WRITTEN QUESTION P-0554/97 by Doeke Eisma (ELDR) to the Commission (14 February 1997)

Subject: ECOS/Ouverture programmes

Reports have reached me from several sources concerning problems with the implementation of projects covered by the ECOS and Ouverture programmes. ECOS and Ouverture were merged some time ago and that process has delayed implementation of current programmes by several months. Not only was it necessary to wait several months for definitive approval before starting, it also turned out that the conditions previously laid down for projects to be implemented had been changed. This state of affairs has cost many towns in the European Union and elsewhere unnecessarily large sums of money. It has also caused widespread disillusion, with the result that willingness to participate in these project has declined sharply.

1. Is the Commission fully aware of the problems with the ECOS and Ouverture programmes? If so, has the Commission already taken steps to resolve them?

2. Does the Commission consider it acceptable for towns in the EU and elsewhere to have been taken advantage of in order to bring about internal reorganization within ECOS and Ouverture?

3. What arrangements is the Commission making to compensate for the not inconsiderable loss of goodwill and financial hardship that have been caused by this mismanagement?

Answer given by Mrs Wulf-Mathies on behalf of the Commission (25 March 1997)

1. Between 1990 and 1996 the Commission granted ECU 55 million to the ECOS- Ouverture pilot projects.

In order to improve the monitoring of inter-regional cooperation projects, in 1994 the Commission encouraged those responsible for ECOS-Ouverture to amalgamate their management structures. It is true that this merger took more than a year but, since it had many aspects - organizational, legal and financial - and a balance had to be sought between the two original structures, this period could not be shortened, despite the efforts made by the Commission to promote an agreement between the parties. However, the merger process did not halt the financing of inter-regional cooperation. Submissions were organized every year from 1991 to May 1996. It is therefore not true that cities and regions both inside and outside the Community suffered as a result of the management rationalization which was going on at the same time.

2. With regard to the arrangements for launching the 1996 pilot projects, the Commission was obliged to prepare - at the explicit request of the Member States when the Structural Funds were revised in 1993 and in accordance with the repeated comments of the Court of Auditors - new guidelines on pilot and cooperation projects, including clearer procedural rules. This change occurred during 1995 and therefore concerned only the projects submitted to the Commission in May 1996. The large number of proposals received at this point - over 250 - shows that the more stringent requirements imposed by the Commission did not dissuade the local authorities involved in these Community measures but rather resulted in a qualitative improvement in projects.

3. As far as the time required to launch 50 projects selected in September 1996 is concerned, once these projects had been selected, the improvements recommended by the committee of experts had to be incorporated.

The Commission also wished to assess the results of the measures carried out using the first funds previously granted to ECOS-Ouverture before paying the first instalment of the Community contribution for the 50 newly selected projects. The final reports submitted to the Commission by those responsible for Ecos-Ouverture in 1996 are being considered.

The Commission therefore expects the new projects to begin before the summer.