WRITTEN QUESTION E-0683/01 by Michl Ebner (PPE-DE) to the Commission. Increased funding for cross-border co-operation.
Date: 2001-03-08
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: EU financing, EU initiative, cross-border cooperation

C 350 E/28

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

11.12.2001

or with a disadvantage, in order to avoid marginalisation, the emergence of (cid:145)working poor(cid:146) and a drift into
exclusion; it also calls for the implementation of appropriate measures to meet the needs of the disabled,
ethnic minorities and migrant workers as regards their integration into the labour market and to set
national targets where appropriate for this purpose.

In addition, a number of other Employment Guidelines (cid:129) notably on the prevention of long term
unemployment, on life long learning, on the tax/benefits systems and on equal opportunities (cid:129) have
a close link with the objective of fighting social exclusion.

Member States have been invited by the Commission to ensure consistency and complementarity between
their national reports on, respectively, employment policy and social inclusion policies.

Regulation (EC) No 1784/1999 of the Parliament and of the Council of 12 July 1999 on the European
Social Fund (2) (ESF) outlines the five policy fields through which the ESF will support the development of
the labour market and human resources. One of those policy fields aims to (cid:145)promote equal opportunities
for all in accessing the labour market, with particular emphasis on those exposed to social exclusion(cid:146). This
provided a good starting point to promote, within Structural Fund programmes, the inclusion agenda set
out at the Lisbon European Council.

Between 2000-2006, the ESF will make an investment in people of around € 60 billions as part of the
modernisation and reform of European labour markets (3). They will give particular attention to integrating
marginalised groups into the economy and society. Negotiations between the Commission and Member
States resulted in plans to allocate over € 9 billions of ESF to promote social
inclusion across the
Community. This support will come via action to widen access to learning and employment opportunities
including clear commitments to tackle the digital divide.

The European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) can make a contribution to promoting improvements
in health within regions covered by Objective 1 where this investment is beneficial to the region(cid:146)s
structural adjustment (4).

The commitment to social inclusion will be reviewed over the lifetime of Structural Fund programmes
including an evaluation in 2003 of the impact of the ESF (including the Community Initiative EQUAL) in
promoting social inclusion (5).

(1) Council Decision 2001/63/EC of 19 January 2001 on Guidelines for Member States(cid:146) employment policies for 2001

(OJ L 22, 24.1.2001).

(2) ERDF also makes a significant contribution to job creation (Regulation (EC) No 1783/1999 of the Parliament and of

the Council of 12 June 1999 (OJ L 213, 13.8.1999).
In many Structural Fund programmes, ESF will work alongside other Community funds e.g. ERDF.

(3)
(4) Regulation (EC) No 1261/1999 of the Parliament and of the Council of 21 June 1999 (OJ L 161, 26.6.1999).
(5) Communication from the Commission to the Council, the Parliament, the Economic and Social Committee and the

Committee of the Regions: Social Policy Agenda COM(2000) 379 final.

(2001/C 350 E/027)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0683/01

by Michl Ebner (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(8 March 2001)

Subject: Increased funding for cross-border co-operation

Can the Commission state whether it is planning to increase the budget currently available for the Interreg
III programme for the programming period up to 2006 for the purposes of cross-border co-operation with
particular reference to areas adjoining what will then be the new Central and East European Member
States?

11.12.2001

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 350 E/29

Answer given by Mr Barnier on behalf of the Commission

(14 June 2001)

The Community initiative Interreg is the most important one in financial terms during the programming
period 2000-2006. According to the conclusions of the European Council of Berlin, due attention should
be given to cross-border activities, in particular in the perspective of enlargement and for Member States
which have extensive frontiers with the applicant countries.

On the basis of indicative financial allocations per Member State established by the Commission specifying
the margins of flexibility between the different strands of Interreg, Member States make a breakdown of
funding by strand, border and region, as appropriate. In breaking down this amount, Member States have
to ensure that, on an indicative basis, at least 50 % of their total allocation for Interreg III is allocated to
cross-border co-operation under strand A. As all Interreg III strand A programme proposals have in the
meantime been submitted, it can be stated that about 67 % of the Interreg allocation will be dedicated to
cross-border co-operation.

The Commission is currently in the process of negotiating the Interreg programmes drawn up by the
authorities designated by the Member States. Once the Commission has approved those programmes, all
resources with the exception of a certain amount set aside for networking in the framework of Interreg
will be allocated. No additional financial resources will be available during the current programming
period, as the Commission is required to respect the financial perspectives agreed at the European Council
of Berlin.

Following the request made by the European Council of Nice,
the Commission is preparing
a communication on regions bordering candidate countries. The communication will evaluate their socio-
economic situation, analyse the potential impact of enlargement on those regions and examine the existing
Community instruments. In addition, the communication will include proposals for actions to optimise
and better co-ordinate the existing Community instruments in place to support border regions. The
communication is likely to be adopted before the summer break.

(2001/C 350 E/028)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0695/01

by Glenys Kinnock (PSE) to the Commission

(8 March 2001)

Subject: Textiles industry in Bangladesh

Does the Commission intend to respond to calls from the Bangladeshi Prime Minister, Sheikh Hasina, for
the US to extend duty, and quota, free access, which is already offered to 33 least developed countries, to
Bangladeshi textiles and garments? Will direct contact be made with the EU(cid:146)s trade counterparts in the
United States?

(2001/C 350 E/029)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-1068/01

by Caroline Lucas (Verts/ALE) to the Commission

Subject: The US (cid:145)New Africa(cid:146) Initiative and Bangladeshi textiles

(26 March 2001)

In its offer of duty-free and quota-free access, the US Trade and Development Act 2000 makes a critical
distinction between ACP least-developed countries, and non-ACP least-developed countries. This somewhat
arbitrary distinction is already having a very negative impact on the textiles and garments sector in
Bangladesh, for which the US market is extremely important. This is particularly regrettable, since it is
precisely the growth of this sector which has enabled many thousands of Bangladeshi women to earn an
independent income and to make significant progress towards greater equality.