WRITTEN QUESTION E-0087/00 by Camilo Nogueira Román (Verts/ALE) to the Commission. Adoption of a regional development plan for Galicia and Northern Portugal within the 2000-2006 Community Support Frameworks.
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?