WRITTEN QUESTION E-2851/01 by Erik Meijer (GUE/NGL) to the Commission. Allocation of ESF monies by the Netherlands Ministry of Education, Culture and Science to compensate for budget cuts.
Date: 2001-10-17
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: European Social Fund, Netherlands, dropout, financial control, ministry, teaching, use of aid

6.6.2002

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 134 E/125

(2002/C 134 E/124)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2851/01

by Erik Meijer (GUE/NGL) to the Commission

(17 October 2001)

Subject: Allocation of ESF monies by the Netherlands Ministry of Education, Culture and Science to

compensate for budget cuts

Is the Commission aware of reports of possible misuse of ESF monies by the Netherlands Ministry of
1.
Education, Culture and Science in allocating them to apprenticeship schemes and projects to discourage
pupils from dropping out of school?

Can it state which body in the Netherlands was ultimately responsible for channelling the ESF monies

2.
through to the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science?

Can it state how much ESF money has been channelled into education projects via that ministry

3.
since 1995? Who was responsible for carrying out checks?

Is the Commission aware of the claim made in the reports referred to above that, from 1995, ESF

4.
money has been used to offset cuts of HFL 200 million in the ministry’s budget?

5.
Does it consider this to be compatible with the conditions laid down for the use of ESF money, e.g.
as regards additionality and cofinancing? If not, does it consider there to be grounds for investigating the
matter more closely?

Do ministries in the Netherlands other than the Ministry of Social Affairs and the Ministry of

6.
Education, Culture and Science make use of ESF grants? If so, which?

Do the circumstances referred to above also provide grounds for the Commission for further

7.
investigation of the projects concerned?

If irregularities are found to exist, have they been taken into account in the Article 24 proceedings

8.
already initiated by the Commission?

Source: NOS Radio 1 news, 1 September 2004, 08:04-09:00

Answer given by Mrs Diamantopoulou on behalf of the Commission

(19 December 2001)

1. to 4.
The Commission has read reports in the Dutch press that the Ministry of Education, Culture and
Science (OC & W) may have committed errors while spending European Social Fund (ESF) monies. The
Dutch government has designated the Ministry of OC & W as final beneficiary for ESF funds. The amount
of money reserved for the Ministry of OC & W was, according to financial overviews presented by the
Dutch authorities at the Monitoring Committee of Objective 3 around 40 to 50 million NLG per year. At
this stage, however, it is not exactly known how much will be used by OC & W. This will only become
clear once the Dutch authorities have presented their final payment report. First line controle is the
responsibility of Arbeidsvoorziening while the Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment (SZW) assumes
second line control. The Commission has taken note of the reports in the Dutch press about the usage of
ESF to compensate for cutbacks in the budget of OC & W.

The Commission has, at this stage, no reasons to presume that the rules for additionality, which in
5.
any case refer to total public expenditure on active labour market policy, were violated. However, with
respect to rules for cost declarations there are now some doubts. The ESF agency of the Ministry of Social
Affairs and Employment (SZW) has started at its own initiative an investigation which the Commission is
following very closely. If the Commission is not satisfied with how the Dutch authorities deal with this
case it may decide to launch its own investigation.

C 134 E/126

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

6.6.2002

The Ministries for Justice, Interior Affairs and Wellbeing, Public Health and Sport have also benefited

6.
from ESF.

7. and 8.
The ESF agency of the Ministry of SZW has, at its own initiative, started an investigation and
depending on the outcome the Commission may decide to start its own investigation. The reply to
question 8 depends also on the outcome of the investigation of the ESF Agency referred to above.

(2002/C 134 E/125)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2852/01

by Erik Meijer (GUE/NGL) to the Commission

(17 October 2001)

Subject: Light-rail tunnels left unused in European cities owing to financial difficulties and competition

rules

1.
Is the Commission aware that many European towns and cities closed their tram networks between
the 1930s and 1960s to make way for the motor car, and that much hard work has been done during the
past few decades to reinstate former, extend existing and build new urban rail networks for conventional
trams, high-speed trams, metros and regional railways, so that towns and cities remain liveable in terms of
the environment, land use and accessibility, and is it also aware that substantial investments have been
made and are still being made in this field?

2.
Is it also aware that in a number of European towns and cities, including Seville (Andalusia, Spain)
and Charleroi (Wallonia, Belgium), metro tunnels were completed some time ago but have not been used
because the money for laying tracks, the purchase of rolling stock and paying staff ran out, so that public
transport still takes the form of slow, low-capacity buses which have to share roads with heavy traffic
made up of private cars?

3.
Is it alarmed that costly large-scale urban rail infrastructure already in use risks being abandoned, as
it has in Ludwigshafen (Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany), where principal tram route 12 (ex 48) between the
suburbs of Rheingönheim and Oppau, which runs through a specially built metro-type tunnel skirting the
north side of the city centre and serving the ‘Hauptbahnhof’, ‘Danzigerplatz’ and ‘Rathaus’ stops, has been
reduced to a peak-hours only route since 10 June 2001?

Can it confirm that cost-cutting in preparation for the competition that is looming in connection
4.
with application of the rules for the putting out to tender of public transport services in the European
Union is the reason for the closure of this formerly principal tram route in Ludwigshafen for most of the
day?

If financial problems and European rules are impeding the building,

5.
introduction, bringing into
service and continued operation of urban rail links, what does the Commission propose to do to foster the
successful development of urban rail transport and to help improve its competitiveness vis-à-vis bus
transport, whose performance in towns and cities is becoming increasingly inadequate?

Answer given by Mrs de Palacio on behalf of the Commission

(29 November 2001)

The Commission is not aware of any instances of cities reducing their use of urban rail infrastructure in
order to lower their expenditure in anticipation of European legislative requirements, or any aspect of draft
legislation that would require them to do so.

The Commission agrees that urban rail systems, including light rail and metro, have a vital role to play in
bringing about a significant reduction in car use and an increased use of public transport. This is
supported by evidence from cities that have introduced or upgraded such rail systems.