WRITTEN QUESTION E-1792/99 by Winfried Menrad (PPE-DE) to the Commission. Surveillance of bathing water pursuant to Directive 76/160/EEC.
C 219 E/26 Official Journal of the European Communities EN 1. 8. 2000 Answer given by Mrs de Palacio on behalf of the Commission (24 November 1999) The Commission shares the Honourable Memberís concern at the toll of death and injury from road accidents. The communication to which the Honourable Member refers contained an action programme for road safety for the period 1997-2001 (1). At the request of the Parliament the Commission is preparing a report on the operation of this programme to date and a list of priority actions for the future. Work on this report is well advanced, and the Commission hopes to submit it to Parliament early next year. On the specific questions raised: 1. The Commission is of the opinion that setting targets, when it has little or no control over the means of achieving them, is not the best way of promoting road safety at Community level. If individual Member States wish to set targets, the Commission would offer whatever support it could in achieving them. 2. The Commission wishes to promote transport safety across all modes. In allocating its transport safety budget the Commission will be guided by both the need for action and the value added at a European level. Using these criteria, in recent years the proportion of the transport safety budget spent on road safety measures has been around 60 %. 3. The Commission always seeks to maximise the benefits from its limited staff resources. 4. Where a measure or commitment of resource has a bearing on road safety the Commission will, as it has in the past, seek to ensure that maximum benefits accrue from the measure or commitment. 5. The Commission is currently developing a proposal for legislation on pedestrian friendly car fronts and that proposal will be based upon the recently completed work done by the international scientific committee on vehicle safety (EEVC). 6. The Commission will continue to give both its financial and practical support to the Euro new car assessment programme (NCAP). It believes that EuroNCAP has promoted a ámarket for safetyí culture amongst the general public and within the vehicle manufacturing industry. (1) COM(97) 131 final. (2000/C 219 E/033) WRITTEN QUESTION E-1792/99 by Winfried Menrad (PPE-DE) to the Commission (11 October 1999) Subject: Surveillance of bathing water pursuant to Directive 76/160/EEC Various local authorities in my region have drawn my attention to problems with the surveillance of bathing water in accordance with Directive 76/160/EEC (1). The criticisms centre on the current assessment system, based solely on samples, about twenty of which may have to be taken. Can the Commission answer the following: 1. Can we expect any EU legislation to replace the current assessment system by a procedure for determining a quality profile to reflect the quality of bathing water over long periods? 2. When can we expect amendment of Directive 76/160/EEC, and what form will it take? (1) OJ L 31, 5. 2. 1976, p. 1. 1. 8. 2000 EN Official Journal of the European Communities C 219 E/27 Answer given by Mrs Wallström on behalf of the Commission (17 November 1999) The annual reporting obligations under Council Directive 76/160/EEC of 8 December 1975 concerning the quality of bathing water imply that a quality assessment of Member Statesí bathing waters is made per bathing season. This quality assessment follows from a control of water samples against the parametric values set out in the annex of the Directive and according to a statistical calculation set out in Article 5. 95 % of the samples should comply for a bathing area to comply with the Directive. Therefore only when 20 samples are taken during a bathing season, may one sample fail without causing the bathing area to fail. However, in practice, on average about 10 water samples are taken per bathing area. All water samples should therefore comply for a bathing area to be in compliance. One accidental failing sample, for example due to heavy rainfall without a long-lasting risk for public health, could cause a bathing area to be failing. This would not really reflect the real overall water quality, in particular if all other samples taken that bathing season respect the parametric values and good water quality has been observed during previous bathing seasons. It seems therefore more appropriate to look at a longer time period ü for example three or five years ü than just one bathing season, to give a more accurate quality assessment based on a trend calculation. Such a trend assessment allows a better appreciation of improving, or decreasing water quality and to advise Member States on a way forward. A suggestion in that sense has been made for the revision of the current Directive. Following Council discussions (summer 1999) on the Commissionís initial proposal of 16 February 1994 (1) (amended proposal adopted by the Commission on 17 December 1997 (2)) the latter has started a further revision process of Directive 76/160/EEC. This process involves consecutive consultations ü Member States, non governmental organisations, consumers, tourism sector ü and close involvement of the Parliament. The Commission intends to put forward a new proposal in the second half of 2000. However, if the consultations indicate that more time is needed to draft a proposal for a workable and effective directive, then the Commission will adapt its calendar without hesitation. (1) OJ C 112, 22. 4. 1994. (2) OJ C 6, 10. 1. 1998. (2000/C 219 E/034) WRITTEN QUESTION E-1803/99 by Hanja Maij-Weggen (PPE-DE) to the Commission Subject: Introduction of a Europe testí for all national legislation (12 October 1999) On 2 August 1999 the previous Commission wrote in reply to Question E-0850/98 (1) that it would be better to foster consultation between border regions in this field in order to resolve the problems concerned on the spot. Is the Commission aware that in many cases these border regions (or their provincial and municipal authorities) are not responsible for the relevant legislation because it is mostly adopted at the level of the national Member States, while any adverse impact makes itself felt in the border regions, particularly affecting businesses, frontier workers and local and regional authorities there. Will the Commission again seriously consider drafting and submitting to the European Parliament a European Directive providing for a Europe testí, particularly because this has been requested frequently, both in the Euregions and in the European Parliament? (1) OJ C 27 E, 29. 1. 2000, p. 2