Download CM_PETI - European Parliament

EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT
2009 - 2014
Committee on Petitions
30.1.2013
NOTICE TO MEMBERS
Subject:
1.
Petition 0944/2012 by H.M. (Polish), bearing 11 co-signatures, on transport
infrastructure problems in the town of Plock in central Poland
Summary of petition
The petitioner refers to the poor transport infrastructure in the town of Plock in central
Poland. Plock is an extremely important centre for fuel and energy production and the home
of one of the largest eastern European oil refineries and petrochemical works belonging to the
Polish oil group ‘Orlen’. The problems with the transport infrastructure mean that large
amounts of dangerous substances are transported by road and rail through densely-populated
areas and across the only rail bridge over the river Vistula, and also that emergency services
and fire brigade will not be able to arrive in time in the event of industrial accidents. The
petitioner emphasises that modernisation of the existing transport network and new
motorways are absolute priorities, partly in order to protect the environment and partly to
improve safety for the local population, and as the actions of the Polish authorities have up to
now been unsatisfactory, he asks the European Parliament to intervene.
2.
Admissibility
Declared admissible on 14 November 2012. Information requested from Commission under
Rule 202(6).
3.
Commission reply, received on 30 January 2013
In accordance with cohesion policy regulations, assistance (under cohesion policy) is
provided according to the shared management principle and in line with the approach of
complementarity and partnership between the Commission and the Member States, with due
regard for their respective powers. In this context, and on the basis of the principle of
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subsidiarity, the implementation of co-financed actions is the responsibility of the Member
States, at the most appropriate territorial level and according to the institutional system of
each Member State.
This means that the Commission does not intervene in the selection of the projects (except for
major projects above EUR 50 million and projects co-financed under the Cohesion Fund
2000-2006), as this comes under the competence of the national authorities, provided that
their choices are in line with the priorities identified in the programming documents adopted
in consultation with the Commission, and that they comply with current legislation.
Regarding the possibilities of Structural Funds to support the investment needs described in
the petition, the Commission would like to draw attention to the fact that in the 2014-2020
period Płock will continue to benefit from cohesion policy support to boost the development
of its area in many respects. As Płock is located in the Mazowsze region, it will qualify for the
category of more developed regions in the next period. Structural Funds' support is to be
concentrated mostly on energy efficiency and renewable energy, SME competitiveness,
innovation and the information society. Therefore, with good cooperation from both regional
and national authorities, Płock will still have the opportunity to benefit from EU support.
Conclusion
Following the argumentation in the petition, and based on the information submitted by the
petitioner, the Commission services cannot identify any breach of EU Law; spatial planning is
the responsibility of the Member State authorities to whom the petitioner has submitted
similar inquiries. If the petitioner considers that the decisions taken by the national managing
authorities have been detrimental to the citizens of Plock city, he can use the rights of appeal
available at national level to obtain redress.
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