WRITTEN QUESTION E-0736/04 by José García-Margallo y Marfil (PPE-DE) to the Commission. Support for regions which will not be included in Structural Fund Objective 1 on account of the so-called statistical effect.
Date: 2004-03-11
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: EU financing arrangements, EU regional policy, accession to the European Union, economic and social cohesion, less-favoured region, regional aid, transitional period (EU)

3.4.2004

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 84 E/667

Answer given by Mr Fischler on behalf of the Commission

(16 April 2004)

Up to the present, the Commission has not taken a decision to support through the Cohesion fund or
through the Structural Funds any project dealing with water transfer from the Ebro river to the East and
South-Spanish zones.

The Spanish authorities have submitted four proposals for co-financing regarding this project that are
currently being evaluated by the services of the Commission.

(2004/C 84 E/0752)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0736/04

by José García-Margallo y Marfil (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(11 March 2004)

Subject: Support for regions which will not be included in Structural Fund Objective 1 on account of the

so-called ‘statistical effect’

What transitional financial arrangements will apply to the regions which cease to qualify for Structural
Fund Objective 1 status on account of the so-called ‘statistical effect’ which is due to the arrival of regions
from the new Member States whose average income levels are well below the current Community average?

Answer given by Mr Fischler on behalf of the Commission

(13 April 2004)

The Commission adopted proposals for the future of cohesion policy for the period 2007-2013 in the
Third Report on economic and social cohesion which was adopted on 18 February 2004 and transmitted
to Parliament and to the Council. Among the proposals, the Commission considers that temporary support
should apply to regions where per capita the gross domestic product (GDP) would have been below 75 %
of the Community average in a Union of Fifteen but above 75 % in a Union of Twenty-five (the so-called
statistical effect of enlargement). These are regions where objective circumstances have not changed,
although their GDP per head will be relatively higher in the enlarged Union. In the interest of equity, and
to allow the regions concerned to complete the process of convergence, the Commission proposes that
support would be higher than decided in Berlin in 1999 for the so-called ‘phasing out’ regions of the
current generation (1).

(1) COM(2004) 107: A new partnership for cohesion.

(2004/C 84 E/0753)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0737/04

by José García-Margallo y Marfil (PPE-DE) to the Commission

Subject: Student participation in the Erasmus programme

(11 March 2004)

Has the Commission drawn up any precise statistics concerning the number of European university
students who have benefited from the Erasmus programme in the period since it was set up? Has it
produced a breakdown by Member State and by region? If so, what are the figures involved?

Has the Commission any specific data relating to the Valencia region which could enable a comparison to
be made with other regions?