WRITTEN QUESTION E-1738/00 by Ioannis Souladakis (PSE) to the Commission. Funding of European Union island regions.
Date: 2000-05-31
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: EU financing, Structural Funds, financial year, island region, legal basis

C 113 E/38

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

18.4.2001

Answer given by Ms Schreyer on behalf of the Commission

(12 July 2000)

The case referred to by the Honourable Member has a disciplinary aspect and a judicial aspect.

The appointing authority took disciplinary measures against one Commission official and one member of
the temporary staff in 1995 (removal from post and termination of contract respectively). Subsequent
investigation by the Commission uncovered no facts such as to implicate any other officials or servants of
the institution or give rise to the opening of further disciplinary proceedings.

The Commission sent all the files concerning this case to the judicial authorities in Belgium, France,
Greece, Luxembourg and Spain. As for the facts coming under the jurisdiction of the French judicial
authorities, a court in Paris held a three-day hearing on 29 and 30 June and 6 July 2000 with a view to
delivering a judgment.

(2001/C 113 E/033)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1738/00

by Ioannis Souladakis (PSE) to the Commission

(31 May 2000)

Subject: Funding of European Union island regions

What action does the Commission intend to take in order to create the necessary legal basis for the
funding of European Union island regions from the EU budget set for 2001, in accordance with the
provisions of the Treaty of Amsterdam and the guidelines for the 2001 budget that Parliament has already
voted on (paragraph 33)?

Answer given by Mr Barnier on behalf of the Commission

(24 July 2000)

The Commission has no plans at present for creation of a legal basis for funding the Community(cid:146)s island
regions. Under existing Community policies they already receive special attention.

Firstly, Sardinia, Sicily, all the Greek islands and the outermost regions are eligible under Objective 1 in the
Structural Fund 2000-2006 programming period. In addition, under the Commission(cid:146)s decisions for eleven
of the twelve Member States concerned, many islands are proposed by the national authorities will be
covered by Objective 2.

On 1 July 1999 the Commission approved guidelines for Structural Fund programmes in the period 2000-
2006. These set out the Community priorities for the new programming period. Some of these bear very
directly on the problems confronting island regions: need to improve regional accessibility; utilisation of
renewable energy sources (with particular reference to the White Paper on a Community strategy and
action plan for renewable energy sources (1); promotion of new services using new communication
technologies; efficient water management; support for a sustainable high quality tourism within the
carrying capacity of sites.

Secondly, the guidelines for the Interreg Initiative, approved by the Commission on 28 April 2000 (2),
explicitly state that integration of island regions is a priority field for transnational cooperation. This means
giving these regions a suitable financial allocation. Further, particular attention is to be paid to participa-
tion by island regions in interregional cooperation.

Finally, to enable the smaller islands of the Aegean Sea to cope more effectively with their specific natural
handicaps Council Regulation (EEC) No 2019/93 of 19 July 1993 (3) introduced specific measures covering
a range of agricultural products.

18.4.2001

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 113 E/39

Certain islands constitute a specific group, the outermost regions, which share a range of handicaps
defined in Article 299(2) (ex Article 227) of the EC Treaty. On 14 March 2000 the Commission adopted a
report (4) on implementation of this new Article.

(1) COM(1997) 599.
(2) OJ C 143, 23.5.2000.
(3) OJ L 184, 27.7.1993.
(4) COM(2000) 147 final.

(2001/C 113 E/034)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1739/00

by Ioannis Souladakis (PSE) to the Council

(5 June 2000)

Subject: Funding of the pre-accession procedure for Cyprus and Malta

What action does the Council intend to take to ensure that the appropriations provided for the applicant
countries Cyprus and Malta are moved from chapter B4 of the budget, concerning external aid, to
Chapter B7, concerning pre-accession aid, in accordance with the guidelines for the 2001 budget that
Parliament has already voted on (paragraph 48)?

Reply

(20 November 2000)

In its first reading of the preliminary draft general budget for the financial year 2001 the Council has
provided for those appropriations to be entered under Title B7-0 (Pre-accession strategy) with the other
budget entries concerning the applicant countries. The Council would stress that it considers that the
financing of the budget entries for the pre-accession strategy for Cyprus and Malta ought at this stage to
come under heading 4 (External action) of the financial perspective. The Budget Council discussed the
matter at its meeting on 20 July 2000.

(2001/C 113 E/035)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1787/00

by Salvador Garriga Polledo (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(8 June 2000)

Subject: Boarding of a Community fishing vessel by Canadian inspectors

The actions of Canadian inspectors on board a Portuguese freezer vessel with a Spanish crew (the (cid:145)Santa
Mafalda(cid:146)) has once again given rise to fears that the Canadian authorities are launching a new halibut war.

On 24 April 2000 the Santa Mafalda was fishing in NAFO international waters when it was boarded by
Canadian inspectors. This has been described by the Spanish Association of Licensed Seamen (Aetinape) as
a further infringement by Canada of the International Law of the Sea.

How have the Community authorities responded to this further act of provocation (similar to the halibut
war) on the part of the Canadian inspectors concerned and to what extent can Community fishermen be
sure that such actions, which are an infringement of the International Law of the Sea, will not be allowed
to happen again?