WRITTEN QUESTION E-0599/03 by Margrietus van den Berg (PSE)and Dorette Corbey (PSE) to the Commission. Setting-up of a pan-European River Water Task Force.
Date: 2003-03-03
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: EU action, EU financing, European cooperation, environmental policy, environmental risk prevention, flood, management, natural hazard, watercourse

15.1.2004

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 11 E/97

The Commission’s approach towards Cambodia in the field of human rights, as it is towards all countries
in the region, is to encourage and support continued progress on human rights and democratisation, and
to raise concerns where abuses occur, in the framework of the international human rights instruments.
This approach was reiterated in the May 2001 Commission Communication on the EU’s role in promoting
human rights and democratisation in third countries (1).

(1) COM(2001) 252 final.

(2004/C 11 E/099)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0599/03

by Margrietus van den Berg (PSE)
and Dorette Corbey (PSE) to the Commission

(3 March 2003)

Subject: Setting-up of a pan-European River Water Task Force

Recent floods in the Netherlands and Belgium have, once again, highlighted the importance of transfrontier
cooperation between regional authorities in dealing with natural disasters. National protection measures
are pointless if regions upstream take no equivalent measures. The Mayor of Maastricht, Mr Leers, recently
stated that he wanted to set up a pan-European Task Force, consisting of
leading politicians and
authoritative flood-protection experts with wide-reaching powers, with a view to ensuring that security
measures are taken.

The Framework Water Directive (2000/60/EC) (1) requires Member States whose territory lies within a river
basin district to cooperate with each other and to coordinate their water policies. International river basin
districts must be identified and water management plans adopted. The Commission is to act at the request
of the Member States concerned in order to facilitate the establishment of programmes of measures.

Has the Commission, to date, received any requests to facilitate allocation to an international river

1.
basin district?

2. What aid can the Commission offer in such instances to border regions, such as the region bordering
the River Meuse to which Maastricht belongs, which want to coordinate not only the quality of the river
water but also the quantity of water supplied?

(1) OJ L 327, 22.12.2000, p. 1.

Answer given by Mrs Wallström on behalf of the Commission

(12 May 2003)

The Water Framework Directive (1) mentioned by the Honourable Members addresses selected aspects of
water quantity such as water quantity being a mandatory part of good groundwater status, providing for a
sustainable long-term balance between resources available and abstractions. Whilst it will contribute to
mitigating the effects of floods and droughts, it does not per se set operational targets for flood prevention
and flood protection.

Nevertheless, beyond the formal scope of this Directive a range of initiatives have been taken:

(cid:1) Firstly, International River Conventions such as those for Maas, Schelde, Rhine or Elbe do now have
flood prevention among their statutory objectives and are actively involved in addressing flood
prevention and flood protection (2). For the Maas basin addressed by the Honourable Member this
means high level political commitment by all the countries of this river basin to jointly address the
issue of flood prevention and protection. The new Maas Convention was signed in December 2002
and is now awaiting ratification by the Parliaments involved. The Commission representing the
Community in the bodies of these conventions is proactively supporting these efforts.

C 11 E/98

Official Journal of the European Union

EN

15.1.2004

(cid:1) Secondly, the Commission, Member States and Candidate Countries have in 2002 started compre-
hensive co-operation on the issue of flooding. Beyond the formal scope of the Water Framework
Directive, exchange of
information, knowledge and experience on flood prevention and flood
protection will lead to a joint document this year on best practices in flood prediction, prevention and
mitigation. At
initiative addressing
risks), with a
environmental
Commission Communication on this also foreseen during 2003. Following discussion on this
Communication and the collating of best practices, the Commission will consider the need and scope
of possible legislative frameworks. In parallel, the Commission’s Joint Research Centre (JRC) has
developed a flood prediction and modelling instrument for the Oder river basin, this instrument is
now to be applied to and made operational for the Elbe and Danube basins as well.

the same time the Commission is working on a horizontal
risks

flood events, and technological

fires, earthquakes,

(forest

(cid:1) Thirdly, there is considerable financial support available from Community funding. The Community
Initiative Interreg III of the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) for the period 2000-2006
can, at the operational level, contribute to support ongoing actions at international level for flood
prevention and protection. In particular its strand B, for transnational co-operation, promotes the
good management of natural resources, in particular water resources, following an integrated spatial
planning approach.

The types of actions that can be funded on a transnational basis include:

(cid:1) formulation of joint strategies for risk management in areas prone to flooding;

(cid:1) drawing up and implementation of integrated strategies and actions for the prevention of flooding in

transnational river-catchment areas;

(cid:1) infrastructure investments, for instance for creating retention and overflow areas or for the restoration

of the natural course of tributaries and of overflow areas;

(cid:1) improvement of observation, forecasting, data exchange, monitoring and risk management as well as
testing new technologies (e.g. simulation models, meteorological monitoring etc.) on various scales;

(cid:1) development of new and more efficient planning tools (danger zone plans, models) for the prevention

of natural disasters in areas prone to flooding;

(cid:1) development of information systems for an optimum spreading of information in order to protect

population from flooding, thus raising public awareness on risks;

(cid:1) improving existing forecasting/warning systems; promotion and realisation of good practice, e.g.

enhancement of monitoring, warning and protection systems.

In the framework of these programmes, several projects are already addressing these issues and bringing
together different actors, working together to improve flood prevention.

Already in the previous Structural Funds programming period (1997-1999), the Initiative IRMA (Interreg
Rhine Maas Activities) provided financial support for the prevention of flooding in the Rhine-Meuse basin,
i.e. the region addressed by the Honourable Member (around EUR 120 million from the ERDF for a total
public funding of over EUR 350 million and a global investment of over EUR 430 million).

In the present period, from 2000-2006, the programme North West Europe has by far reserved the most
important budget for flood prevention (cid:1) its measure for ‘The prevention of flood damage’ amounts to
some EUR 92,3 million, of which EUR 46,2 million from the ERDF. The Cadses programme, in its priority
for
reserves about EUR 28,5 million for possible actions in the field of
‘environment protection’, ‘risk management’ and ‘integrated water management’. Finally, the Alpine Space
programme, in its measure ‘Co-operation in the field of natural risks’, foresees a total of EUR 17 million, of
which EUR 8,5 million from the ERDF.

‘Environment protection’

15.1.2004

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 11 E/99

The Common Agriculture Policy (CAP), through its second pillar (Rural Development Regulation (EC)
No 1257/1999 of the Council of 17 May 1999 on support for rural development from the European
Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund (EAGGF) and amending and repealing certain Regulations) (3),
can already finance measures which have a particular relevance for flood prevention if Member States
choose to include such measures into their Rural Development programmes. Currently, some of these
programmes foresee direct or indirect measures for the prevention or reduction of environmental risks.
Measures that will help to increase the water retention capacity of the soil (e.g. afforestation, maintenance
of grassland, organic matter incorporation) will have a direct reduction effect on floods. Likewise, any
measure aimed at climate change mitigation (e.g. promotion of renewable energies such as bio-gas,
reduction of animal stocking) is likely to have a positive (indirect) effect, since it is suspected that global
warming contributes to increasing the frequency of extreme weather events.

For the future, the Commission proposals for a CAP reform, as set out in a Communication (4) recently
published would, if adopted, result in an increased budget being available through pillar II, which Member
States could use to increase their support for risk prevention activities. This would be brought about by
using modulation to shift money from pillar I to pillar II. The introduction of mandatory cross-compliance
for farmers receiving direct payments will reinforce the respect of statutory management requirements and
the maintenance of good agricultural conditions, which comprise e.g. anti-erosion measures. It is proposed
to exclude changes in the land use of permanent pastures, in particular no conversion to arable land. The
single payment scheme will contribute to extensification, which would have positive consequences e.g. on
water retention capacity of soils.

(1) Directive 2000/60/EC of the Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2000 establishing a framework for

Community action in the field of water policy.

(2) Rhine: action plan flood protection adopted, implementation ongoing. Elbe: flood protection strategy adopted, draft
action programme currently validated following the 2002 flood disaster, adoption foreseen end-2003. Danube river:
minimisation of impacts of floods as part of the adopted action programme, follow-up evaluation ongoing. Maas
and Schelde: flood prevention and protection is key part of the recently signed new Conventions.

(3) OJ L 160, 26.6.1999.
(4) COM(2003) 23 final.

(2004/C 11 E/100)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0623/03

by Johanna Boogerd-Quaak (ELDR)
and Dorette Corbey (PSE) to the Commission

(3 March 2003)

Subject: Compensation for the costs of cleaning up oil on the Zeeland and South Holland coast

The direct and indirect damage to the Zeeland and South Holland coast resulting from the disaster
involving the Tricolor which occurred in December in the Dover Straits is considerable. The costs of
cleaning up the oil (cost of hiring equipment and cleaning personnel, cost of removal of the oil) are
estimated at EUR 1 million.

Does the Commission consider that the European directives in the area of environmental liability

1.
must also cover the maritime sector and shipping?

Does the Commission consider that the polluter can also be made liable for indirect damage resulting

2.
from the Tricolor disaster?

3.
Is the Commission prepared to bear part of the costs incurred by the Netherlands coastal provinces
as a result of the damage, where the costs cannot be recovered from the polluter, in this instance the
owner of the Tricolor?

Does the Commission take the view that

4.
sufficiently with a view to preventing this environmental disaster?

the Netherlands and Belgian authorities cooperated