WRITTEN QUESTION E-3582/00 by Ria Oomen-Ruijten (PPE-DE) to the Commission. Failure to release ESF payments.
Date: 2000-11-17
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: European Social Fund, Netherlands, balance of payments assistance, bankruptcy, management, type of business

C 163 E/170

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

6.6.2001

(2001/C 163 E/193)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3579/00

by Adriana Poli Bortone (UEN) to the Commission

(17 November 2000)

Subject: Making Lecce the hub of the migratory flows information network

The Commission is currently looking into the technical requirements for a migratory flows information
network based on Internet technology. Given that Lecce can be considered the (cid:145)gateway to Europe(cid:146) for
immigrants, does the Commission intend to set up a data collection and processing centre in that city, to
serve as the hub of the proposed network?

Answer given by Mr Vitorino on behalf of the Commission

(18 December 2000)

Work on designing a computerised network dealing with migration flows is not yet sufficiently advanced
for a choice to be made as regards the contact points in the Member States or the location of the
network(cid:146)s hub.

The Commission would refer the Honourable Member to the answer to his Written Question E-3170/00 (1)
on the same subject.

(1) OJ C 136 E, 8.5.2001, p. 197.

(2001/C 163 E/194)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3582/00

by Ria Oomen-Ruijten (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(17 November 2000)

Subject: Failure to release ESF payments

The ABB Management Consulting Group in Maastricht, together with four associated companies, recently
filed for bankruptcy. The immediate cause was the failure by the European Social Fund to release payment
of promised subsidies.

The bankruptcy means the loss of valuable innovative and job-creating projects. The ABB Group has a
claim outstanding against the ESF totalling some 1.8m guilders.

Exhaustive investigations by accountants into the firms concerned have revealed no evidence whatsoever of
any fraudulent practice involving ESF funds.

1.

2.

Is the Commission aware of the above facts?

How does the Commission explain the failure to release ESF payments previously promised?

Does the Commission intend eventually to pay the firms concerned the amounts manifestly due to

3.
them?

(a)

If so, when, and what procedure will first have to be complied with?

(b)

If not, why not?

Answer given by Mrs Diamantopoulou on behalf of the Commission

1.

The Commission was not aware of this particular case.

(30 January 2001)

2.
The actual payment of European social fund (ESF) subsidies falls under the responsibility of the
designated authority. In the case of the Netherlands, the Dutch authorities have assigned this task to ESF-
Netherlands which is a subsidiary of Arbeidsvoorziening. In April 2000, the Commission transferred the

6.6.2001

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Official Journal of the European Communities

C 163 E/171

last ESF instalment for the period 1994-1999 to the Dutch authorities. Apart form a modest reservation
for irregularities in 1994-1996, all ESF funds for the period 1994-1999 have been paid to the Dutch
authorities.

During the last one and a half years, irregularities have been discovered in many Dutch ESF projects. The
Dutch Minister for Sociale Zaken en Werkgelegenheid warned the Dutch Parliament
in a letter of
19 October 2000 that the controls carried out by Arbeidsvoorziening so far indicate very high irregularity
rates. For instance the irregularity rate for 1998 projects is estimated to be as high as 47 %. This implies
that substantial amounts of money may have to be paid back to the Commission.

3.

(a)
It is not the Commission but the Dutch authorities who decide if projects are eligible for the
whole amount of ESF subsidies set out in their original project application approved by Arbeidsvoor-
ziening. The 1994-1999 programming period must be closed before 31 December 2002. It is in
principle possible that the Dutch authorities decide to postpone their final payment claim to the
Commission until this very date. This would give the Dutch authorities ample time to deal with the
final payments of ESF subsidies to individual promoters.

(b) The Commission itself does not decide if an individual promoter is paid or not. This is the sole

responsibility of the Dutch authorities.

(2001/C 163 E/195)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-3585/00

by Marco Cappato (TDI) to the Commission

(13 November 2000)

Subject: Report on Directive 95/46/EC and its possible revision

Article 33 of Directive 95/46/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council (1) on the protection of
individuals with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data, which
entered into force on 25 October 1998, reads as follows: (cid:145)The Commission shall report to the Council and
the European Parliament at regular intervals, starting not later than three years after the date referred to in
Article 32(1), on the implementation of this Directive, attaching to its report,
if necessary, suitable
proposals for amendments. The report shall be made public. The Commission shall examine, in particular,
the application of this Directive to the data processing of sound and image data relating to natural persons
and shall submit any appropriate proposals which prove to be necessary, taking account of developments
in information technology and in the light of the state of progress in the information society(cid:146).

What stage has the Commission reached in the process of drawing up such a report? Does the
Commission consider that amendments are necessary? If so, what amendments, and within what timescale?

(1) OJ L 281, 23.11.1995, p. 31.

Answer given by Mr Bolkestein on behalf of the Commission

(8 December 2000)

As the Honourable Member points out, the Commission is due to report to the Council and the Parliament
within the meaning and the deadline provided for in Article 33 of Directive 95/46/EC of the Parliament
and of the Council of 24 October 1995 on the protection of individuals with regard to the processing of
personal data and on the free movement of such data.

The Commission is closely following the implementation of the Directive in Member States. It has decided
to refer to the Court of Justice the cases of five Member States which have not yet notified national
implementing legislation. In view of this situation, it seems premature to take position on whether to
suggest amendments to the Directive.