WRITTEN QUESTION E-1183/96 by Luigi Moretti (ELDR) to the Commission (15 May 1996)

Subject: Raphael Community action programme

Four calls for proposals for preparing and implementing the Raphael Community action programme ((OJ C 67, 5.3.1996, pp. 8-15. )) were published in the EC Official Journal of 5 March 1996.

The final deadlines for submitting applications for the various actions are 15 May 1996 or 15 June 1996, with no possibility of extension.

The Commission made the application forms available in English immediately, while the Italian and other language versions were not released until after 23 April.

Does the Commission not agree that this lack of organization will give rise to a form of 'unfair competition'?

Does it not agree that 'inefficiencies' and defaulting by some Member States are fostered by a Community policy which pays scant regard to the public's actual needs?

Does it not agree that a great many individuals and companies will be excluded in this way from taking part in the Community initiatives?

Does the Commission intend to extend the deadlines for applications for the countries penalized by this Community 'disservice' so as to ensure that they can participate under equal conditions?

Answer given by Mr Oreja on behalf of the Commission (25 June 1996)

The Commission has been fully aware of the problems caused by the delay in releasing simultaneously in all official Community languages the application forms of the four calls for proposals related to the preparation for the implementation of the Raphael programme. It is for this reason that the deadline for submission of applications related to the pilot action in favour of further training and mobility of professionals in the field of cultural heritage conservation was extended until 30 May 1996, bringing it in line with the deadline concerning the pilot action for proposals of activities or events of a European dimension in favour of preservation and increased awareness of European cultural heritage.

The Commission is also aware that, generally, the deadlines in question are short if one considers how important time is for applicants wishing to submit well prepared proposals. Nevertheless, consideration must also be given to the fact that as the adoption of the Raphael programme is still pending, the Commission could announce the pilot actions in question only in the beginning of the year and once there was certainty as to the financial resources allocated for 1996 by the budgetary authorities. Bearing this in mind, together with the budgetary rules, which explicitly stipulate that all the credits have to be engaged within the year, it meant that the deadlines for submission of applications would have to be set in such a way as to allow for a fair selection procedure before the summer holidays and thus notify the successful applicants in good time, as well as to allow for the proper execution of the budget before the end of the year. In this context, it is evident that despite the apparent unfairness created by the delayed release of the application forms in all the official languages it is not realistic to extend the deadlines of submission as this would threaten the implementation of this year's important pilot actions. This would be in nobody's interest.

Certainly, the Commission would have liked to release the application forms in all languages simultaneously if that was practically possible. The English version was released first because, as it happens, this was the language in which the applications were produced before translation. This release allowed the parties indicating an interest in the pilot actions to acquire a more clear idea of how to present their proposals, whilst waiting the arrival of the application forms in their own language.

It is also important to stress that although the application form is important in preparing a proposal, the calls for proposals, published on 5 March 1996, were sufficiently clear and with adequate information on the criteria and objectives governing the pilot actions, to make it comparatively easy for applicants to start preparing all the necessary elements for their submissions.