WRITTEN QUESTION E-1061/03 by Roberta Angelilli (UEN) to the Commission. Use of funds from the Customs 2002 programme by the municipality of Ancona.
Date: 2003-03-28
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: Marches, action programme, administrative cooperation, customs cooperation, customs inspection, eligibility criteria, fund (EU), use of aid

27.3.2004

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 78 E/23

Commission and the Member States, for monitoring and anti-fraud measures and in order to improve the
tools used by customs authorities in their work, can the Commission state:

1. whether the municipality of Fiumicino has submitted projects for the Customs 2002 programme?

2. whether the municipality of Fiumicino has secured funding for these projects?

3. whether this funding has been used?

(2004/C 78 E/0024)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1061/03

by Roberta Angelilli (UEN) to the Commission

(28 March 2003)

Subject: Use of funds from the Customs 2002 programme by the municipality of Ancona

In September 2002, the monitoring committee of the Italian Ministry for Economic Affairs issued a report
on the spending of EU funds.

The report reveals the alarming slowness and inefficiency with which EU funds are allocated to projects by
some regional authorities.

The grave concerns about the inadequate use of European funds by local authorities have frequently been
echoed by the Commission.

Bearing in mind that some local authorities, such as the municipality of Ancona, urgently need to use
European funds for measures to enhance the spirit of partnership and cooperation created between the
Commission and the Member States, for monitoring and anti-fraud measures and in order to improve the
tools used by customs authorities in their work,

can the Commission state:

1. whether the municipality of Ancona has submitted projects for the Customs 2002 programme?

2. whether the municipality of Ancona has secured funding for these projects?

3. whether this funding has been used?

Joint answer
to Written Questions E-0883/03 and E-1061/03
given by Mr Bolkestein on behalf of the Commission

(8 May 2003)

The Customs 2002 programme financed activities that aimed to improve co-operation between the
Customs administrations of the Member States in the internal market (1). The programme distinguishes
between two type of activities: IT activities (2) and Joint and Other actions (3).

The IT activities concern the Customs IT systems. For instance Transit. The Joint and Other Actions were
organised by the Commission and the Customs administrations of the Member States. The participants in
the events were officials from these administrations.

The financial management of Joint and Other Actions part of the programme is organised in the following
way: the Commission pays an advance to the administrations of the Member States concerned while these
administrations make the necessary payments. Examples of payments are paying for a plane ticket of a
participant or paying an invoice for a conference facility when an administration hosts a seminar. The
administrations of the Member States have to report twice a year to the Commission on the expenses
financed from the programme budget.

C 78 E/24

Official Journal of the European Union

EN

27.3.2004

Consequently, the Commission can inform the Honorable Member that the municipalities of Ancona and
Fiumicino did not fit the criteria for participating in the Customs 2002 programme and therefore did not
submit projects or secured any funding.

(1) The Programme Decision gives a detailed overview of the objectives of the programme. (Customs 2002 Decision No

210/97/EC of 19 December 1996, amended by Decision No 105/2000/EC of 17 December 1999).
Information Exchange and Communication Systems.
For instance seminars, exchanges, working or benchmarking groups.

(2)
(3)

(2004/C 78 E/0025)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-0895/03

by Glenys Kinnock (PSE) to the Commission

(17 March 2003)

Subject: Agro-business Bank of Georgia

Does the Commission intend to re-open the tendering process for the Agro-business Bank in Georgia?

If, in the light of new circumstances, this is the case, when is the process likely to be resumed?

Answer given by Mr Patten on behalf of the Commission

(21 May 2003)

The tendering process for the project ‘Strengthening the capacity of the Agro Business Bank of Georgia’
was completed in 2002. However, due to the kidnapping of a former project’s Team Leader, Mr. Shaw, the
Commission decided to keep this and other Georgian projects on hold. Once the situation was unblocked
and following a careful analysis of the most appropriate options for the future of the Agro Business Bank,
it was recently decided to sign the contract with the winner of last year’s tender. The implementation of
the project has just started.

(2004/C 78 E/0026)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0912/03

by Claude Moraes (PSE) to the Commission

(24 March 2003)

Subject: Racism and racial attacks in candidate countries

Following the report of the European Parliament on countering racism, xenophobia and anti-Semitism in
the candidate countries (A5-0055/2000) and recent reports from the UK House of Lords which suggest
that reports by the Ellis enlargement commission do not give an adequate picture of the persecution of the
Roma in Hungary, Poland and the Czech and Slovak Republics, what is the Commission doing to remind
candidate governments of their responsibility to combat discrimination against the Roma people?

Answer given by Mr Verheugen on behalf of the Commission

(8 May 2003)

In the context of protection of human rights and minorities, the Commission considers the principle of
anti-discrimination to be a very important part of the Community ‘acquis’, as laid down notably in
Article 13 of the EC Treaty and in the Council Directives 2000/43/EC of 29 June 2000 implementing the