WRITTEN QUESTION No. 856/97 by Georges de BRÉMOND d'ARS to the Commission. Submission of applications for funding under Article 8 of the EAGGF and Article 10 of the ERDF
Date: 1997-03-12
Institutions: DE BREMOND D'ARS, European Parliament
Subjects: EAGGF Guidance Section, EU aid, European Regional Development Fund, State aid, action programme, producer organisation, rural development













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91997E0856

WRITTEN QUESTION No. 856/97 by Georges de BRÉMOND d'ARS to the Commission. Submission of applications for funding under Article 8 of the EAGGF and Article 10 of the ERDF  


Official Journal C 367 , 04/12/1997 P. 0049 





WRITTEN QUESTION E-0856/97 by Georges de Brémond d'Ars (PPE) to the Commission (12 March 1997)Subject: Submission of applications for funding under Article 8 of the EAGGF and Article 10 of the ERDFSome firms of consultants have stated that they have received authorization from the Commission to act on behalf of 'local action groups' with a view to submitting applications for funding under Article 8 of the EAGGF and Article 10 of the ERDF, in particular in the context of the Leader II programme, and they are using this claim to advertise their services among those concerned.Can the Commission say whether such authorization has been granted?If so, can it also say what procedure must be followed in order to receive such authorization and what selection criteria are used, and can it say what proportion of the projects which finally received funding under the Leader II programme, in terms of numbers and amounts, was based on applications submitted by firms of consultants and what proportion was based on applications submitted directly by local action groups?Answer given by Ms Wulf-Mathies on behalf of the Commission (21 April 1997)In the context of neither the Leader II programme, nor the calls for proposals under Article 8 of the EAGGF Guidance Section regulation ((OJ L 193, 31.7. 1993. )) and Article 10 of the ERDF regulation1 has the Commission at any time authorized firms of consultants to act on behalf of local action groups.It should also be pointed out that, according to Commission notice to the Member States No 94/C 180/12, the prime objective of the Leader II programme is 'to stimulate innovative measures by those, whether public or private, engaged at local level in all sectors of rural activity' and that 'in all matters related to rural development, priority should be given to programmes for local action and investment.' Public financing of the Leader II programme, and Community financing in particular, therefore aims to support rural development at local level and not to finance consultancy services submitting applications for funding under other Community programmes.Moreover, financing of pilot projects under Article 8 of the EAGGF Guidance Section regulation or Article 10 of the ERDF regulation has nothing to do with the Leader II programme. It should also be pointed out that financing under Articles 8 and 10 is authorized, in compliance with the rules on competition, on the basis of calls for proposals published in the Official Journal and that proposals are selected on the basis of objective and independent criteria. The idea is to give every person or organization the possibility to submit their applications and to select the best ones at Community level. Under no circumstances, therefore, would the Commission authorize bodies that would benefit from an unfair competitive advantage during the call for proposals procedure.