WRITTEN QUESTION No. 2807/98 by Leo TINDEMANS to the Commission. Phare policy: protection of the interests of European experts
Date: 1998-09-17
Institutions: European Parliament, TINDEMANS
Subjects: Commission Delegation, EU programme, European official, civil servant, duties of civil servants, local government, power of implementation, project management













EUR-Lex - 91998E2807 - EN






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91998E2807

WRITTEN QUESTION No. 2807/98 by Leo TINDEMANS to the Commission. Phare policy: protection of the interests of European experts  


Official Journal C 135 , 14/05/1999 P. 0120 





WRITTEN QUESTION E-2807/98by Leo Tindemans (PPE) to the Commission(17 September 1998)Subject: Phare policy: protection of the interests of European expertsHow can European experts working on Phare projects assert their interests against their principals in the event of differences of opinion about the implementation of a project?Under the principle of decentralised implementation, responsibility for the implementation of programmes is borne by the authorities of the Phare countries and the Commission's delegations.If a difference of opinion arose between the authorities in the country concerned and the European contractor, one would normally expect the European contractor to be able to ask the Commission delegation to act on his behalf in seeking to arrive at a satisfactory solution to enable the implementation of the project to proceed.However, experience in Romania and Bulgaria shows that the delegations there entrust the monitoring of Phare projects to local officials who are not willing to intervene in disputes with their colleagues in the national administrations, while European officials at the delegation do not see it as their job to do anything about the situation. Officials at the Commission's DG IA are not willing to intervene, either. Thus in the event of misunderstandings, European experts face a wall of incomprehension and helplessness. Yet misunderstandings about the implementation of programmes are not so uncommon.In the Commission's view, who can be instructed to mediate between a European contractor and the authorities on the spot? Would it not be appropriate for either the Commission itself or the Phare administration to assume this task?Answer given by Mr van den Broek on behalf of the Commission(21 October 1998)The Commission has transferred the contracting authority for nearly all Phare projects to partner countries. In this decentralised system, a national implementing authority, such as a programme management unit, enters into a contract with consultants. The Commission has no legal relationship with the consultant. If disagreement on the implementation of the contract arises between the consultant and the implementing authority, it is to be settled according to the procedures established in the contract between these two parties.Normally, problems arising in implementation of a project should be addressed by the two contracting parties. However, where problems persist, the consultants should contact, while respecting their contractual obligations, the relevant Commission delegation or the Commission's Joint relex service for the management of Community aid to non-member countries. The Commission will seek to intervene informally with both parties, where resources allow, to help achieve the objectives of the projects while respecting the autonomy of the partner country to manage projects entrusted to it.