WRITTEN QUESTION E-1003/04 by Daniel Hannan (PPE-DE) to the Commission. Romanian motorway project.
Date: 2004-03-31
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: Romania, award of contract, building speculation, corruption, countryside conservation, environmental impact, heritage protection, impact study, invitation to tender, motorway

C 88 E/558

Official Journal of the European Union

EN

8.4.2004

The Commission stresses that, at whichever stage a given substance is classified, the dossier will have to
contain the studies specified by Community legislation. Exemption from that rule, for example in cases
where the regulatory requirements are considered irrelevant,
is subject to express acceptance by the
Commission.

In addition, unsubstantiated absence or inadequacy of data constitutes grounds for the Commission to
decide automatically not to include the substances concerned.

The Commission therefore takes the view that the applicant’s margins of manœuvre are well-defined with
regard to the studies to be supplied.

(2004/C 88 E/0569)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1003/04

by Daniel Hannan (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(31 March 2004)

Subject: Romanian motorway project

The EU has recently threatened to defer Romania’s accession if
it does not succeed in combating
corruption. One might hope that the Romanian Government had taken note, but there is evidence to
suggest that the problems continue and are worsening. One specific example is a planned Transylvanian
motorway that will destroy one of Europe’s last remaining medieval landscapes without offering benefits
except to those well-connected individuals who have acquired the land on which the motorway would be
constructed. Furthermore, an EU-backed plan already exists to build a motorway from the Hungarian
to the Black Sea.
border across Romania, through Brasov, Transylvania’s main city, and Bucharest,
Consequently, the new scheme for a second motorway heading north from Brasov and running parallel
with this road, a mere fifty miles away, then petering out meaninglessly just inside the Hungarian border,
is completely superfluous. This project was not put out to tender. No environmental assessment or
estimate of traffic volume was sought before it was approved, and the American company, Bechtel, was
awarded the contract under an emergency ‘ordinance’ (cid:1) a procedure specifically designed to bypass
parliamentary scrutiny. There is also evidence to suggest that the land needed for the motorway was
unfairly expropriated. A study by the Romanian Academic Society has argued that the EUR 3 billion
needed for the Bechtel motorway would be sufficient to fund the rehabilitation of the entire street structure
of Romania’s 3 000 municipalities or to complete modernisation work for more than 3 500 km of national
roads.

What is the Commission’s position on the Bechtel motorway project? Would the Commission agree that
the Romanian Government appears to have done very little to solve problems associated with corruption?
Would it also agree that it is no one’s interest to see this incomparable landscape and heritage destroyed
forever by inefficient, unnecessary and corrupt projects?

Answer given by Mr Verheugen on behalf of the Commission

(30 April 2004)

The decision to derogate from Romania’s public procurement rules, which are intended to implement the
EU public procurement directives, and to award a contract for the construction of the Brasov-Cluj-Bors
motorway without public tendering raises concerns about the Romanian government’s commitment to
competitive and transparent public procurement procedures. The Commission has asked Romania to
provide further information so that it might fully assess the implications of this decision. Since there was
no competitive and transparent tendering, the European Commission has already made it clear to the
Romanian side that it will not provide any financial support for this project and that it will not support
any International Financing Institution assistance for the construction of the motorway.

8.4.2004

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 88 E/559

Regarding the fight against corruption, the Commission considers that open and transparent public
procurement procedures are an important element thereof, as set out in its recent Communication on a
comprehensive EU policy on corruption (1). The Commission therefore considers that the Romanian
government’s anti-corruption efforts should include a firm commitment to use open and transparent
public procurement procedures and to abstain from introducing derogations in Romania’s public
procurement rules implementing the relevant EU directives.

More generally, international reports and surveys indicate that corruption in Romania remains a systemic
problem that undermines the rule of law, restricts economic reform and development and plays a major
role in deterring foreign direct investment. The Commission is aware of a number of measures taken by
the Romanian administration during the last eighteen months in an attempt to address this situation: it
adopted a revised National Action Plan against Corruption in December 2002; passed a package of anti-
corruption legislation in April 2003 and in September 2002 created the National Anti-Corruption
Prosecution Office (PNA). These measures mean that an adequate legal framework now exists and sufficient
human and financial resources have been committed in theory to allow for an effective fight against
corruption. Given this situation, the continued lack of success in investigating high-level corruption raises
questions as to the level of political support given to tackle this issue seriously.

(1) COM(2003) 317 final of 28.5.2003.

(2004/C 88 E/0570)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1004/04

by Daniel Hannan (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(31 March 2004)

Subject: Threat to peace and democracy in Adjara

The autonomous Georgian region of Adjara, which is self-governing in accordance with the Georgian
Constitution, survived thirteen years of threats to its peace and stability from the ousted regime of Eduard
Shevardnadze. Now,
in 2004, Adjara, which fully acknowledges the overall authority of the central
government in Tbilisi, faces renewed threats of destabilisation from the recently-elected government of
President Mikhail Saakashvili. On Sunday, 14 March, armoured personnel carriers and heavily armed
troops appeared at the administrative border of Adjara. It is feared that such attempts are being made with
a view to undermining the due process of the forthcoming parliamentary elections (on 27 March 2004).

Would the Commission agree that regional issues should be resolved through peaceful dialogue without
the threat of military force; that elections are best conducted in an atmosphere of stability and trust; and
that the appearance of the Georgian National Guard on the streets of a hitherto peaceful and economically
successful region, where the President’s party has little support, would constitute an act of aggression
against the citizens of Georgia by their own government?

Answer given by Mr Patten on behalf of the Commission

(23 April 2004)

the Honourable Member to the Declaration by the
The Commission would draw the attention of
Presidency on behalf of the European Union concerning the situation in the Georgian Autonomous
Republic of Adjara issued on 17 March 2004. In this statement, the parties were urged to refrain from any
further escalation which could result in violence. It also urged the authorities of the Georgian Autonomous
Republic of Ajara to respect human rights, democratic principles and the rule of law and to allow for the
orderly preparations for free and fair parliamentary elections.