WRITTEN QUESTION E-1360/01 by Bartho Pronk (PPE-DE) to the Commission. European Social Fund (ESF) subsidies during the programming period 1994-1999.
Date: 2001-05-07
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: European Social Fund, Netherlands, administrative transparency, financial management, management audit

11.12.2001

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 350 E/133

Answer given by Mrs Reding on behalf of the Commission

(5 July 2001)

Community law on the free movement of workers prohibits not only open discrimination on the basis of
in practice constitute a form of covert
nationality, but also the use of recruitment criteria that
discrimination. Conditions relating to linguistic knowledge required by reason of the nature of the post
in principle constitute discrimination on the grounds of nationality (Article 3,
to be filled do not
Paragraph 1 of Regulation (EEC) No 1612/68 of
the Council of 15 October 1968 on freedom of
movement for workers within the Community (1)), but in practice the use of a specific criterion (cid:129) such as
a candidate(cid:146)s mother tongue or native language (cid:129) for assessing the required level of knowledge may be
considered disproportionate in relation to the aim in view (Judgment of the Court of Justice of 6 June
2000 in Case C-281/98).

Organisations performing services under contract for the Commission, such as the Socrates, Leonardo and
Youth Technical Assistance Office, are required to operate in a wide range of languages and the staff
recruited by such organisations is composed of a wide range of nationalities and mother tongues. They
may from time to time require to recruit staff with a very high level of knowledge of a specific language or
languages. In so doing, they are bound to comply with all legal and administrative provisions applicable in
Belgium, including Community regulations on the free movement of workers, and are answerable to the
Belgian authorities for their compliance with such provisions.

(1) OJ L 257, 19.10.1968.

(2001/C 350 E/144)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1360/01

by Bartho Pronk (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(7 May 2001)

Subject: European Social Fund (ESF) subsidies during the programming period 1994-1999

On 29 March 2001, the (cid:145)Interim report on research into subsidies from the European Social Fund for the
programming period 1994-1999(cid:146), also known as the Koning report, was published in the Netherlands. The
study was commissioned by Mr Vermeend, Minister for Social Affairs and Employment. The Minister
submitted the report to the Second Chamber in early April 2001.

1.

Has the European Commission noted that report?

Does it feel that that report has any implications for both the implementation of the agreements

2.
relating to the new period and approval in respect of the previous period?

The Netherlands Government intends to entrust the management of ESF funds in future to an agency.

The Minister for Social Affairs and Employment has stated that the European Commission has

3.
approved its plan. Is that really true?

I asked for information about the ESF Implementation Unit in the Employment Service in a previous
Written Question (E-0129/00 (1) dated 27 January 2000).

4.
Has the European Commission changed its views in the light of the Koning report? In its answer to
my Written Question referred to above, the European Commission said that it was the responsibility of the
Commission to check that the ESF programme had been implemented in a transparent, efficient and
correct manner, in accordance with the Regulation currently in force.

5.

Does the European Commission feel that it has adequately discharged its responsibility?

In its answer to my Written Question referred to above, it also said that it would negotiate with the
Netherlands Government with a view to making sure that the implementation chapters of the Single
Programming Document (SPD) provided a sufficient guarantee for that to be the case.

6.

Have the negotiations with the Netherlands Government now been completed?

C 350 E/134

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

11.12.2001

If so, can the European Commission indicate the outcome of those negotiations?

In the conclusion to Section 5.6 of the Koning report, reference is made to balancing the books, whereby
a positive ESF liquidity balance is used to offset a negative Employment Service organisation liquidity
balance.

To what extent does the European Commission deem it possible for the books to be balanced in the

7.
manner referred to above?

8.

Does it intend to prohibit this in the forthcoming programming period?

If so, how will it do so?

(1) OJ C 303 E, 24.10.2000, p. 145.

Answer given by Mrs Diamantopoulou on behalf of the Commission

(27 June 2001)

The Commission has studied the Koning interim report very carefully. It confirms, in general, the

1.
findings of the Commission(cid:146)s own investigations.

2.
The Koning report deals exclusively with the previous 1994-1999 programming period and does not
contain any recommendations for the ongoing 2000-2006 period. For this period, the Structural Fund
regulations have,
in particular to ensure more rigorous financial
management. However, although it considers that the consequences of the Koning report must be borne in
mind in the first place in the Netherlands, the Commission regards the Koning report as a very useful
additional source of information for the future management of the Structural Fund.

in any case, changed substantially,

3. and 4.
The Dutch government is responsible for the choice of the implementation structure of the
European Social Fund (ESF) programmes. Its decision to create an agency to implement the programme
has, in fact, been welcomed by the Commission. The Commission has not changed its views in the light of
the Koning report. The Commission also welcomes the decision of the Dutch government to place the
agency under the direct responsibility of the Minister of Social Affairs and Employment.

in place. The Government(cid:146)s decision to turn the ESF implementation unit

5.
The Dutch Objective 3 Single Programming Document, which the Commission approved in August
2000, contains a detailed description of the elaborate control structure the Dutch authorities have
promised to put
into
a government agency provides for additional guarantees against irregularities. But of course both the
Commission and the Dutch authorities know that (cid:145)the proof of the pudding is in the eating(cid:146). Under the
current programming period, interim-payments by the Commission to the Dutch Government can only be
made on the basis of certified invoices for realised projects. The Commission will carefully check the
integrity of these certificates, and thus ensure that projects are implemented in a transparent, effective and
correct way in line with the valid regulation.

In December 2000, the Commission and the Dutch authorities created a Joint Working Group which
6.
meets on a regular basis. So far it has not been possible to come to final conclusions because many of the
final control results are still pending. But the Commission is satisfied with the way the co-operation with
the Dutch authorities is taking place.

7.
The (cid:145)netting(cid:146) problem referred to in chapter 5.6 of the Koning interim report was caused by the fact
that the (cid:145)Arbeidsvoorziening(cid:146) (labour supply) did not keep its ESF subsidies in a separate bank account. The
Commission insists that future arrangements will be such that transparency is ensured, which was not the
case with the former approach.

8.
By the end of 1998 this practice of (cid:145)netting(cid:146) through one single account had already been abolished
by the (cid:145)Arbeidsvoorziening(cid:146) itself. As far as the Commission is aware, the Dutch authorities have no plans
to reintroduce netting of ESF monies with national funds.