WRITTEN QUESTION No. 3533/97 by Nikitas KAKLAMANIS to the Council. Turkish aggressiveness towards Greece
16. 6. 98 EN Official Journal of the European Communities C 187/17 (98/C 187/26) WRITTEN QUESTION E-3532/97 by Hiltrud Breyer (V) to the Commission (12 November 1997) Subject: Environmental impact assessments 1. Is the Commission aware that the environmental impact assessment (EIA) procedure may be abused and hence is meaningless if, in the case of an integrated regional plan, only elements which are subsequently varied are subjected to EIAs, so that no comparison is made between the environmental compatibility of a variant included in the original plan and that of a new variant which departs from the plan? Is the Commission planning to amend the EU Directive on EIAs so as to guarantee that EIAs serve their 2. original purpose? Answer given by Mrs Bjerregaard on behalf of the Commission (18 December 1997) The Commission would remind the Honourable Member that, for the moment, the environmental impact assessment procedure for public and private projects subject to Community legislation and planning are not interconnected. A project will be subject to an obligatory procedure if it is one of the types of projects listed in Annex I of the Community Directive or if, by its nature, size or location, the Member State believes that it should undergo such a procedure. The Commission is not aware of any misuse of this procedure such as referred to by the Honourable Member. The Honourable Member is undoubtedly aware that Council Directive 97/11/EC amending Directive 85/337/EEC on the assessment of the effects of certain public and private projects on the environment (1) will come into force in March 1999. The Commission does not intend to modify this new legislation. (1) OJ L 73, 14. 3. 1997. (98/C 187/27) WRITTEN QUESTION E-3533/97 by Nikitas Kaklamanis (UPE) to the Council (14 November 1997) Subject: Turkish aggressiveness towards Greece On 16 October 1997 the continuous acts of provocation by Turkey towards Greece, an EU Member State, reached a hitherto unprecedented level when a C-130 aircraft transporting the Greek Minister of Defence and his entourage from Cyprus to Crete was intercepted by Turkish warplanes in Greek airspace. This action constitutes a threat to peace in the south-east Mediterranean, infringes all EU rules and shows total disregard for the Madrid Agreement (now a dead letter in any case) and for Council and Commission admonitions regarding peaceful co-existence between the two countries. In addition, it constitutes a violation of all international treaties. Furthermore, Turkey displayed total disregard for the lives and safety of the passengers on board the aircraft. What measures will the Council take with regard to Turkey, a country associated with the EU, in view of its repeated provocations? Will the President-in-Office raise this matter for discussion in the Council of Foreign Ministers or at the summit meeting in December?