WRITTEN QUESTION E-0096/00 by Camilo Nogueira Román (Verts/ALE) to the Commission. Comprehensive plan to clean up the Vigo ria.
C 374 E/22 Official Journal of the European Communities EN 28. 12. 2000 (2000/C 374 E/026) WRITTEN QUESTION E-0087/00 by Camilo Nogueira RomÆn (Verts/ALE) to the Commission (24 January 2000) Subject: Adoption of a regional development plan for Galicia and Northern Portugal within the 2000-2006 Community Support Frameworks Does the Commission think that a Galicia and Northern Portugal development plan for the 2000-2006 period could and should be implemented, given that both regions qualify for Objective 1 status and fall within the scope of the Interreg II programme and the Community Support Frameworks for Spain and Portugal? The plan could be negotiated and approved by the Commission and the Member States in the first quarter of this year and would cover the full geographical extent of the Euro-region in question, including job creation and the development of embrace all aspects of the Unionís regional policy, agriculture, fisheries, tourism and industry, and devote particular attention to the modernisation of ports and airports and the establishment of links to the trans-European road and rail networks. Answer given by Mr Barnier on behalf of the Commission (3 March 2000) Article 13(1) of Council Regulation (EC) No 1260/1999 of 21 June 1999 laying down general provisions on the Structural Funds (1) stipulates that plans submitted under Objective 1 must be drawn up at the geographical level deemed by the Member State concerned to be most appropriate but must, as a general rule, cover a single region at NUTS level II. However, this does not prevent the priorities established for Galicia and for the North of Portugal from taking into account the problems faced by both regions and identified through ex ante evaluation. Interreg guidelines (2) (which the Commission adopted on 13 October 1999 and which The draft Parliament is currently examining) specifically provide for establishing joint structures entrusted with the tasks of programme development, promotion, operation selection, overall management, coordination and monitoring of programming implementation. The Commission is due to adopt the guidelines at the end of February 2000. (1) OJ L 161, 26. 6. 1999. (2) COM(1999) 479 final. (2000/C 374 E/027) WRITTEN QUESTION E-0096/00 by Camilo Nogueira RomÆn (Verts/ALE) to the Commission Subject: Comprehensive plan to clean up the Vigo ria (26 January 2000) A comprehensive plan to clean up the Vigo ria, which is being financed jointly by the Cohesion Fund (80 %) and the Galicia Regional government (20 %), is currently under way. However, poor implementation of the plan, leading to a deterioration of the facilities provided, is causing a number of problems such as the leakage of household waste water and the presence of highly toxic and hazardous industrial waste which is affecting beaches of significant value from both the wildlife and the recreational points of view, according to the residents of Alcabre (a district of Vigo). Those residents have already brought this state of affairs to the attention of the Commission and the European Ombudsman and have asked for an inspection to be carried out of the section of the ria between rua Corunha and the mouth of the river Lagares (also in Vigo). In view of the situation, is the Commission going to inspect the installations of the drainage facility on the bank of the ria and those of the EDAR company along the river Lagares, as requested by the residents? 28. 12. 2000 EN Official Journal of the European Communities C 374 E/23 Answer given by Mr Barnier on behalf of the Commission (7 March 2000) The Commission recently became aware of the situation described by the Honourable Member and asked the Spanish authorities for information in order to verify that the Community provisions applicable to the project in question were being complied with. Moreover, at the next meeting of the monitoring committee planned for April 2000, the Commission will ask for a more precise description of the project content. It will keep the Honourable Member informed of developments. (2000/C 374 E/028) WRITTEN QUESTION E-0098/00 by Camilo Nogueira RomÆn (Verts/ALE) to the Commission (26 January 2000) Subject: Application of the partnership principle in the drawing-up of the 2000-2006 Regional Develop- ment Plan for Spainís Objective 1 Autonomous Communities In October 1999 I tabled a written question to the Commission (P-1798/99) on application of the partnership principle in the drawing-up of the 2000-2006 Regional Development Plan for Spainís Objective 1 Autonomous Communities (1), bearing in mind that the plan, a key document covering the main investments to promote development, job creation, and transport networks, had not been considered by the Galician Parliament. The Member of the Commission who replied to the question, Mr Michel Barnier, indicated that a final answer would not be given until the text of the plan had been sent to Brussels but stated in any case that, under Articles 15 and 16 of Council Regulation (EC) No 1260/1999 on the Structural Funds (2), Member States were indeed required to submit their plans to the Commission áafter consultation with the partnersí, since the Regulation stipulates that each plan must include áan account of arrangements made to consult partnersí. Given that the text of the Regional Development Plan is already in the Commissionís possession, what steps will the Commission take to ensure compliance with the partnership principle and uphold the powers of the Autonomous Communities, specifically Galicia, bearing in mind that the Spanish central government authorities ignored the Galician Parliament when they drew up the plan, even though it has a decisive bearing on the Autonomous Communityís powers and its role as an entity responsible for Spainís economic and social development? (1) OJ C 203 E, 18. 7. 2000, p. 51. (2) OJ L 161, 26. 6. 1999, p. 1. Answer given by Mr Barnier on behalf of the Commission (10 March 2000) Article 8 of Council Regulation No (EC) 1260/1999 of 21 June 1999 laying down general provisions on the Structural Funds (1) states that Community operations are to be drawn up in close consultation (the ápartnershipí) ábetween the Commission and the Member State, together with the authorities and bodies designated by the Member State within the framework of its national and current practices, namely: the regional and local authorities and the other competent public authorities, the economic and social partners, any other relevant competent bodies within this framework. í The authorities and bodies designated by the Member State are called ápartners. í With regard to national regional development plans (RDPs), Articles 15 and 16 of this Regulation stipulate respectively that áplans shall be submitted by the Member State to the Commission after consultation with the partnersí and that the plans shall include áan account of arrangements made to consult partners. í The RDP for the Objective 1 regions submitted by the Spanish Government on 29 October 1999 includes a chapter on the application of the Autonomous Communities were associated from the beginning in the design, development and drafting of the plan and that they had several opportunities of expressing their points of view and making changes to the final draft. this principle of partnership, which states in particular that