WRITTEN QUESTION No. 1667/98 by Marjo MATIKAINEN-KALLSTRÖM to the Commission. Compatibility of the criteria for aid under the Commission's milk programme with Article 129
C 31/68 Official Journal of the European Communities EN 5. 2. 1999 (1999/C 31/089) WRITTEN QUESTION E-1667/98 by Marjo Matikainen-Kallström (PPE) to the Commission (29 May 1998) Subject: Compatibility of the criteria for aid under the Commissionís milk programme with Article 129 The Commissionís milk subsidy programme, the basic principle of which is to subsidise full-fat milk products to a greater extent than low-fat ones, is not sensible from a public health point of view. That being so, does the Commission consider that the criteria for subsidy under the milk programme, which favour full-fat milk products at the expense of low-fat ones, are in accordance or are compatible with the objectives of Article 129 of the Treaty? Answer given by Mr Fischler on behalf of the Commission (15 July 1998) The Commission is convinced that the Community aid scheme for school milk, to which the Honourable Member is presumably referring, is entirely beneficial to public health. Accordingly, it considers that the programme is fully in line with the objectives set out in Article 129 of the EC Treaty. (1999/C 31/090) WRITTEN QUESTION E-1685/98 by Kirsi Piha (PPE) to the Commission (29 May 1998) Subject: Monitoring of the EMU information fund A considerable amount of money from the EU budget has been earmarked for campaigns to inform citizens about EMU. How does the Commission intend to monitor the proper utilization of these appropriations? How have these funds been allocated, firstly to the EU institutionsí campaigns, and secondly to campaigns by citizensí organizations? Answer given by Mr Oreja on behalf of the Commission (18 September 1998) From the budget for the Information Programme for European Citizens (Prince), ECU 30 million has been earmarked for the priority information campaign The euro, a currency for Europeí in 1997 and in 1998. The Commission, in its Communication on the information strategy for the euro, (1) estimated that the overall cost of this campaign for the period between 1999 and 2001 would be ECU 100 million. The campaign is based on partnership, decentralisation and subsidiarity, which is why, apart from a number of information products produced (e. g. Internet site on the Europa server, brochures) or communication activities carried out by the institutions, priority is given to partnerships with the Member States set up through agreements to cofinance euro communication plans (two thirds of the appropriations, or around ECU 20 million). Sums are allocated to Member States on the basis of their communication plans. For 1998, partnerships are in place with eleven Member States. To supplement them, partnerships have also been agreed for a total of around ECU 5 million, mainly with citizensí organisations, to finance cross-border campaigns. The proper utilisation of these funds is monitored by means of the mechanisms normally used to monitor financial contributions paid out of the Community budget. Such mechanisms include the audit activities assigned to the Financial Controller by the Financial Regulation and the external audit activities carried out by the Court of Auditors. Nevertheless, as part of the management of the programme, an internal audit mechanism is in place, comprising three types of audit: (1) systematic audit of the file when payment of the balance of the contribution is requested