WRITTEN QUESTION P-2080/03 by Jonas Sjöstedt (GUE/NGL) to the Commission. Summary of subsidies to undertakings.
Date: 2003-06-17
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: European undertaking, State aid, Structural Funds, aid system, aid to undertakings, support policy

C 78 E/74

Official Journal of the European Union

EN

27.3.2004

Is the Commission aware of the Spanish government’s decision? Does it consider it justified? What action
will it take to hold the Spanish government to its promise to remove the fuel oil remaining in the hold of
the ‘Prestige’ during 2003? Has it contacted the Spanish government on the matter? What contacts has it
established with the Galician regional government to resolve the problem?

Answer given by Mrs de Palacio on behalf of the Commission

(31 July 2003)

The Honourable Member is invited to refer to his previous Written Questions E-3595/02 (1), E-1259/03 (2)
and his oral question H-69/03 during question time at Parliament’s March 2003 session (3).

The measures to be taken concerning the extraction of the fuel oil still on board the Prestige fall primarily
under the competence of the Spanish authorities.

A delegation from the Spanish ministry for development and representatives from Repsol have recently
presented to the Commission services and to the Director of the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA)
the details of the plan for the extraction of the fuel from the wreck of the Prestige.

The Commission understands that the same information was made available by the Spanish authorities to
the Parliament’s rapporteur on the Prestige accident.

A copy of the CD-rom presented by the Spanish authorities is sent directly to the Honourable Member.

(1) OJ C 242 E, 9.10.2003, p. 63.
(2) OJ C 280 E, 21.11.2003, p. 121.
(3) Written reply, 11.3.2003.

(2004/C 78 E/0073)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-2080/03

by Jonas Sjöstedt (GUE/NGL) to the Commission

(17 June 2003)

Subject: Summary of subsidies to undertakings

I understand that varying amounts of subsidies both from the Member States and from the EU’s structural
funds are constantly being transferred to a variety of undertakings in the EU.

Does the Commission possess a summary of how much money the different undertakings receive, on the
one hand in the form of state aid approved by the EU, and on the other hand in the form of contributions
from the EU’s structural funds?

Answer given by Mr Monti on behalf of the Commission

(18 July 2003)

The Commission publishes a State aid Scoreboard twice each year. The spring version contains detailed
information on annual State aid expenditure for each Member State including the objective of the aid and
the sector for which it is earmarked. The Scoreboard covers State aid as defined under Article 87(1) of the
EC Treaty that is granted by the fifteen Member States and has been examined by the Commission.
Accordingly, general measures are not included in the figures. For example, a general tax break for
expenditure on research and development is not considered as State aid although it may well appear in
Member States national budgets as public support for research and development. Community funds and
instruments are not specifically identified in the scoreboard, although the figures include aid granted by
national and /or regional authorities which are co-financed by structural funds. The Scoreboard can be
consulted on the Commission’s website: http://europa.eu.int/comm/competition/state_aid/scoreboard/.

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For practical reasons it is not possible, however, to give precise information on the amount of aid awarded
to each individual undertaking.

The Commission also publishes regular reports on the Structural Funds (http://europa.eu.int/comm/
regional_policy/sources/docoffic/official/repor_fr.htm). This includes a description of the ongoing pro-
grammes for each Member State. An evaluation study on the financing of small and medium-sized
enterprises (SMEs) was carried out
(http://europa.eu.int/comm/
regional_policy/sources/docgener/evaluation/sme/index_en.htm).

in 1999 for the period 1994-1999.

As regards the financing of the Structural Funds for the period 2000-2006, the Commission bases its
analyses on a very detailed database containing the financing plans of each programme measure, as
declared by the Member States. The Member States are responsible for the implementation of the measures
and the choice of the individual recipients. On the basis of this programming, the amounts of which may
vary to take account of the modifications required for economic and social reasons, aid for SMEs (and the
handicraft sector) from the Structural Funds is about EUR 21 billion. This accounts for 11 % of the total
Structural Funds for the period 2000-2006.

The breakdown of the Community funding as a percentage of the total EUR 21 billion is as follows:

(cid:1) Plant and equipment:37,3 %;

(cid:1) Environment-friendly technologies: 3,3 %;

(cid:1) Business advisory services: 14,1 %;

(cid:1) Shared business services: 15,6 %;

(cid:1) Financial engineering: 6,2 %;

(cid:1) Services in support of the social economy: 3,7 %;

(cid:1) Vocational training: 4,2 %;

(cid:1) Others non classified: 15,6 %.

(2004/C 78 E/0074)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2084/03

by Graham Watson (ELDR) to the Commission

(24 June 2003)

Subject: 1970 Unesco Convention

Does the Commission consider that Member States have taken adequate measures to comply with the
1970 Unesco Convention on illicit trafficking of cultural property?

If not, will the Commission draw the failure to comply to the attention of the recalcitrant States?

Answer given by Mr Bolkestein on behalf of the Commission

(30 September 2003)

With regard to the relationship between Member States and third countries, the 1970 United Nations
Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco) Convention maintains its importance as the
main legal instrument at universal level aimed at fighting the illicit traffic in cultural goods. Currently, nine
Member States and eight Acceding States are parties to the Convention, while its ratification is being
examined in a number of other Member States. Recent accession by three Member States in 2003 shows
that awareness as to the need to combat illicit trafficking in cultural goods is increasing, as well as
acceptance of the Convention, which has now reached the number of 100 States Parties.