WRITTEN QUESTION P-0371/03 by Reino Paasilinna (PSE) to the Commission. Movements of the tanker Stemnitsa in the frozen waters of the Gulf of Finland.
Date: 2003-02-07
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: EU relations, Finland, International Maritime Organisation, Russia, law of the sea, maritime safety, maritime transport, oil pollution, pollution from ships, prevention of pollution, tanker

18.9.2003

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 222 E/189

Manufacturers are now finalising their Euro 4 vehicles and engines where the main emphasis is on the
reduction of particulate emissions. While a forthcoming Commission proposal will add several new
technical tests to the Euro 4 package, as required by Directive 1999/96/EC, it can be expected that tax
incentives offered in Member States will soon result in the introduction of vehicles and engines meeting
the Euro 4 emission limits.

Vehicles complying with the Euro 5 emission limits (only a more stringent limit for oxides of nitrogen (cid:1)
the limits for other pollutants remain the same as for Euro 4) are unlikely to appear for some time yet. The
technology that is favoured by the European industry to comply with the Euro 5 emission limits requires
the provision of an infrastructure for the supply of a necessary additive that is a critical element for the
correct functioning of that technology.

(1) Directive 1999/96/EC of the Parliament and of the Council of 13 December 1999 on the approximation of the
laws of the Member States relating to measures to be taken against the emission of gaseous and particulate
pollutants from compression ignition engines for use in vehicles, and the emission of gaseous pollutants from
positive ignition engines fuelled with natural gas or liquefied petroleum gas for use in vehicles and amending
Council Directive 88/77/EEC (cid:1) OJ L 44, 16.2.2000.

(2) Council Directive 88/77/EEC of 3 December 1987 on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating
to the measures to be taken against the emission of gaseous pollutants from diesel engines for use in vehicles (cid:1)
OJ L 36, 9.2.1988.

(2003/C 222 E/216)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-0371/03

by Reino Paasilinna (PSE) to the Commission

(7 February 2003)

Subject: Movements of the tanker Stemnitsa in the frozen waters of the Gulf of Finland

Despite repeated requests and alarming warnings from the Finnish authorities, the Stemnitsa, a Greek
tanker, is sailing in the Gulf of Finland to transport oil. The ship is big for a narrow waterway, 274 metres
long, and lightly reinforced for ice only at the fore-end. The ice conditions in the Gulf of Finland are at
present exceptionally difficult. A large, fragile ship could thus break up on the expanses of pack ice, and
the consequences would be disastrous. The Finnish shipping authorities believe that the Stemnitsa’s
movements constitute a serious environmental hazard in the Baltic Sea, which is extremely vulnerable. This
applies especially when the ship is carrying oil. Russia, however, does not consider the ship unseaworthy
in frozen waters, and negotiations at authority and ministerial level have failed to resolve the problem.

The Stemnitsa is now heading for the Russian oil port of Koivisto (Primorsk), where it is supposed to pick
up a cargo of over 100 000 tonnes of crude oil. The one ice-breaker that is helping the ship to advance is
insufficient to keep the ice out of its path. Indeed, the ship has already been ice bound several times, and
the ice conditions in the Gulf of Finland, a waterway full of rocks, have continued to become more
difficult all the while. Dozens of other ships bound for Russian ports are already trapped in the ice in
different parts of the Gulf of Finland.

What will the Commission do to avert a serious environmental threat in the Union’s territorial waters and
what will it do about the constant indifference of the Russian authorities?

Answer given by Mrs de Palacio on behalf of the Commission

(13 March 2003)

The Commission is aware of the difficulties of navigating in the Gulf of Finland and shares the anxieties of
the Finnish authorities regarding the risks associated with the transport of gas and oil under these
conditions. It has drawn attention on a number of occasions to the urgent need to take all appropriate
harmonised measures to prevent new disasters in the inland waterways of the Union.

C 222 E/190

Official Journal of the European Union

EN

18.9.2003

On 3 December 2002, in the aftermath of the accident involving the oil tanker Prestige, the Commission
published a communication aimed at improving maritime safety (1), followed by unanimous far-reaching
Council conclusions.

As regards the passage through international waters close to Member State coastlines of vessels carrying
potentially dangerous cargoes, the Commission feels that the international law of the sea needs to be
amended so as to ensure a better balance between freedom of movement and the interests of the coastal
States which need to be in a position to protect their coasts against possible risks.

Against this background, the Commission has called on all countries that are neighbours of the Union, as
well as other partners and international institutions such as the United Nations, to take firmer steps to
improve the international legal arrangements governing pollution caused by ships. It has also called on all
Member States to play their part in actively promoting, within the United Nations, the International
Maritime Organisation (IMO) and the other competent bodies, the adaptation of the provisions of the law
of the sea to the new requirements of maritime safety in the 21st century.

At the same time, the Commission is currently examining, in those areas for which it is responsible and in
conjunction with the Russian authorities, matters relating to the conditions governing the transport of gas
and oil in the Baltic Sea.

(1) COM(2002) 681 final.

(2003/C 222 E/217)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-0372/03

by Véronique Mathieu (EDD) to the Commission

(7 February 2003)

Subject: Funding of the Natura 2000 programmes

For some time now the provisions of the Natura 2000 plan, particularly those relating to zoning, have
been gradually put into practice. This environmental conservation programme will have certain effects on
the economic activities of the zones concerned. However, one question still does not seem to have received
a clear answer: that of the funding of Natura 2000. The second pillar of the CAP is often mentioned. What
is the exact situation?

Among the costs incurred, some NGOs mention the renting and/or purchase of land situated in the Natura
2000 zones. This raises a number of questions: what reasons will be given for these purchases? Who will
be able to act as purchaser of the land? And, above all, what will happen to agriculture in these areas?

Answer given by Mrs Wallström on behalf of the Commission

(5 March 2003)

State of play regarding financing of Natura 2000

Natura 2000 is the European ecological network established by the 1992 Habitats Directive (1). Its main
purpose is the protection of wild species and habitats of European significance. Article 8 of the Habitats
Directive was drafted in recognition of the financial burden that Natura 2000 might place on Member
States, particularly those Member States with a higher concentration of species and habitats. It therefore
provides for Community co-financing of measures required for
the implementation and ongoing
management of Natura 2000.

In order to address co-financing issues in a comprehensive and effective way, the Commission set up an
independent Working Group on Article 8 in December 2001. The Working Group brought together
experts and representatives from a number of Member States, stakeholder groups and non-governmental
organisations. On 6 December 2002 the Final Report of the Working Group was submitted to the
Commission.