Brussels, 14/11/2005 (Agence Europe) - In a letter sent of the evening of 11 November to French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin, whose country has been hit by a wave of large-scale urban violence, the President of the European Commission José Manuel Barroso pledged his "support for the rehabilitation of areas affected by these attacks, in line with budgetary resources available", if the French government so wishes.
In his letter, President Barroso indicates that up to 50 million EUR- available under the programme URBAN -could be made available for the reconstruction of urban centres and other areas affected by violence in France, Jonathan Todd, spokesperson to the Commission, told the press in Brussels on 14 November. In the evening of 13 November, Mr Barroso met Mr de Villepin, who "welcomed the Commission's proposal", the spokesperson added. In this spirit, a meeting between the competent services of the Commission and the authorities will be held (in France) on Thursday 17 November, to discuss the redirection of funds which have not yet been spent by France, and which remain available until 2006. "The 50 million EUR is money which was allocated to France for other projects, but which has not yet been used. Further to the two reflections carried out by the services of the Commission, this 50 million EUR can be redirected to areas hit by the violence, as long as the French government wishes this to happen", Jonathan Todd explained. In his letter, President Barroso said: "should the French authorities decide to go further, by granting the priority to these actions over projects which have not yet been formally programmed, the French management system for programmes supported by the structural funds indicates to us that a potential financial envelope in the region of a billion EUR can be mobilised. Such a decision does, however, require the creation of a financial arrangement to the detriment of projects which have gone much further in their preparations". "This billion EUR is the total which remains to be allocated to France under the structural funds (objective two) by the end of 2006. It has not been ruled out that a proportion of this money can also go towards this rehabilitation process", Jonathan Todd told the press. He went on to stress that "if the French authorities agree, we will be able to redirect these funds. The ball is in their court: either they do not need the money, or they would like to redirect it ".
In his letter, President Barroso also points out that the Commission (Directorate General Regional Policy ) "is putting together a communication on the contribution of cities to the cohesion policy. This document will indicate ways in which the cities can use the structural funds to improve growth, employment and contribute to a better quality of living for the citizens and for business, whilst guaranteeing greater efficiency for actions to fight exclusion in all its forms".