WRITTEN QUESTION No. 4094/97 by Peter TRUSCOTT to the Commission. Funding for Hertfordshire in 1994-1997 for SMUs and funding granted under PHILOXENIA
21. 10. 98 EN Official Journal of the European Communities C 323/5 In accordance with the principle of subsidiarity, local taxes are the responsibility of the Member States, which are therefore free to lay down their own rules in this area. Consequently, the only provisions of Community law that can be invoked in respect of the above tax are the general provisions of the EC Treaty prohibiting discrimination. The Commission takes the view that such is not the case here. For the rest, the Commission would refer the Honourable Member to the answers to his Written Questions E-4063/97 and E-4064/97 (1) and to Written Question P-4080/97 by Mr Florio (2) on the subject of the same tax. (1) OJ C 223, 17. 7. 1998, p. 49. (2) OJ C 187, 16. 6. 1998, p. 120. (98/C 323/06) WRITTEN QUESTION E-4094/97 by Peter Truscott (PSE) to the Commission (16 January 1998) Subject: Funding for Hertfordshire in 1994-1997 for SMUs and funding granted under Philoxenia Would the Commission please inform me of the amount of funding Hertfordshire has received for SMUs and what funds have been granted for Hertfordshire under Philoxenia in 1994, 1995, 1996 and 1997? Answer given by Mr M. Papoutsis on behalf of the Commission (13 March 1998) With regard to funding for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), it should be noted that, as stated in the answer to written question E-4090/97 by the Honourable Member (1), SMEs have also received some of the funds granted to research, via the 4th Framework Programme for Research. With regard to tourism, the Honourable Member is reminded that the Philoxenia programme has not yet been adopted by the Council. In application of the Community action plan to assist tourism (Council Decision 92/421/EEC of 13 July 1992 (2)), financing of specific measures for tourism in 1994-1995 was not granted on the basis of geographical criteria (regional and local), but was based on a thematic approach: cultural tourism, tourism and the environment, rural tourism, social tourism, youth tourism. As a result, the question of allocating funding to a specific region did not apply. In 1996, the budgetary authority did not grant any funds at all for specific measures to assist tourism. In 1997, the Commission again adopted a non-territorial approach. For further information, the Honourable Member is asked to refer to the answer given by the Commission to his written question E-4093/97 (3). (1) OJ C 223, 17. 7. 1998, p. 52. (2) OJ L 231, 13. 08. 1992. (3) OJ C 196, 22. 6. 1998, p. 74. (98/C 323/07) WRITTEN QUESTION E-4100/97 by David Morris (PSE) to the Commission (16 January 1998) Subject: The safety of the Dounreay nuclear research establishment Revelations in the media about the decommissioning of Dounreay nuclear have raised serious questions about the safety standards and protection of local communities in this proposed clean-up operation