Cohesion Fund: information and publicity measures

Parliament adopted the report by Mrs María SORNOSA MARTINEZ (GUE/NGL, E) on the draft concerning information an publicity measures to be carried out by the Member States and the Commission concerning the activities of the Cohesion Fund. It considered the notion of information adopted by the Commission to be insufficient (since it refers solely to publicity for the measures financed) and considered it necessary to guarantee general prior information on the Cohesion Fund and conditions governing access to assistance to be directed at regional and local authorities. The European Parliament considered it essential for information measures to facilitate public participation through regional and local administrations and the social partners. It considered that the objective of making potential beneficiaries and professional organizations aware of the possibilities offered by a particular action was not taken sufficiently into account in the measures proposed by the Commission. The resolution insisted on the need to make better use of the monitoring committees to transmit information and, so far as the environment is concerned, asked the Commission to ensure that Directive 90/313/EEC on the freedom of access to information on the environment was respected in the implementation of assistance under the Cohesion Fund. Finally, the European Parliament called for the competent authorities of the Member States, when drawing up projects, to ensure that the budget included a specific heading on the funding of the planned information and publicity measures.�