WRITTEN QUESTION E-1873/99 by Margot Keßler (PSE) to the Commission. Designation as a conservation area pursuant to Directive 92/43/EEC (Fauna and Flora Habitat Directive).
18. 7. 2000 EN Official Journal of the European Communities C 203 E/77 In 1989 the Commission approved an aid scheme for quality promotion in Baden-Württemberg. This approval was expressly subject to the condition that all promotional activities would comply with the above mentioned framework. (1) OJ C 272, 28. 10. 1986. (2) OJ C 302, 12. 11. 1987. (2000/C 203 E/095) WRITTEN QUESTION E-1873/99 by Margot Keßler (PSE) to the Commission (29 October 1999) Subject: Designation as a conservation area pursuant to Directive 92/43/EEC (Fauna and Flora Habitat Directive) What legal and technical stage has been reached in the efforts to have the Schmücke region in Thuringia (Germany) designated as a special area of conservation within the meaning of Directive 92/43/EEC (1)? What steps has the Commission taken in this respect, or what steps is it planning to take in the future, to help bring this matter to an early conclusion? The answer to this question should pay particular attention to the possibility of conflict arising from the potential mining of limestone at Gorsleben and the plans for the B 71 motorway route with respect, inter alia, to the importance of the area within the Wippertal-Wipperdurchbruch-Hainleite-Schmücke-Finne biotope system. How does the Commission think the efficiency of the internal decision-making processes might be improved? (1) OJ L 206, 22. 7. 1992, p. 7. Answer given by Mrs Wallström on behalf of the Commission (1 December 1999) Germany has not yet proposed the area Schmücke in Thuringia to the Commission as a site of Community importance according to Directive 92/43/EEC of 21 May 1992 on the conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora. However, the Commission has been informed of probable very high European interest due to the presence of different Annex I natural habitat types of Community interest and Annex II animal and plant species of Community interest including different priority habitat types. This high value was confirmed by the regional authorities of Thuringia, who are responsible for this and have already covered two parts of the Schmücke area by including them in a 1994/1995 scientific list for sites meriting a Natura 2000 proposal. However, no coherent list for this part of Germany has yet reached the Commission. The Commission, on the basis of information put forward by third persons, is therefore in contact with the German government. The Commission invited the German authorities to take a position with regard to the site concerned as well as a view to two envisaged projects which might have a significant effect on the site, a limestone quarry and the construction of the motorway BAB 71. However, there is no reply yet. The objective of the Commissionís intervention is to ensure that the requirements of Directive 92/43/EEC are fully respected. The efficiency of the internal decision making process of Member States falls under the auspices of the administration concerned. The task of the Commission in this respect is limited, according to the EC Treaty, to ensuring that Community legislation is respected