WRITTEN QUESTION E-3480/00 by Rosemarie Müller (PSE) to the Commission. European Year of Languages ‐ deadlines for applications for project subsidies.
Date: 2000-11-10
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: EU financing arrangements, European cultural event, language teaching

22.5.2001

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 151 E/181

(2001/C 151 E/208)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3480/00

by Rosemarie M(cid:252)ller (PSE) to the Commission

(10 November 2000)

Subject: European Year of Languages (cid:129) deadlines for applications for project subsidies

On 8 September 2000 the (cid:145)Official Journal(cid:146) published details of the programme for the European Year of
Languages. Applications for subsidies for projects scheduled before 30 June 2001 had to be submitted by
2 October 2000. Fifteen working days remained therefore in which to request the application forms and
necessary information from the national coordinators, complete those forms submit them on time. Such a
short deadline is unacceptable in my view. Small organisations in particular operating with few and often
voluntary staff are clearly at a disadvantage here. Was the purpose of this short deadline to keep the
number of applications to a minimum? Does the Commission consider such a short deadline acceptable?
How can such short deadlines be explained to members of the public?

Answer given by Mrs Reding on behalf of the Commission

(12 December 2000)

The Commission would remind the Honourable Member that the Decision of the Parliament and the
Council on the European Year of Languages was adopted on 17 July 2000 and published in the (cid:145)Official
Journal(cid:146) on 14 September 2000 (1). The proposal for a Decision had been adopted by the Commission on
13 October 1999 (2).

The call for proposals was therefore published as quickly as possible. The Commission plans to fund a
total of 150 projects, and the deadlines set for submission of applications are 2 October 2000 and
15 February 2001.

Although the Commission was aware that the deadline of 2 October 2000 left relatively little time to
prepare projects, it nevertheless had to set this date to allow funding for projects beginning during the first
half of next year. Despite this tight time-frame, the Commission received 250 project proposals.

The Commission would also point out that a second deadline for submission of applications is planned for
15 February 2001 for projects beginning from 1 June 2001.

(1) Decision No 1934/2000/EC (OJ L 232, 14.9.2000).
(2) COM(1999) 485 final.

(2001/C 151 E/209)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3483/00

by Heidi Hautala (Verts/ALE) to the Commission

Subject: Code of conduct on the use of menstrual tampons

(10 November 2000)

In order to minimise the risk of the toxic shock syndrome related to the use of tampons, the European
the Commission should initiate either European
Parliament has on several occasions requested that
legislation or a voluntary code of practice. The original demand, presented by the European Parliament(cid:146)s
Petitions Committee as early as 1996, was reiterated in a resolution in 1999 on the state of health of
women in the European Union.

The European Commission and EDANA concluded a voluntary code of conduct on the use of menstrual
tampons in June 1999. Could the Commission (cid:129) in view of the adopted text and the content of the letter
by the responsible Director-General of 21 December 1999 (cid:129) clarify how the code will be enforced and
controlled? What legal actions are possible in case (non)-EDANA manufacturers and importers bring non-
conform products onto the internal market?