WRITTEN QUESTION No. 479/98 by Richard HOWITT to the Commission. Guidelines in structural fund programmes as agreed at the informal Council in Ireland on 14-15 November 1996
C 310/72 EN Official Journal of the European Communities 9. 10. 98 Answer given by Mrs Wulf-Mathies on behalf of the Commission (7 April 1998) The bodies in Eastern and South East England from which the Commission has received representations on the reform of the structural funds are Kent County Council, Dover District Council, Isle of Wight Council, Isle of Wight Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the English Regional Associations (which include the standing conference of East Anglian local authorities (Sceala) and South East regional planning). The Commission has also received a paper from Sceala setting out its response to Agenda 2000í (1). Sceala covers the counties of Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Norfolk and Suffolk and the seven training and enterprise councils of the Eastern region. The Commission has no plans for further formal consultation, although regular informal contact is maintained with the regional offices in Brussels. (1) COM(97) 2000 final. (98/C 310/94) WRITTEN QUESTION E-0479/98 by Richard Howitt (PSE) to the Commission (27 February 1998) Subject: Guidelines in structural fund programmes as agreed at the informal Council in Ireland on 14-15 November 1996 Does the Commission agree there may be a case for approving its guidelines for structural fund programmes, as agreed at the informal Council in Ireland on 14-15 November 1996, (or its counterpart in future) at the same time as final approval of the new Structural Fund regulations for 2000-2006, in order to avoid unnecessary effort in the Member States in preparing their submissions and the need for wasteful subsequent alterations? Answer given by Mrs Wulf-Mathies on behalf of the Commission (6 April 1998) The new proposals for structural funds regulations contain specific provision for the Commission to establish Community guideline priorities for each of the objectives. Precisely in order to avoid unnecessary effort in the Member States and the need for subsequent alterations, the guidelines will be issued before the presentation of their plans. The aim is to agree the guidelines at the same time as final adoption of the new regulations or as soon as possible thereafter. (98/C 310/95) WRITTEN QUESTION E-0481/98 by Richard Howitt (PSE) to the Commission (27 February 1998) Subject: Use of experts to evaluate structural fund bids and performance Could the Commission list the number of external experts it recruited in 1997 to advise on applications for and evaluations of structural fund programmes and break down this total by nationality and gender? What proportion of these experts received formal training on the EUís requirements concerning structural fund programmes prior to undertaking this work? What was the total cost of their work in 1997? Which recruitment measures did the Commission use to ensure openness, transparency and non-discrimination?