WRITTEN QUESTION E-0928/03 by José Mendiluce Pereiro (PSE), Alexander de Roo (Verts/ALE),Chris Davies (ELDR), Miquel Mayol i Raynal (Verts/ALE)and Rijk van Dam (EDD) to the Commission. Public contracting of environmental surveys on transfers of water from the Ebro.
Date: 2003-03-24
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: Spain, award of contract, environmental research, infringement of EU law, invitation to tender, public institution, watercourse, works contract

9.10.2003

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 242 E/211

In the context of Directive 1999/5/EC of the Parliament and of the Council of 9 March 1999 on radio
equipment and telecommunications terminal equipment and the mutual recognition of their conformity,
the Commission mandated the European Standardisation Organisation to develop safety standards for
mobile communications. These standards will ensure a harmonised way of ensuring safety of mobile masts
and handsets and will provide for a harmonised in-situ testing method to measure real life exposure.

Concerning the Communication (1) on the full roll-out of third generation mobile communications, the
following actions have been proposed: (i) a dialogue with Member States on harmonizing the application
of the precautionary principle on limits (ii) technical specifications for safe equipment, (iii) research, and
(iv) awareness campaign. While the Communication does not set out specific deadlines, the Commission
pursues these points continuously.

(1) COM(2002) 301 final.

(2003/C 242 E/244)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0928/03

by José Mendiluce Pereiro (PSE), Alexander de Roo (Verts/ALE),
Chris Davies (ELDR), Miquel Mayol i Raynal (Verts/ALE)
and Rijk van Dam (EDD) to the Commission

(24 March 2003)

Subject: Public contracting of environmental surveys on transfers of water from the Ebro

The European Commission is currently considering whether the Spanish National Hydrological Plan (NHP)
is compatible with Community law.

The Spanish Government has set up the state-owned company called Infraestructuras del Trasvase Sociedad
Anónima (Trasagua) in order to implement transfers of water from the Ebro under the NHP (1).

For the purposes of the directives on public procurement, Trasagua would appear to be a body governed
by public law since it was set up by the government and is financed and controlled by it. It is therefore
subject to Council Directive 92/50/EEC (2) relating to the coordination of procedures for the award of
public service contracts.

However, in August 2002, Trasagua contracted out the environmental surveys for transfers of water from
the Ebro (3), for an amount totalling EUR 1 705 524, without publishing a call for tenders for them in the
Official Journal of the European Union (4).

What action will the Commission take with regard to this infringement of Community law?

Has it already taken action in this respect?

Does it not consider that the Community rules on public procurement must be complied with before any
Community cofinancing can be granted for transfers of water from the Ebro?

(1) The creation of the state-owned company ‘Infraestructuras del Trasvase S.A.’

(Trasagua) was approved by the

Spanish cabinet on 7 December 2001.

(2) OJ L 209, 24.7.1992, p. 1.
(3) Literally ‘technical assistance for the drawing up of an environmental survey on the transfers authorised under

Article 13 of Law 10/2001 of 5 July 2001 (NHP)’. See newspaper ‘La Verdad’, edition of 3.8.2002.

(4) Official Journal of the Spanish State (BOE) No 260, 30.10.2002.

C 242 E/212

Official Journal of the European Union

EN

9.10.2003

Answer given by Mr Bolkestein on behalf of the Commission

(13 May 2003)

In January 2003 the Commission received two complaints concerning the Spanish hydrological plan,
particularly with regard to the incompatibility of the invitations to tender issued in 2002 for technical
assistance contracts for drawing up environmental studies on the diversion of water from the Ebro.

As the honourable Members mention in their question, the Trasagua company was set up by the
government in March 2002 for the purpose of awarding contracts for the construction and/or operation of
the facilities and other activities connected with the transfer of water from the Ebro.

The Commission is in the process of giving detailed consideration to the content of these complaints. If
Trasagua is in fact considered to be a body governed by public law (1), and as such is an awarding
authority, it is required to comply with the Community rules on awarding public contracts, particularly the
principle of publicity.

The Commission would point out that there is already a case before the Court of Justice (2) concerning the
regard to the
notions of awarding authority and body governed by public law, with particular
interpretation of these terms in Spanish law. The Advocate-General delivered his opinion on 7 November
2002.

As part of the infringement procedure, the Commission will be contacting the relevant Spanish authorities
to inform them of its observations and seek further clarification on the possible violation of Community
law.

Community financing under the Structural and Cohesion Funds is explicitly conditional on compliance
with all applicable Community legislation including that regarding public procurement.

(1)

‘Body governed by public law’ means any body:
(cid:1) established for the specific purpose of meeting needs in the general

interest, not having an industrial or

commercial character, and
(cid:1) having legal personality and
(cid:1) financed, for the most part, by the State, or regional or local authorities, or other bodies governed by public
law; or subject to management supervision by those bodies; or having an administrative, managerial or
supervisory board, more than half of whose members are appointed by the State, regional or local authorities or
by other bodies governed by public law.

(2) C-283/00 Commission v Spain.

(2003/C 242 E/245)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0938/03

by Roberta Angelilli (UEN) to the Commission

(26 March 2003)

Subject: Funding for setting up a vintage vehicle museum

A few months ago, the Rome-based cultural association ‘Archetipo’ submitted a project for the setting-up
of a museum of vintage civil, military and commercial vehicles.

The project includes the creation of a three-level museum complex with three halls: two for the exhibition
of vehicles and one for the restoration of engines and coachwork. The association has one of the largest
collections of agricultural and industrial machinery in Italy, dating from the early days to the 1960s.
It owns 200 vintage motorcycles, sidecars, military motorcycles, commercial three-wheelers dating from
the 1930s to the 1950s, wooden horse-drawn vehicles, hundreds of items of agricultural and industrial
equipment dating from the 1800s to the late 1960s, such as ploughs, harrows, ploughshares and lathes,
ten military aircraft, many tools and implements dating from the 1800s to the present and a host of
documentary and bibliographical material of great cultural value.

Besides putting these exhibits on display, the association intends to open the history of vintage vehicles up
to the public by setting up a document library, and to create jobs by way of highly specialised training
courses for young restorers, since many of
its vehicles need to be restored and require continual
maintenance. Since the dissemination and promotion of art and culture with a view to improving access to