WRITTEN QUESTION P-0309/00 by Alexander de Roo (Verts/ALE) to the Commission. De Zoom ‐ Kalmthoutse Heide border park development.
C 330 E/118 Official Journal of the European Communities EN 21. 11. 2000 Reply (2 May 2000) Recent parliamentary and presidential elections in Croatia, and the democratic way in which they were conducted, have opened a new phase in Croatian politics. The European Union has been very encouraged by this development, which has brought an end to a chapter in Croatian history and marks a beginning of a new era for the country. The Union has reiterated its willingness to work very closely with the new authorities in their quest for making Croatia a full fledged member of the Euro-Atlantic communityí. Against this background, the General Affairs Council decided already in January to rapidly put in place a Joint EU-Croatia Taskforceí within the framework of áthe Stabilisation and Association Processí in order to prepare the ground for future contractual relations. The Task Force was set up on 15 February at a meeting in Brussels. Furthermore, at its February meeting, the Council feasibility of opening negotiations with Croatia on a Stabilisation and Association Agreementí. invited the Commission to prepare a study on the As the Honourable Parliamentarian is certainly aware, the Council in the European Unionís Regional Approach to South East Europe of 29 April 1997í set a number of criteria for the granting of preferential trade measures, PHARE assistance and contractual relations. These criteria are reviewed on a regular basis. On the occasion of the latest review in February 2000, no major changes were decided upon for any of the countries covered by the EUís Stabilisation and Association Processí and the Regional Approachí criteria, i. e. the situation as far as PHARE assistance to Croatia, remained unchanged for the time being. However, the Commission has sent a fact finding mission to Croatia in February in order to study possibilities to support the reform efforts, including the possibility of extending the PHARE programme to Croatia. (2000/C 330 E/132) WRITTEN QUESTION P-0309/00 by Alexander de Roo (Verts/ALE) to the Commission Subject: De Zoom ü Kalmthoutse Heide border park development (4 February 2000) The Benelux Council has launched a project to develop the De Zoom ü Kalmthoutse Heide border park. A management and organisation plan has been drawn up under which work can be carried out on the conservation, management and development of the parkís biological, ecological and cultural-historical assets, taking the different resources that the area possesses into account. As reported in the BN/de Stem newspaper (16 December 1999), the process of drawing water from within the area is causing the land to dry out in the Groote Meer estate. Thousands of nesting sites for at least 25 different bird species have already disappeared. It is also feared that development of the border park will result in a massive increase in visitors to the area. 1. What action will the Commission take to prevent further drying out of land in the area, and if necessary to raise the water table? Does the Commission agree that any increase in large-scale visitor activity in a bird habitat conflicts 2. with the principles underlying the Birds Directive (79/409/EEC) (1). Does the Commission share my view that the most vulnerable areas should be closed to the public, 3. except possibly for small-scale educational visits? (1) OJ L 103, 25. 4. 1979, p. 1. 21. 11. 2000 EN Official Journal of the European Communities C 330 E/119 Answer given by Mrs Wallström on behalf of the Commission (2 March 2000) The ágrenspark De Zoom-Kalmthoutse Heideí is situated partially in Belgium and partially in the Nether- lands. The Belgian part of the site has been designated as a special protection area (SPA), called Kalmthoutse Heideí, in accordance with Council Directive 79/409/EEC of 2 April 1979 on the conservation of wild birds. The Dutch part has been designated as a site of Community interest (SIC), called Ossendrechtí, in accordance with Directive 92/43/EEC of 21 May 1992 on the conservation of natural habitats and of wild flora and fauna (1). The Dutch authorities have announced that they will also designate the site as a SPA. Pursuant to Article 7 of Directive 92/43/EEC, Articles 6(2), 6(3) and 6(4) of that directive apply to the site. The activities that are mentioned in the question, water extraction and mass recreation, can not be considered as a plan or project in the sense of Article 6(3). Therefore Articles 6(3) and 6(4) do not apply in this case. Because the activities already exist, only Article 6(2) applies to the case in question. This provision prescribes that Member States shall take appropriate steps to avoid the deterioration of natural habitats and the habitats of species as well as disturbance of the species for which the areas in question have been designated, in so far as such disturbance could be significant in relation to the objectives of the directive. In reply to the first question it should in particular be noted that it is up to the Member States to take steps to comply with Article 6(2) of Directive 92/43/EEC, and not the Commission. The Commission lacks specific information about De Zoom-Kalmthoutse Heideí, so it is not able to judge if measures have to be taken to prevent further drying out of the site. For the same reason the Commission is not able to take a position with respect to the issues that are raised in the second and third questions. The Commission is taking the necessary steps to obtain further information about the application of Article 6(2) of Directive 92/43/EEC with respect to De Zoom-Kalmthoutse Heideí. If necessary it will take further steps to ensure that the national authorities comply with this provision. (1) OJ L 206, 22. 7. 1992. (2000/C 330 E/133) WRITTEN QUESTION E-0312/00 by Marietta Giannakou-Koutsikou (PPE-DE) to the Commission (11 February 2000) Subject: Safeguarding citizensí rights in view of the advent of new forms of telecommunications The development of digital technology and the applications of this technology in modern forms of communication are creating a new situation in all sectors of audiovisual data transmission. The concomitant development of the Internet as a multi-purpose tool which is user-friendly, i. e. easy and cheap to access for ordinary consumers, means that it can also be used as a telephone system. Various types of full duplex telephone services operating through the Internet are already available (the VDOPhone, for instance). The consequences of this are twofold: the development of an Internet telephone system outside any áformalí legislative framework and the absence in practice of legal safeguards protecting the rights of citizens as regards the confidentiality of communications and personal data. There exists therefore a procedural and operational álegislativeí void which must be filled consistently and in good time in the interests of ordinary citizens. Will the Commission review the present situation and propose a framework to uphold existing legislative safeguards for citizensí rights in respect of both new forms of telecommunications and áconventionalí forms which are changing in response to new digital standards?