WRITTEN QUESTION E-0076/00 by Antonio Tajani (PPE-DE) to the Commission. Possible exclusion of the municipalities of Barberino, Tavernelle and S. Casciano from the areas eligible for funding under the Leader+ project.
Date: 2000-01-24
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: EU initiative, Tuscany, competence of the Member States, eligibility criteria, municipality, rural development

C 330 E/78

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

21.11.2000

On the basis of the information provided by the Honourable Member, the Commission is not in a position
to determine whether or not chipboards produced with the waste in question would involve a health
hazard. Nor is it in a position to determine whether or not the requirements of Directive 92/59 are met in
the case in question.

The Honourable Member is welcome to submit further information.

(1) OJ L 194, 25.7.1975.
(2) OJ L 228, 11.8.1992.

(2000/C 330 E/084)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0076/00

by Antonio Tajani (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(24 January 2000)

Subject: Possible exclusion of the municipalities of Barberino, Tavernelle and S. Casciano from the areas

eligible for funding under the Leader+ project

In October the eight municipalities of the Chianti area around Florence and Siena opened a (cid:145)planning
conference for the development of Chianti(cid:146), with a view to forming a (cid:145)rural district(cid:146) whose main purpose
would be to attract Community funding available under the Leader+ project, with the help of the
Eurochianti local action group, with which cooperation was established several years ago.

Despite an enthusiastic response on the part of economic operators and trade associations in the area, the
policy pursued by the Tuscany Regional Council may well lead to the exclusion of the municipalities of
Barberino, Tavernelle and S. Casciano from the area eligible for funding under the Leader+ project.

How does the Commission intend to ensure that the above municipalities are not excluded for political
reasons?

Answer given by Mr Fischler on behalf of the Commission

(15 February 2000)

Under the draft guidelines for the Community Initiative for Rural Development (Leader+) approved by the
Commission on 13 October 1999 all rural areas are eligible for consideration or inclusion. However, only
a limited number of areas will in fact benefit from Community support, following a transparent, objective
and rigorous selection procedure designed to concentrate many Community resources on the most
promising pilot proposals and derive maximum lever effect from them.

It will be up to the Member States(cid:146) authorities (cid:129) in the case of Italy and the regions (cid:129) to propose the
most appropriate procedures and criteria for defining classification requirements for interested local
groups. The draft Commission guidelines set out minimum criteria? to be supplemented by more specific
ones due to the particular needs of the region and the objectives to be obtained. These criteria will be an
integral part of the programme and subject to Commission approval. Member States will be able to restrict
the application of Leader+ to particular rural areas if this can be justified using criteria based on their rural
development policy objectives.

The Commission will on approving Leader+ programmes verify that the abovementioned requirements are
strictly complied with.