WRITTEN QUESTION P-0535/01

by Wilhelm Piecyk (PSE) to the Commission

(16 February 2001)

Subject: Problems encountered in the funding of town-twinning schemes

Under the town-twinning scheme involving Scharbeutz in Germany and Navajas in Spain, pupils from a secondary school in Scharbeutz paid a visit to the Spanish town from 9 to 18 October 2000. The close relationship between the two towns, which has existed for 14 years and which has involved regular visits, has largely been funded by Commission grants. As part of the preparations for the visit in 2000, an application for a grant was submitted to the appropriate Commission department in the spring of 2000. Since experience has shown that decisions on applications are taken at a relatively late stage although they had been approved in all previous cases the organisers worked on the principle that the same procedure would apply this time as well. The application for a grant submitted by the Navajas authorities was eventually rejected, but not until 20 September 2000 i.e. at a very late stage, given the scheduled dates referred to above and the commitments already made. The visit did, however, take place, because of the commitments made and despite the lack of a grant, but the organisers are now finding it difficult to balance the books because of the Commission's failure to award the expected grant.

Partly with regard to the plans to reorganise this sector, I should like the Commission to answer the following questions:

1. Is it true that the appropriations entered in the budget to promote visits as part of town-twinning schemes and conferences and seminars in 2000 had already been exhausted by the spring of 2000? If so, why was the application not rejected earlier, so that alternative arrangements might have been made for the visit referred to above?

2. Is there any possibility of a grant being awarded retrospectively to fund this youth-exchange visit?

Answer given by Ms Reding on behalf of the Commission

(3 April 2001)

The Commission initiative to fund town-twinning projects has, in a sense, been the victim of its own success because the interest shown by local players in this initiative has far exceeded the budget available. In August 2000, the Commission informed those concerned of this situation through a notice published in the Official Journal(1).

Furthermore, certain difficulties with human resources in the relevant departments of the Commission (limited number of staff in comparison with the rapid increase in the number of applications) have meant that it has taken longer to process applications in recent years, which could go some way to explaining why applicants have received a late reply.

In order to rectify this situation and improve the management of this initiative at all levels selection, spreading of the grants throughout the year, rapid processing of applications the Commission has decided, in consultation with the partner organisations in the area of town-twinning (the representatives of 29 national sections of the Council of European Municipalities and Regions of Europe (CEMR) and the United Towns Organisation), to introduce in 2001 the call for proposals procedure, which is widely used in managing the Commission's grants.

It is not possible to grant retrospective funding for the initiative referred to by the Honourable Member, because the budget for 2000 has been used up and the budgetary resources for 2001 are earmarked for new projects and will be granted under the new procedure of a call for proposals.

(1) Notice on town-twinning grants (OJ C 238, 22.8.2000).