92000E0238

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0238/00

by Jillian Evans (Verts/ALE) to the Commission

(7 February 2000)

Subject: Structural fund additionality

The legal definition of additionality requires that the appropriations of the Funds may not replace public or other equivalent structural expenditure. However, in the UK, this only needs to be demonstrated on a UK basis.

The European component of structural funds for Wales is paid from the EU into the UK Treasury. The annual budget allocation awarded to the National Assembly for Wales is calculated by the Treasury using a mechanism which has not been adjusted to take into account the additional sums which will be available to West Wales and the Valleys under the Objective 1 programme from January 2000. What this means in effect is that EU schemes in Wales have been paid for out of the Wales budget for education, health, social services and so on.

Given the stated intention of the Commission to target the Structural Funds in a more effective and concentrated way between 2000 and 2006, would the Commission consider introducing a mechanism that would reveal to what extent additionality was implemented on a regional basis within the Member States and therefore to what extent the funds were being used to maximum benefit in the targeted areas?

Answer given by Mr Barnier on behalf of the Commission

(31 March 2000)

There is no requirement under the regulation for Member States to apply the principle of additionality on a regional basis.

The rules are set out in the general regulation on the structural funds(1) that was agreed by the Council in June of last year and which establishes the frame of reference for the Commission and the Member States for the implementation of the programmes for the period up until the end of 2006.

Apart from the provisions with regard to additionality, the regulations also required the Member States, firstly, to ensure that Community resources are spent only in the eligible regions to which they have been allocated and, secondly, that these resources are cofinanced by national resources within the limits provided. The programming document adopted by the Commission contains the necessary confirmation on both of these aspects.

(1) Regulation EC No 1260/1999 of 21.6.1999 OJ L 161, 26.6.1999.