WRITTEN QUESTION E-3435/02 by Roberta Angelilli (UEN) to the Commission. Containment of earthquake hazards in the Lazio region.
Date: 2002-12-02
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: EU financing, Latium, action programme, aid to disaster victims, earthquake, seismic monitoring, town and country planning

C 192 E/114

Official Journal of the European Union

EN

14.8.2003

(2003/C 192 E/110)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3435/02

by Roberta Angelilli (UEN) to the Commission

(2 December 2002)

Subject: Containment of earthquake hazards in the Lazio region

A natural disaster has recently struck the Molise region in Italy, where an earth tremor measuring eight on
the Mercalli Scale resulted in numerous deaths, widespread infrastructural damage and serious damage to
the cultural and natural heritage. The widely-reported collapse of the San Giuliano primary school where
26 children and 1 schoolmistress died beneath the rubble is unfortunately only the most notorious
example of the tragedy which affected 44 municipalities leaving 11 000 people homeless, resulting in
major damage to churches and causing buildings to collapse.

The risk of similar situations recurring is extremely high in many areas of Italy in particular Lazio, situated
over the Olevano-Antrodoco seismic fault, one of the principal and most extensive faults in central Italy.

Therefore numerous measures are necessary for the purpose of prevention,
improved earthquake
protection, better risk containment and improved early warning and emergency response procedures and
resources, for which considerable funding will be necessary, in addition to that already available to the
central government and Lazio regional authorities.

In view of the commitment shown by the European Union in the management of natural disasters,
involving not only the recent Solidarity Fund to assist stricken populations but the adoption of a
Programme of Action for the civil populace to contain risks and damage to persons, property and the
environment in cases of natural disaster, can the Commission provide the following information:

1.

Is the Lazio region eligible for such a programme, to what extent and under what conditions?

2. Are any other programmes or other forms of funding for the containment of natural disasters

available?

Answer given by Mrs Wallström on behalf of the Commission

(29 January 2003)

The Council Decision of 9 December 1999 establishing a Community action programme in the field of
civil protection (1) is intended to support and supplement Member States’ efforts at national, regional and
local
levels for the protection of persons, property and the environment in the event of natural and
technological disasters. In order to be eligible for Community funding, actions under the programme must
concern all Member States or a significant number of them. The results of the actions carried out so far are
shown at http://europa.eu.int/comm/environment/civil. From now on, actions must be the subject of a call
for proposals to be published in the Official Journal of the European Communities.

Under the Single Programming Document for the Lazio region which the European Regional Development
Fund is co-funding for the period 2000-2006, there is provision (under measure I.1, granted a budget of
EUR 55 million) for structural assistance for soil protection measures aimed at, among other things,
preventing disasters. These include measures to consolidate sloping ground, hydraulic engineering work
and coastal protection. Moreover, environmental control and monitoring measures can be funded (under
measure I.4, with a budget of around EUR 8 million), making it possible to gain information on the state
of the environment in the region which can also be used to civil protection ends.

Implementing these measures is a matter for the regional administration which is the management
authority for the programme and is responsible in particular for selecting individual projects.

14.8.2003

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Official Journal of the European Union

C 192 E/115

Thus, for the Lazio region, the rural development plan co-funded by the European Agricultural Guidance
and Guarantee Fund (EAGGF) provides for the restoration of agricultural production potential damaged by
natural disasters and the establishment of appropriate prevention instruments.

The Commission is prepared to examine any proposal from the national and regional authorities aimed at
modifying the current operational programme in order to concentrate available resources on existing or
new measures to help overcome certain problems caused by the earthquake.

(1) OJ L 327, 21.12.1999.

(2003/C 192 E/111)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3441/02

by Marco Cappato (NI) to the Commission

(2 December 2002)

Subject: Transfer of personal data between Europe and the USA

During a visit by the European Parliament Delegation for relations with the United States, representatives
of the Europol Washington office indicated that Europol had, on a number of occasions, approved
transfers of personal data to the US authorities but only in cases of life and death, on the responsibility of
the Europol Director and under the supervision of the Board.

Can the Commission provide detailed information concerning such procedures and, in particular, the legal
basis on which they are carried out? In how many cases has this occurred involving how many people (of
what nationality) and what data? What reasons of exceptional and vital importance have in the past been
put forward in this connection? Why is that, according to Europol representatives in the USA, there has
been no supply of data in the opposite direction, i.e. from the United States authorities to Europol?

Answer given by Mr Vitorino on behalf of the Commission

(17 January 2003)

Article 2(1) of the Council Act of 12 March 1999 adopting the rules governing the transmission of
to third States and third bodies (1) stipulates that personal data may be
personal data by Europol
transmitted to third States under the conditions laid down in Article 18 of the Europol Convention (2)
when an agreement is in place with that third State.

In absence of such an agreement, personal data may be transmitted in exceptional cases, when the
Europol’s Director considers the transmission to be absolutely necessary to safeguard the essential interests
of the Member States, or in the interests of preventing imminent danger associated with crime.

The Council Act also obliges the Europol’s Director to inform the Europol Management Board and the
Joint Supervisory Body without undue delay of any decision taken to transmit personal data in application
of this exceptional clause.

Following the terrorist attacks on 11 September 2001 in the United States, the Europol Director decided
on 28 September 2001 to apply the exceptional clause and informed the Management Board and the Joint
Supervisory Body thereof. The data transmission has been limited to information linked to the
investigations of the terrorist acts committed on 11 September 2001, including related criminal offences
and money laundering activities. The reason for that decision was that information held at Europol could
be of vital importance to the competent authorities in the United States.

The Commission is not involved in the operational work of Europol and has no knowledge on the details
of this data transmission and whether or not the United States have supplied any data to Europol.

(1) OJ C 88, 30.3.1999.
(2) OJ C 316, 27.11.1995.