WRITTEN QUESTION E-0337/00 by Alexandros Alavanos (GUE/NGL) to the Commission. Implementation of the second Community support framework.
13. 2. 2001 EN Official Journal of the European Communities C 46 E/7 (2001/C 46 E/008) WRITTEN QUESTION E-0337/00 by Alexandros Alavanos (GUE/NGL) to the Commission (14 February 2000) Subject: Implementation of the second Community support framework The second Community support framework for Greece is already drawing to an end and during the year 2000 work will be carried out only on projects agreed up to the end of 1999. In view of this: 1. What is the take-up rate for national and regional programmes under the second Community support framework? 2. In which programmes has the take-up been slowest and what are the main reasons for the delay? Answer given by Mr Barnier on behalf of the Commission (7 April 2000) 1. On 15 January 2000, the average implementation rate (in terms of payments) of the different operational programmes under the Community support framework for Greece during the 1994-1999 programming period, taking all Structural Funds together, was 72,5 % in the case of the national OPs and 76,8 % in the case of the regional OPs. As a result of reprogramming exercises undertaken up to the end of 1999, the commitment rate for all programmes should very soon reach 100 %. On the payments side, the rules allow for an additional two- year period for implementing payments on the sums allocated to the Greek CSF. The programmes covering postal services and privately owned infrastructure in Northern Greece are 2. showing a rather low payment rate but the amounts involved are not very substantial and can thus be easily taken up in the near future. The causes of these delays are mainly to be found in the difficulties at the start-up of the postal services programme and in the late adoption in 1997 of the aid for private infrastructure in Northern Greece. (2001/C 46 E/009) WRITTEN QUESTION E-0366/00 by Carmen Fraga EstØvez (PPE-DE) to the Commission Subject: Inability to provide data on tuna fillet imports (14 February 2000) When the Thai authorities asked the European Union to open a new quota to allow 8 000 tonnes of products to be imported under tariff heading 1604. 14. 00 (tinned tuna and tuna fillets), at a time when the Community tuna fillet market may be considered to be adequately supplied, as a study commissioned by the Commission has just shown, I asked the Commission various questions in Written Question E-2310/ 99 (1), including the amounts of tuna fillets exported by Thailand to the EU under the last two quotas opened, and the names of the Community companies which have been buying them. Astonishingly, the Commission replied that it was unable to provide the information requested, since because the trading activities of private companies were involved, the Commission had no data