WRITTEN QUESTION No. 2221/97 by Roberta ANGELILLI to the Commission. Management of the URBAN initiative in Rome
Date: 1997-06-30
Institutions: ANGELILLI, European Parliament
Subjects: EU initiative, Latium, local government, public authorities, town planning, urban renewal

C 82/46

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

17. 3. 98

(98/C 82/86)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2221/97

by Roberta Angelilli (NI) to the Commission

(30 June 1997)

Subject: Management of the URBAN initiative in Rome

The aim of the last round of Community initiatives such as URBAN for the period 1994-1999 seems to be to
involve citizens, undertakings, development operators on a vast scale and public authorities at various levels in a
close partnership.

As a logical consequence therefore, when implementing the URBAN initiative, the city of Rome should properly
provide  for  such  a  partnership  at  various  levels  and  seek  as  close  contact  as  possible  with  the  urban,  social,
economic  and  administrative  problems  of  the  two  districts  in  which  URBAN  will  apply  in  Rome,  Tor  Bella
Monaca and Torre Angela.

By creating its (cid:145)Ufficio speciale Urban(cid:146) (URBAN special office), however, the city of Rome has excluded from
management  of  the  initiative  the  8th  district,  the  city(cid:146)s  decentralized  administrative  body  for  the  area  which
would appear to be the administration(cid:146)s main interlocutor for implementation of URBAN as it represents the
needs of the local communities and is the natural link between the citizens of Tor Bella Monaca and Torre Angela
and the city of Rome.

This decision raises considerable doubts as to the way in which the city of Rome is managing the initiative,
especially from the point of view of involving the districts in which URBAN is operational.

1. What therefore is the Commission(cid:146)s general view on the subject?

2. Will it check the timetable and procedures for implementing URBAN in Rome?

3. Would it not be better for the city of Rome to make full use of all instruments at its disposal, including
decentralized bodies, when implementing URBAN?

Answer given by Mrs Wulf-Mathies on behalf of the Commission

(15 September 1997)

Given  the  nature  of  the  activities  being  supported  by  the  Community  initiative  URBAN,  the  Commission
considers it essential to have strong involvement of the relevant local actors during the implementation phase.

In Rome, as in the other cities in Italy, the authority responsible for implementing URBAN is the municipality,
which, unlike the 8th district mentioned by the Honourable Member, has the requisite administrative powers to
manage such a programme. For this purpose the municipality has created a special URBAN office which, during
implementation, will ensure a local presence in the areas concerned and will closely involve the 8th district.

The Commission considers the procedures for implementing URBAN in Rome satisfactory and expects that the
initial delays in starting up the programme will now be overcome.

(98/C 82/87)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2229/97

by Alexandros Alavanos (GUE/NGL) to the Commission

(2 July 1997)

Subject: Progress of health education in Greek schools

Health eduction is a first step towards prevention and thus helps to promote the physical and mental health of
young people. Its methodology includes education, upbringing and finally the adoption of a healthy life style.
However, it can also tackle issues facing school communities, e.g. drugs.