VP/HR — Disposal of Syrian chemical weapons
17.1.2014
Question for written answer E-000443-14
to the Commission (Vice-President/High Representative)
Rule 117
Antonello Antinoro (PPE) , Spyros Danellis (S&D) , Alfredo Antoniozzi (PPE) , Vito Bonsignore (PPE) , Gino Trematerra (PPE) , Giovanni La Via (PPE) , Antonio Cancian (PPE) , Paolo Bartolozzi (PPE) , Raffaele Baldassarre (PPE) , Carlo Fidanza (PPE) , Elisabetta Gardini (PPE) , Luigi Ciriaco De Mita (PPE) , Oreste Rossi (PPE) , Crescenzio Rivellini (PPE) , Iva Zanicchi (PPE) , Salvatore Tatarella (PPE) , Sergio Paolo Francesco Silvestris (PPE) , Marco Scurria (PPE) , Amalia Sartori (PPE) , Potito Salatto (PPE) , Lara Comi (PPE) , Fabrizio Bertot (PPE) , Alfredo Pallone (PPE) , Aldo Patriciello (PPE) , Clemente Mastella (PPE) , Barbara Matera (PPE) , Giuseppe Gargani (PPE) , Sylvana Rapti (S&D) , Georgios Stavrakakis (S&D) , Dimitrios Droutsas (S&D) , Chrysoula Paliadeli (S&D) , Maria Eleni Koppa (S&D) , Anni Podimata (S&D) , Nikos Chrysogelos (Verts/ALE) , Sophocles Sophocleous (S&D) , Joseph Cuschieri (S&D) , Giommaria Uggias (ALDE)
Whereas:
- —with the recent adoption by Germany, the plan for disposal of Syrian chemical weapons has finally been approved, and its initial stage began with the transfer of the first load from the Syrian port of Latakia on 7 January last;
- —
this plan provides for four stages:
- 1.transport of the toxic substances to the port of Latakia from 12 Syrian production sites, under the control of Russian personnel in US containers;
- 2.storage of the substances on Danish and Norwegian cargo boats, with logistical support from the Americans and with Russia responsible for security;
- 3.transport to an Italian port by Danish (Ark Futura) and Norwegian vessels;
- 4.transfer of the hazardous chemical agents to a US military vessel (MV Cape Ray), and subsequent removal by hydrolysis of the chemical substances, which will be subsequently dumped by the cargo vessel in international waters, in the centre of the Ionian Sea, between Crete, Libya, Sicily and Malta, which is to take place by the end of January,
the Vice-President/High Representative is asked:
- 1.what criteria and assessments have been used to select the disposal site;
- 2.which other sites, apart from the Mediterranean Sea, have been considered as possible candidates for the said disposal;
- 3.whether she does not consider it possible that a disastrously strong impact could be caused to the entire ecosystem of the seas and territorial waters, considering that the Mediterranean Sea, although it contains international waters, is a closed sea;
- 4.whether it is not possible to amend the choice of the decommissioning site, so as to preserve not only the ecosystem itself but also the health of all European citizens, in the area of the Mediterranean and elsewhere, in view of the possible serious consequences of the decision.
OJ C 284, 26/08/2014