WRITTEN QUESTION No. 2371/97 by Patricia McKENNA to the Commission. Community contributions to the Internal Fund for Ireland
11. 3. 98 EN Official Journal of the European Communities C 76/101 (98/C 76/201) WRITTEN QUESTION E-2366/97 by Jan Mulder (ELDR) to the Commission (10 July 1997) Subject: Forestry management in Central and Eastern Europe According to reports in the Dutch press the current wave of privatizations of forests in Central and Eastern Europe is having an extremely adverse impact on the environment. In Hungary, for example, the denationali- zation of forests is alleged to have caused deforestation on a major scale. The new owners are selling their wood as quickly as possible and are not required to replant. In Romania too a similar development is believed to be imminent with all the adverse environmental effects it entails. 1 Can the Commission confirm these press reports? Is the Commission involved, through the PHARE programme or in any other way, in the sustainable 2. exploitation of forests in Central and Eastern Europe and in the two above-mentioned countries in particular? If the press reports are true, is the Commission prepared to take the necessary steps to ensure that the forests 3. in Central and Eastern Europe are exploited in a sustainable manner? 4. Can the Commission state what concrete measures it plans to take? Answer given by Mr Van den Broek on behalf of the Commission (9 September 1997) The Commission is not in a position to confirm press reports on deforestation as a consequence of 1. privatisation in Hungary and Romania. 2. The Commission has supported a major project in Poland concerning the biodiversity of forests. A project to give general assistance in forest management, has just started as well as a project focusing on national and nature parks. In Hungary, the Phare agricultural programme has supported a study on the situation of the forestry sector. Forestry projects are directly supported by the government of Hungary which approved the National Afforestation Programmeí (government Decision 3224/91) with the ambitious goal of afforesting 150 000 hec- tares of land until the year 2000. The Hungarian government supported the afforestation with 1 billion Forint in 1996 and 1. 3 billion Forint allocated in 1997. Phare assistance has been requested by the Hungarian ministry of Agriculture for this programme. 3. The Commission is prepared to support projects for sustainable forestry. However, the Community has no legal competence to intervene in forestry management in any third countries including the Central and Eastern European countries. At the international level, there is efficient cooperation between the Community and the Central and Eastern European countries on forestry issues, in particular in the commission on sustainable development and on the intergovernmental panel on forests. These countries formally associated themselves with the Community statements and positions and have also signed the resolutions of the Helsinki Conference on forests and are participating in the follow-up process. Concrete steps can be undertaken in the future when requested by the relevant governments following their 4. environmental approximation strategies. (98/C 76/202) WRITTEN QUESTION E-2371/97 by Patricia McKenna (V) to the Commission (10 July 1997) Subject: Community contributions to the Internal Fund for Ireland Fifteen million ecu from the Community budget were allocated to supporting projects chosen by the International Fund for Ireland between 1989 and 1995. On April 20 last the Commission proposed that a further contribution be made to this fund for 1998 and 1999