WRITTEN QUESTION E-3230/03 by Dorette Corbey (PSE) to the Commission. Allocation of subsidies under the Interreg and Urban programmes.
Date: 2003-10-31
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: EU initiative, administrative formalities, administrative procedure, frontier region, project management, regional cooperation, town

C 78 E/496

Official Journal of the European Union

EN

27.3.2004

Answer given by Mr Patten on behalf of the Commission

(27 November 2003)

The situation in Aceh province is a matter of concern for the Union. In a recent statement, the Union and
the Community as ‘Co-Chairs’ of the ‘Tokyo preparatory Conference on Peace and Reconstruction in Aceh’
have expressed their concern for the extension of the state of military emergency in the province, hoping
that it will be ended as soon as possible.

The Union position is to encourage the Government during the state of military emergency to carry out its
activities with the minimum possible impact on the well-being of the people of Aceh and in an approach
that includes humanitarian aid, restoration of civil institutions and upholding the law.

The Commission also hopes that human suffering is minimized and that the transparency of the situation
in Aceh is improved. In this regard, the Commission continues to call for access to Aceh by international
agencies and relevant non-governmental organisations (NGOs) operating for humanitarian purposes.

While the Community reiterates the commitment to the territorial integrity of Indonesia the Commission
is also firmly convinced that the conflict in Aceh can only be ended with a political solution.

In the field, the Commission’s Delegation in Jakarta is closely monitoring the evolution of the situation in
the Aceh province,
in co-ordination with the Member State missions in Indonesia, and despite the
difficulties to obtain reliable and verifiable information. In this framework, the Commission has received
from PB Ham Aceh Timur and from Kontras,
information about the disappearance of Abdussalam
Muhamad Deli and the killing of Raja Ismail, after his abduction in May 2003.

Unfortunately, a recently planned mission of political counsellors of several embassies to Aceh was
postponed at the last moment by the Indonesian authorities.

The Commission expressed its concern both to the Indonesian Foreign Minister and to President Megawati
Soekarnoputri on the occasion of recent meetings in Indonesia, insisting on the need to guarantee a proper
humanitarian assistance to the civilian population affected by the conflict. The Commission considers the
presence of human rights monitors equally important.

The Commission can assure the Honourable Member that it will continue following very closely the
situation. It will keep insisting with the Indonesian authorities to return to the negotiating table as soon as
possible and, meanwhile, to allow independent humanitarian aid to operate on the ground.

(2004/C 78 E/0517)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3230/03

by Dorette Corbey (PSE) to the Commission

(31 October 2003)

Subject: Allocation of subsidies under the Interreg and Urban programmes

The projects funded with help from the Interreg and Urban programmes are generally held in high esteem.
They are often innovative and the mere requirement that the partners/bodies working together must come
from several different countries generates positive synergy which can help to create Community value.

Unfortunately, reports of problems have also come to my attention, problems which, in some cases, are so
serious as to undermine the positive impact of programmes and projects. In many cases, these problems
lead to disillusionment and a reluctance to submit fresh proposals.

27.3.2004

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 78 E/497

Above all, the complaints concern the administration of the programmes:

(cid:1) The administrative arrangements are complex, anything but transparent and require the investment of

an unreasonable amount of time, money and effort.

(cid:1) In the case of smaller bodies, the administrative burden has become an insurmountable obstacle and
the percentage of funding granted to cover overheads is too low. Unfortunately, this also applies to
many bodies from the applicant countries.

(cid:1) In some cases, additional information is requested at the very last moment before a time-limit runs

out. This results in enormous delays in processing applications and making payments.

(cid:1) Proposals for projects seem to be assessed in an arbitrary manner. High quality in terms of substance
and presentation does not necessarily lead to approval, whereas low quality does not always result in
rejection.

Naturally enough, I realise that meticulous procedures are needed in order to prevent fraud and the misuse
of Community funds.

Nevertheless, I should like to put the following questions:

1. Does the Commission acknowledge the problems outlined above?

2. Have its relevant departments set up procedures for dealing with reports of problems?

3. What measures have the relevant Commission departments taken with a view to improving and/or

simplifying administrative procedures?

4. What measures does the Commission plan to take?

Answer given by Mr Barnier on behalf of the Commission

(13 January 2004)

The Commission welcomes the positive remarks of the Honourable Member concerning projects funded by
the Interreg and URBAN Community Initiatives, in particular their innovative nature. There is a high level
of interest in both initiatives, demonstrated by the large number of project applications and competition
for funding.

As the Community Initiatives form part of the Structural Funds, they operate according to the same rules.
This means that the administration of the individual programmes, including calls for projects and the
selection procedures are the responsibility of the Member State(s) participating in the programme.

As a result of this decentralisation responsibilities, the procedures and administrative systems for the
programmes differ from Member State to Member State. The Commission has encouraged all Member
States to simplify the rules regarding the management of
the programmes as much as possible.
The Commission has also taken other steps in an effort to encourage improvement in implementation.

In response to information received, the Commission can raise matters of concern on management issues
informally with the managing authority or secretariat for individual programmes or, more formally in a
meeting of the programme’s monitoring committee. The Commission’s experience is that the authorities in
the Member States have responded positively to constructive criticism. The promotion of good practices
and exchanges of experience are possible under Interact and Urbact.

The Commission has made significant efforts to simplify programme implementation in the current period.
In particular, the Commission adopted a Communication on the Simplification, clarification, co-ordination
and flexible management of the structural policies 2000-2006 (1) which introduced a range of actions to
streamline programme modification, reporting and monitoring.

The existing legal framework will remain in force until 31 December 2006. In the period beginning in
2007, the Commission intends to bring forward additional proposals for a simplified management of
European programmes while respecting the principles of sound and efficient management.

(1) C(2003) 1255 of 25.4.2003.