WRITTEN QUESTION E-2483/03 by Daniel Varela Suanzes-Carpegna (PPE-DE) to the Commission. Prevention against the risk of forest fires: Regulation (EEC) No 2158/92.
Date: 2003-07-24
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: EC Regulation, EU financial instrument, European Commission, drafting of EU law, environmental protection, fire protection, forest conservation, forestry policy, proposal (EU)

C 58 E/172

Official Journal of the European Union

EN

6.3.2004

Demand for these loans is very uneven, despite the fact that they are vitally necessary for the EU regions
lagging furthest behind to finance projects of all kinds and thus further their development. For example,
the bank’s most recent annual report, for 2002, reveals that, even though the EIB granted loans amounting
to EUR 5426 million in that year, many of them for autonomous communities, the Galician Government
is not listed for any of the 50 projects.

Can the Commission say what amounts were granted to Spain in EIB loans for each of the years 1998,
1999, 2000, 2001 and 2002?

Can the Commission further specify for which projects the Galician Government applied to the EIB for a
loan in those years, whether the loan was granted and what amount was involved?

Answer given by Mr Solbes Mira on behalf of the Commission

(12 August 2003)

Galicia is an objective 1 region and as such is an European Investment Bank (EIB) priority. Regular
meetings take place between the EIB and Xunta de Galicia to identify where the EIB could be of assistance.
Since the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU), Galicia has been successful in the capital markets, i.e.
Galicia has access to borrowing from sources other than EIB. Therefore, Galicia’s borrowing from EIB has
been rather modest.

From 1998 until 2002, the following amounts were granted by the EIB in Spain:

(cid:1) 1998: ECU 3 127 million;

(cid:1) 1999: EUR 4 020 million;

(cid:1) 2000: EUR 4 243 million;

(cid:1) 2001: EUR 4 559 million;

(cid:1) 2002: EUR 5 426 million.

As far as the EIB is aware, all financing applications introduced by the Galician Government were accepted
by the EIB and loans granted accordingly.

Annex 1 which is sent direct to the Honourable Member and to Parliament’s Secretariat provides details of
the direct loans granted in Galicia during this period. The EIB also granted global
loans to financial
intermediaries, which allocated sub-loans to beneficiaries (SMEs or small public infrastructures) located in
Galicia. Those allocations are detailed in Annex 2, also sent direct to the Honourable Member and to
Parliament’s Secretariat.

(2004/C 58 E/185)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2483/03

by Daniel Varela Suanzes-Carpegna (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(24 July 2003)

Subject: Prevention against the risk of forest fires: Regulation (EEC) No 2158/92

Regulation (EEC) No 2158/92 (1), which made provision for the funding of measures to prevent against the
risk of forest fires, expired on 31 December 2002. The fact that Regulation (EEC) No 2158/92 acted as an
incentive for regional and national fire prevention policies has been amply demonstrated over the past 10
years. During that period, the average area of forest damaged by each fire fell in the south of France, Spain
and Portugal. Nevertheless, the fresh Commission proposal for a regulation (Forest Focus) and the new
rural development regulation represent a renationalisation of policy on forest fires which entails the
disappearance of a Community financial arrangement for prevention against the risks of forest fires such as
that provided for in Regulation (EEC) No 2158/92. At the same time, this proposal does not accord with
the arguments brought by the Court of Justice of the European Communities to the effect that policy on
protection against forest fires is to be seen as a Community policy within the framework of environment
policy which is to be financed by funds drawn from the EU budget.

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Official Journal of the European Union

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Taking the above into consideration:

1.

Is the Commission aware that its proposal for a Forest Focus regulation does not tally with the recent
case-law of the Court of Justice of the European Communities, which opposes the renationalisation of
policy on combating fires and argues that it should be dealt with under the codecision procedure with
Parliament? What arguments justify upholding this proposal in its current form?

2.

Is the Commission aware of the adverse consequences which its proposal for a Forest Focus regulation
might have as regards combating forest fires at Community level?

3. Will the Commission amend its proposal to bring it into line with the previous Regulation (EEC)
No 2158/92, particularly as regards restoring specific funding devoted solely to prevention and
management activities to protect forests against the risk of fire?

(1) OJ L 217, 31.7.1992, p. 3.

Answer given by Mrs Wallström on behalf of the Commission

(11 September 2003)

The Community has helped its Member States in their efforts to prevent forest fires although the main
responsibility for the co-ordination and implementation of any forest policy is at national
level.
The Honourable Member is aware of the fact that a scheme to protect and monitor forests against fire
was established by Council Regulation (EEC) No 2158/92 of 23 July 1992 which expired at the end of
2002.

the Commission submitted a proposal

for a Parliament and Council Regulation
On 15 July 2002,
concerning the monitoring of forests and environmental interactions in the Community (‘Forest Focus’).
This proposal aims to establish a new Community scheme for forest monitoring and environmental
interactions in order to protect the Community’s forests from events such as atmospheric pollution and
forest fires. However, the scope of this proposal is broader than the previous regulations, as other issues
will be covered (biodiversity, carbon sequestration, soils …).

This proposal
is clearly focused on monitoring activities. It is still under political debate and will be
discussed again in autumn 2003 within the Parliament, when it considers its second reading position
under the co-decision procedure.

Various forest fire prevention measures have been already incorporated for the majority of the regions of
the Southern Member States into their Rural Development Plans, drafted according Council Regulation (EC)
No 1257/1999 of 17 May 1999 (1). So far, they have not been incorporated in ‘Forest Focus’ because
Union legislation does not allow the same measures to be financed by different regulations.

Up to the year 2006 the Council Regulation (EC) No 1257/1999 and ‘Forest Focus’ together would cover
all
fire measures, both prevention and monitoring ones, previously covered by Council
Regulation (EEC) No 2158/92.

the forest

(1) 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, OJ L 160,
26.6.1999.

(2004/C 58 E/186)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2499/03

by Christopher Huhne (ELDR) to the Commission

(25 July 2003)

Subject: Beach cleanliness

Is the Commission satisfied that the current standards of sea water and beach cleanliness as monitored in
the beach flagging scheme are high enough to avoid any temporary health problems for sea bathers? Will
it comment on recent reports that sea bathers are still likely to suffer stomach upsets and other health