WRITTEN QUESTION E-0103/01

by Benedetto Della Vedova (TDI) to the Commission

(29 January 2001)

Subject: Use of European Social Fund resources for the Edunet project

The company CST srl (Centro Servizi Terziario [Tertiary Services Centre], Via Tagliamento 45, I-00198 Rome) has been promoting the Edunet project, which falls under the ADAPT2 Community programme and is co-financed by the European Social Fund.

On 22 and 23 September 2000, a meeting of the General Council of the Italian trade union Fisascat-C was held at the Hotel Le Meridien (Promenade des Anglais, 1, Nice).

The agenda for the meeting shows that on 22 September some kind of round table on the Edunet Project had been scheduled for the two hours preceding the council meeting proper. CST had provided the participants in the Fisascat-Cisl General Council meeting with a contract to sign stating their involvement in the Edunet training programme, together with a form addressed to CST for the reimbursement of the expenses incurred for this international conference on the Edunet Project.

Clearly, the time devoted to the conference on the Edunet Project, assuming it actually took place, was minimal and insufficient to warrant the reimbursement of the expenses of those participating in the Fisascat-Cisl General Council meeting, at the expense of the funds earmarked for the Edunet Project. Given the above:

1. Can the Commission verify the above-mentioned events and, if necessary, refer the matter to the competent Italian authority?

2. Does it consider the use of European Social Fund resources for the funding of the day-to-day activities of internal trade union bodies to be compatible with the aims and objectives of the ESF (and of the ADAPT2 Community programme)?

3. What measures does the Commission intend to take and what control procedures does it intend to put in place should the above events be confirmed and should the Commission agree that Community rules have been breached?

Answer given by Ms Diamantopoulou on behalf of the Commission

(8 March 2001)

The Commission would point out that, ever since the reform of the Structural Funds in 1988 and 1989, the management of Community initiatives is now decentralised and is the sole responsibility of the competent national authority (for Italy: Ministero del Lavoro e della Previdenza Sociale, Ufficio centrale OFPL, Vicolo d'Aste 12, I-00159 Roma).

Accordingly, and for the specific case raised by the Honourable Member, the Commission has contacted the Italian Ministry of Labour, pointing out the need:

1. to check without delay: the expenditure and work of the Edunet project; whether the meeting in question took place; whether the work programme of the Edunet project warrants a meeting of this kind; whether the funding granted to the project has been used for purposes other than those for which the project was selected;

2. not to pay advances until there is absolute certainty about the organisation of the project and the use of the advances that have already been granted. To date, the project has received only 50 % of the European Social Fund (ESF) budget.

It should be pointed out that the Ministry of Labour has already provided the Commission with a copy of the letter of 8 March 2000 (Ref. 15497/AD) addressed to the promoter, in which the Ministry reminded the promoter that expenditure had to be directly and functionally related to the project.

It should also be stressed that the Italian administration plans to check the expenditure of all the projects when the programme is closed. This check is carried out by the inspectors of the Ministry of Labour. Although the Edunet project has come to an end, it is not yet considered to be closed by the national administration because it has not been subjected to the final checks.

The Commission reserves its right, depending on the answers given by the Ministry, to send the case to the control services.