The European Parliament,

–  having regard to European Parliament and Council Regulation (EC) No 1905/2006 of 18 December 2006 establishing a financing instrument for development cooperation(1),

–  having regard to the draft Commission decision establishing a Special Measure 2007 for Iraq (C6‑0000/2007),

–  having regard to the opinion delivered on 8 October 2007 by the committee referred to in Article 35(1) of the above regulation (hereinafter referred to as 'the Development Cooperation Instrument (DCI) management committee'),

–  having regard to Article 8 of Council Decision 1999/468/EC of 28 June 1999 laying down the procedures for the exercise of implementing powers conferred on the Commission(2),

–  having regard to Rule 81 of its Rules of Procedure,

A.  whereas, on 8 October 2007, the DCI management committee voted in favour of the draft Commission decision establishing a Special Measure for Iraq for 2007 (CMT-2007-2245),

B.  whereas, pursuant to Article 7(3) of Decision 1999/468/EC and point 1 of the Agreement between the European Parliament and the Commission on procedures for implementing Council Decision 1999/468/EC,(3) the European Parliament received the draft implementing measure submitted to the DCI management committee and the results of voting,

C.  whereas Article 2(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1905/2006 stipulates that ‘the primary and overarching objective of cooperation under this Regulation shall be the eradication of poverty in partner countries and regions in the context of sustainable development’,

D.  whereas Article 2(4) of Regulation (EC) No 1905/2006 stipulates that ‘measures referred to in Article 1(1)(4) shall be designed so as to fulfil the criteria for Official Development Assistance (ODA) established by the [Development Assistance Committee of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development] (OECD/DAC)’,

E.  whereas, in its 'Reporting Directives for the Creditor Reporting System' (DCD/DAC(2002)21), the OECD/DAC defines ODA as financial flows to countries on the DAC list of ODA recipients for which, inter alia, ‘each transaction is administered with the promotion of the economic development and welfare of developing countries as its main objective’,

F.  whereas paragraphs 1 and 3 of Article 23 of Regulation (EC) No 1905/2006 stipulate respectively that ‘in the event of unforeseen and duly justified needs or circumstances related to natural disasters, civil strife or crises, and which cannot be funded under Regulation (EC) No 1717/ 2006 or Regulation (EC) No 1257/96, the Commission shall adopt special measures not provided for in the strategy papers or multiannual indicative programmes (hereinafter referred to as ‘special measures’)', that 'special measures may also be used to fund measures to ease the transition from emergency aid to long-term development operations including those to better prepare people to deal with recurring crises', and that 'where the cost of such measures exceeds € 10 million, the Commission shall adopt them under the management procedure referred to in Article 35(2)',

1.  Takes the view that, in the draft Special Measure for Iraq for 2007, the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) are not clearly presented as a main priority; considers that this is not in compliance with Article 2(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1905/2006 as the pursuit of the MDGs is established there as one of the overarching principles of cooperation under the DCI;

2.  Takes the view that, in the draft Special Measure for Iraq for 2007, the Commission exceeds the implementing powers laid down in the basic act by selecting as one of the areas of intervention ‘Feasibility Study for the Akkas Gas Field', the overall objective of which is 'to study the conditions for exploration of the Akkas Gas Field in western Iraq in view of linking its output to the Syrian gas pipeline network', and further 'to integrate this project if possible in the workings of the Euro-Arab Mashreq Gas Market Project'; points out that 'the study will take into consideration the future interest of the Mashreq neighbours and of the EU in integrating the output of the wells into the Euro-Mashreq gas market', and that 'this integration will open a large potential market for the Akkas fields' production and allow a first integration of the Iraq natural gas with the regional and European market', and therefore considers that this objective is not in compliance with Article 2(1) and (4) of Regulation (EC) No 1905/2006, in that the primary objective of the Special Measures is not the eradication of poverty and in that the stated objectives do not fulfil the criteria for ODA established by the OECD/DAC;

3.  Calls on the Commission to withdraw or amend its draft decision establishing Special Measure for Iraq, and to submit to the DCI management committee a new draft decision fully respecting the provisions of Regulation (EC) No 1905/2006;

4.  Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council and Commission, the representatives of the Member States in the DCI Committee, and the parliaments and governments of the Member States.

(1) OJ L 378, 27.12.2006, p. 41. (2) OJ L 184, 17.7.1999, p. 23 .Decision as amended by Decision 2006/512/EC (OJ L 200, 22.7.2006, p. 11). (3) OJ L 256, 10.10.2000, p. 19. (4) Article 1(1): ‘The Community shall finance measures aimed at supporting cooperation with developing countries, territories and regions (...).’