WRITTEN QUESTION E-0198/03 by Margot Keßler (PSE) to the Council. Western Sahara — Visit of European Parliament Ad Hoc Delegation — Human Rights.
Date: 2003-02-03
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: Morocco, Western Sahara, common foreign and security policy, human rights, international issue, political violence, settlement of disputes, the EU's international role

18.9.2003

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 222 E/161

Under Council Directive 85/337/EEC of 27 June 1985, on the assessment of the effects of certain public
and private projects on the environment, as amended by Council Directive 97/11/EC of 3 March 1997,
Member States are obliged to ensure that, before consent is given, projects likely to have significant effects
on the environment by virtue, inter alia, of their nature, size or location are made subject to a requirement
for development consent and an assessment with regard to their effects. Projects covered by the Directive
are identified in the annexes. Projects listed in Annex I are made subject to an environmental impact
assessment (EIA) procedure. For projects listed in Annex II, Member States are obliged to determine
through a case-by-case examination or by setting criteria or thresholds whether a project is to be made
subject to an EIA procedure.

Based on the information given by the Honourable Member, the work to which the question refers could
fall within the scope of Annex II of Directive 85/337/EEC as amended, in particular project categories 12c.
In the light of the above, the Italian authorities should determine through a case-by-case examination or by
applying thresholds or criteria set by the Italian legislation, whether the project is to be made subject to an
environmental impact assessment procedure.

The EIA legislation of the Region of Sicily (Presidential Decree of 14 November 2000), provides that
projects for hotel complexes for more than 300 beds are made the subject of an examination in order to
determine whether they have to be made the subject of an EIA procedure. It appears that, under this
provision, in line with the Directive, the projects mentioned by the Honourable Member will be examined
in order to determine whether they have to be made the subject of an EIA procedure. When the internal
law complies with Community law and no evidence is given to presume that it is going to be breached,
the Commission considers that there are no grounds for intervention.

Council Directives 92/43/EEC of 21 May 1992 on the conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna
and flora and 79/409/EEC of 2 April 1979, on the conservation of wild birds, are relevant only where
projects are likely to affect a site proposed or designated under these Directives, which does not appear to
be the case on the basis of the information provided by the Honourable Member. In the light of the above,
given the lack of specific grounds for the complaint on the application of Community law in this specific
case, no breach of it can be identified at present.

Expenditure for the construction of tourist villages is not eligible for support from the Structural Funds.

(2003/C 222 E/186)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0198/03

by Margot Keßler (PSE) to the Council

(3 February 2003)

Subject: Western Sahara (cid:1) Visit of European Parliament Ad Hoc Delegation (cid:1) Human Rights

The European Parliament Ad Hoc Delegation for the Western Sahara visited Laayoune, the capital of this
non-self-governing territory, on 12 March 2002. A meeting with members of the civil society, including
Saharawi human rights activists, was held in Laayoune Parador Hotel.

The meeting took place at the request of the European Delegation, which raised the question of the safety
of the civil society members. The Delegation chair, Catherine Lalumiere MEP, promised to give every
the participants in the meeting would not undergo intimidation by the Moroccan
guarantee that
authorities following this meeting. After their meeting with the MEPs, the president and a large number of
members of the local human rights NGO ‘Forum for Truth and Justice: Sahara Section’ who participated in
the meeting were prosecuted by the occupying Moroccan authorities. The Saharawi participants were the
president of
the NGO, Mr Moutik Lahoussine, Mr Eddymaoui Abdessalem, Mr Ennassiri Ahmed,
Mr Elmoussaoui Edkhil and Mr Mohamed Elmoutaouikil.

Mr Moutik Lahoussine was fired from his job (in the company Sepomer Sahara SARL) due to his meeting
with the European Parliament Ad Hoc Delegation. The other members of the Saharawi delegation were
detained on several occasions and prosecuted for political reasons.

C 222 E/162

Official Journal of the European Union

EN

18.9.2003

Several members of the Sahara section of the Truth and Justice Forum and Saharawi human rights
militants have currently been targeted by intimidation measures.

What is the Council doing against these violations of human rights?

As the Kingdom of Morocco is the occupying power in Western Sahara, what kind of action at diplomatic
level is the Council taking in this respect to improve the situation of the above-mentioned persons who
met the Ad Hoc Delegation?

What kind of measures can the Council provide concerning the next European Parliament missions to this
non-self-governing territory?

Reply

(13 May 2003)

The Council takes note of the facts reported by the Honourable Member.

The Council is following the Western Sahara issue closely. It fully supports the efforts of the United Nations
and in particular those of the Personal Envoy of the UN Secretary-General, Mr James Baker, in the quest
for a sustainable solution that fully respects international law, human rights and democracy. Mr Baker
went to the region in January 2003 to present to the parties the terms of a proposal for a political solution
to the conflict. The United Nations Security Council decided at the end of January to extend the mandate
of Minurso until 31 March 2003, to allow the parties to take full advantage of the time and to consider
the proposal constructively.

the political dialogue meetings that

for democratic principles and fundamental human rights are an essential element of

Respect
the
association between the European Union and third countries. These subjects are regularly raised in that
connection at
the EU conducts with the countries concerned,
particularly in the framework of the association agreements. At the last EU/Morocco Association Council
meeting on 24 February 2003 in Brussels, the Council again emphasised the need to comply fully with
civil and human-rights guarantees in Western Sahara. The EU attaches particular importance to the
humanitarian dimension of this conflict. It has always taken the position that humanitarian measures
should be taken without delay in order to re-establish trust between the parties.

At the meeting on 24 February 2003, Morocco assured the EU that it was willing to negotiate a political
solution, with the Algerian side in particular, and that it wanted to bring an end to this 30-year dispute.
The European Union expressed the hope that this rapprochement would be beneficial both for the final
settling of the Western Sahara dispute and for the fate of the peoples and the regional integration of the
Maghreb as a whole.

The Council
further
Ms Marianne Eriksson.

refers the Honourable Member

to its reply to question P-2254/02 put by

Regarding this last question, the issue falls outside the responsibility of the Council.

(2003/C 222 E/187)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0200/03

by Emilio Menéndez del Valle (PSE) to the Council

(3 February 2003)

Subject: Gibraltarian police violence

On 20 January 2003, in the bay of Algeciras, whose waters Spain considers Spanish, Greenpeace activists
carried out a peaceful demonstration against the single-hulled Maltese-registered oil tanker Vemamagna.

Public opinion in Spain and various other European countries is extremely sensitive to issues like this,
thanks to the ‘Prestige’ disaster, and all the more so now, thanks to the sinking of a barge carrying over a
thousand tonnes of fuel in the very waters of the bay of Algeciras on 21 January 2003.