WRITTEN QUESTION E-1877/99 by Daniela Raschhofer (NI) to the Commission. Expenditure on job creation.
C 203 E/78 Official Journal of the European Communities EN 18. 7. 2000 (2000/C 203 E/096) WRITTEN QUESTION E-1876/99 by Daniela Raschhofer (NI) to the Commission (29 October 1999) Subject: Support for the press The Commissionís reply of 22 December 1998 to Written Question E-2924/98 (1) failed to provide full and satisfactory answers to my queries. Would the Commission therefore answer the following supplementary questions: 1. What documents and information does the Commission draw on when deciding which media to support? 2. What was the extent of financial support for Austrian media in 1997 and 1998? 3. Which Austrian media received financial support, and how much, in connection with which European policy areas? 4. How does the Commission ascertain whether the press reports it helps to finance stimulate public awareness in European matters, or contribute to forming public opinion? (1) OJ C 289, 11. 10. 1999, p. 14. Answer given by Mr Prodi on behalf of the Commission (5 January 2000) 1. The representation of the Commission in Austria does not support the media by way of subsidy, but buys advertisements or gives financial contributions for an extra number of copies, additional costs for research or supplementary pages. Criteria for selection of media are the number of copies and the number of readers, the credibility of the medium as well as the social profile of its readership. Furthermore, the Commission aims to arrive at a well-balanced media-mix. The Commission expenditure on Austrian media in 1997 was ATS 4,9 million, and in 1998 ATS 1,5 2. million. The Commission is sending direct to the Honourable Member and to the Parliamentís Secretariat a 3. table containing the information requested. 4. Checking the results of a specific advertisement is hardly possible. Therefore, the Commission concentrates, as explained above, on those media which are regarded by their readers as competent information sources for this specific matter. (2000/C 203 E/097) WRITTEN QUESTION E-1877/99 by Daniela Raschhofer (NI) to the Commission (29 October 1999) Subject: Expenditure on job creation Since widely differing statistics are available concerning expenditure on the creation of jobs in the European Union and the individual Member States, the questions set out below arise: 1. What is the annual expenditure in the European Union on the creation of new jobs under EU programmes (ESF, etc. ) or appropriate guidelines? 2. What is the expenditure in the Member States on the creation of new jobs under EU programmes (ESF, etc. ) or appropriate guidelines? 3. What statistics are available on this subject, and where can I obtain them? 18. 7. 2000 EN Official Journal of the European Communities C 203 E/79 4. What statistics are available, and what information must the Member States publish? 5. What information on this subject has the Commission received from Austria? 6. Are there studies on this subject? If so, which ones and where can I obtain them? 7. Are there specialists working on this subject? If so, which individuals and institutions are concerned, and where can I find them? 8. What other projects are there for job creation, and what is their funding? 9. What other Commission activities are there relating to job creation? 10. Have there previously been questions on this subject? If so, may I have them and the answers to them? 11. Is there EU experience showing that individual Member States have taken particularly promising measures regarding job creation (best practice)? If so, which Member States have provided the most positive examples? Answer given by Mrs Diamantopoulou on behalf of the Commission (20 December 1999) The structural funds are the most important budgetary tool, at Community level, to support the Member States in their initiatives to promote a more balanced regional development, assist them in their structural restructuring and, hence promote strong job creation. The European social in particular, Member Statesí initiatives to promote job creation, in a more indirect way, through facilitating better and more flexible functioning of the labour markets in the Community. fund (ESF) supports, In 1994-1999, the main priorities for the ESF have been to combat long-term unemployment and exclusion, to enhance professional skills and qualifications among potential job seekers, and to promote equal opportunities in the access to the labour market. In the new programming period (2000-2006), the ESF role has seen reinforced its role as the key instrument, at Community level, to support the employ- ment strategy and so, will be addressed to support Member States in their implementation of their national action plans for employment. 1. and 2. The Commission can only provide figures on budgetary spending channelled through ESF-co- funded programmes. In the current programming period (1994-1999), the total spending allocation for the ESF amounted to some € 43 000 million over the six-year period. In the next programming period (2000- 2006), it is not yet possible to give final figures on allocations to ESF, for these depend on the final national plans currently under discussion with the Member States, but the total should amount to not less than € 56 000 million. The Organisation for economic cooperation and development (OECD) employment outlook 3. and 4. provides roughly comparable data on expenditure for labour market policies (active and passive measures) as from 1993 and expressed as a percentage share of the gross domestic product (GDP). In recent years, annual total expenditure on subsidised employment (public, non-profit and private sectors as well as business start-ups) varies between Member States, ranging from 0,88 % of GDP in Ireland down to less than 0,1 % in Greece, Luxembourg and Austria. Member States also begin to report on their spending for active labour market policies in their national action plans as part of the Luxembourg process. In the new programming period of the structural funds (2000-2006), the Member States will have to report on data on spending on active labour market policies, to prove that additionality for objectives 2 and 3 is respected. The Commission is developing a database on labour market policies covering all Member States. Data will be available in 2001. C 203 E/80 Official Journal of the European Communities EN 18. 7. 2000 Some examples for Austria, taken from the 10th annual report of the structural funds (1998), 5. underline the important contribution to the target of job creation. In Burgenland, which is the only Austrian region under objective 1, by the end of 1998 2 100 new jobs had been created and over 5 800 jobs had been saved by structural funds. In addition, over 6000 people underwent training instigated by the ESF. More than 900 small undertakings benefited from aid for investment in small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) and around 1 700 new jobs were created. Under objective 2, the programme for Styria anticipates the creation of more than 2 000 new jobs. In Lower Austria, some 800 new jobs are projected and around 6 000 should be safeguarded. Under objective 3, more than 30 000 people took part in the various measures and two thirds found jobs in the six months following their training. 6. to 9. Job creation is part of the outcome sought in the interventions co-funded through structural funds. But it is only partly addressed to support measures of direct job creation. It is, therefore, not possible to provide figures on total impact of the funds on job creation. The Commission, the OECD and academics have published some partial evaluation of the impact of different programmes on job creation in the Member States. They often present sound evidence that the success of the programmes improves the social situation of individuals and groups and contributes significantly to job creation. There is no particular question that the Commisison would bring to the Honourable Memberís 10. attention on these matters. All Member States have taken action in line with the employment guidelines since 1997, adapted to 11. the specific characteristics of their labour markets. As regards direct job creation, the joint employment reports of 1998 (1) and 1999 (2) illustrate some examples of best practice submitted by the Member States where estimates of job creation impact are provided. At the beginning of 1999, the Commission launched a peer-review examination, together with the Member States to assess more in depth such practices. A report on the outcome of this examination will be presented in 2000. Also ESF publications have presented cases of best practice developed under the Community initiative Employment. (1) (2) SEC(98) 1688 final. SEC(1999) 1386 final. (2000/C 203 E/098) WRITTEN QUESTION E-1882/99 by Alexandros Alavanos (GUE/NGL) to the Commission (29 October 1999) Subject: Town planning in an area with high seismic activity The Ministry for the Environment, Regional Planning and Public Works is pushing ahead with a town- planning project in the community of Rio in the Prefecture of Achaia. Geologists have expressed their concern about these plans, because the risk of earthquakes in the region is one of the highest in Europe and there are many active fault lines. Will the Commission say: 1. Is the town-planning study being funded under the Community Support Framework? 2. Have the necessary micro-zone studies been carried out to ensure that anti-seismic building standards are scrupulously respected?