91996E0154

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0154/96 by Gerardo Fernández-Albor (PPE) to the Commission (1 February 1996)

Subject: Contribution by the European Union to the cost of desalination plants on the Costa del Sol, Spain

As a result of the chronic scarcity of water along the entire coast of the Costa del Sol in Spain, which is due to acute droughts, the relevant regional and local authorities have decided to build desalination plants to cope with the water shortages which in some summers seriously threaten the economic development of this important Community tourist region.

The authorities have repeatedly stated that Union funds will be available to cover 85% of the high cost of these desalination plants, so that private enterprise can recover the cost of investing in the plants. The President of the Regional Government himself has said that funds from Brussels are guaranteed to enable the projects in question to be started.

However, so far only the Spanish national and regional authorities have given this assurance. Can the Commission confirm that Union funds are guaranteed to cover 85% of the cost of the desalination plants at Malaga and, on the Costa del Sol, at Marbella?

Answer given by Mrs Wulf-Matthies on behalf of the Commission (7 March 1996)

Though it is true that the Spanish authorities have said that they would be submitting desalination projects for cofinancing by the Cohesion Fund in 1996, no such project has yet been submitted.

The Commission cannot say whether such projects will be cofinanced until applications have been received and examined.