on the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on laying down general rules for the granting of Community financial aid in the field of trans-European networks (codified version)

(COM(2009)0113 – C7-0039/2009 – 2009/0037(COD))

(Codecision procedure – codification)

The European Parliament,

–   having regard to the Commission proposal to the European Parliament and the Council (COM(2009)0113),

–   having regard to Article 251(2) and Article 156 of the EC Treaty, pursuant to which the Commission submitted the proposal to Parliament (C7-0039/2009),

–   having regard to the Interinstitutional Agreement of 20 December 1994 - Accelerated working method for official codification of legislative texts(1),

–   having regard to Rules 86 and 55 of its Rules of Procedure,

–   having regard to the report of the Committee on Legal Affairs (A7-0057/2009),

A. whereas, according to the Consultative Working Party of the legal services of the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission, the proposal in question contains a straightforward codification of the existing texts without any change in their substance,

1.  Approves the Commission proposal as adapted to the recommendations of the Consultative Working Party of the legal services of the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission;

2.  Instructs its President to forward its position to the Council and the Commission.

(1) OJ C 102, 4.4.1996, p. 2.

Brussels, 22 October 2009

OPINION

             FOR THE ATTENTION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT

                                                              THE COUNCIL

                                                              THE COMMISSION

Proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on laying down general rules for the granting of Community financial aid in the field of trans-European networks (codified version)

COM(2009)0113 of 28.4.2009 - 2009/0037 (COD)

Having regard to the Inter-institutional Agreement of 20 December 1994 on an accelerated working method for official codification of legislative texts, and in particular to point 4 thereof, the Consultative Working Party, consisting of the respective legal services of the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission, met on 8 May 2009 for the purpose of examining, among others, the aforementioned proposal submitted by the Commission.

At that meeting(1), an examination of the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council codifying Council Regulation (EC) No 2236/95 of 18 September 1995 laying down general rules for the granting of Community financial aid in the field of trans-European networks resulted in the Consultative Working Party’s establishing, by common accord, as follows.

1) In Recital 2, the wording "and that it may support the financial efforts of the Member States to establish trans-European networks" should be adapted so as to read "and that it may support projects of common interest supported by Member States in the sphere of trans-European networks".

2) In Recital 5 and in Article 11(7), the expression "interest rate subsidies", appearing in the ninth recital and in Article 11(7) of Regulation (EC) No 2236/95, should be re-introduced in the place of the adapted wording "interest subsidies" appearing in the codification proposal.

3) In Recital 14 and in Article 1, the reference made to "Article 155 (1), third indent, of the Treaty" should be adapted so as to read as a reference made to "Article 155 (1), first subparagraph, third indent, of the Treaty".

4) In the first paragraph of Article 2 and in the second subparagraph of point 1 of Annex I, the reference made to "Article 155 (1), first indent, of the Treaty" should be adapted so as to read as a reference made to "Article 155 (1), first subparagraph, first indent, of the Treaty".

5) In Recital 19, the figure "EUR 4 600 million" should be adapted so as to read "EUR 4 874,88 million".

6) The wording of Article 1 should be adapted so as to read as follows: "This Regulation defines the conditions and procedures for granting Community aid under Article 155(1), first subparagraph, third indent, of the Treaty to projects of common interest in the field of trans-European networks for telecommunications infrastructures and to the projects of common interest in the field of trans-European networks for transport and energy infrastructures which are referred to in Article 20, third paragraph, of Regulation (EC) No 680/2007".

7) In the second subparagraph of paragraph (4) and in the first subparagraph of paragraph (5) of Article 5, the word "projects" should be replaced by the words "projects or groups of projects" contained in the second subparagraph of paragraph (4) and in the first subparagraph of paragraph (5) of Article 5a of Regulation (EC) No 2236/95.

In consequence, examination of the proposal has enabled the Consultative Working Party to conclude, without dissent, that the proposal is a straightforward codification of existing texts, without any change in their substance.

C. PENNERA                                  J.-C. PIRIS                                      C.-F.DURAND

Jurisconsult                                       Jurisconsult                                       Director General

(1)               The Consultative Working Party had at its disposal 22 language versions of the proposal and worked on the basis of the English version, being the master-copy language version of the text under discussion.