WRITTEN QUESTION No. 4173/97 by Daniel VARELA SUANZES- CARPEGNA to the Commission. Cohesion policy and culture
Date: 1998-01-21
Institutions: European Parliament, VARELA SUANZES-CARPEGNA
Subjects: EU programme, Structural Funds, cultural policy, culture, development plan, economic and social cohesion, job creation, public economy, regional development

C 196/92

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

22. 6. 98

In the context of cohesion policy, the communication emphasises that (cid:145)culture is not merely a public occupation
creating extra costs but also an increasingly important part of the private economy with considerable growth
potential fostering creative, innovative and productive effects for local and regional economies(cid:146). The examples
given in the communication illustrate this.

(98/C 196/128)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-4173/97

by Daniel Varela Suanzes-Carpegna (PPE) to the Commission

(21 January 1998)

Subject: Cohesion policy and culture

In its communication COM(96) 512 final, Cohesion Policy and Culture: A contribution to employment (page 6),
the Commission notes that approximately ECU 400 million under the Structural Fund programmes went directly
to the cultural sector during the period 1989-1993.

Can the Commission say what cultural projects were cofinanced, specifying the countries involved, the regional
objective  under  which  each  project  came,  the  total  cost  of  execution  and  the  amount  cofinanced  by  the
Community?

(98/C 196/129)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-4174/97

by Daniel Varela Suanzes-Carpegna (PPE) to the Commission

(21 January 1998)

Subject: Cohesion policy and culture

Can the Commission supply information about the cultural projects cofinanced by the Structural Funds during
the current programming period (1994-1999), specifying the countries involved, the regional objective under
which each project came, the total cost of execution and the amount cofinanced by the Community?

Joint answer
to Written Questions E-4173/97 and E-4174/97
given by Mrs Wulf-Mathies on behalf of the Commission

(9 March 1998)

The figure mentioned by the Honourable Member is based on an estimation carried out by external consultants
for the Commission. As was pointed out in the communication, any figures relating to cultural activities are only
estimates and therefore have to be interpreted with some caution. In particular, it is especially difficult to identify
cultural  aspects  in  programmes  as  they  are  often  included  under  other  priorities  such  as  tourism,  small  and
medium sized enterprises (SME) or training.

Given that the Member States approve and implement structural funds projects within programmes under their
own responsibility, the Commission does not have any systematic information on projects in the area of culture.
However  several  good  examples  were  presented  in  the  communication  illustrating  innovative  integration  of
culture into regional development and job creation.

(98/C 196/130)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-4175/97

by Daniel Varela Suanzes-Carpegna (PPE) to the Commission

(21 January 1998)

Subject: Cohesion policy and culture

Can the Commission say what cultural pilot projects were cofinanced during the programming period 1989-1993
and during the current programming period (1994-1999) under Article 10 of the ERDF Regulation, specifying the
countries involved, the regional objective under which each project came, the total cost of execution and the
amount cofinanced by the Community?