WRITTEN QUESTION P-2278/02

by Rosemarie Müller (PSE) to the Commission

(18 July 2002)

Subject: Support for town-twinning eligibility criteria

The administrative district of Mainz-Bingen in this Member's constituency has had its application for support for town-twinning in the context of call for proposals DG EAC No 63/01 (project 02/1714) turned down by the Commission on the grounds that the project is not admissible because it does not meet the eligibility criteria. The justification states that in the context of the call for proposals applications concerning an exchange between citizens (heading A) must be submitted by the municipal administration or the chairperson of the twinning committee of the host municipality. Proposals from regional bodies, e.g. German administrative districts, are only admissible under heading B (conferences on specific topics and educational seminars).

In Germany local government associations are equivalent to local authorities under constitutional law. Article 49 of the Constitution for Rheinland-Pfalz states that the local authorities in the territory under their jurisdiction have exclusive responsibility for local public administration in its entirety and that local government associations are on an equal footing in the context of their legal responsibility.

The eligibility criterion in the call for proposals was municipal administration. According to this the questioner takes the view that administrative districts are also entitled to submit applications under heading A. The relevant directive does not state that entitlements under headings A and B are to be exclusive. Why are German administrative districts not recognised as municipal authorities in the context of this call for proposals and are therefore put at a disadvantage compared with towns and local authorities?

Answer given by Mrs Reding on behalf of the Commission

(3 September 2002)

The Call for Proposals is entitled Support for Actions to Promote Town-Twinning and is designed to promote activities and events that contribute to bringing peoples closer together and to reinforcing European awareness.

I. The Call is divided into two parts, which clearly differ as regards both the type of project and the target group.

Part A relates to meetings between citizens from twinned towns and municipalities.

According to the eligibility criteria for these activities, the application should be submitted by:

- the municipal council; or

- the chairperson of the twinning committee

of the host town.

A document providing evidence of the twinning link must be enclosed with the application.

In terms of the content of the activities, they must be meetings between citizens from towns/cities or municipalities. As regards the formal side of things, the rules state that the representative of the town/city or municipality must be the municipal administration or the chairperson of the twinning committee.

Part B relates to conferences on European themes relating to twinning arrangements, and training and information seminars for town-twinning officers.

The target group for these activities, in contrast to Part A, is:

- local government associations; or

- associations and federations of local authorities.

II. The administrative district of Mainz-Bingen applied under Part A but does not come under the target group for that Part.

Moreover, its application was for a meeting with an Italian province (Verona), as shown in the twinning certificate. However, Italian provinces do not come under the target group for Part A.

The third participant was the Polish rural district of Nysa, with only three representatives: too few as, under the eligibility conditions for Part A, at least ten people per invited municipality must take part.

The identity of the three partners therefore confirms that this is a meeting that goes beyond local level, as confirmed by the applicant on the application form in the description of the goal of the meeting: Laying the foundations for a three-way partnership between the three local government associations.

For all these reasons, the application from the administrative district of Mainz-Bingen was rejected.

Moreover, the programme showed that the activity could not be classed as a seminar, so it could not be accepted under Part B either.