WRITTEN QUESTION E-1907/03 by Patricia McKenna (Verts/ALE) to the Commission. The Les Marínes housing project in Denia in the Valencia region, Spain.
Date: 2003-06-11
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: Community of Valencia, coastal protection, environmental impact, impact study, infringement procedure (EU), project evaluation, town planning

6.3.2004

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 58 E/111

Answer given by Mrs Wallström on behalf of the Commission

(24 July 2003)

The Honourable Member is referring to the blueprint Mineral Resources Management Plan of
Autonomous Community of Valencia.

the

The Commission does not have information regarding this management plan. The Natura 2000 network is
established under the Habitats Directive (1) and in principle the Directive does not prohibit any activity
within a Natura 2000 site.

the site but

Article 6 of the aforementioned directive establishes that any plan or project not directly connected with
or necessary to the management of
thereon, either
individually or in combination with other plans or projects, shall be subject to appropriate assessment of
its implications for the site in view of the site’s conservation objectives. In the light of the conclusions of
the assessment of the implications for the site and subject to the provisions of paragraph 4 of this article,
the competent national authorities shall agree to the plan or project only after having ascertained that it
will not adversely affect the integrity of the site concerned and, if appropriate, after having obtained the
opinion of the general public.

likely to have a significant effect

According to the information provided by the Honourable Member an environmental impact assessment
will be compulsory for any action within protected areas. Therefore, it seems that the measures adopted by
the authorities follow the requirements of the Habitats directive.

Nevertheless, it is foreseeable that the national authorities submit the plan and all the individual projects to
an environmental assessment according to the provisions of article 6 of the Habitats Directive.

(1) Council Directive 92/43/EEC of 21 May 1992 on the conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora,

OJ L 206, 22.7.1992.

(2004/C 58 E/126)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1907/03

by Patricia McKenna (Verts/ALE) to the Commission

(11 June 2003)

Subject: The Les Marínes housing project in Denia in the Valencia region, Spain

On 1 August 2002 the town council of Denia (Valencia Region) provisionally adopted sectoral
authorisation for 400 hectares of building land at Les Marínes in order to alter the relevant category in
accordance with the law regulating town planning activities, so that the land may be used to build 17 000
dwellings. The authorisation was adopted by the Alicante town planning committee on 3 February 2002,
which means that the work may start at any time. ‘Les Marínes’ is a wetland of great environmental value
worthy of protection and urgent
the area may have disastrous
consequences for the environment and the inhabitants of Denia, which does not have enough facilities (it
has a population of around 35 000, which already rises to 100 000 in summer, and it does not have
enough schools, hospital beds or waste management services). The area where building work is planned is
home to a number of plant species recognised in the ‘Habitats’ Directive (92/43/EEC) (1) and more than
100 bird species, some of which are listed in Annex 1 to the Directive on birds (79/409/EEC (2)): Emberiza
hortulana, Nycticorax nycticorax, Egretta garzetta, Ardea purpurea, Falco columbarius, Larus audouinii,
Sterna sandvicensis, Chlidonias niger and Alcedo atthis.

restoration. The deterioration of

The Les Marínes area is also surrounded, within a distance of one kilometre, by three habitats of
Community interest: the Pego-Oliva marsh, L’Almadrava (a Posidonia oceanica marine ecosystem, the
subject of question E-2661/02 (3)) and El Montgó. All these areas contain priority species. The European
Parliament and Council Recommendation concerning the implementation of Integrated Coastal Zone
Management in Europe (4) of 30 May 2002 is being completely disregarded, although the recommendation
was promoted by the Spanish presidency. The project has already been the subject of complaints to the
local and regional authorities, but there has been no response.

C 58 E/112

Official Journal of the European Union

EN

6.3.2004

1. What steps will the Commission take to demand a detailed assessment of the project’s environmental
impact?

Does it not consider that an assessment of the environmental

2.
Community interest should also be carried out?

impact on the nearby sites of

Can the Commission say what action has been taken in response to question E-2661/02 on the

3.
project for regeneration of the Almadrava and Les Devesses beaches?

(1) OJ L 206, 22.7.1992, p. 7.
(2) OJ L 103, 25.4.1979, p. 1.
(3) OJ C 110 E, 8.5.2003, p. 82.
(4) OJ L 148, 6.6.2002, p. 24.

Answer given by Mrs Wallström on behalf of the Commission

(24 July 2003)

The Commission has been informed about the facts referred to by the Honourable Member through a
complaint. As part of its investigation of this compliant, the Commission has contacted the Spanish
authorities to ask for their comments on the facts referred to and the application of Directives 85/337/
EEC (1) and 92/43/EEC (2) in the case in question.

The competent authorities of the Member State are required, in accordance with Council Directive 85/337/
EEC, as amended by Council Directive 97/11/EC of 3 March 1997 (3), to determine, following a case-by-
case examination or by laying down thresholds or criteria, whether the environmental effects of urban
development projects must be assessed before authorisation is given.

If the project referred to were also likely to have a significant impact on the sites of Community
importance (SCI) referred to by the Honourable Member, which were proposed by the Spanish authorities
for the establishment of the Natura 2000 network, an appropriate assessment of the project’s impact on
the sites should be carried out. In the light of the conclusions of that assessment, the competent authorities
would only be able to give their approval for the project after ensuring that it would not affect the
integrity of the sites concerned and, where appropriate, after consulting the public. Despite any negative
conclusions of the assessment of the impact on the sites, the project would nevertheless be able to be
carried out for imperative reasons of overriding public interest, including those of a social or economic
nature, if there are no alternative solutions. In this case, the Member State is required to take all necessary
compensatory measures to ensure that the overall coherence of Natura 2000 is protected.

With regard to the action taken in response to question E-2661/02 from Mrs Patricia McKenna (4) on the
project for the regeneration of the Almadrava and Devesses beaches, the Commission has considered the
reply from the Spanish authorities and takes the view that the authorities have not properly applied
Community law, as a result which it has initiated an infringement procedure. The Commission sent the
Spanish authorities a letter of formal notice in the framework of this procedure. Their comments in reply
to this letter are currently being considered by the Commission.

With regard to the action taken on petition 472/2000, the Commission has already sent three replies to
Parliament dated 7 March 2002, 18 October 2002 and 8 April 2003. The petition has not yet been
discussed by a Parliamentary Committee.

(1) Council Directive 85/337/EEC of 27 June 1985 on the assessment of the effects of certain public and private

projects on the environment, OJ L 175, 5.7.1985.

(2) Council Directive 92/43/EEC of 21 May 1992 on the conservation of natural habitats and of wild flora and fauna,

OJ L 206, 22.7.1992.

(3) OJ L 73, 14.3.1997.
(4) OJ C 110 E, 8.5.2003, p. 82.