WRITTEN QUESTION No. 194/98 by Antoni GUTIÉRREZ DÍAZ to the Commission. Illegal construction activity with EU funding
Date: 1998-01-28
Institutions: European Parliament, GUTIERREZ DIAZ
Subjects: Catalonia, fraud, fund (EU), littoral, public works, town and country planning, town planning, use of aid













EUR-Lex - 91998E0194 - EN






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91998E0194

WRITTEN QUESTION No. 194/98 by Antoni GUTIÉRREZ DÍAZ to the Commission. Illegal construction activity with EU funding  


Official Journal C 304 , 02/10/1998 P. 0049 





WRITTEN QUESTION P-0194/98 by Antoni Gutiérrez Díaz (GUE/NGL) to the Commission (28 January 1998)Subject: Illegal construction activity with EU fundingIn a concession of 19 February 1997, the Spanish Ministry of the Environment made over the use of a publicly-owned coastal site in the Catalan municipality of Llançà, in the area of Alt Empordà, to the Catalan regional government (Generalitat) for the purpose of construction work on the Grifeu promenade. This concession provided for compensation for the compulsory purchase of land and other private rights affected by the project.The Directorate-General for Ports and Coasts of the Department of Planning Policy and Public Works of the Generalitat proceeded to carry out the construction work on the promenade, without receiving final approval of the plan from the municipality of Llançà and without the existence of the necessary planning project - despite both being necessary prior conditions for the work to take place.Since then, the Court of First Instance No 8 of Girona (Gerona) has delivered Judgment No 247/97 of 12 December 1997, which states that the action of the Directorate-General for Ports and Coasts of the Department of Planning Policy and Public Works of the Generalitat was carried out in a 'de facto fashion', and therefore rules the occupation of the land illegal and orders the property concerned to be returned to its rightful owners.The execution of this judgment will entail the demolition of the promenade construction and the associated buildings, which have already cost some Ptas 75 m. Of this sum, 50% was contributed by the Generalitat and 25% by the municipality of Llançà, while 25% came from EU funds - specifically, from the Community's INTERREG initiative.Is the Community aware of this investment and of the fact that EU funds were used for a project which was carried out illegally and whose end-products will now have to be demolished following the court decision?Answer given by Mrs Wulf-Mathies on behalf of the Commission (26 February 1998)The Commission will not fail to obtain information from the Spanish authorities on the outcome and consequences of the state of affairs referred to by the Honourable Member. Subject to verification, it suspects that, if this is the Interreg IIA programme, the project in question could be Project No 48 (road and beach access development stage 2 - Llança in Catalonia), which received 50% Community part-financing, i.e. a contribution of ECU 150 000.If it receives official confirmation that the court decision is final and irreversible, the Commission will take all appropriate measures under the circumstances.In particular, it will be forced to withdraw its part-financing owing to the failure of the project to materialise and, at the next monitoring committee meeting, propose a reallocation of the funds originally committed.