WRITTEN QUESTION P-0766/04 by Giorgio Celli (Verts/ALE) to the Commission. Financing of the Llubí-Crestaxt-Pollença watercourse (Balearic Islands).
Date: 2004-03-04
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: Balearic Islands, EU financing, hydraulic works, water management, water supply

3.4.2004

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 84 E/669

The Commission proposes that regions with per capita GDP less than 75 % of the Community average,
should be eligible to the new ‘Convergence and Competitiveness’ objective. The decision concerning the
eligibility of these regions will be determined on the basis of the most recent data available at the time.

According to the latest data (for 2001) as published in the Third Cohesion Report, the Comunidad
Valenciana stands at 81,1 % of the average EU15 GDP per capita, or to 89 % for EU25. The Commission
proposes that regions currently eligible for Objective 1 not fulfilling the criteria for the convergence
objective would benefit from a higher level of support (under the heading ‘phasing in’) on a transitional
basis, under the new ‘regional competitiveness and employment’ objective. The transitional arrangements
‘would follow a path comparable to that for regions no longer eligible for Objective 1 in the period 2000-
2006’.

(1) COM(2004) 107 final: ‘A new partnership for cohesion’.

(2004/C 84 E/0755)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-0766/04

by Giorgio Celli (Verts/ALE) to the Commission

(4 March 2004)

Subject: Financing of the Llubí-Crestaxt-Pollença watercourse (Balearic Islands)

In the early months of 2003 the European Commission took the decision to finance, via the Cohesion
Fund, the Llubí-Crestaxt-Pollença watercourse on the island of Majorca, Spain. The Government of the
Balearic Islands opened the project to public tender and awarded a contract for the work, which is 40 %
complete. This project represents a decisive step towards achieving maximum efficiency in Majorca’s water
management and distribution system. The idea is to complete the transversal artery that runs across
Majorca for 90 kilometres along the base of the Tramuntana Sierra collecting water from various sources
and regulating the levels of several aquifers, and thereby to satisfy various demands. Majorca’s
Mediterranean climate and its dependency on the tourist industry mean that the island experiences high
levels of demand in the summer with irregular rainfall, alongside periods of water shortage lasting several
years followed by a few years with abundant rainfall. The aim of the project is precisely to incorporate in a
single system the majority of surface water resources and a portion of the groundwater resources so that
the surface water surpluses generated in rainy periods can infiltrate into strategic high-capacity karstic
aquifers, thereby returning them to their highest piezometric levels and acting as a reserve for the driest
periods. The project is designed to meet the demand for water by reducing the over-exploitation of water
resources through the infiltration of water into the aquifers exploited. After a change in the regional
government following the elections of June 2003, work on the construction of the northern stretch of the
transversal artery was halted and a modification proposed that fundamentally alters the aims of the original
project: the watercourse would no longer be interconnected with the Crestaxt aquifer but would be
leaving Pollença with no
connected up with a new desalination plant to be established at Alcudia,
guarantee of water supply. This modification is designed to route water to Palma from the future
desalination plant at Alcudia in the low season, when its production is not absorbed by the north of the
island. The modification did not form the subject of a new public procurement procedure, and neither was
it supported by any technical justification. Is the Commission prepared to finance the work in question
despite the substantial change in the project and its objectives? Will it investigate whether the fact that the
work in question is totally different from that approved in 2002 constitutes an violation of Community
law?

Answer given by Mr Barnier on behalf of the Commission

(30 March 2004)

The Commission in fact approved Cohesion Fund part-financing of the Llubí-Crestatx (Sa Pobla) water
canalisation project as a complete project in itself. No application for assistance was made for any Crestatx
(Sa Pobla) (cid:1) Pollença project.

C 84 E/670

Official Journal of the European Union

EN

3.4.2004

Community assistance must be for the work as initially scheduled and approved. Any modification of the
project actually subsidised, whether at the level of the work itself or in relation to the objectives proposed,
has to be examined by us to ensure that the Community rules are respected. We have not so far received
any application for modification of the initial decision. If the Spanish authorities were to submit one we
would of course examine it.

It should also be borne in mind that for any project carried out within Union territory, whether given
Community financial assistance or not, the legislation in force must be respected,
including that on
environmental matters and award of public contracts.

(2004/C 84 E/0756)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-0768/04

by Ole Sørensen (ELDR) to the Commission

(4 March 2004)

Subject: Extradition of war criminals to Denmark

The European Arrest Warrant, which entered into force on 1 January 2004, is a very welcome initiative, in
that it should not be possible for the [removal of] physical [controls at] borders between the Member
States to be exploited by criminals in order to evade punishment. This problem has increased in recent
years with the implementation of the rules on freedom of movement within the EU. To that extent the
European Arrest Warrant is a step in the right direction.

However, I am concerned about the practical implementation of the Arrest Warrant, and wish to put the
following questions to the Commission:

1. What are the Commission’s plans with regard to the seven Member States which had not introduced
the Arrest Warrant before the deadline of 31 December 2003? How many Member States have now
introduced it?

2. Can the Commission give assurances that, with the entry into force of the Arrest Warrant, it will be
possible for Denmark to extradite war criminals from Germany in respect of whom extradition has
been requested since the end of the Second World War?

3.

Is it true that the German police, referring to the Arrest Warrant, have already applied for the first
extradition of a Danish citizen to Germany on charges of fraud? Is this possible at a time when
Germany has still not yet implemented the Arrest Warrant?

Answer given by Mr Vitorino on behalf of the Commission

(14 April 2004)

To date, ten Member States have already implemented the Framework Decision on the European

1.
Arrest Warrant (1) and have communicated their respective legislation to the Commission.

In monitoring the operation of the European Arrest Warrant, according to Article 34(3) of the Framework
Decision, the Commission shall submit a report to the Parliament and to the Council by 31 December
2004 at the latest. In this report the Commission will highlight any practical difficulties the Member States
have faced during the period of implementation and also the reasons for their non-compliance with the
time limit.

The remainder of the Member States have confirmed that they would be ready by Summer 2004. As to the
new Member States, Hungary has already passed its legislation, which comes into force on 1 May 2004,
while the others have indicated that they could be ready by the same date which is the date of accession …