WRITTEN QUESTION P-0807/00

by Elizabeth Montfort (UEN) to the Commission

(9 March 2000)

Subject: Financial assistance to disaster areas in the Auvergne region of France

Further to the statement by Mr Michel Barnier, Member of the Commission, in plenary in January 2000 concerning the damage caused by the storms and the note from Mr Romano Prodi, President of the Commission, to Mr Lionel Jospin, Prime Minister, what practical measures can Auvergne expect from the Commission:

1. as a matter of urgency, on account of the risks of phytosanitary and water pollution?

2. financial measures:

- under the EAGGF-Guarantee Section (Article 33 of Council Regulation (EC) No 1257/1999(1) which provides for measures in the event of a natural disaster) and the use of aid to forestry,

- areas eligible under Objective 2 (flexible application of criteria),

- outside areas,

- LIFE programme,

- to complement national or local aid, will the Commission adopt a more flexible approach to State aid to enterprises?

3. fiscal measures: for how long will the Commission grant an exemption from the principle of free competition by authorising France to reduce the VAT rate from 20,6 % to 5,5 % for numerous forestry activities?

4. logistic measures: what coordination is to be anticipated under the Community action programme for civil protection adopted by the Council on 9 December 1999?

(1) OJ L 160, 26.6.1999, p. 80.

Answer given by Mr Barnier on behalf of the Commission

(7 April 2000)

1. The Community budget contains no heading for emergencies caused by natural disasters. This means that the Commission will try to provide the regions affected with the reconstruction aid they need under the existing instruments.

2. The Structural Funds do not constitute emergency aid. However, the scope of their work means that they can provide significant aid for the economic and social development of the disaster regions.

Under Regulation (EC) No 1257/1999 concerning support for rural development by the European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund (EAGGF) and amending and repealing certain Regulations(1), the French authorities presented a national rural development programme which includes substantial support for forestry and will apply throughout the country, including therefore Auvergne. In this context, in January 2000 the French authorities requested additional measures to reconstitute the forests destroyed by the storms. Other complementary measures on forestry and timber storage and protection were also introduced then. The whole application is currently being considered and is the subject of negotiations between the Commission and the French Ministry of Agriculture. The Commission is already favourably disposed towards these proposals and a final decision on the programme should be taken early in the second half of this year.

The Auvergne region, like the other regions of metropolitan France, will continue to be partially eligible under the new Objective 2 of the Structural Funds during the period 2000-2006. The French authorities announced that they would submit the draft single programming documents no later than the end of April. If that date is respected, expenditure before 1 January 2000 will be eligible retrospectively.

For example, the Objective 2 programmes will be able to finance the reconstitution of production infrastructure and equipment and the restoration of historic sites, if these measures are selected by the regional partnership. The same arrangements may also apply in areas receiving transitional support because they are no longer eligible for Community funds in the new period although they received them previously.

The Life Regulation, which is being revised, contains no provision for granting emergency aid other than its usual procedure of calls for projects. However, it is possible that certain projects under Life-Nature could be redesigned to take account of the damage caused to sites or species of Community interest, insofar as this complies with the objectives of the projects.

National tax aid for the forestry sector, which the French Government intends to notify to the Commission, will be examined under Article 87 (formerly Article 92) (2)(b) of the EC Treaty, which permits the Member States to provide aid to make good the damage caused by natural disasters. To qualify, the link between damage and the aid has to be established clearly and the aid may cover only the damage caused. The Commission has undertaken to examine the French requests as soon as possible in order to take account of the emergency to which they relate.

3. The application by France of a reduced rate of VAT to certain forestry operations does not result from an exemption from the Sixth VAT Directive (77/388/EEC)(2). It is the result of an exchange of letters between the French authorities and the Commission, following which the Commission stated that this Directive, and in particular the combined application of Article 12(3)(a) and Category 10 of Annex H, does not prevent application of a reduced rate to certain forestry operations, provided that the conditions laid down in the Directive are observed. Accordingly, no time limit was placed on the operation of this arrangement.

4. In addition to these specific answers, the Commission has sought to launch a broad debate on the ability of the Community to provide itself with a genuine capacity for civil protection.

(1) OJ L 160, 26.6.1999.

(2) OJ L 145, 13.6.1977, last amended by Directive 1999/85/EC (OJ L 277, 28.10.1999).