WRITTEN QUESTION E-1114/03

by Roberta Angelilli (UEN) to the Commission

(1 April 2003)

Subject: Use of funds from the Ecos-Ouverture II programme by the municipality of Prato

In September 2002, the monitoring committee of the Italian Ministry for Economic Affairs issued a report on the spending of EU funds.

The report reveals the alarming slowness and inefficiency with which EU funds are allocated to projects by some regional authorities.

The grave concerns about the inadequate use of European funds by local authorities have frequently been echoed by the Commission.

Bearing in mind that some local authorities, such as the municipality of Prato, urgently need to use European funds to promote cooperation between regional operators from different geographical areas with a view to creating a common project based on the sharing of experience or know-how, to promote decentralisation, thereby encouraging the development of competencies at regional and local level, and to strengthen the operating capacity and working methods of local and regional authorities in Central and Eastern European countries, as well as those of socio-economically underdeveloped regions of the EU,

can the Commission state:

1. whether the municipality of Prato has submitted projects for the Ecos-Ouverture II programme?

2. whether the municipality of Prato has secured funding for these projects?

3. whether this funding has been used?

Joint answerto Written questions E-0832/03, E-0891/03, E-1104/03,E-1105/03, E-1106/03, E-1107/03, E-1108/03, E-1109/03, E-1110/03,E-1111/03, E-1112/03, E-1113/03, E-1114/03, E-1115/03 and E-1116/03given by Mr Barnier on behalf of the Commission

(25 April 2003)

Article 10 of the Council Regulation (EEC) No 2083/93 of 20 July 1993 amending Regulation (EEC) No 4254/88 laying down provisions for implementing Regulation (EEC) No 2052/88 as regards the European Regional Development Fund(1) provided a mechanism for financing innovative regional development measures, including inter-regional co-operation with partners outside the Union. This was the ECOS- Ouverture II programme, led by Directorate General (DG) Regional Policy and also co-funded by DG Enlargement with its PHARE programme.

Under the ECOS-Ouverture programme, two Calls for Proposals were published, on in 1997 and one in 1998. Both times the Commission received more than 300 applications. Following a selection procedure applying the criteria published in the Calls for Proposals, a total of 63 projects were selected. The projects started between the end of 1998 and the beginning of 2000, and closed between the end of 2001 and the beginning of 2003.

Among the local authorities referred to in the above mentioned written questions, only the municipalities of Perugia and Terni applied for funding under the ECOS-Ouverture programme in 1997. Perugia applied again in 1998 with two different projects. Also in 1998, Firenze, Pistoia Provincia and Prato applied each with one project and Siena with two projects. None of the projects submitted by the mentioned local authorities were selected for funding.

Thirty other Italian local authorities are represented as principal partners in the ECOS-Ouverture II programme. This is the highest number of principal partners per country in this programme.

Until the Commission has completed examination of the ECOS-Ouverture projects' final reports in the coming months, it will not be possible to say whether all of these Italian principal partners were able to use all their funding. However, the experience with the projects that are already closed shows that it is seldom the case that the funds available under the ECOS-Ouverture programme are under-spent.

(1) OJ L 193, 31.7.1993.