91999E1517

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1517/99

by Roberta Angelilli (UEN) to the Commission

(1 September 1999)

Subject: Use of funds allocated to the areas affected by earthquakes in the Marche region and Fabriano

By means of Regional Council Decision No 988 of 26 April (which referred to Article 7 of Law 61/98) the Marche region allocated part of the funds intended for the building of council houses and the reconstruction of properties in the areas affected by an earthquake (including Campondonico, Belvedere, Cupo and Vallina) to the erection of prefabricated dwellings to replace the containers in which many homeless families have until now been accommodated. It should be noted that many of those families do not want prefabricated dwellings to be built since they would be a waste of the money intended for the reconstruction of the houses destroyed or damaged by the earthquake and would therefore delay those people's return to normal life. Furthermore, even the people who have accepted such dwellings would nonetheless have preferred to be given money so as to be able to begin reconstruction work.

Even the use of such funds for the building of council houses is no solution in the eyes of the inhabitants of the areas affected by the earthquake, who would like to be able to return to their own houses as soon as possible.

The Commission:

1. Does it not believe that the Italian Government's priority should be to enable the inhabitants of the earthquake areas to rebuild their own houses and not to squander the money available on prefabricated dwellings which will eventually be dismantled anyway?

2. Does it not think that it should ask the relevant authorities for a proper account of the way in which the EU funding allocated to the areas in question on the basis of specific Italian legal provisions has been used?

3. Can it make a general comment on the matter?

Answer given by Mr Barnier on behalf of the Commission

(29 October 1999)

By Commission Decision of 4 August 1998 amending the decision approving the single programming document (SPD) for Community structural assistance in the Marche region under Objective 5(b), the national authorities and the Commission drew up four new measures under the SPD to assist in the reconstruction of the areas affected by the earthquake which took place in 1997.

The aim of the measure part-financed by the European Social Fund is to preserve, protect and harness the potential of the human and professional capital of the whole of the area affected by the earthquake.

The measure part-financed by the Guidance Section of the European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund seeks to rebuild the production potential of the agricultural sector, farmers' main residences and the rural infrastructure and to restore the architectural heritage of rural villages.

The goals of the two measures under the European Regional Development Fund are, firstly, to re-establish the non-agricultural production potential and the infrastructure associated with small and medium-sized businesses and, secondly, to rebuild and restore the public and private architectural heritage (through integrated projects).

Consequently the Structural Funds made available to the Marche region to assist in the rehabilitation of the areas devastated by the earthquake may not be used to finance prefabricated dwellings.

The Commission receives regular reports within the framework of the partnership on the way the Structural Funds are used, in particular through the Monitoring Committees on which it is represented. In the case of the Marche region, the last Committee meeting took place on 22 June 1999 and a detailed report was provided within that framework on the implementation of the measures associated with the earthquake.

It has been confirmed as a result of contacts with the regional authorities that the funds which may be used for prefabricated housing come from national sources. It is therefore up to the Member State to consider how these funds should be used so that the needs of the population can be met in the most appropriate way possible.