C 147 E/130 Official Journal of the European Communities EN 20.6.2002

Answer given by Mrs Wallström on behalf of the Commission

(28 January 2002)

Spain has recently approved a national plan for water resources in law 10/2001 of 5 July 2001. The main objectives of this national plan are to consolidate the existingriver-basin approach and to reallocate surface water resources within Spain to areas that are already facing, or that will face in the future, severe water shortage.

The question from the Honourable Members refers to the compatibility of the Spanish plan with the Water Framework Directive and in particular those parts of the Directive relatingto pricing.First of all it must be underlined that the Member States are not required to transpose the Directive until December 2003. Secondly, the provisions of the Directive as they relate to the development of an equitable pricingpolicy (see below) do not become bindinguntil 2010. Therefore, giventhat the Spanish authorities have several years in which to develop their approach it would be premature, at this stage, for the Commission to comment on this issue. The Honourable Members should be assured that the Commission will work very closely with all the Member States to promote a coherent and consistent approach to the implementation of all aspects of the Directive, includingthe pricingquestion.

For the record, the Water Framework Directive includes specific provisions on water charging, incentive pricingand cost-recovery. Its Article 9 specifies that: ‘Member States shall take account of the principle of recovery of the costs of water services, includingenvironmental and resource costs, havingregardsto the economic analysis conducted accordingto Annex III, and in accordance in particular with the polluter pays principle’.

The same article also put obligations on Member States to ensure by 2010 that water-pricing policies provide adequate incentives to efficient water use and ensure a fair contribution of water uses (desegregated into at least industry, households and agriculture) to the recovery of the costs of water services. In decidinglevels of cost recovery, social, economic and environmental effects of the recovery as well as the geographic and climatic conditions of the region affected may be considered.

(2002/C 147 E/136) WRITTEN QUESTION E-3207/01 by Robert Goebbels (PSE) to the Commission

(22 November 2001)

Subject: Creation of a single European sky

In its recent Communication on creatinga singleEuropean sky, the Commission puts forward proposals designed to create a regulatory framework for the entire EU, whilst giving Eurocontrol responsibility for operational matters and the provision of miscellaneous services.

This division of tasks, although justifiable in itself, may create a problem for the representatives of general and light aviation who, on behalf of tens of thousands of private pilots, have always in the past had the opportunity to discuss any proposed changes to the rules by means of a consultation mechanism within Eurocontrol.

The Commission proposal also refers to ‘consultations’ with users of the single European sky. Would it not be advisable to set up a formal consultation scheme involving representatives of general and light aviation?

Answer given by Mrs de Palacio on behalf of the Commission

(11 January 2002)

On 10 October 2001 the Commission presented a package of proposals on the creation of the Single European Sky (1) intended to set up a decision-makingand regulatoryframework which was more in line with the constraints of air traffic in Europe. 20.6.2002 EN Official Journal of the European Communities C 147 E/131

As far as institutions are concerned, the Single European Sky is based on the complementary relationship between the Union’s regulatory powers and the competence and expertise which exist within Eurocontrol and the Member States. More precisely, the Eurocontrol agency will be entrusted by the Commission with the technical expertise work needed to draw up Community rules.

In the face of lack of harmonisation in the classification of European airspace, the proposals aim to consider European airspace as a common resource which must be effectively organised and managed, in complete safety, in order to meet the requirements of users and to permit a fair and non-discriminatory distribution of resources among all users, including general and light aviation.

The Commission is currently holdingtalks with Eurocontrol to define the procedures for cooperation between the organisations. This cooperation will also involve Eurocontrol in observing certain requirements with regard to the consultation of interested parties. The Commission will ensure that these consultation mechanisms permit the takinginto consideration of the viewpoint of the associations concerned.

In this way, the representatives of general and light aviation will continue to have an important role in this consultation process.

(1) COM(2001) 123 final.

(2002/C 147 E/137) WRITTEN QUESTION E-3208/01 by Adriana Poli Bortone (UEN) and Elizabeth Montfort (NI) to the Commission

(22 November 2001)

Subject: Right to life

At the International Federation of Gynaecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) congress held in Rome, the former president of FIGO, the Finn Markku Seppälä, said that ‘life begins at conception’.

In the light of this statement, does the Commission intend to submit a proposal for a directive seeking to ensure that the national laws of the Member States show due respect for the principle of the right to life?

Answer given by Mr Prodi on behalf of the Commission

(24 January 2002)

The European Union has no legislative powers in the matter and the Commission is accordingly not planningto propose a directive.

(2002/C 147 E/138) WRITTEN QUESTION E-3209/01 by Stefano Zappalà (PPE-DE) and Antonio Tajani (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(22 November 2001)

Subject: Island of Santo Stefano

Santo Stefano, which forms part of the municipality of Ventotene, is one of the islands in the Ponziano archipelago in the province of Latina in Italy. Past inmates of the prison which stands on the island (and which was closed in the 1960s) include a number of leadingpolitical figures,such as Altiero Spinelli, who in 1941, together with others, drafted the ‘Ventotene Manifesto’, which was to lay the foundations for today’s European Union. The part of the island on which the prison stands belongs to the Italian State, and is to be placed on the market alongwith a largenumber of other sites. Its market valuation has been set at € 2 million.