WRITTEN QUESTION P-2019/99

by Astrid Thors (ELDR) to the Commission

(29 October 1999)

Subject: EU-PHARE R09893-02 Support for child protection reform in Romania

The Commission has suspended the invitation to tender in respect of the above programme of aid for structural reforms in the childcare sector in Romania. Instead, it is allocating the entire 1998 budget for childcare in Romania ( 10 million) to providing basic supplies of food, medicine and the like for children in institutions. Budgetary resources are being allocated in a similar way for 1999.

Children in Romania live in exceptionally harsh conditions which necessitate both short-term support measures and long-term reforms in order to safeguard their rights and ensure that they are cared for. The reallocation of budgetary resources means that the long-term measures will not be implemented. This will delay the reforms that the Commission's strategy document on enlargement says are a precondition for opening EU membership negotiations with Romania. The Commission President placed particular emphasis on this condition when he spoke to Members of the European Parliament on enlargement on 13 October 1999.

Is the Commission's suspension of support for structural reforms in the childcare sector not inconsistent with the priority it accords to such reforms? Are there no other means of ensuring short-term support for children in institutions in Romania that would not jeopardise the long-term reforms, and when does the Commission intend to resume providing support for the reform effort?

Answer given by Mr Verheugen on behalf of the Commission

(24 November 1999)

The 1997 Commission opinion(1) and successive regular reports(2) have highlighted the serious situation in the field of childcare in Romania. PHARE has contributed funds since the early nineties, first as humanitarian assistance, later focussing on the preparation of a reform of the child protection sector. The Commission has always worked on both the short term and longer term aspects of child care in Romania.

Living conditions in all child care institutions have deteriorated very seriously in 1999 as a result of financial and administrative problems. The Prime Minister of Romania, Mr Vasile, requested urgent assistance in May 1999. At the request of the Commission, inspectors have visited institutions to identify humanitarian needs and have reported that while conditions are not equally bad in all institutions, the general situation in summer 1999 could only be described as unacceptable in terms of basic infrastructure as well as hygiene, medical care, nutrition and general assistance.

Faced with a very grave humanitarian situation the Commission has made every effort to mobilise funds quickly. The Commission's Humanitarian Office (ECHO) initiated a programme ( 1,75 million), but much larger sums were needed. The most effective way to mobilise PHARE funds was to cancel the tender in order to make 8,5 million of the 10 million immediately available for basic needs. Food, vitamins and other basic supplies will be provided for a period of nine months to the 157 child care institutions in greatest need. The reallocated funds will also provide for basic repairs of heating, roofs and sanitary equipment. At the same time, the Commission has been pressing the Romanian authorities to set up a single authority responsible for all children in care, to provide adequate funding from the national budget and to pursue longer term child care strategies based on international standards and practice. The remaining 1,5 million will be used to set up a technical assistance team in Romania to monitor the humanitarian assistance, to support the single authority and to help Romania set norms for appropriate standards for all residential childcare institutions.

In the 1999 PHARE budget a further 25 million has been allocated for child protection. Part of this amount will be used to assist the authorities with the structural reform of the childcare sector and part will be needed for basic supplies. The decision on the division of the funds will be based on information provided by the technical assistance team which monitors the humanitarian assistance. The reform, based on the decentralisation to local authorities of responsabilities for child protection, and the development of new child protection services should provide an alternative to the traditional approach of placing children in institutions and thus eventually lead to a reduced number of children in the existing institutions.

(1) COM(97) 2003 final.

(2) COM(1999) 510 final.