WRITTEN QUESTION E-3827/03 by Ilda Figueiredo (GUE/NGL) to the Commission. Funding for the network of Carrefours and Info-Points.
Date: 2003-12-12
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: EU financing, administrative expenditure, dissemination of EU information, information centre, information network, information policy, public awareness campaign

27.3.2004

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 78 E/651

Details on such features in national pension systems can be found in the publication ‘Missoc (cid:1) Social
Protection in the Member States and the European Economic Area’ (1) and in the Joint Report by the
Commission and the Council on Adequate and Sustainable Pensions of March 2003 (2). The latter contains
in particular tables on the retirement age (table 7) and on minimum income guarantees for older people
(table 1).

(1) http://europa.eu.int/comm/employment_social/missoc/index_en.html
(2) http://europa.eu.int/comm/employment_social/soc-prot/pensions/index_en.htm

(2004/C 78 E/0692)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3820/03

by Elspeth Attwooll (ELDR) to the Commission

(12 December 2003)

Subject: Connection to electricity and water supplies

Further to Written Question E-2399/03 and the Commission’s reply, will the Commission please reply to
the same question but with regard to the parts of Scotland that are not within the Highland and Islands
Region?

Answer given by Mr Barnier on behalf of the Commission

(27 January 2004)

3 746 381 people in Scotland live in areas eligible under Objective 2 of the Structural Funds or in
Objective 2 transitional areas. The interventions are organised under three Objective 2 Programmes in
accordance with Commission Decisions taken on 21 and 22 March 2001: the West of Scotland Objective
2 Programme, the East of Scotland Objective 2 Programme and the South of Scotland Objective 2
Programme.

Under Objective 2, the interventions relate to the diversification and revitalisation of areas in economic
decline. Infrastructures in these areas are supported where they are ‘a prerequisite for the location or
development of job-creating economic activities’. In all three Objective 2 Programmes there is provision
for actions to promote the adoption of waste minimisation, energy efficiency and environmental
management to benefit economic activity and better protect the environment through more efficient use
of resources.

The responsibility for deciding on the selection of projects co-financed by European Structural Funds lies
with the Regional Partnership for each Objective 2 Programme. For the West of Scotland Programme, this
is the Strathclyde European Partnership Ltd (SEP Ltd), for the East of Scotland, this is the East of Scotland
European Partnership Ltd (ESEP Ltd) and for the South of Scotland, this is the South of Scotland
Partnership (SOSEP).

(2004/C 78 E/0693)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3827/03

by Ilda Figueiredo (GUE/NGL) to the Commission

Subject: Funding for the network of Carrefours and Info-Points

(12 December 2003)

The European network of Carrefours and Info-Points Europe recently publicly protested at the decision of
the Directorate-General for Press and Communication of 29 September to cancel the annual allocation of
EUR 20 000 for Carrefours and Info-Points Europe and its proposal merely to maintain collaboration in
distributing documentation, training and running helpdesks. They complained that this ‘unilateral decision,
taken without any consultation and at such short notice’ would affect the budget and activities of all the
structures involved.

C 78 E/652

Official Journal of the European Union

EN

27.3.2004

Can the Commission therefore say what measures it is considering in order to take account of the
commitments already made by these organisations, bearing in mind the promise that funding would be
maintained until the end of 2004?

Answer given by Mr Prodi on behalf of the Commission

(3 February 2004)

The Commission would refer the Honourable Member to its answer to written E-3007/03 by Mr Santini (1)

(1) See page 448.

(2004/C 78 E/0694)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-3830/03

by Juan Ferrández Lezaun (Verts/ALE) to the Commission

Subject: Spanish NHP infrastructure tendering

(8 December 2003)

The Spanish Government has begun tendering for the infrastructure of the river Ebro water transfer, and
specifically, two sections thereof, in the provinces of Almeria (section 46/subsection 1) and Murcia (section
41/subsection 1).

As both Commissioner Bolkestein himself and the Spanish Ministry have acknowledged, the Spanish
Government failed to comply with Directive 92/50/EEC (1) on the awarding of public service contracts, by
failing to respect the rules on openness to competition in awarding a service contract.

In this case, the Commission decided, despite the Spanish Government’s repeated infringements in this
area, not to open infringement proceedings against it, nor oblige it to re-run the tendering process.

Has the Commission been following the tendering process for the two aforementioned water transfer
infrastructure sections? If so, can it confirm that Directive 92/50/EEC on coordinating the awarding of
public service contracts has been respected?

Can the Commission confirm that these two water transfer sections respect Community environmental
legislation? If not, which provisions does it infringe, and why? What measures is the Commission going to
take in this connection?

Can the Commission confirm that these two water-transfer building operations have been preceded by a
cost-benefit, project-viability and socio-economic impact assessment, as required by Regulation (EC) 1260/
1999 (2)?

Can the Commission confirm whether as of now,
building of these two sections of the water transfer? If so, what are the figures for each section?

it has guaranteed Community co-funding for the

(1) OJ L 209, 24.7.1992, p. 1.
(2) OJ L 161, 26.6.1999, p. 1.

Answer given by Mr Bolkestein on behalf of the Commission

(30 January 2004)

like to clarify that the service contracts for environmental studies
The Commission would first of all
referred to in its reply to the questions by the Honourable Members De Roo (H-0563/03) during question
time at Parliament’s Plenary session of October 2003 (1) and Dührkop (H-688/03) during question time at
Parliament’s Plenary session of November 2003 (2) were awarded by Trasagua some time ago. The
Commission decided not to bring infringement proceedings regarding these specific contracts, for the
reasons stated in its answer to these questions. The contracts which the Honourable Member now enquires