WRITTEN QUESTION No. 3352/97 by Helena TORRES MARQUES to the Commission. Pilot projects intended to explore new avenues of economic and social development
25. 5. 98 EN Official Journal of the European Communities C 158/91 Answer given by Mrs Bjerregaard on behalf of the Commission (27 November 1997) Out of a total of 188 new projects to be co-funded by the Communityís financial instrument for the environment (LIFE II), 112 are measures related to the implementation of Community policies and legislation on the environment, 60 relate to nature conservation and the 16 remaining projects are áthird countryí projects. Within the first two areas, there are six and two Portuguese projects respectively, of which the details have been sent directly to the Honourable Member and the Secretariat General of the Parliament. The full list of selected projects will be published in the Official Journal in due time. (98/C 158/118) WRITTEN QUESTION E-3352/97 by Helena Torres Marques (PSE) to the Commission (22 October 1997) Subject: Pilot projects intended to explore new avenues of economic and social development With the aim of encouraging new methods of job-creation, the Commission has allocated ECU 103 million to 106 pilot projects to explore new avenues of economic and social development in the cities and regions of the European Union. These pilot projects include actions in the following areas: new forms of employment, interregional cooperation and cultural themes, promotion and innovation, regional initiatives concerning the Information Society and innovatory actions to promote urban development. Will the Commission say whether any of these projects are intended for Portugal, and if so, which ones? Answer given by Mrs Wulf-Mathies on behalf of the Commission (21 November 1997) Concerning Article 10 of the European regional development fund Regulation (1) (innovative measures in the field of regional development), there are at present 28 pilot projects involving Portugal that have been finalized for a total budget of 19. 2 MECU. 26 of these are interregional cooperation projects with a total budget of 15. 9 MECU. There are two pilot projects where the financial allocation is specifically for the Portugese regions and this budget amounts to 3. 3 MECU. A table sent direct to the Honourable Member and to the Parliamentís secretariat gives a complete list of the approved projects and the breakdown of resource allocation. In addition there are several programmes involving Portugal that are nearing finalization such as RECITE II, ECOS-Ouverture, and pilot actions in spatial planning. Further information in relation to these programmes will be published in due course. (1) OJ L 193, 31. 7. 1993. (98/C 158/119) WRITTEN QUESTION P-3355/97 by Fernando Ferna·ndez Mart ·n (PPE) to the Commission (15 October 1997) Subject: Child slavery in Africa Human rights groups in Togo and Nigeria, Amnesty International and Anti-Slavery International have all recently issued reports claiming that child slavery in Africa is booming. Children from villages in the poorest regions are kidnapped or bought from their parents to be sold as slaves; they are normally used as house servants, goatherds, soldiers or prostitutes. Their living conditions are frequently subhuman. What is the Commissionís reaction to this situation? Has it adopted or does it plan to adopt, in cooperation with the governments of the countries affected, any measures to improve the situation?