WRITTEN QUESTION E-2528/01 by Ioannis Marínos (PPE-DE) to the Commission. Funding of Christian religious institutions.
Date: 2001-09-19
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: EU financing, EU law - national law, aid system, application of EU law, eligibility criteria, non-governmental organisation, religious institution

6.6.2002

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 134 E/41

The Commission has received numerous complaints about illegal landfill sites in Greece and has

2.
taken legal action against Greece for bad application of Community waste legislation (2).

3. and 4.
Directive 1999/31/EC of 26 April 1999 to the Commission.

Greece has not yet communicated the national measures for the transposition of Council

5.
Before the adoption of Directive 1999/31/EC a study was made on the costs and benefits of the
Directive (3). In this study the costs for Greece to meet the proposed Directive were estimated at around
€ 1 000 million. Household waste management in Greece is currently co-financed under the Cohesion
Fund and the 13 regional operational programmes (ROPs) of the Structural Funds. It includes activities
relating to implementation of
the Directive. The total amount of aid can be estimated at around
€ 500 million from the Cohesion Fund for the whole of the period 2000-2006. To this is added the aid
provided under the environmental measures included in the 13 ROPs of
the Community support
framework for the Greek regions eligible for Objective 1 during that period. The Commission does not
have the breakdown of all the aid allocated to these measures (€ 578 million) but estimates that some
€ 100 million will be used for waste-disposal-related activities. The Commission would like to stress that
the co-financing of certain activities by Community funds does not mean that the Community is under any
obligation to co-finance the implementation of the relevant Directives.

(1) OJ L 298, 25.11.2000.
(2) See for instance the Kouroupitos case.
(3) Commission of the European Communities, A Cost-Benefit Analysis of the Proposed Council Directive on the

Landfill of Waste, January 1994.

(2002/C 134 E/043)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2528/01

by Ioannis Marínos (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(19 September 2001)

Subject: Funding of Christian religious institutions

Are the Christian religious organisations,
in particular the dioceses and monasteries of the Orthodox
Church, considered to be non-governmental organisations within the meaning of Community Law owing
to the wide range of charitable work they carry out (orphanages, old people’s homes, homes for the
terminally ill, caring for the destitute), and are they entitled to claim a share of the funding allocated to
those organisations from the Union’s budget?

Answer given by Mr Prodi on behalf of the Commission

(18 October 2001)

The eligibility of organisations to apply for Community funding depends on whether or not they meet the
criteria published in calls for proposals. A major criterion is that applicants must have a proper legal status
and thus prove that they are properly constituted and registered under the law. As there is no definition of
non-governmental organisations in Community law,
the Commission has to rely on the status of
applicants under national law when assessing this eligibility, usually to see whether or not they enjoy the
status of not-for-profit organisations. However, it should be pointed out to the Honourable Member that,
even though an orthodox diocese or monastery which has its own distinct legal status may be eligible to
apply under one scheme or another, eligibility alone would not entitle them to a share of funds, as of
right. Funds are awarded on the basis of a comparison of the relative merits of the various applications
received. Applications from institutions acting as intermediaries on behalf of others are in general not
permitted.