WRITTEN QUESTION P-0576/97 by Mirja Ryynänen (ELDR) to the Commission (19 February 1997)

Subject: Taking the EU's northern dimension into account in the Commmission's activities

The European Union is composed of regions which differ considerably in their natural conditions. The regions have different natural resources, different economic structures and consequently different development objectives. In the northern parts of the EU in Finland and Sweden climatic conditions correspond to those in the EU's mountainous areas in the Alps. The temperature in the North in February, for example, is around *10° to *15° C, whereas in Central Europe it is around the same number of degrees above zero.

1. What is the Commission doing to take account of the possibilities for profitable agriculture and related economic activities in the northern parts of the EU as elsewhere?

2. On what theoretical principles does the Commission propose to base its new structural fund programmes for agriculture in respect of the northern parts of the EU?

3. What is the Commission doing to develop mutual cooperation among northern regions in, for example the Baltic and Barents Sea areas?

Answer given by Mr Fischler on behalf of the Commission (18 March 1997)

1. The different natural conditions of the northern areas of Finland and Sweden were taken into account in the Accession treaty. Firstly, a new structural funds objective, namely objective 6, was created. The objective 6 covers areas which are sparsely populated, i.e. where population density is less than 8 people per square kilometre. The single programming documents cover some 60% of the surface area and 16.6% of the population of Finland, and 50% of the surface area and just over 5% of the population of Sweden. The total amounts of Community funding, without additional resources created by annual indexation, for these programmes are 459.9 mecu in Finland and 252 mecu in Sweden for 1995-1999.

In addition to the objective 6 regions, a large range of the Finnish and Swedish territory is eligible for the Community rural development actions under objective 5b. In Finland there are two objective 5b single programming documents covering 28% of the total surface area and 21% of the population. The programmes cover 14 regions in continental Finland and the Åland Islands. In Sweden there are five objective 5b programmes covering 12.8% of the surface area and 8.6% of the population. The Community contribution for these programmes is 194 mecu in Finland and 141 mecu in Sweden for 1995-1999.

Secondly, the Accession treaty includes Article 142, which stipulates that the Commission shall authorize Finland and Sweden to grant long-term national aids to ensure that agricultural activity is maintained in the northern regions. The Commission has approved, after appropriate presentations by the Member States concerned, aid schemes for both Member States.

The regions cover agricultural areas situated to the north of the 62nd parallel and some adjacent areas south of that parallel affected by comparable climatic conditions rendering agricultural activity particularly difficult. In determining those areas, the Commission has taken account in particular of the low population density, the agricultural area as a proportion of the overall surface area and the africultural area devoted to arable crops intended for human consumption. The Nordic areas thus limited cover 55.5% of the utilized agricultural area in Finland and 14% of that of Sweden.

The approved aid schemes correspond to the objectives set out in the third subparagraph of Article 142(3) since they are designed to maintain traditional primary production suited to the climatic conditions of the regions concerned, to improve production for agricultural products and facilitate their disposal and to ensure that the environment is protected and the countryside preserved.

2. The structural fund programmes for the new programming period starting from year 2000 onwards will be prepared taking into account the experience gained during the current and previous programming periods. During 1996, the Commission organized a conference in Cork, Ireland, to exchange ideas and experiences and to identify the most efficient principal components of integrated and pluridisciplinary rural development policy.

Following a report on the Northern dimension adopted by the Committee of the regions last year, the Commission together with the Finnish administration is organizing a seminar on the issue in Rovaniemi on 18 March 1997. The seminar will be a joint meeting with the Finnish, Swedish and Danish administrations, the Commission, and members of the Committee of the regions and the Parliament. Thereafter, a paper on the problems and specificities of this part of the Community will be prepared, on which basis a dialogue could be continued as part of the wider reflection on the future of the structural funds.

3. In order to facilitate mutual cooperation among northern regions of the Community, especially concerning the Baltic and Barents Sea regions, the Commission has adopted 11 different Community initiative Interreg II programmes. These programmes are Barents, North Calotte, Karelia, Kvarken-Mittskandia, South-East Finland, Sweden-Finland Islands, Coastal Finland, Nordic Green Belt, Inner Skandinavia, Borderless cooperation and Öresund region. In the various programmes there are, besides Finland or Sweden or Denmark, third countries included i.e. Norway, Russia and Estonia. Total Community funding, after the allocation of the Community reserve and without indexation, for Interreg II programmes in Finland is 44 mecu and in Sweden 39 mecu. In addition, Tacis resources are used to fund corresponding measures on the Russian side.