91998E0582

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0582/98 by Elly Plooij-van Gorsel (ELDR) to the Commission (4 March 1998)

Subject: Award to European firms of projects funded from the EDF

In the context of development aid, DG IV has awarded some projects in developing countries, funded from the EDF, to European firms.

What is the procedure for the award of these projects (e.g. place of publication, information published, submission criteria and deadlines)?

How many responses were received in 1996, from which Member States?

How many projects were awarded to European firms in 1996?

What is the distribution of the projects amont the Member States, and what were the sums involved, in 1996?

Answer given by Mr Pinheiro on behalf of the Commission (3 April 1998)

Projects and contracts financed by the European Development Fund (EDF) are covered by the Lomé Convention, a basic principle of which is that aid should be managed jointly with the recipient African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries. Contracts are awarded by the national authorities in those countries in accordance with the rules laid down in the Convention and in Decision No 3/90 of the ACP-EEC Council of Ministers of 29 March 1990 ((OJ L 382, 31.12.1990. )).

International invitations to tender are published in the Official Journal and in ACP national gazettes. The official notice gives the addresses of places where tender documents can be consulted or from which they can be obtained (in Europe, these are the Commission's offices in the Member States and the Belgian invitation to tender service).

It is also possible to follow the progress of projects and invitations to tender on DG VIII's Internet site: http://europa.eu.int/en/comm/dg08/dgviii.htm.

EDF invitations to tender and contracts are open on equal terms to companies in both the Member States and the ACP countries. Publication dates and selection criteria are different for each contract. Submission deadlines for open invitations to tender are at least 90 days from the publication date.

Statistics are kept only on the companies which have been awarded contracts. The Commission will forward direct to the Honourable Member and to the Parliament's Secretariat General statistics for 1996 which show in absolute and percentage terms the spread across the Member States of EDF contracts awarded following international invitations to tender.