WRITTEN QUESTION P-2691/03 by Herbert Bösch (PSE) to the Commission. EURES expenditure.
Date: 2003-09-02
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: EURES, budget, budgetary expenditure, cross-border cooperation, fund (EU), labour market, labour mobility

27.3.2004

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 78 E/151

The Commission is not planning to propose amendments to the Nitrates Directive at present, as it is
convinced that its full implementation is crucial to reduce the impact of nutrients from agricultural sources
on European waters. More than 20 % of European groundwaters are facing excessive nitrate concentrations
and at least 30-40 % of rivers and lakes show eutrophication symptoms or bring high nitrogen fluxes to
coastal waters and seas: it is estimated that agriculture is responsible for 50 to 80 % of the nitrogen input
to European waters (4).

In this context the Commission is fully committed to ensure that the Nitrates Directives, aimed at reducing
and preventing the pollution from agricultural sources, is correctly implemented in the Member States with
a set of actions, first of all putting legal pressure through infringement procedures towards the Member
States which do not implement the different steps of the Directive.

Significant efforts are also devoted by the Commission to support a better knowledge on pressures and
environmental status of European waters through regular monitoring and reporting exercises, and to
promote the exchange of technical information between the Member States on agricultural practices and
their impact on nutrient losses and on tools for measuring, modelling and forecasting their impact on
water quality.

(1) Council Directive 91/676/EEC of 12 December 1991 concerning the protection of waters against pollution caused

by nitrates from agricultural sources.

(2) OJ L 229, 30.8.1980.
(3) OJ L 440, 5.12.1998.
(4)

Implementation of Council directive 91/676/EEC concerning the protection of waters against pollution caused by
nitrates from agricultural sources. Synthesis from year 2000 Member States reports, p.43.

(2004/C 78 E/0156)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-2691/03

by Herbert Bösch (PSE) to the Commission

(2 September 2003)

Subject: EURES expenditure

EURES is an information network which is intended to promote the cross-border mobility of workers. The
accession of the new Member States means that EURES will gain in importance. Efficient use of the EU
funds provided is a crucial element in ensuring the success of European public employment services.

Can the Commission indicate:

(cid:1) the level of

the (maximum) amounts of support

for cross-border partnerships applied for and

approved in 2003, and

(cid:1) how the expenditure in the overall EURES budget for 2003 is broken down (breakdown by type of

expenditure), and who the recipients of EURES funding are?

Answer given by Mrs Diamantopoulou on behalf of the Commission

(19 September 2003)

Supporting the co-operation between the labour market actors at cross-border level (involving public
employment services, the social partners and others) is an important element of the EURES Decision
adopted by the Commission in December 2003 (1). The Commission shares the view that the financial
means at the disposal of EURES should be used in the most efficient manner possible (cid:1) each relevant
request for support is examined with rigour to ensure good value for money.

C 78 E/152

Official Journal of the European Union

EN

27.3.2004

With regard to the requests for subsidies and grants provided for the EURES Cross-border partnerships in
2003 following a call for proposals, the Commission received requests amounting to EUR 8 025 005. In
the light of the Commission’s analysis, a total of EUR 7 443 411 was committed to support the work of the
21 partnerships making up the EURES cross-border network (representing 93 % of the funds requested)

The following is the breakdown in commitments for the whole of the EURES budget for 2003 (covering
both parts A and B of the B3-4011 budget line):

National public employment services

Cross-border partnerships

Maintenance and upkeep of databases and website

Training programme

Job mobility information campaign

Conferences and seminars

Publications

(euro)

5 104 580

7 443 411

754 886

738 445

979 790

93 131

152 000

Total

15 266 243

Recipients of EURES funding include the Member State public employment services responsible for the
delivery of EURES services, the cross-border partnerships which support labour market mobility in frontier
zones, contractors selected to organise the training programme aimed essentially at training EURES
advisers, contractors selected to participate in the European job mobility information campaign (which
forms part of the Commission’s Action Plan on Skills and Mobility) (2), contractors selected to organise
conferences and seminars, and contractors responsible for publishing EURES promotional and other
material.

(1) OJ L 5, 10.1.2003.
(2) COM(2002) 72 final.

(2004/C 78 E/0157)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-2693/03

by Caroline Lucas (Verts/ALE) to the Commission

(2 September 2003)

Subject: GMOs

A number of Member States have invoked Article 16 of Directive 90/220/EC (1) (now replaced by Directive
2001/18/EC (2)) in respect to the following Part C marketing consents:

(cid:1) C/F/95/12/07: T25 and T14 Maize (cid:1) Austria (28 April 2000), Italy (4 August 2000);

(cid:1) C/UK/95/M5/1: Topas 19/2 Oilseed rape (cid:1) Greece (3 November 1998), France (16 November 1998);

(cid:1) C/GB/94/M1/1: MS1 and RF1 Oilseed rape (cid:1) France (18 November 1998);

(cid:1) C/F/94/11-03: CG00526-176 (aka Bt-176) Maize (cid:1) Austria (13 February 1997), Luxembourg

(28 February 1997), Germany (31 March 2000);

(cid:1) C/F/95/12/02: MON810 Maize (cid:1) Austria (2 June 1999), Italy (4 August 2000);

(cid:1) C/F/95/12-01/B: MON809 Maize (cid:1) Italy (4 August 2000).