WRITTEN QUESTION P-3398/02 by Carlos Ripoll y Martínez de Bedoya (PPE-DE) to the Commission. The Prestige incidence off the Galician coast.
Date: 2002-11-22
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: Galicia, maritime safety, maritime transport, oil pollution, prevention of pollution, tanker

3.7.2003

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 155 E/149

industry on personal data and privacy issues, the Commission will continue to stress that software should
be designed to be privacy friendly and that defaults should be set in such a way that users have adequate
control over third party access to their terminal equipment and to data stored on that equipment.

(1) OJ L 201, 31.7.2002.

(2003/C 155 E/165)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3396/02

by Avril Doyle (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(28 November 2002)

Subject: Experimentation on chimpanzees

What is the Commission’s view on continued experimentation on chimpanzees at the Biomedical Primate
Research Centre in the Netherlands,
the only remaining facility in the European Union still using
chimpanzees for experiments?

The laboratory situated near The Hague is planning one final experiment on six healthy infant
chimpanzees by infecting them with the incurable hepatitis C virus. I urge the Commission to intervene
to prevent this one final experiment at the Biomedical Primate Research Centre.

Answer given by Mrs Wallström on behalf of the Commission

(8 January 2003)

Experimentation on animals falls under Council Directive 86/609/EEC on the approximation of laws,
regulations and administrative provisions of the Member States regarding the protection of animals used
for experimental and other scientific purposes (1). The Directive states that animal experiments shall not be
performed if another scientifically satisfactory method is reasonably and practicably available (Article 7.2).
The choice of the animal species should also be carefully considered (Article 7.3).

The implementation of the Directive is the responsibility of the national authorities, in this case the Dutch
authority. So far, the Commission has not received any information that indicates that the proposed
experiment is in breach of the Directive.

The Commission is aware that the use of non-human primates such as chimpanzees in experiments is a
sensitive issue. In the upcoming revision of the Directive, this issue will play an important role.

(1) OJ L 358, 18.12.1986.

(2003/C 155 E/166)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-3398/02

by Carlos Ripoll y Martínez de Bedoya (PPE-DE) to the Commission

Subject: The ‘Prestige’ incidence off the Galician coast

(22 November 2002)

On Wednesday, 13 November, the oil tanker ‘Prestige’ on route from Latvia to Gibraltar was damaged and
destabilised, apparently by the heavy seas caused by the storm off Finisterre. The Spanish authorities were
as a result forced to activate appropriate rescue and safety proc-edures, thus preventing an ecological and
environmental disaster of unforeseeable dimensions, whose consequences could have been far worse than
was actually the case

Given that the available information indicates that the ‘Prestige’ underwent compulsory inspection in
Rotterdam Harbour in 1999, during which anomalies were detected, and that there is no news of the
vessel’s being re-inspected, despite the fact that it has called at Community ports.

C 155 E/150

Official Journal of the European Union

EN

3.7.2003

Does the Commission believe that there has been a dereliction of duty on the part of some authority or
body responsible for inspecting and checking vessels of this kind?

Answer given by Mrs de Palacio on behalf of the Commission

(16 January 2003)

As the Honourable Member indicates, the loss of the Bahamian-flagged oil tanker Prestige off the Galician
coast triggered a major ecological disaster.

On 13 November 2002, the Prestige, caught in a storm while sailing from Latvia to Singapore, radioed for
help after a large breach opened in its starboard hull. The crew members reported the ship to be listing
following what they described as a loud noise, as if it had hit a floating object. At this stage,
it is
nonetheless hard to be certain about the precise cause of the accident.

The Prestige’s last inspection under the port State control rules appears to have been in September 1999 in
Rotterdam. It revealed minor anomalies, which were put right before the ship set sail.

After this, the Prestige barely called in at Union ports, with the exception of Kalamata and Gibraltar during
its last voyage to the Baltic. It also called into port in Latvia and Russia, though no further inspections
were performed on those occasions, either under the Paris Memorandum or pursuant to Directive 95/21/
EC on port State control (1).

The Commission has written to the competent authorities of these various States for information on the
lack of inspections during the ship’s recent calls into ports under their jurisdiction.

In any event, in its communication of 3 December 2002 the Commission reminded the Member States of
their inspection obligations. It asked them to recruit enough inspectors to check at least 25 % of ships, as
required by current European rules. It also requested them to achieve a sufficient level of inspection in all
their ports and anchorage areas to prevent them becoming ‘ports of convenience’. It will be presenting
proposals in this respect.

The Commission also intends to remain particularly vigilant regarding the 25 % level. Two proceedings are
already under way, against France and Ireland, for repeated failure to observe Community obligations in
this area.

(1) Council Directive 95/21/EC of 19 June 1995 concerning the enforcement, in respect of shipping using Community
ports and sailing in the waters under the jurisdiction of the Member States, of international standards for ship
safety, pollution prevention and shipboard living and working conditions (port State control) (cid:1) OJ L 157,
7.7.1995.

(2003/C 155 E/167)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-3414/02

by Torben Lund (PSE) to the Commission

(25 November 2002)

Subject: Compliance of EU funding in Poland with EU legislation

The Commission has stated that it considers that Poland should, for all its transport infrastructure projects,
comply with EU environmental legislation, including the Habitats and Birds Directives, and ensure that a
proper environmental impact assessment is carried out in line with requirements of Directive 97/11/EC (1).

What action is the Commission taking to ensure that the development of the ‘Via Baltica’ is fully consistent
with EU environmental directives, and a proper environmental assessment is carried out (in line with the
requirements of Directive 97/11/EC)?