WRITTEN QUESTION No. 3124/97 by Nikitas KAKLAMANIS to the Commission. Ban on Cypriot vessels calling at Turkish ports
16. 4. 98 EN Official Journal of the European Communities C 117/153 (98/C 117/206) WRITTEN QUESTION E-3124/97 by Nikitas Kaklamanis (UPE) to the Commission (13 October 1997) Subject: Ban on Cypriot vessels calling at Turkish ports The Turkish Government has announced a ban henceforth on vessels flying the Cypriot flag from calling at Turkish ports. As you will be aware, Cyprus is a country associated with the EU and already preparing for membership. What are the Commissionís views on this situation and how will it respond to this unprecedented act by Turkey, which is obstructing international trade and provoking a country in the process of becoming a member of the EU? Answer given by Mr Van den Broek on behalf of the Commission (7 November 1997) The Commission was recently informed of the situation described by the Honourable Member. As sea transport is not covered by the bilateral agreements between the Community and Turkey the Commission is currently studying Turkey’s multilateral obligations in this sphere. In a resolution of the EC-Turkey Association Council of 6 March 1995 the two parties agreed to start cooperating on transport, notably sea transport. It has not been possible to implement cooperation between the Community and Turkey in that field owing to the situation as regards financial cooperation. (98/C 117/207) WRITTEN QUESTION E-3127/97 by Gerardo Ferna·ndez-Albor (PPE) to the Commission (13 October 1997) Subject: Action by the European Union to dispose of áspace wasteí The thousands of objects of all kinds which are floating around in space as a result of the break-up of satellites and other artefacts which no longer serve any useful purpose have become a major problem which requires urgent action to be taken on a collective basis if such objects are to be prevented from accumulating in even greater numbers. A lack of foresight and a complete absence of coordination are the common features of the activities which, over the years, have turned space into a huge dustbin of mainly metal objects which are discarded as useless and which eventually damage our environment as they gradually deteriorate from their original state. What has the European Unionís policy been as regards the disposal of the áspace wasteí in orbit around our planet and what proposals has the Commission put forward (or is it intending to put forward)as a contribution to solving this problem at international level? Answer given by Mr Bangemann on behalf of the Commission (3 November 1997) Space debris and its possible consequences for space activities has been an issue on the international level for several years. With respect to Europe, already in 1986 the council of the European space agency (ESA) established a working group of experts on space debris. Following the report of this group the ESA Member States adopted a resolution on the agency’s policy vis-a‘-vis the space debris issue. ESA’s current debris-related activities aim to minimise the creation of space debris, to reduce the risk on the ground due to the re-entry of space objects, to acquire all the necessary data on space debris to assess the extent of the problem and its consequences and to study the legal aspects of space debris