WRITTEN QUESTION No. 1010/98 by Ernesto CACCAVALE to the Commission. Infringement by the Commune of Naples of rules relating to the award of public contracts (SUPPLEMENTARY ANSWER)
C 13/14 Official Journal of the European Communities EN 18. 1. 1999 (1999/C 13/019) WRITTEN QUESTION E-0992/98 by Iæigo MØndez de Vigo (PPE) to the Council (31 March 1998) Subject: Chemical arsenal in the Baltic The existence of a chemical arsenal in the Baltic is a fact, and the threat it represents in ecological, economic and human terms is colossal. The 302 000 tonnes of mustard gas and other poisonous substances concerned are the bulk of Germanyís World War II chemical arsenal; 35 000 tonnes were thrown into the sea in drums and metal containers by the Soviets, while the USA and UK loaded the remainder into decommissioned ships which were then sunk. Pi crates are also present, and these highly explosive substances greatly increase the risk of a chemical disaster. To tackle this situation, Russia is offering not only its specialists and technology, but also an international cooperation programme which it claims could resolve the problem in four years. Is the Council aware of the gravity of the situation? What has the Council decided to do to solve the problem of the chemical weapons dumped in the Baltic? Does the Council intend to respond to the Russian offer and implement joint action? Reply (24 September 1998) The Council is aware of the problem of the chemical weapons dumped in the sea after the second World War but has never raised the question of the chemical arsenal in the Baltic Sea. The question has however been examined in the context of the Helsinki Convention to which the European Community is party. After detailed discussion of the question, the Helsinki Commission agreed that to leave the chemical weapons in question where they were posed much less of a threat than any recovery operation using currently available techniques. The Russian Federation has not supplied any documents giving its assessment of the danger posed by this situation, nor has it defined the content of its proposals. (1999/C 13/020) WRITTEN QUESTION E-1010/98 by Ernesto Caccavale (UPE) to the Commission (6 April 1998) Subject: Infringement by the Commune of Naples of rules relating to the award of public contracts The Commission has brought an action against Italy for infringement of its obligations in relation to the award of public contracts. In particular, the Commission has recently accused the Commune of Naples in connection with the award of a public service contract for the collection of urban waste. The invitation to tender was incomplete and in flagrant breach of Directive 92/50/EEC on public service contracts. The various blatant breaches and omissions discovered included failure to provide certain compulsory information concerning selection criteria, provisions that discriminated against foreign potential operators, delays in providing contract specifications and the fact that the deadline set for the submission of tenders was shorter than the minimum prescribed by Community rules. Various articles published in the local press have reported a number of procedural irregularities in connection with the award of another public contract, for the administration of the Commune of Naplesí housing stock. That competition was halted by the TAR (regional administrative court) of the Campania region because it laid down excessive and discriminatory criteria which, by failing to ensure fair competition in the tendering procedure, would have had the effect of favouring the current administrator