WRITTEN QUESTION E-1433/99 by Camilo Nogueira Román (Verts/ALE) to the Commission. Allocation of Structural Fund resources within Spain.
Date: 1999-09-01
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: EU law, European Investment Bank, European Regional Development Fund, Galicia, Spain, Structural Funds, competence of the Member States, distribution of aid, investment aid, less-favoured region

C 225 E/2

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

8.8.2000

(2000/C 225 E/002)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1433/99

by Camilo Nogueira RomÆn (Verts/ALE) to the Commission

Subject: Allocation of Structural Fund resources within Spain

(1 September 1999)

The Structural Fund and, in particular, the ERDF resources earmarked for investment and received by the
Spanish Government for allocation to the country(cid:146)s Objective 1 Autonomous Communities have not been
distributed fairly (not even over such a long reference period as 1994-1999) on the basis of objective
criteria such as population size and per capita income. The reason for this is that the government assumes
responsibility for directly allocating over 50 % of the resources, which it subsequently invests in accordance
with criteria which do not correspond to the purposes which justify the existence of the Structural Funds.
The result is a geographical distribution which prevents the resources from achieving the objective
assigned to them under Community law. This state of affairs is particularly detrimental to autonomous
communities such as Galicia.

What reasons could there be under Community regulations to account for the pursuit of such a policy by
the Spanish Government?

Of the Structural Fund (especially ERDF) resources earmarked for productive investment or infrastructure
projects, what proportion out of the total allocated to Spain and in relation to the population of Spain(cid:146)s
Objective 1 Autonomous Communities was assigned to Galicia during the 1994-1999 period?

What criteria are to be followed during the 2000-2006 period as regards the distribution of the Structural
Fund resources to be allocated to Spain and earmarked for the Objective 1 Autonomous Communities?

Supplementary answer
given by Mr Barnier on behalf of the Commission

(21 December 1999)

Both the Structural Fund regulation in force until the end of 1999, Council Regulation (EEC) No 2081/93
of 20 July 1993 amending Regulation (EEC) No 2052/88 on the tasks of the Structural Funds and their
effectiveness and on coordination of their activities between themselves and with the operations of the
European Investment Bank and the other existing financial instruments (1), and Council Regulation (EC)
No 1260/1999 of 21 June 1999 laying down general provisions on the Structural Funds (2), which will
apply for 2000-2006, state that the Commission, using transparent procedures, is to determine indicative
distributions of
the
following criteria: eligible population, regional prosperity, national prosperity and the relative seriousness
of the structural problems, in particular the level of unemployment.

the commitment appropriations available for Objective 1,

taking into account

On the other hand, it is not for the Commission to decide on the distribution of the appropriations, within
a Member State, between eligible regions or between national programmes and regional programmes. In
line with the principle of subsidiarity, this is the responsibility of each Member State.

Nevertheless, as a guide for the next programming period, 2000-2006, the Commission has informed the
Member States concerned what would be the allocation for each eligible region if they applied at national
level the method used by the Commission to distribute the Objective 1 appropriations among the Member
States.

During the current programming period, 19941999, the European Regional Development Fund has
allocated EUR 370,46 million to Galicia for part-financing productive investment, which represents
in Spain
12,09 % of
(EUR 3 064 million), and EUR 1 183,4 million for creating infrastructure, which also represents
12,09 % of the total allocated to all the Objective 1 autonomous communities in Spain (EUR 9 788 million).

the Objective 1 autonomous

allocated to all

communities

total

the

In population terms, Galicia represents 11,67 % of all the Objective 1 autonomous communities in Spain
and 6,95 % of Spain as a whole.

(1) OJ L 193, 31.7.1993.
(2) OJ L 161, 26.6.1999.