WRITTEN QUESTION E-2984/03 by Christopher Huhne (ELDR) to the Commission. Building on seafronts.
Date: 2003-10-09
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: EU law, building industry, coastal region, town and country planning

27.3.2004

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 78 E/207

In its judgments of 5 June 2003, the Court of Justice stated that, by failing to notify measures transposing
Directive 2000/14/EC (12)
(C-352/02) and by failing to communicate the information referred to in
Article 11 of Directive 96/59/EC (13)
its obligations under those
Directives.

(C-83/02), Greece had failed to fulfil

(1) Council Directive 97/11/EC of 3 March 1997 amending Directive 85/337/EEC on the assessment of the effects of

certain public and private projects on the environment, OJ L 73, 14.3.1997.

(2) Council Directive 79/409/EEC of 2 April 1979 on the conservation of wild birds, OJ L 103, 25.4.1979.
(3) Directive 2000/69/EC of Parliament and of the Council of 16 November 2000 relating to limit values for benzene

and carbon monoxide in ambient air, OJ L 313, 13.12.2000.

(4) Directive 2000/76/EC of Parliament and of the Council of 4 December 2000 on the incineration of waste, OJ L 332,

28.12.2000.

(5) Directive 2001/80/EC of Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2001 on the limitation of emissions of

certain pollutants into the air from large combustion plants, OJ L 309, 27.11.2001.

(6) Directive 2001/81/EC of Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2001 on national emission ceilings for

certain atmospheric pollutants, OJ L 309, 27.11.2001.

(7) Directive 2000/53/EC of Parliament and of

the Council of 18 September 2000 on end-of-life vehicles (cid:1)

Commission Statements, OJ L 269, 21.10.2000.

(8) Council Directive 1999/22/EC of 29 March 1999 relating to the keeping of wild animals in zoos, OJ L 94,

9.4.1999.

(9) Directive 2001/18/EC of Parliament and of the Council of 12 March 2001 on the deliberate release into the
environment of genetically modified organisms and repealing Council Directive 90/220/CEE (cid:1) Commission
Declaration, OJ L 106, 17.4.2001.

(10) Council Directive 76/464/EEC of 4 May 1976 on pollution caused by certain dangerous substances discharged into

the aquatic environment of the Community, OJ L 129, 18.5.1976.

(11) Council Directive 91/689/EEC of 12 December 1991 on hazardous waste, OJ L 377, 31.12.1991.
(12) Directive 2000/14/EC of Parliament and of the Council of 8 May 2000 on the approximation of the laws of the
Member States relating to the noise emission in the environment by equipment for use outdoors, OJ L 162,
3.7.2000.

(13) Council Directive 96/59/EC of 16 September 1996 on the disposal of polychlorinated biphenyls and poly-

chlorinated terphenyls (PCB and PCT), OJ L 243, 24.9.1996.

(2004/C 78 E/0211)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2984/03

by Christopher Huhne (ELDR) to the Commission

(9 October 2003)

Subject: Building on seafronts

Can the Commission state whether there is any EU legislation that prohibits or affects building on

1.
seafronts or beaches?

2.

Can the Commission confirm or indicate whether it has any intention to introduce such a proposal?

Answer given by Mrs Wallström on behalf of the Commission

(10 November 2003)

There is no Community legislation that prohibits building on seafronts or beaches. However prior to
1.
development consent, a construction project may be subject to an environmental impact assessment in
application of Council Directive 97/11/EC of 3 March 1997 amending Directive 85/337/EEC on the
assessment of the effects of certain public and private projects on the environment (1) (‘EIA Directive’).
Annexes I and II of this Directive list projects that are likely to occur in the coastal zone, such as port
facilities, coastal defence works, marinas and more in general urban and tourism development projects
(Annex I.8; Annex II.10 (b) (e) (k) and 12 (b), (c)).

2. While the Commission does not have the intention to propose legislation to prohibit building on the
seafront, the problems associated with construction in the coastal zone are being looked into.

C 78 E/208

Official Journal of the European Union

EN

27.3.2004

In 2001, the Parliament voted a budget allocation of EUR 5 million to look into the increasing problem of
coastal erosion. Based on this resource, the Commission launched a major pan-European project called
‘EUrosion’ (2), which is to deliver by May 2004 policy recommendations for the Union, national, regional
and local levels in how to deal in a sustainable way with coastal erosion.

Finally, in its Chapter IV.3.b (i) the Parliament and Council Recommendation 2002/413/EC of 30 May
2002 on the implementation of integrated coastal zone management in Europe (3) invites Member States to
consider in particular measures to control additional urbanisation on the coast, in the context of the
national strategies for integrated coastal zone management due by February 2006.

(1) OJ L 73, 14.3.1997.
(2) www.eurosion.org.
(3) OJ L 148, 6.6.2002.

(2004/C 78 E/0212)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-3010/03

by Adriana Poli Bortone (UEN) to the Commission

(8 October 2003)

Subject: Blackout in Italy

Can the Commission say whether it intends to ascertain the causes of the blackout which hit Italy during
the night of 27/28 September 2003?

Was the lengthy power cut caused by ‘human error’ as reported in the press or by other factors
attributable to the countries that supply Italy with energy?

Answer given by Ms de Palacio on behalf of the Commission

(6 November 2003)

According to the information currently available, provided by the UCTE (Union for the Co-ordination of
Transmission of Electricity), the sequence of events was as follows:

(cid:1) 28 September 2003 at 03.01 h: Lavorgno-Mettlen line tripped (situated in Switzerland, supplying

Italy).

(cid:1) 28 September 2003 at 03.25 h: Sils-Soazza and Airlo-Mettlen lines tripped (Swiss lines, supplying

Italy).

After these power cuts the electricity supply from Switzerland to Italy was reduced by almost 3 000
megawatts. This power was transferred onto the other interconnecting lines (cid:1) Italy-France, Italy-Austria (cid:1)
and this rapidly (within 40 seconds) resulted in the tripping of all
lines interconnecting Italy and
neighbouring countries.

The fact that the electricity imported into Italy (about 25 % of consumption during off-peak hours) could
not be immediately replaced, after the power cut, by Italian-produced power during that time, meant that a
blackout ensued across the entire Italian peninsula.

The UCTE is currently investigating the causes of this incident, in particular the possibility that one or
more of its members did not comply with the operational standards. It is also inquiring into a possible lack
of coordination between the transmission system operators (TSO).

The Italian and French regulators, in collaboration with the Swiss ministry, are also analysing the events.