WRITTEN QUESTION P-3229/02 by Sérgio Marques (PPE-DE) to the Commission. Waste treatment plant in Madeira.
Date: 2002-11-07
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: Madeira, environmental impact, environmental protection, project evaluation, waste management

8.5.2003

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 110 E/187

(cid:1) public access to the results of the operation versus private ownership and control,

(cid:1) financial participation by collective bodies, research institutions.

(1) Council Regulation (EC) No 2792/1999 of 17 December 1999 laying down detailed rules and arrangements

regarding Community structural assistance in the fisheries sector, OJ L 337, 30.12.1999.

(2003/C 110 E/206)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-3229/02

by Sérgio Marques (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(7 November 2002)

Subject: Waste treatment plant in Madeira

The project for a new waste treatment plant in Madeira, spearheaded by the regional government of the
Autonomous Region of Madeira and with an estimated budget of EUR 115 million, is intended to provide
a viable and ecologically sound solution to the problem of the end-handling of waste in the Madeira
region, pursuant to the Strategic Waste Plan of the Autonomous Region of Madeira (Perram). The scheme
entails the extension and remodelling of the existing solid waste treatment plant at Meia Serra, the
construction of a sorting unit and two transfer units on the island of Madeira, the construction of a waste
processing unit on the island of Porto Santo, the acquisition of equipment for selective collecting, and an
environmental awareness campaign.

The extension and remodelling of the Meia Serra treatment plant will involve the incineration of solid
waste of urban origin and of hospital and slaughterhouse waste, as well as the composting of organic
waste, protective embankments, and a leaching plant.

(conception, construction and operation) was contracted out

The entire project
in 1998 to a
‘complementary group of companies’, involving a sum of EUR 97 366 967,33. It is financed at 68,7 % by
the EU’s most recent
the Cohesion Fund, and has been conceived and executed in observance of
environmental requirements. It will permit the generation of electrical energy from waste incineration, thus
creating a self-driven plant and allowing some 25 % of domestic consumption requirements in the island of
Madeira to be met from the grid.

Can the Commission confirm that
for the
Autonomous Region of Madeira, and represents a solution which is compatible with all aspects of the EU’s
environmental legislation, in the context of ensuring a quality environment and health and safety for the
communities concerned?

this project should be seen as an environmental asset

Answer given by Mr Barnier on behalf of the Commission

(29 November 2002)

The first phase of the project to which the Honourable Member refers was adopted on 22 November
1999, following a long period of examination which began on 21 May 1996 and during which the
Commission applied all the rules to ensure that the project could deal in the most effective way possible
with the problems posed by waste produced both in Madeira and on the island of Porto Santo. The
Commission therefore conducted very thorough negotiations on the various aspects of the project,
including those concerning the environment.

The Commission is certain that, when the various components of the project are operational, the region of
Madeira will be able to meet the objectives laid down in its Strategic Plan and hence the Community
Directives on the management and treatment of waste.

C 110 E/188

Official Journal of the European Union

EN

8.5.2003

An environmental impact assessment was carried out on the project pursuant to 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). A Monitoring Committee was set up to oversee the works and a monitoring plan
providing for the public distribution of the results obtained has been implemented.

The Plan includes a series of studies on the various environmental aspects to evaluate any negative impacts
and provide the solutions needed.

(1) OJ L 175, 5.7.1985, amended by Council Directive 97/11/CE of 3 March 1997, OJ L 73, 14.3.1997.

(2003/C 110 E/207)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3239/02

by Alexander de Roo (Verts/ALE) to the Commission

(15 November 2002)

Subject: Aquaculture

At the European Parliament Environment Committee meeting of 4 November 2002, a Commission official
maintained that 150 European laws apply to aquaculture.

Would the Commission forward a list of them?

Does the Commission not agree that most of those 150 laws simply happen to apply to aquaculture, since
they were developed for agricultural products?

Does the Commission not agree that it would be sensible to produce a European framework law on
aquaculture,
in the short term, since a number of Member States are presently working on national
legislation?

Answer given by Mr Fischler on behalf of the Commission

(29 November 2002)

The Honourable Member may find the list of references to Community Decisions, Directives and
Regulations relating to aquaculture in the ‘Legislation’ section of Directorate General (DG) Fisheries web
portal, at the address http://europa.eu.int/comm/dgs/fisheries/index_en.htm. A more comprehensive list of
documents relating to aquaculture, processing or marketing with links directly to the relevant documents is
being prepared and will be available on this site soon.

taking account of a number of aspects going from
Aquaculture development must be carried out
consumer’s health safety to environment protection, structural aid to trade rules, quality labels to
promotional campaigns, etc. It is normal that such a complex activity faces a bulky set of norms and
regulations covering all these aspects. In general the norms are not specific to aquaculture, as most of
them are framework rules intended for general purposes.

A coherent and specific Community legislation for aquaculture has been repeatedly requested; ideally, the
aquaculture sector should be dealt with at a global level, by a framework regulation taking care of all its
facets. This is practically impossible to achieve, as many aquaculture concerns are regulated by legislation
of national competence, which may be influenced by a number of horizontal Community Directives.

The recent Community strategy for sustainable development of European aquaculture (1) aims to define a
coherent framework that will enable aquaculture producers to offer a healthy product in the quantities
required by the market, while not degrading the environment. The success of the strategy depends on