WRITTEN QUESTION No. 1844/98 by Yves VERWAERDE to the Commission. Financial support for an information campaign to publicize Natura 2000
22. 2. 1999 EN Official Journal of the European Communities C 50/103 Joint answer to Written Questions E-1834/98 and E-1865/98 given by Mrs Bjerregaard on behalf of the Commission (20 July 1998) In response to the Commissionís request for information, Belgium has indicated that its authorities have investigated the three establishments which are the subject of the complaint mentioned by the Honourable Member and that they have taken appropriate remedial action where necessary. As to whether the action taken by the Belgian authorities has adequately ensured that non-compliant establish- ments now comply with the directive, the Commission will raise the matter once more with Belgium with a view to gaining the necessary assurances in that respect. It maybe noted in this connection that the Commission does not at present have any evidence showing that the use of non-purpose-bred animals is common practice in Belgium. In order to appraise the situation, it will request the Belgian authorities to inform it of the exemptions issued in pursuance of the directive allowing establishments to use non-purpose-bred animals. Directive 86/609/EEC of 24 November 1986 on the approximation of laws, regulations and administrative provisions of the Member States regarding the protection of animals used for experimental and other scientific purposes does not include provisions requiring Member States to inform the Commission of the origin of the animals used for experiments. (1999/C 50/150) WRITTEN QUESTION E-1844/98 by Yves Verwaerde (PPE) to the Commission (12 June 1998) Subject: Financial support for an information campaign to publicize Natura 2000 Further to Mrs Bjerregaardís answer to my Written Question E-0629/98 (1), I should like precise information concerning: › the nature of the communication activities carried out as part of the two projects financed from Item B4-3060 in 1997 in connection with Natura 2000: › the target public, the number of persons targeted, their nationality, environment (rural or urban), geographical areas, › communications media (press, TV, pamphlets, etc. ) and frequency, › amount of the Community subsidies granted respectively to the two projects, › assessment of the projects after they had been carried out. (1) OJ C 310, 9. 10. 1998, p. 106. Answer given by Mrs Bjerregaard on behalf of the Commission (23 July 1998) As part of the call for the submission of proposals for general measures to inform and increase awareness of environmental problems (1), the Commission in 1997 jointly financed two projects concerning the Natura 2000 programme under budget heading B4-306. The Green Islands for Natura 2000í › European Union for coastal conservation (EUCC) project (subsidy granted: ECU 90 154) is intended to disseminate good practice concerning nature conservation and local economic development in coastal areas in connection with Natura 2000. Communication campaigns have been devised in cooperation with non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and the local authorities in Germany, France, the Netherlands, Russia, Albania, the Ukraine, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland. The target publics are the local populations in the coastal areas of those countries, tourists, local elected officials and the public authorities. Roughly 15 000 persons are directly concerned. The activities consist of a media campaign promoting green islands, i. e. via press communications, 25-minute documentaries and 10-minute video productions on the information campaign; Green island presentationsí to be held in order to make the local populations aware of rare animal species, the twinning of coastal areas, educational packs, school activities, brochures, exhibitions and promotional material; developing green island networks by increasing the number of coastal areas involved;