91997E1696

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1696/97 by Roberta Angelilli (NI) to the Commission (20 May 1997)

Subject: Plan to build a five-storey car-park on a site of archaeological importance in Rome

The City of Rome intends to build a large five-storey car-park and shopping centre complex in the vicinity of Piazzale della Radio, a densely populated area in the fifteenth district of the city. Many local residents' committees have called for an immediate halt to the work, one of the reasons being that the Archaeology Department of the Ministry for Cultural Assets has discovered Roman graves, possible evidence of an underground necropolis, the conservation of which would undoubtedly be jeopardized by the work. Notwithstanding Annex II to Directive 85/337/EEC ((OJ L 175, 5.7.1985, p. 40. )), point 10(b) of which provides that Member States should lay down appropriate criteria for defining the urban development projects that should be subject to environmental impact assessment within the meaning of Articles 5 to 10 of the Directive, and even though the scale of the project implies that it would be advisable to carry out such an assessment in accordance with the procedures laid down, the authorities have not consulted the residents about the construction project. Moreover, despite Directive 97/11/EC ((OJ L 73, 14.3.1997, p. 5. )), which provides that environmental impact assessment of this category of project should take due account of historic, cultural, and archaeological factors, no importance has been attached to the archaeological finds on the site.

Does the Commission not think that the attitude of the City of Rome is in flagrant violation of the European legislation on environmental impact assessment?

Will the Commission make representations to the City of Rome to ensure that Community law continues to be observed?

Answer given by Mrs Bjerregaard on behalf of the Commission (25 June 1997)

The Commission would first point out that the reference to Directive 97/11/EC is inappropriate insofar as the Directive has not yet been applied.

Directive 85/337/EEC on the assessment of the effects of certain public and private projects on the environment ((OJ L 175, 27.6.1985. )) lays down compulsory impact assessment for projects listed in Annex I to the Directive, while for projects listed in Annex II (including the project under consideration here) it is left to Member States to determine in the light of a project's characteristics, namely its nature, size, etc., whether it must be subject to the environmental impact assessment procedure.

On the basis of the information in its possession, the Commission will approach the Italian authorities for additional information.