WRITTEN QUESTION E-2486/99 by Joachim Wuermeling (PPE-DE) and Maria Berger (PSE) to the Commission. Enlargement to the East ‐ Günter Verheugen's announcement of an instrument to promote border regions.
C 330 E/12 Official Journal of the European Communities EN 21. 11. 2000 Is the Commission aware that press coverage of Parliamentís part-sessions suffers as a result of this 2. overlapping because journalists cannot be in two places at once? 3. Does not the Commission share my view that public opinion on Europe in general and on the European Parliament in particular would be more favourable if the institutions took account of each otherís calendar of meetings? Answer given by Mr Prodi on behalf of the Commission (25 January 2000) Commissioners do seek to ensure that such meetings do not conflict with their presence in Parliament. Like all Commissioners, Mr Kinnock is acutely conscious of the fact that during plenary sessions his first obligation is to answer any Parliamentary debate or questions that fall within his responsibility. The Commission is aware of the calendar of meetings and will endeavour to avoid undesirable overlaps. It agrees entirely with the Honourable Member that it is important that the European institutions take account of each otherís schedules of meetings. (2000/C 330 E/011) WRITTEN QUESTION E-2486/99 by Joachim Wuermeling (PPE-DE) and Maria Berger (PSE) to the Commission (16 December 1999) Subject: Enlargement to the East ü Günter Verheugenís announcement of an instrument to promote border regions In an interview on 8 November 1999 (in the magazine Focus) the Commissioner Günter Verheugen called on the Commission to create an instrument to promote regions bordering the countries of Central and Eastern Europe, in order to compensate these regions for the disadvantages caused by enlargement to the East. 1. What stage has the Commission reached in the creation of such an instrument? Can the Commission already supply further details of the structure, time-scale and scope of the 2. instrument? Should the promotion of the border regions be assisted with national funding in addition to EU 3. funding? Answer given by Mr Barnier on behalf of the Commission (21 January 2000) During the next programming period, 2000-06, the Interreg III Community Initiative will pay close attention to activities to assist the regions on the external borders of the Community, in preparation for enlargement. Assistance to these regions will be provided through strand A ácross-border cooperationí, the appropriations for which will account for at least 50 % of total funding for this Initiative. The Commission laid down the conditions of implementation in its proposed guidelines for this Initiative (1), on which the Member States and the other Community institutions are currently being consulted. After Parliament has given its opinion, which is scheduled for February 2000, the guidelines will be adopted definitively by the Commission and communicated to the Member States, who will then have six months to submit their proposals for programmes. As for all programmes part-financed under the Structural Funds, the Community aid under Interreg will be subject to a national contribution. (1) COM(1999) 479 final