WRITTEN QUESTION E-3240/03 by Thierry Cornillet (PPE-DE) to the Commission. Abolition of operating grants for Europe Info-Points.
Date: 2003-11-03
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: EU financing, administrative expenditure, common agricultural policy, dissemination of EU information, information centre, information network, information policy, public awareness campaign

C 78 E/450

Official Journal of the European Union

EN

27.3.2004

Can the Commission state:

(cid:1) whether it believes it necessary to act as soon as possible in order to prevent the dispersal of the
existing fund of relationships, contacts, expertise and material and non-material assets which has been
built up over the many years of activity of the EU’s information networks, by drawing up a proposal
for a legal basis for the granting of legal personality to, or, at least, the recognition of the ‘Carrefours’
and the IPEs as delegated bodies or Community bodies pursuant to Articles 54, 55 or 185 of Council
Regulation 1605/02;

(cid:1) whether it intends, for 2004, to execute the budget heading (16 5 01) traditionally dedicated to the
funding of the information points in such a way as to reward, rather than penalise, those who have
made a long-term investment in them?

(1) COM(2001) 354 and COM(2002) 350.
(2) OJ C 92 E, 17.4.2003, p. 158.
(3) OJ L 248, 16.9.2002, p. 1.
(4) OJ L 357, 31.12.2002, p. 1.

(2004/C 78 E/0473)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-3153/03

by Evelyne Gebhardt (PSE) to the Commission

(20 October 2003)

Subject: EU Info-Points

At the end of September 2003, the Commission informed the EU information centres that from January
2004, under the new Financial Regulation, overheads will no longer be subsidised. This endangers the very
existence of the Info-Points and information carrefours that have until now undeniably served citizens, the
European Parliament and not least the European Commission well. These Info-Points are essential
in
building trust between the people of Europe and the European Union institutions.

1. Why did this communication come so late and unexpectedly that those in charge of the Info-Points
and carrefours were unable to make the necessary preparations for the new situation when planning their
budget for 2004?

2. Why was no arrangement made to guarantee the survival of these valuable Info-Points, even though
the Financial Regulation the Commission is referring to has been in existence for over a year (since June
2002)?

Is the Commission prepared to introduce transitional measures to ensure the uninterrupted service of

3.
Info-Points during 2004?

4. What steps does the Commission intend to take to guarantee the lasting survival of Info-Points and
carrefours?

(2004/C 78 E/0474)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3240/03

by Thierry Cornillet (PPE-DE) to the Commission

Subject: Abolition of operating grants for Europe Info-Points

(3 November 2003)

The Commission recently decided to abolish the operating grant for Europe Info-Points despite the fact
that the present juncture will be decisive for the future of the European Union.

Given the current context, i.e. the Intergovernmental Conference, national campaigns for the adoption of
the future Constitution and the forthcoming European elections, is the Commission aware that its decision
could not have come at a more inappropriate time?

Does the Commission fully realise how valuable the Europe Info-Points are in terms of providing
information and serving as communication channels with a view to bringing Europe closer to its citizens?

27.3.2004

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Official Journal of the European Union

C 78 E/451

in view of the new Financial Regulation, as well as the size of the grant allocated by the
Moreover,
Commission, why did it not provide for a gradual reduction rather than a sudden stop, which is plunging
these offices into financial difficulty, forcing them to reduce staff and, in some cases, to close down?

(2004/C 78 E/0475)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-3265/03

by Maria Sanders-ten Holte (ELDR) to the Commission

(29 October 2003)

Subject: Info-Points and Carrefours

In its resolution of 13 March 2002 Parliament called on the European institutions to step up and improve
support for the existing information networks,
including the Info-Points and Carrefours. On 10 April
2003, in a follow-up resolution, Parliament drew attention to the need for extra efforts to be made in
2004 in the area of communication and information about European policies.

The Info-Points and Carrefours are the information centres which are closest to hand for the general
public. In view of the elections, the enlargement and the adoption of the new European Constitution, all of
which are set to take place in 2004, it is essential that these centres should be working flat out. However,
the Commission has decided to abolish the operating subsidies for these centres as from 1 January 2004.

Can the Commission state why the annual operating subsidies for the Info-Points and Carrefours are being
discontinued as from 1 January 2004?

Can the Commission give valid reasons for taking this step at such short notice?

Has the Commission made provision for transitional arrangements to help the Info-Points and Carrefours
cope with 2004, which will be a difficult year?

When does the Commission plan to put forward practical proposals regarding support for the information
centres in the future?

(2004/C 78 E/0476)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3287/03

by Brice Hortefeux (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(5 November 2003)

Subject: Europe Houses

The concept of democratic deficit is used mainly to highlight how the European Union suffers from a lack
of democracy and appears inaccessible to citizens as a result of the complex way in which it functions.
It conveys the feeling that the Community’s institutional system is still rather opaque to the uninitiated.

One of the tasks assigned to the Europe Houses on their founding was to dissipate this idea of the distance
and inaccessibility of the Community’s institutions. Their primary aim was to strive to bring the European
people and the institutions closer together by providing information and removing the air of mystery
surrounding the working of the Community.

It cannot be denied that, in this sense, they perform this role most worthily on a daily basis, displaying
competence and energy.
I was all the more amazed to discover, therefore, that the Commission is
preparing simply to withdraw their operating grant for 2004, with notice given on 29 September. Aside
from the organisational difficulties this cut will bring (particularly with regard to the employment of
convinced young Europeans who have invested for years in this great enterprise), thought must also be
given to the impact on the European Union’s image. As the EU debates its future Constitution (and the
procedures for its entry into force) and prepares to welcome 10 new members (whose accession is
sometimes a cause of worry among citizens) and Europeans are called upon once again to express their
opinions in the European elections next June (and we are all aware of how difficult it is to persuade voters