WRITTEN QUESTION E-3639/03 by Michl Ebner (PPE-DE) to the Commission. Pollution in Wipp and Eisack valleys (Austria and Italy).
Date: 2003-12-09
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: Austria, Community trunk route, Italy, anti-pollution device, combustion gases, environmental standard, pollution control, road transport

27.3.2004

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 78 E/305

Directive 89/391/EEC also establishes an employer obligation to draw up, for the responsible authorities
and in accordance with national laws and/or practices, reports on occupational accidents suffered by their
workers. Member States shall report to the Commission every five years on the practical implementation of
the provisions of this Directive, indicating the points of view of employers and workers. No reporting has
been made by Member States to the Commission on incidents where the employer has not implemented
existing safety provisions in industries using preservatives.

Another health and safety Community initiative, Council Directive 98/24/EEC of 7 April 1998 on the
protection of the health and safety of workers from the risks related to chemical agents at work (2), may
have amongst others a role in controlling the potential risks from food preservatives in the workplace.

The Commission considers that these directives provide adequate protection for the health of employees in
the food industry. As the Honourable Member is aware, Union Directives on health and safety at work
have to be transposed into national law. It is the responsibility of national authorities to ensure adequate
controls and supervision of the implementation of the national legislation.

A recent initiative to raise awareness on the risk of dangerous substances at the workplace has been the
European Week for Safety and Health at Work 2003 co-ordinated by the European Agency for Health and
Safety at Work. Events were organised in all Member States and the Agency has produced information
materials that are available from its website: http://osha.eu.int/ew2003.

Finally, the Commission announced in its Communication ‘Adapting to change in work and society: a new
Community strategy on health and safety at work 2002-2006’ (3) that the European Agency for Health and
Safety at Work will set up a ‘risk observatory’, based on examples of good practice collected from firms or
specific branches of activity.

(1) OJ L 183, 29.6.1989.
(2) OJ L 131, 5.5.1998.
(3) COM(2002) 118 final.

(2004/C 78 E/0307)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3639/03

by Michl Ebner (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(9 December 2003)

Subject: Pollution in Wipp and Eisack valleys (Austria and Italy)

Fine dust particles are known to be especially damaging to human health and to the natural environment.
A representative example of a now widespread phenomenon is that motorway traffic in North and South
Tyrol accounts for half the level of particle emissions for the entire region. The Brenner motorway, a major
north-south axis, cuts a wide gash through the narrow Wipp and Eisack valleys. It is responsible for 30 %
of hazardous emissions, and by releasing 13 000 tonnes of combustion residues annually, places these
valleys under enormous strain. The frequent and sustained temperature inversions and persistent periods of
low wind velocity that result from the geological structure of the Alpine valleys tend to impede or even
prevent the dispersal and dilution of such particles. The serious impact on human beings and the natural
environment of pollution from noise and hazardous particles generated by the enormous traffic volumes
cannot be underestimated.

The Commission is asked:

(cid:1) Is it proposed that more stringent standards will be introduced for motor-vehicles and their exhaust

emissions, and if so in what form?

(cid:1) What measures are being taken to improve vehicle performance in the road-haulage industry?

C 78 E/306

Official Journal of the European Union

EN

27.3.2004

Answer given by Mr Liikanen on behalf of the Commission

(14 January 2004)

Directive 1999/96/EC (1) introduced new emission requirements for new heavy-duty vehicles in two stages.
The Euro 4 stage, due to be mandatory from October 2006 for all new heavy-duty vehicles, will lower the
emissions of Nitrogen oxides (NOX) by some 30 % over the present legal requirements while the emission
of particulates will be lowered by some 80 %. A second mandatory stage (Euro 5) will apply to all new
heavy-duty vehicles from October 2009 and this will result in a lowering of NOX by a total of 60 % over
the Commission is investigating a further stage of emission
the present
reductions for new heavy-duty vehicles (Euro 6 in the timeframe 2012-2013), concentrating on the
primary pollutants NOX and particulates.

legal requirements. Now,

In addition, the Commission is also investigating a further stage of emission reductions for new passenger
cars and light commercial vehicles (Euro 5 in the timeframe 2010), also concentrating on the primary
pollutants NOX and particulates.

With respect to improving vehicle performance in the road-haulage industry, stricter checks of emissions
are being supplemented by the introduction of new technical measures for on-board diagnostic (OBD)
systems on heavy-duty vehicles. OBD is to be a part of the Euro 4 stage from 2006. OBD will monitor
non-compliance of emissions in real-time and inform the driver and repair garage if there is a problem
with the emission control systems that needs attention.

The Commission is also working on a new method for checking the in-use conformity of heavy-duty
vehicles in service through the use of portable emission monitoring systems (PEMS) which will supplement
the technical measures of the Euro 4 stage.

Older heavy-duty vehicles used in the road haulage industry can be retro-fitted with filters to reduce the
emissions of particulates. However, retro-fitting is not dealt with at a European level but rather at a
national or local level, usually encouraged through fiscal incentives. Such filters show an immediate and
drastic cut in emissions of exhaust particulates.

(1) Directive 1999/96/EC of the Parliament and of the Council of 13 December 1999 on the approximation of the
laws of the Member States relating to measures to be taken against the emission of gaseous and particulate
pollutants from compression ignition engines for use in vehicles, and the emission of gaseous pollutants from
positive ignition engines fuelled with natural gas or liquefied petroleum gas for use in vehicles and amending
Council Directive 88/77/EEC, OJ L 44, 16.2.2000.

(2004/C 78 E/0308)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3642/03

by Baroness Sarah Ludford (ELDR) to the Commission

(9 December 2003)

Subject: Eurobarometer poll

Can the Commission explain the reasoning behind section 2.2 of the latest Eurobarometer Flash Survey
(No 151) in which respondents were asked whether or not they consider certain countries to pose a threat
to world peace?

What is the purpose of this section given that evaluating perceptions of future threats to world peace is
not mentioned as one of the underlying objectives of the survey and also that the responses are not even
mentioned in the conclusion of the Flash Survey?

Can the Commission explain how the countries featuring in this survey were selected, and what steps will
be taken to ensure that the methodology of any similar future exercise is improved?