WRITTEN QUESTION E-1060/01 by John Corrie (PPE-DE) to the Commission. Assistance for the development of church-based or other religious NGOs.
Date: 2001-04-05
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: EU financing, developing countries, development aid, non-governmental organisation, religious group

C 364 E/38

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

20.12.2001

The forthcoming Joint Employment Report for 2001, based on the analysis of National Action Plans on
employment to be submitted by Member States in May in line with Article 128 of the EC Treaty, will offer
an opportunity to review the progress achieved by Spain in response to the Employment Guidelines and
Recommendations.

The Joint Employment Report for 2000 and the Employment Guidelines for 2001, as well as the
Recommendations addressed to the individual Member States can be accessed on the internet: http://
europa.eu.int/comm/employment_social/empl&esf/ees_en.htm. The Spanish National Action Plan for 2001
will be included at this site in due course.

The European Social Fund (ESF) is the Community(cid:146)s main financial tool for supporting the European
Employment Strategy. Concerning the fourth pillar of the Employment Guidelines (equal opportunities
between women and men), there are two types of initiatives to boost the participation of women in the
labour market: horizontal and specific initiatives. The former makes special reference to women in all
priority areas. The latter are only addressed to women: about € 124 millions (6 % of the budget concerning
Objective 3) and about € 232 millions (3 % of the budget concerning Objective 1) will be made available
through ESF over the period 2000-2006. This includes measures such as vocational training for women,
support for entrepreneurial projects, and initiatives which facilitate family and working life. The Fund will
also finance measures to combat occupational segregation and wage discrimination.

(1) Commission Communication (cid:145)Realising the European Union(cid:146)s Potential: consolidating and extending the Lisbon

strategy(cid:146) COM(2001) 79 final.

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

year 2001 (OJ L 22, 24.1.2001).

(3) Council Recommendation of 19 January 2001 on the implementation of Member States(cid:146) employment policies

(OJ L 22, 24.1.2001).

(2001/C 364 E/043)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1060/01

by John Corrie (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(5 April 2001)

Subject: Assistance for the development of church-based or other religious NGOs

What conditions does the Commission apply to requests for co-financing or other assistance for
development projects in developing countries submitted by church-based or other religious NGOs?

Answer given by Mr Nielson on behalf of the Commission

(23 July 2001)

The eligibility for co-financing under Budgetline B7-6000 of church (cid:129) based or other religious non-
governmental organisations (NGOs) is exactly the same as for all non governmental organisations and set
out in Council Regulation (EC) No 1658/98 of 17 July 1998 on co-financing operations with European
non-governmental development organisations (NGOs) in fields of interest to the developing countries (1) (cid:129)
Article 3:

The agents of cooperation eligible for co-financing under this Regulation shall be NGOs satisfying the
following conditions:

(cid:129) they must be constituted as autonomous non-profit-making organizations in a Member State in

accordance with the laws of that State,

(cid:129) they must have their headquarters in a Member State and the headquarters must be the main

center for decisions relating to the co-financed operations,

(cid:129) the majority of their funding must originate in Europe.

20.12.2001

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 364 E/39

In determining whether an NGO is eligible for co-financing, account shall also be taken of:

(cid:129) its capacity to mobilize genuine solidarity on the part of the European public for its development

activities,

(cid:129) the priority it accords to development and its experience in that field,

(cid:129) its administrative and financial management capacities,

(cid:129) where possible, its knowledge of the sector and country concerned,

(cid:129) its ability to support the development operations proposed by the partners in the developing
countries and the nature and scope of its links with similar organizations in the developing
countries.

(1) OJ L 213, 30.7.1998.

(2001/C 364 E/044)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1065/01

by Bart Staes (Verts/ALE) to the Commission

(5 April 2001)

Subject: Coordination of the Sensus project

Coordination of the Sensus project is in the hands of a certain Stephan Bodenkamp. Officially he is
employed by the Amt f(cid:252)r Auslandsfragen in Munich. A ruling from a Munich court (20 December 2000)
shows that Bodenkamp(cid:146)s real name is Christoph Kionowski and that he is an agent of the German state
security service, the Bundesnachrichtendienst, although apparently he has now been suspended.

1.
Is the Commission aware that coordination of the Sensus project is in the hands of Stephan
Bodenkamp/Christoph Kionowski, an agent of the German state security service, the Bundesnachrich-
tendienst? If so, why did the Commission put him in charge of the Sensus project?

2. Will the Commission relieve Stephan Bodenkamp/Christoph Kionowski of coordination of the Sensus
project since he is an agent of the Bundesnachrichtendienst? If not, why does the Commission continue to
entrust him with coordination of the project?

3. Will the Commission relieve Stephan Bodenkamp/Christoph Kionowski of coordination of the Sensus
project in view of his sentencing by a Munich court for forging a contract with a German technology firm
in the context of the Sensus project? If not, why does the Commission nevertheless entrust him with
coordination of the project?

4. Will the Commission relieve Stephan Bodenkamp/Christoph Kionowski of coordination of the Sensus
project in view of his suspension by the Bundesnachrichtendienst? If not, why does the Commission
nevertheless continue to entrust him with coordination of the project?

Answer given by Mr Liikanen on behalf of the Commission

(2 August 2001)

Amt f(cid:252)r Auslandsfragen (AfA) became the co-ordinator of the Sensus project at a late stage of the contract
negotiation phase, at the suggestion of the other project participants. The responsible Commission services
its
in charge of the project negotiation did not have objections to this suggestion, as in light of
participation in previous projects and as a government agency, AfA had the necessary commitment to the
project, as well as the administrative ability and financial stability to manage a large and complex project
such as Sensus. Similarly, Mr Bodenkamp as technical director of AfA, was considered to be suitable as
project manager. The Commission was not informed at the time of the signature of the contract that
Mr Bodenkamp was an official of the German Bundesnachrichtendienst (BND).