91998E1137

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1137/98

by José Apolinário (PSE) to the Commission

(24 April 1998)

Subject: Cohesion Fund/Azores

In view of the specific nature of Portugal's Azores region (an extremely remote region which, as such, has a special status enshrined in the EU Treaty), would the Commission give details of the amount of Community support received by the region from the Cohesion Fund? What does the Commission envisage as regards the support to be made available from this fund during the 2000-2006 financial period?

Answer given by Mrs Wulf-Mathies on behalf of the Commission

(28 May 1998)

To date, the Portuguese authorities have only submitted one project for the region of the Azores for part-financing by the Cohesion Fund. This involves the treatment and disposal of urban waste on the islands of São Miguel, Pico and Terceira. The Commission received this application on 19 March 1998 and is currently considering it.

The Commission is proposing that the Fund be maintained during the next programming period. Since it up to the Member States to propose projects to the Commission for Cohesion Fund assistance, it is not possible to forecast the future support that the Azores will receive from the Cohesion Fund.