WRITTEN QUESTION E-3071/02 by Roberta Angelilli (UEN) to the Commission. Special Commissioner for Traffic for the city of Rome.
Date: 2002-10-25
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: Latium, application of EU law, appointment of staff, environmental impact, local government, public works, town planning

12.6.2003

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 137 E/153

Answer given by Mr Liikanen on behalf of the Commission

(12 November 2002)

Letigen is a medicinal product which contains 20 miligram (mg) ephedrine and 200 mg coffein.

No divergent decision have been taken by national authorities for Letigen because a marketing
authorisation was only requested by an applicant in Denmark.

The competent authority for granting a marketing authorisation for a medicinal product in Sweden
(the Medicinal Product Agency (MPA)) has not received an application of a marketing authorisation
concerning Letigen. Therefore, the MPA has never rejected a marketing authorisation for Letigen.

The competent authority from Denmark (Danish Medicines Agency) granted a marketing authorisation to
Letigen in 1990.

The Commission will bring the Honourable Member’s concerns to the attention of the Danish Medicines
Agency to comment on the safety of Letigen in the treatment of ‘Obesity with a significant medicinal risk’.

(2003/C 137 E/174)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3071/02

by Roberta Angelilli (UEN) to the Commission

(25 October 2002)

Subject: Special Commissioner for Traffic for the city of Rome

Rome City Council has asked the Italian Government whether it can appoint the Mayor of Rome, Walter
Veltroni, to the post of Special Traffic Commissioner. This appointment would equip Mr Veltroni with
special discretionary powers to grant derogations from the legislation in force. He would, for example,
be able to arbitrarily decide whether or not environmental impact assessments should be carried out on
the construction of underground car parks or other public works. This would encroach on the regional
government’s authority, as recognised by the Italian State and the European Union and, above all, would
be liable to deprive citizens of the only regulatory instrument they have for preventing serious damage to
the environment and the liveability of the city.

Could the Commission therefore:

1.

2.

3.

indicate whether it is possible for mayors to bypass EIA procedures at their discretion, even if they
have been delegated special powers;

state whether this constitutes a potential infringement of the directives governing this area;

give its assessment of this situation.

Answer given by Mrs Wallström on behalf of the Commission

(18 November 2002)

The issue of the share-out of the responsability to apply the provisions of Council Directive 85/337/EEC of
27 June 1985 on the assessment of the effects of certain public and private projects on the environment (1)
whether before or after amendment by Council Directive 97/11/EC of 3 March 1997 (2) among the
different authorities of a Member States is not a matter of Community law.

However, all national authorities which are responsible for applying the provisions of the Directive in the
Member States are obliged to comply with it.

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