WRITTEN QUESTION E-0064/03 by Hanja Maij-Weggen (PPE-DE) to the Commission. European assistance for the raising of the Le Joola ferry which sank off the coast of Senegal.
Date: 2003-01-22
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: European Development Fund, Senegal, cooperation policy, death, ferryboat, transport accident, use of aid

27.3.2004

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 78 E/693

(2004/C 78 E/0740)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3908/02

by Caroline Lucas (Verts/ALE) to the Commission

(14 January 2003)

Subject: Malta

It is understood that during accession negotiations, the EU granted Malta a derogation for spring hunting
of common quail coturnix coturnix and turtle dove streptopelia turtur on the islands. The Commission has
previously stated that this derogation is subject to ‘strict conditions’.

Could the Commission please explain why Malta was granted a derogation in the first place?

Could the Commission also clarify what these ‘strict conditions’ are and what concession, if any, is Malta
obliged to give for such a derogation? Furthermore, how does the Commission propose to monitor Malta’s
respect of its commitments in this area?

Answer given by Mr Verheugen on behalf of the Commission

(14 February 2003)

With regard to hunting of common quail coturnix coturnix and turtle dove streptopelia turtur, Malta has
not been given a derogation beyond the provisions of Article 9 of the Birds Directive (1). Article 9 of this
Council Directive allows, where there is no other satisfactory solution, for exceptions under certain very
stringent conditions.

This means that, if Malta wishes to allow spring hunting for these species, it would need to ensure that all
the requirements of Article 9 are met and that hunting is carried out under ‘strictly supervised conditions’
and limited to ‘small numbers’ only. Furthermore, the recourse to Article 9 is subject to regular monitoring
by the Commission and Malta is committed, in such a case, to report each year on its possible use.

(1) Council Directive 79/409/EEC of 2 April 1979 on the conservation of wild birds, OJ L 103, 25.4.1979.

(2004/C 78 E/0741)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0064/03

by Hanja Maij-Weggen (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(22 January 2003)

Subject: European assistance for the raising of the Le Joola ferry which sank off the coast of Senegal

The Le Joola ferry sank off the coast of Senegal and Gambia in September with more than a thousand
Africans and several European citizens on board, including the Netherlands nationals Roel and Lisette
Arendshorst. Very many family members in Africa and Europe and the Netherlands want to recover the
bodies of the victims and bury them on land.

Is the correct that the European Commission has already offered to fund the raising of the ship from the
eighth European Development Fund?

Why has the government of Senegal still not accepted the offer and what is preventing the Senegalese
government from raising the ship so that the victims can be given a dignified burial by their families?

Answer given by Mr Nielson on behalf of the Commission

(28 February 2003)

The Commission has not made the offer mentioned by the Honourable Member since such funding falls
outside the objectives of development co-operation with African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) States as
defined in Article 177 of the EC Treaty and the Cotonou Agreement.

C 78 E/694

Official Journal of the European Union

EN

27.3.2004

As mentioned in previous replies to similar Written Questions E-3166/02 (1) by Mrs Bonino, and
E-3319/02 (2) and P-0108/03 (3) by Mr van den Berg, the Government of Senegal has not submitted any
request to the Commission in respect of raising the ship.

(1) OJ C 155 E, 3.7.2003, p. 105.
(2) OJ C 268 E, 7.11.2003, p. 29.
(3) OJ C 268 E, 7.11.2003, p. 72.

(2004/C 78 E/0742)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0075/03

by Erik Meijer (GUE/NGL) to the Commission

(23 January 2003)

Subject: Regular rail transport in cities becoming unviable due to competition from minibuses offering

expensive, unsafe and obscure services

1.
Is the Commission aware that in the city with the biggest tram company in the world, St Petersburg
in Russia, public transport has been in rapid decline for several years due to inadequate maintenance, the
need to spend all the available money on restoring an underground-railway tunnel which has been flooded
since 1995, and motor vehicle congestion on tram tracks, which are not reserved to prevent use by other
traffic?

Is the Commission aware that this situation has been aggravated by the advent, since 1998, of
2.
thousands of competing privately operated buses and minibuses which are more expensive but quicker, are
now operating on nearly 400 routes in the city and account for an estimated 40 % of public transport, and
that the cash-strapped city authorities regard the growing role of these operators as grounds for ceasing to
invest in improvements to and renewal of regular public transport?

3.
Is the Commission furthermore aware that this situation in St Petersburg is not some bizarre local
aberration but that the public transport system in Odessa, Ukraine, was previously destroyed in the same
way and that minibus operators are similarly in the process of eliminating regular public transport in cities
in possible future EU Member States in the Balkans?

4.
Does the Commission share the fear that the continuation of this trend in Europe would create chaos
on the roads, on a par with that which exists in some Third-World cities which do not yet have public
transport systems that are affordable for most potential users or comprehensible to outsiders but which do
have fleets of minibuses which try to squeeze through the growing traffic jams quickly and without regard
for safety?

5.
Is this trend, which wastes land, promotes gridlock and makes few transport services available to the
lower paid, beneficial to the quality of life in cities and does it promote access to facilities in densely
populated city centres where there is little room for traffic?

6.
How will the Commission help to protect regular public transport in the EU Member States against
destructive competition from businesses which incur few costs themselves but pass costs on to the
community at large and which, by providing unreliable services which cause major damage to the
environment, impair the quality of public transport?

Source: ‘Tramfan Magazine’, vol. 2, no 10, p. 32.

Answer given by Mr Patten on behalf of the Commission

(3 March 2003)

The Community has Partnership and Co-operation Agreements (PCA) (http://www.europa.eu.int/comm/
external_relations/ceeca/pca/index.htm) with both the Russian Federation and with Ukraine that provide
the basis and instruments for co-operation in many domains including transport. The Commission’s