WRITTEN QUESTION No. 2746/97 by Patricia McKENNA to the Commission. Independent assessments of projects in which assistance from the Cohesion Funds was sought
C 102/108 EN Official Journal of the European Communities 3. 4. 98 Some of the refugees have been forcibly repatriated. On 20 July 1997, for example, a group of Burmese Muslims, known as Rohingyas, were sent back to Burma by Bangladeshi security forces. Has the Council made any representations to the Bangladeshi authorities to urge that UNHCR representatives be allowed interview these refugees and set up programmes to benefit them? If not, will it make such representations? Has it contacted the Bangladeshi authorities to seek that they fulfil their responsibilities under the Geneva Convention and other international agreements not to forcibly repatriate those seeking to escape persecution? If not, will it do so? Answer (21 November 1997) 1. The Council is aware of the dramatic situation of the Burmese refugees in Bangladesh. Numerous approaches have been made in the past to the Bangladeshi and UNHCR authorities to ensure that there is adequate access to UN organizations operating locally and to prevent people being sent back wrongly. It should be noted that Bangladesh has not ratified the Geneva Convention relating to the status of refugees. In view of the recent deterioration in the situation on the Burmese-Bangladeshi frontier, the European 2. Union is prepared to take the measures that are necessary, in particular de·marches in Dacca and contacts with the UNHCR. This matter is currently the subject of internal concertation in the Council. (98/C 102/156) WRITTEN QUESTION E-2746/97 by Patricia McKenna (V) to the Commission (1 September 1997) Subject: Independent assessments of projects in which assistance from the Cohesion Funds was sought Can the Commission list projects throughout the EU where it sought an independent assessment of their merits before deciding whether or not they should be granted the assistance under the cohesion Funds which the relevant authorities had applied for? In each case, can the Commission state on what grounds it sought such independent assessment? Answer given by Mrs Wulf-Mathies on behalf of the Commission (25 September 1997) In accordance with Council Regulation (EC) No 1164/94 establishing the Cohesion fund (1), the Commission takes full responsibility for the evaluation of projects submitted for assistance. The Commission does not keep a systematic record of the cases where, in considering Member State requests for assistance from the Cohesion fund, it seeks an independent assessment of the project concerned. Expert advice is almost routinely commissioned in those cases where the Commission has doubts on the technical solutions proposed by the Member States, where the application proposes advanced technical solutions and, in particular, when the Commission has doubts with respect to the environmental impact or in relation to the proposed compensating and corrective measures. (1) OJ L 130, 25. 5. 1994