WRITTEN QUESTION No. 3946/97 by Johannes SWOBODA to the Commission. Freedom of expression for the Open Society Institute, Croatia
16. 6. 98 EN Official Journal of the European Communities C 187/99 (98/C 187/149) WRITTEN QUESTION P-3945/97 by Roberta Angelilli (NI) to the Commission (4 December 1997) Subject: State aids to undertakings in deprived urban areas In October 1996 the Commission adopted a new reference framework for state aids to undertakings in deprived urban areas. Under the previous system, the Member States had been unable to take full account of the wide range of social and economic problems obtaining in the outlying areas of Europeís major cities. The ceiling for such aid was set at 26% net of investment and ECU 10 000 for each new job created. The Commissionís intention was to help boost employment in outlying areas, where unemployment rates are generally high. Despite the fact that the Commission called on the Member States to take advantage of this new legislative framework, which is valid for five years and provides for specific aid programmes, the Italian Government has as yet › more than a year since the frameworkís adoption › failed to adopt all the measures required to initiate such programmes. Given the above, would the Commission state: 1. its views on the Italian Governmentís tardiness in applying the new European rules, given in particular that they are valid for only five years from 1996? 2. which Member States have, pursuant to the Commission communication, already initiated aid programmes for outlying areas of major cities? Answer given by Mr Van Miert on behalf of the Commission (13 January 1998) As the Commission indicated to the Honourable Member in its answer to Written Question No P-2628/97 (1), the guidelines on state aid for undertakings in deprived urban areas (2), adopted by it on 2 October 1996, lay down rules for identifying urban districts which can be classed as deprived urban areas eligible for state aid subject to certain conditions and ceilings which, if met, allow the aid to be considered compatible with the common market. Those rules are intended as clarification for Member States, not as an invitation to grant aid. It is the Member States which are responsible for taking decisions to grant aid and, if they do so, they are required to inform the Commission of any such plans they may have and to obtain its approval. It is the Commissionís understanding that only France has so far proceeded to grant this aid. (1) OJ C 82, 17. 3. 1998, p. 117. (2) OJ C 146, 14. 5. 1997. (98/C 187/150) WRITTEN QUESTION E-3946/97 by Johannes Swoboda (PSE) to the Commission (12 December 1997) Subject: Freedom of expression for the Open Society Institute, Croatia According to newspaper reports, the Open Society Institute, Croatia, has come under heavy pressure from President Tudjman or the government (International Herald Tribune, 25 November 1997, p. 6, Tudjmanís Vendettaí)