WRITTEN QUESTION P-2340/03 by Giovanni Fava (PSE) to the Commission. National site for radioactive waste in Sardinia.
Date: 2003-07-11
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: Sardinia, competence of the Member States, environmental impact, radioactive waste, storage of waste, waste management

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The Commission is of the opinion that these two Community acts meet the requirements, and is not
planning any further legislation in this area.

It is for the Member States to decide whether vehicles should carry a first aid kit, and whether drivers
should undergo special training. At present, there is nothing to suggest to the Commission that European
legislation is warranted here. However, it does believe that several thousands of lives could be saved if the
emergency services were able to arrive sooner at the scenes of accidents. It is therefore studying how the
process of emergency service alert and intervention can be automated. In the meantime, the decision to
provide the emergency services with information enabling them to locate emergency calls made using the
112 number is an important step forward (2).

(1) COM(2003) 296 final.
(2) This is required by Directive 2002/22/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council on universal service and
users’ rights relating to electronic communications networks and services, OJ L 108, 24.4.2003, and referred to by
the Commission recommendation of 25 July 2003.

(2004/C 78 E/0104)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-2340/03

by Giovanni Fava (PSE) to the Commission

(11 July 2003)

Subject: National site for radioactive waste in Sardinia

The Italian press recently published reports that the government intends to choose Sardinia as the location
for the possible single national radioactive waste dump.

A report by Enea (the national authority for new technologies, energy and the envirnoment) ruled out
islands as possible locations for the disposal of waste, precisely in order to avoid the danger of
environmental disasters in the event of an accident during transport by sea.

In an order issued in March 2003 the Italian Government gave the company Sogin full responsibility for
choosing the national site for the radioactive waste dump. Unlike Enea, Sogin decided that the island
criterion would no longer be considered as an exclusion factor in the choice of site.

In view of all this, does not the Commission consider that:

1.

2.

3.

the choice of the location for the single radioactive waste dump should be made after consulting the
populations concerned, as European legislation requires;

the economic problems of islands should be a valid reason for excluding them when a site is being
chosen;

a nuclear-free region such as Sardinia, whose main resource is tourism, is entitled to oppose a possible
decision making it the location for a radioactive waste dump?

Answer given by Mrs de Palacio on behalf of the Commission

(12 August 2003)

The responsibility for managing radioactive waste rests with the country of jurisdiction. In the interests of
all concerned, any programme for the long-term management of waste must ensure full stakeholder
participation in the decision-making process, thus enabling a proper appraisal of any impacts.

In this context, it is important to note that any site for the final disposal of radioactive waste (cid:1) or for
storage of such wastes for more than 10 years (cid:1) must be the subject of an Environmental Impact
Assessment (EIA) under Council Directive 85/337/EEC of 27 June 1985 on the assessment of the effects of

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certain public and private projects on the environment (1) (as amended by Council Directive 97/11/EC of
3 March 1997 (2)) before development consent is given. This legislation requires that the EIA shall identify,
describe and assess the direct and indirect effects of the project on human health, fauna, flora, soil, water,
air, climate and the landscape as well as material assets and cultural heritage. The interaction between the
above-mentioned factors should also be addressed in the EIA. Consultations with the public and other
authorities likely to be concerned by reason of their specific environmental responsibilities have to be
carried out and the decision for development consent should take into account the outcomes of the above
consultations and information provided in this context. Finally, the decision has to be made available to
the public.

Currently, 85 % of all such wastes in the Union are regularly disposed of at surface or near surface disposal
sites. Volumes of waste are very small compared with other forms of waste, and no health or safety
impacts have been detected at any of the disposal sites concerned. It is possible that there could be, on
balance, economic benefits for any region hosting a site.

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

(2004/C 78 E/0105)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2348/03

by Camilo Nogueira Román (Verts/ALE) to the Commission

(16 July 2003)

Subject: Measures to be taken in response to evidence that oil from the ‘Prestige’ is continuing to reach the

coasts of Galicia and the Bay of Biscay

It is now July, eight months after the ‘Prestige’ disaster, and oil from the ‘Prestige’ is continuing to reach
the coasts of Galicia and the Bay of Biscay. This is undermining confidence among people living in the
areas affected, who can see that the forecasts made by the authorities responsible are systematically failing
to match reality. What measures is the Commission taking, in conjunction with the authorities of the
Spanish State and Galician Government, in order to assess the scale of this problem and prevent it from
recurring?

Answer given by Mrs Wallström on behalf of the Commission

(10 September 2003)

The Honourable Member is invited to refer to the answers given to his previous Written Questions
E-3595/02 (1), E-1259/03 (2) and E-2059/03 (3), and to his oral question H-69/03 during question time at
Parliament’s March 2003 session (4).

(1) OJ C 242 E, 9.10.2003, p. 63.
(2) OJ C 280 E, 21.11.2003, p. 121.
(3) See page 73.
(4) Written reply, 12.3.2003.

(2004/C 78 E/0106)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2349/03

by Camilo Nogueira Román (Verts/ALE) to the Commission

(16 July 2003)

Subject: Galicia and CAP reform

What will be the situation of Galician agriculture when the CAP reform approved by the Council
is
implemented, bearing in mind that the Galician farming industry is characterised by the predominance of
milk production, land-based family farms and a clear vocation and capacity for modernisation and, on the