smells, leaching, airborne waste, excessive lorry traffic and
the devaluation of land.

C 28 E/212

Official Journal of the European Union

EN

6.2.2003

The situation is particularly serious if one considers the impact that the plant might have on the protected
area of La Albufera and its flora and fauna. The Fervasa plant is located on the terraces of the Poyo Ravine,
where a high proportion of the leachates collect. Since the ravine connects with La Albufera, these
leachates could be causing a slow but steady contamination of the subsoil there. After 30 years of activity
at the plant, the repercussions of this are impossible to assess.

In its answer to my original question, the Commission undertook to launch an investigation with the
Spanish authorities to ascertain whether,
in the case of the Fervasa plant, there had been a failure to
comply with Community law.

Since that answer dates from September 2001:

(cid:1) could the Commission describe the action it is now taking to remedy the serious deterioration of the

environment caused by the Fervasa plant?

(cid:1) have the Spanish authorities submitted any information on this matter to the Commission?

(1) OJ C 40 E, 14.2.2002, p. 182.

Answer given by Mrs Wallström on behalf of the Commission

(6 September 2002)

Following written question E-2084/01 by the Honourable Member (1), reporting the situation at a waste
treatment plant inside the ‘La Albufera’ special protection area (SPA) for birds in Valencia, the Commission
opened own-initiative case 2001/2166 and approached the Spanish authorities for their comments on the
reported situation and for the information it needed on the plant.

In their reply, the Spanish authorities described the plant as a waste recovery facility designed to handle
urban waste from the city of Valencia and authorised since 1970; it had no direct impact on the Albufera
nature park, was located in an industrial area near the trunk road to Madrid and Manises airport and was
much further away from the protected area of La Albufera than many other industries in the metropolitan
area.

The authorities also indicated that the plant had a system for collecting leachates, which were subsequently
treated at the waste water treatment plant at Pinedo, Valencia.

The Spanish authorities stated that
the Valencia metropolitan area local waste plan, awaiting final
authorisation, included the replacement of the facility by a new plant, which would be subjected to an
impact assessment study and would use the best available technology to deal with leachates and eliminate
smells.

On the basis of the information available, therefore, the Commission is unable to pursue its investigation
of this case as there is no evidence of an infringement.

However, the Commission does not rule out the possibility of examining the problem raised by the
Honourable Member should she be able to provide it with information proving that Community law has
been violated.

(1) OJ C 40 E, 14.2.2002.

(2003/C 28 E/242)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2266/02

by Rainer Wieland (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(24 July 2002)

Subject: Axle weight limits for cranes

In France, engines powering crane jibs (i.e. engines which simply power the lifting gear on a building site)
may be run on fuel oil, which is significantly cheaper than normal diesel. This represents a not
insignificant competitive advantage for French crane operators.