WRITTEN QUESTION P-2752/02

by Joan Colom i Naval (PSE) to the Commission

(25 September 2002)

Subject: Budget execution of Category 2 of the financial perspective in 2002

The Commission has stated that as at 12 September 2002 a total of EUR 1 501 million in commitment appropriations had not yet been committed.

Does the Commission believe it is possible to ensure execution of the EUR 1 330 million corresponding to the Cohesion Fund before the end of the budget year?

What is the execution percentage provided for in the case of the Community Initiatives and, in particular, Article B2-141 on aid to border regions in the applicant countries?

Does the Commission consider it possible or desirable to use a part of the commitment appropriations which are likely not to be committed to provide the EUR 27 million which are still lacking for the programme for the restructuring of the fleet which formerly fished in Moroccan waters, and which, while initially not included in the 2002 budget, should be committed before the end of 2003?

Answer by Ms Schreyer on behalf of the Commission

(4 November 2002)

The Honourable Member is referring to the use of commitment appropriations in heading 2 of the financial perspective. The commitment appropriations not yet committed relate primarily to the Cohesion Fund.

Current implementation of the Cohesion Fund is running above the rate predicted by the Commission in its original implementation plan for September 2002, which was sent to the budgetary authority. It corresponds to the position as at September 2001, a year in which resources were in the end almost fully utilised. In the case of the Cohesion Fund, the resources for each project were committed separately. There is no provision for the automatic commitment of appropriations characteristic of nearly all the Structural Funds. This explains why payments of Cohesion Fund resources are concentrated so heavily at the end of the year.

The Commission has so far not had any indication that the commitment appropriations for the Cohesion Fund could not be sufficiently implemented in 2002.

Efforts are currently being made to use up virtually all the commitment appropriations available for the Community initiatives. The current utilisation rate is 96,3 %. The commitment appropriations still available are intended primarily for the Community initiatives for border areas (Interreg). Within the limits of its powers, the Commission will do everything to ensure that these programmes are accepted by the end of 2002 or to satisfy the requirements for a transfer of resources.

Other commitment appropriations that have not yet been committed relate to the EQUAL and Leader initiatives. Some of these resources will very probably be deployed at the end of 2002.

It has already been possible, however, to use up all the resources for the new budget line Support for regions bordering candidate countries (B2-1411) by allocating them to specific operations under the existing Interreg programmes.

In the Commission's view, it will not be possible to find in heading 2 the EUR 27 million needed to finance the restructuring of the fishing fleet deployed in Moroccan waters. The only conclusion one can draw from an examination of all the relevant Structural Fund lines is that EUR 9 million has not been used and is available for partial prefinancing of the EUR 27 million in 2002. In any event, for the purposes of the 2003 budget, it will be necessary to resort to the flexibility instrument in respect of this financing.