WRITTEN QUESTION No. 1456/98 by Felipe CAMISÓN ASENSIO to the Commission. Hop-growing in the province of Leon (Spain)
C 31/40 Official Journal of the European Communities EN 5. 2. 1999 What measures will the Commission take to prevent the destruction of the above biotope which contains seven species endemic to Greece, 13 types of protected habitat and plant and animal species (fish, reptiles and birds) which are protected under the above Directive? (1) OJ L 206, 22. 7. 1992, p. 7. Joint answer to Written Questions E-1410/98 and E-1533/98 given by Mrs Bjerregaard on behalf of the Commission (18 June 1998) The site in question, known as Pieria Orií and coded GR-1250002, is indeed on the list of sites proposed by the Greek authorities, in accordance with Council Directive 92/43/EEC of 21 May 1992 on the conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora, for inclusion in the Natura 2000 ecological network. Once it has been selected by the Commission as a site of community importance (SCI), the Greek authorities will have to designate it a Special Area of Conservation and apply the management and protection measures provided for in Article 6 of the said Directive. The said Article 6 stipulates that any plan or project likely to have a significant effect on a SCI must be subject to an appropriate assessment of its implications for the site in view of the siteís conservation objectives. However, this site has not yet been selected as a SCI. The provisions of Article 6 do not yet apply to it. Nonetheless, the site hosts priority natural habitat types and will therefore be selected on the basis of the criteria set out in Annex III to the Directive. The Commission will ask the Greek authorities how they intend to prevent the site deteriorating given its future designation. The problem the Honourable Member refers to of the compatibility of the investments proposed under Leader II with the opening of the quarry should normally be dealt with in the course of the procedure outlined above. In other words, if the site is included in the list of sites proposed in accordance with Directive 92/43/EEC, the quarry must be the subject of an impact assessment, which must take into consideration all the effects it might have on the other features of the site, including developments financed from other Community sources. (1999/C 31/050) WRITTEN QUESTION E-1456/98 by Felipe Camisón Asensio (PPE) to the Commission (11 May 1998) Subject: Hop-growing in the province of Leon (Spain) It is widely known that since 1985 the area given over to hop-growing in the province of Leon (Spain) has been drastically reduced, to the point where only half of the original area of 2000 hectares is under production. This situation has brought serious social consequences as a result of the job losses caused in an area with serious unemployment problems and the attempt to reduce the area under production still further will irreparably worsen this terrible social scourge. In addition, it has been amply demonstrated that there are no reasonably viable alternative crops which might offer a solution to the deepening problem that any further reductions in hop-growing would create. In the light of this disturbing situation, will the Commission consider using as a reference point for any possible reductions the surface area under crops in 1985, bearing in mind that sufficient and substantial reductions have been made since that date?