WRITTEN QUESTION No. 155/98 by Dagmar ROTH-BEHRENDT to the Commission. EU resources: Information on the amount of EU aid paid to Berlin in 1997
C 223/128 EN Official Journal of the European Communities 17. 7. 98 (98/C 223/164) WRITTEN QUESTION E-0153/98 by Leonie van Bladel (UPE) to the Commission (2 February 1998) Subject: Question marks over the way EU aid to Surinam is spent 1. Is it true that construction work on the east-west link in Surinam (from Albina on the eastern border to Nieuw Nickerie on the western border), estimated by the European Union as costing in the region of 50 million guilders, has come to a standstill? Can the Commission explain how this money is now apparently used up, although the construction of the 2. road can in no way be described as complete? 3. What checks has the Commission carried out on the way in which the money intended for the building of the Surinam east-west link has been spent, and in which publications and vis-a‘-vis what body has the Commission given account of itself? 4. What measures has the Commission taken to prevent the money earmarked for the building of the east-west link from being lost in the event of the bankruptcy of the contractor, and how is it possible that this money has áinexplicablyí disappeared? 5. Has the Commission taken steps in the meantime to ensure that the money made available by the European Union for the building of the container terminal in Paramaribo does not disappear in the same áinexplicableí way, and that the container terminal is indeed built? Answer given by Mr Pinheiro on behalf of the Commission (11 March 1998) 1. The project mentioned by the Honourable Member was approved by the Commission on 20 December 1994 for the purpose of rehabilitating parts of the 376 kilometre long coastal road. The works have been split into two lots, one concerning the road and bridges between Meerzorg and Albina (lot 1), the other between Paramaribo and Nickerie (lot 2). Whereas the works of lot 2 are practically finished, those of lot 1 have been the subject of major problems, which were the reason for the Commission to suspend financing of the works as from 1 August 1997. As a result of that, the Suriname administration suspended the works. 2. and 4. As the Commission has suspended financing, the money earmarked for the works concerned and not used for the works executed up to now, remains frozen until further decisions will have been taken and has therefore not disappeared. 3. The checks carried out are the usual checks in following the implementation of projects and programmes financed by the European development fund (EDF) namely technical and financial reporting and control by the consultant supervising the works, and the checking and verification of the progress of the works and the approval of payment orders concerning invoices for works executed, through the Commissionís delegation on the spot and by the Commission in Brussels. The implementation of the proposed rehabilitation of the port of Paramaribo, currently under preparation 5. for possible EDF funding, will be subject to the usual rules and procedures. (98/C 223/165) WRITTEN QUESTION E-0155/98 by Dagmar Roth-Behrendt (PSE) to the Commission (2 February 1998) Subject: EU resources: Information on the amount of EU aid paid to Berlin in 1997 How much Community aid was paid to Berlin in 1997, as part of which projects and from which funds? 1. From the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF)? 2. From the European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund (EAGGF), Guidance and Guarantee Sections?