91998E3499

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3499/98

by Arlene McCarthy (PSE) to the Commission

(25 November 1998)

Subject: The Commission's use of private consultants

As part of the reform of the Structural Funds, the Commission intends to decentralise further the operation of Structural Fund programmes, withdrawing from the day-to-day management of programmes in favour of a stronger Commission "policing" role. During the 1994-1999 programme, how many consultants has the Commission engaged in the administration of the following programmes?

What has been the total cost, and what percentage of the programmes allocations does it represent:

- across the EU as a whole,

- across each Objective: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5b and 6

- and across each Community Initiative?

Can the Commission publish the details?

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

(26 January 1999)

Technical assistance provided under the Structural Funds is to a large extent included in the operational programmes. A limited proportion of the appropriations may also be allocated directly to the Commission.

In the former case, the technical assistance is administered directly by the authorities responsible for the programmes and not by the Commission.

In the latter case, the assistance is subject to rules and ceilings laid down by the various Regulations governing the Funds. It is broken down by Fund and not by objective, and is mainly used for studies, assessments, information and publicity campaigns and the preparation and monitoring of the operations. It takes various forms, e.g. subsidies, contracts with consultants, specific agreements and framework contracts.

The expenditure incurred is published in the annual reports on the Structural Funds. The data for 1994-97 are thus presented by Fund on pages 48 to 51 of the 9th Annual Report on 1997(1) (English version). New, comprehensive information on the subject has also just been presented by the Commission to Parliament in connection with the consideration by the latter of the charging of expenditure on technical and administrative assistance against the operating appropriations.

(1) COM(98) 562 final.