WRITTEN QUESTION No. 488/99 by Joaquín SISÓ CRUELLAS Delays in the provision of ERDF aid to Spanish SMEs
Date: 1999-03-05
Institutions: European Parliament, SISO CRUELLAS
Subjects: European Regional Development Fund, Spain, administrative structures, aid to undertakings, public administration, small and medium-sized enterprises, technical barriers to trade, terms for aid

C 348/82

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

3.12.1999

Answer given by Mrs Bjerregaard on behalf of the Commission

(15 April 1999)

Operational aspects concerning the amount of borated water available at Fessenheim nuclear power plant are
outside the scope of the responsibilities of the Commission. The overall Community competence in the
nuclear safety field is laid down in the Euratom Treaty and covers mainly radiological protection. The French
safety authorities are responsible for the licensing of nuclear power installations and the respect of safety
practices in France.

The Commission has not yet received official
information with regard to leakage of tritium into the
environment. The activity concentration of 60 becquerel per litre (Bq/l) is below the indicator parameter
value laid down in Annex I part C of Council Directive 98/83/EC on the quality of water intended for human
consumption (1). The protracted intake of drinking water at this level of tritium activity would cause a
radiation exposure of about 0.1 % of the annual limit for members of the public established in Council
Directive 96/26/Euratom laying down basic safety standards for the protection of the health of workers and
the general public against the dangers arising from ionizing radiation (2). Hence there is no need for the
Commission to take further action.

(1) OJ L 330, 5.12.1998.
(2) OJ L 159, 29.6.1996.

(1999/C 348/101)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0488/99

by Joaquín Sisó Cruellas (PPE) to the Commission

Subject: Delays in the provision of ERDF aid to Spanish SMEs

(5 March 1999)

This year, Spanish SMEs will receive 19 billion pesetas’ worth of aid, 70 % of which will be financed by the
European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) whilst the remaining 30 % will come from the national budget.
The aid will be allocated to projects involving cooperation with new markets, information, financing,
innovation and design.

It is reported that certain projects have been adopted but not implemented on account of the delay in the
transfer of 5 625 billion pesetas’ worth of ERDF funds.

In view of this would the Commission answer the following questions:

1. What are the reasons for the delay?

2. Has the transfer now been made?

3. What will happen in the case of projects which have been adopted but not implemented?

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

(21 April 1999)

The delay in the transfer of funds to which the Honourable Member refers is due to the fact that both the
structure of the measures in the Community Initiative programme for small and medium-sized enterprises
(SMEs) in Spain and its financing tables were amended at the request of the Spanish administration with the
approval of the Monitoring Committee. This was required by the administrative reorganisation carried out in
1996 and 1997, which redistributed responsibilities and changed the bodies managing aid for small firms.

The flow of commitments and payments has now resumed and the take-up of funds by the Spanish
administration has increased considerably.

The Commission would point out that, in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity, its only task is to
approve the selection criteria which will be used to implement the programmes. Selection of the projects to be
financed under them is a matter for the national authorities responsible for implementation and it is to those
authorities that the Honourable Member should address requests for information on the projects approved.