WRITTEN QUESTION E-1589/03 by Jan Dhaene (Verts/ALE)and Carlos Bautista Ojeda (Verts/ALE) to the Commission. Oil spills at the Gibraltar-Spanish Border.
Date: 2003-05-08
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: Gibraltar, Spain, United Kingdom, environmental law, environmental liability, environmental offence, environmental protection, marine pollution, national implementing measure, oil pollution

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15.1.2004

Community of European Railways and the consumer organisations. Furthermore, the Commission has
started preparatory work for a Directive on the gradual opening of the market for international passenger
services by rail. These initiatives should facilitate the creation of a genuine,
integrated market for rail
passenger services within the Union, which will allow railway undertakings to operate rail services where
they see business opportunities. For this, railway undertakings should be entitled to determine the level of
the fares to optimise revenues, pursuant to Article 5 of Directive 91/440/EEC (3), as amended, which
provides that railway undertakings must be managed according to the principles which apply to
commercial companies.

Under Regulation (EEC) No 1191/69 (4), public authorities from neighbouring Member States can
cooperate to conclude public service contracts with railway undertakings for the provision of cross-border
rail services. These contracts can include provisions on the level of tariffs applied to such services. The
Commission deplores that this option is very rarely used by the transport authorities of neighbouring
regions of contiguous Member States.

Regarding financing for ‘Lille, Capital of Culture 2004’, the Commission’s role, as indicated by Decision
No 508/2000/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 February 2000 establishing the
Culture 2000 programme (5), is merely to co-finance events which are proposed by the city and staged
entirely under the latter’s responsibility. Accordingly, there are no plans to grant subsidies for links to Lille
as part of the ‘2004 European Capital of Culture’ event.

(1) COM(2002) 18 final.
(2) Within the framework of the second railway package, for which the Council recently reached a political agreement
on a common position, a proposal for a Recommendation for a Council Decision, authorising the Commission to
negotiate the conditions for Community accession to the Convention concerning International Carriage by Rail
(COTIF) of 9 May 1980, as amended by the Vilnius Protocol of 3 June 1999, COM(2002) 24 final.

(3) Council Directive 91/440/EEC of 29 July 1991 on the development of the Community’s railways, OJ L 237,
24.8.1991, as amended by Council Directive 2001/12/EC of the Parliament and of the Council of 26 February
2001, OJ L 75, 15.3.2001.

(4) Regulation (EEC) No 1191/69 of the Council of 26 June 1969 on action by Member States concerning the
obligations inherent in the concept of a public service in transport by rail, road and inland waterway, OJ L 156,
28.6.1969, as amended by Council Regulation (EEC) No 1893/91/EEC of 20 June 1991, OJ L 169, 29.6.1991.

(5) OJ L 63, 10.3.2000.

(2004/C 11 E/225)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1589/03

by Jan Dhaene (Verts/ALE)
and Carlos Bautista Ojeda (Verts/ALE) to the Commission

(8 May 2003)

Subject: Oil spills at the Gibraltar-Spanish Border

The press and the city councils of La Linea and Algeciras, Spain, have communicated widely about the
dumping of oil and hydrocarbon waste just inside Gibraltar national waters, with large oil spills on the
nearby Spanish coast as a direct consequence. These events occurred from August until October 2002 and
are likely to happen again.

Our questions to the Commission are therefore:

(cid:1) Has the Commission been informed by the Spanish or regional Government or the Government of

Gibraltar about this problem? Does the Commission know of the problems?

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(cid:1) Must Gibraltar, given its peculiar position within the EU, comply with the EU legislation concerning
oil waste deposit in harbours, as specified by directive 2000/59/EC (1) of the European Parliament and
of the Council of 27 November 2000 on port reception facilities for ship-generated waste and cargo
residues?

(cid:1) Does Gibraltar comply with this EU legislation?

(cid:1) What steps will the Commission take to solve this problem?

(1) OJ L 332, 28.12.2000, p. 81.

Answer given by Mrs de Palacio on behalf of the Commission

(3 July 2003)

The Commission is aware of maritime oil pollution affecting Member States’ coasts, including in southern
Spain. As it has stated on many occasions, it deplores these incidents and intends to help, through its
action, to provide an effective response to them.

Since its communication of 3 December 2002 (1), the Commission has explained the initiatives it has taken
to improve maritime safety and step up environmental protection on several occasions, including in the
progress reports it has presented to the Community institutions (2).

Among the measures it has proposed, the Commission would draw the Honourable Members’ attention to
the proposal on the protection of the environment through criminal law (3) and to the proposal for a
Directive on ship-source pollution and on the introduction of sanctions, including criminal sanctions, for
pollution offences (4). The latter proposal, which was sent to Parliament and the Council on 5 March 2003,
concerns illegal discharges and major oil pollution.
liability.
Accordingly, those causing such pollution will no longer be able to evade their liabilities in this matter.

It encompasses the entire chain of

Exercising its power to monitor the enforcement of Community law, the Commission has instituted
infringement proceedings against the eight Member States (cid:1) including the United Kingdom (cid:1) which have
not yet transposed Directive 2000/59/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 November
2000 port reception facilities for ship-generated waste and cargo residues. The United Kingdom will of
course have to comply with the Community legislation and enforce it properly, including in Gibraltar.

Information communicated by the United Kingdom authorities shows that Directive 2000/59/EC should be
transposed by the end of summer 2003.

(1) COM(2002) 681 final.
(2) Report to the European Council on action to deal with the effects of the Prestige disaster (COM(2003) 105 final),
and Commission staff paper reporting on the wreck of the oil tanker Prestige, produced for the hearing in the
European Parliament’s Committee on Regional Policy, Transport and Tourism, 19 March 2003.

(3) OJ C 180 E, 26.6.2001, amended by OJ C 20 E, 28.1.2003.
(4) COM(2003) 92 final.

(2004/C 11 E/226)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1590/03

by Jules Maaten (ELDR) to the Commission

(8 May 2003)

Subject: The role of certificates in preferential and non-preferential rules of origin

Can the Commission explain why, on the basis of the non-preferential rules of origin, the production
1.
of a certificate of origin is not a condition for acceptance of the declaration by the customs and why there
is no possibility of appeal?

Can the Commission say how far businesses are disrupted by possible errors in the issuing of

2.
certificates of origin from other Member States?