WRITTEN QUESTION No. 3546/97 by Gerardo FERNÁNDEZ-ALBOR to the Commission. Community funding for the high-speed train in Galicia
C 158/148 EN Official Journal of the European Communities 25. 5. 98 Answer given by Mrs Wulf- Mathies on behalf of the Commission (22 December 1997) The list of areas in Spain eligible under the Konver II Community Initiative (1995-99) has been published in the Official Journal (1). As the proposed Spanish operational programme under this Initiative is at present under examination the Commission cannot provide information on the measures to be financed and amounts assigned to these. This will be passed to the Honourable Member when the programme has been approved. (1) OJ C 402, 31. 12. 1994. (98/C 158/196) WRITTEN QUESTION E-3544/97 by Gerardo Ferna·ndez-Albor (PPE) to the Commission (12 November 1997) Subject: Winter holiday programme for the elderly The success of the winter holiday programme for the elderly announced by the Spanish welfare authorities was demonstrated by the fact that on the first day 80% of the available places were booked. Given that this age group enjoys holidays every year, which, in addition to their recreation and leisure value, provide a useful boost to the economies of tourist areas during the low season, it would be worthwhile to consider extending such programmes to greater numbers of older people in other European Union countries. Is the Commission in any way involved in the abovementioned winter holiday programme for the elderly in Spain and does it believe this programme should be extended to other European countries to enable their elderly citizens to enjoy the benefits of the mild southern climate during the winter? Answer given by Mr Papoutsis on behalf of the Commission (12 December 1997) The Commission is aware that the seasonality issue, which affects many tourism destinations experiencing over-concentration in the peak season, is one of the principal challenges facing the tourism sector. A number of initiatives have been taken at national level to help redress some of the problems caused by seasonality, among which is the winter holiday programme for the elderly in Spain. As for the possibility of extending the programme to other Member States, the Commission believes that this and other similar initiatives could be usefully explored in the context of exchanges of experiences and co-operation involving the Commission, the Member States and the industry. (98/C 158/197) WRITTEN QUESTION E-3546/97 by Gerardo Ferna·ndez-Albor (PPE) to the Commission (12 November 1997) Subject: Community funding for the high-speed train in Galicia In the rail network in the Spanish region of Galicia, there are sections of the track where trains cannot travel faster than 40 kilometres per hour. Two years ago, the regionís autonomous parliament unanimously approved a plan for the complete renovation of the rail network to make it suitable for high-speed trains