WRITTEN QUESTION E-1460/96 by Luigi Florio (UPE) to the Commission (12 June 1996)

Subject: EU funds and deadlines for submitting projects

One of the main criticisms generally levelled at the Commission is that it does not give enough publicity to its own initiatives, particularly those through which funding may be obtained.

A case in point this year is the pilot project under Raphael, the Community action programme to preserve and exploit Europe's baroque and archaeological heritage.

This initiative was officially announced in the Official Journal of 5 March 1996 which, as usual, was not available to the public until some weeks after the official date of publication.

However, the deadline set for submitting projects (which should actively involve at least three parties representing at least three countries) is 15 June, so that it is practically impossible to draw up proposals in time unless they are already in the drawer.

Does the Commission not think it should change its modus operandi, which merely distances the Community institutions from the people?

Does it not think it should allow more time (at least 6 months) between the date of publication in the OJ and the deadline for submitting projects?

Could it not actively publicize such initiatives so as to make them more accessible to all who might be interested?

Answer given by Mr Oreja on behalf of the Commission (22 July 1996)

As also acknowledged in its reply to written question E-1183/96 by Mr Moretti ((OJ C 305, 15.10.1996, p.59. )), the Commission is aware that, generally, the deadlines in question are short if one considers how important time is for applicants wishing to submit good and well prepared proposals. Nevertheless, consideration must also be given to the fact that, as the adoption of the Raphael programme is still pending, the Commission could announce the pilot actions in preparation for Raphael only in the beginning of the year and once there was certainty as to the financial resources allocated for 1996 by the budgetary authorities. Bearing this in mind together with the budgetary rules, which explicitly stipulate that all the credits have to be engaged within the year, it meant that the deadlines for submission of applications had to be set in such a way as to allow for a fair selection procedure before the summer holidays and thus notify the successful applicants in good time, as well as to allow for the proper execution of the budget before the end of the year. In this context, it is evident that despite the apparent unfairness created by the short time given to the applicants to prepare their proposals it would not have been realistic to provide for longer deadlines, as this would threaten the implementation of this year's important pilot actions and this would be nobody's interest.

The Commission would also like to inform the Honourable Member that despite the short deadlines there have been nearly 500 proposals submitted within the framework of the five pilot actions for 1996 and if one considers that each application concerns at least three partners from three different Member States then one can see the interest attracted even within a very short period of time.

Furthermore, this year must be considered as a transition period and once the Raphael programme is adopted, there will certainly be scope for providing longer deadlines as well as measures to publicize the Raphael initiatives to a wider public as the Honourable Member suggests.