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WRITTEN
QUESTION E-2662/03
by Ian Hudghton (Verts/ALE)
to the Commission
Subject:
Ozone-depleting substances
With reference to your answer dated 22 March 2002 to written question
P-0595/02 [1], when only two Member States had
reported on the mechanisms they had in place for the recovery and
destruction of ozone-depleting substances, and when the Commission
committed itself to a comprehensive overview of the situation throughout
the EU, can the Commission now provide an update of the situation in each
of the Member States?
E-2662/03EN
Answer given by Mrs Wallström
on behalf of the Commission
(21 October 2003)
To date
all Member States except Ireland have responded.
Most
Member States have reported on the following: safety and quality standards
for equipment that contains ozone-depleting substances (ODS); inspection
procedures for installations containing ODS, record keeping and reporting
requirements; ODS recovery methods; mobile and fixed ODS destruction
equipment; quantities of ODS recovered, recycled, reclaimed and destroyed
during 1999, 2000 and 2001; the minimum qualification standards for
technicians involved in ODS recovery, recycling, reclamation and
destruction and efforts undertaken to make the public and industry aware
of the requirements of the Regulation that include articles in the news
media, workshops and information on official websites.
The Commission has undertaken evaluations and has, so far, identified four
Member States that are not in compliance with Article 16 (5) [2]
and 16(6) [3]
of Regulation (EC) No 2037/2000 of the Parliament and of the Council of 29
June 2000 on substances that deplete the ozone layer [4].
Therefore, the Commission took a decision on 9 July 2003 to take Ireland
to the Court of Justice for not reporting. In addition, three infringement
procedures are under way against Greece, Spain and Portugal for
insufficient reporting and implementation of the Regulation. For detailed
overview of the state of play on recovery and destruction a table is sent
direct to the Honourable Member and to Parliament's Secretariat.
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