WRITTEN QUESTION E-0114/03 by Ralf Walter (PSE) to the Commission. Insurance against natural disasters.
Date: 2003-01-28
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: EU Member State, State aid, guarantee, indemnity insurance, insurance, natural disaster

15.1.2004

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 11 E/69

Furthermore, the Commission invited the European social partners to engage in a dialogue on anticipating
and managing change with a view to applying a dynamic approach to the social aspects of corporate
restructuring. The social partners agreed to incorporate this important issue in their recently adopted
multiannual work programme (4) (5).

(1) OJ C 74, 10.3.1998.
(2) Directive 98/59/EC of 20 July 1998 on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to collective

redundancies, OJ L 225, 12.8.1998.

(3) COM(2002) 347 final.
(4) Orçamento da Economia
(5) European Social Fund.

(2004/C 11 E/071)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0114/03

by Ralf Walter (PSE) to the Commission

(28 January 2003)

Subject: Insurance against natural disasters

Can the Commission indicate what different insurance systems and other types of financial safeguards,
provided by the insurance industry and by states, exist in EU Member States, with regard to natural
disasters, including:

(cid:1) earthquakes,

(cid:1) landslides,

(cid:1) avalanches,

(cid:1) floods, and

(cid:1) storm tides?

Answer given by Mr Bolkestein on behalf of the Commission

(4 March 2003)

Natural disasters are infrequent, erratic and violent phenomena that are exceptionally costly. They occur at
random in various parts of a country but the costs involved are very high as the damage is as a rule
confined to a specific area (city, region, etc.).

Member States are exposed to the risk of natural disasters in differing degrees, some being more vulnerable
than others, on account of location, population spread, etc., to certain types of natural disaster (floods,
earthquakes, avalanches, tidal waves, storms, etc.), which also vary considerably in terms of frequency and
intensity.

Given these differences between the Member States, systems to protect against natural disasters can be put
in place more satisfactorily at regional or national
level than at Community level. As laid down in
Regulation (EC) No 2012/2002 (1), Community aid should be complementary to that of the Member States
and, under the subsidiarity principle, should be confined to major disasters.

Different insurance systems are used to protect against natural disasters in the Member States. Most have
arrangements for providing compensation for damage caused by natural disasters. These vary depending
on the type of disaster involved: floods, avalanches, earthquakes, storms, etc. The solutions existing in each
of the Member States also depend on the exposure of the Member State to the risk of natural disasters,
which sometimes makes certain categories of risk uninsurable or technically very difficult to insure.

C 11 E/70

Official Journal of the European Union

EN

15.1.2004

for certain categories of natural disaster (for example, storms,

According to the information available to the Commission, in some Member States private insurance
policies give cover
thunderstorms,
earthquakes). This can either be additional or complementary to the principal risk covered by the policy
(for example, fire insurance policy for a building) or take the form of separate cover in a specific insurance
policy. Such cover is sometimes required under national legislation, which spells out the risks that have to
be covered as well as the terms and conditions. But there are some risks that cannot be covered by private
insurance operators because the degree of exposure is too great (for example, floods in the Netherlands).

In most Member States, the public authorities also provide cover for natural disasters based on national
solidarity. This takes different forms depending on the particular situation in each Member State. It may
either replace or supplement insurance schemes:
in such cases the public authorities may cover risks
through pools or funds providing insurance cover in addition to cover under insurance policies. Or, in
other cases, Member States have reinsurance schemes for insurance companies which are required under
national legislation to provide cover against the risk of natural disasters.

In addition to these insurance-related systems some Member States have special arrangements for
providing compensation for damage caused by natural disasters which are not insured (disaster funds). And
lastly, under certain circumstances, some Member States make ad hoc provision to contribute to
compensation for damage (aid, credit on favourable terms, etc.).

(1) Council Regulation (EC) No 2012/2002 of 11 November 2002 establishing the European Union Solidarity Fund:

OJ L 311, 14.11.2002.

(2004/C 11 E/072)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-0163/03

by Avril Doyle (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(22 January 2003)

Subject: Common Fisheries Policy

Would the Commission detail:

(cid:1) the number of fishery officers in Spain; in UK; in France; in Belgium; in Ireland and in Denmark;

(cid:1) the number of arrests and prosecutions in each country for the last available year.

(cid:1) What quotas will be/have been allocated to each accession country, for which species, and waters?

Answer given by Mr Fischler on behalf of the Commission

(11 February 2003)

The following information concerning the number of fishery officers in Belgium, Denmark, Spain,

1.
France, Ireland and the United Kingdom is based on annual reports submitted by the Member States.

The number of fisheries inspectors in Belgium is five.

In Denmark a total number of 127 officials are employed in the local inspectorates for the purpose of land
based inspections. On the four fisheries control vessels deployed for fisheries control, there is a total
number of 80 crew personnel, working on a rotation basis. All these crew members are empowered to
carry out inspections.