WRITTEN QUESTION P-2772/02

by Giovanni Pittella (PSE) to the Commission

(25 September 2002)

Subject: Public and open procedure pursuant to Law 236/93

V.I.L.A srl (limited liability company) took part in two invitations to tender published in the Official Gazette of the Italian Republic pursuant to Article 1(b) of Italian Law 236/93 (Development Fund) in connection with a programme called Casalgian. On 19 April 2001 it signed, with the Ministry of Employment, an agreement establishing the amount of the respective contributions from national funds, Community cofinancing and the private sector. The Development Fund provides for and allows access to Community funds for investment programmes proposed by promoters. The purpose of the Casalgian programme, which covers the territory of the Salerno, Avellino and Benevento provinces, is the creation of

new employment, and consequently the provincial authorities undertook to grant access to Community funds if the project was approved. The project had been favourably assessed by the Government, partly by virtue of the agreement that had already been signed with other bodies, including the Region of Campania.

The Province of Salerno, as the lead Campanian province involved, adopted, even before the co-signature of the agreement by the Ministry of Employment, a decision (No 133 of 14 March 2001) stating that the Province of Salerno would undertake, in accordance with the role conferred on it by the Regional Operational Programme, to ensure that cofinancing for the completion of the Casalgian project was provided from ROP funds.

The Region of Campania, despite having delivered a favourable assessment of the programme, despite wishing to finance the programme by means of Community funds and despite wishing to uphold the decisions made by the provinces of Salerno, Avellino and Benevento, says that it cannot grant access to Community funds because V.I.L.A. srl did not participate in open public procedures administered directly by the Region of Campania.

The Commission:

- would it state whether V.I.L.A. srl, by participating in two invitations to tender published in the Official Gazette of the Italian Republic pursuant to Article 1(b) of Italian Law 236/93, has complied with the open and public procedure stipulated by the Commission as a prerequisite for access to Community funds under the ROP?

- would it state whether the Campania Region is obliged to grant the relevant cofinancing for the completion of the programme from Community funds, not least in view of the role of the Province in administering the ROP?

Answer given by Mrs Diamantopoulou on behalf of the Commission

(21 October 2002)

The Honourable Member is asking the Commission to give its view on a specific case: access by the company V.I.L.A. srl to European funding managed by the region of Campania within the framework of Objective 1 Italy.

In accordance with the principle of subsidiarity, the evaluation and selection of projects proposed for co-financing from the Structural Funds, as well as their implementation, are the responsibility of the regional and national managing authorities.

The Community Support Framework for the Italian Objective 1 regions and the Regional Operational Programme for the region of Campania provide that access to European funding must be granted in a transparent manner and projects selected in conformity with European legislation governing competition and the free movement of services.

Funding is granted when the project has been approved in accordance with the aforementioned rules and has been included on the list of successful applications on the basis of the quality of its content. Any subsequent objections fall within the remit of the judiciary of the Member State.

It is clear from the Honourable Member's explanations that the Campania region did not deny the company V.I.L.A. srl access to European funding but merely asked it to take part in a public tender.

The Commission would also like to point out to the Honourable Member that, following an inquiry by the Italian judiciary, the Italian Ministry of Labour, by Decree No 189/99 of 21 May 1999, had suspended some Community funding granted to the company V.I.L.A. srl. This concerned projects No 722, P.O.M. FSE 940026I, No IC/208IY and No IC/209IN on the P.O. FSE 941001I8 and No IC/194/A on the P.O. 946001I8. V.I.L.A. srl brought an action for annulment of the Decree before the Campania Regional Administrative Court (TAR), but the Campania TAR dismissed the action by Decree No 2145 of 25 August 1999. The Commission is following the investigation through the Italian Ministry of Labour, which is responsible for the programmes concerned.

The Commission would like to indicate to the Honourable Member that the competent managing authority in this case is the Regione Campania, Assessorato alla formazione professionale, via S. Lucia, 81 Napoli, Tel. 00817966303.