WRITTEN QUESTION P-1995/03 by Alexandros Alavanos (GUE/NGL) to the Commission. Railway lines in the centre of Athens.
Date: 2003-06-11
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: Greece, environmental impact, impact study, motor vehicle pollution, rail network, town traffic, town-planning scheme, urban area

6.2.2004

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 33 E/195

Can the Commission say whether the audits have been selective or whether the management of Eurostat
has been comprehensively audited, too?

Can the Commission say what recommendations the Court of Auditors has made in its reports and sector
letters and what steps have been taken by the Commission to comply with those recommendations?

Answer given by Mr Solbes Mira on behalf of the Commission

(29 August 2003)

These questions were already discussed during the Budgetary Control Committee (Cocobu) meeting on
17 June 2003, and the Commission would like to refer to the written answers which the Members of the
Commission gave to committee members following the meeting.

At the same time, the Commission notes that the Court of Auditors has still not published a specific audit
of Eurostat’s operational expenditure or of its management.

The honourable Member’s attention is drawn to the recent publications by the Court of Auditors
concerning Eurostat’s statistical activities:

(cid:1) Annual Report concerning the financial year 2000 (paragraphs 1.71, 1.119 and 1.120 on Eurostat
procedures concerning gross national product (GNP) data used for budgetary purposes, as well as their
quality) (1);

(cid:1) Special Report No 17/2000 (paragraph 1.25 on the Commission’s control of the reliability and

comparability of the Member States’ GNP) (2);

(cid:1) Annual Report concerning the financial year 1999 (paragraph 1.21 on the quality of GNP data) (3);

(cid:1) Annual Report concerning the financial year 1997 (paragraph 1.25 on the quality of GNP data) (4).

The Commission, in collaboration with the Member States, takes care to implement every recommendation
by the Court in this field. In addition, it has been working with the GNP Committee since 1988 in order to
ensure the quality of statistical data used for budgetary purposes, as requested by the Court in its various
reports. Quality assurance procedures are currently used by Eurostat in close liaison with the statistical
offices of the Member States.

(1) OJ C 359, 15.12.2001.
(2) OJ C 336, 27.11.2000.
(3) OJ C 342, 1.12.2000.
(4) OJ C 349, 17.11.1998.

(2004/C 33 E/198)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-1995/03

by Alexandros Alavanos (GUE/NGL) to the Commission

Subject: Railway lines in the centre of Athens

(11 June 2003)

A decision has been made to modernise 13 kilometres of railway line linking Piraeus with the rail hub at
Acharnon via Athens, which will also form part of the suburban rail network. The projected completion
date is May 2004 and the project has a budget of EUR 160,4 million. The invitation to tender announced
by the Greek Railways Organisation (OSE) is for the replacement of the line by a new, electrified line
widened to four tracks.

The inhabitants of Athens are concerned that the route of the railway will continue to divide the city into
two, creating not only major bottlenecks and more pollution but also travel problems for the population
and a feeling of isolation and ghettoisation.

C 33 E/196

Official Journal of the European Union

EN

6.2.2004

Do the studies for modernising the suburban rail network provide for any sections of the line to run
underground or for any other works to prevent the city being divided into two? If not, how will the
Commission intervene to resolve this problem in an environment-friendly manner?

Answer given by Mr Barnier on behalf of the Commission

(29 July 2003)

As far as major infrastructure projects (cid:1) such as the modernisation of a railway section (cid:1) are concerned,
it is up to the Member State to design the project, and to ensure that an appropriate balance is found
between economic, societal and environmental considerations, and see to the respect of applicable
regulatory requirements.

According to information made available to the Commission, in the case of the railway corridor between
Piraeus and ‘Three bridges’ mentioned by the Honourable Member, it is indeed planned to increase the
number of tracks from currently two/three (according to the location) to four. This, however, will be
achieved largely by a better utilisation of the already available space within the existing corridor of the
section. Therefore, in as far as the width of this section of the suburban railway is concerned, there should
be no substantial difference between the current and the future situation.

The project in question, which concerns the modernisation of a short-distance railway line, may fall within
the scope of Council Directive 85/337/EEC of 27 June 1985, on the assessment of the effects of certain
public and private projects on the environment (1), as amended by Council Directive 97/11/EC of 3 March
1997 (2). Annexe II.13 of the Directive refers to any change or extension of projects listed in Annex I or
Annex II, already authorised, executed or in the process of being executed, which may have significant
adverse effects on the environment. According to Article 4(2), Member States are not obliged to submit
projects listed in Annex II to an environmental impact assessment. In this particular case, it appears that
the nature and the size of the project are not likely to have significant adverse effects on the environment.
Nevertheless, the assessment of the significance of the project’s effects rests primarily with the national
authorities.

The project for the modernisation of this particular section has not been proposed for co-funding by the
Union; the Commission will therefore not intervene with the Greek authorities.

(1) OJ L 175, 5.7.1985.
(2) OJ L 73, 14.3.1997.

(2004/C 33 E/199)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1998/03

by Konstantinos Hatzidakis (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(16 June 2003)

Subject: Penalty clauses relating to access roads in the concessionary agreement concerning Eleftherios

Venizelos Airport, Athens

Athens’ new airport, Eleftherios Venizelos at Spata, was built under a concessionary agreement concluded
between the Greek authorities and the Hochtief consortium in July 1995; the project was completed in
March 2001. The EU contributed some EUR 250 million to the project, representing approximately 11 %
of the total cost. The concessionary agreement provides for payment of compensation by the Greek
authorities to the contractor in the event of the access roads to the airport not being completed on time.

In particular, there is provision for the payment of:

(cid:1) EUR 35 000 per day for each day’s delay in opening the Stavros-Elefsina section of the Attica

motorway, to be applied immediately once the airport has become operational, and

(cid:1) EUR 25 000 per day for each day’s delay in opening the western ring-road (Avenue Ymittou), to be

applied 12 months after the airport has become operational.