WRITTEN QUESTION E-2599/03 by Camilo Nogueira Román (Verts/ALE) to the Commission. Progress on construction of the Colégio Altamira football ground under the municipal sports complex project of the Association of Municipalities of O Condado (Galicia) in the context of the Proder programme (1996-1999).
Date: 2003-08-20
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: EU control, Galicia, financial control, project management, sports facilities, use of aid

C 70 E/116

Official Journal of the European Union

EN

20.3.2004

Joint answer
to Written Questions E-2595/03 and E-2596/03
given by Mrs Wallström on behalf of the Commission

(26 September 2003)

Air quality is one of the areas in which Europe has been most active in recent years, and Community
legislation on air quality comprises in particular the Air Quality Framework Directive (Council Directive
96/62/EC of 27 September 1996 on ambient air quality assessment and management (1)) and a number of
‘daughter Directives’ targeting specific pollutants.

The air quality legislation establishes limit values for concentrations for various pollutants. Among other
pollutants it covers concentrations of suspended particulate matter (and therefore ‘dust’). However, the
limit values concern only ambient air, which is defined as ‘outdoor air in the troposphere, excluding work
places’. The limit values do therefore not apply to areas inside an underground transport system.

Community legislation relating to the licensing of railway operators (2) does require railway undertakings to
comply with national law and regulatory provisions such as safety requirements applying to staff, rolling
stock and the internal organisation of the undertaking, provisions on health, safety and the rights of
workers and consumers. Member States may, however, exempt railway undertakings that only operate
urban or suburban rail passenger services from the scope of these Directives.

The Community legislation on the protection of animals during transport (3) concerns transport of a
completely different nature and only for commercial purposes, and is not relevant in the case of the
London Underground.

The Commission is aware that air pollution and/or extreme temperatures as experienced during this
summer can cause severe problems, in particular for vulnerable people such as the elderly, children and
those with circulatory and respiratory diseases. As regards airborne particles, a substantial body of new
scientific evidence on the sources and the health effects has become available during the last few years.
These new findings are presently reviewed by the World Health Organisation (WHO) to assist the
Commission in the preparation of a thematic strategy for air quality as part of the Clean Air for Europe
(CAFE) programme. One preliminary conclusion is that there is no apparent threshold for the health
effects due to exposure to particulate matter. Therefore, no safe level may be defined for which there are
no effects.

However, within the current legislative framework it remains the responsibility of the competent local,
regional or national authorities to take action specific to problems in the London or any other
underground system.

(1) OJ L 296, 21.11.1996.
(2) Council Directive 95/18/EC of 19 June 1995 on the licensing of railway undertakings, OJ L 143, 27.6.1995, and
Directive 2001/13/EC of the Parliament and of the Council of 26 February 2001 amending Council Directive
95/18/EC, OJ L 75, 15.3.2001.

(3) Council Directive 91/628/EEC of 19 November 1991 on the protection of animals during transport and amending
Directives 90/425/EEC and 91/496/EEC, OJ L 340, 11.12.1991, and Council Directive 95/29/EC of 29 June 1995
amending Directive 90/628/EEC concerning the protection of animals during transport, OJ L 148, 30.6.1995.

(2004/C 70 E/119)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2599/03

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

(20 August 2003)

Subject: Progress on construction of the Colégio Altamira football ground under the ‘municipal sports
complex’ project of the Association of Municipalities of O Condado (Galicia) in the context of the
Proder programme (1996-1999)

At its meeting of 15 October 2001, the Municipal Assembly of Salceda (Galicia) formally approved a
payment for construction work on the Colégio Altamira football ground to the sum of EUR 60 041

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Official Journal of the European Union

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(ESP 9 990 000). Despite this, the project has never been completed; the municipality took the decision
before any work began on building the ground. A municipal councillor representing the BNG (Galician
Nationalist Bloc) party had earlier asked a notary to draw up an official certification of the state of progress
on the project; one and a half years later, on 21 May 2003, the same councillor reported that work on the
project was still at a rudimentary stage (cid:1) all that had been done was to ‘survey the site and build a dirt
road leading to it’.

In view of the circumstances, it is essential that the Commission’s services should take the necessary action
to ascertain the real state of progress of this project under the Proder programme when it was allocated an
EU grant and to establish its real cost and final financing conditions.

Does the Commission intend to carry out a full investigation into this case? Has it already paid the sum
corresponding to the Community funding agreed for the project to the competent authorities of the
Spanish central government and the Galician regional government? If so, and given that
the sum
concerned has not to date been used to construct the football ground, can the Commission provide
information on what it has in fact been used for?

Answer given by Mr Fischler on behalf of the Commission

(24 September 2003)

The Commission has contacted the Spanish authorities,
Galicia, to obtain information about the question put by the Honourable Member.

in particular the Autonomous Community of

It should be pointed out that Article 38 of Council Regulation (EC) No 1260/1999 of 21 June 1999 laying
down general provisions on the Structural Funds (1) provides that it is the Member States who are
responsible in the first instance for financial control, and therefore it is they that must ensure that the
funds are used in accordance with the principles of sound financial management and certify that the
declarations of expenditure presented to the Commission are accurate.

The work on the ‘municipal sports complex’ and in particular the construction of the football ground in
the municipality of Salceda was funded under the ‘Proder’ measures of the Galician integrated operational
programme and managed by the Local Action Group of the Association of Municipalities of O Condado.

The total investment in this project was EUR 226 029, with the European Regional Development Fund
(ERDF) contributing EUR 63 243. The cost of the football ground was EUR 59 500.

The project was completed and certified by a competent official in October 2001.

Also, there were two inspection visits by the Xunta (regional government) of Galicia in March and October
2002 to verify that the installations were being used.

According to the information received by the Commission, in November 2002 the Local Action Group
received a report from the engineer responsible for the project in which he indicated that the football
ground was in need of repair.

This work is being carried out at the present moment.

The Commission will not fail to inform the Honourable Member of any developments in this case.

(1) OJ L 161, 26.6.1999.

(2004/C 70 E/120)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-2600/03

by Maurizio Turco (NI) to the Commission

(6 August 2003)

Subject: Activities of the High-Level Advisory Group on Intercultural Dialogue in the Mediterranean Area

and the Reflection Group on the Spiritual and Cultural Dimension of Europe

With reference to the answer to question P-2200/03 (1) given by Mr Prodi on behalf of the Commission,
the questioner totally agrees that the issue of religious values is an extremely delicate and personal matter
for every citizen and should remain so, and not become an institutional and even less a constitutional