WRITTEN QUESTION E-1459/01 by Christopher Heaton-Harris (PPE-DE) to the Commission. Budget Line A-3022.
Date: 2001-05-17
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: Community budget, EU financing, European integration, budget, promotion of the European idea

11.12.2001

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 350 E/161

(2001/C 350 E/172)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1459/01

by Christopher Heaton-Harris (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(17 May 2001)

Subject: Budget Line A-3022

Budget Line A-3022 grants € 1 500 000 in 2001 to the academic world in order to co-finance projects
whose aim is to promote the dissemination of knowledge on European integration.

This line would appear to duplicate, rather than complement, other Commission funding lines which have
exactly the same aims, e.g. College of Europe, Bruges, European University Institute, Florence, (cid:145)Our Europe(cid:146),
grants to organisations advancing the idea of Europe, associations and federations of European interest,
European think tanks and support for Jean Monnet House.

Could the Commission clarify exactly what makes Budget Line A-3022 different from the above funding
lines and therefore merit € 1 500 000 of taxpayers(cid:146) money?

Are any of the organisations obtaining money from this line recipients of any other Community grants?

In the interests of fairness and democracy, would the Commission be prepared to fund organisations that
take a balanced and unbiased approach to presenting information about the European Union to the
public?

Answer given by Mrs Reding on behalf of the Commission

(23 July 2001)

Article A-3022 of the general budget of the Community offers grants for European integration activities
organised by university-based study and research centres. This budget line targets university circles and
their research activities and debates on the process of European integration. These factors are what gives
the line its unique nature and what limits the range of eligible applicants.

Management of the financial resources revolves around the call for applications, which is published in the
Official Journal and disseminated on the Internet.

The text of the call for applications allows certain priority themes to be supported each year. In this way,
support can be provided for activities which closely reflect the Union(cid:146)s main preoccupations. Choosing
priority themes helps to make sure the budget is spent as effectively as possible.

The projects submitted in response to the call for applications are assessed by independent experts, after
which the successful candidates are selected.

Unlike in line A-3022, in budget lines A-3010 (College of Europe, Bruges), A-3011 (European University
Institute, Florence), A-3020 ((cid:145)Our Europe(cid:146) Association) and A-3036 (Support for the Jean Monnet House)
the beneficiaries are predetermined and in most cases the accompanying Remarks make it clear that the
appropriations are designed to cover operating costs.

The intended beneficiaries under budget line A-3022 are universities. These must submit projects in
response to the call for applications. The projects awarded grants under this line are concerned with
examining and debating the process of European integration. The activities supported in the projects
selected deal with the burning issues in Europe: seminars on the challenges of European integration,
meetings of university professors on institutional reform and enlargement, organisation of conferences on
the financial repercussions of the Euro, analysis of world trade and the Union, etc.

The main purpose of these grants is to support the debate on Europe and the active participation of
universities in the European integration process. These are all unique aims compared with those pursued
by other budget lines and they can be identified.

C 350 E/162

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

11.12.2001

The beneficiary institutions specified in lines A-3010, A-3011 etc., not being eligible under the criteria
applying to line A-3022, do not receive any support under this line.

As for the question of support for activities presenting information about the Union, it should be stressed
that such activities are not eligible for funding from line A-3022.

(2001/C 350 E/173)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1460/01

by Christopher Heaton-Harris (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(17 May 2001)

Subject: Budget Line A-3022

€ 1 500 000 was allocated both for 2000 and 2001 to Budget Line A-3022, Study and Research Centres.

Could the Commission confirm which organisations and centres have benefitted from this line in the past,
giving full details of the projects that were carried out?

How many new and existing organisations applied for this funding for 2001, and in what way does the
Commission audit the use of Community money from this line?

Answer given by Ms Schreyer on behalf of the Commission

(16 July 2001)

The Commission would inform the Honourable Member that it produces an annual report on all the
grants awarded under Chapter A-30, listing the beneficiaries, the amount of the grant and the percentage
co-financed. This report, which has already been sent to Parliament this year (to the Secretariat of the
Committee on Budgets) contains information on the beneficiaries of grants made from budget line
A-3022.

The projects to be funded under the 2001 budget are currently being selected. Of the 136 proposals
received by the Commission, 21 come from organisations (universities or associations of university
teachers) selected in previous years.

Line A-3022 is used to fund not the operating costs of the organisations receiving the grants, but costs
directly linked with the projects funded. Monitoring the use to which grants are put requires analysis of
the final report and the financial statement which all organisations are required to submit at the end of the
project. This analysis is conducted before the balance of the grant is paid out. In some cases it may result
in recovery of part of the advance.

(2001/C 350 E/174)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1462/01

by Piia-Noora Kauppi (PPE-DE) to the Commission

Subject: Diabetic seeks category C driving licence

(17 May 2001)

A Finn suffering from diabetes has studied for close on two years at technical school in the logistics
section to qualify as a lorry driver. When applying for the school in question, the person concerned was
not told that diabetes was a factor restricting this course of study. Passing the exam and exercising the
profession require a category C driving licence, and the conditions for issuing such a licence contain
a derogation for diabetics that is laid down in the relevant EU directive.