Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2011-06-09-Speech-4-029-000"
| Predicate | Value (sorted: default) |
|---|---|
| rdf:type | |
| dcterms:Date | |
| dcterms:Is Part Of | |
| dcterms:Language | |
| lpv:document identification number |
"en.20110609.3.4-029-000"2
|
| lpv:hasSubsequent | |
| lpv:speaker | |
| lpv:translated text |
"Madam President, honourable Members, firstly, it must be clear to all of us that this case has not been handled correctly. However, the reappraisal of the case will help us to make progress within Europe. We have established that the thresholds were incorrectly applied, that no screening process was carried out and, therefore, that the environmental impact has not been assessed objectively enough.
Secondly, the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Act in Austria needs to be amended or expanded to ensure that it corresponds with the European Union directives, in other words, with your requirements. Thirdly, we believe it is important that, when other measures are taken in this region, whether these are additional car parks or other developments, a special screening of the entire project is carried out which includes existing developed areas and existing building projects. You could say that the region is now under closer scrutiny.
Anyone who enjoys skiing, as I do, will know that at around 15:00 in the afternoon in this region, noise pollution seems to be a bigger problem than damage to the natural environment. Of course, I do not mean that entirely seriously. The Commission now has the option of initiating an infringement procedure. We are not threatening to do this, but the option remains open to us. Then we need to look in general terms at the revision of the EIA Directive. What does Mr Potočnik have in mind?
Firstly, this is all about incorporating new policy objectives, such as climate change, biodiversity, energy, trans-European networks and cohesion policy. Secondly, the judgments of the Court of Justice of the European Union, which have resulted in an important clarification of the issue, must be included. In answer to Mr Lichtenberger’s question, I would like to say that we have established that Austria’s EIA Act now meets the threshold requirements. We are currently evaluating whether it is satisfactory in terms of transparency, civic participation and public consultation, both in form and in substance. I can confirm that Mr Potočnik, the Commissioner for the Environment, will provide you with a comprehensive written answer during the next few weeks about whether it corresponds with the transparency and civic participation requirements of our directive.
I believe that this case and other findings will enable us to produce a satisfactory revision of the European directive next year. Mr Wieland asked how the definition of the area should be regarded. We will give you a written answer on this issue. I believe that when a transport facility is built, we should include not only the area of land under the cable, in other words, not just the route of the lift, which is one metre wide and several thousand metres long. On the other hand, the entire mountain should not be covered, although the fare dodgers are often the best skiers if they are on the black runs. However, from a more detailed perspective, all the areas designated as pistes must be included. In other words, any managed pistes and areas where snow making machines are used, in my opinion, belong to the developed area of the mountain and, therefore, have to fall within the threshold. If necessary, this should be clearly defined during the revision of the directive.
How could we have influenced the process at an earlier stage? These discussions are, of course, taking place relatively late in the day, five years after permission to build was granted. This is a fundamental problem because, under the terms of the Treaty, subsidiarity applies and the responsibility for implementing European law lies primarily with the Member States, which have to administer and enforce the law locally. I hope that in Austria in particular, lessons will have been learnt from this case about taking a sensitive approach when weighing up the interests of the economy and the environment and, therefore, that the case will have a positive impact in future."@en1
|
| lpv:videoURI |
Named graphs describing this resource:
The resource appears as object in 2 triples