REPORT on the proposal for a European Parliament and Council Decision amending Decision No 2085/97/EC establishing a programme of support, including translation, in the field of books and reading (Ariane) (COM(98)0539 - C4-0544/98 - 98/0282(COD))

5 October 1998

Committee on Culture, Youth, Education and the Media
Rapporteur: Mr Peter Pex

By letter of 24 September 1998 the Commission submitted to Parliament, pursuant to Article 189b(2) of the EC Treaty and Article 128 of the EC Treaty, the proposal for a European Parliament and Council Decision amending Decision No 2085/97/EC establishing a programme of support, including translation, in the field of books and reading (Ariane).

At the sitting of 5 October 1998 the President of Parliament announced that he had referred this proposal to the Committee on Culture, Youth, Education and the Media as the committee responsible and to the Committee on Budgets for its opinion.

The Committee on Culture, Youth, Education and the Media had appointed Mr Pex rapporteur at its meeting of 23 September 1998.

It considered the Commission proposal and the draft report at its meeting of 5 October 1998.

At the latter meeting it adopted the draft legislative resolution unanimously.

The following took part in the vote: Pex, chairman and rapporteur; Hawlicek, vice-chairman; Augias, Banotti, De Coene, Elchlepp (for Gröner), Evans, Günther (for Fontana), Heinisch, Kokkola (for Junker), Kristoffersen (for Ligabue), Leperre-Verrier, Morgan, Mouskouri, Mutin, Paasilinna (for Kuhne), Perry, Ryynänen, Sanz Fernandez, Seiller, Sichrovsky and Vaz da Silva.

The opinion of the Committee on Budgets is attached to the report.

The report was tabled on 5 October 1998.

The deadline for tabling amendments is 10 a.m. on Wednesday, 7 October 1998.

A LEGISLATIVE PROPOSAL - DRAFT LEGISLATIVE RESOLUTION

Proposal for a European Parliament and Council Decision amending Decision No 2085/97/EC establishing a programme of support, including translation, in the field of books and reading (Ariane) (COM(98)0539 - C4-0544/98 - 98/0282(COD))

This proposal is approved with the following amendments:

Text proposed by the Commission[1] Amendments by Parliament

(Amendment 1)

Article 1(2)

(2) In Article 6, ECU 7 million shall be replaced by EUR 10 million.

(2) In Article 6, ECU 7 million shall be replaced by EUR 11.1 million.

Legislative resolution embodying Parliament's opinion on the proposal for a European Parliament and Council Decision amending Decision No 2085/97/EC establishing a programme of support, including translation, in the field of books and reading (Ariane) (COM(98)0539 - C4-0544/98 - 98/0282(COD))

(Codecision procedure: first reading)

The European Parliament,

- having regard to the Commission proposal to Parliament and the Council, COM(98)0539 - 98/0282(COD)[2],

- having regard to Article 189b(2) of the EC Treaty and Article 128 of the EC Treaty, pursuant to which the Commission submitted the proposal to Parliament (C4-0544/98),

- having regard to Rule 58 of its Rules of Procedure,

- having regard to the report of the Committee on Culture, Youth, Education and the Media and the opinion of the Committee on Budgets (A4-0355/98),

1. Approves the Commission proposal, subject to Parliament's amendments;

2. Calls on the Commission to alter its proposal accordingly, pursuant to Article 189a(2) of the EC Treaty;

3. Calls on the Council to incorporate Parliament's amendments in the common position that it adopts in accordance with Article 189b(2) of the EC Treaty;

4. Should the Council intend to depart from the text approved by Parliament, calls on the Council to notify Parliament and requests that the conciliation procedure be initiated;

5. Points out that the Commission is required to submit to Parliament any modification it may intend to make to its proposal as amended by Parliament;

6. Instructs its President to forward this opinion to the Council and Commission.

• [1] OJ C
• [2] OJ C

B EXPLANATORY STATEMENT

The Committee on Culture, Youth, Education and the Media adopted its opinion on the draft budget for 1999 at its meeting of 14 September 1998. As part of its proposals, the committee adopted two amendments relating to the continuation of the Ariane and Kaleidoscope programmes in 1999, with appropriations being maintained at the same level as in 1998, i.e. ECU 4.1 and 10.2 million respectively. A few days before the meeting, on 11 September, the informal Council of Culture Ministers meeting in Linz (Austria) had reached a political agreement to extend both programmes for a further year.

Following these decisions, a political agreement (trialogue) was reached between the Council, Parliament and the Commission on 21 September with a commitment to extend Ariane and Kaleidoscope for a further year on the basis of Article 8 of the relevant decisions, which provide for the adoption of the measures necessary to avoid interruption of the programmes. It was decided as part of the same agreement that the financial allocation would be the same as in 1998: ECU 4.1 m for Ariane and ECU 10.2 m for Kaleidoscope.

On 23 September the Commission adopted its proposals (COM(98) 539 final, COD 98/0282 and COD 98/0283) for two decisions of the European Parliament and the Council amending Decision No 2085/97/EC establishing a programme of support, including translation, in the field of books and reading (Ariane) and Decision No 719/96 of 29 March 1996 establishing a programme to support artistic and cultural activities having a European dimension (Kaleidoscope). The Commission proposals extend both programmes for a further year but provide an insufficient budgetary allocation of EUR 3 million for Ariane and EUR 7.9 million for Kaleidoscope (a total of 10.9 million for the two programmes in 1999). The tripartite agreement stipulates the 1998 level, i.e. 14.3 million rather than the 10.9 m as proposed by the Commission, which appears to have been compelled for technical reasons to keep within the preliminary draft budget (PDB).

Consequently, through the amendment tabled by its rapporteur and chairman, the Committee on Culture proposes that the amount for Ariane be increased by EUR 1.1 million, bringing the overall allocation for the new period of the programme 1997-99 pursuant to Article 6 to EUR 11.1 m (EUR

4.1 million for 1999). The corresponding amendment for Kaleidoscope foresees an increase of EUR

2.3 million, bringing the overall allocation for the new period of the programme 1996-99 pursuant to Article 6 to EUR 36.7 million (EUR 10.2 million for 1999). This would respect both the tripartite agreement between the three institutions and the spirit of the budget amendments adopted by the Committee on Culture for the 1999 budget.

OPINION

(Article 147 of the Rules of Procedure)

Letter from the Chairman of the Committee on Budgets to Mr Peter Pex, Chairman of the Committee on Culture, Youth, Education and the Media

Strasbourg, 5 October 1998

Dear Mr Pex,

Concerning the decision your committee is about to take on the two proposals introduced by the Commission to prolong the Ariane and Kaleidoscope programmes (COM(98)0539), I am glad to draw your committee's attention to the decisions taken by the Committee on Budgets at its meeting of 28-30 September 1998.

The two budgetary lines B3-2001N for Kaleidoscope and B3-2002N for Ariane, which had been deleted by the Council in its draft budget, having no current legal base, were reinstated by the Committee on Budgets with a 'pm' entry; no appropriation has been voted at this stage. Nevertheless, I am sure that the formal adoption by Council of an appropriate legal base which is pending could allow possible appropriations to be made available in 1999.

Yours sincerely,

Detlev SAMLAND