WRITTEN QUESTION No. 1452/97 by Joaquim MIRANDA , Sérgio RIBEIRO to the Commission. Economic estimates and forecasts published by the Commission
C 45/34 EN Official Journal of the European Communities 10. 2. 98 (98/C 45/41) WRITTEN QUESTION E-1450/97 by Gerardo Ferna·ndez-Albor (PPE) to the Commission (28 April 1997) Subject: Protecting Galician granite Experts have described the oxidation of the granite of various historic buildings in the city of Santiago de Compostela as worrying, following the discovery made in the wake of the preliminary analysis of the biological pollution of the stone itself that the high porosity of the granite is accelerating its ageing. Given that the Galician capital is one of the architectural jewels of the Union, and that most of its historic buildings are made of granite, a detailed and comprehensive study of the causes of the sudden ageing of granite in both modern and ancient buildings is urgently called for. Can the Commission say what contribution the Community could make to carrying out the requisite studies and research, so as to find a way to counteract the disease affecting Galician granite and numerous historic buildings in the Spanish city in question? Answer given by Mrs Cresson on behalf of the Commission (27 June 1997) Since 1986 the Commission has, under the environmental research programmes, been financing and co-ordinating projects aimed at the protection and conservation of Europe’s cultural heritage. Several of these have studied the causes, evolution and repercussions of environmental damage to granite monuments. In this context, deterioration from biological causes, as well as the evaluation of different conservation treatments for granite, have both been the subject of numerous studies. Indeed, the conclusions of two of these research projects were presented at an international conference which the Commission organised in Santiago de Compostela in November 1994. The Commission has published the proceedings of this conference in the form of a research report (Report No 5) featuring in the body of publications outlining the results of community research projects on the protection of cultural heritage. In addition the Commission, conscious of the historical importance of Santiago de Compostela and of the conservation difficulties threatening its monuments, has since 1994 been allocating a financial contribution towards the upkeep of monuments located along the Way of St. James, including the cathedral of Santiago de Compostela. All of this highlights the Commission’s keen interest in research on the protection of European granite monuments of a landmark nature, such as those to be found in the town of Santiago de Compostela. As regards future activities, the Commission, in response to the interest shown by Member States in the protection of our cultural heritage, intends to further broaden its own cultural activities, as well as expanding research in this area, as outlined in the Commissionís proposal for the fifth framework programme. (98/C 45/42) WRITTEN QUESTION E-1452/97 by Joaquim Miranda (GUE/NGL) and Se·rgio Ribeiro (GUE/NGL) to the Commission (28 April 1997) Subject: Economic estimates and forecasts published by the Commission The Commissionís economic data, estimates and forecasts for spring/summer 1997 have just been published in Portugal