WRITTEN QUESTION E-2423/01

by Michiel van Hulten (PSE) and Ieke van den Burg (PSE) to the Commission

(4 September 2001)

Subject: Implementation of the ESF in the Netherlands from 1994 to 1996

On 20 July 2001 Director-General Quintin wrote to the Netherlands government informing it of the commencement of the procedure provided for in Article 24 of Council Regulation (EEC) 4253/88(1) of 19 December 1988 in respect of the implementation, in the Netherlands, of projects financed by the European Social Fund over the period 1994 to 1996.

1. In her letter DG Quintin says that the Commission is considering extrapolating the results of the investigation by the accounting department of the Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment to all ESF co-funded projects from the period 1994 to 1996. Regulation (EEC) 448/2001(2) of 2 March 2001 states, however, that in the case of extrapolation a representative sample of transactions with like characteristics must be used. Does the Commission consider that it is wise to extrapolate on the basis of a very limited sample in terms of numbers?

2. The report by the accounting department of the Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment covers 45 projects. In the case of 12 of these 45 projects there was no longer any project administration in place. Regulation (EEC) 4253/88 stipulates that supporting documents for project expenditure must be kept and be available to the Commission for a period of three years after the last payment. Can the Commission indicate whether this requirement was satisfied in the case of the 12 projects concerned?

(1) OJ L 374, 31.12.1988, p. 1.

(2) OJ L 64, 6.3.2001, p. 13.

Answer given by Mrs Diamantopoulou on behalf of the Commission

(17 October 2001)

1. Commission Regulation (EEC) No 448/2001 of 2 March 2001(1) does not apply to the 1994-1999 programming period.

Although the Commission insisted on a sample covering at least 5 % of total expenditure and of the number of projects, i.e. approximately 200 projects, the Dutch authorities conducted an investigation on a sample of 45 projects.

In his report, the accountant of the Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment concludes that an extension of this investigation would require a disproportionate investment of time, and recommends that no further investigation into 1994-1996 should be undertaken and that the findings of this report should be used for reaching an agreement with the Commission on the amount to be reimbursed.

In view of these conclusions, the Commission based its action on the information available.

2. Article 23(3) of Council Regulation (EEC) No 4253/88 of 19 December 1988(2) states that for a period of three years following the last payment in respect of any operation, the responsible body or authorities shall keep available for the Commission all the supporting documents regarding expenditure and checks on the operation. This period is still running for the European Social Fund (ESF) programmes 1994-1999. The internal accounting department of the Ministry has established that 12 projects did not meet this criterion.

(1) Commission Regulation (EC) No 448/2001 of 2 March 2001 laying down detailed rules for the implementation of Council Regulation (EC) No 1260/1999 as regards the procedure for making financial corrections to assistance granted under the Structural Funds.

(2) Council Regulation (EEC) No 4253/88 of 19 December 1988, laying down provisions for implementing Regulation (EEC) No 2052/88 as regards coordination of the activities of the different Structural Funds between themselves and with the operations of the European Investment Bank and the other existing financial instruments (OJ L 374, 31.12.1988, p.1), lastly amended by Council Regulation (EC) No 3193/94 of 19 December 1994 (OJ L 337, 24.12.1994).