WRITTEN QUESTION No. 2221/97 by Roberta ANGELILLI to the Commission. Management of the URBAN initiative in Rome
C 82/46 EN Official Journal of the European Communities 17. 3. 98 (98/C 82/86) WRITTEN QUESTION E-2221/97 by Roberta Angelilli (NI) to the Commission (30 June 1997) Subject: Management of the URBAN initiative in Rome The aim of the last round of Community initiatives such as URBAN for the period 1994-1999 seems to be to involve citizens, undertakings, development operators on a vast scale and public authorities at various levels in a close partnership. As a logical consequence therefore, when implementing the URBAN initiative, the city of Rome should properly provide for such a partnership at various levels and seek as close contact as possible with the urban, social, economic and administrative problems of the two districts in which URBAN will apply in Rome, Tor Bella Monaca and Torre Angela. By creating its Ufficio speciale Urbaní (URBAN special office), however, the city of Rome has excluded from management of the initiative the 8th district, the cityís decentralized administrative body for the area which would appear to be the administrationís main interlocutor for implementation of URBAN as it represents the needs of the local communities and is the natural link between the citizens of Tor Bella Monaca and Torre Angela and the city of Rome. This decision raises considerable doubts as to the way in which the city of Rome is managing the initiative, especially from the point of view of involving the districts in which URBAN is operational. 1. What therefore is the Commissionís general view on the subject? 2. Will it check the timetable and procedures for implementing URBAN in Rome? 3. Would it not be better for the city of Rome to make full use of all instruments at its disposal, including decentralized bodies, when implementing URBAN? Answer given by Mrs Wulf-Mathies on behalf of the Commission (15 September 1997) Given the nature of the activities being supported by the Community initiative URBAN, the Commission considers it essential to have strong involvement of the relevant local actors during the implementation phase. In Rome, as in the other cities in Italy, the authority responsible for implementing URBAN is the municipality, which, unlike the 8th district mentioned by the Honourable Member, has the requisite administrative powers to manage such a programme. For this purpose the municipality has created a special URBAN office which, during implementation, will ensure a local presence in the areas concerned and will closely involve the 8th district. The Commission considers the procedures for implementing URBAN in Rome satisfactory and expects that the initial delays in starting up the programme will now be overcome. (98/C 82/87) WRITTEN QUESTION E-2229/97 by Alexandros Alavanos (GUE/NGL) to the Commission (2 July 1997) Subject: Progress of health education in Greek schools Health eduction is a first step towards prevention and thus helps to promote the physical and mental health of young people. Its methodology includes education, upbringing and finally the adoption of a healthy life style. However, it can also tackle issues facing school communities, e. g. drugs