WRITTEN QUESTION E-0126/00 by Carmen Cerdeira Morterero (PSE) to the Commission. Delays at Madrid Barajas airport.
28. 12. 2000 EN Official Journal of the European Communities C 374 E/29 The Honourable Member Mr Souladakis (4) on the same topic. is also asked to refer to the reply to Written Question E-121/00 by (1) OJ L 160, 12. 6. 1989. (2) OJ L 311, 4. 12. 1999. (3) Grappa, Korn, Kornbrand, Pacharan, Jägertee. (4) See page 27. (2000/C 374 E/034) WRITTEN QUESTION E-0126/00 by Carmen Cerdeira Morterero (PSE) to the Commission (27 January 2000) Subject: Delays at Madrid Barajas airport The Association of European Airlines (AEA) recently published figures on the operation of the main European airports in the third quarter of 1999. The results for Madrid airport are abysmal, the only airports to record worse figures being Barcelona and Milan Malpensa. According to the AEA figures, more than half of flights leaving Barajas were late (51,9 %), with take-off being delayed by an average of 43 minutes. The figures for arrivals were no better, with 47,7 % of flights arriving late and an average delay of 45 minutes. The study also lists the causes of the delays, which clearly show that it is Barajas which is responsible for the problems, given that only 16 % of cases were linked to delays at other airports, while air-traffic control at Madrid Barajas and loading and handling operations on the ground were responsible in 31,5 % of cases. In short, the figures show that the situation at Barajas airport is poor and that it is the airport itself which is at the root of the problems. In view of these figures, and given the Commissionís wish to establish a single European air space, as stated by Commissioner de Palacio herself: ü what measures can the Commission adopt to improve the situation at European airports? ü Has the Commission adopted any initiative in this connection? Answer given by Mrs de Palacio on behalf of the Commission (20 March 2000) The Commission agrees that the situation of air traffic delays and airspace congestion has reached limits which are no longer acceptable, and requires urgent and drastic action. The Commission does not collect statistics for delays at airports. However the Association of European Airlinesí punctuality report for the third quarter of 1999, does indicate the excessive delay being experienced at many European airports. As regards delays attributed to Air Traffic Control, the Eurocontrol Organisationís Central Flow Manage- ment Unit, has indicated that there were problems during the month of December when the delay for all flights in Spain was higher than that of other States such as for example Netherlands, France and Switzerland. The reasons for these delays at the time were staff shortages and bad weather (mainly fog). The situation has subsequently improved considerably and the delays in Madrid in January have decreased by over a half on the December figures. Thus Barajas is no longer the most penalising area in Europe. As regards the measures that the Commission could take to improve the situation at European airports, the Commission adopted on the 1st December a communication entitled áthe creation of the single European skyí, which analyses the causes for that situation and recommends a number of actions to be undertaken both at Member State and Community level. C 374 E/30 Official Journal of the European Communities EN 28. 12. 2000 the Vice-President Furthermore, a high level group has been created, under the chairmanship of responsible for transport and energy to review the issues associated with delays in air traffic management. The HLG will complete its review in June 2000 and the Commission will report progress to the Council and the Parliament. (2000/C 374 E/035) WRITTEN QUESTION E-0151/00 by Nicholas Clegg (ELDR) to the Commission (31 January 2000) Subject: State aid and the coal industry Can the Commission confirm that its examination of the merger between Ruhrkohle AG Saarbergewerke AG and Preussag Anthrazit GmbH in 1998 has revealed that state aid was granted by the German Government? What steps is the Commission taking to secure repayment of this state aid? Answer given by Mrs de Palacio on behalf of the Commission (1 March 2000) The Commission can confirm that it has been examining the possibility that non-notified state aid may have been involved in the purchase of the publicly-owned Saarbergwerke AG by the private sector company RAG Aktiengesellschaft (RAG AG). As a result of these investigations, the Commission decided, on 18 January 2000, to send a letter of formal notice to the German government requesting it to provide in the month following receipt of the letter: a detailed and quantified economic evaluation of the risks involved for RAG AG in acquiring Saarbergwerke AG; a detailed commercial and financial evaluation of each of the subsidiary companies in the Saarberg- werke AG group at the time of the merger together with the expected future cash flows; a detailed commercial and financial evaluation of the synergies available to Deutsche Steinkohle AG in acquiring the coal producing activities of Saarbergwerke AG; a detailed commercial and financial evaluation of the synergies available to RAG AG in acquiring the non-coal producing activities of Saarbergwerke AG; and an explanation as to why the price of DEM 1, paid by RAG AG for Saarbergwerke AG, was not notified as state aid to the coal sector as defined under Article 1 paragraphs 2 and 4 of Commission Decision No 3632/93/ECSC of 28 December 1993 establishing Community rules for State aid to the coal industry (1) if Germany considered this to be risk insurance for RAG AG. The letter will also be published in the Official journal with an invitation to third parties to submit their comments within a month of the date of publication. Any observations received will then be forwarded to the German government for their reaction. On the basis of these replies, the Commission will then take a final decision on whether or not non- notified state aid was involved in the acquisition. (1) OJ L 329, 30. 12. 1993. (2000/C 374 E/036) WRITTEN QUESTION E-0174/00 by Salvador Garriga Polledo (PPE-DE) to the Commission Subject: Request that the ECB change the system of weekly auctions (31 January 2000) Some Spanish banks have called for changes to be made to the mechanisms of the ECBís monetary policy, such as the weekly repo auctions, because they penalise Spanish financial institutions