(2004/C 70 E/119)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2599/03

by Camilo Nogueira Román (Verts/ALE) to the Commission

(20 August 2003)

Subject:   Progress on construction of the Colégio Altamira football ground under the ‘municipal sports complex’ project of the Association of Municipalities of Ο Condado (Galicia) in the context of the Proder programme (1996-1999)

At its meeting of 15 October 2001, the Municipal Assembly of Salceda (Galicia) formally approved a payment for construction work on the Colégio Altamira football ground to the sum of EUR 60 041 (ESP 9 990 000). Despite this, the project has never been completed; the municipality took the decision before any work began on building the ground. A municipal councillor representing the BNG (Galician Nationalist Bloc) party had earlier asked a notary to draw up an official certification of the state of progress on the project; one and a half years later, on 21 May 2003, the same councillor reported that work on the project was still at a rudimentary stage — all that had been done was to ‘survey the site and build a dirt road leading to it’.

In view of the circumstances, it is essential that the Commission's services should take the necessary action to ascertain the real state of progress of this project under the Proder programme when it was allocated an EU grant and to establish its real cost and final financing conditions.

Does the Commission intend to carry out a full investigation into this case? Has it already paid the sum corresponding to the Community funding agreed for the project to the competent authorities of the Spanish central government and the Galician regional government? If so, and given that the sum concerned has not to date been used to construct the football ground, can the Commission provide information on what it has in fact been used for?

Answer given by Mr Fischler on behalf of the Commission

(24 September 2003)

The Commission has contacted the Spanish authorities, in particular the Autonomous Community of Galicia, to obtain information about the question put by the Honourable Member.

It should be pointed out that Article 38 of Council Regulation (EC) No 1260/1999 of 21 June 1999 laying down general provisions on the Structural Funds (1) provides that it is the Member States who are responsible in the first instance for financial control, and therefore it is they that must ensure that the funds are used in accordance with the principles of sound financial management and certify that the declarations of expenditure presented to the Commission are accurate.

The work on the ‘municipal sports complex’ and in particular the construction of the football ground in the municipality of Salceda was funded under the ‘Proder’ measures of the Galician integrated operational programme and managed by the Local Action Group of the Association of Municipalities of Ο Condado.

The total investment in this project was EUR 226 029, with the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) contributing EUR 63 243. The cost of the football ground was EUR 59 500.

The project was completed and certified by a competent official in October 2001.

Also, there were two inspection visits by the Xunta (regional government) of Galicia in March and October 2002 to verify that the installations were being used.

According to the information received by the Commission, in November 2002 the Local Action Group received a report from the engineer responsible for the project in which he indicated that the football ground was in need of repair.

This work is being carried out at the present moment.

The Commission will not fail to inform the Honourable Member of any developments in this case.

(1)  OJ L 161, 26.6.1999.