WRITTEN QUESTION No. 1179/98 by Odile LEPERRE-VERRIER to the Commission. Consequences of suspension of the Med-Media programme
C 386/90 Official Journal of the European Communities EN 11. 12. 98 (98/C 386/118) WRITTEN QUESTION P-1179/98 by Odile Leperre-Verrier (ARE) to the Commission (6 April 1998) Subject: Consequences of suspension of the Med-Media programme Owing to the suspension of the Med-Media programme a number of organizations which were due to be subsidized did not receive the promised funds and have had to abandon their projects. The damage caused by this decision is such that certain companies are now in a precarious situation. Will the Commission state what it intends to do to provide the affected companies with appropriate compensation and to relaunch the Med-Media programme? Answer given by Mr Marín on behalf of the Commission (5 May 1998) Following in-depth discussions with Parliament, the Commission has ascertained that the conditions laid down by Parliament for resuming decentralised cooperation in the Mediterranean have now been fulfilled. The Commission has therefore decided to relaunch decentralised cooperation in the Mediterranean. Three programmes will be involved: Med Campus, designed to foster cooperation between universities; Med Media, which focuses on cooperation between the media (training); and Med Urbs, which is aimed at local authorities. In line with the Barcelona Declaration, the Commission stresses the importance of direct cooperation between those involved in civil society › a cooperation which is essential for rapprochement and greater understanding between the peoples of Europe and the Mediterranean. Although no commitment has been made with regard to the Med Media project promoters selected in 1995, some of them may receive financial support under the relaunched programmes. (98/C 386/119) WRITTEN QUESTION E-1183/98 by Nikitas Kaklamanis (UPE) to the Commission (29 April 1998) Subject: Rejection of proposal by the Commission On 18 February 1998, the Commission informed the European Centre for the Arts (EUARCE) that the proposal it had submitted under the Raphael programme entitled Music and Poetry in the Orthodox Era › the Patriarchal Style of Byzantine Chant, a Lexicography of Byzantine Musicí, had been rejected by DG X/C. 4. It should be noted that the proposal dealt with the extremely exacting and internationally recognized and commended task of identifying and interpreting the actual codes used in composing Byzantine chants, which is taking place under the auspices of the Ecumenical Patriarchate Bartholomew. The Centre which has submitted the proposal is one of the most respected in Greece and has never received funds from the Community budget. The decision to reject this proposal is extremely strange and the justification is conspicuous by its absence. 1. Can the Commission explain in detail the grounds for rejecting the above proposal? 2. Which institutions or centres have received funding under the Raphael programme? In which Member States? What were the subjects of their proposals and what were the precise sums donated?