WRITTEN QUESTION P-2749/02 by Bart Staes (Verts/ALE) to the Council. Development of the EU quarter in Brussels with a view to enlargement.
Date: 2002-09-24
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: Belgium, EU Member State, EU institution, application of EU law, award of contract, building industry, enlargement of the Union, financial cooperation, summit meeting

C 137 E/116

Official Journal of the European Union

EN

12.6.2003

(2003/C 137 E/131)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2741/02

by Emmanouil Bakopoulos (GUE/NGL) to the Commission

(30 September 2002)

Subject: Organic farming in the European Union

The Commission estimates that in some Member States, organic farming (cid:1) which is expanding rapidly as
a whole (cid:1) has reached a plateau.

What measures will the Commission take to develop and secure the sustainability of organic farming?

Answer given by Mr Fischler on behalf of the Commission

(12 November 2002)

The Commission has stated in its Sustainable Development Strategy that the mid-term review of the
Common Agricultural Policy should reward quality rather than quantity by, for example, encouraging the
organic sector and other environmentally friendly farming systems.

Currently, and as a farming system beneficial for the environment, organic farming is supported by the
Community via its Rural Development Policy, as laid down in Council Regulation (EC) No 1257/1999 (1),
in the frame of agri-environmental schemes. All Member States have currently measures in place to
support the conversion to and/or the maintenance of organic farming.

In addition, the Commission is now developing an Action Plan for organic food and farming. The objective
of the Action Plan is to analyse the existing situation and to develop proposals for action, which will
facilitate continued growth in the sector. A communication on the Action Plan is expected to be presented
to the Council and the Parliament in December 2002.

(1) Council Regulation (EC) No 1257/1999 of 17 May 1999 on support for rural development from the European
Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund (EAGGF) and amending and repealing certain Regulations, OJ L 160,
26.6.1999.

(2003/C 137 E/132)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-2749/02

by Bart Staes (Verts/ALE) to the Council

(24 September 2002)

Subject: Development of the EU quarter in Brussels with a view to enlargement

At the EU summit in Seville in June of this year, the Belgian Prime Minister outlined his government’s
plans to construct a new building for European summits in Brussels. Javier Solana was then instructed to
explain these plans further to the various governments. This approach may have been adopted partly
because Belgium does not want to bear the full cost of funding such a project alone.

What progress has been made on this matter:

(cid:1) Which Member States have already agreed to participate financially?

(cid:1) If any Member States have refused to contribute, on what grounds have they done so?

(cid:1) What steps does Belgium have to take in order to put the works out to tender under EU legislation

once the Member States have given the go-ahead for the construction of this new facility?

12.6.2003

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 137 E/117

Reply

(18 February 2003)

The property development initiative taken by the Belgian government and presented at the European
Council meeting in Seville is currently being examined from the technical point of view by a working
party comprising representatives of the Belgian authorities and of the General Secretariat of the Council.

The purpose is primarily to explain to the Council the planning, scheduling and cost aspects involved in
this initiative. The matter will not be referred to the Council until all these aspects have been clarified.

The Council is therefore for the moment unable to answer the questions put by the Honourable Member.

However, it can state at this stage that any property development project for which the Council is the
contracting authority must observe the regulations of the host State, subject to the Protocol on the
privileges and immunities of the European Communities of 8 April 1965, and the provisions of the
Financial Regulation of 25 June 2002 applicable to the general budget of the European Communities (1),
in particular those on public procurement.

(1) OJ L 248, 16.9.2002, p. 1.

(2003/C 137 E/133)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2769/02

by Kathleen Van Brempt (PSE) to the Commission

Subject: Safety categories in the European road network

(1 October 2002)

There is apparently a European project to divide roads into four safety categories, ranging from one to
four stars. Can the Commission provide some more information about this initiative?

What is the purpose of the four safety categories?

How many roads in Belgium are being assigned to each of these categories?

Answer given by Mrs de Palacio on behalf of the Commission

(8 November 2002)

Unsafe roads are one of the factors contributing to the high number of casualties in the Union.

The Automobile Association Foundation for Road Safety Research in the United Kingdom has proposed a
scheme called European Road Assessment Programme (‘EuroRAP’). It is planned to present the information
collected and produced to the public in a simple and understandable way:

(cid:1) By risk rate maps: Stretches of road are awarded between zero and four stars according to the accident
rates for a certain number of recent years and then this rating is represented in different colours.

(cid:1) By a road protection score: In this case, stretches of road are assessed according to the degree by
which they deviate from best practice of infrastructure design. The roads are also video filmed.

The primary objective of EuroRAP is to reduce road injuries and fatalities, but also, as secondary
objectives, to create risk awareness amongst road users and to develop best practice for infrastructure
design for interurban roads and junctions.