WRITTEN QUESTION P-0790/00 by Rosa Miguélez Ramos (PSE) to the Commission. Construction of port facilities on the river Arousa (Spain) without an environmental impact assessment.
28. 12. 2000 EN Official Journal of the European Communities C 374 E/153 Unfortunately, that new pillar of European policy failed to address international crime in the area of the abuse and trafficking of children and women, which can be seen to be on the rise. This might be termed as the area of crime practised on a large scale which most seriously threatens the democratic society in which we live. A recent case involving a Belgian citizen (Frans de Ryck) and Portuguese children from the Autonomous Region of Madeira has highlighted the shortcomings arising from the lack of cooperation in the area of justice with regard to this type of situation. The Belgian state refused to extradite the citizen accused of the crime to Portugal, while the Portuguese State, through the Office of the Public Prosecutor of the Republic, refused to provide the victims with any legal support. As reported in the press (DiÆrio de Notícias), only private efforts by the Portuguese Victim Support Association and the support of a Portuguese law firm succeeded in resolving the problem. In the meantime the accused has lodged an appeal against the decision, and the victim has no information on the progress of the appeal. Does the Council not take the view that cooperation in the area of justice provided for by the Treaty on European Union should be extended to include international crimes involving the abuse and trafficking of minors and women? Reply (18 May 2000) The Council shares the Honourable Memberís concern to combat more effectively international crime involving the abuse of and trafficking in minors and women. Article 29 of the Treaty on European Union as amended by the Amsterdam Treaty, moreover, refers specifically, amongst ways of creating an area of freedom, security and justice, to the fight against trafficking in human beings and crimes against children. It should also be noted that powers have been given to Europol in the field of child pornography (1). The example quoted by the Honourable Member relates to a specific situation encountered in the field of extradition and is governed by the European Convention on Extradition of 13 December 1957. The reasons which prevented the requested extradition from taking place in the case in question relate to the fact that the Convention allows the Contracting Parties to refuse to extradite their own nationals. That situation is supposed to change following ratification of the Convention relating to extradition between the Member States of the European Union (2), which encourages Member States to review their domestic legislation, including their constitutional legislation, on this point. Furthermore, Portugal is shortly to put before the Council a significant initiative aimed at improving the situation of victims in the context of criminal procedure. (1) Council Decision of 3 December 1999 (OJ C 26, 30. 1. 1999, p. 21). (2) OJ C 313, 23. 10. 1996, p. 11. (2000/C 374 E/182) WRITTEN QUESTION P-0790/00 by Rosa MiguØlez Ramos (PSE) to the Commission (9 March 2000) Subject: Construction of port facilities on the river Arousa (Spain) without an environmental impact assessment The construction of port facilities for oil and chemical tankers, together with the creation of a storage area for oil and petro-chemical products, has prompted protests from the local population concerning the effects on the environment of the whole region. No environmental impact assessment was carried out for any of these building projects. C 374 E/154 Official Journal of the European Communities EN 28. 12. 2000 The association for the protection of the river Arousa has submitted a complaint to the Commission concerning failure to comply with Community legislation on environmental impact assessments (Directive 85/337/EEC (1)). Furthermore, the Spanish Government has not met the deadline for transposing Directive 97/11/EEC (2) on the assessment of the effects of certain public and private projects on the environment, which amends Directive 85/337/EEC. Following the recent environmental disaster caused by the sinking of the oil tanker Erika, public awareness is rising and means that public representatives must be increasingly sensitive to environmental issues. With this in view, the European Parliament recently adopted two resolutions (20 January and 2 March 2000). In addition, it has debated at length the coordination of EU environment policies with other policies such as the Structural Funds. Was an environmental impact assessment necessary for the construction of the above-mentioned port facilities? Can the Commission say whether these projects received any Community funding? When and how much? Which companies benefited? What steps did the Commission take to ensure that these projects complied with the requirements of Community legislation on the environment? (1) OJ L 175, 5. 7. 1985, p. 40. (2) OJ L 73, 14. 3. 1997, p. 5. (2000/C 374 E/183) WRITTEN QUESTION E-0804/00 by Camilo Nogueira RomÆn (Verts/ALE) to the Commission (16 March 2000) Subject: Installation of storage tanks for fuel and chemicals in the port of Vilagarcia de Arousa in Galicia without an environmental impact assessment A new quay is being built in the port of Vilagarcia de Arousa in Galicia, with funding provided by the European Union through the ERDF, on which storage tanks with a capacity of 80 000 m3 for fuel and impact assessments required by Directive chemicals are to be placed, even though the environmental 85/337/EC (1) have not been carried out and the Councilís planning regulations have not been complied with. The installations, which are owned by the FINSA and Foresa undertakings, are situated on an estuary which is highly vulnerable to pollution caused by the handling of these products and to the consequences of potential accidents involving ships transporting the products. The Arousa estuary is extremely rich in shellfish and, among other species, the bulk of the 300 000 tonnes of mussels produced annually in Galicia comes from here, representing 50 % of world production of mussels. Activities linked to fishing and shellfish farming provide a source of income for 26 000 people on the Arousa estuary, while the chemical installations on the quay will create only three jobs. All the economic and social sectors affected have protested against the construction of these tanks and have appealed on many occasions to the municipal council, the Galician government and the Spanish government, and now to the European Commission, with the aim of preventing the storage tanks from coming into operation. The regional and central administration, under the pretext that the Spanish government did not comply with the provisions of the EC directive and clearly disregarded the need for an environmental impact assessment for this type of installation for the storage of oil and petrochemical and chemical products, while failing to take due account of the productive activities which provide the best guarantee for the present and future livelihood of people along the estuary, is permitting work to continue, with the result that there is a serious risk that the installations will come into operation in defiance of the law and to the detriment of the vital economic and social interests of the many people affected. It might also be pointed out that the Commission has recently brought a case against Spain before the European Court of Justice for failure to comply with Directive 85/337/EC