WRITTEN QUESTION E-0762/03 by Charles Tannock (PPE-DE) to the Commission. Preservation of the Biebrza Marshes in north-eastern Poland.
Date: 2003-03-12
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: Community acquis, Poland, accession to the European Union, aid system, application of EU law, humid zone, pre-accession aid, project evaluation, protected area, road building

C 268 E/128

Official Journal of the European Union

EN

7.11.2003

As regards the Community, a number of projects relating to problems of sight have been subsidised under
the Community health monitoring programme (1997-2002):

(cid:1) projects to develop a set of indicators for the Community covering most of the aspects of health,

including vision (ECHI, Euro-REVES, etc.);

(cid:1) projects to monitor risk factors, including cardiovascular diseases and diabetes, which are common

causes of visual impairment and even blindness.

Under the new Community public health programme (2003-2008), one of the priority areas for 2003 is
obesity, a risk factor in cardiovascular disease and diabetes.

(2003/C 268 E/128)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0762/03

by Charles Tannock (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(12 March 2003)

Subject: Preservation of the Biebrza Marshes in north-eastern Poland

There are reports that a major road-building project is planned for north-eastern Poland which will involve
the routing of the Via Baltica through the Biebrza National Park as well as the primeval forests of
Augustow and Knyszyn. The reports also suggest that the road will be partly or wholly financed with EU
funds. The Biebrza Marshes are considered to be one of Europe’s most important wetland areas, and are
home to an extraordinarily wide variety of birds, including Black and White storks, eagles, goshawks,
cranes, corncrakes, terns, rosefinches, bluethroats and kites, as well as other types of fauna. The World
Wildlife Fund has been involved in a ten-year conservation project designed to protect the area.

Are these reports correct, and, if so, has the Commission discussed the routing of the road with the Polish
authorities, including the possibility of using one of the many alternative routings? Has Poland agreed to
be bound by the requirements of EU environmental directives prior to accession, and will EU funds for
construction projects prior to accession in all the candidate countries be conditional upon respect for EU
environmental legislation?

Answer given by Mrs Wallström on behalf of the Commission

(15 April 2003)

The ‘Via Baltica’ is one of the road branches of Corridor I, defined at the second Pan-European Transport
Conference in Crete in 1994. In January 1996, a High Level Working Party on Via Baltica was set up and
this has identified the needs for upgrading the road and to try to co-ordinate the investments through
national budgets, loans and Community funds. The Via Baltica road mainly follows already existing road
alignments.

The Pan-European Transport Corridor concept outlines the geography of transport development, it does
not define transport projects. It is clear that in the first instance, the Polish Government is responsible for
the construction and maintenance of any infrastructure on its territory.

From a legal point of view, Community legislation will only apply in the new Member States from
accession onwards. However, the Commission takes the view that they should apply and implement the
provisions of
In other words, all new
investments should respect Community environmental law.

‘acquis’ during the pre-accession period.

the environmental

The Commission wishes to underline that no Instrument for Structural policies for Pre-accession (ISPA)
funding has been provided for the construction of a motorway across the Biebrza National Park in Poland.
Furthermore, no such project features in the current project pipeline. In cases where Community pre-
accession funding of large infrastructure developments is involved, ‘similar standards’ as set by Community
environmental legislation need to be applied before any Commission funding is given to the Candidate
Countries. This would include the provisions of Environmental Impact Assessment Directive (Council

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Official Journal of the European Union

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Directive 97/11/EC of 3 March 1997 amending Directive 85/337/EEC on the assessment of the effects of
certain public and private projects on the environment (1)). In addition, the Candidate Country would have
to investigate whether environmentally sensitive areas are affected which might fall under the protection of
the Habitats Directive (Council Directive 92/43/EEC of 21 May 1992 on the conservation of natural
habitats and of wild fauna and flora (2)) or the Birds Directive (Council Directive 79/409/EEC of 2 April
1979 on the conservation of wild birds (3)) at some point in the future.

The Biebrza National Park is of outstanding natural value. In addition, it seems more than likely that
Biebrza will be identified as a Natura 2000 site on Polish accession. This implies that strict conservation
rules apply. Article 6 of the Habitats Directive requires all Member States to carry out a full assessment of
all alternatives to a proposed investment that risks having a negative environmental impact on a possible
Natura 2000 site. If no alternative exists, the investment can only be allowed if it demonstrates overriding
public interest and all compensatory and mitigation measures have been applied.

The Commission has written to the Polish authorities to draw their attention to these matters and to seek
assurance that the requirements set out in Article 6 of the Habitats Directive have been applied in this case.
The Polish authorities have stated that a prognosis of the environmental impact of the proposed route has
been prepared by the two municipalities concerned. A decision on the conditions for land development
and use, determining the location of the road, has not yet been taken. They have undertaken to keep the
Commission informed about further developments.

(1) OJ L 73, 14.3.1997.
(2) OJ L 206, 22.7.1992.
(3) OJ L 103, 25.4.1979.

(2003/C 268 E/129)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-0768/03

by Eryl McNally (PSE) to the Commission

(6 March 2003)

Subject: PINC (Illustrative Nuclear Programme for the Community)

Can the European Commission explain why the requirement, in the Euratom Treaty, to publish illustrative
nuclear programmes has been ignored for the last few years? Does the Commission agree that this
demonstrates the anachronistic nature of the Euratom Treaty, which should be replaced, with the relevant
sections (such as that on nuclear safety) incorporated into a new treaty?

Answer given by Mrs de Palacio on behalf of the Commission

(7 April 2003)

the Euratom Treaty states that

Article 40 of
‘the Commission shall periodically publish illustrative
programmes indicating in particular nuclear energy production targets’. However, the Treaty does not
specify the frequency of publication.

Since the adoption of the Treaty, the Commission has published three illustrative programmes in 1966 (1),
1972 (2) and 1985 (3), followed by an update in 1989 (4). A fourth illustrative nuclear programme (PINC)
was published in 1997 (5).

On 29 November 2000, the Commission adopted a Green Paper Towards a European strategy for the
security of energy supply (6), in which the contribution of nuclear energy was considered along with all
other energy sources. The Green Paper and the Annexes to it contained all the figures for the production
of nuclear energy.