WRITTEN QUESTION No. 3482/97 by Panayotis LAMBRIAS to the Commission. Involvement of private individuals in monitoring the application of Community law
16. 6. 98 EN Official Journal of the European Communities C 187/15 Should enlargement have taken place by that time, the necessary calculations would be made on the basis of data for the enlarged Community. Given present Commission forecasts for economic growth and assuming that all six countries in respect of which the Commission has proposed to open accession negotiations were to become members by 2003, Spain should even on that basis still be eligible for Cohesion fund support. The Honourable Memberís questions refer to situations in which only individual candidates or small groups of them accede by 2003. This is not the basis of the Commissionís financial calculations in Agenda 2000. Such hypothetical situations would, however, be no less favourable to Spain. The 45 000 MECU proposed by the Commission for structural measures in favour of the Central and Eastern European countries (CEECs) include an allocation for Cohesion fund type measures. Therefore the budget of 20 000 MECU for the Cohesion fund proposed in Agenda 2000 would be divided only between the present Member States fulfilling the eligibility criteria. Spainís future allocation will thus depend on its position compared to the other recipients among the present Member States. (1) OJ L 130, 25. 5. 1994. (2) COM(97) 2000 final. (98/C 187/23) WRITTEN QUESTION E-3482/97 by Panayotis Lambrias (PPE) to the Commission (31 October 1997) Subject: Involvement of private individuals in monitoring the application of Community law The Commission has acknowledged on numerous occasions that the application of Community law calls for vigilance on the part of private individuals, bringing matters to the attention of the Unionís Institutions by exercising their right to complain to the relevant administrative services. However, in the past, the volume of complaints has led to administrative failings in investigating the problems involved. Will the Commission, therefore, say whether it has planned to take a more systematic approach so that individualsí rights in this respect are not undermined? Answer given by Mr Santer on behalf of the Commission (18 December 1997) Complaints from individuals are certainly one of the main sources on which the Commission bases itself when monitoring the application of Community law (the Honourable Member is referred to Annex I, Table 1. 1 of the annual reports on monitoring the application of Community law). On the other hand, the Commission does not know which case the Honourable Member has in mind when he speaks of áadministrative failings in investigating the problems involvedí and of ensuring that áindividualsí rights in this respect are not underminedí. Every complaint lodged with the Commission is duly recorded and examined. Infringement proceedings are initiated in all cases where the examination of a complaint leads the Commission to suspect that a Member State is in breach of the Community rules. Only where no such suspicions are warranted does the Commission consider the matter closed and inform the complainant accordingly. (98/C 187/24) WRITTEN QUESTION E-3502/97 by Eryl McNally (PSE) to the Commission (10 November 1997) Subject: Bribery in EU Member States In 1985 in Abidjan, a British man employed by BT was murdered; evidence associated with his murder indicates that the aid project he was working on was being subjected to corrupt practice