WRITTEN QUESTION No. 175/98 by Mark WATTS to the Commission. Disposal of sewage and waste water
17. 7. 98 EN Official Journal of the European Communities C 223/133 When the UK Government has just issued a Green Paper totally revolutionizing its policy on mainstreaming › is it not a very serious omission from the Presidency programme? Some 18% of the European Union population experience specific learning difficulties. An estimated 40% of prison inmates are proven dyslexic. In order to enhance the social inclusion, welfare and employment prospects throughout the European Union of children and young adults with specific learning difficulties › does the Council not agree that preventative measures must be taken? If so, what measures, short and long-term, does the Council, in general and the UK Presidency in particular, envisage? Answer (27 April 1998) The promotion of equality of opportunity in education as well as in training and at work is an essential part of the debate on employability which is at the core of the Presidencyís education and social affairs agenda. Addressing the needs of children with specific learning difficulties is an implicit element of the principle of equality of opportunity in education. Moreover, as part of the Presidencyís programme a conference on Special Educational Needs in schools has been organized, taking place in Windsor on 7 May 1998. The aim of this conference, which is intended for experts in the field, is to explore comparisons between the provision in Member States and is linked with the work of the new European Agency for Special Educational Needs. Indeed, it is believed that there is much to be learned in general from the exchange of ideas and good practice in different school systems of the Member States, as, for example, within the context of the SOCRATES programme. (98/C 223/171) WRITTEN QUESTION E-0175/98 by Mark Watts (PSE) to the Commission (5 February 1998) Subject: Disposal of sewage and waste water What are the relevant EU directives and regulations relating to disposal of sewage and waste water into the sea? Answer given by Mrs Bjerregaard on behalf of the Commission (5 March 1998) The Community legislation in force concerning discharges of waste water into the sea and other aquatic environments (fresh water, estuaries) consists of the following directives: › Council Directive 91/271/EEC of 21 May 1991 concerning urban waste-water treatment (1); › Council Directive 96/61/EC of 24 September 1996 concerning integrated pollution prevention and control (2); this Directive concerns industrial discharges; › Council Directive 76/464/EEC of 4 May 1976 on pollution caused by certain dangerous substances discharged into the aquatic environment of the Community (3); › Council Directive 91/676/EEC of 12 December 1991 concerning the protection of waters against pollution caused by nitrates from agricultural sources (4). This Directive provides in particular for measures to prevent water pollution caused by runoff of liquids containing livestock manure and vegetable effluent such as silage. (1) OJ L 135, 30. 5. 1991. (2) OJ L 257, 10. 10. 1996. (3) OJ L 129, 18. 5. 1976. (4) OJ L 375, 31. 12. 1991