ESF payments have only just been made for schemes organized by UK voluntary organizations, which were commended in January 1992. Yet I understand that some final payments for such schemes in 1990 and 1991 are still outstanding. These late payments cause severe disruption to the finances of voluntary organizations, and have resulted in the reduction of training places available.

The current timetable for 1993 applications also causes concern, in that it could well lead to the same delays in grant payments.

Can the number of UK payments still outstanding to voluntary organizations for 1990 and 1991 be given, and the reasons for these severe delays?

What action is now being taken to ensure initial ESF payments will be made very early in 1993, and that final payments for 1992 schemes can be made before mid 1993?

The operation of the three Structural Funds (the European Regional Development Fund, the Guidance section of the European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund and the European Social Fund) was revised in 1988, so as to devolve the selection and management of individual projects to the Governments of the Member States or to bodies nominated by them. This revision took effect for the ESF in 1990. The Commission manages these funds through larger-scale Operational Programmes in the context of Community Support Frameworks agreed jointly with the Member States. In the case of the ESF in particular, the Member States may well have chosen several hundred separate projects in order to implement a single Operational Programme. The identity and details of such projects are known to the monitoring committees of the various Operational Programmes, and are available to the Commission in support of payment claims made to it by the national authorities. It does not however have details of payments made or to be made by these authorities to voluntary organizations in the United Kingdom. The Commission cannot therefore give a list of payments yet to be made which involve support from the European Social Fund.

Payments from the Structural Funds are made on the basis of claims made to the Commission by the national authorities in respect of each Operational Programme for each fund. These payments are made in three stages for each year of the programme — a first advance of 50 % of the Commission's contribution, a second advance of 30 % when the Member State certifies that it has used half the first advance, and the balance of 20 % on submission of proper accounts for the year in question within six months of the end of the accounting period. Payments for years after the first are subordinated to the receipt of proper accounts for earlier years.

Claims for the balance for 1992 will probably be submitted by the British authorities in June 1993, and will be paid when they have been checked and found to be satisfactory. Advances for 1993 will be paid after receipt of certification of the proper use of the Commission's contribution for 1991 and for 1992, for each Operational Programme. The Commission understands that work on balance claims in the United Kingdom is progressing satisfactorily, and a number of certificates of implementation have already been received, so that the payments of the corresponding advances for 1993 can probably be made in the new year.

Is the Commission satisfied that the evidence based on multi-species studies on the impact of industrial fishing justifies a continuation of current catch levels?

In August 1992, the Commission convened a meeting of Danish and UK scientists to assess the effects of industrial fishing on the major North Sea fish stocks. In summary the results indicated that:

(a) the size of the stocks of two of the major target species of industrial fisheries, Norway pout and sandeel, have fluctuated without trend since the mid 1980's. The other target species of industrial fisheries in the North Sea is sprat for which, at present, there is no assessment of the current state of the stock although it is generally agreed by fisheries scientists that it is of low magnitude;

(b) reduction in the intensity of the industrial fisheries would have beneficial effects on the landings of whiting, herring and, to a lesser extent on haddock. There would be negligible effect on cod, and no effect on plaice and sole.

However, it should not be forgotten that these gains are `paid for' by losses in the industrial fisheries with consequent social and economic upheaval. Furthermore, other work, based on results from multispecies investigations, indicates inter alia that considerable gains in landings of haddock and whiting would be achieved if the current large-scale discarding of these species by the fleets fishing for human consumption were reduced i.e. human consumption fisheries are disadvantageous to themselves.

Clearly, the effects of industrial fishing require further evaluation as do the disadvantageous effects of other fisheries.

This explains why in its recent report presented to the Council during its meeting of 23 November 1992 (1), the Commission provided detailed explanation justifying the need for more comprehensive studies of the effects of fishing in the North Sea and adjacent waters.

(1) Doc. SEC(92) 2046 final.

Given that trafficking in women is invariably a form of slavery, characterized by psychological and physical violence and forced proposition, and given also the lack of a policy on this matter in most Member States, notably as regards women from former East bloc countries, does the Commission not agree that the Community needs a policy based on the rights of the individual and civilized behaviour towards these victims?

Commission action to improve the situation of women is taken under Article 119 of the Treaty and the various directives adopted in the field of equal treatment for men and women. These directives set out to eliminate direct or indirect forms of discrimination against women in the employment sphere and on the labour market in general.

The Commission therefore has no plans for any measures relating to traffic in women or the mistreatment of women.

Although the overseas territories are not covered by the Cohesion Fund, the governments of the 12 Member States undertook at Maastricht to take measures to enable these regions to achieve the average economic and social level of the Community.

What specific measures does the Commission intend to take to contribute to the economic and social development of these regions?

The Declaration on the outermost regions of the Community, annexed to the Maastricht Treaty, to which the Honourable Member refers, reaffirms and perpetuates the policy of taking account of the specific features of these regions in Community policies, launched with the adoption of the Poseidom programme (1) and subsequently applied to the Canary Islands, the Azores and Madeira as well. The Declaration provides for the possibility of taking `specific measures to assist (the outermost regions) inasmuch and as long as there is an objective need to take such measures with a view to the economic and social development of those regions.'

Poseidom, a framework programme of unlimited duration, is based on the principle of taking account of the specific features of the French overseas departments in the application of common policies. This general principle has already been translated into specific measures, for example in the following areas:

— the recognition of tax arrangements specific to the French overseas departments (reform of dock dues (2) and the maintenance after 1992 of their own regimes for VAT (3) and excise duties (4) including duty on traditional rum produced in the overseas departments for consumption in metropolitan France (5));

— specific arrangements for agriculture (specific supply regimes, aid targeted on local production, and modification of structural legislation currently in force (6));

— an enhanced aid system for the formation of producers' organizations in the fisheries sector (7);

— modification of the regime applicable to free zones and free warehouses (8);

— specific structural measures for the banana industry and the sugar cane/sugar/rum industry (9).

Other specific measures are being examined under the Poseidom programme, in consultation with the national and regional authorities concerned.

In addition to taking account of the particular characteristics of the French overseas departments in Community policies, priority is given to these regions in action by the Structural Funds in accordance with the first objective set out in Council Regulation (EEC) No 2052/88 (10). Community support frameworks for the period 1989—93 were adopted by the Commission on 31 October 1989 on the basis of development plans presented by each region. These provide Community funding worth ECU 751 million in 1989 prices for the French overseas departments taken as a whole. The sum was increased in 1991 and 1992 with the adoption of Community initiative programmes worth ECU 120 million (1992 prices), of which ECU 95 million was earmarked for the Regis scheme aimed specifically at the outermost regions.

Looking ahead to the next Structural Fund programming period, the Delors II package, adopted by the European Council at Edinburgh, provides for a substantial increase in resources devoted to Objective 1 regions, which include the French overseas departments.

(1) Council Decision 89/687/EEC: OJ Nº L 399, 31. 12. 1989.(2) Council Decision 89/688/EEC: OJ Nº L 399, 31. 12. 1989.(3) Council Directive 91/680/EEC: OJ Nº L 376, 31. 12. 1991.(4) Council Directive 92/12/EEC: OJ Nº L 76, 23. 3. 1992.(5) Council Directive 92/83/EEC of 19 October 1992: OJ Nº L 316, 31. 10. 1992.(6) Council Regulation (EEC) No 3763/91: OJ Nº L 356, 24. 12. 1991; and Commission implementing regulations.(7) Council Regulation (EEC) No 1603/92 of 15 June 1992: OJ Nº L 173, 27. 6. 1992.(8) Council Regulation (EEC) No 1604/92 of 15 June 1992: OJ Nº L 173, 27. 6. 1992.(9) Commission Decision C(92) 2116 of 10 September 1992.(10) OJ Nº L 185, 15. 7. 1988.

In its communication (COM(92) 149 final), referring to support for artistic and literary works in order to promote the creation af a framework for the development of culture in Europe, what type of works does the Commission have in mind?

The expression `artistic and literary creation' was written into the new Article 128 of the EC Treaty by the Treaty on European Union. In principle the Commission communication (1) does not exclude any type of creative work (works in any of the artistic genres, theatre, music, plastic arts). The Commission simply specifies the steps it proposes to take to promote artistic and literary creation, making no distinction between categories.

Bearing in mind the subsidiarity principle and the budgetary resources available, the Council will have to decide in cooperation with Parliament — in accordance with Article 128 — what sectors should be given priority.

(1) COM(92) 149 final.

In view of the increasing complexity of the financial instruments and funding for the purpose of development cooperation and the need to make them more efficient and viable in the developing countries, can the Commission say what systems of monitoring and evaluation are being introduced to achieve these objectives?

The system of monitoring and evaluation used by the Commission to ensure the efficiency of aid to the developing countries is as complex as its cooperation projects and instruments are diverse. The following points are made by way of a brief outline:

— The responsibility for project monitoring lies with the Commission delegations in developing countries and the departments at Commission headquarters, comprising inter alia the country desks and technical units. In practice the task is accomplished with the aid of missions to the country concerned, monitoring reports, permanent contacts with the recipient countries, meetings etc. If necessary, responsibility for monitoring can be assigned to a technical assistance team whose job it is to ensure that the project is properly implemented and that the relevant officials are alerted if major problems arise which threaten to hamper the running of the project.

— The Commission regards the evaluation of aid as a management instrument and as a permanent process of critical assessment which continues throughout the project's duration. The emphasis is on the project's viability (i.e. its capacity to continue producing benefits for the target group once external aid has ceased) and this is conditional upon a large number of economic, political and social factors.

— Evaluations can be sectoral, instrumental, thematic, general or specific. They are carried out by consultants who are usually recruited following restricted invitations to tender in the Member States and are financed either from the Commission's general budget or from the project's own funds (by agreement with the recipient country).

Lomé IV stipulates that the monitoring and evaluation of projects financed by the EDF should be carried out jointly with the ACP State. The results of an evaluation can be used to restructure the project in question if necessary, or to provide lessons from past experience when new projects of a similar nature are being prepared.

Since 1992, in the context of cooperation with the ACP countries, the Commission has introduced a coordinated system for managing the projects cycle, whereby their preparation, implementation and evaluation are effected on the basis of a `logical framework'. A report on the Commission's experience with this new system may be published in 1994 or 1995, once enough time has elapsed to allow lessons to be drawn.

The provisions of Spanish laws on foreign nationals and taxation state that employers hiring a foreign national for the first time must pay a tax of Ptas 40 000 000 and a further Ptas 15 000 each time they renew the annual work and residence permit; the employee is required to pay a tax of Ptas 1 000.

Regardless of the amount of tax payable this law has prompted a considerable number of enquiries from the parties concerned, who fail to understand exactly what the legal basis for the Spanish requirements is.

Can the Commission say whether, in view of Community legislation on this matter, the Spanish provisions requiring Spanish employers hiring foreign workers to pay an initial tax and a further tax each year they renew the contract should be considered as complying with Community labour law and to what extent non-Spanish Community citizens working in Spain may be affected by the Spanish provisions?

The provisions referred to by the Honourable Member have been examined in the light of Community law.

The law concerned is No 29/68 of 20 June 1986 as amended by Law No 37/88 of 28 December 1988 on the general state budget for 1989 (Official Jounal of 29 December 1988) and the provisions relating to the tax for the issue of work permits.

The provisions in question concern the issue of work permits and therefore do no apply to Commission workers, who, under Community law, are not required to apply for a work permit.

Further to Written Question No 1356/92 (1) and the totally unsatisfactory reply which it received, and without waiting for the publication of a general report, would the Commission provide an exhaustive list of all AIDS projects which received Commission funding in 1990 and 1991 indicating each case, the type of project, the body that submitted the project and the amount allocated?

Will the Commission also say what criteria were applied for funding the projects?

As such information is not confidential and should not require in-depth research — only administrative documents are involved — we insist on receiving this information for the sake of transparency.

(1) OJ Nº C 317, 3. 12. 1992, p. 53.

The Commission is currently implementing major programmes on AIDS in the areas of public health, research and assistance to developing countries. Over 200 projects are being financed under these programmes, and over 700 organizations are involved in the work.

As regards the field of public health, the Commission will be producing a report on the implementation of the `Europe against AIDS' programme. This report, which is currently being prepared, will describe the work undertaken under the actions of the programme, the means to carry them out, as well as the corresponding resources. Projects submitted to the Commission are sent to an Advisory Committee of representatives of Member States for their views, and are selected according to detailed criteria which are set out in the report.

With regard to the programme of assistance to developing countries, potential projects are proposed by the authorities in the countries concerned and are subjected to a screening procedure in which they are evaluated according to technical and legal/administrative criteria. Under the research programme, the aim is to support projects bringing together researcher in different states to find solutions to problems of major importance for Europe which can best be solved by working via the Community rather than in a single country.

Details of the projects financed can be forwarded to the Honourable Member by the competent services of the Commission on his request.