WRITTEN QUESTION No. 3445/97 by Jean-Antoine GIANSILY to the Commission. Utilization of appropriations for 'Information Outlets'
C 158/116 EN Official Journal of the European Communities 25. 5. 98 (98/C 158/150) WRITTEN QUESTION P-3445/97 by Jean-Antoine Giansily (UPE) to the Commission (27 October 1997) Subject: Utilization of appropriations for Information Outletsí Article B3-301 Information Outletsí of the European Union budget contains a substantial appropriation intended to cover, amongst other things, áthe financing of the International Federation of Europe Housesí for an amount of up to ECU 1 700 000 during the 1997 financial year. Can the Commission state whether it has allocated, and is allocating, appropriations from this budget line to the Europe House in Paris (at 35, rue des Francs Bourgeois › Paris) and, if so, will it indicate the amounts received by the Europe House in Paris during the 1993, 1994, 1995 and 1996 financial years? Furthermore, it is stipulated in the remarks accompanying this budget article that áa Commission communication summarizing the reports of the main beneficiaries of this measure (in financial terms) on the impact of their work of informing and raising the awareness of the public about European issues will be submitted to the budgetary authority. í In this connection, has the Commission received any specific reports on its activities from the Europe House in Paris and does it consider these reports to be in line with the Community interest of the operations thus financed, such as the information recently supplied to the public about the change- over to the single currency? Finally, is the Commission in a position to disclose the contents of these reports by the abovementioned body? Answer given by Mr Oreja on behalf of the Commission (1 December 1997) The Europe House in Paris receives no subsidies under heading B3-301 Information outletsí because it is not a member of the International Federation of Europe Houses. It is therefore not required to report to the Commission on its activities. (98/C 158/151) WRITTEN QUESTION E-3452/97 by Edith Mu¤ ller (V) to the Commission (31 October 1997) Subject: Ecological agriculture in Asturias › Regulation (EEC) No 2092/92 (1) of 24 June 1991 on organic production of agricultural products and indications referring thereto on agricultural products and foodstuffs lays down a time-limit of nine months for the Member States to set up monitoring and authorization schemes for organic farming. › One and half years after the deadline set by the EU, on 22 October 1993, the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food published Royal Decree 1852/1993, which stipulates (Article 5) that it is for the competent bodies of the Autonomous Communities to appoint a competent authority and monitoring authorities and, where appropriate, to authorize and supervise private monitoring bodies. › Only three years later (Decree 67/96 published on 13 November 1996), the Agriculture Department of the Principality of Asturias laid down the relevant provisions relating to Regulation (EEC) No 2092/91 and Royal Decree 1852/1993, appointing the Agriculture Department as the competent authority in the Principality of Asturias and setting up the Council of Organic Production of Agricultural Products of the Principality of Asturias, with a wide range of powers including those relating to the promotion and marketing of organic farming products and instruments relating to monitoring, support, production and assessment in the area of organic farming