WRITTEN QUESTION E-0571/03 by Mihail Papayannakis (GUE/NGL) to the Commission. National park in the Nestos Delta.
Date: 2003-02-28
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: EU environmental policy, EU financing, Greece, application of EU law, degradation of the environment, environmental law, environmental protection, protected area

C 242 E/148

Official Journal of the European Union

EN

9.10.2003

The key changes would entail:

(cid:1) mounting additional mirrors on certain vehicles;

(cid:1) upgrading technical characteristics of mirrors;

(cid:1) replacing certain mirrors with other indirect vision systems, such as camera/monitor systems and

introducing additional systems like detection sensors.

Nonetheless, the Commission is aware that blind spot mirrors may not be sufficient to entirely solve the
problem of road users being hit by reversing trucks. Therefore, the Commission will analyse the accident
data collected in all Member States (EU CARE database) with regard to these types of accidents. On the
basis of this analysis it could be decided whether further countermeasures are appropriate. Because of the
adverse environmental impact of audible reversing alarms, especially in areas surrounding car parks and
industrial/commercial premises, where such alarms would be audible for most of the day, consideration
will also be given to other countermeasures such as vehicle mounted sensors.

(1) OJ C 126 E, 28.5.2002.

(2003/C 242 E/154)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0571/03

by Mihail Papayannakis (GUE/NGL) to the Commission

(28 February 2003)

Subject: National park in the Nestos Delta

As the Association for the Protection of the Ecological Development of the Nestos has pointed out, six
years after its foundation (Greek Government Gazette 854/16.9.96), the National Park of Macedonia and
Thrace is still not operational, while the wetlands it comprises are at serious risk. The national park
includes the wider area of the Nestos Delta, Lakes Vistonida and Ismarida, the salt marshes at Almyra, Lafri
and Lafrouda and the intervening coastal areas. Also within its boundaries are seven areas included in the
Natura 2000 network. However, despite the announcement that a national park was to be set up under
the management of a single body, no measures have been taken towards implementation of the project
and, moreover, recent years have seen a significant deterioration in the ecosystem owing to the installation
of fuel storage tanks.

intercede with the Greek authorities to reach an
Can the Commission give assurances that
agreement based on the sound and balanced management of this site of European importance, within the
meaning of Directive 92/43/EEC (1), and does it possibly intend to co-finance the creation of this national
park?

it will

(1) OJ L 206, 22.7.1992, p. 7.

Answer given by Mrs Wallström on behalf of the Commission

(3 April 2003)

The common ministerial decision 5796/1999 designating the zones of the delta of Nestos, the lake
Vistonida and the lake Ismarida as a National Park is no longer in force. According to the Greek law, the
necessary legal framework aiming at the protection of the sites and complying with the objectives set out
in Directives 79/409/EEC (1) and 92/43/EEC (2) is composed of an approved management plan (specific
environmental study), a Presidential Decree and a Management Body.

Currently, the Commission is assessing several complaints related to the deterioration of the Delta of
Nestos, principally due to the absence of an appropriate legal framework for its protection and its
conservation. The Commission will not hesitate to take all the appropriate measures,
including the
initiation of an infringement procedure under Article 226 of the EC Treaty, in order to ensure the correct
application of Community environmental law.

9.10.2003

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 242 E/149

According to available information, the Greek authorities have adopted Law 3044/2002 which provides
for the establishment of 25 management bodies for a number of sites that Greece has already proposed for
inclusion in the Natura 2000 network under Directive 92/43/EEC. According to the provisions of this Law,
a management body for the ‘Delta of Nestos-Vistonida-Ismarida’ area has to be established. The creation
and full operation of all the 25 management bodies has not yet been finalised. The full establishment of
these management bodies is expected to contribute towards the conservation objectives for these areas, the
implementation of the approved management plans for the areas and their efficient protection.

The Commission confirms that there is a possibility of financial assistance to Greece through the Structural
Funds for the establishment of all these 25 management bodies. The above action is foreseen in the Greek
Operational Plan for the Environment 2000-2006 (Measure 8,1). On the other hand, actions aiming at
Biotope protection are foreseen in the framework of the Greek Regional Operational Programmes of the
same period. The Commission would like to assure the Honourable Member that it will continue to
monitor the progress to be achieved on the protection of the Greek Biotopes and on the establishment of
the Management Bodies for the Natura 2000 sites in Greece.

(1) Council Directive 79/409/EEC of 2 April 1979 on the conservation of wild birds (cid:1) OJ L 103, 25.4.1979.
(2) Council Directive 92/43/EEC of 21 May 1992 on the conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora.

(2003/C 242 E/155)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0580/03

by Erik Meijer (GUE/NGL) to the Commission

(28 February 2003)

Subject: Fire danger and technical vulnerability of high-speed trains and assessment of

technical

justification for monopolies

1.
Does the Commission reject the requirement laid down in the Netherlands by the fire service, the
Ministry of Transport and Public Works, the Ministry of the Interior and the Project Organisation High-
speed Line South (Hogesnelheidslijn Zuid) that all trains on the Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Breda-Antwerp
high-speed rail link must be capable of resisting smoke and fire for 15 minutes?

2.
Does the Commission fear that the Dutch safety requirements will create a monopoly for the sixteen
double-decker trains for frequent service between Amsterdam-Breda and Amsterdam-Brussels soon to be
ordered by High Speed Alliance (consortium of Netherlands Railways (Nederlandse Spoorwegen) and the
airline KLM), because currently the requirements are still not being met by the Amsterdam-Paris Thalys
trains (owned jointly by the Dutch, Belgian, French and German railways), which have been in service
since 1997, and which will be using the same tracks?

3.
Has the Commission noted that a de facto monopoly exists elsewhere in the EU, namely on the new
high-speed line with steep inclines between Cologne and Frankfurt Airport, on which the only trains
meeting the technical requirements, the ICE-3s, run partly on international routes to Amsterdam, Brussels
and Basle, and that this situation is problematic because the head of DB-Systemtechnik sometimes records
insufficiently tested,
700 breakdowns per day on the fifty ICE-3 trains, because the advanced, but
electronic system does not appear to be mastered even by the supplier Siemens, and each solution tried
causes a new problem?

Does the Commission agree with the author that it is more important to break the monopoly of the
4.
trains on the Cologne-Frankfurt line, which are constantly breaking down, than to cut back the fire safety
requirements in the Netherlands for fear they will bring about a monopoly?

5. What measures does the Commission intend to take to ensure that fire safety is placed ahead of
combating monopolies, and that for all international high-speed trains, therefore, the risk in the event of
fire is reduced to a level corresponding to that prescribed by the strictest measures applied by a Member
State to its own internal traffic?

Sources: De Stem of 9 February 2003 and Handelsblatt News am Abend of 13 February 2003