WRITTEN QUESTION E-0291/04 by Raffaele Costa (PPE-DE) to the Commission. Road accidents in European Union countries.
Date: 2004-02-06
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: EU Member State, road safety, transport accident, transport policy, transport statistics

C 84 E/354

Official Journal of the European Union

EN

3.4.2004

(2004/C 84 E/0411)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0290/04

by Caroline Jackson (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(6 February 2004)

Subject: Scope of Directive 97/11/EC

Could the Commission confirm whether or not Item 7a of Directive 97/11/EC (1) covers the construction
of a large-scale telecommunications network alongside an existing track?

(1) OJ L 73, 14.3.1997, p. 5.

Answer given by Mrs Wallström on behalf of the Commission

(12 March 2004)

(Environmental

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)
Impact Assessment Directive) as amended by
Council Directive 97/11/EC of 3 March 1997 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 which refers to Annex I and II of the Directive. Annex I point 7(a) refers
to construction of lines for long-distance railway traffic and of airports with a basic runway length of
2 100 metres (m) or more. Annex II point 13 includes any change or extension of projects listed in Annex
I or Annex II, already authorised, executed or in the process of being executed, which may have significant
adverse effects on the environment.

The Honourable Member asks the Commission to confirm whether or not Annex I point 7(a) covers the
construction of a large-scale telecommunications network alongside an existing track. It is to be noted that
the construction of a large-scale telecommunications network is not found as a project type in the
Annexes. However, the question is whether such a project may be characterised as a change or extension
of the existing track, if this track falls under Annex I point 7(a) in the first place. The question of the
Honourable Member does not include elements to develop this issue. In any event, if the existing project is
not changed as per its own physical characteristics it could hardly fall under Annex II point 13.

(1) OJ L 175, 5.7.1985.

(2004/C 84 E/0412)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0291/04

by Raffaele Costa (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(6 February 2004)

Subject: Road accidents in European Union countries

On 12 January 2004 the French Prime Minister announced that there were 5 732 road deaths in France in
2003, compared with 7 242 in 2002, 8 437 in 1998, 10 289 in 1990 and 12 428 in 1981 and that in
Italy too, partly because of the penalty-points licence, the number of victims fell
in 2003. Can the
Commission say whether it already has, or intends to obtain road death figures for all European Union
countries? On what factors do any anomalies depend? Has there been a reduction in the number of victims
everywhere? What public or private measures or initiatives have led to the reduction?

3.4.2004

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 84 E/355

Answer given by Mrs de Palacio on behalf of the Commission

(11 March 2004)

Pursuant to Council Decision of 30 November 1993 (1), the Commission receives information on road
accidents and has since July 2002 published detailed statistics on the Europa website (2).

There is a great disparity between the Member States: those with the best results (the Netherlands, Sweden,
the United Kingdom) record around 60 to 65 deaths per million inhabitants per year, in contrast to 160 to
180 deaths in the countries with the poorest results (Greece and Portugal). The average for the European
Union (EU15) is around 105 deaths per million inhabitants per year.

Concerning the factors explaining these differences, the Commission would refer the Honourable Member
to the recent European Action Programme for Road Safety, adopted by the Commission in 2003 (3).
Generally speaking, the greatest scope for improvement lies in road-user behaviour, though the road
infrastructure could also be greatly improved in several Member States.

Substantial improvements have been recorded in France (a 22 % reduction in the number of deaths in
2003 compared with 2002), Ireland (− 10 %), Italy (− 17 % (4)) and Portugal (− 11 % (5)). The reductions are
mainly due to improved road-user behaviour, whether because of
increased awareness or better
enforcement of the rules (more controls, tougher penalties imposed more effectively). According to
provisional, indicative figures, the number of deaths in EU15 in 2003 should be under 35 500 in contrast
to 38 500 en 2002 and almost 40 000 in 2001.

(1) Council Decision of 30 November 1993 on the creation of a Community database on road accidents, OJ L 329,

30.12.1993.

(2) http://europa.eu.int/comm/transport/road/roadsafety/index_en.htm, heading road safety/CARE
(3)

‘Halving the number of road accident victims in the European Union by 2010: A shared responsibility’, Commission
communication, COM(2003) 311 final.
January-September 2003/January-September 2002.
January-August 2003/January-August 2002.

(4)
(5)

(2004/C 84 E/0413)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-0293/04

by María Bergaz Conesa (GUE/NGL) to the Commission

(2 February 2004)

Subject: Threat to the Güe springs from the construction of the Puente del Arco to El Condado section of

the AS 17 highway (Asturias, Spain)

When work began on the Puente del Arco to El Condado section of the AS 17 highway (Asturias, Spain),
it was discovered that the plan chosen by the competent authorities might cause irreparable damage to the
Güe springs, which provide drinking water for over 11 000 local inhabitants.

In its answer to Written Question P-1825/03 (1) on this subject, the Commission stated that: ‘In any event,
it appears that the project has undergone environmental impact assessment. It should be noted, however,
that Directive 85/337/EEC (2) does not specify the criteria by which a project is to be selected from among
the alternative solutions which have been examined, provided the chosen project has been properly
assessed.’

In the light of this fresh information relating to the Güe springs, does the Commission consider the route
selected by the Spanish authorities to be the best one from an environmental viewpoint?

Does it not consider, in view of current Community legislation on the protection of groundwater, that an
alternative route which does not endanger those springs should be adopted?

Will the Commission ask the competent authorities to provide it with all the information relating to this
matter?

(1) OJ C 33 E, 6.2.2004, p. 174.
(2) OJ L 175, 5.7.1985, p. 40.