WRITTEN QUESTION E-3018/02 by Luciano Caveri (ELDR) to the Commission. Heavy goods vehicle traffic through the Mont Blanc tunnel.
Date: 2002-10-23
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: France, Italy, approximation of laws, commercial vehicle, international road transport, road safety, tunnel

C 137 E/146

Official Journal of the European Union

EN

12.6.2003

How should the victim have proceeded in order to secure justice and the prospect of due process? Does the
difference in Member States’
judicial customs constitute such an obstacle to the freedoms created for
citizens in the EU that those freedoms cannot be considered real in practice? How could the position of
rape victims be improved through joint action in the EU?

Reply

(18 February 2003)

The Council is not in a position to comment on individual criminal cases in the Member States.

By adopting the Framework Decision of 15 March 2001 on the standing of victims in criminal
proceedings (1) the Council has laid down general rules regarding the position of victims of criminal
offences.

(1) OJ L 82, 22.3.2001, p. 1.

(2003/C 137 E/166)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3018/02

by Luciano Caveri (ELDR) to the Commission

(23 October 2002)

Subject: Heavy goods vehicle traffic through the Mont Blanc tunnel

Italy and France now appear to have agreed that two-way HGV traffic should be resumed in the Mont
Blanc tunnel. This is causing concern among local inhabitants since the current operating rules (set out in
a ministerial decree adopted in France) set a limit of 240 on the number of lorries that may travel through
the tunnel every hour, and this ceiling is out of step with the technical limits obtaining under the current
safety regulations. There are therefore calls for this figure to be revised in line with the Alpine Convention,
the Transport Protocol thereto and the restrictive measures applying on the Austrian passes (ecopoints and
night-time ban) and the St Gotthard route in Switzerland. Would the Commission state its views on the
matter and provide any relevant information?

Answer given by Ms de Palacio on behalf of the Commission

(5 December 2002)

The theoretical number of lorries that may travel through a tunnel depends on the rules limiting the
distance between vehicles, the maximum permitted speed and the specific restrictions for each tunnel.
No legal limit for the number of lorries has been adopted at international level.

The Commission should very shortly be proposing a Directive on safety in tunnels, harmonising some of
these elements. However, the tunnel managers will be authorised to apply more stringent rules where these
are necessary to ensure safety.

Regarding the Mont Blanc tunnel, in March 2002 the French and Italian authorities said that when two-
way traffic was resumed, the average daily number would be lower than it was before the fire of
24 March 1999, which was approximately 2000 lorries per day. This is well below the maximum
theoretical number.

(2003/C 137 E/167)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3028/02

by Glyn Ford (PSE) to the Commission

(23 October 2002)

Subject: Friesland salvage operation

Is the Commission aware of the case of Peter Devlin, who led a team of divers (British nationals) salvaging
tin ingots with the authorisation of the Spanish Government from the wreck of the Friesland off the