WRITTEN QUESTION E-0791/03

by Stavros Xarchakos (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(14 March 2003)

Subject: EU funding of religious organisations

Reports have appeared in the international press about the funding of religious organisations through specific lines of the Community Budget and other Community initiatives.

Will the Commission give the names of these religious organisations (whether or not they are recognised) which have been funded under the Community Budget and say exactly how much money they have received since 1995? Have any Orthodox Christian organisations or institutions been funded over the same period and, if so, what are they? With enlargement could religious organisations and Churches from the new Member States (for example, the Church of Cyprus) receive funding from these Community initiatives so as to promote their social projects and strengthen mutual understanding and religious tolerance and, if so, from when? Could Churches from third countries with a huge social commitment (such as the Orthodox Church of Albania and others) be included in these Community initiatives?

Answer given by Mrs Reding on behalf of the Commission

(28 April 2003)

The Commission would like to inform the Honourable Member that the running costs of religious organisations are not funded by the EU.

Only the Church & Society Commission, an organisation based in Brussels which provides the secretariat for Soul for Europe and covers the main religious persuasions (Christian, Muslim and Jewish) and also the humanists, was awarded a grant for activities related to the coordination and representation of religious organisations at European level during the period 2000-2002. This grant is set aside by Parliament under budget line A-3021. The sums allocated for 2000, 2001 and 2002 were respectively EUR 44 000, EUR 41 000 and EUR 39 780.

The EU also awards grants on an annual basis to associations and federations of European interest, including religious ones, for European activities and projects carried out by these organisations, such as reflection on the ethical and spiritual values and sources of European integration.

Until 1998 these grants were awarded under heading A-3030 of the EU's general budget, and since 1998 they have been awarded under heading A-3024.

While organisations receiving grants must be legally constituted and registered in one of the fifteen Member States, activities may nevertheless be carried out in partnership with organisations from the accession countries.

With regard to Orthodox organisations and institutions, one body received a grant for the period 2000-2002. This was the Orthodox Academy of Crete, which received EUR 22 473,50 in 2000 and EUR 25 000 in 2002 for two different projects.

The grants must be submitted annually to the budgetary authority (Parliament and Council) and are due by 30 May 2003.

The Honourable Member can therefore access all information on grants awarded since 1995 in Parliament's library, in the Reports on Beneficiaries of Part A Commission Grants. These reports have also been published on Europa since 1998 and may be consulted at the following address: http://europa.eu.int/comm/secretariat_general/sgc/info_subv/beneficiaries_en.htm.