WRITTEN QUESTION E-2142/99 by Rosa Miguélez Ramos (PSE) to the Commission. The Ariane programme and the Galician language.
18. 7. 2000 EN Official Journal of the European Communities C 203 E/143 (2000/C 203 E/181) WRITTEN QUESTION P-2139/99 by Camilo Nogueira RomÆn (Verts/ALE) to the Commission (18 November 1999) Subject: Possible legal fraud in implementing the running costs of secondary education establishments On 14 December 1993, the Commission approved a running programme submitted by the Spanish Ministry of Labour and Social Security. The programme, to be implemented in Galicia, was designed for ávocational training in educationí, átraining of researchersí, áin-service training for employeesí, 6vocational training for employmentí, and áemployment subsidiesí for the period 1994-1999. The total cost of the programme was ECU 238 707 302, 75 % of which was paid by the EC and 25 % by the Galician Government (ESF No 940129ES1). Galician teachers, worried by the Galician Governmentís steady cutting back of the resources available for covering the running costs of public educational establishments, while steadily increasing resources available for private education, have discovered what appears, in principle, to be a fraudulent use of the European funding for the operational programme, particularly in the case of the ávocational training for educationí activities ü which used up most of the funding in question ü in 1998-1999. The fraud consists of the partial or total failure to implement the 25 % supposed to be funded by the Galician Government. The normal running costs of the schools involved in the ávocational training for educationí activities were charged on a disproportionate basis under that heading to the programmes co-funded by the European Social Fund, several times over, to the extent of charging four times as much as the real running costs (heating, electricity, water, etc. ) per pupil. This not only constitutes fraud in terms of the undertakings given to the Commission, but also deprives the educational establishments of a significant part of the funding they require in order properly to discharge their educational tasks. Does the Commission intend to investigate these irregularities and demand that the Galician Government meet all its obligations with regard to the funding of ESF programmes concerning vocational training in education? Answer given by Mrs Diamantopoulou on behalf of the Commission (9 December 1999) The most recent inspection by the Commission concerning the use of ESF funding in the Autonomous Community of Galicia was carried out in May to June 1996 ü i. e. prior to the period referred to by the Honourable Member (1998-1999) ü and did not reveal any evidence of such fraud. The Commission has not received any communication on this subject from the Spanish authorities on the basis of Commission Regulation (EC) No 1681/94 of 11 July 1994 concerning irregularities and the recovery of sums wrongly paid in connection with the financing of the structural policies and the organization of an information system in this field (1). The Honourable Member should therefore submit the specific evidence in his possession regarding the alleged irregular use of ESF funds in the Autonomous Community concerned. Further inspections could be carried out following an examination of this evidence. (1) OJ L 178, 12. 7. 1994. (2000/C 203 E/182) WRITTEN QUESTION E-2142/99 by Rosa MiguØlez Ramos (PSE) to the Commission (24 November 1999) Subject: The Ariane programme and the Galician language The Commission has made a selection of 291 projects within the framework of the Ariane programme, which is designed to encourage people to read and buy works of contemporary literature by subsidising translations and the book industry. C 203 E/144 Official Journal of the European Communities EN 18. 7. 2000 How many of the projects selected are concerned with literature in Galician? What are they, and how much budgetary funding are they to receive? With regard to 1997 and 1998, how many works in Galician were subsidised under the Ariane programme, and what was the total number of literature subsidised? What were they, and how much funding did they receive? What was the final figure for total Ariane expenditure for 1997 and 1998? Answer given by Mrs Reding on behalf of the Commission (21 December 1999) In 1999 the total budget allocated to the Ariane programme was € 4,1 million. 12 projects involving translation of French and English literature into Galician were submitted. Eleven of them did not get past the preselection stage, as they did not comply with certain eligibility criteria listed in the Official Journal (1), while one project, although it passed the Commissionís formal preselection scrutiny, was not included among the final choice of projects accepted. The limited financial resources were sufficient only to cover the projects with the greatest literary and cultural merits in the view of the group of independent experts from several Member States and member countries of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) and the European Economic Area (EEA), who assisted the Commission with the selection of projects. In 1998 (when the total budget allocated to the programme was ECU 3,3 million), no projects involving translation of works of literature into Galician were submitted. In 1997 (when the total budget allocated to the programme was ECU 2,3 million), one project involving translation of a French literary work into Galician was presented and selected. This was an application for funding to cover translation into Galician of Les Motsí by J. P. Sartre, submitted by Ediciones Laiovento, to whom a grant for the full amount requested (ECU 2 418) was awarded. (1) OJ C 23, 28. 1. 1999. (2000/C 203 E/183) WRITTEN QUESTION E-2151/99 by Marjo Matikainen-Kallström (PPE-DE) to the Commission (24 November 1999) Subject: Funding of programmes in the field of energy under the Fifth framework programme for research According to information received by some Finnish firms, the Commission has adopted a different position from Parliament and the Council on the funding of programmes in the field of energy in the context of the Fifth framework programme for research. Under the common position agreed upon last December by Parliament and the Council, ádemonstration projectsí are accorded a central role in research policy. Initially 75 % of the funding was reserved for them. However, what is now happening in practice is that the Commission is outlining a paltry level of funding for demonstration projects in relation to other research projects. Is the Commission adopting a different position from the European Parliament and the Council on the funding of demonstration projects in the energy field within the Fifth research framework programme, and if so, why? Answer given by Mrs de Palacio on behalf of the Commission (17 December 1999) The Commission would first clarify the interpretation of the remarks made by the Council and Parliament on the 1999 budget for the Fifth research and technological development (RDT) framework programme (1)