WRITTEN QUESTION E-1716/99 by Lucio Manisco (GUE/NGL) to the Commission. Environmental disaster following the bombing of Pancevo.
24. 10. 2000 EN Official Journal of the European Communities C 303 E/7 Does the Commission intend, contrary to the press reports, to adhere to 1 January 2000 as the 3. deadline for introducing the new identification and labelling system? (1) OJ L 117, 7. 5. 1997, p. 1. Answer given by Mr Fischler on behalf of the Commission (22 November 1999) Article 19 of Council Regulation (EC) No 820/97 of 21 April 1997 establishing a system for the identification and registration of bovine animals and regarding the labelling of beef and beef products (1) states that the Commission shall receive reports from all Member States on the implementation of beef labelling and shall draft a report to the Council and Parliament, accompanied by proposals for the future, on the situation across the Community. A reliable, compulsory beef labelling scheme depends on a fully operational system of identification and registration of bovine animals. In the compiling of the report, the Commission came to the conclusion that adequate systems for tracing back carcasses to the holding from which they last came are in place in all Member States except one. However, it will not be possible for at least half of the Member States, as from 1 January 2000, to know for each animal slaughtered, its place of birth and all the places or countries where it has been held during its life, in particular because the requirement for the full movement record of an animal in the form of a passport only applies to animals born after 1 January 1998. On 13 October 1999, the Commission formally adopted the report (2) and two proposals (3), which set the timeframe for the compulsory labelling of beef in the Community. Both proposals are based upon Article 152 (public health) (ex-Article 129) of the EC Treaty. The objective of the first proposed regulation is to replace the existing Council Regulation (EC) No 820/97 and to lay down the general rules for a compulsory labelling system in two steps. The first stage, which will enter into force one month after the adoption of the regulation, makes provision for the obligatory indication on labels of information readily available concerning the point of slaughter. From 1 January 2003 the beef label has also to include in addition precise information about where the animal was born and reared. Given the time required for adoption of the first regulation under co-decision, a second regulation has been proposed. This amending regulation prolongs the dispositions of the existing Council Regulation (EC) No 820/97, which provide a legal base for voluntary labelling scheme only until 1 January 2000. However, this prolongation will only last until such time as the first proposal is adopted, that is, until 1 January 2001 at the latest. (1) OJ L 117, 7. 5. 1997. (2) COM(1999) 486 final. (3) COM(1999) 487. (2000/C 303 E/006) WRITTEN QUESTION E-1716/99 by Lucio Manisco (GUE/NGL) to the Commission (29 September 1999) Subject: Environmental disaster following the bombing of Pancevo An unprecedented environmental catastrophe with disastrous consequences for human health was caused during the Balkansí conflict by the destruction by missiles of the refinery, fertiliser and petrochemical plants at Pancevo. The destruction has resulted in the release into the atmosphere of thousands of tonnes of oil, vinyl chloride, monomer, mercury, sulphur dioxide, nitric acids and trichlorodiphenyl/trichlor- oethane. C 303 E/8 Official Journal of the European Communities EN 24. 10. 2000 The enormous quantities of toxic pollutants released into the environment have found their way into the water distribution system, the ground water, the Danube and other waterways in areas hundreds of kilometres from Pancevo. Despite the partial evacuation of the population, which stood at 150 000 inha- bitants prior to the bombing, there has been an alarming increase in the adverse effects on public health of the pollution caused by the bombing, which include pulmonary disorders, miscarriages, blood and nervous system disorders. The above situation has been described by reports from specialised United Nations staff, based on inspections in the field, from environmental associations and from European journalists, most recently the Italian Fulvio Grimaldi. 1. What urgent action does the Commission intend to take in order to contain the damage that is being done to the health of people living in the area and the surrounding countries? 2. What emergency means does it intend to make available, within the framework of the Obnova programme and the recent decisions taken by the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Union in Saariselka, in order to ensure a rapid clean-up in the regions already affected and those that are likely to be affected by the disaster? (2000/C 303 E/007) WRITTEN QUESTION P-1840/99 by Christos Folias (PPE-DE) to the Commission (11 October 1999) Subject: The European Unionís environmental policy The environmental damage caused by the recent military intervention in Kosovo has not yet been fully assessed, and it is likely that the health of inhabitants of the region is at risk. Cross-border pollution ü in the atmosphere and the sea and rivers ü may also have polluted the environment in neighbouring countries and in particular in Greece as well as in the other Balkan countries that have applied to join the European Union and are subject to the pre-accession environmental strategy. Will the Commission say: 1. Does it intend to assess the environmental damage to the region and, if so, when? 2. Why have the European Environmental Agency in Copenhagen and the Ispra research centre, which have the necessary know-how and technology to carry out the necessary investigations, not yet been involved? 3. How does it intend to ensure that the funding of countries in the region within the framework of the Stability Pact and the organisation for the reconstruction of the Balkans includes environmental aspects? (2000/C 303 E/008) WRITTEN QUESTION P-1871/99 by Antonios Trakatellis (PPE-DE) to the Commission (12 October 1999) Subject: Assessment of the environmental consequences of the war in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and measures to protect public health and the environment and to repair the damage In view of the fact that: A. The military operations over the last few months in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, and in Kosovo in particular, have caused significant damage to the environment owing to the release of large amounts of exceptionally toxic and radioactive substances resulting from the use of ammunition containing depleted uranium. These substances now pose a direct threat to the public health of the inhabitants of the region and neighbouring countries;