WRITTEN QUESTION E-0218/00 by Bart Staes (Verts/ALE) to the Commission. Financial aid to the European oil industry.
C 330 E/104 Official Journal of the European Communities EN 21. 11. 2000 (2000/C 330 E/115) WRITTEN QUESTION E-0217/00 by Mario Mantovani (PPE-DE) to the Commission (4 February 2000) Subject: Radioactive waste at the JRC in Ispra Although it is now 16 years since the closure of the last working reactor at the JRC in Ispra, Italian newspapers have recently raised the issue of radioactive waste at the JRC. In fact, there are 2500 cubic metres of radioactive waste stored in bituminous or cemented casks which have been kept at the Ispra Centre rather than being disposed of, probably because of the high costs of the disposal of and management of waste products from nuclear installations. Needless to say, the presence of such dangerous materials is causing alarm and concern in the region. Does the Commission have any information available on this question? Answer given by Mr Busquin on behalf of the Commission (23 March 2000) The Commission would draw the Honourable Memberís attention to its communication to Parliament and the Council entitled Historical liabilities resulting from nuclear activities carried out at the JRC under the Euratom Treaty ü decommissioning of obsolete nuclear installations and waste managementí (1). The waste referred to by the Honourable Member is stored on appropriate premises, where it is monitored by instruments. Nevertheless the Commission has undertaken to review its encapsulation in agreement with the Italian authorities. As stated in the communication, that waste will be stored in a perfectly safe manner at the Ispra site while awaiting a final storage centre in Italy. (1) COM(1999) 114 final. (2000/C 330 E/116) WRITTEN QUESTION E-0218/00 by Bart Staes (Verts/ALE) to the Commission (4 February 2000) Subject: Financial aid to the European oil industry In answer to question E-2126/99 (1) Mrs de Palacio has stated that approximately EUR 750 million to the hydrocarbons sector since 1975. the Commission has provided Please provide an annual breakdown of this figure, specifying the amounts allocated to (a) oil, (b) gas and (c) coal, together with a breakdown per Member State. (1) OJ C 170 E, 20. 6. 2000, p. 145. Answer given by Mrs de Palacio on behalf of the Commission (16 March 2000) After the first oil crisis in 1973 the Community started programmes to give financial support to technology for production exploration and transport of hydrocarbons. The main concern at that time was security of supply. Financial support was therefore focused on technology to develop indigenous resources in the North Sea. 21. 11. 2000 EN Official Journal of the European Communities C 330 E/105 During the following years however the programme enlarged its objectives to competitiveness and protection of the environment. Priority was given to projects reducing the environmental impact of hydrocarbon exploitation and promoting the competitiveness of European technology. In the period from 1975 to 1998, nearly € 750 million of support was granted to projects for the research development and demonstration of innovative hydrocarbons technology. The € 750 million of financial support already mentioned in the Commissionís previous reply to Written Question E-2126/99 by Mrs Maes refers only to oil and gas technology (it did not include the support for coal technology projects). The following table indicates the split by year and by country for the period 1990-1998, which related to the Thermie programme. In addition the total support for the period 1975-1989 has been included in the first column. Support to hydrocarbons technology 1975-1998 (in million euros) 1975-1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 Total Denmark Germany Greece Spain France Ireland Italy The Netherlands Portugal Sweden 0,53 3,03 1,02 12,17 66,30 3,19 0,59 195,64 5,36 8,02 6,65 80,54 28,07 1,03 1,03 0,41 4,50 0,60 0,14 1,55 5,48 0,21 4,79 6,56 2,58 2,67 0,45 1,10 0,21 0,22 10,61 14,78 5,43 0,69 8,32 0,43 3,33 0,30 4,79 0,49 1,85 0,11 0,74 United Kingdom 132,28 2,03 6,60 5,55 6,90 11,72 10,44 Norway Kingdom 2,87 1,09 1,39 4,40 1,13 0,40 1,12 14,70 87,40 7,34 2,44 11,42 7,39 7,69 270,49 5,68 1,84 4,68 3,37 0,63 3,58 1,18 5,45 2,61 7,14 119,36 36,13 1,17 2,58 5,27 2,50 189,05 9,92 Total 526,46 9,85 23,42 26,72 26,30 37,23 24,92 18,33 25,44 29,05 747,72 The relatively high amount of support allocated to the United Kingdom, Italy and France, derives from the support to the United Kingdom and Italy related to projects for the production of hydrocarbon in the Mediterranean and in the North Sea and the French strong network of service and supply industry. As far as the split between oil and gas is concerned, this is somewhat more complex. Innovative drilling equipment or a new seismic acquisition system can be used both for oil and gas applications. In such cases it is not possible to classify a technology as a gas or as an oil technology. However, there are some techniques whose application is limited to gas, mainly in relation to gas conversion and transport issues. The number of projects dealing exclusively with gas technology is fairly limited and the related financial support can be estimated at less than 10 % of the total budget. (2000/C 330 E/117) WRITTEN QUESTION E-0220/00 by Willy De Clercq (ELDR) to the Commission (4 February 2000) Subject: Post-clearance recovery of customs duty on textile products imported from Bangladesh Following a visit to Bangladesh by a Community delegation towards the end of 1996 with the aim of issued between the end of 1993 and mid-1996, the checking 15 000 certificates of origin, form A,