91997E1591

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1591/97 by Konstantinos Hatzidakis (PPE) to the Commission (6 May 1997)

Subject: Selection of evaluation experts for the Leonardo da Vinci programme in Greece

The Greek authority responsible for administering the Leonardo da Vinci programme (Greek Labour Institute) published a notice of vacancy for experts to evaluate proposals for 1997. It would appear that the Chairman of the Institute's Governing Board appointed a number of experts without any form of objective selection based on merit and excluding other experts who fulfilled their tasks extremely successfully last year. This throws doubt on the essential transparency of the administration of the programme and, in the final analysis, its effectiveness.

In view of this, what steps will the Commission take to ensure the necessary objectivity in the assessment of proposals and hence the proper functioning of the programme for 1997?

Answer given by Mrs Cresson on behalf of the Commission (11 June 1997)

The appointment of experts by the Commission to undertake evaluation of the proposals submitted directly to the Commission in the context of the Leonardo programme is based on nominations by the national authorities, as specified in the Leonardo Decision. Stringent criteria for selecting the experts are laid down in order to ensure a high standard of objective evaluation. With a view to optimising the objectivity, the evaluation phase entails several stages. The proposals submitted directly to the national authorities are also evaluated by the Commission, and the proposals submitted directly to the Commission are analysed by the national authorities to supplement the evaluation carried out by the external experts.