WRITTEN QUESTION E-3342/03 by Mogens Camre (UEN) to the Commission. Financial aid to Danish immigrant associations.
Date: 2003-11-12
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: Denmark, European Social Fund, aid system, association, fraud against the EU, management audit, migrant

27.3.2004

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 78 E/267

Answer given by Mr Barnier on behalf of the Commission

(23 December 2003)

Assistance from this Fund can be granted only in socio-economic conversion areas determined on the basis
of the criteria in Article 4 of Council Regulation (EC) No 1260/1999 of 21 June 1999 laying down general
provisions on the Structural Funds (1). As a result of the Italian authorities’ proposals, the areas to which
the Honourable Member refers are not covered by this programme for the 2000-06 period and cannot
therefore be part-financed from the European Regional Development Fund.

Natural-hazard prevention measures of the kind to which the Honourable Member refers are eligible under
the European Regional Development Fund.

(1) OJ L 161, 26.6.1999.

(2004/C 78 E/0267)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3342/03

by Mogens Camre (UEN) to the Commission

(12 November 2003)

Subject: Financial aid to Danish immigrant associations

In questions Nos. E-3162/03 (1) and E-3211/03 (2) to the Commission, I described how ‘Paraplyorganisation
for de Etniske Mindretal’ (umbrella organisation for ethnic minorities (cid:1) POEM) swindled money from the
Danish government and the European Social Fund. POEM is an umbrella organisation for between 21 and
32 different organisations and associations for ethnic minorities (there is a good deal of confusion as to the
exact number of members). The chairman of POEM, Bashy Qureishy, is also chairman of two of those
associations (cid:1) Fair Play and Etnisk Debatforum.

Both of these organisations have received financial aid from the EU Information Board in Denmark, which
comes under the Danish Ministry of Education. These two associations received a total of Dkr 179 800 in
2002 and 2003 from the EU Information Board (the Board does not receive funding from the EU but is
financed solely through the Danish budget).

In the light of the above-mentioned swindle involving financial aid to POEM, will the Commission say
whether the two associations, Fair Play and Etnisk Debatforum, have received any form of financial
contribution under EU aid schemes, including the European Social Fund, since 1998? If those associations
have received funding, will the Commission say under which programmes/schemes the aid was granted,
what sum was involved and whether the Commission has checked that the funding was used for the
purposes for which it was granted?

(1) OJ C 70 E, 20.3.2004, p. 227.
(2) OJ C 70 E, 20.3.2004, p. 240.

Answer given by Mrs Diamantopoulou on behalf of the Commission

(10 December 2003)

In accordance with Structural Funds Regulations, the main responsibility for managing European Social
Fund (ESF)-funds lies with the national managing authority, in casu Erhvervs- og Boligstyrelsen (EBST). As
such, the Commission does not have a detailed list of all organisations receiving ESF funding under the
different programmes.

C 78 E/268

Official Journal of the European Union

EN

27.3.2004

Upon receipt of the Honourable Member’s written question, the Commission has contacted the national
authorities at EBST and requested it the information concerning the two associations, Fair Play and Etnisk
Debatforum. EBST confirms that a search in the project database OPUS demonstrates that, to date, neither
of these two organisations has received any ESF-funds under the Danish Objective 2, Objective 3 or
EQUAL programme (2000-2006), nor in the previous ESF programming period (1994-1999).

The Commission is closely monitoring the follow-up to the findings and allegations concerning POEM by
the Danish Managing Authority and its control service.

(2004/C 78 E/0268)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3348/03

by Johanna Boogerd-Quaak (ELDR) to the Commission

(13 November 2003)

Subject: Project Gutenberg (cid:1) making digital copies of books whose copyright has expired

1.

Is the Commission aware of Project Gutenberg?

Does it consider this a laudable initiative, preserving an important part of European history and

2.
culture and making it available to all Europeans?

3.
Is the Commission aware that the volunteers working on Project Gutenberg are experiencing great
difficulties specifically with the European version of Project Gutenberg because copyright laws are not
harmonised in the EU?

4. What steps could the Commission take to support Project Gutenberg’s volunteers in their work,
which is of great importance to European culture?

Answer given by Mr Bolkestein on behalf of the Commission

(18 December 2003)

1.

The Commission is aware of the Gutenberg project.

The Commission favours initiatives that contribute to the preservation and dissemination of
in particular by re-using works that either have fallen into the public

2.
European history and culture,
domain or where dissemination has been authorised.

3.
The Union is made up of 15, and soon 25, countries with many different traditions in the cultural
field. These different traditions are also reflected in the national laws governing the protection of copyright
and related rights.

To tackle some of these differences, the Commission has carried out several exercises over the past ten
years to harmonise certain aspects of copyright in the internal market, and some of these efforts, like the
harmonisation of the terms of protection (Council Directive 93/98/EEC of 29 October 1993 harmonising
the term of protection of copyright and certain related rights (1)) have certainly made it easier for those
involved in the Gutenberg project.

In Article 1 of this Directive, the rights of an author of a literary or artistic work run for the life of the
author and for 70 years after his death, irrespective of the date when the work is lawfully made available
to the public.

In the case of a work of joint authorship, the term referred to in Article 1 is calculated from the death of
the last surviving author.

The only exceptions to this harmonisation that stand today concern Spain and France for a very limited set
of authors. This exception is allowed via Article 10 of the Directive, providing that Member States with
terms of protection longer than 70 years at the time of the adoption of Directive 93/98/EEC are entitled to
keep them.