WRITTEN QUESTION E-3076/03 by Erik Meijer (GUE/NGL) to the Commission. Results of studies into the threats to the health of people living or working in the vicinity of transmitter masts for the new UMTS system.
Date: 2003-10-20
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: electromagnetic interference, health risk, mobile phone, public health, radio telecommunications, research results, safety standard, scientific report, technology assessment

20.3.2004

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 70 E/211

Answer given by Mrs Diamantopoulou on behalf of the Commission

(21 November 2003)

The Honourable Member is asking the Commission what tangible measures the Commission has taken to
implement the proposals set out in the (A5-0214/2003) and if gender budgeting will be taken into
account as early as the 2004 budget.

In response to the Parliament’s request to distribute information on gender budgeting, the Honourable
Member may wish to note that the Commission has already disseminated the opinion of the Advisory
Committee on Equal Opportunities for Women and Men within the Commission, to the Parliament and in
the Member States. This document includes valuable information on the principles, methods and tools of
gender budgeting. It is available to a wider public on the Commission web site (1). The Commission might
also consider disseminating a brochure on gender budgeting.

Promoting gender equality in economic life is one of the objectives of the Framework Strategy on Gender
equality 2001-2005 and the related programme. Although the priority theme for the action programme in
2004 and 2005 is: ‘change of gender roles and stereotypes’, proposals for projects on other themes can
also be considered for financial support if the projects meet the conditions required. In this context
projects on gender budgeting might be considered.

So far, the public budgets in Europe as well as the household of the Union are to a large extent gender
blind.

However, some progress is underway as many programmes within the Community budget, such as the
Structural Funds, programmes within education, research, development co-operation etc. explicitly refer to
including the
the aim of fighting discrimination and promoting equality between women and men,
empowerment of women. Gender budgeting requires the development of
indicators, and statistical
information about the state of affairs. As the Member States administer approximately 80 % of the
Community budget, the Commission relies on information from them. Data often exists only in aggregated
form, which does not permit a gender-specific analysis. Further efforts are needed at all levels to develop
statistics and indicators broken down by sex.

The integration of the gender perspective into the budgetary process is part of the gender mainstreaming
strategy and the Commission will continue developing methodologies and tools, including gender statistics
and indicators, for the implementation of gender mainstreaming.

(1) http://europa.eu.int/comm/employment_social/equ_opp/index_en.htm

(2004/C 70 E/227)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3076/03

by Erik Meijer (GUE/NGL) to the Commission

(20 October 2003)

Subject: Results of studies into the threats to the health of people living or working in the vicinity of

transmitter masts for the new UMTS system

1.
In recent years have complaints come to the Commission’s attention concerning mobile telephony
(GSM) transmitter masts which are annoying to and potentially damaging to the health of those living or
working in buildings on which such masts are sited, irrespective of whether scientific studies have yet
provided conclusive proof of such damage.

2.
Following the initially slow take-up of the new UMTS system, which is the basis for rapid Internet
access and the transmission of images via mobile phones, does the Commission expect to see a rapid
expansion in the use of the system over the next few years and, as a result, an increase in the number of
transmitter masts and their associated electro-magnetic fields?

C 70 E/212

Official Journal of the European Union

EN

20.3.2004

Is the Commission aware of the study into the impact of the new UMTS technology carried out by
3.
the Netherlands research institute TNO, which puts forward evidence to suggest that, unlike in the case of
GSM transmitter masts, people living or working in the vicinity of UMTS transmitter masts may be
affected by dizziness, tingling sensations in their limbs, headaches, sleeplessness and loss of concentration,
resulting in temporary or permanent damage to their health?

4.
How do the stricter safety provisions governing UMTS in Italy, the Austrian province of Salzburg and
Switzerland differ from the standard EU provisions? Are there Member States or regions in the EU where
UMTS transmitter masts may not be built in places where they may adversely affect the local population?
In what areas is UMTS operation contingent on scientific studies demonstrating that radiation poses no
risk to public health, or in what areas is that operation subject to other restrictions?

Is the Commission encouraging measures to combat the adverse effects on public health in the

5.
Member States? What specific measures in this area can the public expect to see in the near future?

Source: the 1 October 2003 issue of the Netherlands daily newspaper de Volkskrant.

Answer given by Mr Byrne on behalf of the Commission

(1 December 2003)

1.
The siting of mobile phone masts is an issue, which as mentioned by the Honourable Member, is
giving rise to public concern in Member States. At the same time, the public perception of the risks posed
by masts is at odds with measured exposure levels. The extremely rapid deployment of mobile networks
over the last years, in many cases without consultation of the public, seems to be the main reason for this.
European citizens have (either directly or through their MEPs) approached the Commission on this matter,
notably to enquire about safety standards and the risks associated with electric and magnetic field (EMF)
exposure.

The Commission consistently responds to these questions and always recalls, that the Community:

(cid:1) has adopted Council Recommendation 1999/59/EEC of 12 July 1999 on the limitation of exposure of

the general public to electromagnetic fields (0 Herz (Hz) to 300 Giga-Herz (GHz)) (1);

(cid:1) regulates its products to adhere to these limits, through Directive 1999/5/EC of the Parliament and of
the Council of 9 March 1999 on radio equipment and telecommunications terminal equipment and
the mutual recognition of their conformity (2) (the R & TTE Directive and Council Directive 73/23/EEC
of 19 February 1973 on the harmonisation of the laws of Member States relating to electrical
equipment designed for use within certain voltage limits (3) (the Low Voltage Directive);

(cid:1) requests re-evaluation of the scientific literature regularly in order to review the set safety limits.

2.
Even though it is expected that a larger number of antennas will be installed, there is currently no
reason to assume that the roll-out of UMTS networks will have a substantial impact on the exposure of the
public to electromagnetic fields. Measurements on the real-life exposure done in several Member States
have demonstrated that these normally are in orders of magnitude below the safety levels as recommended
by Council Recommendation 1999/519/EEC. Only in the close vicinity of masts (i.e. within meters of the
base station itself) would they be of the same order as set in the Recommendation. Co-locating UMTS on
masts already used for GSM, therefore, only has an effect on exposure conditions in the immediate vicinity
of the mast.

3.
The Commission is aware of the study done in the Netherlands. This study focused on relations
between exposure to low intensity fields of base stations used for GSM 900, GSM 1800 and UMTS
(3rd generation) networks. An unexpected but small negative correlation between well-being and exposure
to UMTS exposure was found. No such correlation was observed for exposure to GSM fields. A positive
correlation between cognitive capabilities and exposure to GSM fields, also observed in other studies was
confirmed. The study does not conclude that the observed effects have an impact on health. It calls for
confirmation of its results and an extension of the study method.

20.3.2004

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 70 E/213

The Commission is aware that in certain Member States and in Switzerland, lower safety levels have
4.
been adopted. As mentioned, real life exposure levels are in orders of magnitude below the safety levels.
They only have consequences for the safety zones immediately around masts. In the case of applying the
Italian levels, this safety zone would need to be three times larger compared to the levels set by the
Recommendation (typically 10 instead of three to four meters from the mast).

5.
To the best knowledge of the Commission, the limits and standards in place protect European
citizens from adverse health effects. Nevertheless, the Commission is following research in this area closely
and will take new scientific evidence into consideration when it reviews the Council Recommendation
1999/519/EEC in 2004.

(1) OJ L 199, 30.7.1999.
(2) OJ L 91, 7.4.1999.
(3) OJ L 77, 26.3.1973.

(2004/C 70 E/228)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3079/03

by Torben Lund (PSE) to the Commission

(20 October 2003)

Subject: Regulation (EC) No 1221/97 and aid for beekeeping

Regulation (EC) No 1221/97 (1) includes rules for improving the production and marketing of honey.
Nevertheless, beekeeping is under pressure in several places in Europe and numbers have dropped sharply
in several areas. For this among other reasons, a number of Member States are attempting to improve the
situation for beekeepers by subsidising research, etc. In Denmark, however, the government has quite
paradoxically proposed eliminating aid for beekeeping despite the grave situation in this sector.

This being so, will the Commission provide an update on how all the different Member States aid their
national beekeeping industry and, at the same time, give an assessment as to how Denmark’s draft finance
bill for 2004 can be reconciled with Regulation (EC) No 1221/97 and other relevant EU legislation? Lastly,
will it indicate how the EU promotes the situation of beekeepers through various schemes and explain
forthcoming EU proposals to improve both the situation of beekeepers and honey production in the EU?

(1) OJ L 173, 1.7.1997, p. 1.

Answer given by Mr Fischler on behalf of the Commission

(25 November 2003)

As the Honourable Member indicates, the purpose of Council Regulation (EC) No 1221/97 of 25 June
1997 laying down general rules for the application of measures to improve the production and marketing
of honey (1) is to support beekeeping in the Union.

Its Article 1(1) states that Member States ‘may lay down national programmes for each year’. Thus it is up
to the Member State to decide whether or not to have a programme. If it does so, the programme must
embrace one or more of the priority measures listed in Article 1. In addition Article 4 states that the
national programmes are to be drawn up in close collaboration with the representative organisations and
beekeeping cooperatives.

The Commission sent a report (2) to the Council and Parliament on implementation of the Regulation.
It covers the first three years of the programmes and can be consulted on the Agriculture Directorate-
General’s website (3).