91997E2708

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2708/97 by Joan Vallvé (ELDR) to the Commission (1 September 1997)

Subject: The Interreg III initiative

At the informal meeting of the Council held in Nordwijk on 10 June 1997, it was decided that cross-border cooperation was a fundamental aspect of European regional planning. In application of the principle of subsidiarity, the states and regions involved should participate fully in such cooperation.

Does the Commission believe that the new regulations governing the Community initiatives, more specifically Interreg III, should be adapted in such a way as to facilitate the participation of local and regional authorities?

Answer given by Mrs Wulf-Mathies on behalf of the Commission (7 October 1997)

The Commission included in Agenda 2000 ((COM(97) 2000. )) provision for a Community Initiative on cross-border cooperation for the next period of programming of the Structural Funds. It also intends to table a communication to deal specifically with this topic and set out the operational conclusions which can be drawn from earlier Interreg Initiatives and future arrangements for cross-border, inter-regional and trans-national cooperation.

The border regions and those active there have an important contribution to make to the success of cross-border cooperation and should play an active part in the arrangements for promotion and management. Dialogue still does not always take place and genuine cross-border and trans-national cooperation should develop to the full. The Commission has been working in this direction for some time. Subsidiarity should assume a higher profile in this area than it has done hitherto.

The Commission's future guidelines on cross-border and trans-national cooperation will be based on this approach.