Southern Adriatic sea bed

6.4.2004

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1177/04
by Monica Frassoni (Verts/ALE)
to the Commission

A series of 'Sites of Community Interest' that are to receive protection as part of the European 'Natura 2000' network have been pinpointed. These sites include the Southern Adriatic sea bed, owing to the presence of posidonia, and in particular the posidonia beds of San Vito-Barletta (SCI No IT9120009).

 

Is the Commission aware that:

 

–  the Greek telephone company OTE has laid an underwater cable along the Adriatic sea bed between the Greek coast and Apulia, and that this is liable to obliterate a site of great natural value and Community interest;

–  contrary to the procedure previously followed in the case of similar infrastructure projects, this project was not subject to an environmental impact assessment either by the Italian Ministry of the Environment or by the Environmental Office of the Apulia Regional Government;

–  at the request of Mr Simitis, Prime Minister of Greece at the time, the President of the Italian Council of Ministers, Mr Berlusconi, exerted great pressure on the Ministry of the Environment to speed up the granting of ministerial approval;

–  no steps were taken, therefore, to transplant posidonia using appropriate tools in order to safeguard the posidonia beds;

–  all the local licences that OTE applied for were issued in record time and without observations;

–  monitoring of the impact of the work was entrusted to the department of zoology at Bari University, or in other words the same university in whose biology department OTE's representative and technical and scientific consultant in Italy works?

 

Does the Commission not see a need to intervene immediately with the Italian Government to remedy the total lack of concern for one of the most precious environmental sites of Community interest?