# CE2004065EN.01024101.xml

| 13.3.2004 | EN | Official Journal of the European Union | CE 65/241 |
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13.3.2004

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

CE 65/241

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(2004/C 65 E/257)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-2896/03

by Patricia McKenna (Verts/ALE) to the Commission

(23 September 2003)

Subject:   EU Programme for Peace and Reconciliation

Subject:

| 1. | Is the EU Programme for Peace and Reconciliation monitored from Brussels? |
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1.

Is the EU Programme for Peace and Reconciliation monitored from Brussels?

| 2. | Who signed off the present conditions that must be satisfied to secure funding? |
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2.

Who signed off the present conditions that must be satisfied to secure funding?

| 3. | Is the EU Programme for Peace and Reconciliation audited? |
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3.

Is the EU Programme for Peace and Reconciliation audited?

| 4. | How was a body permitted to draft the conditions for securing EU funding while also being allowed to act as administrator of the fund that body being the Special EU Programmes Body (SEUPB) and the Department of Environment and Local Government of Ireland? |
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4.

How was a body permitted to draft the conditions for securing EU funding while also being allowed to act as administrator of the fund that body being the Special EU Programmes Body (SEUPB) and the Department of Environment and Local Government of Ireland?

| 5. | Are the monies employed to establish the Peace and Reconciliation fund in addition to EU funds normally allocated to Ireland from the EU? |
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5.

Are the monies employed to establish the Peace and Reconciliation fund in addition to EU funds normally allocated to Ireland from the EU?

Answer given by Mr Barnier on behalf of the Commission

(20 October 2003)

(20 October 2003)

As for all interventions financed under the Structural Funds, the PEACE Programme operates within the legal framework of the Structural Funds' Regulation (1). In accordance with the principle of subsidiarity, the primary responsibility for the day-to-day management and monitoring of the programme lies with the programme's delivery structures at the regional level, mainly the Managing Authority — the Special Union Programmes Body (SEUPB) — and the Monitoring Committee.

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Day-to-day management is exercised within the framework of the Operational Programme document agreed by the Commission and the Irish and United Kingdom governments, which sets out the the priority areas for spending and their financial allocations. The document also sets out the general criteria for the selection of projects. Future detail in this regard is provided in the Programme Complement, which is a document drafted by the Managing Authority and approved by the Monitoring Committee.

The PEACE Programme is subject to the standard audit requirements involving both the Commission and the relevant national or regional audit bodies. SEUPB acts as the overall Programme Managing Authority and therefore has responsibility for all administrative aspects of the programme such as application forms, co-ordination, guidance to intermediary funding Bodies or final beneficiaries. It also implements a number of specific measures, while maintaining a clear administrative separation of duties in accordance with the principles of sound management.

The Department of Environment and Local Government is represented in an advisory capacity on the PEACE Monitoring Committee. It acts as the accountable department for the County Council Task Forces in the Border Region of Ireland; it is not involved directly in the implementation of any measure.

In accordance with the conclusions of the Presidency of the European Council meeting in Berlin in March 1999, the financial allocation for the PEACE Programme is fully additional to the Structural Funds allocation to Ireland and the United Kingdom.

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(1)  Council Regulation (EC) No 1260/1999 of 21 June 1999 laying down general provisions on the Structural Funds, OJ L 161, 26.6.1999.

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