WRITTEN QUESTION P-0278/01

by Jean-Charles Marchiani (UEN) to the Commission

(2 February 2001)

Subject: European Union subsidies to twinned towns

In 1989, the European Parliament took the initiative of creating a budget heading designed to support town-twinning in Europe; as well as promoting relations between citizens of EU countries, this European Union aid is more crucial than ever both for regular endeavours at a local level and for exchanges between people of different countries, areas and cultures.

In an announcement made at the end of summer 2000, the Commission indicated that because of a lack of budget appropriations the programme for 2000 would be brought to a close sooner than had been planned. Additionally, it seems that a more selective and discouraging procedure is be introduced, to reduce the number of applications the Commission has to handle.

In view of the success of the vast town-twinning movement in Europe, does the Commission not, on the contrary, consider it vital to propose a significant increase in the appropriations granted for European town-twinning as part of the next preliminary draft budget for 2002?

Will the Commission also confirm its intention to take pains to ensure that the procedure for submitting applications remains accessible to the largest possible number of local authorities, and in particular to the smallest ones, and to this end to ensure it has adequate means to make the procedure better, more flexible and faster?

Finally, will the Commission say what criteria it considered relevant in taking the decision to propose measures which will clearly have an adverse impact on European town-twinning?

Answer given by Mrs Reding on behalf of the Commission

(28 March 2001)

The Commission is aware of the importance of the initiative to promote town twinning and believes that efficient and transparent management of this procedure is crucial to its success.

Due to the significant increase in the number of applications in recent years, the time required to process applications had increased considerably; in addition, the volume of subsidies applied for had eventually exceeded the available budget resources.

In order to improve the management of this initiative at all levels selection, distribution of aid over the year, rapid processing of applications the Commission has decided, following consultation with the organisations which play an active part in the promotion of town twinning, to introduce for 2001 the call for proposals procedure normally used for managing Commission subsidies. This procedure takes account of the specific characteristics of twinning and was designed to ensure broad access for all towns, irrespective of their size, and an equitable distribution of available funds throughout the year. A meeting with the representative organisations is planned in the course of 2001 to evaluate the new procedure.

The Commission recognises the importance of town-twinning measures in developing participative and active European citizenship. The estimate of the allocation to be provided for twinning in the 2002 preliminary draft budget (PDB) will take account of the current evaluation of the general constraints the Commission will experience in drawing up the preliminary draft budget.