WRITTEN QUESTION No. 2246/97 by Kirsi PIHA to the Commission. Financial aid provided by the European Union to the Democratic Republic of Congo
C 45/162 EN Official Journal of the European Communities 10. 2. 98 (98/C 45/212) WRITTEN QUESTION E-2238/97 by Richard Howitt (PSE) to the Commission (2 July 1997) Subject: Promoting links between the tractor plants in Minsk Belarus and Basildon UK Precisely what support may be made available from European Union funds, under the TACIS and other programmes, to promote the links being built up between trade unionists and management at tractor plants in Basildon in my constituency and in Minsk in Belarus? Could the Commission give details of amounts available and deadlines for applications expected during the next 18 months? Could the Commission give details of similar links which could be used as a model by the participants? Answer given by Mr Van den Broek on behalf of the Commission (16 July 1997) The Tacis democracy programme does finance trade union links, but rarely on the level of a single plant. In the recent past non governmental organisations building up trade union policies have been supported. However, the suggested link could be eligible under the Tacis partnership and coordination programme (PCP), in so far as the United Kingdom proposes the project for PCP support. The next PCP round is expected to be launched before the end of the year. (98/C 45/213) WRITTEN QUESTION E-2246/97 by Kirsi Piha (PPE) to the Commission (2 July 1997) Subject: Financial aid provided by the European Union to the Democratic Republic of Congo The European Union has provided a significant amount of financial aid to relieve the disastrous situation in Congo. However, estimates have been produced claiming that a large part of this aid has fallen into the wrong hands. What is the total amount of financial aid out of EU resources provided to Congo so far? How does the Commission propose to ensure that the aid allocated to Congo in future gets to its destination and that the aid reaches those who need it? Answer given by Mr Pinheiro on behalf of the Commission (4 August 1997) The Democratic Republic of the Congo (formerly Zaire) is a signatory to the Lome· Convention and, as such, it has had the benefit of the Communityís financial and technical cooperation via the European Development Fund (EDF). The assertion that aid has fallen into the wrong hands has never been proven as regards Community cooperation, implementation of which is monitored closely by the Commissionís delegation in Kinshasa. On 22 January 1992, as a result of the Mobutu authoritiesí obstruction of the development of democracy, the Community and its Member States suspended the cooperation programmes, with the exception of humanitarian aid. Since then, the Commission has confined its initiatives to the financing of humanitarian aid and rehabilitation operations, involving a total of approximately ECU 307 million. Those operations have been implemented by organisations that form part of civil society and by international organisations, without any direct involvement of the successive governments, but with the active participation of the recipients