WRITTEN QUESTION E-2142/99 by Rosa Miguélez Ramos (PSE) to the Commission. The Ariane programme and the Galician language.
Date: 1999-11-24
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: EU financing arrangements, EU programme, Spain, cultural transmission, literature, regional language, translation

18.7.2000

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 203 E/143

(2000/C 203 E/181)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-2139/99

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

(18 November 1999)

Subject: Possible legal fraud in implementing the running costs of secondary education establishments

On 14 December 1993, the Commission approved a running programme submitted by the Spanish
Ministry of Labour and Social Security. The programme, to be implemented in Galicia, was designed for
(cid:145)vocational training in education(cid:146), (cid:145)training of researchers(cid:146), (cid:145)in-service training for employees(cid:146), 6vocational
training for employment(cid:146), and (cid:145)employment subsidies(cid:146) for the period 1994-1999. The total cost of the
programme was ECU 238 707 302, 75 % of which was paid by the EC and 25 % by the Galician
Government (ESF No 940129ES1).

Galician teachers, worried by the Galician Government(cid:146)s steady cutting back of the resources available for
covering the running costs of public educational establishments, while steadily increasing resources
available for private education, have discovered what appears, in principle, to be a fraudulent use of the
European funding for the operational programme, particularly in the case of the (cid:145)vocational training for
education(cid:146) activities (cid:129) which used up most of the funding in question (cid:129) in 1998-1999. The fraud consists
of the partial or total failure to implement the 25 % supposed to be funded by the Galician Government.
The normal running costs of the schools involved in the (cid:145)vocational training for education(cid:146) activities were
charged on a disproportionate basis under that heading to the programmes co-funded by the European
Social Fund, several times over, to the extent of charging four times as much as the real running costs
(heating, electricity, water, etc.) per pupil. This not only constitutes fraud in terms of the undertakings
given to the Commission, but also deprives the educational establishments of a significant part of the
funding they require in order properly to discharge their educational tasks.

Does the Commission intend to investigate these irregularities and demand that the Galician Government
meet all its obligations with regard to the funding of ESF programmes concerning vocational training in
education?

Answer given by Mrs Diamantopoulou on behalf of the Commission

(9 December 1999)

The most recent inspection by the Commission concerning the use of ESF funding in the Autonomous
Community of Galicia was carried out in May to June 1996 (cid:129) i.e. prior to the period referred to by the
Honourable Member (1998-1999) (cid:129) and did not reveal any evidence of such fraud.

The Commission has not received any communication on this subject from the Spanish authorities on the
basis of Commission Regulation (EC) No 1681/94 of 11 July 1994 concerning irregularities and the
recovery of sums wrongly paid in connection with the financing of the structural policies and the
organization of an information system in this field (1).

The Honourable Member should therefore submit the specific evidence in his possession regarding the
alleged irregular use of ESF funds in the Autonomous Community concerned. Further inspections could be
carried out following an examination of this evidence.

(1) OJ L 178, 12.7.1994.

(2000/C 203 E/182)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2142/99

by Rosa MiguØlez Ramos (PSE) to the Commission

(24 November 1999)

Subject: The Ariane programme and the Galician language

The Commission has made a selection of 291 projects within the framework of the Ariane programme,
which is designed to encourage people to read and buy works of contemporary literature by subsidising
translations and the book industry.

C 203 E/144

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

18.7.2000

How many of the projects selected are concerned with literature in Galician? What are they, and how
much budgetary funding are they to receive?

With regard to 1997 and 1998, how many works in Galician were subsidised under the Ariane
programme, and what was the total number of literature subsidised? What were they, and how much
funding did they receive? What was the final figure for total Ariane expenditure for 1997 and 1998?

Answer given by Mrs Reding on behalf of the Commission

(21 December 1999)

In 1999 the total budget allocated to the Ariane programme was € 4,1 million. 12 projects involving
translation of French and English literature into Galician were submitted. Eleven of them did not get past
the preselection stage, as they did not comply with certain eligibility criteria listed in the Official Journal (1),
while one project, although it passed the Commission(cid:146)s formal preselection scrutiny, was not included
among the final choice of projects accepted. The limited financial resources were sufficient only to cover
the projects with the greatest literary and cultural merits in the view of the group of independent experts
from several Member States and member countries of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) and the
European Economic Area (EEA), who assisted the Commission with the selection of projects.

In 1998 (when the total budget allocated to the programme was ECU 3,3 million), no projects involving
translation of works of literature into Galician were submitted.

In 1997 (when the total budget allocated to the programme was ECU 2,3 million), one project involving
translation of a French literary work into Galician was presented and selected. This was an application for
funding to cover translation into Galician of (cid:145)Les Mots(cid:146) by J.P. Sartre, submitted by Ediciones Laiovento, to
whom a grant for the full amount requested (ECU 2 418) was awarded.

(1) OJ C 23, 28.1.1999.

(2000/C 203 E/183)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2151/99

by Marjo Matikainen-Kallstr(cid:246)m (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(24 November 1999)

Subject: Funding of programmes in the field of energy under the Fifth framework programme for research

According to information received by some Finnish firms, the Commission has adopted a different position
from Parliament and the Council on the funding of programmes in the field of energy in the context of the
Fifth framework programme for research.

Under the common position agreed upon last December by Parliament and the Council, (cid:145)demonstration
projects(cid:146) are accorded a central role in research policy. Initially 75 % of the funding was reserved for them.
However, what is now happening in practice is that the Commission is outlining a paltry level of funding
for demonstration projects in relation to other research projects.

Is the Commission adopting a different position from the European Parliament and the Council on the
funding of demonstration projects in the energy field within the Fifth research framework programme, and
if so, why?

Answer given by Mrs de Palacio on behalf of the Commission

(17 December 1999)

The Commission would first clarify the interpretation of the remarks made by the Council and Parliament
on the 1999 budget for the Fifth research and technological development (RDT) framework programme (1).