WRITTEN QUESTION No. 2629/97 by Gijs de VRIES to the Commission. Crédit Lyonnais
3. 4. 98 EN Official Journal of the European Communities C 102/77 (98/C 102/112) WRITTEN QUESTION E-2626/97 by Alfonso Novo Belenguer (ARE) to the Commission (1 September 1997) Subject: Cancellation of agricultural subsidies for Valencia On 30 June 1997 the Valencian regional government officially announced that PTA 808 million of Community funding were being cancelled, of which PTA 115. 4 million corresponded to the co-financing by the Ministry of Agriculture of aid from the EAGGF-Guarantee Fund, while the remaining PTA 692. 6 million came directly from subsidies granted by the European Union. These funds were mainly earmarked for the áafforestation of agricultural landí. The resolution setting out the loss of these subsidies, which was announced on 30 June 1997 by the Commission for Economy and Finance of the Generalitat of Valencia, is dated 31 December 1996 and affects last yearís budget. Is the Commission aware that this line of credit providing aid for agriculture in Valencia, and more specifically for the reafforestation of agricultural land, has been cancelled? If so, what exactly are the reasons why it has been cancelled? Can the Commission state to what use the cancelled funds will now be put? Answer given by Mr Fischler on behalf of the Commission (9 October 1997) According to information from the national and regional authorities, the funds referred to by the Honourable Member were not cancelled in 1996 but will be used under the 1997 budget. Intended to cover the set of measures accompanying the reform of the common agricultural policy (CAP), the funds in question were not utilised in 1996 since there were fewer applications than anticipated. This failure to utilise the funds should not affect the overall implementation of programmes according to those authorities, who expect demand to rise in 1997 and subsequent financial years. (98/C 102/113) WRITTEN QUESTION E-2629/97 by Gijs de Vries (ELDR) to the Commission (1 September 1997) Subject: Cre·dit Lyonnais According to The Economist (July 5 1997), Important details of the last rescue sanctioned by Brussels, back in 1995, were never respectedí. Is this allegation correct? If so, what specific initiatives did the Commission undertake to have Cre·dit Lyonnais comply with the 1995 Commission decisions? Answer given by Mr Van Miert on behalf of the Commission (22 September 1997) In 1995, the Commission approved the restructuring aid to Cre·dit Lyonnais amounting to FF 45 billion (MECU 6,800). The particularly complex aid scheme included a capital injection by the French State and the hiving-off of FF 135 billion (MECU 20,400) of Cre·dit Lyonnais’ assets into a special vehicle covered by the state guarantee. The Commission gave its approval subject to a set of conditions to be fulfilled by the French authorities (1). These conditions included the full application and implementation of the restructuring plan submitted to the Commission, the reduction, by the end of 1998, of the Cre·dit Lyonnais commercial presence outside France to an extent equal to 35% of the bank’s presence abroad at the end of 1994, the issuing of a zero coupon loan by Cre·dit Lyonnais to the benefit of EPFR (Etablissement public de financement et de restructuration) and some conditions on the relations between Cre·dit Lyonnais and the vehicle which took over the assets hived-off from Cre·dit Lyonnais