WRITTEN QUESTION E-2322/02 by Nirj Deva (PPE-DE) to the Commission. Funding of the European Movement.
Date: 2002-07-26
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: EU expenditure, EU financing, European association, promotion of the European idea, youth movement

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Official Journal of the European Union

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Secondly, the Commission assures the Honourable Members of its determination to prevent and to combat
all forms of corruption at all levels within the Union and inside the European institutions. The Union
policy against corruption is mainly based on criminal law instruments adopted under Title VI of the Treaty
on European Union (1) (ex-article K.3 of the Maastricht Treaty). Greece has ratified all three of these anti-
corruption instruments. However, it is not the Commission’s role to establish lists or indices showing the
degree of corruption in certain Member States, mindful that such lists can only be subjective impressions
depending on the parameters and indicators used for these purposes. However, useful information on this
topic can be found in the Organised Crime Situation Report established annually by Europol.

Concerning the alleged corrupt use of Community funds in Greece, the sectoral regulations as well as the
horizontal regulations regarding protection of the European Communities financial interests, require the
Member States to forward to the Commission (OLAF) information considered pertinent which the Member
States hold relating to the fight against fraud, corruption and any other illegal activity affecting the
to the
Communities’
Commission (OLAF) information on matters regarding corruption of national public officials, as such
actions constitute an infraction of national law. Current officials of OLAF are not aware of having received
any information regarding the corrupt use of community funds in Greece. The Commission is therefore
not able to carry out a comparative study as it does not have the necessary elements to do so.

interests. The Member States are not, however, required to transmit

financial

In this context the Commission would like to draw the attention of the Honourable Members to the
Commission’s annual report on protection of the Communities’ financial interests and fight against fraud (2)
which gives useful general information, inter alia, on investigations in the area of structural funds and
cohesion funds, as well as an overview of the anti-fraud measures taken by the Member States.

Lastly, for the 2000-2006 programme period, Council Regulation (EC) No 1260/1999 of 21 June 1999
laying down the general provisions on the Structural Funds (3) provides for the creation of reinforced
structures for planning, follow-up and verification in order to improve the utilisation of these Funds.

(1)

(First) Protocol to the Convention on the protection of
interests (PIF-
Convention) of 27 September 1996, the Convention on the fight against corruption involving officials of the
European Communities or officials of Member States of the European Union of 26 May 1997 and the Second
Protocol to the PIF-Convention of 19 June 1997.

the European Communities’

financial

(2) COM(2002) 348.
(3) OJ L 161, 26.6.1999, p. 1.

(2003/C 155 E/014)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2322/02

by Nirj Deva (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(26 July 2002)

Subject: Funding of the European Movement

The European Movement is in receipt of funds from the European Communities budget.

Can the Commission identify under the budget lines of the past three years what monies have been

1.
made available to:

(a)

each national office of the European Movement,

(b)

the European Movement International Secretariat,

(c)

each national branch of the Young European Movement (YEM),

(d) Agora,

(e) other European Movement elements?

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2. What funds over this period have been made available for:

(a) publications, by title,

(b) public meetings,

(c)

specific campaigns?

3. What support have individual Commissioners provided to this network?

Answer given by Mr Prodi on behalf of the Commission

(21 November 2002)

The Commission is pleased to send to the Honourable Member and to Parliament’s Secretariat the tables in
which he will find detailed information relating to funds allocated to the national offices of the European
Movement for publications and the organisation of meetings and campaigns in 1998, 1999 and 2000
together with the global allocations for 2001. These funds were all committed under budget line B3-301.

Grants for operating costs are provided under budget line A-3021 which provides ‘grants to European
think tanks and organisations advancing the idea of Europe’. Payments have been made to the European
Movement International Secretariat over the last three years as follows:

Year

1999

2000

2001

Committed

300 000

300 000

300 000

(in euros)

Paid

253 377

229 711

300 000

With respect to European Movement member organisations, the following amounts were committed
within the last three years:

Young European Federalists

(in euros)

Amount committed

Budget line

25 000

23 000

21 119

29 590

A-3029

A-3029

A-3029

B3-1010

Youth of European People’s Party

(in euros)

Amount committed

Budget line

14 000

20 000

A-3029

A-3029

European Trade Union ETUC

(in euros)

Amount committed

Budget line

14 000

14 000

A-3029

A-3029

Year

1999

2000

2001

2001

Year

2000

2001

Year

2000

2001

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European Migrants Forum

(in euros)

Year

1999

Amount committed

Budget line

52 338

B3-1010

This adds up to a total of EUR 213 047.

EUR 131 119 of this amount were allocated to the budget line A-3029, which covers part of the operating
costs of international non-governmental youth organisations.

EUR 81 928 under budget line B3-1010 (YOUTH Programme) were committed for the following two
projects:

1. Young European Federalists: ‘Putting the Euro in Action (cid:1) Options for European Youth’:

(cid:1) project number: 2001-2275;

(cid:1) amount committed: EUR 29 590;

(cid:1) type of activity: youth exchange (cid:1) programme countries;

2.

European Migrants Forum: ‘Empowering migrant and ethnic minority youth leaders’:

(cid:1) project number: 1999-1375;

(cid:1) amount committed: EUR 52 338;

(cid:1) type of activity: training course providing for practical skills to develop youth activities aimed at

migrant and ethnic youth.

As the Honourable Member will understand, Members of the Commission support a wide range of
organisations and networks, including the European Movement, that provide information about the Union
and communicate with citizens, empowering people to participate in a dialogue about European issues.
The amount of time and energy devoted by Members of the Commission is naturally for them to decide as
individuals.

(2003/C 155 E/015)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-2338/02

by Herbert Bösch (PSE) to the Commission

(22 July 2002)

Subject: Shortcomings in the Commission’s financial control and accounts

‘Finance safeguards are “seriously weak” says chief auditor’ says a headline in the weekly paper ‘European
Voice’ of 4 July 2002. The paper claims that Jules Muis, Director-General and head of the Commission’s
internal audit service, has strongly criticised the Commission’s accounting system. Mr Muis is also said to
have criticised the Commission for avoiding setting up the post of a central financial controller, thus
making it harder to create clear responsibilities.

Can the Commission send me a copy of Mr Muis’s letter from which the European Voice quotes
extensively?

Can the Commission also provide me with a copy of the answer sent by the Director-General for the
Budget?

Does the Commission agree that Mr Muis’s criticism is largely identical to the critical statements by
Mrs Andreasen, who was subsequently relieved of her duties as the Commission’s accounting officer?

Can the Commission tell me when Commissioner Schreyer complied with the call by the Committee on
Budgetary Control (letter from Mrs Theato to Mrs Schreyer of 6 June 2002) and asked Mrs Andreasen to
put her criticisms in writing so that they could be forwarded to Parliament?