WRITTEN QUESTION E-3586/02 by Camilo Nogueira Román (Verts/ALE) to the Commission. Location of the European Maritime Safety Agency.
Date: 2002-12-13
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: EU office or agency, Galicia, maritime safety

10.7.2003

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 161 E/109

Answer given by Mrs Wallström on behalf of the Commission

(27 January 2003)

The Commission has received a complaint concerning the possible destruction of the site ‘Lacomaer
Teichgebiet’ by open-cast lignite mining. After having received additional information from the German
Government, the Commission decided to ask the Federal Republic of Germany under Article 226 of the EC
Treaty to submit its observations. In this letter, the Commission expressed the opinion that, by not
proposing the site ‘Lacomaer Teiche und Hammergraben’ as a Site of Community Importance, the Federal
Republic of Germany had failed to fulfil its obligations under Article 4(1) and Annex III (Stage 1) of
Directive 92/43/EEC (1). The observations of the Federal Republic of Germany have arrived recently. The
German Government argues that the discretion enjoyed by the Member States would justify not proposing
this site because a sufficient number of sites of comparable quality has been proposed to the Commission.
These arguments are currently being assessed by the Environment Directorate General.

The applicability of Directive 85/337/EEC in its original (2) or in its amended form (3) depends upon the
date on which the procedure for development consent was initiated. Therefore, provided the project in
question meets the other criteria in the Directive, in particular the criteria in Article 4, an environmental
impact assessment needs to be conducted if the procedure for development consent was initiated after
3 July 1988. In respect of the territory of the former German Democratic Republic, this date is 3 October
1990.

The Commission had already investigated in 1996 whether Directive 85/337/EEC had been respected with
regard to another open-cast lignite mining project in the former German Democratic Republic: the
neighbouring Jänschwalde project. The Commission arrived at the conclusion that this project had received
authorisation before Community law first became applicable. Therefore, no infringement of Directive 85/
337/EEC was found.

As for the open-cast mining project Cottbus-Nord, the assessment is similar. Moreover, according to the
information available to the Commission, the failure to conduct an environmental impact assessment with
regard to this project was unsuccessfully contested in the German courts. Assessment of these court
decisions has confirmed that no environmental impact assessment was necessary.

(1) Council Directive 92/43/EEC of 21 May 1992 on the conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora,

OJ L 206, 22.7.1992.

(2) Council Directive 85/337/EEC of 27 June 1985 on the assessment of the effects of certain public and private

projects on the environment, OJ L 175, 5.7.1985.

(3) Council Directive 97/11/EC of 3 March 1997 amending Directive 85/337/EEC on the assessment of the effects of

certain public and private projects on the environment, OJ L 73, 14.3.1997.

(2003/C 161 E/111)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3586/02

by Camilo Nogueira Román (Verts/ALE) to the Commission

(13 December 2002)

Subject: Location of the European Maritime Safety Agency

A large part of the intercontinental maritime traffic to and from Europe passes near the Galician coast. The
‘Prestige’ tanker disaster has tragically confirmed that Galicia is, therefore, the area of the world with the
highest relative incidence of accidents of this type. Will the Commission now propose locating the
European Maritime Safety Agency in a Galician city? If not, on what grounds? Has any proposal been
submitted by the government of the Spanish state, and has it proposed locating the agency in Galicia?

C 161 E/110

Official Journal of the European Union

EN

10.7.2003

Answer given by Mrs de Palacio on behalf of the Commission

(3 February 2003)

The Commission is not at present aware of any application from Spain to host the European Maritime
Safety Agency.

At this stage, the Commission has already implemented procedures which will permit the Agency to
provisionally begin its work as from the beginning of 2003, in Commission premises, pending a European
Council decision concerning the Agency’s headquarters.

(2003/C 161 E/112)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3593/02

by Camilo Nogueira Román (Verts/ALE) to the Commission

(13 December 2002)

Subject: EU action to reform the International Law of the Sea (cid:1) complex legal status of oil tankers

It

is clear that

The disaster arising from the wreck of the ‘Prestige’ off the coast of Galicia (cid:1) the latest in a series of six
accidents of this type which have affected Galicia in recent years (cid:1) has once more brought to the fore the
obstacles in the path of effective decision-making with a view to preventing or minimising the effects of
such disasters.
the oceans and the natural environment and the
preservation of the coastal economy and its communities are being seriously jeopardised by the existing
International Law of the Sea and by the legal status of oil tankers (which lie at the centre of a complex
network of interests and nations and flags of convenience,
involving vessel owners, transporters, oil
companies, classification companies and even mafia-type illegal businesses). What political and legislative
initiatives will the Commission take, in the framework of the EU and the international community, to
tackle this problem?

the protection of

Answer given by Mrs de Palacio on behalf of the Commission

(3 February 2003)

The Commission communication of 3 December 2002 on improving safety at sea in response to the
‘Prestige’ accident (1) stressed the need for Member States to support Commission proposals aimed at
restricting the right of shipowners to limit their financial liability when an accident is attributable to them
and removing the de facto immunity of the key players in an accident (the vessel charterer, operator or
manager) from compensation claims.

To supplement this measure, the Commission plans to propose a Regulation introducing criminal penalties
for any person responsible for accidental pollution due to serious negligence or to unlawful tank cleaning
operations.

With regard to audits of flag States, the Commission proposes to coordinate measures to combat flags of
convenience by improving the supervision of the maritime administrations and recognised organisations
responsible for inspecting the structural integrity of vessels. The proposal to introduce an audit procedure
was first made at the interministerial conference in Tokyo in January 2002. The idea was supported by the
Commission in its White Paper ‘European transport policy for 2010: time to decide’ (2).

In this context, in its communication of 3 December 2002 the Commission urged Member States to work
with it, within the International Maritime Organisation (IMO), in order to ensure the establishment of a
code of practice to be followed by flag States, the launch of a pilot project to develop audit procedures and
the introduction of these procedures as a binding IMO instrument.

(1) COM(2002) 681 final.
(2) COM(2001) 370 final.