WRITTEN QUESTION No. 3932/97 by Sérgio RIBEIRO to the Commission. Catchment area of the rivers Lis and Sciça (Portugal)/ Cohesion Fund
C 187/94 EN Official Journal of the European Communities 16. 6. 98 Does the Commission also agree that the driving bans, and the recent blockades, may have a very detrimental effect on European industry and that this is why it is necessary to establish a network of European freeways for road transport (E-ways) by analogy with the European freeways for the transport of goods by rail? If so, does the Commission intend to submit, in the near future, proposals for European freeways for the transport of goods by road? Answer given by Mr Kinnock on behalf of the Commission (28 January 1998) The Commission is aware of the problems resulting from uncoordinated driving bans affecting road haulage on trucks throughout the Union as highlighted in the Honourable Memberís question and has reported its concerns to the Council. The Commission, consequently intends to bring forward a legislative proposal in the spring of this year with the purpose of setting clear and common rules that should be respected when Member States apply driving bans. (98/C 187/142) WRITTEN QUESTION P-3932/97 by Se·rgio Ribeiro (GUE/NGL) to the Commission (4 December 1997) Subject: Catchment area of the rivers Lis and Sciça (Portugal)/Cohesion Fund Cleaning up the catchment area for the rivers Lis, Lena, Sciça and others is a high priority in a region with serious environmental problems. This has been recognized by the local authorities and central government, and an application has therefore been submitted to the Cohesion Fund for investment totalling Esc 7 billion to be used to clean up this complex hydrological network. Can the Commission say when the application was submitted, what stage has been reached and if it is possible to give some indication as to the timetable for evaluating the application and reaching a decision? Answer given by Mrs Wulf- Mathies on behalf of the Commission (6 January 1998) On 20 November 1997 the Commission received a request for part-financing by the Cohesion Fund of the first phase of an integrated pollution control project for the catchment area of the Lis and Seiça rivers, promoted by the association of municipalities of Alta Estremadura, in the regions of Pinhal Litoral and Me·dio Tejo (districts of Leiria and Santare·m). The application includes several subprojects which involve building or adapting six waste-water treatment plants and approximately 200 km outfall pipeline before 31 December 1999. The Commission will examine this application on the basis of the technical and economic assessment of the project, the amounts available from the Cohesion Fund for Portugal and the priorities defined by the Commission and the Member State