Interreg III: objective disparities between Puglia-Albania and Albania-Greece programmes

7.11.2002

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3278/02
by Maurizio Turco (NI)
to the Commission

Under the Interreg III A programme the following cooperation programmes have been approved:

A - Puglia-Albania, funding of € 33 million; the programme is a consolidation of the measures taken under Interreg II, which amounted to € 81.5 million; it concerns a total area of 38 486 km2 and, according to the Commission, a population of 6.2 million, of whom 2.8 million live in Italy and approx. 3.4 million in Albania;

B - Greece-Albania, funding of € 90 million, including € 70.4 million essentially designed to set up a real and well guarded border between the two countries; the programme concerns a population of 1.4 million, including 900 000 Greeks and 500 000 Albanians, who live in two extremely poor regions situated on either side of the border.

 

Quite apart from such aspects as the financial quotas set for each Member State, the size of territory, the number of inhabitants concerned and the standard of living in the areas in question, the border issue, in terms of security and actual movement of illegal immigrants from Albania to the European Union, involves almost exclusively the landing of vessels on the Puglia region's coasts.

 

The Puglia region's repeated efforts over the years to contribute to the development of Albania are unequalled in the Union, apart from the Community's own contributions. The intensity and quality of its institutional relations and its contribution to the improvement of public administration are well known. Moreover, with the 'Fiera del Levante' organisation, it has promoted an annual trade fair in Tirana. The fourth fair, which took place in May 2002, was attended by 303 operators and over 40 000 visitors coming not only from Puglia, but also from Montenegro, Macedonia, Greece, Croatia, Bosnia, Serbia, Slovenia, Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey.

 

Does the Commission not consider that measures should be taken to provide further investment, in addition to the scheduled programmes, which will ensure adequate development of Albania and thus act as a deterrent against mass emigration across the Adriatic to the European Union and illegal landings on the Puglia coastline?

OJ C 155 E, 03/07/2003