WRITTEN QUESTION P-2350/03 by Elspeth Attwooll (ELDR) to the Commission. Protection of the Darwin Mounds.
Date: 2003-07-11
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: United Kingdom, environmental protection, fishing area, fishing regulations, protected area, sea-bed

3.4.2004

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 84 E/487

The Commission is well aware that it is a matter of urgency for the complainants that the problems
encountered be solved. They will be informed of the outcome of this investigation as soon as it is available.

(1) These petitions were closed on 21 March 2003.
(2) ECR p. I-6623.
(3) Not yet published in the ECR.

(2004/C 84 E/0564)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-2341/03

by Stavros Xarchakos (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(11 July 2003)

Subject: Letters to the Greek authorities on the proper use of Community Regional Policy funds

In his answer to my Written Question E-1830/03 (1), Commissioner Barnier made general remarks about
the procedure for sending letters, but avoided answering my question. I shall therefore repeat the question:
Can the Commission say how many letters it has sent to the Greek authorities since 1994 and from whom
(Commissioners, directors-general or heads of division) concerning the proper use of Community funds
and the transposition and proper implementation of Community regional policy legislation?

(1) See page 478.

Answer given by Mr Barnier on behalf of the Commission

(1 September 2003)

The Commission would impress on the Honourable Member the very great difficulty of determining the
exact number of letters sent to the Greek authorities over the last ten years on the topic of proper use of
Community funds and correct application of Structural Fund rules. One reason is the multiplicity of
Commission departments involved.

The volume of these letters is certainly very large since they concern more than 100 programmes and have
been sent from different levels of the Community administration to the national authorities at central,
regional and local level. Dispatch of such letters is a routine matter given the Member States’ accountability
for utilisation of Community funds in line with the rules drawn up at Community level. By way of
example,
in May this year the Regional Policy Directorate-General’s unit for Greece sent the Greek
authorities a total of eighteen letters.

(2004/C 84 E/0565)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-2350/03

by Elspeth Attwooll (ELDR) to the Commission

(11 July 2003)

Subject: Protection of the Darwin Mounds

Further to its reply to Written Question P-0213/03 (1) concerning the protection of the Darwin Mounds,
will the Commission confirm whether it has been contacted by the UK Government with a request or with
justification for the use of emergency powers by the Commission as provided by Article 7 of Council
Regulation (EC) No 2371/2002 (2) in respect of this area? If so, will the Commission also confirm the date
on which this approach was first made by the UK Government, given the implication that this had not
occurred at the time of the Commission’s response to Question P-0213/03?

(1) OJ C 161 E, 10.7.2003, p. 195.
(2) OJ L 358, 31.12.2002, p. 59.

C 84 E/488

Official Journal of the European Union

EN

3.4.2004

Answer given by Mr Fischler on behalf of the Commission

(4 August 2003)

The Commission can confirm that it has been contacted by United Kingdom authorities about the
protection of the Darwin Mounds further to its reply to Written Question P-0213/03.

The United Kingdom authorities put the issue to Directorate General Fisheries in March 2003 and asked
about the possibility of emergency measures. On 24 June 2003, the Commission received a letter from the
United Kingdom authorities asking it to take action to close the Darwin Mounds to methods of fishing
likely to cause further irreparable damage to them. The Mounds already show signs of damage caused by
bottom trawling. As fishing of the kind is still taking place in the area, the Department for Environment,
Food and Rural Affairs asks the Commission to consider its emergency powers under Article 7 of Council
Regulation (EC) No 2371/2002 of 20 December 2002 on the conservation and sustainable exploitation of
fisheries resources under the Common Fisheries Policy, to address the problem immediately.

Our services have already started to prepare a proposal for a Council Regulation to prohibit the use of
bottom trawls and other towed gear in the Darwin Mounds. This will be done by way of an amendment to
Council Regulation (EC) No 850/98 of 30 March 1998 for the conservation of fishery resources through
technical measures for the protection of juveniles of marine organisms (1) and, therefore, the Parliament
will be duly consulted.

As far as the emergency procedure is concerned, we are now considering whether this case meets the
requirements of Article 7 of Regulation (EC) No 2371/2002. If there is a case for using such procedure the
Commission will swiftly adopt legislation similar to the one mentioned above, which will be valid for six
months and which can be extended for another six months.

(1) OJ L 125, 27.4.1998.

(2004/C 84 E/0566)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2413/03

by Avril Doyle (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(21 July 2003)

Subject: Funding for children’s choral exchanges

Can the Commission advise of the possible avenues for securing financial support at European level for
travel expenses incurred by a primary school (maximum age 13) participating in a choral exchange
between EU Member States?

Answer given by Mrs Reding on behalf of the Commission

(27 August 2003)

European funding for cooperation in the field of school education is provided by the Comenius actions of
the Socrates Programme.

Comenius School Projects offer a framework in which pupils and school education staff
from the
30 countries currently participating in Socrates can work together on a theme of common interest,
including for example music. Financing may be provided both for local project activities and for the costs
of mobility to visit partner schools. Funding for class exchanges (i.e. for the mobility of more than three or
four pupils) is however available only in the framework of Comenius Language Projects, in which the
current minimum participation age is 14 years.

All of these school partnership projects are managed in a decentralised way by a Socrates National Agency
in each participating country, and any school interested in applying for Comenius funding should contact
its own Agency for information. Contact details are available on the following Europa website: (http://
europa.eu.int/comm/education/programmes/socrates/nat-est_en.html).