WRITTEN QUESTION E-1934/00 by Christopher Heaton-Harris (PPE-DE) to the Commission. Budget Item A-3029.
Date: 2000-06-16
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: EU expenditure, eligibility criteria, international organisation, non-governmental organisation, youth movement

C 89 E/116

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

20.3.2001

Answer given by Ms Schreyer on behalf of the Commission

(7 September 2000)

Item A-3038 is intended to cover various specific grants not related to the other items in Chapter A-30
(Community subsidies) which provide financing for institutions of European interest or contribute to the
financing of organisations advancing the idea of the European civil society.

In its preliminary draft budget for 2000, the Commission asked for € 171 000 to cover the following
grants:

(a)

International Press Club (IPC): € 100 000

the IPC is a centre where the international press reporting on
Founded in 1973 in Brussels,
Community affairs from Brussels can meet and work.
It receives an annual subsidy from the
Commission in the form of a financial contribution to its operating costs. This is in addition to grants
from the Belgian Government, the Council and Parliament.

(b) European Institute (cid:129) Washington: € 50 000

The European Institute in Washington, set up in 1989 in close cooperation with the Commission,
conducts information campaigns and studies to explain the position of the European Union on topics
which are important to relations with the United States (economic and monetary union, General
Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), security and defence, competition, etc.). The Institute holds
information meetings at government level, organises conferences addressed by top European political
leaders and maintains a communications network with American decision-makers.

(c)

International Association of Former Officials of the European Communities: € 21 000

About half the European Communities(cid:146) former staff are members of the International Association of
Former Officials of the European Communities, whose main objectives are to represent the interests of
former employees in dealings with Community bodies and the national authorities and, if necessary, to
defend those interests in administrative and social matters, to maintain contacts and forge links with
organisations with similar aims at international, Community or national
level, and to place its
experience at the disposal of the Community institutions for the preparation of officials and other
staff for retirement.

In amendment 451 to the draft budget for 2000, adopted on 28 October 1999, Parliament entered a sum
of € 300 000 under item A-3038, corresponding to the amount entered in the 1999 budget, but without
specifying where the extra € 129 000 should go. At this stage, in the absence of factors over and above the
estimates, the Commission proposes to execute the appropriations under this item in accordance with the
preliminary draft budget for 2000.

(2001/C 89 E/126)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1934/00

by Christopher Heaton-Harris (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(16 June 2000)

Subject: Budget Item A-3029

Could the Commission indicate which international non-governmental youth organisations receive
Community funds from Item A-3029 and the selection procedure that is used?

20.3.2001

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 89 E/117

Answer given by Mrs Reding on behalf of the Commission

(19 September 2000)

The list of organisations supported in 1999 under budget heading A-3029 (cid:145)Support for international non-
governmental youth organisations(cid:146) is being sent direct to the Honourable Member and the Parliament
Secretariat. As happens each year, this list was transmitted to Parliament by the Commission. The list is
also posted on the Commission(cid:146)s Internet site at the following address:
http://europa.eu.int/comm/secretariat_general/sgc/info_subv/beneficiaries_fr.htm (at present,
recent list available on this site is 1998).

the most

The selection procedure for the financial year 2000 is currently being finalised, therefore the Commission
is not able to this stage to communicate the list of beneficiaries for this year, but it will certainly do so in
due course.

As regards the selection procedure used for allocating the appropriations, this is based on the selection and
award criteria published in the call for proposals in the Official Journal (OJ) (1), and on the provisions of
the Commission(cid:146)s Vade Mecum on Grant Management, which have been applicable since 1999. A call for
proposals has been published in the OJ, placed on the Internet with all
the necessary supporting
documents (primarily the grant application form and the Vade Mecum on Grant Management) and sent
to those organisations which requested it. The grant applications submitted have been analysed on the
basis of the published selection and award criteria (over and above the formal eligibility criteria, the
selection criteria primarily include the quality and volume of European youth activities carried out, the
nature of these activities, the European dimension and the multiplier effect). Following this, an interdepart-
mental selection committee has met and proposed a decision for the apportionment of the appropriations
available.

(1) OJ C 379, 31.12.1999.

(2001/C 89 E/127)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1935/00

by Christopher Heaton-Harris (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(16 June 2000)

Subject: Budget Item A-3023

The European Union Youth Forum receives a total of € 2 million from Item A-3023. Could the
Commission indicate the objectives and members of this organisation and how youth organisations are
selected to receive Community funds?

Answer given by Mrs Reding on behalf of the Commission

(19 September 2000)

As can be seen from its statutes, the European Youth Forum seeks to uphold and promote the rights and
interests of young people and the organisations representing them. The Community consults the Forum on
issues concerning young people and youth organisations.

The Forum must take action to help integrate youth policy into overall Commission policy, to influence
Community policy on matters affecting young people, to boost the involvement of young people and
youth organisations in framing Community policy,
for equal rights for all citizens of the
Community and promote mutual understanding among them, and to promote democracy and genuine
participation in Community affairs.
the Forum must establish a working
In order to achieve this,
relationship with the Community, which will serve as a basis for consultation, coordination and
information.

to fight