WRITTEN QUESTION E-0053/04 by Camilo Nogueira Román (Verts/ALE) to the Commission. The suspension of work at the Inzar shipyard (Fene, Galicia) arising from the ban on building merchant vessels: action of the Commission and the Spanish government.
Date: 2004-01-20
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: EU industrial policy, Galicia, Spain, industrial restructuring, shipbuilding

3.4.2004

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 84 E/755

The plant has apparently been in operation for more than forty years and must, therefore, be considered as
an ‘existing installation’ in the meaning of the Directive (see Article 2, point 4). According to Article 5 of
the Directive, the competent authorities have to take the necessary measures in order to ensure that such
an installation operates in full compliance with the provisions of the Directive by 30 October 2007 at the
latest.

For this purpose, the competent authority has to issue an integrated permit (or,
if appropriate, to
reconsider and update an existing permit) containing emission limit values, equivalent parameters or
technical measures based on best available techniques, taking into account the technical characteristics of
the installation concerned, its geographical location and the local environmental conditions (see Article 9(4)
of the Directive).

For the definition of best available techniques, the competent authority can base its requirements on a
reference document for best available techniques (BREF) in pulp and paper manufacturing. This document
is accessible on the web site: (http://eippcb.jrc.es/pages/FAbout.htm).

Data on the most relevant pollutants emitted by the installation are publicly accessible on the website:
www.eper.cec.eu.int as of 23 February 2004.

With the aim of maintaining the air quality where it is good and improving it in other cases, Council
Directive 96/62/EC of 27 September 1996 on ambient air quality assessment and management (4) requires
Member States to assess the air quality throughout its territory. Limit and target values, to be met by a
defined attainment data (2005 to 2010), are set by accompanying Daughter Directives relating to air
pollutants such as sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, particulate matter (PM10) and lead (5) or carbon
monoxide and benzene (6).
installations are of course potential sources for some of those
components. Member States are obliged to report annually to the Commission the zones and
agglomerations where any limit values plus a defined margin of tolerance (which is decreasing annually
to become zero by the attainment date), are exceeded. In such zones Member States are obliged to draw up
plans and programmes to demonstrate by which measures the limit values can be achieved. Up to now the
Commission did not receive such plans or programmes from Spain relating to the suggested problem area
around the industrial plant in question.

Industrial

(1) OJ L 175, 5.7.1985.
(2) OJ L 73, 14.3.1997.
(3) OJ L 257, 10.10.1996.
(4) OJ L 296, 21.11.1996.
(5) OJ L 163, 29.6.1999.
(6) OJ L 313, 13.12.2000.

(2004/C 84 E/0850)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0053/04

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

(20 January 2004)

Subject: The suspension of work at the Inzar shipyard (Fene, Galicia) arising from the ban on building

merchant vessels: action of the Commission and the Spanish government

The suspension of work at the Inzar shipyard (Fene, Galicia), arising from the ban on building merchant
vessels which has affected it since 1988 and the dearth of orders for offshore rigs, in the building of which
it was obliged to specialise under its previous name of Astano, with the consequent loss of thousands of
jobs, once again points up the need for action on this problem from the Commission and the Spanish
state, both of which are guilty of negligence on an issue that is crucial for the economy of the Ferrol area
and of Galicia.

Can the Commission provide information on the present state of affairs? Has the Spanish government
submitted the necessary request to enable the shipyard to recommence building merchant vessels? What is
the Commission’s position? What, at all events, needs to be done to enable this shipyard to build such
vessels, as it did in the past when it had a worldwide reputation in the field?

C 84 E/756

Official Journal of the European Union

EN

3.4.2004

Answer given by Mr Monti on behalf of the Commission

(26 February 2004)

As the Commission recently replied to the Honourable Member in its answer to written question E-3828/
03 (1), the Commission, in 1997, decided that Fene (ex-Astano) should be closed for shipbuilding in order
to ensure the production restriction on public Spanish shipbuilding. This was, therefore, a counterpart for
the approved restructuring aid (2) authorised in 1997. Furthermore, the Council requested, in its Regulation
(EC) 1013/97 of 2 June 1997 on aid to certain shipyards under restructuring (3), on which the Commission
decision mentioned above was based, that Fene should be kept closed for shipbuilding.

The Commission is currently examining the issue of allowing Fene to restart shipbuilding and is therefore
not able to prejudge what its final position will be.

The Commission is actively pursuing a policy to defend EU shipbuilding from unfair international
competition, by a World Trade Organisation (WTO) action against South Korea and by having proposed a
temporary defensive mechanism for shipbuilding. Shipyards in all Member States, including Spain, may
benefit from this approach specifically designed for this industry.

(1) See page 104.
(2) OJ C 354, 21.11.1997.
(3) OJ L 148, 6.6.1997.

(2004/C 84 E/0851)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0054/04

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

Subject: Compliance with the Kyoto protocol by the Spanish state

(20 January 2004)

The Commissioner responsible for the environment, Mrs Margot Wallström, recently announced that the
EU will not be able to meet its obligations under the Kyoto protocol, stating that the Union member with
the worst record is the Spanish state, which is considered unlikely to meet the 33,3 % target by 2010.

Given that the Commissioner had written to all the national governments urging them to step up their
efforts to reach the target, can the Commission explain this failure of the Spanish state to comply? What
measures has the Spanish government taken to adjust to the proposed objectives?

Answer given by Mrs Wallström on behalf of the Commission

(4 March 2004)

The recent Commission progress report on reducing greenhouse gas emissions (1) shows that the policies
and measures taken in the Member States so far will not be enough to meet their Kyoto emission targets.
A letter has been sent to Member States proposing that the additional measures that are needed to meet
the EU’s Kyoto targets be identified in the course of 2004, underlining the necessity for Member States to
keep the timeline for implementation of the EU emission trading Directive (2), to update national policies
and measures within the next 12-18 months, and to include more substantive information on their
projections for using the Kyoto Protocol’s mechanisms to supplement domestic action.

Spanish emissions were 32 % above 1990 levels in 2001, while its 2008-2012 commitment is to an
increase of no more than 15 %.

Since the publication of the Commission’s report, Spain has adopted a climate change action plan
consisting of a package of 440 greenhouse gas reduction measures. The measures proposed include fiscal