WRITTEN QUESTION E-1153/03 by Ilda Figueiredo (GUE/NGL) to the Commission. The Forest Focus Programme and measures to prevent forest fires.
Date: 2003-04-01
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: EU environmental policy, EU financing, EU programme, environmental monitoring, fire protection, forest conservation

C 11 E/160

Official Journal of the European Union

EN

15.1.2004

(2004/C 11 E/182)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1118/03

by Roberta Angelilli (UEN) to the Commission

(1 April 2003)

Subject: Use of funds from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) by the municipality of

Ancona

In September 2002, the monitoring committee of the Italian Ministry for Economic Affairs issued a report
on the spending of EU funds.

The report reveals the alarming slowness and inefficiency with which EU funds are allocated to projects by
some regional authorities.

The grave concerns about the inadequate use of European funds by local authorities have frequently been
echoed by the Commission.

Bearing in mind that some local authorities, such as the municipality of Ancona, urgently need to use
European funds to regenerate areas in industrial decline and to reduce imbalances in social and economic
development,

can the Commission state:

1. whether the municipality of Ancona has submitted projects for the ERDF?

2. whether the municipality of Ancona has secured funding for these projects?

3. whether this funding has been used?

Answer given by Mr Barnier on behalf of the Commission

(16 April 2003)

The municipality of Ancona is partially eligible for assistance from the European Regional Development
Fund (ERDF) under the SPD (single programming document) for Marche for the period 2000-2006.

The SPD for Marche was approved in a Commission Decision (1) and provides for ERDF funding of
EUR 125,3 million towards total public expenditure of EUR 250,6 million.

Since the SPD for Marche relates to a programme with decentralised management, the body responsible
for implementing the assistance measures is the regional authority of Marche, which has laid down the
selection criteria for projects in a programme complement and is responsible for examining applications.
The Honourable Member should therefore contact that authority for precise information on the projects
submitted and funded for the municipality of Ancona.

(1) COM(2001) 2790 final.

(2004/C 11 E/183)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1153/03

by Ilda Figueiredo (GUE/NGL) to the Commission

(1 April 2003)

Subject: The Forest Focus Programme and measures to prevent forest fires

The regulation on the Forest Focus Programme on the monitoring of forests has already been adopted by
the Council. The European Parliament’s report on this regulation which was discussed at its February part-
session stressed the need to continue the measures to prevent forest fires contained in Council Regulation
(EEC) No 2158/92 (1) in the new regulation. These measures which have always been underfunded have
helped combat the scourge of forest fires in various high-risk countries and regions, such as Portugal. It
should be borne in mind that while pollution is more of a problem in northern Europe, forest fires are a
scourge of southern Europe.

15.1.2004

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 11 E/161

It should also be remembered that the preventive measures included in Regulation (EEC) 2158/1992
contain actions not covered by Regulation (EC) 1257/1999 (2) on support for rural development which has
other objectives as regards forests and forestry. Speaking in plenary sitting, I recalled that a failure to
include these preventive measures in the regulation under review would mean a reduction in appropri-
ations for the prevention of fires and jeopardise a set of ongoing projects which have already demonstrated
the added value of Community intervention. Thus the present regulation receives insufficient funding,
indeed less than existing measures under Regulation (EEC) No 2158/1992, notably the forest
fire
prevention measures in respect of the public awareness campaigns and training. Funding through rural
development has been compromised, given that the funds for financing it will not be transferred. The
Community’s response to the scourge of forest fires has thus been compromised, which represents a
setback for the effective protection of forests.

In this context, what adjustments does the Commission intend to make to the present regulation to ensure
in
that existing measures contained in the previous Regulation (EEC) No 2158/1992 are continued,
particular until the end of the current financial perspective, so that it contributes to the effective protection
of forests? Bearing in mind the scale of the problem of forest fires and the dangers they pose for the EU’s
forests, does the Commission not agree that funding is insufficient?

(1) OJ L 217, 31.7.1992, p. 3.
(2) OJ L 160, 26.6.1999, p. 80.

Answer given by Mrs Wallström on behalf of the Commission

(15 May 2003)

The Commission has recognised that forests can be severely damaged by the effects of atmospheric
pollution and by forest fires, which mainly affect the forests of Southern Europe. The Community has
provided assistance to the Member States for monitoring and protecting forests against these causes
through Council Regulations (EEC) No 3528/86 of 17 November 1986 on the protection of
the
Community’s forests against atmospheric pollution (1) and (EEC) No 2158/92 of 23 July 1992 on
protection of the Community’s forests against fire, which both expired on 31 December 2002. Apart from
fire prevention actions was available through the
these two Regulations, assistance for
implementation of Rural Development provisions under Council Regulation (EC) No 1257/1999 of
17 May 1999 on support for rural development from the European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee
Fund (EAGGF) and amending and repealing certain Regulations, and the majority of Southern Member
States and their regions have integrated these measures in their Rural Development Plans for the period
2000-2006.

forest

In 2002 the Commission presented Forest Focus, a Regulation concerning the monitoring of forest and
environmental interactions in the Community (2). The purpose of the proposal is the establishment of a
the
new Community scheme on monitoring of
Community’s forests. The scheme will be built on the achievements of the two above-mentioned Council
Regulations for monitoring the impacts of atmospheric pollution and of fires on forest ecosystems and it
will incorporate new elements in order to assess forest ecosystems conditions in a broader context. The
proposal foresees that the monitoring activities to be carried out by the Member States, in particular the
collection of data, studies, experiments and demonstration projects will be implemented under multi-
annual national programmes. The proposal provides a multi-annual framework covering initially a six-year
period from 2003 to 2008.

forests and environmental

interactions to protect

The proposal did not include forest fire prevention measures, as these have been incorporated for the
majority of the regions of the Southern Member States in their Rural Development Plans. The proposal
included actions addressing forest fires, namely actions related to the monitoring of forest fires and their
impact on forests, studies to examine the effects of fires on the forest ecosystem and integrated and
demonstration projects that could assist in better preventing forest fires and protecting the ecosystem. A
part of the budget has been earmarked for these actions, which would be applicable to Southern Member
States (EUR 1,5 to EUR 1,7 million per year). Actions of this type are not eligible under the Rural
Development Regulation and thus there is no risk for the Community to co-finance an action by two
different financial instruments. The Community will thus continue its financial support to national forest
protection policies through the Council Regulation (EC) No 1257/1999 and ‘Forest Focus’.

C 11 E/162

Official Journal of the European Union

EN

15.1.2004

On 4 March 2003 the Council reached a political agreement on a common position for the ‘Forest Focus’.
The common position will be sent to the Parliament for a second reading in accordance with the co-
decision procedure.

(1) OJ L 326, 21.11.1986.
(2) OJ C 20 E, 28.1.2003.

(2004/C 11 E/184)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-1171/03

by Chris Davies (ELDR) to the Commission

(24 March 2003)

Subject: Spanish National Hydrological Plan and Commission capacity to examine documents

In response to my question H-0810/02 (1)
the Spanish
in December,
Government’s response of July 2002 to the Commission letter of May 2002, providing further information
on the Spanish National Hydrological Plan ‘does not refer to an increase in salinity of 20-50 % in the lower
Ebro’.

the Commission stated that

I refer the Commission to Annex C19 (page 112) of the Spanish response of July 2002, which states that:
(English translation) ‘in conclusion, the increase of saline concentration in the lower stretch of the Ebro
river, as a consequence of the development of all the irrigation foreseen in the long term (about
500 000 hectares), is between 20 and 50 %.’

I note that this fact is not referred to in the main Spanish Government document, which concludes on the
Ebro river (page 12) that:
‘from a qualitative point of view, there are no very
significant effects … even assuming the full development of all the irrigations foreseen in the long term’.
Nevertheless, the salinity issue is clearly raised in Annex C19.

(English translation)

I therefore ask again, in the light of this ‘new’ information, for the Commission’s response as to how it will
ensure that the obligation under the Water Framework Directive to prevent further deterioration of the
quality of waters of this river will be respected, given the projected increase in salinity?

(1) Written answer, 17.12.2002.

Answer given by Mrs Wallström on behalf of the Commission

(15 May 2003)

In the Commission’s answer to the previous question on the same subject (Oral question H-0810/02 of Mr
C. Davies (1)), it was assumed that the Honourable Member was referring to the possible effects of the
proposed Ebro transfer on the salinity in the lower Ebro river. The Commission now understands that the
question is directed towards the deterioration in water quality, which is projected to arise as a result of
changing patterns of water use in the Ebro catchment. These projected changes are unrelated to the issue
of the proposed Ebro transfer.

The Spanish National Hydrological Plan foresees a significant increase in the area of irrigated land in the
Ebro catchment over the next 20 years. It is possible that this may lead to an overall increase in the
salinity/conductivity of the water in the lower reaches of the river. Today the conductivity of the water in
the lower Ebro is in the region of 1000 micro Siemens (by comparison, the conductivity of sea water is up
to 100 times this level).

The requirement of the Water Framework Directive (2) is the achievement of good ecological and chemical
status in all surface waters by 2015. Clearly, a significant increase in the conductivity of water in the lower
Ebro as a result of
these
objectives. The Spanish authorities will need to address this issue in the development of the river basin

increased irrigation for agriculture may compromise the achievement of