WRITTEN QUESTION E-0509/03 by Joan Colom i Naval (PSE) to the Commission. Water quality and the Spanish National Water Resources Plan.
Date: 2003-02-24
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: EU financing, Spain, drinking water, water management, water protection, water resources

C 242 E/140

Official Journal of the European Union

EN

9.10.2003

Answer given by Mrs de Palacio on behalf of the Commission

(8 April 2003)

As the Honourable Member says, the hopes engendered by the political agreement reached at
the
Transport Council of 26 March 2002 on setting up the Joint Undertaking and the green light given to the
launch of the development phase have not yet borne fruit because of problems within the European Space
Agency concerning the respective financial contributions of its members.

The situation is becoming critical as the Galileo frequencies negotiated within the International
Telecommunication Union will be lost if a satellite emitting a Galileo signal is not launched by the end
of 2005.

The Commission has therefore taken the steps necessary to get the Joint Undertaking up and running so
that it can start to carry out its tasks using the Community funds allocated to it.

This includes:

(cid:1) Preparing the setting-up of the Joint Undertaking which will supervise the Galileo project during the
development phase (until 2005). It has convened the Supervisory Board of the Joint Undertaking on
several occasions. The first payments from the Community budget for the years 2001 and 2002, i.e.
EUR 240 million of the EUR 550 million set aside for Galileo under the trans-European network
budget, have been committed;

(cid:1) Drawing up the concession arrangements which will result in the launch in 2003 of a call for a
concession-holder to be selected in 2004 to manage the programme during the system deployment
and commercial operation phases;

(cid:1) Setting up a Security Committee whose services are currently drawing up the measures needed to set
up the Security Board provided for in Article 7 of Regulation (EC) No 876/2002 (1), which will be
responsible for dealing with security matters relating to the Galileo system;

(cid:1) Making progress in reaching international agreements aimed at ensuring Galileo’s interoperability with
the American GPS and Russian Glonass systems as well as scientific, technological and industrial
cooperation with many third countries, including China, Canada, Australia and the countries of the
Mediterranean and Latin America.

The Commission hopes that the agreement concluded on 28 March between Italy and Germany will
become effective within the European Space Agency (ASE/ESA) as quickly as possible.

(1) Council Regulation (EC) No 876/2002 of 21 May 2002 setting up the Galileo Joint Undertaking (cid:1) OJ L 138,

28.5.2002.

(2003/C 242 E/146)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0509/03

by Joan Colom i Naval (PSE) to the Commission

(24 February 2003)

Subject: Water quality and the Spanish National Water Resources Plan

The basic aim of the Water Framework Directive is the rational and sustainable use of water, without
impairing its ecological and environmental quality. The intention is thus to avert any further deterioration,
improve the state of ecosystems, and guarantee a sufficient supply of clean water.

However, as far as Spanish waters are concerned, the waters of the Ebro are known to be of such poor
quality that they exceed the salinity limits laid down for guidance in both Spanish legislation and WHO
recommendations for pure waters. Instead of assigning absolute priority to water quality and, to that end,
supplies of low salinity, the Spanish National Water Resources Plan (PHN) is focused on diversion of water
from the river Ebro, with the result that future recipients, whether they use water for urban or agricultural
purposes, will be doomed to suffer a deterioration in their resources. In the light of the foregoing, will the
Commission advocate funding for a project such as the one described above, the consequences of which
would be diametrically opposed to those being sought by European legislation?

9.10.2003

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 242 E/141

Answer given by Mrs Wallström on behalf of the Commission

(28 March 2003)

With regard to the proposed transfer of water from the river Ebro into other river basins in Spain, the
Commission has been engaged in an extensive dialogue with the Spanish authorities in order to ensure
that the design and eventual implementation of the transfer are compliant with Community environmental
legislation and policy.

The Commission is aware that there are some potential problems with the quality of the water in the
lower Ebro. However, with regard to conductivity, the current average values in the lower Ebro are around
1000 microSiemens per centimetre. Council Directives 75/440/EEC of 16 June 1975 concerning the
quality of surface water intended for the abstraction of drinking water in the Member States (1) and 98/83/
EC of 3 November 1998 on the quality of water intended for human consumption (2) set down values of
1000 and 2500 microSiemens per centimetre, respectively, as indicator (non-obligatory) parameters.
Therefore, the transferred water is suitable for pre-drinking and drinking water supply at least as far as the
conductivity is concerned. In addition, the conductivity, of the water in the lower Ebro is lower than the
majority of the surface and groundwater resources in the projected receiving basins. In conclusion, from
the data currently available to the Commission it is unlikely, at least as far as the question of conductivity
is concerned, that there will be a deterioration of the water quality of the receiving basins as a result of the
proposed transfer.

(1) OJ L 194, 25.7.1975.
(2) OJ L 330, 5.12.1998.

(2003/C 242 E/147)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0510/03

by Joan Colom i Naval (PSE) to the Commission

(24 February 2003)

Subject: Danger of zebra mussel infestation if the Ebro diversion project is carried out under the PHN

The zebra mussel is a bivalve mollusc, a species that can cause large-scale ecological disruption because it
covers every substratum in its path, thus damaging ecosystems. It can even seriously interfere with the
operation of water supply infrastructure. It is posing a severe problem for the Ebro, and the nuisance
it is forbidden to
would spread if infested river waters were diverted. From the legal point of view,
introduce exotic species which upset the ecological balance. Despite this, diversion of the Ebro into other
basins is still provided for under the Spanish National Water Resources Plan (PHN) but is not subject to the
stringent environmental impact assessment required to guarantee that the project would be safe.

Does the Commission intend to grant financial aid for a project that would entail disastrous consequences
for the environment? In any event, should it support a plan which infringes the guidelines of the Water
Framework Directive not only because it takes no account of the effects on the ecological state of
ecosystems, but also because it disregards the principle that a basin should be treated as a unified whole, as
well as failing to properly enforce the principle of recovery of costs?

Answer given by Mrs Wallström on behalf of the Commission

(28 March 2003)

The Commission would refer the Honourable Member to previous answers to Written Questions E-2708/
02 and E-2819/02 by Mr Davies (1); E-0638/02 by Mr Mayol i Raynal (2); E-3205/01 by Mr de Roo and
others (3); E-2614/01 by Mrs Sornosa Martinez and others (4); and E-2568/00 by Mr Varela Suanzez-
Carpegna (5). In summary, the Commission is engaged in an extensive dialogue with the Spanish authorities
to ensure that the design and eventual implementation of the Spanish National Hydrological Plan is in
conformity with Community environmental legislation including the Water Framework Directive (6).