92000E3207

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3207/00

by Marie-Arlette Carlotti (PSE) and Francisca Sauquillo Pérez del Arco (PSE) to the Commission

(17 October 2000)

Subject: European Union aid to Cuba

The Commission's decision to discontinue ECHO aid to Cuba means in practice that the country will suffer a reduction in aid of 17 to 6 million in the year 2000.

In addition, the new policy of approval for development projects for Cuba (using the Call for proposal formula) presented by the Commission could limit the field of cooperation considerably by restricting it to human rights and support for economic and legal reforms.

How does the Commission explain this hardening in its interpretation of the common position of December 1996 and the decision to limit the extent of its aid to Cuba?

Answer given by Mr Nielson on behalf of the Commission

(8 January 2001)

Commission co-operation with Cuba has, until now, relied for the most part on humanitarian aid funding. As the circumstances that triggered the Humanitarian Office (ECHO) intervention in Cuba have changed, the Commission intends to adapt its Commission cooperation to the new realities. ECHO's activities are being discontinued and replaced by other instruments, so that each of these instruments can be used according to its own objectives. This implies modifying the relative weight of different instruments used for cooperation with Cuba, increasing the importance of non-governmental (NGO) co-financing and economic cooperation activities. It is foreseen that the global amount of Commission cooperation in 2000 will be similar to that of 1999 ( 15-16 million in 2000, 17,7 million in 1999).

The Commission has not changed its interpretation of the common position since its approval in 1996, nor is there an intention to decrease cooperation with Cuba. The common position is the basis of everything the Commission does in Cuba. It is precisely for this reason that the Commission has decided to issue a call for proposals, explaining this, and ensuring that operations carried out by NGOs fit into this agreed framework.