WRITTEN QUESTION E-4052/03 by Christos Folias (PPE-DE) to the Commission. Support for the various Churches.
Date: 2004-01-12
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: EU financing, EU programme, church, cultural heritage, heritage protection

C 78 E/906

Official Journal of the European Union

EN

27.3.2004

(2004/C 78 E/0957)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-4052/03

by Christos Folias (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(12 January 2004)

Subject: Support for the various Churches

As part of the policy to protect the cultural heritage and the specific cultural characteristics of Member
through cultural or other
States, will
programmes,
icons and other church
treasures and the development of religious monuments?

for the restoration of places of worship, the conservation of

the Commission say whether it provides concrete funding,

If so, does it have at its disposal a qualitative and quantitative survey of the measures which have received
funding, broken down by action and country?

Answer given by Mrs Reding on behalf of the Commission

(12 February 2004)

The Commission does not administer any funding intended solely for the restoration or conservation of
churches or church treasures.

The Commission would also like to draw the Honourable Member’s attention to the fact that one of the
objectives of the Culture 2000 programme is to encourage measures which enhance, at European level, the
common cultural heritage of European significance, disseminate know-how and promote good practice
concerning its conservation and safeguarding.

This programme supports projects which are jointly run and financed by at least three operators from a
minimum of three countries participating in the programme.

The Honourable Member may wish to consult the website below for further information and a detailed list
of all projects supported by the Culture 2000 programme in 2000, 2001, 2002 and 2003 (as well as the
bodies in receipt of funding, the partners involved and the amounts awarded) (http://europa.eu.int/comm/
culture/eac/index_en.html).

(2004/C 78 E/0958)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-4060/03

by Roberta Angelilli (UEN) to the Commission

(8 January 2004)

Subject: European citizenship

Article 8 of the draft EU Constitution guarantees ‘all citizens of the Union’ the freedom to move and reside
in the territory of the Member States, together with the other civil rights inherent in citizenship.

The article confines itself to defining Union citizens as those who are nationals of a Member States,
without adding anything regarding the issue (cid:1) much debated and fundamentally important (cid:1) of the
conditions and procedures for acquiring the status of citizen. The requirement of citizenship is in fact,
according to the letter of Article 8, the only distinction between those who reside and move freely on the
territory of Europe and the citizens of a third country. No mention is made of ‘intermediate’ legal positions
such as that of temporary residents, nor are the implications of immigration considered. Each Member
State continues to be responsible for the conditions governing the acquisition of national citizenship and
the policies regarding the entry, residence and integration of non-Community citizens, despite the fact that
immigration involves both the countries which constitute the external borders of the Community and the
transit and establishment. There are a number of questions related to the debate on
countries of
citizenship: the regulation of legal and illegal flows,
integrated border management, the fight against
organised crime, maritime borders, the new post-enlargement frontiers and the right of asylum. Each of