WRITTEN QUESTION E-2862/01

by Vincenzo Lavarra (PSE) to the Commission

(17 October 2001)

Subject: Requested extension of the deadline for Pesca and FIFG projects

31 December 2001 was set as the deadline for the implementation of projects carried out under the Financial Instrument for Fisheries Guidance 1994-1999 and the Pesca Community initiative. In this context three national consortia (Uniprom, Unicredito and Unimar) were set up in Italy cofinanced by the FIFG, as well as a number of service centres cofinanced by the Pesca initiative. Fishermen's organisations promote them and all fishermen are the ultimate beneficiaries.

The specific nature of these consortia initially created a number of problems in connection with the procedures to be adopted, the eligible expenditure, the guarantees to be provided, the documentation to be produced and the accounting implications, all of which had repercussions on the execution of projects, delaying their launch by approximately two years. Only later did the consortia and the service centres start to operate actively, which was welcomed by the broadest possible consensus in the sector.

The delays and initial difficulties are likely to prevent various projects from being completed, thereby harming the fisheries sector and jeopardising the presentation of its projects, which means that the resources made available may not be utilised and hence the objectives set with a view to reducing the disparity between the fisheries sector in Italy and the rest of Europe are being only partially achieved.

For this reason the co-operative fisheries movement requested a year's extension of the deadline for completion of the projects of the three consortia and the service centres, but instead of obtaining this extension, the Ministry for Agricultural and Forestry Policy brought forward the deadline for the conclusion, recording and certification of projects to 15 December 2001 in its note no 19675 of 17 July 2001.

It is established practice to put back the deadlines for presenting the accounts of expenditure, in order to allow the implementation of projects to be completed by the deadline (31 December 2001), as was in fact envisaged in the last sentence of Article 5 of Commission Decision No 41 of 19 May 1995, which mentions the final deadline by which the expenditure incurred in the operations concerned may be taken into account. In the light of all this, what are the Commission's intentions with regard to granting an extension of the deadlines for the FIFG and PESCA referred to above, in order to prevent the Italian fisheries sector from being penalised further?

Answer given by Mr Fischler on behalf of the Commission

(6 November 2001)

The Commission is ready to examine individually all programme extension requests duly made by Member States by 31 December 2001. It must stress that such action is warranted in only exceptional circumstances.

The Commission will in fact be able to accept only applications relating to either clearly identified error attributable solely to the Commission or force majeure, understood as disaster on a large scale with serious implications for implementation of programmes part-financed from the Structural Funds.

Late adoption of programmes is not in itself an adequate ground for deferring their payment time limits.

In any event the Commission cannot take a formal decision on this matter until an official request has been sent by the authorities responsible for management of the programmes.