WRITTEN QUESTION E-2825/01 by María Sornosa Martínez (PSE) to the Commission. Diversion of ESF funding for environmental training to the Biodiversity Foundation in Spain.
Date: 2001-10-11
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: European Social Fund, employment policy, environmental education, operational programme, use of aid, vocational training

20.6.2002

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 147 E/55

(2002/C 147 E/055)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2825/01

by María Sornosa Martínez (PSE) to the Commission

(11 October 2001)

Subject: Diversion of ESF funding for environmental training to the Biodiversity Foundation in Spain

The Spanish Environment Ministry has just announced to the various Spanish government departments
that ESP 16 billion from the European Social Fund have been diverted to the Biodiversity Foundation. In
principle, this funding should have been used for the environmental education of workers, rather than civil
servants, via programmes managed by the autonomous regions. In actual fact, the agreement reached
envisaged that 30 % of the training costs would be borne by the regional governments and that the rest
would be provided by the Environment Ministry as the ‘catalyst’ for ESF aid.

Bearing in mind that:

3 the period of application for the funds is 2001 to 2006;

3 the objectives of the Biodiversity Foundation include the study of biodiversity and the channelling of
relations with the United Nations and other specialised international organisations, but not the
environmental training of workers;

3 the various autonomous regional governments have already drawn up their environmental training

plans for workers in the framework of the ESF,

can the Commission specify the exact nature of the aid granted to the Spanish State in this case and the
terms under which it was granted, in particular as regards the actual measures to be financed?

Does the Commission consider that in the context of the ESF Regulation it is lawful for the Spanish State
to divert the funds in the way described above?

What steps will the Commission take to ensure that environmental training programmes for workers
agreed on the basis of Community funding continue to proceed?

Answer given by Mrs Diamantopoulou on behalf of the Commission

(23 November 2001)

The ‘Iniciativa Empresarial y Formación Continua’ operational programmes (OPs) approved by the
Commission and incorporated into the Objective 1 and Objective 3 Community Support Frameworks for
the 2000-2006 programming period in Spain provide for the following measures relating to environ-
mental training:

3 training schemes aimed at providing better qualifications for workers whose jobs have a direct or

indirect impact on the environment and compliance with environmental policy objectives;

3 training courses (initial training, specialised training and instructor-training) for workers in small and
medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), entrepreneurs, managers and other professionals whose jobs have a
direct or indirect impact on the environment and compliance with environmental policy objectives;

3 analysis of environmental

training required in the future by creating a skills analysis network,
launching specific studies by the Autonomous Community, via seminars and exchanges of experience;

3 creation of an ‘on-line’ platform for environmental training material, implementation of a distance-
learning system using this platform as a basis, and the development and distribution of training tools
in different formats, paying particular attention to each sector’s guides to good practice.

Community aid for these activities is granted according to the rules and objectives laid down by Council
Regulation (EC) No 1260/1999 of 21 June 1999 laying down general provisions on the Structural

C 147 E/56

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

20.6.2002

Funds (1) and by Regulation (EC) No 1784/1999 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 July
1999 on the European Social Fund (2). The priorities in the development of training schemes are outlined
in the text of the OPs adopted by Commission Decisions C (2001) 24 of 16 January 2001 for the
Objective 1 OP and C (2001) 100 of 23 January 2001 for Objective 3.

The measures and actions to be taken in order to implement the priorities are outlined in the programme
complements adopted by the Monitoring Committees for the corresponding OPs on 4 May 2001.

According to Article 18(3) b) of Regulation (EC) No 1260/1999, definition of the types of final beneficiary
is done in the programme complement.

Article 9 m) of the same Regulation provides that the programme complement is drawn up by the Member
State or managing authority and revised as necessary by the Monitoring Committee and sent to the
Commission for information.

Thus, in line with the principle of subsidiarity, in accordance with Article 9, it is the duty of the Spanish
authorities to define the final beneficiaries.

As final beneficiaries responsible for environmental training schemes in the ‘Iniciativa empresarial y
formación continua’ programmes, the Spanish authorities have identified the Ceneam (Centro Nacional de
Educación Ambiental) for actions started in 2000 and the Fundación Biodiversidad for actions started in
2001.

The Commission will ensure that the aid granted will be monitored and assessed in line with the rules set
down by Council Regulation (EC) No 1260/1999. In this particular case, the Commission will check that
the objectives relating to environmental training laid down in the operational programmes are respected.

(1) OJ L 161, 26.6.1999.
(2) OJ L 213, 13.8.1999.

(2002/C 147 E/056)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2828/01

by Fernando Fernández Martín (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(11 October 2001)

Subject: Development of national chambers of commerce and the Secretariat

for the chambers of

commerce of the ACP countries

The Community and ACP institutions and the new guidelines set out in the Cotonou Agreement stress the
need to strengthen civil society in the ACP countries. The chambers of commerce, industry and other
economic operators in the ACP countries are an essential element in achieving this aim, as acknowledged
on various occasions, for example in the resolutions of the ACP Council of Ministers meeting in Montego
Bay (Jamaica) and Suva (Fiji) and the motions for resolutions adopted by the Joint Assembly in Brussels in
1997. However, the activity of the national chambers of commerce and industry has been unable to boost
and develop the activities of the Secretariat for the chambers of commerce, as requested inter alia in the
afore-mentioned resolutions, in order to foster the work of the private sector.

What projects does the Commission envisage to improve and step up the activities of these institutions, as
an essential factor in developing the private sector, as mentioned among the objectives of the Cotonou
Agreement and what resources does it intend to allocate for their achievement?

Answer given by Mr Nielson on behalf of the Commission

(6 December 2001)

In the context of measures to support capacity building for non-State actors in general and the private
sector in particular, and in accordance with the Cotonou Convention, the Commission recognises the key
role played by the national chambers of commerce of the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries.