WRITTEN QUESTION E-0461/00 by Alexandros Alavanos (GUE/NGL) to the Commission. Delay in ESF payments.
C 303 E/196 Official Journal of the European Communities EN 24. 10. 2000 In 1999 the daily Der Standard received a grant of € 23,982 (after the final calculation) specifically 2. for a five-part series on Agenda 2000 and the future development of the Community. The Commission Representation in Austria did not make any other payments to newspapers or magazines. So far, the Commission Representation in Austria has no plans to commission any articles against 3. payment in 2000. 4. Payments for commissions in the printed media are calculated on the basis of the demonstrated additional costs linked to producing a special report on a subject specific to Europe and, according to the rules, may run to 50 % of those costs. (2000/C 303 E/224) WRITTEN QUESTION E-0461/00 by Alexandros Alavanos (GUE/NGL) to the Commission (24 February 2000) Subject: Delay in ESF payments Some 7 000 unemployed persons who have attended seminars as part of continuing vocational training programmes in Greece, mainly in the regions of Crete and Attica, have not yet been paid, even though eight months have passed since the programmes were implemented. Given that the programmes in question are funded primarily by the European Social Fund, will the Commission say: 1. Why has it not yet disbursed the sums of money owed to Greece by the European Social Fund? 2What measures does it intend to take to ensure that the unemployed are paid as rapidly as possible? Answer given by Mrs Diamantopoulou on behalf of the Commission (21 March 2000) For the purpose of funding the European Social Fund (ESF), the Commission every year first establishes the financial commitments and then proceeds with the payments in accordance with the financial plan applicable to each operational programme (OP). The Commission wishes to comment as follows concerning the regions of Crete and Attica: The Commission established the financial commitment relating to the regional OP in Crete as soon as the Member State forwarded the required documents and it made the first advance payment for the 1999 financial year. The Commission received the Member Stateís request for the second advance payment at the end of the year in question, by which time all ESF payment appropriations were exhausted. This explains why the payment was effected in February 2000. In the Attica region, as in several other regions in Greece, the procedure for amending the OPís financial tables was considerably delayed. In addition, the decision-making procedure in the Attica region was further delayed because of the September 1999 earthquake. As a result, when the new financial plans were adopted at the end of 1999, appropriations were exhausted, as was the case in Crete. Consequently the commitment will be established and payment of the first advance effected as soon as the funds become available. the specific measures planned for the victims of