WRITTEN QUESTION P-0231/04 by Alexander de Roo (Verts/ALE) to the Commission. EIB loan to Schiphol Airport.
Date: 2004-01-26
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: EIB loan, Netherlands, airport, environmental impact, impact study

C 78 E/944

Official Journal of the European Union

EN

27.3.2004

Thanks to the professional approach of the Organising Committee and the special nature of the objects
exhibited, the Militaria Fair has outgrown its original format and has become an event of historical and
cultural significance. Over the years there have been exhibitions of uniforms, documents, arms and
antiques of major historical importance, such as Enrico Toti’s bicycle, the personal effects of Giuseppe
Mazzini, Guglielmo Marconi’s instruments, Garibaldi’s sword, Chiaffredo Bergia’s decorations and vast
collections of toy soldiers, originals or reproductions made by expert craftsmen, which are miniature
masterpieces.

The importance acquired by the Militaria Fair over the years is reflected in the sponsorship it has secured
for each edition from the Lazio Region, the Province of Rome, the city of Rome and the XVIIth district in
which the fair actually takes place. Institutions are also involved, for instance the Historical museum of the
Carabinieri, the Customs Service, the Rome traffic police, the Military section of the Italian Red Cross,
along with historical associations such as the Garibaldini and the Mentana Museum and, of course, private
individuals.

However, the costs (including rent for the exhibition area, fixtures and fittings, organisation and insurance
costs and publicity) far exceed the potential proceeds from ticket sales and fees for stands.

Can the Commission say whether grants are available for initiatives of this kind?

Answer given by Mrs Reding on behalf of the Commission

(17 February 2004)

The Commission supports the initiatives for transnational cooperation in the cultural sector, but only
within the framework and on the basis of the selection criteria for the Culture 2000 programme which is
the sole financing and planning instrument for cultural cooperation in the Union.

This programme is intended to support projects coproduced and cofinanced by at least three operators
from at least three countries participating in the programme.

The Honourable Member can find further information on the following websites (in English and French
respectively): (http://europa.eu.int/comm/culture/index_en.htm).

The Commission is not aware of any projects of this type put forward by other Member States.

(2004/C 78 E/0999)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-0231/04

by Alexander de Roo (Verts/ALE) to the Commission

(26 January 2004)

Subject: EIB loan to Schiphol Airport

For the financing of its fifth runway (known as the ‘Polderbaan’), Schiphol Airport successfully applied for
a European Investment Bank loan of EUR 150 million.

Friends of the Earth Netherlands claims that the loan was approved (on 15 February 2002) before the
requisite environmental impact assessment into the use of the ‘Polderbaan’ was completed (on 11 March
2002).

According to a report entitled: ‘Flying with Big Business: The European Investment Bank and the Aviation
Industry’, published in November 2003 by Friends of the Earth International and CEE Bankwatch Network,
the same applied to the expansion of Sofia Airport in Bulgaria, except that, in that particular instance, no
EIA was carried out at all.

27.3.2004

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 78 E/945

On what date did the EIB inform the European Commission of its intention to grant a soft loan to
Schiphol Airport, and was that information accompanied by an environmental impact assessment that may
be made public?

Does the Commission share my view that the EIB should have waited for the result of the EIA referred to
above before approving the loan? How will the Commission approach the EIB with a view to reversing the
matter?

How will the Commission approach the EIB with a view to ensuring that such circumstances do not recur?

Answer given by Mr Solbes Mira on behalf of the Commission

(17 February 2004)

The European Investment Bank (EIB) submitted to the Commission the necessary information for the
Consultation foreseen under Article 21 of the Bank’s statute on 29 November 2001. According to this
information a formal Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) had been carried out already in 1995
satisfying the needs of the Council Directive 85/337/EEC of 27 June 1985 on the assessment of the effects
of certain public and private projects on the environment (1) as modified by Council Directive 97/11/EC of
3 March 1997 (2). In addition, according to the information submitted by the EIB in the framework of the
above consultation, planning approvals which follow an EIA had also been granted by the appropriate
authorities. The EIB loan agreement puts a legal obligation on the project promoter to comply with any
relevant legislation, including environmental legislation. On this basis, the Commission did not raise any
further questions with respect
impact. The submission of additional specific
to the environmental
documentation, studies, etc. is not foreseen under the Article 21 consultation procedure.

In a reply to the Friends of the Earth, Netherlands, of December 2002, copied to the Commission, the EIB
explained that a further EIA was completed on 11 March 2002. This EIA did not specifically concern the
operation of the fifth runway, but rather the adaptation of noise and other environmental parameters at
Schiphol Airport as a whole, in the light of the new Aviation Act. Nonetheless, the Commission and the
EIB will ask the Dutch Authorities to provide further information on this EIA so that it can be verified if
this assessment falls within the framework of the Council Directive 85/337/EEC.

More generally,
in addition to the Article 21 consultation procedure where the Commission has an
opportunity to express a formal opinion on the EIB’s operation, the Commission and EIB services have
established regular contacts in an effort to better integrate the environmental approaches of the two
institutions. In view of its importance in the overall authorisation procedure for any given project, the
question of the EIA procedure on the basis of the above-mentioned Directive has been the subject of many
working sessions between the Commission and the Bank services. In particular it has been recognised that,
as a result of a formal EIA, certain aspects of a project may change. It is, therefore, of interest also to the
promoter and consequently to the financing institution to wait for the completion of the formal EIA in
order to have the final design and the final cost of the project.

The Commission will continue to pay particular attention to the correct implementation of the EIA
Directive both in the framework of the Article 21 consultation procedure and the contacts at technical
level.

(1) OJ L 175, 5.7.1985.
(2) OJ L 73, 14.3.1997.

(2004/C 78 E/1000)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0243/04

by Ilda Figueiredo (GUE/NGL) to the Commission

(2 February 2004)

Subject: Relocation and unemployment

Yet another multinational in the textile sector (cid:1) Brax Portuguesa, Fábrica de Confecções, Lda. (cid:1) now
appears likely to cease activity, raising the spectre of unemployment for over 400 workers, most of them
women, at its plant in Vila Nova de Gaia (Portugal).