WRITTEN QUESTION E-3031/03 by Ilda Figueiredo (GUE/NGL) to the Commission. Community subsidies in the cultural sphere.
Date: 2003-10-17
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: Community budget, EU financing, association, cultural policy, cultural promotion, implementation of the budget

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Official Journal of the European Union

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8.4.2004

and Iran, or to be sold and taken to a foreign country for purposes of illegal work or sexual exploitation. A
Unicef representative stated that there were also unconfirmed reports of missing children in the south of
the country.

Furthermore, according to a senior figure in the Afghan police, there is evidence of Pakistani citizens
entering Afghanistan, travelling to remote areas and giving money to poor villagers in exchange for their
children. They promise them that their children will receive a good religious education and ‘divine
enlightenment’.
the children are then taken to religious schools where they are
brainwashed in order that they might swell the ranks of Pakistan’s secret service and religious parties. In
some cases, they are sold as labourers or become the victims of sexual exploitation.

is feared that

It

What action will the Commission take and what programmes will it finance in order to support the central
government of Afghanistan and improve policing throughout the country, so as to put an end to the
exploitation of the population, and in particular to child trafficking?

Answer given by Mr Patten on behalf of the Commission

(6 November 2003)

The Commission is also concerned by recent reports from Afghanistan about abductions of young
children, and very much welcomes the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund’s (Unicef)
decision to send a child rights professional to Northern Afghanistan.

The Commission, and Member States are strongly engaged in building a strong judicial system and police
force to ensure there is effective law enforcement across Afghanistan.

Germany is the lead donor on police reform. By December 2003 a total of 5 000 new and existing police
will have received training, and Germany will be rolling out police training to the Provinces. To support
this, in 2002, the Commission contributed EUR 10 million to the Law and Order Trust Fund (which pays
for police salaries and training), and a further EUR 15,5 million in 2003. In addition, it has earmarked a
further EUR 60 million for the Law and Order Trust Fund for Afghanistan (LOTFA) in 2003-2004.

Italy is the lead donor for Judicial reform. To date, USD 20 million has been spent on reforming the
judicial system, including refurbishing buildings in Kabul and training 120 legal professionals. For 2003,
the Commission and Italy are co-financing EUR 6 million for the refurbishment of district level judicial
centres and training of local staff.

The new Constitution will also be critical. The statement at the 21 September 2003 Dubai Afghanistan
conference stressed the importance of enshrining Human Rights for all, including women and children. It
noted ‘the EU is aware that Afghanistan recognises its obligations under International Law, especially
concerning Human Rights, and looks forward to seeing these obligations respected fully in the new
Constitution.’ The 19/20 October 2003 Troika to Afghanistan underlined the importance of meeting these
obligations.

(2004/C 88 E/0651)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3031/03

by Ilda Figueiredo (GUE/NGL) to the Commission

(17 October 2003)

Subject: Community subsidies in the cultural sphere

Associations play a central role in any country’s social development, not only in terms of active
involvement and self-organisation on the part of citizens, but also of the services which associations

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provide, particularly in culture and sport. Recreational associations are often the main channels for
publicising and preserving the cultural heritage of many regions, thus contributing to cultural wealth and
diversity within the European Union. Associations are responsible for amateur drama, folk clubs, brass
bands, music schools and a whole range of exhibition spaces for art. Resources, particularly funds, are
generally in short supply to cover the working requirements of these associations in the tasks they perform
for the community, above all in providing leisure time activities. I personally encounter this hard fact with
some frequency, and likewise the lack of available information as to sources of support, particularly at
Community level.

Can the Commission answer the following:

(cid:1) what Community resources exist to support culture, particularly for recreational associations;

(cid:1) in the specific case of wind band associations, what Community aids exist for buying instruments and

support material for music schools, and doing up auditoria and halls to perform in;

(cid:1) what are the global Community budget totals authorised and actually paid out for culture, and how
have these totals varied between 1994 and 2003? What is the breakdown of this total by Member
State and number of projects funded?

Supplementary answer
given by Mrs Reding on behalf of the Commission

(23 January 2004)

The Commission would draw the Honourable Member’s attention to the fact that it is difficult to gain an
overview of the many EU activities and programmes in the field of culture. Besides the Culture 2000
Programme, which is specifically for cultural cooperation and supports projects that are jointly run and
financed by at least 3 operators, there is a cultural dimension to many European programmes in various
fields of activity: supporting cultural industries, technological research, education and training in the arts,
regional development, cooperation with third countries etc.

These Programmes are managed by different Commission Directorates-General and departments and have
their own operating and eligibility rules. In March 2002 the Commission launched an internet site for
Europe and Culture in order to promote the networking of cultural information so as to enable all citizens
to access European cultural content. This site is intended to guide citizens, cultural operators and local,
regional or national institutions through the areas of EU activity that are related to culture in one way or
another (1).

Given the European dimension and the necessarily transnational nature of the projects financed by the
programmes based on Article 151 of the EC Treaty (formerly the Raphaël, Ariane and Kaleidoscope
Programmes and, since the year 2000, Culture 2000), it is impossible to give a precise breakdown by
Member State of the sums allocated in the form of grants. However, the mid term evaluation of the
Culture 2000 Programme (available on the internet (2)) and the evaluation of the Raphaël, Ariane and
Kaleidoscope Programmes (the results of which are shortly to be published on the internet) make it
possible to assess their impact and advantages.

As far as the cultural aspect of the Structural Funds is concerned, it is important to bear in mind that
culture in itself is not one of the Structural Funds’ objectives. Action taken within the field of culture can
benefit from Structural Fund co-financing in so far as it contributes, directly or indirectly (particularly
through the creation of jobs) to economic and social cohesion. It must be emphasised that it is generally
very difficult to quantify the Structural Fund allocations within the field of culture since this definition
covers a relatively broad sector. The Commission is currently preparing a staff working paper on the use of
the Structural Funds in the field of culture during the period 1994-1999. This paper will be based on the
information provided by the Member States regarding the Structural Funds allocated to culture between
1994 and 1998.

(1) http://europa.eu.int/comm/culture/
(2) http://europa.eu.int/comm/culture/eac/sources_info/studies_evaluation/studies_fr.html