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Parliamentary question - E-002450/2015Parliamentary question
E-002450/2015

Energas depot

Question for written answer E-002450-15
to the Commission
Rule 130
Rosa D'Amato (EFDD) , Marco Affronte (EFDD) , Fabio Massimo Castaldo (EFDD) , Ignazio Corrao (EFDD) , Eleonora Evi (EFDD) , Piernicola Pedicini (EFDD) , Dario Tamburrano (EFDD)

By a judgment of 20 September 2007 (Case C-388/05), the Court of Justice of the European Union found Italy guilty of not having taken appropriate steps to avoid, in the Special Protection Area (SPA) in question, the deterioration of natural habitats and the habitats of species.

The judgment stated that the deterioration caused by the industrial development of the region constituted a violation of both the ‘Habitat’ and ‘Birds’ Directives, which resulted in the opening of infringement proceedings 2001/4156. After the verdict was delivered, a number of initiatives were put in place in order to restore the region to its former beauty and make it compliant with the applicable regulations once more.

However, this has not stopped Energas SpA from submitting an application to build an LPG depot in one of the protected districts of that SPA, on the outskirts of Manfredonia (in the district of Foggia). The proposed depot, which is still awaiting approval, would cover around 20 hectares, and Energas SpA claims that it is justifiable owing to the restorative environmental measures that were put in place in order to close the infringement proceedings, despite LIPU Birdlife Italia arguing to the contrary.

A number of initiatives forming part of the LIFE12 NAT/IT/001052 project have also been planned in the same area, the objectives of which are the polar opposite of what Energas is seeking to achieve.

— Has the Commission been made aware of the proposed LPG depot detailed above?

— Does it believe that the restorative measures that were put in place in order to close infringement proceedings 2001/4156 are enough to justify giving the go-ahead for the construction of Energas SpA’s LPG depot in the same SPA?