Question to the EC: European Regional Development Fund / Dolphinariums

See Francisco Guerreiro’s question to the European Commission and the written answer on the European Regional Development Fund and Dolphinariums.

Subject: European Regional Development Fund / Dolphinariums

In the past, two countries have already used European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) resources to expand dolphinariums. In the Romanian city of Constanța, this EU Fund supported the expansion of the dolphinarium to the tune of around EUR 872 800. In the Lithuanian city of Klaipėda, the EU used this Fund to support the expansion of the dolphinarium and an affiliated museum to the tune of several million euros. Since many such applications are made without an specific indication of their purpose, they are apparently approved without much in the way of controls. The applicants used this Fund primarily to support museums, but also to use the money to restore their run-down dolphinariums. In recent years it has been public knowledge that the Festa Dolphinarium in Varna on the Black Sea in Bulgaria is also looking to expand its run-down facility. (1) 

1. Does the Commission know whether the Festa Dolphinarium in Varna (Bulgaria) has also applied for ERDF funds? 

2. If so, can the Commission explain whether and how future payments to such institutions can be checked more closely to ascertain the use for which they are intended? 

(1)       https://romanialibera.ro/actualitate/record-de-vizitatori-la-singurul-delfinariu-din-romania-757885; https://www.alfa.lt/straipsnis/10413196/lithuanian-dolphinarium-closed-for-restoration; https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/E-8-2017-001343-ASW_EN.html; https://frognews.bg/obshtestvo/aktualno/spirat-skandalniia-delfinarium-petia-slavova-nesebar.html?fbclid=IwAR0lTbIZQYm_5CGnsZ0HZ6wGaWh-5iO3O7KFkHbQPc_XLb-DkKVM2XiY6Xc;https://www.dnevnik.bg/bulgaria/2018/10/12/3326633_obshtina_varna_e_odobrila_novo_stroitelstvo_v_morskata/?fbclid=IwAR3eC_ENMhdmr4rPrN7ZHxB-dBGmA_DUtuRscrROmPx3XeECsIFlay-U81M

Answer in writing

Based on the information provided by the Bulgarian authorities, the Varna Dolphinarium has not received and is not planned to receive any support from the European Regional Development Fund or any other European Structural and Investment Fund.

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