A4-0114/96

Resolution on the draft Commission Decision concerning information and publicity measures to be carried out by the Member States and the Commission concerning the activities of the Cohesion Fund under Council Regulation (EC) 1164/94 of 16 May 1994 (C4-0014/96)

The European Parliament,

- having regard to Council Regulation (EC) 1164/94 of 16 May 1994 establishing a Cohesion Fund ((OJ L 130, 25.5.1994, p. 1.)) and in particular Article 14 thereof,

- having regard to the draft Commission Decision concerning information and publicity measures to be carried out by the Member States and the Commission concerning the activities of the Cohesion Fund,

- having regard to its resolution of 11 March 1994 on information and publicity measures to be carried out by the Member States concerning assistance from the Structural Funds and the Financial Instrument for Fisheries Guidance (FIFG) ((OJ C 91, 28.3.1994, p. 320.)),

- having regard to its resolution of 29 June 1995 on the Annual Report of the Commission on the cohesion financial instrument (1993/94) ((OJ C 183, 17.7.1995, p. 36. )),

- having delegated the power of decision, pursuant to Rule 52 of its Rules of Procedure, to the Committee on Regional Policy,

- having regard to the report of the Committee on Regional Policy (A4-0114/96),

A. mindful of the significant contribution made by the Cohesion Fund to achieving economic and social cohesion in the Union,

B. whereas transparency in the operation of the Cohesion Fund makes a decisive contribution to monitoring Community assistance and this is a condition which must be met if its effectiveness is to be guaranteed,

C. whereas the Union's involvement in combating regional disparities needs to be made as widely known as possible and whereas full and accurate information on the measures financed by the Cohesion Fund will help to increase the public consensus on European integration,

1. Approves the general criteria set out in the Commission draft; points out, however, that the provisions envisaged in the draft refer almost exclusively to publicity for the measures financed and that they largely disregard information as such;

2. Considers the notion of information displayed by the Commission, which amounts to no more than publicity, to be insufficient, a view which it has already voiced in its opinion on the information provisions with regard to the Structural Funds; considers it important that the public should be aware of the scope and repercussions of Community assistance but also considers it essential for information measures to facilitate, in the interests of transparency and subsidiarity, participation by the public, through regional and local administrations, and by the social partners;

3. Considers it necessary to round off the Commission proposal by guaranteeing general prior information on the Cohesion Fund in general and conditions governing access to assistance, to be directed at regional and local authorities so as to increase their involvement in the choice of objectives, the consideration of alternatives and, in short, the selection of projects to be financed; is convinced that this would make a decisive contribution to making the operation of the Cohesion Fund more effective;

4. Calls on the competent authorities of the Member States to endeavour to submit requests to appear before national and regional parliaments or local institutions, pursuant to the relevant rules, in order to provide information on projects accepted by the Cohesion Fund, and to seek to publicize such sessions as widely as possible; calls also for these information activities to be specifically promoted in universities;

5. Urges the Commission, in close consultation with the national, regional and local authorities, especially those with powers in the areas of transport infrastructure and environment, to take measures to guarantee the dissemination of information regarding the Cohesion Fund, the Structural Funds and other financial instruments aimed at combating regional disparities with a view to creating an information network on the Union's policy of economic and social cohesion;

6. Calls, since one of the key objectives of the Fund is to combat regional disparities, for the competent authorities of the Member States, when drawing up projects, to include an analytical forecast quantifying the rectification of the inequalities;

7. Recalls that one of the objectives of the provisions on information is to make potential beneficiaries and professional organizations aware of the possibilities offered by a particular action and considers the way in which this aspect has been dealt with in the provisions proposed by the Commission to be insufficient; calls on the Member States to supply this information through national or regional official journals or other channels with a similar reach;

8. Recommends, given that one of the objectives pursued through information and publicity measures is to make widely known the great opportunities for development offered by the Fund, that such measures be extended to regions similar to those currently hosting joint projects, since the healthy emulation thereby generated will have a multiplying effect on the information and publicity being carried out;

9. Observes with surprise that, in its draft, the Commission classifies the publicity measures to be taken according to the level of investments, a classification which legitimizes projects with a cost less than ECU 10m; has the impression that the Commission appears in this way to be acknowledging a growth in projects with a cost less than that mentioned above and recalls that Regulation 1164/94 lays down that the total cost of a project may not be less than ECU 10m, below which only duly justified exceptions will be authorized;

10. Welcomes the role which the Commission has set aside for the monitoring committees on information and publicity, as regards both their own activities and the application of the general provisions; takes the view that these functions may help to enhance the role to be played by these committees in monitoring and evaluating the Cohesion Fund;

11. Expresses its doubts regarding the actual possibilities for the monitoring committees to carry out the functions assigned to them by the draft Commission decision given that, as far as it is aware, there are only national monitoring committees which meet infrequently and in which difficulties are still being encountered as regards the participation of the competent regional and local authorities, despite the provisions of Article F (3) of the implementing provisions for Regulation 1164/94;

12. Insists again, therefore, on the need to strengthen and improve the composition and operation of the monitoring committees; to this end, calls on the representatives of the Commission, when a project has been completed, to conduct a specific study into the quantity, quality and adequacy of the information and publicity measures carried out;

13. Asks the Commission to ensure that Directive 90/313/EEC on the freedom of access to information on the environment is respected in order to guarantee the greatest possible transparency in the implementation of assistance under the Cohesion Fund;

14. Calls for the competent authorities of the Member States, when drawing up projects, to adopt the necessary measures to enable the budget to include a specific heading on the funding of the planned information and publicity measures;

15. Takes the view that the Commission should ensure that the annual report referred to in Article 14(1) of Regulation 1164/94 is circulated as widely as possible;

16. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Commission.