WRITTEN QUESTION E-1307/00 by Hanja Maij-Weggen (PPE-DE) to the Commission. Slaughter of seals.
20. 3. 2001 EN Official Journal of the European Communities C 89 E/25 Answer given by Mr Verheugen on behalf of the Commission (15 May 2000) The Sapard (Community support for pre-accession measures for agriculture and rural development) funds cannot be released at least until the rural development plan has been approved. However, with the envisaged decentralised system for implementation of the Sapard programme it is necessary also to conclude bilateral agreements laying down obligations for both Poland and the Community. It is also necessary for the agency charged with implementation of the Sapard programme and paying the Sapard funds to be accredited and approved by the Commission. The draft rural development plan upon which the programme is to be based was presented to the Commission on 6 April 2000. The Council Regulation allows the Commission six months to approve this plan which must be scrutinised before it can be accepted as a programme. Moreover, the agreements and the approval of the paying and implementing agency are needed, not only for technical and legal reasons, but also to safeguard the Communityís budget resources. Instrument for structural policies for pre-accession (ISPA) funds can only be committed to individual projects which are submitted by Poland and approved by the Commission acting with the ISPA manage- ment committee. Eleven environment projects were submitted to the Commission on 2 March 2000 and one transport project on 24 March 2000. Once the projects have been assessed by the Commission to ensure that they meet all the requirements set down in the Regulation, they will be presented to the ISPA management committee for approval. Four meetings of the committee are scheduled for the examination and approval of projects, the goal being to commit before the end of this year all ISPA funds available for Poland, i. e. € 348 million. The first of these meetings of the ISPA management committee is scheduled for 6 June 2000 and three more meetings are scheduled in July 2000, August 2000 and November 2000. The financial rules and procedures for ISPA were approved (with some minor exceptions) by the ISPA management committee on 16 February 2000 and transmitted to the Polish authorities immediately afterwards. The immediate priority at present is to close and prepare priority projects for submission to the Commission. This does not require detailed knowledge of financial rules and procedures, most of which will only become relevant when the first projects have been approved. As regards the Sapard funds, the Polish authorities will need to respond to any questions that arise during the process of approval of the rural development plan before it can be accepted as a programme. They will also need to ratify the bilateral agreements and to complete work to establish the paying and implement- ing agency. The draft Commission regulation laying down detailed financial provisions for the decentralised manage- ment of Sapard is currently put to the approval of Member States in the European agricultural guidance and guarantee fund management committee. However, the Commission has started to inform the Polish authorities systematically about work to be done, and has provided assistance to them under the Phare programme since early 1999. As regards ISPA, in order to make the funds productive, the Polish side needs to reinforce its implementa- tion capacity in order to be in a position to produce well-prepared projects that meet the main strategic priorities in the transport and environment sectors. The capacity to administer the projects financed under ISPA also needs to be strengthened. In addition, the Commissionís experience over the past year suggests that stronger co-ordination is needed between the different parts of the Polish administration responsible for the environment sector, especially between the Ministry of environment and the National fund for environmental protection. (2001/C 89 E/023) WRITTEN QUESTION E-1307/00 by Hanja Maij-Weggen (PPE-DE) to the Commission (27 April 2000) Subject: Slaughter of seals Is the Commission aware that this year Canada has given authorisation for the killing of 275 000 harp seals and 10 000 hooded seals? C 89 E/26 Official Journal of the European Communities EN 20. 3. 2001 Is the Commission aware that 22 Canadian scientists have seriously advised the Canadian government against allowing this slaughter of marine mammals, the largest in the world, to take place? Is the Commission aware that as a result of the premature melting of ice in Eastern Canada many pups were not born or suckled on time with the result that the young seal population is much smaller than expected? Is the Commission aware that because of the premature melting of the ice many hunters shot young seals from their boats, resulting in many seals drowning so that the number of 275 000 dead seals is much greater than permitted? What can the Commission do to prevent slaughter on this scale next year? Answer given by Mrs Wallström on behaf of the Commission (15 June 2000) As stated in the Commissionís reply to Written Question P-0395/00 by Mrs Corbey (1), Canadian catch quotas for harp and hooded seals have remained unchanged since 1996. Conclusions of a national marine mammal review committee meeting in Ottawa on April 11-12/2000, on the stock status of the harp seal stated that the harp seal population has been stable since 1996 at the highest level since estimates have been available (1960), the population estimate for 2000 is 5,2 million seals (there is a 95 % chance that it is in the range of 4,0 to 6,4 million) and that aerial surveys results provide an estimate of total pup production for harp seals in the Northwest Atlantic in 1999 of approximately 1 million pups (range 200 000 to 1 200 000). Pup production has been increasingly steady since the early 1980s. Furthermore the Commission noted that the Ministry of fisheries and oceans has announced the formation of an independent panel of scientists to evaluate the current state of scientific knowledge of the seal population in Atlantic Canada and to provide advice on a long-term strategy for its management. Although the facts mentioned by the Honourable Member concerning this yearís ice conditions are regrettable indeed, it does not appear that they pose a conservation threat to the species. Consequently the Commission considers that, apart from a strict implementation of the Council Directive 83/129/EEC of 28 March 1983 concerning the importation into Member States of skins of certain seal pups and products derived therefrom (2), there is no scope for Community involvement in this matter. (1) OJ C 330 E, 21. 11. 2000, p. 150. (2) OJ L 91, 9. 4. 1983. (2001/C 89 E/024) WRITTEN QUESTION E-1329/00 by Marielle De Sarnez (PPE-DE) to the Commission (27 April 2000) Subject: Aid for French ádØpartementsí affected by the recent storms Following the violent storms which struck France towards the end of December 1999, a number of severely affected ádØpartementsí had to spend large amounts of money on rebuilding damaged infrastruc- tures, even though much of the expense was covered by insurance. Could the Commission take the plight of these departments and districts into account when next it decides which areas of France are eligible to receive assistance from the Structural Funds? Also, would it be possible to restore the budget heading covering aid for the victims of natural disasters?