WRITTEN QUESTION E-1187/00 by Monica Frassoni (Verts/ALE) to the Commission. Archaeological site at Tuvixeddu (Cagliari, Italy).
20. 3. 2001 EN Official Journal of the European Communities C 89 E/13 Answer given by Mr Byrne on behalf of the Commission (15 June 2000) As the biggest importer and exporter of food products in the world the Community must regard food safety as an issue that goes beyond internal policy. The Community expects and requires products from third countries to comply with its health requirements. Similarly, appropriate health guarantees should be given for exports, as reflected in the white paper on food safety. In this context it should also be taken into account that import conditions are set by importers, not by exporters. However, exporters can set certain minimum conditions that they will respect. The Community has not thus far fixed export requirements as regards food safety different from the provisions applied for the internal market. The possible benefits of fixing specific rules for Community exports as regards food safety and other sanitary and phytosanitary measures (SPS) questions will be considered in the context of the Community food law. At present Community producers are required to comply with the requirements laid down in Council Directive of 14 June 1993 93/43/EC on the hygiene of foodstuffs (1). Moreover, Article 3 of Council Directive 89/397/EC of 14 June 1989 on the official control of food- stuffs (2) requires Member States not to exclude a product from appropriate control on the grounds that it is intended for export outside the Community. As regards the establishment of health requirements for food exports, the Communityís external obliga- tions will need to be considered, notably the World trade organisation (WTO) SPS agreement provisions governing the establishment of import conditions and the concept of the appropriate level of protection. The Community is playing an active role in the WTO framework to ensure the right of Member States to establish and maintain high public health standards for food safety. The principle of mutual recognition as regards health requirements is addressed in the scope of the bilateral veterinary equivalence agreements of which the Community has concluded three so far. (1) OJ L 175, 19. 7. 1993. (2) OJ L 186, 30. 6. 1989. (2001/C 89 E/012) WRITTEN QUESTION E-1187/00 by Monica Frassoni (Verts/ALE) to the Commission Subject: Archaeological site at Tuvixeddu (Cagliari, Italy) (12 April 2000) itinerariesí On 25 August 1998 the town council of Cagliari issued a call to tender for projects to create áinter- regional Phoenician cultural in the necropolis of Tuvixeddu in the context of the relevant Community programme, which itself comes under the operational programme for the development and enhancement of sustainable tourism in the Objective 1 regions ü measure number 3 ü for the years 1994-1999, covering the completion of the first section (6,8 hectares) of the archaeological park of Tuvixeddu. It is being financed with a total of LIT 7 billion in the form of Community and local authority funding (Departmental Decree on Tourism issued by the Prime Minister on 30 April 1998). The contract was apparently awarded long since, but work has not yet started. Tuvixeddu is the most important Punic- Roman and medieval burial site (more than 1 110 tombs) in the Mediterranean area, protected as part of the archaeological and natural heritage under legislative decree No 490/1999, but it has taken years of lobbying and legal action on the part of local cultural and environmental organisations (mainly Friends of the Earth and the Legal Intervention Group) to induce the Italian authorities to start to make plans for an archaeological park. The site is almost exclusively private property and the estate agency Iniziative (consisting of housing, offices and services Coimpresa intends to build a new urban development C 89 E/14 Official Journal of the European Communities EN 20. 3. 2001 occupying a total of 350 000 cubic metres) over a larger area characterised by geological hazards. In agreement with Cagliari town council there are also plans to build roads (linking up to the main road system) through the archaeological site without the statutory environmental impact assessment being carried out (Directives No 97/11 (1), Annex II, point 10(b) and No 85/337 (2), Annex II, point 10(b)) or the need for such work having been ascertained. All this presents a serious threat to the archaeological heritage. Has the Commission initiated an inquiry to ascertain the reasons for the failure to launch the above- mentioned cultural and archaeological project, which benefits from Community funding? Does the Commission intend to take appropriate steps? Does it consider that the obligations deriving from the Directive on environmental impact assessment are being met, not least in view of the decisions of the Court of Justice? (1) OJ L 73, 14. 3. 1997, p. 5. (2) OJ L 175, 5. 7. 1985, p. 40. Answer given by Mr Barnier on behalf of the Commission (9 June 2000) According to information received from the Italian authorities, the project Work to create interregional cultural routes in the Tuvixeddu necropolisí obtained part-financing from the European Regional Develop- ment Fund under the Programme Valorizzazione del turismo sostenibile nelle regioni dell obiettivo 1í. The total cost of the project is estimated at LIT 2 billion to which the Community will pay 50 %. The Commission is kept generally informed of progress on this programme through the Monitoring Committee but the detailed monitoring of part-financed projects is a matter for the programme managing authority, the department of tourism of the Ministry of Industry. The Commission has therefore asked the Italian authorities for additional information about the work. The second project mentioned by the Honourable Member, the construction of a new district and urban network (the Iniziativa Coimpresaí private company) is not part-financed under this programme. into class 10 b) Urban-development projectsí of Annex II of Council This second project could fall Directive 85/337/EEC of 27 June 1985 on the assessment of the effects of certain public and private projects on the environment (1) and into class 10 b) Urban development projects including the construc- tion of shopping centres and car parksí of Annex II of Council Directive 97/11/EC of 3 March 1997 (2) which has modified Directive 85/337/EEC. According to Directive 85/337/EEC, projects falling into Annex II are to be made subject to an environmental impact assessment (EIA) where Member States consider that their characteristics so require. However, Member States are considered to be obliged to make a pre-assessment in order to establish whether Annex II projects need to be made subject to an EIA procedure. According to Directive 97/11/EEC, Member States are obliged for Annex II projects to determine through a case-by-case examination of thresholds or by the setting of criteria whether the project shall be made subject to an assessment in accordance with Articles 5 to 10. Not being aware of the situation described by the Honourable Member, the Commission will take the appropriate steps in order to gather detailed information about it and to ensure the observance of Community law. (1) OJ L 175, 5. 7. 1985. (2) OJ L 73, 14. 3. 1997