REPORT on the proposal for a European Parliament and Council regulation on amending Council Regulation (EC) No 2236/95/EC laying down general rules for the granting of Community financial aid in the field of trans-European networks
(COM(2003) 220 – C5‑0199/2003 – 2003/0086(COD))
4 November 2003 - ***I
Committee on Industry, External Trade, Research and Energy
Rapporteur: Imelda Mary Read
PROCEDURAL PAGE
By letter of 29 April 2003 the Commission submitted to Parliament, pursuant to Articles 251(2) and Article 156(1) of the EC Treaty, the proposal for a European Parliament and Council regulation on amending Council Regulation (EC) No 2236/95/EC laying down general rules for the granting of Community financial aid in the field of trans-European networks (COM(2003) 220 – 2003/0086(COD)).
At the sitting of 15 May 2003 the President of Parliament announced that he had referred the proposal to the Committee on Industry, External Trade, Research and Energy as the committee responsible and the Committee on Budgets for its opinion (C5‑0199/2003).
The Committee on Industry, External Trade, Research and Energy appointed Imelda Mary Read rapporteur at its meeting of 19 June 2003.
The committee considered the Commission proposal and draft report at its meetings of 1 October and 4 November 2003.
At the last meeting it adopted the draft legislative resolution by 43 votes to 0, with 1 abstention.
The following were present for the vote Luis Berenguer Fuster (chairman, Peter Michael Mombaur (vice-chairman), Jaime Valdivielso de Cué (vice-chairman), Yves Piétrasanta (vice-chairman), Imelda Mary Read (rapporteur), Gordon J. Adam (for Massimo Carraro), Nuala Ahern, Konstantinos Alyssandrakis, Per-Arne Arvidsson (for Guido Bodrato), Sir Robert Atkins, Gérard Caudron, Giles Bryan Chichester, Nicholas Clegg, Willy C.E.H. De Clercq, Concepció Ferrer, Francesco Fiori (for Umberto Scapagnini), Neena Gill (for Harlem Désir), Norbert Glante, Michel Hansenne, Malcolm Harbour (for W.G. van Velzen), Hans Karlsson, Bashir Khanbhai, Rolf Linkohr, Eryl Margaret McNally, Erika Mann, Marjo Matikainen-Kallström, Ana Clara Maria Miranda de Lage, Elizabeth Montfort, Angelika Niebler, Giuseppe Nisticò (for Dominique Vlasto), Seán Ó Neachtain, Reino Paasilinna, Paolo Pastorelli, John Purvis, Godelieve Quisthoudt-Rowohl, Mechtild Rothe, Christian Foldberg Rovsing, Paul Rübig, Gilles Savary (for Gary Titley), Konrad K. Schwaiger, Esko Olavi Seppänen, Claude Turmes, Alejo Vidal-Quadras Roca and Olga Zrihen Zaari.
The Committee on Budgets decided on 30 September 2003 not to deliver and opinion.
The report was tabled on 4 November 2003.
DRAFT EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT LEGISLATIVE RESOLUTION
on the proposal for a European Parliament and Council regulation on amending Council Regulation (EC) No 2236/95/EC laying down general rules for the granting of Community financial aid in the field of trans-European networks
(COM(2003) 220 – C5‑0199/2003 – 2003/0086(COD))
(Codecision procedure: first reading)
The European Parliament,
– having regard to the Commission proposal to the European Parliament and the Council (COM(2003) 220)[1],
– having regard to Articles 251(2) and Article 156(1) of the EC Treaty, pursuant to which the Commission submitted the proposal to Parliament (C5‑0199/2003),
– having regard to Rule 67 of its Rules of Procedure,
– having regard to the report of the Committee on Industry, External Trade, Research and Energy (A5‑0374/2003),
1. Approves the Commission proposal;
2. Calls on the Commission to refer the matter to Parliament again if it intends to amend its proposal substantially or replace it with another text;
3. Instructs its President to forward its position to the Council and Commission.
- [1] Not yet published in OJ..
EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
The eTEN programme is committed to helping achieve the objectives of the eEurope 2005 Action Plan: a key element of the Lisbon Strategy. Whilst its predecessor, TEN Telecom, focussed on establishing the infrastructure required to ensure that EU citizens derive maximum benefit from the Internal Market, the eTEN programme is now looking at how this underlying infrastructure can be used to deploy electronic services.
The Commission proposal is for a change in the way in which the funds already available to the eTEN programme are allocated. It will have no effect on the overall budget for the programme.
Until now the vast majority of eTEN projects have been concerned with market validation. These have played a very important role in identifying and studying the potential of trans-European electronic services. However, once these studies have been completed, it has proved to be difficult to move from this study and validation stage onto actual physical deployment.
In cases where the potential for deployment of a project has been recognised, the main barriers it faces are financial ones. These are derived from both the difficulties in obtaining private capital for initial investment in this area and also the complexities of managing a project that must deal with multiple language, cultural and administrative differences.
There are many examples of projects whose potential has been recognised but cannot secure sufficient financial backing to begin full deployment. These examples are in a range of areas such as eHealth, eInclusion, eLearning and eSecurity.
At present, eTEN can only fund up to 10% of the total investment costs of a project at the deployment stage. Experience from both the eTEN programme and from the 5th Framework Programme indicate that a higher funding ceiling is needed to realise the full potential of those services identified as ripe for development.
The Commission proposes that the 10% ceiling be raised to 30%. Since the overall budget remains unchanged, this will mean the deployment of fewer but more focussed projects in the future. This should ensure that those projects that do receive funding will have a far greater chance of reaching their full potential.
The rapporteur fully supports the Commission proposal and recommends that it be adopted by the Parliament without amendment.
Rapporteur's position on financial statement
The rapporteur agrees with the Commission position.
Schedule of commitment and payment appropriations
EUR million
|
2003 |
2004 |
2005 |
2006 |
2007 |
2008 and subs. yrs |
Total | |
|
Commitment appropriations |
39 |
39 |
40 |
40 |
158 | ||
|
Payment appropriations | |||||||
|
2003
|
11,5
|
|
|
|
11,5
| ||
|
Total |
39 |
39 |
40 |
40 |
158 | ||