91997E3868

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3868/97 by Roberta Angelilli (NI) to the Commission (5 December 1997)

Subject: Delay in works for the Jubilee in Rome

Replying to Written Question P-1677/97 ((OJ C 21, 22.1.1998, p. 80.)) of 27 June 1997, the Commission stated that the EIB had no reason to date to doubt the ability of the promoters to carry out the activities linked to the Rome 2000 project framework agreement. Recently, however, the President of the Agenzia Romano per l'Anno Santo, Luigi Zanda, expressed concern at the serious delays by the communal authorities of Rome in carrying out the works planned for the Jubilee, despite the fact that only 780 days remain before the great event. In view of the vital importance of the Jubilee not only for the city of Rome but for Europe and the world as a whole and bearing in mind that almost 50% of the funding for the works is being provided by the EIB:

1. What is the Commission's opinion on the feasibility of completing the 500 or so works planned for the Jubilee 2000 which the EIB is helping to finance?

2. Have any funds already been paid, given that the EIB is allocating the finance for individual works and not in a single tranche?

3. Are the continual delays in the completion of the works in question by the communal authorities in Rome jeopardizing their prospects of actually benefitting from EIB funding for the Jubilee?

Answer given by Mr de Silguy on behalf of the Commission (30 January 1998)

The projects being financed by the European Investment Bank (EIB) within the framework of the Rome 2000 project were individually selected by the Bank, in accordance with its own criteria, as meeting an urgent need, viz. to improve infrastructures in Rome, and as having a significant and permanent impact on the economy. The vetting undertaken by the EIB confirmed the promoters' technical competence to carry out the projects satisfactorily.

Among the projects in the Jubilee programme, some larger-scale works require a relatively lengthy authorisation procedure. This is why the national authorities' supervisory and coordinating roles have been strengthened. The EIB resources are managed by the national authorities, who pay them out as work progresses. A summary of these disbursements is presented to the Italian Parliament every six months.