92003E0834

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0834/03

by Roberta Angelilli (UEN) to the Commission

(18 March 2003)

Subject: Use of funds from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) by the City of Frosinone

In September 2002, the monitoring committee of the Italian Ministry for Economic Affairs issued a report on the spending of EU funds.

The report reveals the alarming slowness and inefficiency with which EU funds are allocated to projects by some regional authorities.

The grave concerns about the inadequate use of European funds by local authorities have frequently been echoed by the Commission.

Bearing in mind that some local authorities, such as the City of Frosinone, urgently need to use European funds to regenerate areas in industrial decline and to reduce imbalances in social and economic development, can the Commission state:

1. whether the City of Frosinone has submitted projects for the ERDF?

2. whether the City of Frosinone has secured funding for these projects?

3. whether this funding has been used?

Answer given by Mr Barnier on behalf of the Commission

(16 April 2003)

The municipality of Frosinone is partially eligible for assistance from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) under the Lazio SPD (single programming document) for 2000-2006.

The Lazio SPD was approved by a Commission decision(1) and provides for ERDF finance totalling EUR 371,5 million towards public expenditure totalling EUR 845,5 million.

Since the Lazio SPD is a programme whose management is decentralised, the authority responsible for implementing the assistance is the region of Lazio, which set out in the programme complement the criteria for selecting projects and which is responsible for considering applications. It is therefore from that administration that the Honourable Member should seek precise information on the projects submitted and financed for the municipality of Frosinone.

(1) COM(2001) 2118 final.