WRITTEN QUESTION No. 1594/97 by Ludivina GARCÍA ARIAS to the Commission. Support for activities of associations of maritime, coal and textile industry regions
10. 2. 98 EN Official Journal of the European Communities C 45/57 (98/C 45/67) WRITTEN QUESTION E-1594/97 by Ludivina Garc ·a Arias (PSE) to the Commission (6 May 1997) Subject: Support for activities of associations of maritime, coal and textile industry regions Every year, as part of the budgetary debate, the European Parliament repeats an amendment to Item B5-411 Industrial competitiveness policy for the European Unioní (Section III › Commission › Part B: Operating appropriations) to provide support for the activities of associations of maritime, coal and textile industry regions, such as Euroacom and ACTE. Can the Commission give detailed figures of the expenditure it has authorized in the past three years (1995, 1996 and 1997), the activities authorized, the criteria used by the Commission for granting authorization and the procedure for applying for such funding? Answer given by Mr Bangemann on behalf of the Commission (30 June 1997) The Commission, in its capacity as disburser of funds under budget heading B5-411, has since 1995 carefully noted Parliamentís amendments to the remarks in the budget, and has taken them into consideration in allocating funds. As a result, it has each year responded favourably to the request from the Association of Maritime Regions in Europe (AMRIE), granting a subsidy of ECU 100 000 in 1995 and ECU 100 000 in 1996. For 1997, the amount to be granted is currently under discussion between AMRIE and the Commission, but could possibly be higher than in previous years. As regards the textile and clothing sector, the Commission has over the past three years spent approximately ECU 140 000 in cofinancing four projects initiated by ACTE and its local authority members. As to the other area covered by the amendment, i. e. coal-mining regions, the Commission has yet to receive any applications from such bodies. Each year, however, it awards a number of grants relating to ácoal-mining issuesí. (98/C 45/68) WRITTEN QUESTION P-1601/97 by Ba·rbara Du¤hrkop Du¤ hrkop (PSE) to the Commission (5 May 1997) Subject: New fisheries agreements Does the Commission have any plans to conclude fisheries agreements with South Africa, Namibia, Mozambique, Mexico, Venezuela, Peru, Chile, Colombia, Uruguay, New Zealand and the overseas territories of the United Kingdom? What steps has it taken in relation to each of these countries? What stage has been reached in the renegotiation of fisheries agreements with Cape Verde, Guinea, Equatorial Guinea, the Comoros, Coête díIvoire, Guinea-Bissau, Poland, Russia and the United States? Answer given by Mrs Bonino on behalf of the Commission (9 July 1997) The Council has given new negotiating instructions for concluding second-generation fisheries agreements with non-Community countries bordering the Baltic, and two rounds of consultations took place recently with Poland and one with the Russian Federation. The main stumbling block for a successful conclusion is the geographical scope of the agreement, as both countries seek access to Community waters in the North Atlantic, while the negotiating instructions limit the application of a future agreement to the Baltic Sea area only. Further consultations are foreseen. There is presently no fisheries agreement with the United States. The Commission is investigating the possibility of such an agreement in the future