WRITTEN QUESTION No. 1599/97 by Hedy d'ANCONA to the Commission. Emergency aid to Bulgaria
Date: 1997-05-07
Institutions: D'ANCONA, European Parliament
Subjects: Bulgaria, aid to disadvantaged groups, bilateral aid, economic recession, emergency aid, food aid, health aid, non-governmental organisation, poverty, welfare













EUR-Lex - 91997E1599 - EN






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91997E1599

WRITTEN QUESTION No. 1599/97 by Hedy d'ANCONA to the Commission. Emergency aid to Bulgaria  


Official Journal C 373 , 09/12/1997 P. 0150 





WRITTEN QUESTION E-1599/97 by Hedy d'Ancona (PSE) to the Commission (7 May 1997)Subject: Emergency aid to Bulgaria1. In what way has the Commission acted on the urgent resolution of 24 October 1996, in which Parliament called for 'an emergency support programme to deliver the necessary basic food products to Bulgaria, with the aim of overcoming the serious food crisis facing the poorest sections of the Bulgarian population'?2. In setting up the emergency aid programme, was account taken of the criticism - made by various Bulgarian NGOs and elsewhere - of the quality and reliability of the Bulgarian government as the recipient and distributor of European emergency aid?3. In what way can adequate monitoring of the quality and effectiveness of bilateral aid be guaranteed? Are Bulgarian NGOs involved in - or asked for their opinion on - the monitoring of the bilateral aid programme?4. What percentage of aid under the emergency aid programme is channelled through non-governmental organizations?5. Under the emergency aid programme, funds are reserved for the 500 000 poorest people, with families being identified from the current government registry. Is the Commission convinced that this gives an accurate picture of the poorest people, bearing in mind that single-parent families, families with no home address and parents who are not formally married or divorced are not taken into account, as a result of which the gypsy population in particular is losing out?Answer given by Mr Van den Broek on behalf of the Commission (5 June 1997)1. Since mid-1996 the Commission has mobilised 73.6 MECU of Community assistance in response to the economic crisis in Bulgaria. This includes a 20 MECU Phare emergency social assistance programme for the neediest groups in society and an ECHO grant of 1.1 MECU for emergency medical and food aid.2. The choice of the delivery system for the 20 MECU Phare emergency social assistance programme was motivated by the need to provide rapid assistance to a very large target group of households and socio-educational institutions. It was therefore necessary to use the existing targeting mechanism of the state welfare system. The ECHO aid is delivered through non-governmental organisations (NGOs).3. The Phare emergency social assistance programme is monitored by a team of external Community and Bulgarian experts and will be assessed by external auditors. In addition, Bulgarian NGOs carry out monitoring missions at the municipal level.4. The Commission is satisfied that the Phare social assistance programme reaches the designated target groups. A large-scale publicity campaign in the national and local media (television, radio, press) has generated considerable public interest, as reflected in the large number of applicant households (more than 600 000). The Commission is in touch with the new Bulgarian government in order to determine the extent to which marginalised groups can benefit from the programme.