on the proposal for a Council regulation amending Regulation (EC) No 332/2002 establishing a facility providing medium-term financial assistance for Member States' balances of payments

(COM(2009)0169 – C6-0134/2009 – 2009/0053(CNS))

(Consultation procedure)

The European Parliament,

–   having regard to the Commission proposal to the Council (COM(2009)0169),

–   having regard to Article 308 of the EC Treaty, pursuant to which the Council consulted Parliament (C6-0134/2009),

–   having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 332/2002 of 18 February 2002 establishing a facility providing medium-term financial assistance for Member States' balances of payments(1) and its position of 6 September 2001 on the proposal for a Council regulation establishing a facility providing medium-term financial assistance for Member States' balances of payments(2),

–   having regard to its position of 20 November 2008(3) on the proposal for a Council regulation amending Regulation (EC) No 332/2002 and its resolution of the same day on establishing a facility providing medium-term financial assistance for Member States' balances of payments(4),

–   having regard to the opinion of the European Central Bank of 20 April 2009 on the proposal for a Council regulation amending Regulation (EC) No 332/2002 establishing a facility providing medium-term financial assistance for Member States' balances of payments

–   having regard to Rules 51 and 134 of its Rules of Procedure,

–   having regard to the report of the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs (A6-0268/2009),

1.  Approves the Commission proposal as amended;

2.  Calls on the Commission to alter its proposal accordingly, pursuant to Article 250(2) of the EC Treaty;

3.  Calls on the Council to notify Parliament if it intends to depart from the text approved by Parliament;

4.  Asks the Council to consult Parliament again if it intends to amend the Commission proposal substantially;

5.  Instructs its President to forward its position to the Council, the Commission, and the governments of the Member States.

(1) OJ L 53, 23.2.2002, p. 1. (2) OJ C 72 E, 21.3.2002, p. 312. (3) Texts adopted, P6_TA(2008)0560. (4) Texts adopted, P6_TA(2008)0562.

Council regulation (EC) 332/2002 establishes on the basis of articles 119 and 308 of the treaty a facility providing medium-term financial assistance for Member States balances of payments, replacing the former instrument created by the Council Regulation n°1969/88. This facility implements the mechanism foreseen by the Article 119 of the Treaty, whereby the Community can grant a mutual assistance to a Member State "in difficulties or seriously threatened with difficulties as regards its balance of payments either as a result of an overall disequilibrium in its balance of payments or as a result of the type of currency at its disposal", provided this Member State does not belong to the euro area.

With the adoption in February 2002 of this regulation the threshold was lowered the threshold existing in the former regulation from EUR 16 billion to EUR 12 billion because of the entering into force of the euro, whereby Members inside the eurozone were no more eligible to provisions of article 119 related to the balance of payments. Since then the EU has been enlarged and the number of Member States not participating in the EMU has increased substantially. Against that background and given the evolution of the international financial context the Council decided to increase early December 2008 the overall financial assistance ceiling to EUR 25 billion from an original EUR 12 billion, with the European Parliament giving a favourable opinion by way of urgent procedure.

Moreover, the European Council of 19 and 20 March invited the Commission and the Council to take the necessary measures in order to be prepared, if needed, to act on a case-by-case basis, on the basis of all available instruments and where appropriate in close cooperation with International Financial Institutions, underlying that “in particular, the Community stands ready to provide balance of payments support for eligible Member States that need it and, to this end, welcomes the Commission's intention to make a proposal for doubling the ceiling for the Union's support facility for balance-of-payments assistance to EUR 50 billion”. The Commission's new proposal to double the ceiling has for background the worsening of the international financial prospects and the negotiations of medium term financial assistance to Romania, which the EU intends to provide up to EUR 5 billion.

So far, the EU also had agreed to grant a BoP loan to Hungary of EUR 6.5 billion and to Latvia of EUR 3.1 billion.

Your rapporteur considers that it is reasonable to double the ceiling, raising it to 50 billion, and to clarify some tasks and responsibilities.