WRITTEN QUESTION P-1391/96 by Concepció Ferrer (PPE) to the Commission (22 May 1996)

Subject: Breakdown of funding for national initiatives under objective 2

The Commission recently decided on the breakdown of funding for national initiatives (1997-1999) under objective 2 (by Member State) and on the reserve for Community initiatives (by Member State and by initiative).

Will it provide definitive tables at 1994 prices for each of the fifteen Member States concerning:

- the breakdown of funding for national initiatives for each objective,

- the breakdown of funding for Community initiatives for each initiative?

Will it also provide whatever information is currently available concerning innovatory measures and pilot projects, by category of expenditure and for each of the four Funds?

Answer given by Mrs Wulf-Mathies on behalf of the Commission (17 June 1996)

1. The Commission is sending direct to the Honourable Member and to Parliament's Secretariat a table giving a breakdown of resources under the structural funds, Community support frameworks (CSFs) and single programming documents (SPDs) for 1994-99, by Member State and by objective. The amounts are expressed at 1995 prices for the three new Member States and 1994 prices for the other 12 countries.

2. The Commission is sending direct to the Honourable Member and to the Secretariat a table containing a breakdown, by field and by Member State, of the funding for Community initiatives for the entire period 1994-99, at 1995 prices.

3. a) For this programming period (1995-99), the budget for cofinancing innovatory measures and pilot projects under Article 10 of the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) is around ECU 400 million. The breakdown of the financial resources is as follows, by type of operation:

- intra-Community and extra-Community inter-regional cooperation will have a budget of ECU 180 million. The calls for proposals are to be published in July;

- there is a budget of ECU 90 million for innovation aimed at regional and local economic development. The calls for proposals have been published and the projects presented are being analysed and selected;

- a call for proposals has been issued for land-use planning and closes on 8 July. The budget is ECU 45 million;

- urban pilot projects will have a budget of ECU 80 million. The call for a proposal closed on 29 April and the projects are being analysed and selected.

b) The list of innovatory measures approved in 1994 and 1995 under Article 6 of Regulation (EEC) No 4255/88 (as amended) concerning the European Social Fund (ESF) is being sent direct to the Honourable Member and to the Secretariat. ((OJ L 193, 31.7.1993. ))

c) Various types of measure (including pilot projects) can be financed under Article 8 of Regulation (EEC) No 4256/88 (as amended) concerning the European Guidance and Guarantee Fund (EAGGF) for up to 1% of its annual budget. 1 These operations are financed in the form of individual measures appraised and administered by the Commission separately from the CSFs, SPDs and operational programmes. The pilot projects are selected on the basis of calls for proposals published in the Official Journal. There is no prior allocation of funds by Member State, objective or financial year.

By way of information, a table sent direct to the Honourable Member and the Secretariat shows the breakdown for previous years of EAGGF cofinancing by Member State, under Article 8 of Regulation (EEC) No 4256/88.

d) In the case of the financial instrument for fisheries guidance (FIFG), a total sum of some ECU 12 million a year is available for studies, pilot schemes, demonstration programmes, and the provision of services and technical assistance with the particular aim of preparing, monitoring and evaluating fisheries operations. Since many of the operations financed by the FIFG in this context are transnational, no details are given by Member State.