WRITTEN QUESTION No. 230/98 by Panayotis LAMBRIAS to the Commission. Under-performance and downgrading of the National School for Public Administration in Greece
C 304/58 EN Official Journal of the European Communities 2. 10. 98 (98/C 304/80) WRITTEN QUESTION E-0230/98 by Panayotis Lambrias (PPE) to the Commission (13 February 1998) Subject: Under-performance and downgrading of the National School for Public Administration in Greece According to allegations made by the studentsí association of the National School for Public Administration (ESDD) in Greece, the ESDD is under-performing and is being downgraded. Given that the ESDD is funded by the European Union and that funding covers the construction of a building (75%) and its operational costs (90% from the Kleisthenis Programme), will the Commission say what measures it intends to take to ensure that the ESDD functions efficiently and that the funds which the European Union has allocated › and continues to allocate › for this purpose are well used? Answer given by Mr Flynn on behalf of the Commission (2 April 1998) The National school for public administration is indeed supported by the structural funds through the operational programme Modernisation of the public serviceí (Kleisthenis). More specifically, for the second Community structural funds (CSF) programming period 1994-1999, 8. 3 MECU have been allocated by the European social fund (ESF) for the introductory training of public officials, whereas the European regional development fund (ERDF) has committed 0,55 MECU for the development of databases and network infrastructures for the above school. No funds have been allocated towards buildings for this school. Through its participation in the programmeís monitoring committee, the Commission aims to influence the quality of training offered by the National school for public administration. It is worth mentioning that the monitoring committee has decided to launch studies for the modernisation and up-grading of the school, as well as the evaluation of the training offered to civil servants. On the basis of the conclusions of the studies, measures should be planned to improve the operation of the school and the quality of services it gives. The execution of the studies has however been seriously delayed. As the Honourable Member knows, the implementation of operations supported by the structural funds lies with the national authorities. The Commission will continue its efforts as regards the up-grading of the National school for public administration, and, in the framework of the mid-term review exercise which is under way, will pay particular attention to the quality of action already agreed. (98/C 304/81) WRITTEN QUESTION E-0231/98 by Mihail Papayannakis (GUE/NGL) to the Commission (13 February 1998) Subject: Dam on the River Arachthos It is planned to build a hydroelectric dam on the River Arachthos in the region of Aghios Nikolaos in the municipality of Daphnotis. This dam will create a reservoir of five km2. According to allegations by ecological associations and local inhabitants, this project is not needed to meet energy requirements, since more economical alternatives exist (natural gas-fired combined cycle plants). Given that: the dam and reservoir will raise the groundwater level, causing greater subsidence and creating the potential for major disasters; the reservoir will cover two local monuments of historical and cultural interest, the Bridge of Plaka and the customs building; the special environmental impact assessment commissioned by the Epirus region is opposed to the project and proposes that the river bed be declared a nature protection area and that all projects be ruled out; will the Commission say: 1. Is it aware of these allegations? 2. Does an environmental impact assessment exist for this project, and have the alternative solutions been studied? 3. Is there a comprehensive proposal for the protection of the region which is already burdened by other similar projects?