WRITTEN QUESTION No. 249/98 by Richard HOWITT to the Commission. Funds from Item A-3040 to International Youth Organizations
Date: 1998-02-13
Institutions: European Parliament, HOWITT
Subjects: budgetary amendment, citizens' Europe, development policy, economic support, non-governmental organisation, public awareness campaign, youth movement













EUR-Lex - 91998E0249 - EN






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91998E0249

WRITTEN QUESTION No. 249/98 by Richard HOWITT to the Commission. Funds from Item A-3040 to International Youth Organizations  


Official Journal C 223 , 17/07/1998 P. 0146 





WRITTEN QUESTION E-0249/98 by Richard Howitt (PSE) to the Commission (13 February 1998)Subject: Funds from Item A-3040 to International Youth OrganizationsWill the Commission acknowledge that numerous voluntary organizations depend solely on the subsidies offered from Item A-3040 in order to carry out the European dimension of their valued work?In accepting that such youth organizations represent exceptional value for money, does the Commission agree that the reduction of ECU 200 000 in this year's budget will place many organizations in jeopardy?As this budget item was created in 1991 to strengthen communication with young people across the nations, will the Commission accept that it is vital to reinstate Item A-3040 in coming years?Answer given by Mrs Cresson on behalf of the Commission (30 March 1998)The Commission is fully aware of the vital role played by the non-governmental international youth organisations in the Citizens First programme. Their international programmes of activities make a real contribution to the development of a European citizenship.The Commission also recognises that these international youth activities can only take place if the organisations responsible for them are able to cover some of the operating costs they entail. It is these costs which may be covered partially by subsidies under Item A-3040 (A-3029 in 1998). It is worth noting that, in 1997, subsidies granted under A-3040 amounted, on average, to only 16% of the beneficiaries' overheads.Finally, the Commission is aware of the added value which international structures represent for the national, regional or local organisations of which they are made up. The existence of networks and central structures has a direct impact on the volume and quality of international activities proposed.At the end of 1997, the Commission drew up a report on the use of this funding between 1995 and 1997, and this will be sent directly to the Honourable Member and to the Secretariat-General of the Parliament. The report shows how the number of applications for funding has grown, partly because, since 1997, calls for proposals have been published in the Official Journal and are thus more widely publicised, partly because, in the interests of transparency, information is now available on the Internet, and finally because of the creation of new international structures. This trend will probably continue in 1998.The report shows, too, that the beneficiaries' operating costs are also rising, chiefly because of the geographical expansion of the networks.In this situation, it is only because of the trade-offs which have been necessary under Heading 5 of the Financial Perspective in view of the current budgetary difficulties that the Commission has been obliged to reduce the amount proposed for this item in the 1998 preliminary draft budget.