WRITTEN QUESTION No. 644/97 by Claudio AZZOLINI , Guido PODESTÀ , Antonio TAJANI to the Council. Raphael Programme
Date: 1997-03-10
Institutions: AZZOLINI, European Parliament, PODESTA, TAJANI
Subjects: EU programme, budget policy, cultural transmission













EUR-Lex - 91997E0644 - EN






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91997E0644

WRITTEN QUESTION No. 644/97 by Claudio AZZOLINI , Guido PODESTÀ , Antonio TAJANI to the Council. Raphael Programme  


Official Journal C 391 , 23/12/1997 P. 0022 





WRITTEN QUESTION E-0644/97 by Claudio Azzolini (UPE), Guido Podestà (UPE) and Antonio Tajani (UPE) to the Council (10 March 1997)Subject: Raphael ProgrammeArticle 128 of the EC Treaty places new emphasis on culture and refers to incentive measures in this field.The Raphael Programme has been the subject of a number of discussion meetings, particularly the most recent tripartite meeting between the Council, the Commission and Parliament on 21 January 1997.Will the Council state its objective reasons for delaying the adoption of such an important programme? Will it say, in particular, why the budget appropriation of ECU 86 million proposed by Parliament for the Raphael Programme was rejected, along with the Commission proposal which reduced the appropriation to ECU 57 million, and why the Council's proposal amounted to only ECU 30 million?Will the Council also state its reasons for proposing a two-yearly programme, with a possible extension for a further two years, instead of proposing a four-year programme from the outset, given the risk that the success of the Raphael Programme could be undermined by interrupting the measures taken under it?Answer (14 July 1997)1. The procedure for adopting the programme referred to by the Honourable Members is currently suspended, as the Council is awaiting the European Parliament's agreement to the convening of the Conciliation Committee, in accordance with the provisions of Article 189b(3) of the EC Treaty. Without such agreement, conciliation cannot take place and the procedure for adopting the programme cannot be completed.2. Article 128 of the Treaty, referred to by the Honourable Members, requires the Council to act unanimously. The result arrived at by the Council in its common position on the financing of the programme was therefore one which received unanimous approval.3. Bearing in mind the fact that ECU 10 million were entered in the 1996 Community budget for activities of the same type as Raphael, the Council considered that 1996 could be seen as a preparatory year for the programme.The Council therefore opted for a four year duration for the programme, from 1 January 1997.The Council proposed not a biennial programme, but a four-year programme with a review clause after two years, on a proposal from the Commission, in the light of the budgetary situation and the results achieved in the first stage of the programme. Although the financial allocation adopted by the Council is ECU 30 million over four years, the Council nevertheless agreed at its meeting on 11 June 1996 to support the entry of a sum of ECU 10 million as part of the budgetary procedure for 1997 and 1998. This means that, in accordance with the abovementioned review clause, the Commission could, after two years, make any proposals it considers appropriate in respect of the budget, without causing the programme to be interrupted.