RECOMMENDATION FOR SECOND READING on the Council position at first reading with a view to the adoption of a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Regulation (EC) No 1905/2006 establishing a financing instrument for development cooperation
27.1.2011 - (16442/1/2010 – C7‑0426/2010 – 2009/0060A(COD)) - ***II
Committee on Development
Rapporteur: Gay Mitchell
DRAFT EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT LEGISLATIVE RESOLUTION
on the Council position at first reading with a view to the adoption of a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Regulation (EC) No 1905/2006 establishing a financing instrument for development cooperation
(16442/1/2010 – C7‑0426/2010 – 2009/0060A(COD))
(Ordinary legislative procedure: second reading)
The European Parliament,
– having regard to the Council position at first reading (16442/1/2010 – C7‑0426/2010),
– having regard to its position at first reading[1] on the Commission proposal to Parliament and the Council (COM(2009)0194),
– having regard to Article 294(7) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,
– having regard to Rule 66 of its Rules of Procedure,
– having regard to the recommendation for second reading of the Committee on Development (A7‑0006/2011),
1. Adopts its position at second reading hereinafter set out;
2. Instructs its President to forward its position to the Council, the Commission and the national parliaments.
POSITION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT
AT SECOND READING[2]*
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REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL
amending Regulation (EC) No 1905/2006 establishing a financing instrument for development cooperation
THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,
Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, and in particular Article 209(1) thereof,
Having regard to the proposal from the European Commission,
Acting in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure[3],
Whereas:
(1) A new framework for planning and delivering assistance was established in 2006 in order to make the Community’s external assistance more effective and transparent. It contains Council Regulation (EC) No 1085/2006 of 17 July 2006 establishing an Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance (IPA)[4], Regulation (EC) No 1638/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 October 2006 laying down general provisions establishing a European Neighbourhood and Partnership Instrument[5], Council Regulation (EC) No 1934/2006 of 21 December 2006 establishing a financing instrument for cooperation with industrialised and other high-income countries and territories[6], Regulation (EC) No 1717/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 November 2006 establishing an Instrument for Stability[7], Council Regulation (Euratom) No 300/2007 of 19 February 2007 establishing an Instrument for Nuclear Safety Cooperation[8], Regulation (EC) No 1889/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 December 2006 establishing a financing instrument for the promotion of democracy and human rights worldwide[9], and Regulation (EC) No 1905/2006[10].
(2) In implementing Regulation (EC) No 1905/2006 inconsistencies have emerged regarding exceptions to the principle of non-eligibility for Union financing of costs related to taxes, duties and other charges. It is therefore proposed to amend the relevant provisions of that Regulation in order to align it with the other instruments.
(3) The Commission should be empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 290 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union in respect of Geographic Strategy Papers, Multi-annual Indicative Programmes and Strategy Papers for thematic programmes, as they supplement Regulation (EC) No 1905/2006 and are of general application. It is of particular importance that the Commission carry out appropriate consultations during its preparatory work, including at expert level.
(4) This Regulation does not go beyond what is necessary in order to achieve the objective pursued, in accordance with Article 5(4) of the Treaty on European Union.
(5) Regulation (EC) No 1905/2006 should therefore be amended accordingly,
HAVE ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:
Article 1
Regulation (EC) No 1905/2006 is hereby amended as follows:
(1) In Article 17(2), the second subparagraph is replaced by the following:
"Further instructions regarding the allocation of the overall amount among beneficiaries shall be defined by the Commission by means of delegated acts in accordance with Article 35, and subject to the conditions laid down in Articles 35a and 35b.";
(2) Article 21 is replaced by the following:
"Article 21
Adoption of strategy papers and multiannual indicative programmes
Strategy papers and multiannual indicative programmes referred to in Articles 19 and 20, and any reviews thereof referred to in Article 19(2) and Article 20(1), as well as accompanying measures referred to in Article 17, shall be adopted by the Commission by means of delegated acts in accordance with Article 35, and subject to the conditions laid down in Articles 35a and 35b.";
(3) Article 22(3) is replaced by the following:
"3. The annual action programmes shall be adopted by the Commission taking into account the opinions of the European Parliament and of the Council.";
(4) In Article 23, paragraphs 3 and 4 are replaced by the following:
"3. Where the cost of such measures exceeds EUR 10 million, the Commission shall adopt them taking into account the opinions of the European Parliament and of the Council. For special measures below EUR 10 million, the Commission shall send the measures to the European Parliament and to the Council for information within one month of adopting its decision.
4. Amendments to special measures, such as those making technical adjustments, extending the implementation period, reassigning funds within the forecast budget, or increasing or reducing the size of the budget by less than 20 % of the initial budget, provided those amendments do not affect the initial objectives set out in the Commission decision, shall be communicated within one month to the European Parliament and to the Council.";
(5) Article 25(2) is replaced by the following:
"2. Union assistance shall not in principle be used for paying taxes, duties or charges in beneficiary countries.".
(6) In Article 33, paragraphs 1 and 2 are replaced by the following:
"1. The Commission shall regularly monitor and review its programmes, and evaluate the results of the implementation of geographical and thematic policies and programmes, and of sectoral policies and the effectiveness of programming, where appropriate by means of independent external evaluations, in order to ascertain whether the objectives have been met and enable it to formulate recommendations with a view to improving future operations. Proposals by the European Parliament, the national parliaments or the Council for independent external evaluations shall be taken into due account. Particular attention shall be given to social sectors and to progress made towards achieving the MDGs.
2. The Commission shall send its evaluation reports to the European Parliament and to the Council for information. The results shall feed back into programme design and resource allocation.";
(7) Article 34(1) is replaced by the following:
"1. The Commission shall examine the progress made in implementing the measures taken under this Regulation and shall submit to the European Parliament and the Council an annual report on the implementation and the results and, as far as possible, on the main outcomes and impacts of the assistance. This report shall also be submitted to the national parliaments, to the European Economic and Social Committee and to the Committee of the Regions.";
(8) Article 35 is replaced by the following:
"Article 35
Exercise of the delegation
1. The power to adopt the delegated acts referred to in Article 17(2) and Article 21 shall be conferred on the Commission for the period of application of this Regulation.
2. As soon as it adopts a delegated act, the Commission shall notify it simultaneously to the European Parliament and to the Council.
3. The power to adopt delegated acts is conferred on the Commission subject to the conditions laid down in Articles 35a and 35b.
Article 35a
Revocation of the delegation
1. The delegation of power referred to in Article 17(2) and Article 21 may be revoked at any time by the European Parliament or by the Council.
2. The institution which has commenced an internal procedure for deciding whether to revoke a delegation of power shall endeavour to inform the other institution and the Commission within a reasonable time before the final decision is taken, indicating the delegated power which could be subject to revocation and possible reasons for a revocation.
3. The decision of revocation shall put an end to the delegation of the power specified in that decision. It shall take effect immediately or at a later date specified therein. It shall not affect the validity of the delegated acts already in force. It shall be published in the Official Journal of the European Union.
Article 35b
Objections to delegated acts
1. The European Parliament or the Council may object to a delegated act within a period of two months from the date of notification.
At the initiative of the European Parliament or the Council that period shall be extended by two months.
2. If, on expiry of the period referred to in paragraph 1, neither the European Parliament nor the Council has objected to the delegated act, it shall be published in the Official Journal of the European Union and shall enter into force on the date stated therein.
The delegated act may be published in the Official Journal of the European Union and enter into force before the expiry of that period if the European Parliament and the Council have both informed the Commission of their intention not to raise objections.
3. If either the European Parliament or the Council objects to the delegated act within the period referred to in paragraph 1, it shall not enter into force. The institution which objects shall state the reasons for objecting to the delegated act.".
Article 2
This Regulation shall enter into force on the day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.
This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.
Done at
For the European Parliament For the Council
The President The President
- [1] Texts adopted of 21.10.2010, P7_TA(2010)0379.
- [2] * Amendments: new or amended text is highlighted in bold italics; deletions are indicated by the symbol ▌.
- [3] Position of the European Parliament of 21 October 2010 (not yet published in the Official Journal) and position of the Council at first reading of 10 December 2010 (not yet published in the Official Journal).
- [4] OJ L 210, 31.7.2006, p. 82.
- [5] OJ L 310, 9.11.2006, p. 1.
- [6] OJ L 405, 30.12.2006, p. 41.
- [7] OJ L 327, 24.11.2006, p. 1.
- [8] OJ L 81, 22.3.2007, p. 1.
- [9] OJ L 386, 29.12.2006, p. 1.
- [10] OJ L 378, 27.12.2006, p. 41.
EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
Context: what is at stake?
The core of the legislative recommendation your Rapporteur is proposing does not concern the substance of the DCI regulation. Its main objective is to protect the democratic prerogatives of Parliament as foreseen by the Lisbon Treaty: As co-legislator, Parliament must be able to control, on an equal footing with the Council, the adoption of strategic decisions on where and how development aid is spent.
In technical terms, a number of decisions, which are normally taken by the Commission for the execution of the basic act, fulfil the criteria of "delegated acts" (Article 290 of the TFEU). This would give the two branches of the legislative authority the possibility to effectively object to certain draft decisions proposed by the Commission, or even to revoke the delegation. Your rapporteur is convinced that this would constitute a strong incentive for the Commission to take duly into account Parliament's suggestions when programming EU aid in terms of funding allocation and sectoral priorities. Giving the European Parliament real scrutiny and oversight powers, as the Lisbon Treaty clearly intends to do, would constitute a major contribution to shrinking the democratic deficit in the decision-making process of the European Union.
That is why most of the amendments proposed for the first reading aim to ensure that the delegated acts procedure is appropriately included in the DCI regulation, in line with the letter and spirit of the Lisbon Treaty. The same amendments have also been proposed in the report by colleague Charles Goerens on Banana Accompanying Measures (A7- 0285/2010), which is an amendment to the DCI.
As the delegated acts procedure also applies to the programming of the other financing instruments in the area of external action which are currently under review - the Instrument for Stability, the Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights, and the Instrument for Cooperation with Industrialised Countries -, the parliamentary committees responsible for these instruments (AFET and INTA) tabled identical amendments for the first reading in Parliament.
Our committees' position on delegated acts is consistent with the analysis of Parliament's legal service, and is fully in line with Parliament's political position, expressed by the Conference of Presidents on 9 September 2010: "Parliament's negotiators should always insist on the inclusion of delegated acts in all decisions fulfilling the criteria of Article 290 TFEU – in particular concerning objectives, choice of priorities, expected results and financial allocations in broad terms – in order to preserve the Parliament's prerogatives in these areas".
Your rapporteur notes that the criteria of Article 290 are compulsory, which means that if they are fulfilled (as is the case in the external financial instruments), they cannot be the matter of political bargains or any "special arrangements", as this would be contrary to the Treaty.
For Parliament, the interinstitutional negotiations on the external financing instruments are therefore not only about ensuring effective parliamentary control, and thus democratic control, over the implementation of EU legislation. They also fundamentally concern the respect by all institutions of the Treaty. And it is also worth considering that the outcome of the negotiations on the use of delegated acts for the implementation of the financing instruments in the area of external relations will establish a strong precedent for future legislative negotiations on all financing instruments. If we lose this battle, we may have to wait for a new Treaty in order to finally obtain the powers that the Lisbon Treaty is giving us now.
The procedure
After formal adoption of the first reading position in DEVE, interinstitutional negotiations started in February 2010 on the horizontal issue of delegated acts in the external financing instruments. Because of Council's outright refusal to grant Parliament its proper role in the operation of the financing instruments as foreseen in Article 290 TFEU, without making any alternative proposals to accommodate Parliament's legitimate aspiration for proper democratic scrutiny of the implementation of the instruments, no compromise was reached.
On 21 October 2010, Parliament concluded its first reading by adopting legislative resolutions on all the external financing instruments, with a large majority supporting the introduction of the delegated acts procedure.
On 10 December 2010, Council formally adopted its position on three of the four instruments, including the DCI. In its position Council rejects all first reading amendments which attempt to introduce delegated acts into the instruments, without proposing any alternative procedure. As regards the mid-term review of the DCI, only some technical amendments proposed by Parliament were accepted by Council.
Council calls for Parliament to adopt before the end of 2010 (i.e. without any negotiation) Council's Common Position, which - as Council very well knows - would not be possible without completely disregarding Parliament's internal procedures. Council also did not consult Parliament to determine jointly the most suitable moment to transmit its position, as would have been required in accordance with Article 20 of the agreement on good interinstitutional cooperation in the field of codecision.
-o0o-
As all attempts to move forward on the dossiers during trilogues and technical level contacts have failed, your rapporteur is of the opinion that Parliament should adopt and reiterate as quickly as possible its position regarding the delegated acts in second reading. Given the lack of any alternative proposal from the co-legislator, and the need to act fast in the interest of the beneficiaries, Parliament should reconfirm its position of first reading without at this stage entering into a new debate about individual amendments.
At the same time, Council should be called on to react as quickly as possible to Parliament's second reading position in order to ensure that a solution can be found and that funds can be unblocked as soon as possible
In conclusion, and in light of the legal and political arguments outlined above, your rapporteur recommends reinstating all the amendments from the first reading which were not accepted by the Council.
PROCEDURE
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Title |
A financing instrument for development cooperation (amendment of Regulation (EC) No 1905/2006) |
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References |
16442/1/2010 – C7-0426/2010 – 2009/0060A(COD) |
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Date of Parliament’s first reading – P number |
21.10.2010 T7-0379/2010 |
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Commission proposal |
COM(2009)0194 - C7-0043/2009 |
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Receipt of Council position at first reading announced in plenary |
16.12.2010 |
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Committee responsible Date announced in plenary |
DEVE 16.12.2010 |
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Rapporteur(s) Date appointed |
Gay Mitchell 25.1.2011 |
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Date adopted |
26.1.2011 |
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Result of final vote |
+: –: 0: |
29 0 0 |
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Members present for the final vote |
Thijs Berman, Michael Cashman, Ricardo Cortés Lastra, Corina Creţu, Véronique De Keyser, Nirj Deva, Leonidas Donskis, Charles Goerens, Catherine Grèze, András Gyürk, Eva Joly, Filip Kaczmarek, Franziska Keller, Miguel Angel Martínez Martínez, Gay Mitchell, Norbert Neuser, Bill Newton Dunn, Maurice Ponga, Birgit Schnieber-Jastram, Michèle Striffler, Alf Svensson, Eleni Theocharous, Patrice Tirolien, Ivo Vajgl, Iva Zanicchi, Gabriele Zimmer |
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Substitute(s) present for the final vote |
Martin Kastler, Csaba Őry, Patrizia Toia |
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