WRITTEN QUESTION E-3459/03 by Erik Meijer (GUE/NGL) to the Commission. Measures to prevent the breaking-up in Europe of old US warships contaminated with chemicals, asbestos and diesel.
Date: 2003-11-21
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: Netherlands, United Kingdom, United States, application of EU law, environmental protection, export of waste, hazardous waste, warships, waste recycling

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(2004/C 78 E/0589)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3457/03

by Ilda Figueiredo (GUE/NGL) to the Commission

(20 November 2003)

Subject: Reform of the olive oil sector

Commission Communication (1) on ‘accomplishing a sustainable agricultural model for Europe through the
reformed CAP (cid:1) the tobacco, olive oil, cotton and sugar sectors’, it states that ‘for simplification, the olive
grove payment will not be allocated before EUR 50 per aid claim’.

Various interpretations have been placed on this formulation. Would the Commission therefore please
clarify whether this means that all olive growers currently receiving less than EUR 50 will henceforth
receive EUR 50, or on the contrary, cease to receive any aid whatever, which would be very unfair?

(1) COM(2003) 554 final.

Answer given by Mr Fischler on behalf of the Commission

(22 December 2003)

The Commission’s communication Accomplishing a sustainable agricultural model for Europe through the
reformed CAP- the tobacco, olive oil and sugar sectors (1) was followed on 18 November by its adoption of
the proposals for the legislation introducing the reforms in question.

The particular provision to which the Honourable Member refers has to be seen in context: simplification
of the aid provisions for a sector with a very large number of recipients (more than 2 100 000 in the
Community), most of whom receive very small amounts of aid. This simplification is designed not to harm
the interests of the smallest producers.

information system (GIS) hectares will be entitled,

A second provision has to be taken into account in this connection. Growers with an area of less than
0,3 geographical
irrespective of the amount of aid
received, to convert into single payment entitlement the average aid received during the reference period
whereas for producers with more than 0,3 GIS hectares the conversion level proposed is 60 %. The first
provision in turn makes operation of the system less burdensome by specifying that if the amount of olive
grove aid claimed is less than EUR 50 it will not be paid. For the purposes of this provision the actual size
of the grove is irrelevant.

Thus under the new system proposed the very small producers will receive at least the average amount
granted during the reference period. Those whose grove is considered by the Member State to have an
environmental or social value will also be able to receive the olive grove aid provided that the amount
actually falling to be received is more than EUR 50.

(1) COM(2003) 554 final.

(2004/C 78 E/0590)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3459/03

by Erik Meijer (GUE/NGL) to the Commission

(21 November 2003)

Subject: Measures to prevent the breaking-up in Europe of old US warships contaminated with chemicals,

asbestos and diesel

1.
Is the Commission aware that the Netherlands firm ICT is bringing US warships from the Second
World War era which are contaminated with large quantities of chemicals, asbestos and heavy diesel oil to
Europe with a view to them being broken up by the British firm Able in the North Sea port of Hartlepool?

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Is the Commission aware, moreover, that in late October the British Environment Agency decided
2.
that the breaking-up operation should not go ahead on the grounds that planning permission for the
requisite dry dock has not yet been granted?

Is there a possibility that these and other US warships will now be broken up in Europe in places or

3.
under circumstances which offer less stringent safety guarantees?

4. Why is it that these activities should be carried out in Europe, rather than in America, given that,
primarily because of a lack of suitable, environmentally friendly breaking yards, similar European ships are
sent to Asia and cause serious pollution there?

5. What steps is the Commission planning to take with a view to ensuring that, as soon as possible,
these ships leave European waters and ports and are returned to America for breaking-up there and to
preventing any repeat of this episode?

Source: The 6 November 2003 edition of the Netherlands daily newspaper de Volkskrant.

Answer given by Mrs Wallström on behalf of the Commission

(19 January 2004)

The Commission has not received information regarding the Dutch firm ICT in particular. However the
Commission is aware that it is the company which carried out the towing of the United States’ end of life
ships to Europe with a view to them being broken up by the British firm Able in the North Sea port of
Hartlepool.

The Commission is aware that on 7 October 2003 Hartlepool Borough Council (the relevant planning
authority) published a media statement expressing their view that ‘there is no valid planning permission to
allow for the construction of the proposed dam and the reinstatement of the dock gates, to provide a dry
dock’. Nor does the license allow for the receipt of the amounts of waste in question either.

The Commission is further aware that the Environmental Agency for England & Wales in late October
2003/early November 2003 informed Able UK Ltd, the United States Maritime Administration and the
United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that the receiving facility was not licensed to receive
or recover the ships as notified. The consent to the shipment is thus annulled.

Under the 1993 Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development
(OECD) agreement on
shipments of waste destined for recovery (cid:1) which is implemented in Community legislation in the Waste
Shipment Regulation (EEC) No 259/93 (1) (cid:1) all waste destined for recovery can travel almost freely within
the OECD area. The only requirement is that a shipment is prior notified to the competent authorities of
dispatch, destination and transit and that it is consented to by these authorities. It is therefore the decision
of these individual authorities/Member States to assess and consider if they have the necessary facilities and
capacity to receive and treat the end of life-ships which were subject to the notification procedure. In any
case, the dismantling of ships carried out within the Union must comply with the requirements of
Community waste legislation.

The Commission is currently investigating a complaint filed against the United Kingdom authorities in
life ships from the United States to the United Kingdom
relation to the shipment of four end of
questioning whether obligations under the Community Waste Shipment Regulation as well as under
several Community waste directives were complied with. The United Kingdom authorities have indicated
that the ships should be returned to the United States as soon as the meteorological conditions permit. The
United Kingdom authorities will continue to keep the Commission updated about all developments in this
respect.

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including the Waste
Enforcement of (cid:1) and inspection of compliance with (cid:1) Community legislation,
Shipment Regulation is the responsibility of the Member States. In line with Article 211 of the EC Treaty
the Commission ensures that the Community legislation is correctly applied. Moreover, the Commission
encourages co-operation between Member States to ensure proper and full
the
Regulation.

implementation of

(1) Council Regulation (EEC) No 259/93 of 1 February 1993 on the supervision and control of shipments of waste

within, into and out of the European Community, OJ L 30, 6.2.1993.

(2004/C 78 E/0591)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3460/03

by Erik Meijer (GUE/NGL) to the Commission

(21 November 2003)

Subject: Foot-dragging by the future Member State Czech Republic in connection with efforts to stamp out

child prostitution in areas close to its border with Germany

1.
Is the Commission aware that, according to a report by the German aid organisation KARO, since
the early 1990s their parents’ poverty has forced hundreds of children between the ages of 9 and 14 into
prostitution in areas on the Czech side of the border with Germany and that these children are being
abused by sex tourists from Germany?

2.
Is the Commission aware, moreover, that the Czech Government has thus far refused to acknowledge
the substance of KARO’s report, is rejecting calls from Unicef to take the matter seriously and has ignored
the recent offer from the German Government to lend assistance in dealing with these evils?

3.
Does the Commission regard it as acceptable that the future EU Member State Czech Republic,
instead of taking measures to deal with this abuse of children, is investigating possible criminal offences by
KARO involving defamation, partly on the grounds that the details supplied by KARO for many years
concerning the colour and registration numbers of the cars driven by regular users of prostitutes did not
take the form of official legal reports?

4.
Does the Commission regard it as acceptable, in general, that EU Member States should refuse to
acknowledge their cross-border problems which affect other Member States, that they should take action
against non-governmental organisations and that they should refuse to cooperate with neighbouring
countries with a view to solving the problems in question?

5.
How can the Commission help to resolve this problem before the Czech Republic becomes an EU
Member State on 1 May 2004, thereby ensuring that this unacceptable state of affairs along what will
shortly be an EU internal frontier does not become permanent?

Source: The 6 November 2003 edition of the Netherlands daily newspaper de Volkskrant.

Answer given by Mr Vitorino on behalf of the Commission

(7 January 2004)

The Commission is aware of the KARO project, which offers support for prostitutes and victims of human
trafficking and sexual exploitation, including children. KARO receives financial support from the Interreg
Programme of the Union.

The Commission is also aware of the book ‘Kinder auf dem Strich. Bericht von der deutsch-tschechischen
Grenze’, written by Ms. Cathrin Schauer, who is working for KARO, and edited and presented by the
German Committee for United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef) and End Child Prostitution and Trafficking
(ECPAT) Germany on 28 October 2003.

The Commission took note of the statements made by the Government of the Czech Republic in this
context and of the ongoing debate about the publication concerned. The Commission is in permanent
contact with the Government of the Czech Republic and will continue to observe the situation as well as
the future steps of the Czech Government in order to provide any possible support for the fight against
child abuse.