WRITTEN QUESTION E-3571/03 by Gerhard Schmid (PSE) to the Commission. Threat to a water protection zone in one member State by a project in another.
Date: 2003-12-05
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: Czechia, Germany, accession to the European Union, environmental impact, environmental law, frontier region, impact study, protected area, water management, water protection

C 78 E/594

Official Journal of the European Union

EN

27.3.2004

One example of the European Parliament’s lack of democratic legitimacy at the present time is that, with
very few exceptions, no EU citizen can state the name of any political group in Parliament, let alone what
political tendency it represents. They are unknown to the great majority of the public. When people go to
the polls in European Parliament elections, they look only at national issues. Moreover, Members of the
European Parliament often have to follow a party political programme at EU level which frequently
contradicts the parties’ election manifestos at national level. The most serious aspect of the problem is that
voters who voted for an MEP to represent them are not in a position to know whether they have been
duped. At the present time, it is almost impossible for voters to know what is happening in EU politics.
There is no media coverage etc. The entire situation is a vicious circle which ultimately creates contempt
for politicians.

It is widely understood that the EU suffers from a lack of democratic legitimacy, as described above. In the
light of that fact, how can the Commission endorse the draft of the new Constitution when, by proposing
a strengthening of the European Parliament’s powers, democracy in the EU is weakened? How does the
Commission believe that strengthening the supranational level can win the support of the people when, de
facto, the European people and the European identity required to legitimise its decisions do not exist?

Answer given by Mr Prodi on behalf of the Commission

(6 January 2004)

The Commission does not share the views expressed by the Honourable Member in his question. In
particular it believes that strengthening the powers of Parliament does not weaken democracy within the
Union, but instead would enhance the democratic nature of the Union. Strengthening Parliament’s powers
does not affect the powers of national parliaments; quite the contrary, the draft Constitution will lead to
closer involvement of the national parliaments in the operation of the Union.

(2004/C 78 E/0628)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3571/03

by Gerhard Schmid (PSE) to the Commission

(5 December 2003)

Subject: Threat to a water protection zone in one member State by a project in another

A garage is currently being built near the municipality of Pavlùv Studenec in the Czech Republic, and the
construction of a large petrol station is planned as part of this project. On the German side of the border
there is a water protection zone near the municipality of Bärnau, whose springs provide some 60 % of the
population of Bärnau with drinking water. Since the petrol station due to be built on the Czech side is
situated on a hill overlooking the border, the water protection zone is at risk from pollution in the event
of leaks of hazardous substances on the Czech side. Nevertheless, the Czech administration intends to
approve the construction of the petrol station.

In view of the above, will the Commission say whether after accession to the European Union the Czech
authorities will be obliged to respect a water protection zone on the German side of the border as part of
water legislation?

Answer given by Mr Verheugen on behalf of the Commission

(6 February 2004)

The Community legislation on Environmental Impact Assessment (1) (EIA) requires that private and public
projects that are likely to have significant effects on the environment must be subject to an assessment of
their potential effects on the environment before they can be allowed to proceed. EIAs are mandatory for
certain projects listed in Annex I of the Directive, but Member States have discretion determining whether
projects of the type listed in Annex II require an EIA, based on selection criteria provided in Annex III.

27.3.2004

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 78 E/595

Where a project subject to an EIA is likely to have a significant effect on the environment of another
Member State, it must be ensured that specific procedures are followed concerning information exchange,
participation in the assessment procedure and consultation.

The result of the consultation has to be taken into account in the development consent procedure.
However, a negative impact assessment does not automatically imply that a project is not allowed to
proceed.

In order to decide whether the construction of a petrol station requires an EIA, it is necessary to know the
capacity of the station. For instance, if it concerns an installation with a capacity of more than 100 000
tonnes, an EIA is obligatory. If the installation has a capacity of between 5 000 and 100 000 tonnes, there
is an obligation to carry out a screening to see if an EIA is necessary. For installations with a capacity
under 5 000 tonnes no screening is necessary.

The Czech Republic has to fully implement the EIA Directive by the time of accession at the latest.
However, according to information provided by the country, the EIA Directive has already been transposed
and the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UN ECE) Convention dealing with
transboundary impact assessment of projects and plans (Espoo) ratified. Therefore a transboundary
consultation on projects potentially having effects on the environment of other states would normally
already need to be carried out now and comments of the affected state taken into account in preparing the
EIA statement and final decision.

The Community legislation on water protection is mainly based on the Water Framework Directive (2).
Article 7 of the Directive requires, inter alia, the establishment of protected areas for the abstraction of
drinking water by the end of 2004. Since the management will be co-ordinated for the whole river basin,
transboundary issues need to be addressed in this context.
In other words, the Czech and German
Authorities will have to discuss and agree whether the respective area becomes a transboundary drinking
water protected area. However, this obligation under the Water Framework Directive can only be enforced
by the Commission after the Accession of the Czech Republic and after the deadline in the Directive has
in particular the Groundwater Directive (3), did not
expired. Previous Community legislation on water,
provide for the establishment of groundwater protected areas. However, it requires the prior authorisation
of, e.g. underground storage tanks.

The Commission has been informed that the issue raised by the Honourable Member in his Written
Question has already been the subject of bilateral discussions between Germany and the Czech Republic in
the Commission of Border Waters between the two countries. Such discussions should continue in the
framework of bilateral agreements between the Czech Republic and Germany.

The Commission is monitoring closely that the commitments made by the Czech Republic and the other
acceding Countries in the accession negotiations are being respected.

(1) 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) Decision No 2455/2001/EC of the Parliament and of the Council of 20 November 2001 establishing the list of

priority substances in the field of water policy and amending Directive 2000/60/EC, OJ L 331, 15.12.2001.

(3) Council Directive 80/68/EEC of 17 December 1979 on the protection of groundwater against pollution caused by

certain dangerous substances, OJ L 20, 26.1.1980.

(2004/C 78 E/0629)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3576/03

by Michl Ebner (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(5 December 2003)

Subject: EU Identity document for the disabled

Some 37 million citizens of the EU (cid:1) or ten per cent of the population (cid:1) suffer from some kind of
disability. European Year of People with Disabilities which ends in a few weeks’ time should provide a
fresh impetus and achieve practical results in the fight for the equal treatment of disabled EU citizens so as
to enable them to participate fully in all areas of life in future.