WRITTEN QUESTION P-0653/03 by Miquel Mayol i Raynal (Verts/ALE) to the Commission. Report on the Spanish National Hydrological Plan.
Date: 2003-02-27
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: European Commission, Spain, hydrology, project evaluation, report, water resources

9.10.2003

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 242 E/159

As the Community is a signatory to the UN/ECE Agreement under which these Regulations were made,
and having acceeded to these particular Regulations, the Member States are obliged to permit the placing
on the market of vehicles and components that comply with these provisions. Indeed, a number of
vehicles have already obtained Community whole vehicle type approval with bend lighting installed, and
the Commission is not aware of any problems being experienced by any manufacturer in getting such
approvals.

(2003/C 242 E/166)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-0638/03

by José Mendiluce Pereiro (PSE) to the Commission

Subject: Report on the Spanish National Hydrological Plan

(26 February 2003)

The Commission is in the process of examining the Spanish National Hydrological Plan, and in particular
the large-scale plan to divert 1 050 hm3 of water from the River Ebro to other water catchment areas. The
main recipient of the water diverted under the project will be the catchment areas in the Autonomous
Community of Murcia. The regional government of Murcia is devoting significant time and resources,
in conjunction with the Spanish central government, to persuading the Commission to approve these
diversions and cofinance their implementation. It has to this end appointed Mr Amalio Garrido,
its
commissioner for sustainable development, as its representative in Brussels.

The Polytechnic University of Cartagena (Murcia) recently published a report dated 7 January 2003 and
entitled ‘A Technical Review of
the Spanish National Hydrological Plan (Ebro River Out-of-basin
Diversion)’, which the Commission is currently examining.

The authors of this report state that the European Union asked Alexander J. Horne and John Dracup to
form a team of six experts with a view to drawing up the report, with their client and contact person
being Amalio Garrido.

This begs the following questions:

1. Did the Commission or members of its staff play a part in the decision to prepare this report, in the

choice of its authors, in its drafting or in anything relating to it?

2.

If so, what part did the Commission or members of its staff play, and what was the aim of this
involvement?

3. What relationship developed between the European Commission or members of its staff, the Regional
Government of Murcia’s commissioner for sustainable development and the University of Cartagena
with regard to the preparation of this report?

(2003/C 242 E/167)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-0653/03

by Miquel Mayol i Raynal (Verts/ALE) to the Commission

Subject: Report on the Spanish National Hydrological Plan

(27 February 2003)

The Commission is in the process of examining the Spanish National Hydrological Plan, and in particular
the large-scale plan to divert 1 050 hm3 of water from the River Ebro to other water catchment areas. The
main recipient of the water diverted under the project will be the catchment areas in the Autonomous
Community of Murcia. The regional government of Murcia is devoting significant time and resources,
in conjunction with the Spanish central government, to persuading the Commission to approve these
diversions and cofinance their implementation. It has to this end appointed Mr Amalio Garrido,
its
commissioner for sustainable development, as its representative in Brussels.

C 242 E/160

Official Journal of the European Union

EN

9.10.2003

The Polytechnic University of Cartagena (Murcia) recently published a report dated 7 January 2003 and
entitled ‘A Technical Review of
the Spanish National Hydrological Plan (Ebro River Out-of-basin
Diversion)’, which the Commission is currently examining.

The authors of this report state that the European Union asked Alexander J. Horne and John Dracup to
form a team of six experts with a view to drawing up the report, with their client and contact person
being Amalio Garrido.

This begs the following questions:

1. Did the Commission or members of its staff play a part in the decision to prepare this report, in the

choice of its authors, in its drafting or in anything relating to it?

2.

If so, what part did the Commission or members of its staff play, and what was the aim of this
involvement?

3. What relationship developed between the European Commission or members of its staff, the Regional
Government of Murcia’s commissioner for sustainable development and the University of Cartagena
with regard to the preparation of this report?

(2003/C 242 E/168)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-0689/03

by Laura González Álvarez (GUE/NGL) to the Commission

Subject: Report on the National Hydrological Plan (Spain)

(3 March 2003)

the Commission’s
During the latest debate on the NHP held in the EP’s Committee on Petitions,
representative informed us about two important issues (cid:1) the forthcoming meeting to be held by the
Commission with Spanish government officials to discuss possible ‘inconsistencies’ in the NHP as regards
Community law, and the detailed study they were carrying out on the report commissioned from a group
of scientists at the University of Berkeley (California).

Can the Commission say whether it was involved in the decision to request this report and in choosing the
American experts who drew it up? Does it know that a client and contact of the experts is Amalio Garrido,
representing the local government of Murcia in Brussels?

If so, does it know whether, during their trip to Spain (last June) designed to find out people’s views on the
spot, the experts had contacts with any Spanish scientists who oppose the NHP? Did the experts have any
contact with the representatives of the ‘Fundación Nueva Cultura del Agua’, a platform for the defence of
the river Ebro, or with any other representative of the communities affected who attended the meeting
which the delegation from Parliament’s Committee on the Environment held recently in Deltebre?

Joint answer
to Written Questions P-638/03, P-0653/03 and P-0689/03
given by Mrs Wallström on behalf of the Commission

(24 March 2003)

Contrary to what might be said in the report, the Commission did not request the formation of a team or
the production of a report.

There are many divergent statements, opinions, claims and counter claims concerning the Spanish
hydrological plan in general and the proposed Ebro transfer in particular. The volume of material, which
exists on this subject, is immense. In contacts with the Spanish officials and others, the Commission raised
the possibility of an independent assessment being carried out in order to try and reconcile some of the
divergent positions. Given the experience with inter-basin transfers in the United States and the similarities