EN Official Journal of the European Union CE 84/939

(2004/C 84 E/1037)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1072/04

by Roberta Angelilli (UEN) to the Commission

(6 April 2004)

Subject: Commemoration in the town of Greccio of the first crib featuring live animals

Greccio, a town in the province of Rieti twinned with Bethlehem, is famous all over the world for the commemoration of the first crib featuring live animals, devised by St Francis in 1223. Since 1973 the local tourist board has committed itself to publicising and preserving this unique historic cultural event. As a result of the work done over the years interest in the event has increased considerably. It involves more than one thousand people in period costume and attracts thousands of visitors from all over the world.

The whole initiative is designed to promote the dissemination of culture and traditions across borders, which is one of the objectives of the ‘Culture 2000’ programme.

In view of this, can the Commission say:

1. what measures or programmes are envisaged to fund this kind of initiative in the context of ‘Culture 2000’;

2. whether the sector is included in the priorities for 2004;

3. whether this kind of event might be funded via other programmes, in addition to ‘Culture 2000’;

4. whether the Commission itself might sponsor the initiative?

Answer given by Mrs Reding on behalf of the Commission

(30 April 2004)

The Culture 2000 programme was established in order to encourage artistic and cultural cooperation in Europe and to work towards creating a common cultural area. It supports projects which have a European dimension in terms of their design, organisation and realisation. Accordingly, this programme awards funding to cultural cooperation projects run jointly by European partners in all artistic and cultural fields (the performing arts, fine arts, literature, heritage, cultural history, etc.).

A call for proposals is published every year to invite the submission of cultural cooperation projects to begin the following year. The call for proposals for projects beginning in 2004 was thus published in August 2003, with submission deadlines of 30 October and 14 November 2003, depending on the type of project. The call for proposals for projects beginning in 2005 should be published in the first half of 2004. The Commission has not set any specific priorities for this call for proposals.

In addition to the Culture 2000 programme, many other Community actions support cultural activities, e.g. the Structural Funds, as seen in a Commission working paper which was recently completed and is available on the Europa website at the following address: (http://europa.eu.int/comm/culture/eac/index_en.html). The town of Greccio, however, is not eligible for assistance from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) under the 2000-2006 programming exercise.

With regard to sponsorship, the criteria of a European dimension and a European element must be fulfilled. The Commission would be happy to examine any application for sponsorship submitted by the town of Greccio. However, sponsorship involves moral support which does not entail any financial obligation for the Commission, and no assumptions should be made on this basis concerning the outcome of any application for funding which may be submitted.