WRITTEN QUESTION P-3219/02 by Niels Busk (ELDR) to the Commission. Aid for fishing ports.
Date: 2002-11-07
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: FIFG, Structural Funds, fishing port, private investment, public financing, structural policy

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would apply to corporate restructuring. The Commission welcomes the fact that the social partners have
recently decided to include the follow-up of this important issue in their Multiannual Work Programme for
2003-2005.

(1) COM(2002) 347 final.
(2) Council Directive 98/59/EC of 20 July 1998 on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to
collective redundancies. (This Directive consolidates Directives 75/129/EEC and 92/56/EEC), OJ L 225, 12.8.1998.
(3) 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.

(4) Council Directive 94/45/EC of 22 September 1994 on the establishment of a European Works Council or a
procedure in Community-scale undertakings and Community-scale groups of undertakings for the purposes of
informing and consulting employees, OJ L 254, 30.9.1994.

(5) Directive 2002/14/EC of the Parliament and of the Council of 11 March 2002 establishing a general framework for
informing and consulting employees in the Community (cid:1) Joint declaration of the Parliament, the Council and the
Commission on employee representation, OJ L 80, 23.3.2002.

(2003/C 110 E/205)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-3219/02

by Niels Busk (ELDR) to the Commission

(7 November 2002)

Subject: Aid for fishing ports

Is it to be construed from Council Regulation No 2792/1999 (1) of 17 December 1999 that facilities in
fishing ports that benefit from private joint financing cannot obtain the same rate of aid from structural
measures as publicly financed facilities in fishing ports?

If so, for what reasons is the Commission pursuing such a policy that discriminates between projects
depending on whether the project is of a public or private nature and does it intend to modify this
practice?

(1) OJ L 337, 30.12.1999, p. 10.

Answer given by Mr Fischler on behalf of the Commission

(29 November 2002)

The Berlin European Council
(23-24 March 1999) adopted the Agenda 2000 financial perspective
covering Structural Fund utilisation over the period 2000-2006. Point 48 of the Council Presidency’s
conclusions reads:

In the case of investment in firms, the contribution of the funds shall comply with the ceilings on the
rate of aid and on combinations of aid set in the field of State aids. The European Council also
endorses the lower rates proposed by the Commission for contributions of the funds to revenue-
generating infrastructure investment and investment in firms.

At the level of the Regulation (1) dealing with the Financial Instrument for Fisheries Guidance this principle
translates into different contribution rates inter alia for fishing port facilities depending on whether or not
a financial contribution from private beneficiaries is involved.

Paragraph 6 of Section 2 Rates of financial participation in Annex IV to the Regulation states that the
involve such a
(national) management authority is to determine whether projects do or do not
contribution, in particular on the basis of the following considerations:

(cid:1) collective versus individual interests,

(cid:1) collective versus individual beneficiary,

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(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.