WRITTEN QUESTION P-2291/96 by Susan Waddington (PSE) to the Commission (30 July 1996)

Subject: Restoration of the historic centre of Valencia

Taking advantage of the fact that the fifth centenary of Valencia University coincides with the beginning of the third millennium, a group of public and private bodies has drawn up the 'Vives' project designed to restore the historic city centre of Valencia and turn it into a cultural centre on the basis of the most up-to-date information technologies.

Those taking part in the project, coordinated by Valencia University, include the University-Business foundation of Valencia, the City Council, the Provincial Council, the Council for Culture and Education, the Ministry for Cultural Affairs and a number of European universities, such as Salamanca, Toulouse, Catania and Bologna.

The aims of the project, apart from the physical restoration of some of the premises of Valencia University, include setting up a cultural and educational complex to teach people about the history of universities, the influence they have on their surroundings and the importance of conserving the cultural heritage. For this purpose the promoters envisage the creation of a university museum and a permanent exhibition hall, the compiling of a CD-ROM on historic universities, the preparation of teaching aids for instruction in cultural management and the setting up of a data-processing network connected up to the Internet to involve other European universities in the project.

The Vives project is in line with the priority objectives of the White Paper on Growth and Employment, i.e. fostering technical innovation, the information society, the creation of new sources of jobs, in particular local jobs and ones which promote equal opportunities. Two important features of the project are its aim to exploit cultural opportunities and the social rehabilitation of an area of Valencia which has deteriorated.

What types of measure does the Commission intend to introduce to back this important project for the cultural and social rehabilitation of the largest historical city centre in Spain?

Answer given by Mr Oreja on behalf of the Commission (1 October 1996)

It is with initiatives such as the interesting project to restore the historic centre of Valencia and turn it into a cultural centre with the use of the up-to-date information technologies that the Commission is tackling some of the problems facing Europe's architectural heritage.

To this effect, and based on paragraph 4 of Article 128 of the new Treaty on European Union and Article 10 of the Feder, the Commission does support cooperation projects which aim at the revitalisation of Europe's historic architectural heritage, such as the initiative supported by the Honourable Member, in cultural, social and economic terms.

Furthermore, the Commission would like to inform the Honourable Member that the project in question could be taken into consideration within the framework of the 'Raphael' programme after its approval by the Parliament and the Council. The eligibility conditions and the application procedure will be given the widest possible publicity in the form of calls for proposals which will be announced in the Official Journal.