WRITTEN QUESTION E-0609/96 by Mihail Papayannakis (GUE/NGL) to the Commission (13 March 1996)

Subject: Special programme for the Aegean islands

Whereas:

- the Greek Aegean islands have special development problems because of their insular nature which is compounded by the fact that there are a great many small islands scattered over a wide area,- the problems consist in the inadequate transport links with mainland Greece and between the islands, getting supplies to the islands and trading with them, poor services for the islanders (training/education, health, energy supplies etc.), an ageing and declining population (during the 60s and 70s the population of Lesbos and Samos fell by 20% and in Chios and the Cyclades by 13%),- the northern Aegean is one of the poorest regions in the EU with a per capita GDP 45% below the Community average,- there is a special programme for the Aegean islands (COM(92)569 final) ((OJ C 56, 26.2.1993, p. 21)),

Will the Commission say:

1. What resources were available through the special programme and other Community initiatives for structural measures in the Aegean islands? What percentage of Community appropriations did the Greek authorities take up? What projects were involved and to what extent have they been carried out?

2. How does the Joint Steering Committee, which was set up by the Commission and the Greek authorities in January 1995 to oversee the projects, view the effectiveness of the above programmes to date? And

3. Which Aegean island projects have been put forward for funding now that a substantial increase in resources has been made available for Objetive 1 regions?

Answer given by Mrs Wulf-Mathies on behalf of the Commission (8 May 1996)

1. The Commission has allocated funds for the following structural operations in the Aegean:

- Integrated Mediterranean Programmes (IMPs) 1986-92: the Aegean islands received some ECU 230 million under these programmes, 55% of all investment of this type in Greece. All the funds were taken up and were used to finance about 300 projects with objectives such as improvement of communications, better management of mass tourism and support for the primary sector (agriculture, rural facilities, fisheries and agritourism).

- Community support framework (CSF) 1989-93: this provided financing for two multifund operational programmes, one for the northern Aegean and one for the southern Aegean, providing ECU 86 million and 82 million respectively for some 400 projects. All the funds were absorbed. Operations carried out under these programmes, which ran in parallel and in liaison with the Aegean IMP, concerned transport infrastructure, social and educational infrastructure, water supplies, sewage facilities and biological treatment, services for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and vocational training.

Most of the ECU 48 million from the European Regional Development Fund for the building of reservoirs under the agricultural structures operational programme were used in the Aegean.

The 1994-99 CSF will see a stepping-up of Community financing, with ECU 210 million for the northern Aegean and ECU 224 million for the southern Aegean. Implementation of projects has already started.

- A number of Aegean islands have also received funding under the Star and Valoren programmes. The ERDF provided 55% of the total cost of developing wind power on islands in the southern and northern Aegean. The Star programme cofinanced optical fibre cables between some northern Aegean islands and the mainland.

- The special programme for the Aegean islands cofinanced a number of small, grassroots projects, despite its small budget of ECU 14 million, now exhausted.

- Council Regulation (EEC) No 2019/93 ((OJ L 184, 27.7.1993. )) provides support for the supply of staple agricultural products and the means of production to the islands and for local agricultural production. This funding from the European Guidance and Guarantee Fund is expected to run at ECU 17 million annually. The Commission is currently drawing up a report on the implementation of activities in 1993 and 1994 which will be sent to the Council and Parliament.

- Leader I: two local action groups in Lesbos and Limnos were granted ECU 3 million in structural funds for rural development, and all the funds have been used. The structural funds will play a much bigger role under Leader II once the procedure for selecting local groups has been completed.

- Other operations have been cofinanced under Interreg I, Interreg II and Envireg.

2. The public works committee does not deal specifically with the Aegean islands but the improvements in Greek public works procedures will also benefit the islands.

3. I refer the Honourable Member to point 1 or he may contact the national authorities who provide the secretariat for the monitoring committees of the programmes referred to here.