WRITTEN QUESTION E-2912/03 by Joan Vallvé (ELDR) to the Commission. The European Union's cohesion policies.
Date: 2003-10-02
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: Cohesion Fund, EU financing arrangements, EU initiative, European Regional Development Fund, economic and social cohesion, less-favoured region

C 65 E/244

Official Journal of the European Union

EN

13.3.2004

According to my informant, the planning permission issued 30 years ago was granted solely on condition
that the infrastructure was extended and improved. The then amount of DEM 2 million put up for that
project by a German real estate purchaser was not used. In 1997, work was actually begun, but it was not
completed. Nevertheless, the housing estate is being extended to include a new development involving the
construction of more than 64 dwellings.

Electricity supply and road network conditions are described as catastrophic, with Iberdola, the electricity
supply company, refusing to supply electricity. The apparent reason for its refusal to do so is that EU
infrastructure payments were not paid as agreed.

The Commission:

(cid:1) can the Commission confirm that EU aid for this project was actually approved and also paid;

(cid:1) if so, was the grant subject to the condition set out above, and did the local authority duly comply

with that condition?

Answer given by Mr Barnier on behalf of the Commission

(3 November 2003)

The information provided by the Honourable Member does not allow the time (the programming period)
or place (the exact location, i.e. the region and site) of the project to be identified. As a result, it is not
possible for the Commission to examine whether the project involved EU funding or not.

Nevertheless, given that this project appears to be in the housing sector, it should be pointed out that this
sector is not eligible under the Structural Funds.

(2004/C 65 E/260)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2912/03

by Joan Vallvé (ELDR) to the Commission

(2 October 2003)

Subject: The European Union’s cohesion policies

Cohesion policy has for years been a fundamental part of the Union’s political activities. The policy’s
instruments of solidarity are the four Structural Funds (the ERDF, ESF, FIFG and EAGGF), the Cohesion
Fund and the Community initiatives (Interreg III, Urban II, Leader+ and Equal).

Of the Community initiatives, Interreg III is the one with a truly European dimension in the sense that it
lessens the effects on our continent of centuries of the existence of national borders. It comes under the
European Regional Development Fund and promotes interregional cooperation in the European Union.
The aim of the new phase of Interreg is to strengthen economic and social cohesion in the EU by
transnational and interregional cooperation and fostering balanced regional
increasing crossborder,
development. The EU launched these four programmes, the Community initiatives (to which 5,35 % of
monies under the Structural Funds are allocated), in order to find common solutions to problems that exist
throughout the EU.

The European scale of this initiative cannot, however, be compared with the boost to cohesion given by
the Structural Funds and Cohesion Fund. The Cohesion Fund, a special aid fund, was set up in 1993 to
assist the four least prosperous Member States: Greece, Portugal, Ireland and Spain. It is used throughout
these countries to finance large-scale environmental and transport projects. Similarly, the Structural Funds
focus on clear priority objectives: 70 % of funding is allocated to help the least developed regions catch up,

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Official Journal of the European Union

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regions where 22 % of the Union’s population live (Objective 1); 11,5 % supports economic and social
conversion in areas facing structural difficulties, inhabited by 18 % of the EU population (Objective 2), and
12,3 % of funding is used to modernise systems of training and promote unemployment (Objective 3).

Has the Commission considered separating into different programmes the policies corresponding to the
Structural Funds and Cohesion Fund and those relating to the Community initiatives?

Answer given by Mr Barnier on behalf of the Commission

(31 October 2003)

Interventions under the Community Initiatives are currently programmed entirely separately from the
programmes supported under Objectives 1 and 2 of the Structural Funds and from the projects supported
by the Cohesion Fund.

These arrangements will apply until the expiry of the financial perspective for the period 2000-2006.
For the next period, it is the role of the Commission to propose to the Parliament and to the Council a
new financial perspective and a new generation of policies for support from the Structural Funds and
Cohesion Fund. These proposals are planned for adoption by the Commission before the end of this year.
It is therefore too early at this stage to speculate on the arrangements for the implementation of new
policies.

(2004/C 65 E/261)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-2913/03

by Claude Moraes (PSE) to the Commission

(29 September 2003)

Subject: Implementation of the Working Time Directive with regard to the offshore sector

Some concern has been expressed about the possibility that Member States may decide not to legislate on
certain areas, such as minimum paid holiday entitlements, of Directive 2000/34/EC (1) amending Council
Directive 93/104/EC concerning certain aspects of the organisation of working time to cover sectors and
activities excluded from that Directive.

Non-legislation in these areas may be attributed to conditions which may not seem as prevalent in the
onshore sectors, such as the numerous and varied contract agreements that exist in the offshore sector.
However, without legislation in place to provide definitive guidance on particular provisions then the aim
of the Directive in ensuring a safe working environment could be undermined.

Is there any scope for the Commission to review the transposition process of Directive 2000/34/EC? If so,
when could this occur?

(1) OJ L 195, 1.8.2000, p. 41.

Answer given by Mrs Diamantopoulou on behalf of the Commission

(27 October 2003)

Directive 2000/34/EC (1) was adopted with a view to covering sectors and activities which had been
excluded from the scope of Directive 93/104/EC (2), for example offshore work. Member States were to
adopt laws, regulations and administrative provisions in order to comply with this Directive by no later
than 1 August 2003 (1 August 2004 for doctors in training).