WRITTEN QUESTION E-2453/97 by Frank Vanhecke (NI) to the Commission (16 July 1997)

Subject: Community subsidies

Under budget item B96 B3-4110 (transaction SOC96100859) a 'Woonfonds V.Z.W.' in Belgium received a subsidy of ECU 4655.63. The aim of the subsidy was: 'Contribution to the financing of the labour costs of a handyman and the operating expenses of maintaining dwellings let to migrant families.'

Can the Commission provide more precise information on this 'Woonfonds V.Z.W.'? In which Belgian province or town is it located? Is it a private organization?

Can the Commission provide the articles of association of this non-profit association?

Does the Commission not think that, by subsidizing one specific housing fund, it is guilty of positive discrimination?

Does the Commission also grant subsidies to housing funds concerned with letting and maintaining social housing to people irrespective of their nationality or religion?

If so, under which item of the budget do these subsidies fall?

Joint answer to Written Questions E-2451/97, E-2452/97, E-2453/97, E-2454/97, E-2455/97, E-2456/97, E-2457/97, E-2458/97, E-2459/97 and E-2460/97 given by Mr Flynn on behalf of the Commission (18 September 1997)

Budget line B3-4110 supports measures to encourage the integration of migrants and their families in the Member States. This support is granted in the form of co-funding, i.e. these actions must be part-financed by national, regional or local public or private authorities. Hence Community support is not a substitute for support which might be provided by the above-mentioned authorities, but supplements such support with a view to implementing a specific measure. The measure supported must be innovative, have a multiplier effect, and clear visibility and added value at Community level.

Funding applications are submitted by the interested bodies using a standard form. The eligibility conditions are described in a practical guide. A copy of this practical guide, including the standard form, has been sent directly to the Honourable Member as well as to the Secretariat-General of the Parliament.

There is no a priori breakdown between the Member States of the appropriations available under Budget line B3-4110. The Commission makes a selection from the numerous applications purely on the basis of quality considerations, bearing in mind the criteria and guidelines set out in the practical guide. The breakdown of appropriations which may emerge a posteriori between Member States varies greatly from year to year * a fact which should be interpreted with the utmost prudence, all the more so since a growing number of projects with a promoter established in one Member State have a transnational dimension, and so it would be unfair to consider that only one Member State stands to benefit from the appropriations for this project.

There is no a priori definition of the amount which may granted for a project. This amount is determined on the basis of the requests received and the rules of good financial and administrative management, and so it varies from project to project.

Funding requests addressed to the Commission are not public domain documents, and so the Commission cannot provide copies of them, just as it cannot provide copies of their annexes, such as the applicant bodies' articles of association. Generally speaking, the articles of association and the membership of the board of directors of non-profit associations are published in the official journal of the Member State concerned.

The application form and practical guide are available in the 11 Community languages. Requests may be submitted to the Commission in the language of the applicant's choice.

Actions supported under Budget line B3-4110 are subject to internal evaluation, as well as to an ex-post audit by the Commission, based on the reports received from the promoters and, where appropriate, on-the-spot visits.