WRITTEN QUESTION P-3619/03 by Miquel Mayol i Raynal (Verts/ALE) to the Commission. Enlarging the Son Sant Joan de Palma de Mallorca airport (Balearic Islands).
Date: 2003-12-01
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: Balearic Islands, air transport, airport, environmental impact, project evaluation, transport infrastructure

C 84 E/72

Official Journal of the European Union

EN

3.4.2004

The Commission in its contribution to the Lisbon European Council noted that the high cost of
3.
Internet access was an important factor. The expectation was though that increased competition would
reduce these costs. While there was the aim that the Internet be accessible by all this was not meant that
all access should be without any payment.

(2004/C 84 E/0077)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-3619/03

by Miquel Mayol i Raynal (Verts/ALE) to the Commission

(1 December 2003)

Subject: Enlarging the Son Sant Joan de Palma de Mallorca airport (Balearic Islands)

In 2001 the present Spanish Government’s Ministry of the Presidency approved the Master Plan for the
Son Sant Joan de Palma de Mallorca airport (Balearic Islands). The Palma city council then adopted a
specific amendment to the Palma General Plan so as to incorporate the provisions of the Airport Master
Plan, which involved extending the facilities and runways so as to increase Balearic air traffic, which
estimated forecasts indicate would rise to 38 million passengers by 2015.

Can the Commission confirm this extension of the airport?

Does the Commission believe that these forecasts run counter to the principle of sustainability and
adequate assessment of impact on human beings, culture, countryside, natural environment, heritage and
quality of life laid down in Articles 2 and 6 of the Treaty of Nice for sustainable development, and in
European Parliament and Council Directive 2001/42/EC on the effects of certain plans and programmes on
the environment.

What steps, if appropriate, does the Commission intend to take?

Answer given by Mrs Wallström on behalf of the Commission

(6 January 2004)

The Honourable Member refers to a modification of the Palma General Plan incorporating the provisions
of the Master Plan for the Son Sant Joan de Palma de Mallorca airport. The Commission is not aware of
this programme or of the amendments approved.

At present, Union law does not require Member States to carry out a strategic environmental assessment
(SEA) of their draft plans or programmes, or of proposed modifications. The position will change on
21 July 2004, the date by which Member States must complete their transposition of Directive 2001/42/
EC, the so-called SEA Directive (1). Thereafter, Member States will have to carry out an environmental
assessment of plans and programmes which meet the definition in the Directive. In some circumstances,
plans or programmes begun before 21 July 2004 but not adopted until after 21 July 2006 might also
require assessment.

On the other hand, Council Directive 85/337/EEC (EIA Directive) as amended by Council Directive 97/11/
EC of 3 March 1997 deals with the environmental assessment of certain public and private projects on the
environment (2). It provides that Member States must ensure that, before development consent is given,
projects likely to have significant effects on the environment by virtue, ‘inter alia’, of their nature, size or
location are made subject to an assessment of the environmental effects. These projects are defined in
Article 4 that refers to Annexes I and II of the Directive. Any change or extension of projects listed in
Annex I or II, fall under Annex II point 13 of the EIA Directive. This seems to be the case of the extension
of facilities and runways. In this case, the Spanish authorities have to determine, either through a case by
case examination or according to thresholds or criteria, whether the project is to be made subject to an
assessment because of its likely significant effects on the environment taking into account the relevant
selection criteria set out in Annex III of the Directive.

3.4.2004

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 84 E/73

From the information provided it is not clear if applications for development consent for the described
projects have been made. In any case, the Spanish authorities will have to comply with the above-
mentioned provisions of the EIA Directive.

On the basis of the information provided by the Honourable Member, the Commission has no reason to
assume that Union legislation is not being correctly applied. If the Honourable Member wants to provide
additional information concerning the future development of this plan, the Commission will examine the
issue further.

(1) Directive 2001/42/EC of the Parliament and of the Council of 27 June 2001 on the assessment of the effects of

certain plans and programmes on the environment, OJ L 197, 21.7.2001.

(2) OJ L 73, 14.3.1997.

(2004/C 84 E/0078)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3628/03

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

(5 December 2003)

Subject: High-speed rail link between Galicia and Portugal as part of the European growth initiative

The ‘quick start’ priority projects section of the European growth initiative includes high-speed rail links
between Galicia and Portugal, namely the Vigo-Oporto part-project (for which no starting date is given,
although it is due to be completed in 2010) and the La Coruña-Lisbon-Sines line (for which neither a
starting date nor a date of completion is indicated).

What are the actual prospects for the above projects? What are the starting and completion dates for the
Sines-Lisbon-Oporto and Oporto-Vigo part-projects and for the Sines-La Coruña project as a whole? What
effect has the agreement on the projects which was reached at the Luso-Spanish government summit held
on 8/9 November 2003 had on the prospects for completion of the projects?

Answer given by Mrs de Palacio on behalf of the Commission

(3 February 2004)

The Commission’s report of 11 November 2003 to the Council on the Commission President’s growth
initiative includes a quick start programme. As regards transport, this programme contains the cross-
border sections of the priority projects the Commission proposed on 1 October 2003 as part of the
revision of the Decision on Community guidelines for the trans-European network.

The projects in the quick start programme meet the following four criteria:

1.

2.

3.

4.

they are ready to start immediately (cid:1) the aim being for substantial investment to be committed by the
end of 2006,

they have a major cross-border impact,

they will have beneficial results in terms of growth and jobs, and

they will help protect the environment. The quick start programme is a tool and will in no way affect
the Commission’s proposal of 1 October 2003 on the Community guidelines for TENs, which will be
adopted through co-decision.

The Vigo-Oporto project forms part of priority project No 19 ‘High-speed rail interoperability on the
Iberian peninsula’ and is therefore included in the programme. The agreement reached at the recent
summit between the Portuguese and Spanish governments on 8/9 November 2003 specifies that work on
it will be completed in 2009, which is earlier than the forecast previously sent to the Commission (2010).