WRITTEN QUESTION E-0236/03 by Isidoro Sánchez García (ELDR) to the Commission. Treatment of the outermost regions of the European Union under the mid-term reform of the CAP.
Date: 2003-02-04
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: Azores, Canary Islands, EU regional policy, French overseas department and region, Madeira, aid to agriculture, peripheral region, reform of the CAP, regional development

C 280 E/44

Official Journal of the European Union

EN

21.11.2003

(2003/C 280 E/044)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0232/03

by Eluned Morgan (PSE) to the Commission

(4 February 2003)

Subject: End-of-Life Vehicles Directive

Is the Commission aware of the problems Member States are experiencing in disposing of the ever-
increasing numbers of cars being dumped as a result of the End-of-Life Vehicles Directive? What is the
Commission doing to ease the financial and practical burden of disposing of these vehicles that has fallen
upon ordinary farmers as a result of the legislation?

Answer given by Mrs Wallström on behalf of the Commission

(6 March 2003)

There is no evidence to suggest that Directive 2000/53/EC of the Parliament and of the Council of
18 September 2000 on end-of life vehicles (1) (ELVs) is responsible for an increase in the number of cars
being dumped. On the contrary, the Directive contains provisions which are specifically intended to
combat the illegal dumping of ELVs. In particular, the Directive specifies that, from 21 April 2002,
vehicles may only be deregistered following the presentation of a certificate of destruction, which may only
be issued by licensed treatment centres. Moreover, the problem of dumped cars existed before the entry
into force of this Directive. For example, the United Kingdom’s (UK) Department of Trade and Industry
(DTI) estimates that up to 350 000 vehicles were abandoned in the UK in 2000.

The ELV Directive specifically requires Member States to establish systems to finance the collection and
treatment of ELVs. The Directive establishes the principle that the last owner should be able to dispose of
an ELV free of charge, while requiring that manufacturers meet all or a significant part of the cost of
implementing this measure. This applies from 1 July 2002 for vehicles put on the market after this date.
For vehicles placed on the market before this date, the Directive requires that manufacturers meet this cost
from 1 January 2007. The Directive does not specify how it should be met until 31 December 2006.

It is therefore the responsibility of Member States to implement the most appropriate system to finance the
collection of ELVs in the intervening period, including measures to ensure that farmers are not negatively
affected.

Legislation providing for free take-back systems for old cars is already in place, for example, in Germany,
the Netherlands, Austria and Sweden.

(1) OJ L 269, 21.10.2000.

(2003/C 280 E/045)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0236/03

by Isidoro Sánchez García (ELDR) to the Commission

(4 February 2003)

Subject: Treatment of the outermost regions of the European Union under the mid-term reform of the CAP

The Commission has put forward a proposal originating from the Berlin European Council to implement a
mid-term reform of the CAP that will amount to a minor agrarian revolution in the medium term and will
impact on the various regions of the European Union.

Moreover, the agricultural POSEI programmes for the outermost regions of the European Union have
recently been the subject of a review. In the light of the Commission’s development strategy for these
regions, and of Article 299(2) of the EC Treaty, which lays down that specific measures shall be adopted
when implementing Community provisions in those regions, precisely in the context of the CAP, will the
Commission apply special treatment to the outermost regions when implementing the CAP reforms and if
so, what measures will it adopt?

21.11.2003

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 280 E/45

Answer given by Mr Fischler on behalf of the Commission

(10 April 2003)

In drafting the regulations designed to give the European Union ‘a long-term perspective for sustainable
agriculture’, the Commission has safeguarded and taken full account of the specific features of Community
assistance intended to support agricultural production in the outermost regions.

As a result, in these regions the decoupling of aid will concern only a limited range of assistance from the
common agricultural policy (CAP) and the additional aid provided under the POSEI programmes.
Integrating this aid into the decoupled envelope will permit a substantial simplification of administrative
management procedures.

By introducing the single payment, the Commission is also proposing to give the Member States more
freedom in terms of the territorial level for implementation. That provision could prove particularly useful
in enabling the Member States concerned to take account of the particular situation of these regions.

The Commission would also stress that one of the aims of its proposals to reform the CAP is gradually to
reduce direct aid in order to free up additional finance for rural development. This is also likely to benefit
the outermost regions.

In accordance with Article 299(2) of the EC Treaty, the Commission will continue to ensure that what has
been achieved by the measures planned for the outermost regions is preserved and takes full account of
the their special needs. Where necessary, it reserves the right to propose any adjustments which may be
required to that end.

(2003/C 280 E/046)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0257/03

by Caroline Jackson (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(5 February 2003)

Subject: Health conditions on French canals

Pleasure craft on the French Canal Rhin au Marne and the Canal du Nivernais in 2002 apparently had to
pump out toilets directly into the canals because the French authorities have not positioned pumping-out
facilities along the canals for the boats to use. Can the Commission confirm that the system contravenes
existing EU law, and will it now take the matter up with the French authorities?

Answer given by Mrs Wallström on behalf of the Commission

(17 March 2003)

Relevant pieces of Community environmental legislation in the case of waste water discharges to waters
are the Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive (1), the Water Framework Directive (2) and the Bathing
Water Directive (3).

The Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive covers in its scope discharges of more than 2000 inhabitants
or the equivalent in waste water. Discharges below this threshold, e.g. from smaller settlements, individual
houses outside areas of concentration, or pleasure crafts are not covered by the Directive and thus fall
under the responsibility of Member States, following the principle of subsidiarity.

Under the Water Framework Directive, the Union has recently restructured and expanded its water
protection policy, protecting all waters and addressing all sources of impact, with an obligation to achieve
good quality (‘good status’) for all waters by 2015, and providing one coherent managerial framework for
the implementation of all water-related Community legislation. This environmental objective and deadline
are complemented by mandatory preparatory steps, such as first analysis of pressures and impacts by