91997E2746

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2746/97 by Patricia McKenna (V) to the Commission (1 September 1997)

Subject: Independent assessments of projects in which assistance from the Cohesion Funds was sought

Can the Commission list projects throughout the EU where it sought an independent assessment of their merits before deciding whether or not they should be granted the assistance under the cohesion Funds which the relevant authorities had applied for?

In each case, can the Commission state on what grounds it sought such independent assessment?

Answer given by Mrs Wulf-Mathies on behalf of the Commission (25 September 1997)

In accordance with Council Regulation (EC) No 1164/94 establishing the Cohesion fund ((OJ L 130, 25.5.1994. )), the Commission takes full responsibility for the evaluation of projects submitted for assistance.

The Commission does not keep a systematic record of the cases where, in considering Member State requests for assistance from the Cohesion fund, it seeks an independent assessment of the project concerned.

Expert advice is almost routinely commissioned in those cases where the Commission has doubts on the technical solutions proposed by the Member States, where the application proposes advanced technical solutions and, in particular, when the Commission has doubts with respect to the environmental impact or in relation to the proposed compensating and corrective measures.