WRITTEN QUESTION No. 903/98 by Nuala AHERN to the Commission. Cairngorm mountains, Scotland
C 402/42 Official Journal of the European Communities EN 22. 12. 98 football world cup in France. The Honourable Member can be assured however that as soon as they have been finalised, the Commission will wish to examine in detail UEFAís proposed ticketing arrangements with a view to ensuring their compatibility with Community competition rules. (98/C 402/051) WRITTEN QUESTION E-0901/98 by Bryan Cassidy (PPE) to the Commission (26 March 1998) Subject: Poole Bridge The Commission is, no doubt, aware of the importance of the cross-Channel link between Poole in the United Kingdom and Cherbourg in France. It serves as an important route for freight and also for cross-Channel tourism. Poole to Cherbourg is a route of European importance. Access to the Port of Poole, however, is restricted because vehicles arriving at and leaving the port have to use an old-fashioned bridge which has to be closed from time to time to allow pleasure craft to pass. Commission officials in the past have indicated that they would look favourably upon an application for Community funding for the replacement of Poole Bridge. Is this still the view? What advice would the Commission offer the Poole Borough Council to enable it to make a successful application for Community funding to assist in the cost of replacing the present inadequate bridge? Answer given by Mr Kinnock on behalf of the Commission (5 June 1998) The project concerned does not fall within a programme for which support from the European Regional Development Fund is available and the only other European Community funds available for transport infrastructure projects are those provided for the development of the transport Trans-European networks (TEN-T) as defined in the guidelines set down in Decision no 1692/96/EC) (1). Under this legislation, the practice has been to limit funding for ports to studies for the development of port infrastructure, rather than support for infrastructure construction. Since the proposed bridge in Poole is not on a TENs road route, its replacement would not meet other criteria for TENs support. The Honourable Member is best advised to pursue the issue of improvement of access to the port of Poole with the national authorities since, in present conditions, no legal means exist for the Community to assist with developments. (1) OJ L 228, 9. 9. 1996. (98/C 402/052) WRITTEN QUESTION E-0903/98 by Nuala Ahern (V) to the Commission (26 March 1998) Subject: Cairngorm mountains, Scotland A large part of the Cairngorm mountains in Scotland has been designated by the UK authorities as a Special Protection Area (SPA) under the EU Birds Directive (79/409) (1). The area is also proposed as a Special Area of Conservation (SAC) under the EU Species and Habitats Directive (92/43) (2)