91998E0766(01)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0766/98 by Nikitas Kaklamanis (UPE) to the Commission (18 March 1998)

Subject: Structural Fund appropriations

The amount of outstanding Structural Fund appropriations reportedly increased in 1997 by ECU 2.8 million.

In drawing up the 1997 EU budget, the Commission underestimated payment appropriations by ECU 2 billion, while the budgetary authority cut them by a further ECU 1 billion, the effect of which was a premature halt in 1997 to the settlement of accounts because of a shortfall in payment appropriations.

It is also reported that there will be no extension for implementing Structural Fund commitment appropriations for 1998 and 1999 beyond 1999 and that, therefore, any outstanding appropriations will be irrevocably lost, reducing the particular package of structural measures by an equal amount.

This is a matter of vital importance, particularly for the southern Member States which are in vital need of Structural Fund appropriations to execute the infrastructure projects they require. Would the Commission therefore say:

1. in what way the shortfall in payment appropriations tends to increase the amounts outstanding under the Structural Funds, and

2. what its formal position is on carrying over outstanding commitment appropriations for 1998 and 1999 to subsequent budgets covered by the new Financial Perspective for 2000-2006?

Supplementary answer given by Mr Liikanen on behalf of the Commission (6 May 1998)

1. In the 1997 preliminary draft budget, the Commission proposed the amount of ECU 24 823 million in payment appropriations for the Structural Funds. This figure was based on a study of the needs of Member States in 1997. During the 1997 budgetary procedure, the budgetary authority reduced the amount by ECU 1 000 million, bringing it to ECU 23 823 million.

The payment appropriations entered in the 1997 budget proved to be insufficient to meet all the payment requests submitted by the Member States to the Commission. The shortfall, which totalled almost ECU 1 200 million for Community support frameworks, had to be made up in 1998.

This shows that the Commission's forecast in the 1997 PDB was correct. Had the amount of payment appropriations not been reduced, the rate of payments could obviously have been improved and the increase in outstanding commitments could have been limited.

2. Under the current rules, all Community commitments relating to the Structural Funds must be cleared by 31 December 1999.

The information currently available to the Commission does not indicate that under-utilisation of commitments for the Structural Funds is likely in 1999.