# CE2004088EN.01065902.xml

| 8.4.2004 | EN | Official Journal of the European Union | CE 88/659 |
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8.4.2004

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

CE 88/659

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(2004/C 88 E/0676)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3973/03

by Erik Meijer (GUE/NGL) to the Commission

(5 January 2004)

Subject:   National Council for Ethnic and Demographic Issues (NCEDI) ignored when allocating EU funds for social participation in Bulgaria

Subject:

| 1. | Is the Commission aware of the controversy surrounding Social Participation Programme BG 0102.06, whose purpose is to support the social and economic integration of the Roma, other ethnic minorities and people with disabilities in Bulgaria, in which connection, without consulting either the National Council for Ethnic and Demographic Issues (NCEDI) or the Ministry of Culture, as stipulated, the EU delegation in Sofia unilaterally took a final decision on the allocation of EUR 7 million, namely that EUR 2 500 000 should be spent on civil society development and EUR 4 500 000 on integration of the Roma and people with disabilities? |
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1.

Is the Commission aware of the controversy surrounding Social Participation Programme BG 0102.06, whose purpose is to support the social and economic integration of the Roma, other ethnic minorities and people with disabilities in Bulgaria, in which connection, without consulting either the National Council for Ethnic and Demographic Issues (NCEDI) or the Ministry of Culture, as stipulated, the EU delegation in Sofia unilaterally took a final decision on the allocation of EUR 7 million, namely that EUR 2 500 000 should be spent on civil society development and EUR 4 500 000 on integration of the Roma and people with disabilities?

| 2. | Why was it that, as a result of the above decision, out of the 20 proposed projects those selected did not include the improvement of the 12 best Roma cultural and information centres but a centre in Sofia, a centre in Sliven and two centres in the coastal settlement of Varna, in which connection the assessment of the urgency of the last of these projects caused particular astonishment and serious disappointment, especially in the country's second city, Plovdiv, which has a large Roma population? |
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2.

Why was it that, as a result of the above decision, out of the 20 proposed projects those selected did not include the improvement of the 12 best Roma cultural and information centres but a centre in Sofia, a centre in Sliven and two centres in the coastal settlement of Varna, in which connection the assessment of the urgency of the last of these projects caused particular astonishment and serious disappointment, especially in the country's second city, Plovdiv, which has a large Roma population?

| 3. | In consequence, must the Bulgarian Ministry of Social Affairs, as from 1 December 2003, make payments to projects which other observers regard as subsidies to the mafia? |
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3.

In consequence, must the Bulgarian Ministry of Social Affairs, as from 1 December 2003, make payments to projects which other observers regard as subsidies to the mafia?

| 4. | Is it still possible to reverse this extremely controversial decision or to compensate in some other way the projects which were placed at a disadvantage by it? What will the Commission do to limit the damage? |
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4.

Is it still possible to reverse this extremely controversial decision or to compensate in some other way the projects which were placed at a disadvantage by it? What will the Commission do to limit the damage?

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