Proposal for a Council decision providing exceptional financial assistance for Montenegro (COM(2000) 288 - C5-0222/2000 - 2000/0114(CNS) )

(Consultation procedure)

The proposal was approved with the following amendments:

Text proposed by the Commission   Amendments by Parliament (Amendment 4) Recital 2    (2) The Montenegrin government pursues a policy of openness towards the EU and reforms towards a well-functioning market economy ;    (2) The Montenegrin government pursues a policy of openness towards the EU and is undertaking reforms towards democratisation; the government is extremely critical of Mr Milosevic's regime, making this process extremely difficult as Montenegro is not a sovereign state; (Amendment 5) Recital 2a (new) (2a) The Montenegrin government suffers therefore under the extreme political pressure exerted by Mr Milosevic's central government in Belgrade which renders its budgetary situation even worse; (Amendment 6) Recital (9a) (new) (9a) Bilateral donors, and in particular the EU Member States and the United States, are committed to providing Montenegro with financial aid; (Amendment 7) Recital (10)    (10) Exceptional financial assistance from the Community in the form of straight grants to be made available to the Republic of Montenegro would ease the Republic's financial constraints in the current difficult circumstances;    (10) Exceptional financial assistance from donors, including the Community, in the form of straight grants to be made available to the Republic of Montenegro would ease the Republic's financial constraints in the current difficult circumstances; (Amendment 8) Article 1(1)    1. The Community shall make available to the Republic of Montenegro exceptional financial assistance in the form of straight grants of up to EUR 20 million, with a view to alleviating the Republic's external financing needs.    1. The Community shall make available to the Republic of Montenegro exceptional financial assistance in the form of straight grants of up to EUR 20 million, in accordance with the provisions of the Treaty, in particular Article 272 thereof, and the Financial Regulation, with a view to alleviating the Republic's external financing needs. (Amendment 9) Article 1(2)    2. This assistance shall be managed by the Commission in close consultation with the Economic and Financial Committee.    2. This assistance shall be managed by the Commission in close consultation with the Economic and Financial Committee. The competent committee of the European Parliament shall be informed before the disbursement of the first instalment of the priorities and conditions drawn up by the Commission. (Amendment 10) Article 2(2)    2. The Commission shall verify at regular intervals, in consultation with the Economic and Financial Committee, that economic policies in the Republic of Montenegro respect the objectives and economic policy conditions of this assistance.    2. The Commission shall verify at regular intervals, in consultation with the Economic and Financial Committee, that economic policies in the Republic of Montenegro respect the objectives and economic policy conditions of this assistance. It shall inform the budgetary authority. (Amendment 11) Article 3(1)    1. The grant assistance shall be made available to the Republic of Montenegro in at least two instalments on the basis of a successful completion of the economic policy conditions referred to in Article 2(1). The second tranche shall not be released before two months after the release of the first tranche.    1. The grant assistance shall be made available to the Republic of Montenegro in at least two instalments on the basis of a successful completion of the economic policy conditions referred to in Article 2(1). The second tranche shall not be released before two months after the release of the first tranche and not until the conditions referred to in Article 1(1) and Article 2(2) have been met. (Amendment 12) Article 4, second paragraph (new) The Commission shall report to the European Parliament before the disbursement of the second instalment about the implementation of the first tranche of the assistance.

European Parliament resolution on the estimates of revenue and expenditure of the Parliament for the financial year 2001

P5_TA(2000)0223 A5-0121/2000

The European Parliament,

-  having regard to its resolutions of 28 October 1999 on the draft general budget of the European Communities for the financial year 2000 - Section I European Parliament - Ombudsman Annex - Section II Council - Section IV Court of Justice - Section V Court of Auditors - Section VI Economic and Social Committee and Committee of the Regions (C5-0300/1999 )(1) , and of 16 December 1999 on the draft general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2000, as modified by the Council (all sections) (C5-0600/1999 ), and on Letters of Amendment Nos. 1/2000 (11568/1999 - C5-0313/1999 ), 2/2000 (13482/1999 - C5-0311/1999 ) and 3/2000 to the 2000 draft budget(2) ,

-  having regard to its resolution of 30 March 2000 on the guidelines for the 2001 budgetary procedure(3) ,

-  having regard to the Secretary-General's report to the Bureau on the preliminary draft estimates of the European Parliament for the 2001 financial year,

-  having regard to the preliminary draft estimates established by the Bureau on 10 April 2000, pursuant to Rules 22(5) and (6) and 183 of the Rules of Procedure,

-  having regard to the provisions of the Financial Regulation, the declaration on the presentation of an analytical budget, and the interinstitutional conclusions on the rationalisation of administrative expenditure(4) ,

-  having regard to the entry into force of the Treaty of Amsterdam, and the implications that this has for the legislative work of Parliament,

-  having regard to the two reports of the Committee of Independent Experts, set up through Parliament's resolution of 14 January 1999 on improving the financial management of the Commission(5) and mandated to examine the way in which the Commission detects and deals with fraud, mismanagement and nepotism, and in particular the second report on Reform of the Commission; analysis of current practice and proposals for tackling mismanagement, irregularities and fraud of 10 September 1999,

-  having regard to the Commission communication to the Council, the European Parliament, the Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions on the Commission's Work Programme for 2000 (COM(2000) 155 )(6) ,

-  having regard to the White Paper on the reform of the Commission of 1 March 2000 (COM(2000) 200 ),

-  having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgets (A5-0121/2000 ),

A.  whereas the economic forecasts foresee growth in the European Union's economy of 3.0 % for 2001, and an inflation of 1.9%; whereas the norms for the European Monetary Union justify the continuation of a policy of budgetary rigour,

B.  whereas Parliament's responsibilities have increased substantially due to the entry into force of the Amsterdam Treaty, which resulted in an increased workload, especially as a result of the extension of the co-decision procedure to more policy areas,

C.  whereas the conclusions of the report of the Committee of Independent Experts mentioned above and the White Paper on the Reform of the Commission of 1 March 2000 must, where appropriate, be taken into account for the future management of Parliament,

1.  Believes that adequate and timely measures must be taken, including the linguistic sector, to prepare for the consequences of enlargement, but that those measures should in no way prejudge the political decisions which will have to be taken in the context of enlargement;

Statute for the Members of Parliament

2.  Expects the Council to cooperate with Parliament in the most constructive way possible to adopt the Statute of the Members of the European Parliament, and to adopt, independently from that, the Statute for the Members" assistants;

3.  Decides to increase the appropriations for item 2101 (distributed data-processing systems) by EUR 1.5 million to improve the level of technical support to Members, in particular to meet the costs of providing a second networked computer for all Members in Brussels;

Political groups

4.  Refers to the Court of Auditors" document on the political groups in the European Parliament which recommends a provisional solution based on a separate budget line to record the appropriations for European political parties; instructs its Secretary-General and Bureau to achieve complete transparency regarding the use of appropriations for a transitional period up until the entry into force of the statute on European political parties;

5.  Underlines emphatically the increased workload and the particular responsibilities of the political groups in connection with the democratic decision-making processes in the European Parliament;

Staff

6.  Welcomes the idea put forward by the Secretary-General to compare existing job descriptions and staff profiles with Parliament's specific needs in order to determine existing and expected future skill shortfalls; remarks that such a comparative evaluation should be carried out within the terms of reference for the study "to improve the working methods and staff structure of Parliament's administration in the light of the challenges which Parliament will face in the future”, as stated in its abovementioned resolution of 28 October 1999;

7.  States that the scientific support for the activities of the Members provided by the Directorate General for Research should be improved and expects in this respect concrete proposals from its Secretary-General, including better coordination and cooperation between documentalists in Brussels and researchers based in Luxembourg;

8.  Instructs its Secretary-General to distribute to all Members by 1 June 2000 the final report on multilingualism drawn up on 19 April 1999 by the working group under Vice-President Cot in order that the issues of translation and interpretation can be fully debated before any decisions concerning enlargement are taken;

9.  Rejects the proposal to occupy the 35 vacant posts from the "enlargement" reserve in the language sector; requests its Secretary-General, however, to present a report, before Parliament's first reading of the 2001 budget, on the necessary measures to be taken to prepare Parliament's language services for enlargement, taking into account possibilities for interinstitutional cooperation, and repeats that those measures should in no way prejudge any political decision;

10.  Agrees to making available the necessary appropriations for:

Rejects the proposal to make appropriations available for the other requested posts. These posts should be made available through redeployment, or should remain outsourced;

11.  Agrees to make the necessary appropriations available for the creation of 12 temporary B5 posts in the secretariats of the political groups for the maintenance and development of information technology; decides, therefore, to reduce correspondingly the appropriations earmarked for the political groups in item 2102 (outside assistance in connection with the operation, development and maintenance of data-processing systems);

12.  Postpones its decision on the following requests until September 2000:

13.  Takes note of the Bureau's proposal for 139 upgradings of permanent posts, the request for 12 upgradings for temporary posts for political group staff, the request for 14 upgradings for temporary staff in the Secretariat of Parliament and the request for the upgrading for 1 C2 post into a C1 post for the non-attached Members; awaits the reports on the staff and staff promotion policies of the other institutions, as requested by Parliament in its abovementioned resolution of 28 October 1999, and will decide on making the appropriations available for the requested upgradings in the first reading of the 2001 budget;

14.  Agrees with the conversion of the LA post into an A post for the Info-memo service; agrees to make available the appropriations for the upgrading of 15 permanent posts from D to C and for the upgrading of 20 posts from C1 to B3;

15.  Agrees to make available the appropriations for the proposed ad personam promotion;

16.  Agrees with the other decisions of the Bureau as reflected in the estimates for the 2001 Budget in the Annex.

17.  Is of the opinion that the activities of the Internal Organisation Unit have proved to be a useful instrument for improving the efficiency of certain services of Parliament's administration; encourages this unit to continue its activities as regards services which were not subject of examination so far, and to pay in particular attention to further redeployment possibilities;

Buildings policy

18.  Notes that the draft estimates for 2001 are based, inter alia, upon an interest rate of 4.00%, and that this rate might increase further. Therefore, might re-examine in September the level of appropriations for the repayments for the Parliament buildings correspondingly;

19.  Notes that the refinancing and purchase operation relating to the Louise Weiss building in Strasbourg can only take place once a settlement of the final construction cost has been agreed with the promoters; insists that the refinancing scheme must be legally uncontestable and as transparent as possible, especially if the Council once again refuses the direct financing procedure and indirect financing is necessary; insists that the method finally used must be the most cost-effective for the European taxpayer;

20.  Welcomes the Letter of Intent agreed by the Economic and Social Committee, the Committee of the Regions and the owner of the Belliard buildings, according to which these buildings will be fully renovated to serve the needs of the two Committees and as a result of which Parliament will discontinue its rent contract in the course of the coming weeks;

21.  Notes that preparations will begin during the next financial year to meet two new key property policy objectives for the coming years: (a) to have available the necessary buildings infrastructure to accommodate on an equal footing, in Parliament's places of work, the new Member States of an enlarged European Union; and (b) to have information offices available, in cooperation with the other European institutions, in the countries which have applied to join the European Union;

22.  Insists on continuation of the current policy of purchasing the buildings Parliament needs, as well as on continuation of the policy of paying for them in as short a period as possible in order to reduce to a minimum the interest burden over the whole repayment period; insists that the remaining margin within the ceiling of 20% of heading 5 of the financial perspective, which Parliament has set itself, be used for this purpose;

Miscellaneous

23.  Supports the Conference of Presidents' proposal of 9 March 2000 and the Bureau decision of 10 April 2000 to raise the value of the Sakharov Prize to EUR 50 000;

24.  Welcomes the opening of an "Info-Point" within the Belgium Information Office and within Parliament's premises in Brussels, which will serve the information needs of the general public as well as the more specialised information needs of special interest groups;

25.  Recalls its request that all Commission and Parliament offices in the Member States should work together within a "European House" framework by 1 January 2000; notes that this remains to be achieved in a few places; instructs the Bureau to make the necessary proposals for this aim to be achieved at the latest by 31 December 2000;

26.  Welcomes the fact that for Article 202 (Insurance) the necessary appropriations could be reduced substantially due to a recent call for tender for a number of insurances; instructs its Secretary-General to continue this approach for other areas;

27.  Notes the growing number of outside groups using Parliament's facilities both in Brussels and Strasbourg; instructs its Bureau to establish a register of all outside groups using Parliament's premises on a regular basis containing relevant details about the organisation, its structure as well as means of support;

28.  Calls on its Secretary-General to review critically which parliamentary texts should be published in the Official Journal of the European Communities;

29.  Notes that, although Parliament is by nature an open institution, certain security standards are required; is therefore of the opinion that the quality of Parliament's Security Service must be improved by redefining its tasks and through a re-allocation of responsibilities within that service;

30.  Considers that, given the many instances of theft and the fact that valuables and documents go astray, measures must be taken significantly to step up security and surveillance of and in the buildings;

31.  Agrees with a total amount of EUR 987 800 000 for the estimates of the 2001 Budget and as specified in the Annex;

o
o   o

32.  Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council and the Commission.

(1) Texts Adopted, Item 2. (2) Texts Adopted, Item 8. (3) Texts Adopted, Item 2. (4) OJ C 308, 20.11.1995, p. 122. (5) OJ C 104, 14.4.1999, p. 106. (6) OJ C 81, 21.3.2000, p. 9.

European Parliament legislative resolution on the Commission's recommendation for the broad guidelines of the economic policies of the Member States and the Community (drawn up pursuant to Article 99(2) of the Treaty establishing the European Community) (COM(2000) 214 - C5-0218/2000 - 2000/2119(COS) )

P5_TA(2000)0224 A5-0134/2000

The European Parliament,

-  having regard to the Commission's recommendation (COM(2000) 214 - C5-0218/2000 ),

-  having regard to the Commission's Report on the Implementation of the 1999 Broad Economic Policy Guidelines (COM(2000) 143 ),

-  having regard to its resolution of 2 March 2000 on the Commission's Annual Economic Report: 'The EU Economy: 1999 Review' (C5-0081/2000 - 2000/2046(COS) )(1) ,

-  having regard to the Presidency Conclusions of the European Council adopted in Helsinki on 11 December 1999,

-  having regard to the contribution of the European Commission on an agenda of economic and social renewal for Europe to the Special European Council in Lisbon, 23-24 March 2000 (COM(2000) 7 ),

-  having regard to its resolution of 15 March 2000 on the Special European Council in Lisbon, 23-24 March 2000(2) ,

-  having regard to the Presidency Conclusions of the Special European Council on Employment, Economic Reform, and Social Cohesion adopted in Lisbon on 24 March 2000,

-  having regard to Articles 98 and 99 of the EC Treaty,

-  having regard to Rule 47 (1) of its Rules of Procedures,

-  having regard to the Report of its Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs and the opinion of the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs (A5-0134/2000 ),

A.  whereas the prospects of GDP growth of over 3% in Europe for 2000 and 2001 are encouraging, insofar as they offer a platform from which the European economy can be launched into a permanently higher growth path,

B.  whereas a higher, ecologically sustainable and non-inflationary growth path is crucial for the achievement of full employment and the transition to a knowledge-based economy, both of which aims have been proclaimed by the Commission recommendation in accordance with the Presidency Conclusions of the Lisbon Special European Council, as central objectives of European economic policy for the first decade of the twenty-first century,

C.  whereas markets for products, services, capital and labour still lack structural reforms in a number of Member States, thus reducing the ability of businesses and labour to adapt to a changing environment and so wasting opportunities for growth and employment,

D.  whereas actual levels of investment in proportion to GDP, currently standing at about 19%, are still considerably below the 24% mark deemed necessary to sustain a growth path of between 3% and 3.5%,

E.  whereas the acceleration of investment to a rate higher than the current rate of GDP growth is a welcome development but has to be sustained over a number of years in order to make up the shortfall in the share of investment,

F.  whereas public investment in infrastructure projects has been reduced considerably during the past decade,

G.  whereas it is already highly dubious whether Europe could fulfill its commitments under the Kyoto agreement in the context of a recovered 3% rate of growth,

H.  whereas the operation of a knowledge-based economy presupposes the development, by means of both private and public investment, of a whole network of high-speed, highly efficient highways of information, joining among themselves the various educational, research and production centres,

I.  whereas a gradual reduction in unemployment has already taken place but with a forecast of 8% of the labour force for the year 2001 unemployment still remains at unacceptably high levels in particular amongst young people, women, and the long-term unemployed,

J.  whereas economic, employment and social policy are three sides of an overall policy mix strategy, which assumes therefore that the implementation of the new strategy will also reinforce employment and social policy initiatives, placing them on an equal footing with economic policy instruments,

K.  whereas the achievement of a knowledge-based economy presupposes increased activity in the areas of research and development, higher education, training and retraining of the labour force and, ultimately, the emergence of a process of lifelong learning for all members of society, such increased activity requiring both additional private and public investment,

L.  whereas competitive goods and services markets as well as capital markets integrated on a continental scale are essential for the achievement of high levels of economic performance,

M.  having regard to the importance of small and micro businesses to the creation of new jobs and to regional economic development in the European Union,

N.  whereas maintenance of a globally competitive position for the European economy also depends on prudent stewardship of the Euro, against a healthy international financial backdrop,

O.  whereas the new conditions emerging in the area of technology, as well as the global integration of financial and production processes, call for an overall revision of conditions of work, remuneration and taxation, liable to produce far-reaching changes to the structure of the European social model,

P.  whereas the prospect of an ageing population dictates a drastic revision of pension systems with the aim of safeguarding their financial soundness and continued service to the population on a fair and equitable basis,

Q.  whereas appropriate wage development, price stability and sound management of public finances are necessary conditions for the smooth functioning of the markets and of the economy, particularly as regards saving and investment,

R.  whereas stability of financial markets is a vital condition for continued economic prosperity,

S.  whereas fairness in distribution, solidarity in economic adversity and a socially-minded attitude in everyday decision making are essential ingredients for the successful functioning of a market economy,

1.  Welcomes the Portuguese Presidency's willingness to negotiate with Parliament over the incorporation of Parliament's resolution; stresses once more, however, that the democratic deficit in European economic policy must be overcome through the conclusion of an interinstitutional agreement between the Council, the Commission and Parliament;

2.  Reiterates its call for an amendment to Article 99(2) of the EC Treaty so that the broad guidelines of economic policy are discussed and decided on a proposal from the Commission and not on a recommendation from the Commission;

3.  Warmly welcomes the decision by the Commission to produce an operational content to the conclusions of the Lisbon Special European Council and to develop the recommendation concerning the return to full employment, transition to a knowledge-based economy and modernisation of social protection systems as key challenges and objectives for European policy makers;

4.  Notes with satisfaction that life expectancy in the EU is higher than ever; believes, however, that the growing number of older people in our societies has challenging implications for the funding of pensions which must be dealt with in a spirit of social cohesion, as insisted upon in the Commission Recommendation; is convinced that reaching full employment as well as reaping some benefits from productivity gains could contribute considerably to keeping collective pension schemes running while acknowledging that increased life expectancy opens up new individual options regarding the length of working life and the transition to full retirement;

5.  Stresses the importance of generating high rates of non-inflationary and ecologically sustainable growth as the central element of the strategy for achieving a return to a full employment and a transition to a knowledge-based economy, within the context a social market economy;

6.  Underlines its agreement with the position in the Commission Recommendation that the requisite rate of progress - best expressed through a growth rate of GDP of 3% or more - cannot be achieved without improving the productive capacity of the EU economy and cannot be maintained overtime without a substantial rise in the potential output of the Union's economy;

7.  Notes that higher growth requires more investment; believes that the best way of encouraging more investment is through an improved investment climate and a well-trained workforce and recommends that the excessive cost and administrative burden of business start-ups are alleviated and that a structural reform of labour markets is undertaken;

8.  Believes that, in general terms, it is possible to reduce the level of taxation in many Member States and that social security systems need to be overhauled, so as to reduce the tax burden on job creation;

9.  Stresses that more needs to be done to remove barriers within the Union and further develop a single market in utilities such as electricity, gas and telecommunications, as well as in financial services, without putting at risk either consumers' rights or the need to promote environment-friendly forms of energy;

10.  Expresses its satisfaction at the restatement in the Commission recommendation of the quantified target, laid down in the Presidency Conclusions of the Lisbon Special European Council, of raising labour force participation from an average of 61 per cent to 70 per cent of the population by 2010 and to increasing the participation of women from an average of 51 per cent to more than 60 per cent by the same date;

11.  Considers that quantitative and qualitative economic targets may be useful but insists that fixing such targets should not undermine the goals established in the stability pact that are the fundamental guide for economic policies in the eurozone;

12.  Supports the implicit connection made in the Commission recommendation between maintaining sound public finances, an extremely worthwhile objective, and improving the quality and sustainability of public finances, which is an urgent priority;

13.  Underlines the need to pursue fiscal consolidation as required by the Stability and Growth Pact, so that the monetary union enjoys ongoing price stability, a pre-requisite for economic growth;

14.  Approves of the restructuring of government spending in favour of investment, R & D and active labour market policies in accordance with the Employment Guidelines;

15.  Warns against using public investment as a means of managing demand in the economy, as experience shows that this may be counterproductive; believes that public investments should be undertaken when the benefits of these investments for society as a whole are judged to be greater than the costs;

16.  Urges those Member States lagging behind with structural reforms to increase the effectiveness of the markets for products, services, capital and labour;

17.  Expresses its enthusiastic support for all measures, especially all timetabled policy steps, in the direction of a transition to a knowledge-based economy; is consequently extremely surprised at the scant mention of any information-highway construction projects, i.e. satellite communication, or TEN projects, and asks the Council to attend to this shortcoming in the final version of the guidelines;

18.  Fully approves and supports all measures aimed at reducing the fragmentation and compartmentalisation of the R & D effort in the context of creating a unified European area of research and development;

19.  Stresses the growth potential of the 'new economy' for the economies of Europe; calls on Member States, in order for this potential for growth to be exploited, to introduce policies aimed at supporting research and development programmes and investment in professional training and further training so as to improve skill levels, to undertake a qualifications offensive to overcome the current skills gap and to fill job vacancies in the European IT sector rapidly, and to increase budgets for general education, universities and lifelong learning;

20.  Strongly supports the recommendation in favour of avoiding harmful tax competition and of reaching an agreement on the tax package in line with the conclusions of the Helsinki European Council of December 1999;

21.  Shares the positive assessment of the Lisbon Summit regarding the role of the Third System with respect to job creation and wonders why the guidelines make no mention of this sector; suggests that its importance be acknowledged through the creation of a special unit in charge of the Third System within the Commission;

22.  Expresses its agreement with the recommendation in favour of reasonable attitudes in wage negotiations, taking into account price stability, productivity increases and the need to keep unit labour costs under control, even in the case of reductions in working hours; appeals to the social partners to conduct such negotiations or reforms in a spirit of fairness and social responsibility;

23.  Recommends that the Member States coordinate their policies more effectively and rely on peer reviews and best practice to a greater extent, in order to achieve the EU-wide goals of higher employment and growth;

24.  Supports all measures, and especially timetabled measures, for strengthening competition, liberalising public utilities and reducing regulatory burdens on business, in particular SMEs, and calls for further coordinated action to simplify the regulatory environment by 2001;

25.  Considers competition in free and open markets to be a central element of a social market economy and therefore approves the recommendation to strengthen the position of national competition authorities;

26.  Agrees with the Commission statement to the effect that the role and the independence of the national competition authorities need to be strengthened;

27.  Fully approves and supports the demand of the Lisbon Special European Council, restated in the guidelines for full implementation of the action plans for financial services and risk capital by 2003, and calls on the financial services industry to step up their efforts aimed at promoting further integration and deepening of capital markets in a climate of fair competition as referred to in paragraph 20 of this resolution;

28.  Recalls the need to reduce barriers to trade within the European Union and therefore calls for the rapid completion of the single market;

29.  Points to the need to identify the sources of instability of the international financial markets, such as insufficient prudential supervision, and to engage in negotiations with all bodies involved so as to reduce potential instability while maintaining capital markets free and open, in order to achieve the best possible allocation of resources;

30.  Points out that the credibility of the euro depends, in part, on a clear demonstration of the political will of governments to act in concert, and regrets the inadequacy of the efforts made by governments to coordinate their budgetary and fiscal policies over and above simply reducing budget deficits, although such coordination has become necessary within economic and monetary union;

31.  Approves of the recommendation of a full range of environment-friendly policies to help achieve the EU objectives under the Kyoto protocol;

32.  Is concerned at the ongoing gap between the highly commendable new aims of full employment and the transition to a knowledge-based economy, on the one hand, and the often largely routine specific policy recommendations, on the other, and calls on the Commission and the Council to give serious consideration to the need for a drastic renewal of the intellectual apparatus behind economic policy making, to bring it into line with the conclusions of the Lisbon Special European Council and the approved open method of coordination, including the implementation of the Luxembourg process for economic policy;

33.  Calls on the Commission to create Community support mechanisms for the benefit of SME associations as a way of improving SMEs" competitiveness and organisational capacities, since these organisations are in a position to provide a number of support services to their associates, such as information and loan centralisation services, the securing of public aid (both national and Community) and legal support;

34.  Stresses the need to strengthen and extend the processes designed to increase democracy in the workplace by encouraging the acquisition by workers of a financial interest in their companies' capital and the active involvement of workers in their companies' strategies, as well as by broadening the traditional pool of investors; calls for workers' rights to information and consultation to be strengthened in European companies and for the Presidency-in-Office of the Council to smooth the way towards agreement on the proposal for a directive on this matter, as well as towards agreement on the European Company Statute and thereby to establish a framework for workers' rights to information and consultation in European companies;

35.  Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, and the parliaments of the Member States.

(1) Texts Adopted, Item 8. (2) Texts Adopted, Item 12.

European Parliament resolution on the annual assessment of the implementation of the stability and convergence programmes (2000/2041(INI))

P5_TA(2000)0225 A5-0108/2000

The European Parliament,

-  having regard to the updated stability and convergence programmes drawn up by the Member States as well as the opinions of the ECOFIN Councils of 31 January, 28 February and 13 March 2000 on these programmes;

-  having regard to the European Council resolution on the Stability and Growth Pact adopted in Amsterdam on 17 June 1997(1) ;

-  having regard to the code of conduct on the content and format of the stability and convergence programmes adopted at the ECOFIN Council of 12 October 1998 in Luxembourg;

-  having regard to its resolution of 4 May 1999 on the Commission's recommendation for the broad guidelines of the economic policies of the Member States and the Community, drawn up in accordance with Article 103(2) of the EC Treaty (COM(1999) 143 - C4-0208/1999 )(2) ;

-  having regard to Rule 163 of its Rules of Procedure,

-  having regard to the report of the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs (A5-0108/2000 ),

A.  whereas the Stability and Growth Pact reinforces a comprehensive surveillance procedure to monitor the budgetary policies of the Member States, and aims at ensuring lasting compliance of fiscal policies with the requirements of budgetary prudence as well as monitoring fiscal developments with a view to releasing early warnings in the event of budgetary slippage,

B.  whereas budgetary discipline is vital to strengthen the conditions for price stability and for strong sustainable growth conducive to employment creation and whereas the Stability and Growth Pact defines a medium-term objective of a budgetary balance close to balance or in surplus,

C.  whereas although all Member States today have a budget deficit below 3% of GDP, only seven Member States (Denmark, Finland, Ireland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Sweden and the UK) meet the requirement of a budget close to balance or in surplus and whereas government debt is still high in many Member States and its reduction proceeds only rather slowly,

D.  whereas all Member States but one submitted their updated stability or convergence programmes before the 1 March 2000 deadline,

E.  whereas it is of the utmost importance that the procedure set out in the Stability and Growth Pact is taken very seriously and the examination of the programmes is carried out thoroughly; whereas this is vital also to reinforce European citizens' confidence in EMU,

F.  whereas, throughout the European Union, Member States face the problem of ageing populations, and the foundations to cope with this development must be laid as soon as possible,

G.  whereas taxes and social contributions account for almost 46% of GDP in the euro-zone, some EU countries even exceeding this level, compared with about 30% in the US and Japan,

1.  Notes with satisfaction that the budgetary objectives set in the previous programmes have all been achieved or even over-achieved, but notes at the same time that these objectives have been widely criticised as being rather modest and recalls that they are due more to higher than expected tax revenues and the favourable development of interest rates than to the Member States' own efforts;

2.  Is of the opinion that budgetary consolidation must remain a priority and considers that the much-improved economic environment and the positive growth expectations provide Member States with the opportunity to accelerate fiscal consolidation while at the same time introducing long-overdue structural reforms;

3.  Calls on the Commission to publish each year, shortly ahead of the publication by Member States of their convergence or stability programmes, its best estimates of the benchmark structural budget balance for each Member State which would be consistent with the attainment of the 3 per cent deficit limit during a normal cycle, and its estimate of the actual structural budget position of each Member State during the current year and in the previous three years; calls on each Member State to discuss any differences with the Commission's estimates in its convergence or stability programme;

4.  Is of the opinion that the improved labour market performance is, together with the satisfactory level of economic growth, partly a result of the implementation of a more comprehensive labour and product markets reform in several countries, but notes that progress has been uneven across countries and much still remains to be done and therefore calls on Member States to implement more radical reforms of their labour markets in order to tackle Europe's unacceptably high unemployment and to facilitate non-inflationary growth;

5.  Calls on Member States to proceed rapidly with the implementation of agreed liberalisation of markets such as telecoms and energy and regrets the uneven progress in the implementation of these measures in a number of Member States;

6.  Welcomes the tax reforms aimed at reducing the high level of taxes and social contributions undertaken or envisaged in many Member States such as France, Germany, the Netherlands and Spain, as the high unemployment rate in the European Union can at least partially be explained by the high tax burden, provided that these reforms do not endanger progress in fiscal consolidation;

7.  Underlines the fact that the programmes can and should be used by Member States as a valuable instrument for benchmarking and exchange of best practices, i.e. as regards tax reforms and reforms of product, capital and labour markets;

8.  Stresses the urgent need to undertake forward looking measures across a broad range of economic, financial and social policies to be able to respond to the problems posed by the ageing of the population and new lifestyles; underlines that besides fiscal consolidation and the reform of social security systems, measures to improve taxation and social expenditure for families with children are also required;

9.  Calls for an annex to be attached to the stability and convergence programmes investigating potential implications of ageing populations for public finances as well as different scenarios for the years 2005 to 2010 describing both worst-case (minimal reforms or none at all) and best-case scenarios;

10.  Calls on the Commission to make available to the appropriate committee in Parliament the detailed technical evaluation of each programme carried out by the Commission services before the Council deliberates on whether programmes are consistent with the Growth and Stability Pact, together with its detailed macro-economic forecasts prepared for the same discussions;

11.  Considers that the budgetary figures in the programmes leave room for qualitative improvement as regards the reduction of current expenditure in favour of public investment, and calls on the Member States to follow the recommendations given in the code of conduct on the form and content of stability and convergence programmes more closely and to give more detailed and harmonised information in their programmes on the structure of expected receipts (direct taxes, indirect taxes and social contributions) and expenditure and especially to provide more information as regards public investment;

12.  Reiterates its call for a budgetary debate to be held in the parliament of each Member State on the stability and convergence programmes before they are adopted and congratulates those Member States such as Italy which have already done so in the current round;

13.  Deplores the failure of certain programmes sufficiently to take into account a rise in interest rates with all its implications for economic growth and debt servicing in the period covered, which is all the more important for those Member States with a high level of public debt; considers this rather unrealistic and risky especially as regards the end of the period when the peak of the economic cycle might be reached;

14.  Is of the opinion that to improve comparability all programmes should include two growth scenarios as well as two interest rate scenarios, the latter being preferably the same for all 11 countries sharing the same currency;

15.  Considers that the exercise concerning the stability programmes should be adapted in order better to address the new challenges of sharing the same currency and stable growth and calls on the Commission to make proposals in this sense;

16.  Calls for a more harmonised timing of submission of the programmes by the Member States so as to improve comparability, taking into account that in the current round there were almost six months between the presentation of the first and the last programme;

17.  Calls on the Commission to clarify the procedure of an 'early warning mechanism' in the event of developments which might affect the targets and projections given in a programme and which would require a revision of these targets;

18.  Suggests that in such a situation a transparent consultation and information mechanism should be established, to be used before substantial corrective measures are taken or revisions of targets are granted;

19.  Stresses, with regard to the unified monetary policy, the need to achieve greater coordination of economic policies than that envisaged in the Stability and Growth Pact, through effective alignment of budgetary policies;

20.  Maintains that the Maastricht Treaty criteria must apply fully to all applicant countries; welcomes the fact that, since 18 May 1998, Greece has successfully been taking part in the EMS;

21.  Shares the concern of the ECB that Greece has fulfilled the inflation criterion only within the last few months, and calls for price stability to be secured on a lasting basis; acknowledges, however, that since 1992 Greece has brought its inflation rate down from 18% to 2%;

22.  Calls on the Greek Government to make further efforts to reduce indebtedness;

23.  Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Commission, the Council and the parliaments of the Member States.

(1) OJ C 236, 2.8.1997, p. 1. (2) OJ C 279, 1.10.1999, p. 106.

Proposal for a Council decision in accordance with Article 122(2) of the Treaty for the adoption by Greece of the single currrency on 1.1.2001 (8350/2000 - COM(2000) 274 - C5-0226/2000 - 2000/0110(CNS) )

P5_TA(2000)0226 A5-0135/2000

The proposal was approved.

European Parliament legislative resolution on the proposal for a Council decision in accordance with Article 122(2) of the Treaty for the adoption by Greece of the single currrency on 1.1.2001 (8350/2000 - COM(2000) 274 - C5-0226/2000 - 2000/0110(CNS) )

P5_TA(2000)0226 A5-0135/2000

(Consultation procedure)

The European Parliament,

-  having regard to the Commission convergence report 2000 (COM(2000) 277 ),

-  having regard to the European Central Bank convergence report 2000,

-  having regard to the Commission proposal to the Council (COM(2000) 274 ),

-  having been consulted by the Council pursuant to Article 122(2) of the EC Treaty (C5-0226/2000 ),

-  having regard to Rule 85 of its Rules of Procedure,

-  having regard to the proposal submitted orally by the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs (A5-0135/2000 ),

1.  Approves the Commission proposal;

2.  Asks to be consulted again should the Council intend to amend the Commission proposal;

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

European Parliament resolution on falsification of data concerning MOX fuels at Sellafield

P5_TA(2000)0227 RC-B5-0416/2000

The European Parliament,

-  having regard to the European Union's duties under the Euratom Treaty, and specifically Chapters 3 and 7 thereof dealing with health and safety and safeguards,

A.  whereas in September 1999 British Nuclear Fuels Ltd (BNFL), the operator of the Sellafield MOX Demonstration Facility (MDF), reported to the Nuclear Installation Inspectorate (NII) that quality control data concerning checks on the diameter of MOX fuel pellets manufactured in Sellafield had been falsified,

B.  whereas during the investigation by the NII into the incident process workers at the MDF admitted falsifying data by simply copying previous data,

C.  whereas on 12 September 1999 BNFL suspended operations in the MDF and agreed not to reopen the MOX plant without the prior consent of the NII,

D.  whereas on 18 February 2000 the NII published a report into MOX data falsification and two other adverse reports on BNFL concerning safety management at Sellafield,

E.  whereas the NII is responsible for ensuring that BNFL operates its sites safely,

F.  whereas the NII report states that, because of the automated primary checks on the pellet size, the falsification did not affect the safety of the fuel; whereas, however, it also states that "events at the MDF could not have occurred had there been a proper safety culture within this plant",

G.  whereas there are at present no harmonised minimum standards in the EU for the safe and reliable design, construction and operation of nuclear and nuclear-related installations,

1.  Condemns the falsification of the MOX test results by BNFL staff, and the lax safety culture that prevailed at the MDF;

2.  Calls on BNFL to implement the recommendations contained in the NII report;

3.  Calls on the Commission and the UK Government, in the event of any reduction in employment, to provide additional financial support for the region affected;

4.  Welcomes the BNFL action plan to improve the safety of their operations and the management changes made so far;

5.  Requests the Commission to propose legislation for establishing EU-wide high minimum standards for the safe and reliable design, construction and operation of nuclear and nuclear-related installations and for nuclear safety management systems, particularly in view of the practical, and possibly political, problems arising from the forthcoming accession of new Member States;

6.  Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Commission, the Council, the governments of the Member States and the accession candidate states, the UK Nuclear Installations Inspectorate and BNFL.

European Parliament resolution on the draft directive amending Commission Directive 80/723/EEC on the transparency of financial relations between Member States and public undertakings (SEC(1999) 404 - C5-0102/2000 - 2000/2065(COS) )

P5_TA(2000)0228 A5-0109/2000

The European Parliament,

-  having regard to the Commission communication (SEC(1999) 404 - C5-0102/2000 )(1) ,

-  having regard to Rule 47(1) of its Rules of Procedure,

-  having regard to its resolution of 17 December 1997 on the communication from the Commission on services of general interest in Europe (COM(96) 443 - C4-0507/96 )(2) ,

-  having regard to the report of the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs (A5-0109/2000 ),

A.  whereas services of general economic interest are essential for the citizen and society and, pursuant to Article 16 of the EC Treaty, occupy an important place in the Community and play an important role in promoting social and territorial cohesion,

B.  whereas it is for the Member States to determine what services are of general economic interest and, having regard to the principle of subsidiarity (Article 5, second paragraph, of the EC Treaty), of general economic interest to the service sector,

C.  whereas the development of the internal market has led to greater competition between public undertakings and private undertakings and therefore it is important and right that the rules on competition should be applied effectively and fairly and that cross-subsidisation which does not comply with the legislation on state aid should be prevented,

D.  whereas public undertakings and undertakings which are granted special or exclusive rights pursuant to Article 86(1) of the EC Treaty or which are entrusted with services of general economic interest pursuant to Article 86(2) are an important economic factor in the Community,

E.  whereas the Commission only can fulfil its obligation to apply the competition rules if it has the necessary information and whereas separate and analytical accounting will make financial relations transparent and thus may facilitate the Commission's task to ensure a competitive environment in an efficient way,

1.  Welcomes the Commission's draft directive; believes that transparency is essential to establish fair competition as undertakings which are granted special or exclusive rights pursuant to Article 86(1) of the EC Treaty, or which are entrusted with the operation of services of general economic interest pursuant to Article 86(2), enter new markets, compete globally and seek supplementary revenues which bring them into direct competition with the private sector;

2.  Believes that the obligation of separate and analytical accounts on those undertakings will enable the Commission to comply with its duty to ensure that the rules on competition are applied in a fair and effective way;

3.  Considers that Directive 80/723/EEC must be amended to enable the Commission to ensure effectively and efficiently that the Treaty's competition rules are complied with, so as to preclude any disruption of cross-border trade;

4.  Believes that the Commission does not make it sufficiently clear that its draft directive does not in any way question the importance of services of general economic interest; considers, therefore, that recital 7 requires amendment and calls on the Commission to make it clear that it is for the Member States to determine which services are of general economic interest;

5.  Believes that the directive should not apply to undertakings receiving compensation for the fulfilment of a service of general economic interest which has been fixed following an open, transparent and non-discriminatory procedure, and calls, therefore, for Article 4(2)(c) to be brought into line with Recital 10;

6.  States that, in accordance with the Amsterdam Protocol on the system of public broadcasting in the Member States, it is for each Member State to specify the financial and organisational structure of public service broadcasting organisations and their different activities;

7.  Believes that the new transparency rules should apply to public broadcasters where they operate outside their public service remit, whilst emphasising that government funding of such broadcasters, granted for the fulfilment of their public service remit, is permitted by the Treaties; takes the view also that the scope and content of this public service remit are highly important issues which have significant linguistic, political and cultural implications in the various Member States and in their respective regions and that the public service remit is, and should remain, a matter which is conferred, defined and organised by each Member State and/or their regional authorities in accordance with the abovementioned Protocol;

8.  Points out that the wording "not liable to affect trade between Member States to an appreciable extent" in Article 4(1)(a) and Article 4(2)(a) is very vague and calls for clarification from the Commission so that public undertakings may be certain what the law is;

9.  Points out that there are no harmonised cost accounting methods at European level, especially as regards the allocation of overheads, and asks the Commission therefore to clarify the meaning of the term "the cost accounting principles" in Article 3a(1)(c);

10.  Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission and the parliaments of the Member States.

(1) OJ C 377, 29.12.1999, p. 2. (2) OJ C 14, 19.1.1998, p. 74.

European Parliament resolution on the external debt of poor countries

P5_TA(2000)0229 RC-B5-0417/2000

The European Parliament,

-  having regard to the Cairo Declaration and Plan of Action adopted by the Africa-Europe Summit on 3-4 April 2000,

A.  whereas the highly indebted poor countries (HIPC), most of them in Africa, spend on average 40 % of their annual budgets on servicing their external debt, greatly hindering their economic development and their capacity to offer basic social services, such as health and education, to their populations,

B.  whereas Africa's external debt has been growing by about 12 % per annum, from about USD 110 billion in 1980 to about USD 350 billion since then,

C.  whereas this situation has led to the paradox that the development aid provided by the EU and its Member States to the poorest countries of the world is sometimes not even enough to finance the servicing of their external debt,

D.  whereas the HIPCS have also suffered as a consequence from a fall in investment which has had a negative impact on economic growth, sustainable development and poverty eradication,

E.  whereas such a situation of extreme poverty creates a new form of slavery for the populations of these countries and generates massive migratory flows that can represent a grave danger to the stability and security of both origin and destination countries,

F.  whereas respect for human rights, democracy, the rule of law and good governance must be an important basis of EU financial assistance or debt relief to developing countries; whereas this may represent an important incentive for those countries still lacking democratic institutions,

G.  whereas international campaigns, such as Jubilee 2000, are calling for a substantial reduction, if not outright cancellation, of the international debt of the poorest countries, in order to channel these resources into addressing basic social needs,

H.  whereas, of 34 eligible HIPCS, only four (Bolivia, Mauritania, Tanzania and Mozambique) have so far qualified for debt relief, involving a sum of approximately 2.7 million dollars, and whereas even the IMF, at its spring gathering in April, called for the speeding up of the debt relief effort for the HIPC,

1.  Calls on the EU and its Member States to take the initiative and promote a more ambitious strategy in the international financial institutions in order to provide faster, deeper and broader debt relief or cancellation, including bilateral debt, to the poorest developing countries, based on respect for democratic principles and good governance and subject to the channelling of these resources into addressing basic social needs;

2.  Calls on the Commission and the Council to ensure that the resources made available from debt relief are effectively invested in poverty eradication strategies and programmes, including the social and infrastructure sectors, taking into account the needs expressed by civil society;

3.  Calls on the governments of the beneficiary countries to implement the necessary economic reform measures, to institute good governance and to commit themselves to channelling savings from debt relief into poverty alleviation, including improvements to the social sectors and the rehabilitation of infrastructure;

4.  Demands that future structural adjustment programmes be "inclusive processes", not just of all relevant branches of the government but also of civil society, involving discussion of development priorities;

5.  Notes with deep concern that in spite of the various efforts to address the debt crisis, the external debt of many developing countries has grown at a very high rate over recent years and that it effectively cripples the ability of many countries to develop their economies and to address urgent social needs, such as health and education;

6.  Calls on the international financial institutions to consider the fight against poverty, food security and health and educational development as priorities for action, and to consider the debt issue from this point of view;

7.  Calls on the Commission, the Council and the international financial institutions to consider the creation of a mechanism to carefully monitor the ethical and correct use of the funds made available from debt relief and to define, on this basis, the granting of any further assistance;

8.  Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Commission, the Council, the governments of the Member States and the ACP countries, the IMF and the World Bank.

European Parliament resolution on Zimbabwe

P5_TA(2000)0230 RC-B5-0415/2000

The European Parliament,

-  having regard to its resolution of 13 April 2000 on the situation in Zimbabwe(1) ,

A.  deeply concerned at the breakdown in the rule of law in Zimbabwe and the increasing violence and intimidation against opposition supporters in the run-up to Zimbabwe's parliamentary elections,

B.  deploring the recent postponement of the parliamentary elections promised for the end of May, and whereas it is of the utmost importance for the country's democratic and sustainable development that these elections are held at the earliest date and are open and transparent,

C.  deploring the recent murders, beatings and intimidation associated with the continuing and escalating violent occupation of more than 800 mainly white-owned commercial farms by supporters of the ruling Zanu-PF party and former guerrillas, in moves declared illegal by the High Court and rejected in a national referendum but encouraged by President Mugabe, who has ruled since independence from Britain in 1980,

D.  whereas a joint committee has recently been established to discuss land re-distribution,

E.  concerned by the highly inequitable pattern of land ownership, which is a major source of poverty and inequality; recalling however that part of the land given out immediately after independence was wrongly allocated to President Mugabe's political supporters instead of being evenly distributed to the population,

F.  whereas many opposition activists in Zimbabwe have declared their support to the owners of seized farms,

G.  whereas the seizure of farms is a further violation of the rule of law in Zimbabwe and whereas the important issue of fair land distribution can only be settled by a democratic and non-violent process based on the rule of law,

H.  worried by the crippling effect on Zimbabwe's economy of the farm seizures and the destruction of the country's cash crops,

1.  Condemns the ongoing violence, loss of life, illegal occupations of property and the continuing intimidation of the opposition, farmers and farm workers;

2.  Calls on the Government of Zimbabwe to enforce law and order and guarantee respect for human rights and democratic principles;

3.  Calls on Zimbabwe's neighbouring States to actively contribute to stabilisation of the situation under the rule of law, so as to prevent destabilisation of the whole subcontinent;

4.  Calls on the Government of Zimbabwe to hold free and fair elections at the earliest date and in any case no later than the timetable prescribed by the Constitution;

5.  Calls on the Government of Zimbabwe to comply with the High Court order to end the illegal occupation of farm land, and to proceed to land resettlement within the rule of law and on the basis of the principles and conclusions of the 1998 Land Conference;

6.  Reiterates its warning that the rule of law should be re-established as soon as possible in order to permit normal development cooperation to continue;

7.  Calls on the Commission to review its development cooperation with Zimbabwe if the elections are not held in a free and fair manner and if violence against opposition members and farmers is not stopped by the authorities;

8.  Welcomes the remarks made by Nelson Mandela on the crisis in Zimbabwe, but notes with regret the weak reaction of most of the African countries to the oppression inflicted on the country by President Mugabe;

9.  Reiterates its call on the Zimbabwean Government to withdraw its armed forces from the Democratic Republic of Congo and to devote its financial resources to improving the living conditions of its citizens;

10.  Calls on the Council and the Commission to involve the European Parliament in the monitoring of the forthcoming elections;

11.  Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Commission, the Council, the ACP-EU Joint Assembly, the OAU and the Government of Zimbabwe.

(1) Texts Adopted, Item 14.

European Parliament resolution on the Commission communication to the European Parliament, the Council, the Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions on the Fifth Report on the Implementation of the Telecommunications Regulatory Package (COM(1999) 537 - C5-0112/2000 - 2000/2072(COS) )

P5_TA(2000)0231 A5-0094/2000

The European Parliament,

-  having regard to the Commission communication (COM(1999) 537 - C5-0112/2000 ),

-  having regard to Rule 47 (1) of its Rules of Procedure,

-  having regard to the report of the Committee on Industry, External Trade, Research and Energy (A5-0094/2000 ),

1.  Welcomes the timely and efficient implementation of the 1998 regulatory package in most Member States; regrets however that in some Member States delays or incomplete implementation are still observed, and that in some cases implementation is only formal, and not put effectively into practice; would support quick and firm action by the Commission to open all EU markets to competition, to ensure coherent application of EU law, to encourage cross-border services and to create a truly level playing field;

2.  Expresses its satisfaction at the fast response of the market to the new possibilities offered by the 1998 regulatory regime and the positive consequences deriving from it for consumers;

3.  Is deeply concerned at the fact that limited offer at local loop level has prevented liberalisation from providing its full potential to most users, both business customers and private consumers, in particular those with fewer resources, and from contributing to a reduction of the cost of access to the Internet to a level where it would become affordable to all citizens;

4.  Demands therefore that steps be taken to foster all forms of unbundled access to the local telephone loop and to other existing fixed infrastructure, and also to encourage and facilitate the development and use of new alternative infrastructure, in particular wireless local loop systems, without having to resort to specific legislation on this issue;

5.  Asks for a special review of the cable market, with particular attention to the ownership of cable systems by incumbent operators, and asks for consideration to be given to a more competitive regime that stimulates new investment and service provision;

6.  Notes that the current regime for licences has allowed national implementation to vary without justifiable reason to such an extent that the setting-up of identical services in different Member States remains subject to legal uncertainty and widely differing schedules, and that cross-border services are in practice non-existent; points out that there is evidence of a lack of transparency concerning the specific conditions for individual licences; calls for strict limitation of the cases where individual licences may be applied for, the systematic availability of "one-stop shopping” procedures, and a mandatory requirement for speedy approval in cases where the mere declaration of a new service is not sufficient;

7.  Notes the wide variation in the wireless communication market and licensing regime across the EU, and the importance to the EU's global competitiveness of the successful future development of this sector; suggests that a unified approach to licensing would be valuable, with the objective of improving market operation and spectrum availability; regrets that the Commission did not include in the report any figures on fees for the use of radio frequencies; points out that the fees for licences and authorisations should cover only justified and relevant administrative costs, that the use of radio spectrum should be subject only to such charges and fees that are necessary to cover the costs of the radio spectrum management and that consideration should be given to reinvesting licence revenues in spectrum management; except in special circumstances, radio frequencies should not be auctioned, since it has a negative effect on user fees and the spread and development of communications services;

8.  Considers that operators, in particular incumbents, should provide interconnection and, where appropriate, co-location or facility-sharing offers on commercial terms, and that overpriced terms, excessive additional requests and procrastination that force other operators to request arbitration from the national regulatory authority (NRA) should be treated as unfair commercial practice and give rise to damages; confirms that the market of interconnection is the correct reference at present for determining whether an operator has a significant market position, but that market operation must be kept under constant review and continued moves towards deregulation should be taken as competitive activity increases, based on a thorough analysis of the relevant market and taking into due consideration the impact of technological developments on market access to determine whether an operator has significant market power;

9.  Is concerned that, despite significant progress, there remain too many obstacles to new investors, particularly for pan-European operators; asks the Commission to facilitate market opening by publishing best practice benchmarks for market openness, and a ranking of EU countries for market opening performance;

10.  Insists that carrier pre-selection should be implemented in an easy and transparent way for consumers, and that it should also be possible to reverse or change it easily with clear information being provided on this possibility, on the possibility of call-by-call carrier selection, as well as transparent pricing information; considers that the availability of carrier pre-selection and number portability should be considered with the aim of protecting consumers" interests;

11.  Underlines the fact that, for the mobile market, it might not be necessary to introduce carrier selection in view of the high level of competition in the sector if the extra cost to the operator might be higher than any benefits that would result for consumers;

12.  Notes the criticisms of pricing and cost-accounting practices contained in the report, particularly the slowness of tariff rebalancing; calls upon the Commission to develop with NRAs a unified price and contract terms comparison system, available to consumers through the Internet;

13.  Regrets the absence of coordination for the numbering of new services, and the slow progress in the few areas where attempts have been made, such as "freephone” numbers;

14.  Regrets that both the statutory powers, the human resources available and the real level of independence of the NRAs, and consequently their efficiency, vary widely from one Member State to another; insists on the role of the NRAs in guaranteeing effective application of the principles sanctioned at Community and national level, and in ensuring the development of competition in the national reference market; notes however with satisfaction that the existence of a mechanism for solving cross-border disputes has enabled such conflicts to be resolved satisfactorily in a reasonable time, and that NRAs have shown their ability and willingness to cooperate;

15.  Considers therefore that, while the creation of a centralised European Regulatory Authority is not necessary, it would be desirable:

16.  Acknowledges that the liberalisation of the market has not had adverse effects on the availability of universal service as defined in the current Directives, but notes with concern that access to new services, which are very dependent on affordable access to broadband infrastructure, does not seem to have spread beyond the main urban centres, which runs counter to the need for regional equality and the equal rights of citizens in society;

17.  Notes the criticisms of certain countries which levy charges on new operators to part-fund universal service; considers that this practice restricts market opening, and that, if such practices continue, the relevant accounts should be fully transparent to ensure that costs are not overstated;

18.  Notes that new wireless technology and new value-added services will increase the revenue potential of every connection, and calls upon the Commission to monitor universal service provision closely to ensure that market mechanisms deliver enhanced access for all EU citizens, wherever they reside; also supports the Commission's view that low user tariffs will remain key mechanisms for ensuring universal access;

19.  Congratulates the Commission for its clear analysis of the situation and for having launched a wide-ranging and transparent consultation process. Expects that the desirable actions will be clearly identified and that new legislative proposals will be issued quickly, so as to improve the situation and satisfy the legitimate expectations of consumers and the industry and, in the meantime, avoid legal uncertainty;

20.  Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions.

European Parliament resolution on the Commission communication to the Council, the European Parliament, the Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions on "Next Steps in Radio Spectrum Policy - Results of the Public Consultation on the Green paper” (COM(1999) 538 - C5-0113/2000 - 2000/2073(COS) )

P5_TA(2000)0232 A5-0122/2000

The European Parliament,

-  having regard to the Commission communication (COM(1999) 538 - C5-0113/2000 ),

-  having regard to Rule 47(1) of its Rules of Procedure,

-  having regard to its resolution of 4 May 1999 on the Commission Green Paper on Radio Spectrum Policy in the context of European Community policies such as telecommunications, broadcasting, transport, and R&D(COM (1998) 596 - C4-0066/1999 )(1) ,

-  having regard to the report of the Committee on Industry, External Trade, Research and Energy and the opinion of the Committee on Regional Policy, Transport and Tourism (A5-0122/2000 ),

A.  whereas the radio spectrum is a vital and scarce natural resource,

B.  whereas, due to recent technological progress, numerous new applications and services, making use of the radio spectrum, have emerged,

C.  whereas there is an increasing demand for frequency bands, mainly for commercial use, and therefore the balance among the interests of all user groups has to be redefined;

D.  whereas frequencies are allocated within the framework of international organisations, in particular the World Radiocommunications Conference (WRC) of the International Telecommunication Union, and managed in Europe by the European Conference of Postal and Telecommunications Administrations (CEPT)

E.  whereas the European Union has not yet established a Community framework for radio spectrum policy,

F.  whereas the Commission, through the publication of its "Green Paper on Radio Spectrum Policy”, launched an extensive public debate on whether current procedures are still appropriate to uphold the interests of the European Community in radio spectrum allocation;

G.  whereas the Green Paper attracted considerable attention, with more than 140 written contributions from practically all interested sectors,

1.  Welcomes the analysis by the Commission of the results of public consultation based on the Green Paper;

2.  Stresses that the radio spectrum should be allocated and used efficiently in both technical and economic terms, with extreme care and full consideration of all needs and with utmost respect for the public interest, which includes the common interest, the development of information and communications technologies in commercial applications and the competitiveness of respective European players on a global scale;

3.  Considers that all means for signal transmission must be used to upgrade the capacities of different networks. Sound competition between different operators will offer the largest opportunities for the efficient use of the resources. The digitalisation of TV is one of the most important features for more efficient use of spectrum;

4.  Considers also that satellite-based networks can extend interactive connections for the delivery of services for less-favoured or lower density areas and e-commerce services across the Community, thus contributing to regional cohesion and development of the information society; these factors require careful attention to the pan-European spectrum needs of the satellite industry;

5.  Considers it necessary to bring forward the release of GSM frequency bands currently occupied by other analogue systems and to provide for detailed procedures for the release of the frequencies to be used for third-generation communication services (UMTS);

6.  Stresses that the ultimate goal of any spectrum policy should be to provide the citizens with high quality services and to secure the societal interest. It therefore opposes a purely market-driven approach to such policy.The commercial interest must be duly taken into account as this will guarantee a good use of scarce resources. Market pricing has an important part to play in securing the efficient use of spectrum and encouraging further technological developments. The economic and social value of the use of frequencies must however not only be assessed in the light of the opportunities for the respective user groups to make profits but is highly dependent on the significance of the services which the user group offers, the number of users of these services and the amount of time during which use is made of them. Therefore there must be a balance between commercial interests and the interests of society, such as research

7.  Urges the Member States, the Commission and the Council to seek a balance between the interests of commercial and non-commercial frequency users and, in doing so, to take sufficient account of the public interest;

8.  Urges the Member States, the Commission and the Council to take concrete measures to ensure the availability of sufficient frequency bands for use by public and private broadcasting and by amateur radio licensees, as well as for passive uses, such as earth observation and radio astronomy or for radio satellite navigation systems;

9.  Furthermore urges the Member States, the Commission and the Council to protect these bands from interference that would inhibit their designated use;

10.  Welcomes the proposal of the Commission to establish a Spectrum Policy Expert Group (SPEG), comprising regulatory authorities and a balanced composition of representatives from radio spectrum user communities, which will advise the Commission on market, technical and other relevant developments with regard to radio spectrum; points out that the SPEG should become a purely consultative body, provided with transparent structures;

11.  Welcomes the intention of the Commission to produce communications on the Community's policy objectives on the various WRC agenda items, and recognises the need to enable the Commission to take a stronger position at WRC where Community policies are concerned; welcomes the Commission's intention to call upon Member States and the Council to adopt common positions for the Community during the preparatory process in order to be able to hold a stronger position at WRC and notably to ensure that GALILEO receives the necessary frequencies, and considers that, in the context of increasing competition for a limited spectrum resource technical decisions supported by Member States" administrations in CEPT should accord with established EU policy;

12.  Welcomes the intention of the Commission to ensure the availability of information and encourages Member States and all European countries to provide as much information as possible, to the extent that this does not conflict with their national interests;

13.  Considers that, although a certain degree of further harmonisation of Community policy on the radio spectrum could be desirable for pan-European services and applications, such as satellite communications systems, it would be hasty and premature to proceed to the establishment of a pan-European regulatory framework at the present stage. Member States" National Regulatory Authorities should retain sufficient flexibility to respond to national, regional and local needs, while also cooperating at a pan-European level;

14.  Advocates the drafting of rules empowering the Commission to require Member States to release the frequencies needed for the pan-European services and applications decided by the Council and Parliament; on each occasion, before the Council and Parliament take their decisions on these services and applications, the SPEG should, by way of conclusion, ascertain how many frequencies are needed in what band; rules should also be drafted to ensure that decisions adopted in the CEPT are transposed in the Member States in accordance with the rules applicable to transposition of Community directives;

15.  Calls on the Member States to review public use of frequencies, for example by the armed forces, to ascertain whether frequencies could be released by means of more efficient use, for instance by making technical improvements;

16.  Recognises the necessity of strategic planning and considers that this planning should be done at the most appropriate level, whether regional, national, European or international level;

17.  Encourages the Commission, the Council and the Member States to deepen their collaboration with the other European countries as well as with those of the Mediterranean;

18.  Believes that the allocation of frequencies cannot be separated from the particular application or service that frequency bands are used for. In this context the principles of spectrum pricing, auctioning and the introduction of a secondary market for radio spectrum can only be appropriate for commercial applications; Member States should harmonise their approach, i.e. whether to auction frequencies or to grant licences; revenues arising from the first two principles should be invested in research and use of new information and communication technologies to develop the Information Society further, instead of being regarded as fiscal income;

19.  Encourages the Commission, in this respect, to re-open a debate on mutual recognition of licences for satellite communications within the EU, one serious option to optimise the conditions of development of cross-border broadband services and thereby favour an efficient use of spectrum in Europe;

20.  Believes that the Community spectrum policy towards developing countries should be driven by the principles of good governance. It should enable these countries both to develop new services and reserve spectrum for public service purposes;

21.  Observes that changes of policy on frequencies must be a long-term process; considers, however, that Community rules on frequency policy should include a clause requiring the provisions to be reviewed after 5 years;

22.  Stresses that the European Parliament, as the sole democratically elected Community body, must be granted rights to participate, inter alia , in the performance of permanent duties relating to the Community's future policy on frequencies, and that these rights must at the very least be equal in scope to any rights of participation vested in the Council;

23.  Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the Economic and Social Committee, the Committee of the Regions and to the governments of the Member States.

(1) OJ C 279, 1.10.1999, p. 72.

European Parliament resolution on the communication of the Commission on the Commission working document 'Towards a coherent European approach for space' (SEC(1999) 789 - C5-0336/1999 - 1999/2213(COS) )

P5_TA(2000)0233 A5-0119/2000

The European Parliament,

-  having regard to the Commission working document (SEC(1999) 789 - C5-0336/1999 ),

-  having regard to the Council resolution of 2 December 1999 on developing a coherent European space strategy(1) ,

-  having regard to its resolution of 25 April 1979 on Community participation in space research(2) ,

-  having regard to its resolution of 17 September 1981 on European space policy(3) ,

-  having regard to its resolution of 17 June 1987 on European space policy(4) ,

-  having regard to its resolution of 22 October 1991 on European space policy(5) ,

-  having regard to its resolution of 6 May 1994 on the Community and space(6) ,

-  having regard to its resolution of 13 January 1998 on the Commission communication 'The European Union and space: fostering applications, markets and industrial competitiveness" (COM(96) 617 - C4-0042/97 )(7) ,

-  having regard to Rule 47(1) of its Rules of Procedure,

-  having regard to the report of the Committee on Industry, External Trade, Research and Energy (A5-0119/2000 ),

A.  whereas space research and applications have not only provided new knowledge, but have also had tremendous benefits in our daily lives,

B.  whereas international cooperation is essential for space research and the development of applications,

C.  whereas a significant portion of the practical uses of space research is already controlled by the market,

D.  whereas it is vital to develop the use of space for purposes of general interest and public service,

E.  whereas the European Space Agency (ESA) has functioned effectively as a body coordinating the activities of its member states and has played a leading role in space research and applications both in Europe and worldwide,

1.  Welcomes the working document and considers it a commitment by the Commission to continue and further improve on European Union support for space research and its applications;

2.  Believes that the European Union must adopt a more balanced approach to space by strongly supporting both the scientific and the practical use of space research;

3.  Welcomes the Commission's intention of establishing a policy framework for future programmes; considers that this framework must be developed after extensive and in-depth consultations between all the parties involved in the scientific, technical, industrial, commercial and political sectors, together with the national agencies;

4.  Expresses its strong desire to see space used for peaceful purposes for the benefit of mankind as a whole;

5.  Calls on the Commission to take appropriate measures to involve all EU Member States actively in space research and applications;

6.  Calls on the Commission, in view of the increasing importance over the coming decades of the space industry, to encourage Member States and academic institutions to increase the training and number of qualified scientists and engineers in this field;

7.  Urges the Commission and the Council to step up still further cooperation between the European Union and other countries;

8.  Takes the view that, in addition to the traditional focus of its work, such as the research and development agency for European space exploration, the Member States should enable the ESA to expand its functions to include projects initiated in the context of the EU;

9.  Takes the view that space policy must not be wholly dominated by the market and that account must be taken of long-term assessments of the benefits and risks of exploiting space, not only from the point of view of the interests of industry, but also in terms of the welfare of mankind;

10.  Believes that the European Union must maintain and further develop competitive launching systems and increase research into improving launching systems and developing new ones;

11.  Recognising the potential enormous expansion in launch capacity needed to supply the demand for putting satellites in orbit, urges the Commission and Council to open negotiations with the world's space powers, namely the USA, Russia, China and Japan, to collaborate on:

asks the Commission to organise a conference of interested parties to open discussions on the above;

12.  Supports the development of new space communications systems in equilibrium with other contemporary technologies;

13.  Believes that the use of space for communications and other practical applications must not hinder other scientific activities, such as radio astronomy research; takes the view that, in particular, the allocation of frequencies for satellite use and avoidance of interference static must take place in close cooperation with the astronomy community and other passive users of the radio spectrum;

14.  Reiterates its support for the development of a world satellite navigation system with strong European participation (Galileo);

15.  Calls on the Commission to develop European scientific participation in the Alpha station programme;

16.  Takes the view that the European Union should have a policy and a strategy addressing the effective use of space-based systems for monitoring of the environment and for security, in order to protect citizens" lives and natural resources, identify at an early stage, or even avert, natural or man-made disasters, combat fraud and verify international treaty compliance; calls on the Commission in cooperation with the Member States to take all necessary measures in this respect;

17.  Calls on the Commission, in close cooperation with the ESA and the Member States, to draw up a proposal for the Council and Parliament for a European Earth observation plan and an environmental monitoring service; considers that the ESA "Living planet” programme could be used as a basis;

18.  Stresses the need to establish a properly funded programme to exploit space for non-commercial purposes in the fields of communication and observation;

19.  Takes the view that, in the light of its current political and economic position and without aiming to create a completely independent space-based observation system, the EU has an obligation to support a global environmental and security monitoring initiative and calls on the Commission to incorporate this into the European space strategy;

20.  Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission and the governments of the Member States.

(1) OJ C 375, 24.12.1999, p. 1. (2) OJ C 127, 21.5.1979, p. 42. (3) OJ C 260, 12.10.1981, p. 102. (4) OJ C 190, 20.7.1987, p. 78. (5) OJ C 305, 25.11.1991, p. 26. (6) OJ C 205, 25.7.1994, p. 467. (7) OJ C 34, 2.2.1998, p. 27.

European Parliament resolution on the communication from the Commission to the Council, the European Parliament, the Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions "Towards a European research area” (COM(2000) 6 - C5-0115/2000 - 2000/2075(COS) )

P5_TA(2000)0234 A5-0131/2000

The European Parliament,

-  having regard to the Commission communication (COM(2000) 6 - C5-0115/2000 ),

-  having regard to European Parliament and Council Decision No 182/1999/EC of 22 December 1998 on the fifth framework programme of the European Community for research, technological development and demonstration activities (1998 to 2002)(1) ,

-  having regard to its resolution of 17 February 1998 on the 1997 annual report on the research and technological development activities of the European Union (COM(1997) 373 - C4-0435/1997 )(2) ,

-  having regard to its resolution of 12 June 1997 on the development and application of new information and communications technologies (ICT) in the next decade(3) ,

-  having regard to its resolution of 28 November 1996 on prospects for European science and technology policy in the 21st century (4) ,

-  having regard to Rule 47(1) of its Rules of Procedure,

-  having regard to the report of the Committee on Industry, External Trade, Research and Energy and the opinions of the Committee on Legal Affairs and the Internal Market (A5-0131/2000 ),

A.  whereas a more integrated European scientific community is essential if research and innovation are to be stimulated,

B.  whereas research not only provides fresh knowledge but is also a productive force,

C.  whereas a prosperous Europe requires, and will be marked by, a large and active research community with a substantial output of successful research, especially but not only in such areas as high technology, health sciences, environmental sciences and biotechnology

D.  whereas the value of research in such other disciplines as Engineering, Management, the Economic and Social Sciences and the Humanities must not be neglected in this context;

E.  whereas a better understanding of research and innovation needs to be fostered among the members of the general public (the citizens),

F.  whereas there is a need both for increased expenditure on, and also for enhanced co-ordination and coherence in, European research to increase competitiveness;

G.  whereas research efforts account for an average of 1.8% of GDP in the EU, compared to 2.8% in the USA and 2.9% in Japan and whereas some Member States and regions of the EU invest a far larger proportion of GDP in research, which has led to considerable discrepancy between Member States,

H.  whereas the gap between total expenditure on government and private research in America and Europe widened from EUR 12bn in 1992 to about EUR 60bn in 1998,

I.  whereas in some EU countries at least unemployment among young researchers has attained explosive dimensions, thereby leaving a valuable human potential untapped,

J.  whereas research and technology account for 25 to 50% of economic growth and are major determinants of competitiveness and employment and of the quality of life of the people of Europe,

K.  whereas it is increasingly difficult to distinguish between basic and applied research, since more and more basic research is geared to possible applications; maintenance of high-quality fundamental research is required both for the sake of its contribution to human knowledge and because it is essential if Europe is to retain its own best researchers and to be attractive to researchers from outside the Union,

L.  whereas research in Europe is fragmented and divided into national research systems and measures to promote and develop a common research area are urgently needed,

M.  whereas there is an urgent need to increase scientific and technical support to various community policies,

N.  whereas the European Research Area foresees the establishment of a common system of scientific and technical reference by aligning methods, harmonising procedures and comparing results; such a system should be established with the help of the Joint Research Centre and should rely on the competence of Centres of Excellence in the Member States through appropriate networks to be organised with the support of the JRC,

O.  whereas the Commission shall foresee in the future FP 6 the appropriate arrangements (including financial ones and access to results) to ensure the efficiency and reliability of this common system of reference and its networks,

P.  whereas the growth in knowledge in the field of life sciences and information and communication technologies is being accompanied by the emergence of a growing number of new ethical questions and the way in which these are dealt with will influence the prospects for scientific and technological development in Europe,

Q.  whereas the European research area offers an excellent opportunity to develop the vital synergy between research and Community policies, particularly if the results of the former are made available to the latter,

R.  whereas many recent problems or crises have illustrated the ever-increasing scientific needs of Community policies and the shortcomings of the present system in meeting those needs,

S.  whereas the Joint Research Centres should form an integral part of the European research area,

T.  whereas the European Union suffers from a serious lack of post-graduate students and of scientists employed by industry in comparison to the United States and Japan and whereas 50 % of the Europeans awarded doctorates in the US remain there for some considerable time and sometimes forever,

U.  whereas the framework programme of research and development, despite being the main item of expenditure among the EU's internal policies, has not succeeded in promoting genuine European research because of the inadequacy of the resources available and the cumbersome nature of the administrative procedures involved,

V.  whereas at present two-thirds of research and development activities in the European Union are carried out by industry,

W.  whereas a European Research Area could lead to a concentration of research facilities to the detriment of peripheral areas,

1.  Welcomes the Commission's communication "Towards a European research area" as the starting point for a far-reaching political and scientific debate on the creation of a real European research and innovation community and suggests that, in addition to the steps already taken by the Commission, good use should be made of the results that will be obtained by the IPTS-JRC, for example through its 'Future Projects' Initiative;

2.  Believes that European research will be at its most efficient if there is a joint European research area in which joint action is taken to define joint objectives and to make the best possible use of resources to achieve these objectives, with due regard for the subsidiarity principle and with a view to achieving substantial European added value; observes that these joint European research efforts must not stand in the way of the pursuit of competing research programmes by the Member States;

3.  Calls on the Member States to set a target of at least 3% of their GDP to research;

4.  Believes that the European Union and the Member States must create conditions for better access of enterprises to research results and to be able to convert them into innovations, which may eventually make a greater contribution to the growth of prosperity, safety, competitiveness, employment and the strengthening of the overall European market;

5.  Points out that there are unnecessary legal obstacles to exploiting European research, one of which is the difficulty and cost of establishing patents; the Commission should take determined action with a view to legislating for the creation of a European patent regime;

6.  Notes that other obstacles include continuing failure in mutual recognition of diplomas and professional qualifications, uncertainty and lack of coherence in provisions about the status and security of those engaged in research careers, and the absence of encouragement for, or a European statute enabling, the creation of "seed-corn" companies to develop industrial applications of research findings;

7.  Emphasises that European assistance for R&D must not only help the European Union to achieve a stronger competitive position, but R&D must contribute to the growth in knowledge and learning to improve the environment, health, employment, prosperity, support EU policies and answer the concerns of the citizens;

8.  Stresses that the goal of European research must be to strengthen the scientific and technical foundations of other Community policies and, with this in view, welcomes the fact that the Commission is providing for the creation of a 'common system of scientific and technical reference' for the implementation of Community policies; urges the Commission to make provision in the future framework programme for all necessary measures, particularly in the financial field, to ensure the smooth functioning of this system which, with the support of the JRC, which is responsible for this task, should enjoy the assistance of networks comprising the most effective national bodies; with this in view, calls on the Commission to ensure that the common reference system and the networks making it up can make use of Community research findings that are helpful for implementing EU policies via the JRC;

9.  Calls on the Member States not to regard national research programmes solely as programmes intended primarily to strengthen their own economies but as programmes for promoting economic growth, competitiveness, employment and cohesion throughout the European Union; by, furthermore, operating at EU level with research programmes rather than relatively small projects in a wide range of subfields, greater coordination of research work will be fostered; this will promote economies of scale, improve competitiveness within the European Union and stimulate employment and thus the need to go on innovating, which, at macroeconomic level, may result in yet more employment and economic growth;

10.  States that the Commission's commitment to the principle of subsidiarity "in its broadest sense" as stated in paragraph 5.1 of the Communication is much to be welcomed; the role of regions as well as member states, and of private industry as well as government is indeed important; but, beyond that, researchers and research teams adequately supported on the basis of competitive and peer-reviewed systems for research finance are the ground level of the European research effort;

11.  Estimates that the simultaneous use of all official European languages, which constitutes both an inheritance of the past and a very positive element in the maintenance of a cultural diversity which is one of the trademarks of Europe, hinders globally the communicating process among European scientists, and should therefore justify European action favouring translations and communication endeavours;

12.  Recommends however that the Commission enhance means of exchange between research teams, use its powers to stimulate public and private funders of research at all level to better coordinate action at the Europe level;

13.  Considers that two-yearly reports of the Commission to the European Parliament would permit an adequate review of the decisions taken and of the results obtained;

14.  Calls on the Commission and the Member States to develop a new approach to the Community's research efforts which focuses on objectives and the way in which these European objectives can be achieved in a global context, and therefore urges the Commission to make the sixth framework programme an effective means of achieving these objectives; cooperation must continue to be constantly stimulated in the newly established sixth framework programme; the framework programme should be conceived sufficiently flexibly to make it possible to respond rapidly and without substantial administrative involvement to new challenges (comparable to the BSE crisis, for example), through a process of self-organisation by European science; stresses that the planned establishment of a high-speed network to facilitate European research efforts should be regarded as entailing substantial European added value;

15.  Concludes that a "European Research Area" requires a highly important contribution to be made by the European Institutions, in particular the Commission, directed to encouraging enhancement of effort and improved coherence among diverse programmes at regional and member state level, but that the contribution of the institutions should remain quite tightly focussed on those objectives that can only be achieved at the all-Union level, and ancillary activities such as:

16.  Invites the Commission and the Member States to take steps to inform the European public better on the need for research and on the results that research has produced; information will help to improve the image of and to make the European research area more attractive, thus drawing more university graduates into European research in the future;

17.  Suggests the establishment of a permanent research field dealing with the question of the ethics of science and technology, with the specific aim of undertaking a comparative study of the laws and ethical criteria governing the research programmes of the EU Member States and the industrialised countries in general, with a view to encouraging the development of a coherent and common approach to these issues;

18.  Urges the Commission and the Member States to develop policy which focuses not on technical research infrastructure or cooperation between existing and new institutes but on the objectives of research and innovation, the employment of researchers in the most efficient manner possible, an increase in the mobility of researchers, especially young ones, the promotion of the research climate in Europe, through which more researchers from inside and outside Europe may be attracted to the European research area, the improvement of researchers" salaries, the improvement of training for graduates including language training in widely-used languages and the improvement of the participation of women in scientific research; the sixth framework programme should make an effective contribution in this respect;

19.  Calls on the Commission, when planning joint research projects, to consult researchers themselves, users and other national and/or European institutions (such as the European Science Foundation and the Eurohorcs), as well as large firms, SMEs and universities; calls on the Commission also to take account of the ageing of research potential in the European Union and its consequences for the labour market;

20.  Calls on the Commission, when formulating new research policy, to initiate a consultation process both with the scientific community (involving researchers, universities and research institutes, the views of the scientific fields concerned) and with users of the actual research findings (such as large companies and small and medium-sized undertakings), seeking to overcome the national bureaucratic restrictions which often hamper such processes;

21.  Calls on the Commission to work more closely with industry to help establish a genuine European research area and to specify what role the European business community might play in such efforts; currently, the private sector accounts for two thirds of R&D activities in the European Union;

22.  Calls on the Commission to consider how in particular exchanges of information about who does what in the field of research in the EU and what research centres excel in what fields can be stepped up and what role the concept of "centres of excellence" could play here;

23.  Calls on the Commission to consider how the networking of centres of excellence and the establishment of virtual centres might contribute to an increase in knowledge, environmental protection, economic growth and employment;

24.  Believes that the designation of certain research centres as 'centres of excellence' must be done on the basis of jointly accepted academic criteria;

25.  Calls on the Commission and the Member States to consider what the most important problems are at present as regards research facilities in the European Union and how they can be resolved;

26.  Underlines that a European research area would be marked by efficient networking and easy collaboration among researchers and research institutes situated in different member states, with a greater mutual understanding between different research cultures than exists at present; this could be facilitated by enhanced use of the internet and other systems of electronic interaction, and would be of greatest value in relation to centres of highest excellence;

27.  Acknowledges the success of existing Europe-wide facilities and programmes, and stresses the need to develop "critical mass" in major research fields, whether at single centres or through "virtual centres", and urges the Commission and the Member States to give priority to the "critical mass" requirement both in the Framework Programmes and otherwise;

28.  Urges the Commission and the Member States to develop policy that forges closer links between research, universities and industry and commerce, with a view to improving the balance between supply and demand;

29.  Believes that, given the differences that exist between the European Union and the USA, the Member States must make a greater effort to benefit from the favourable effects that the new knowledge-based economy has on welfare, competitiveness and employment and set a target that within two years all EU Member States are investing at least 3% of GDP in scientific research; points out that the necessary increase in resources for research cannot be generated solely by the public authorities and that considerable political efforts must therefore be made to improve the preconditions for increasing private-sector contributions in this sphere and raising public awareness of this issue;

30.  Believes that the Annual Report on Community Measures in Support of Employment should regularly include a chapter on research and innovation;

31.  Considers that the Member States should offer incentives to large and small businesses which invest in scientific research through tax exemption to encourage reinvestment in research, and the development of risk capital mechanisms, with a view also to creating new jobs;

32.  Urges that early action be taken to introduce an inexpensive Community patent and to consider what other rules are needed to permit the transition to the new knowledge-based economy;

33.  Stresses the importance of closer coordination between the systems of intellectual property rights in the Union's Member States so as to promote transparency in the field of technology, while continuing work on other types of standards or utility models;

34.  Calls on the Commission and the Member States to support initiatives that bring scientists, industry and financiers together;

35.  Calls on the Commission to consider what obstacles currently exist to the implementation of the Fifth Framework Programme, both within the Commission itself and on the part of applicants and those participating in the Fifth Framework Programme; calls on the Commission to submit to the Council and the EP in good time - before the Sixth Framework Programme begins - a summary of the lessons which can be learned from the implementation of the Fifth Framework Programme;

36.  Points out that research may create employment in the longer term, but that this should not result in the opportunities in the shorter term being overlooked; also takes the view that existing financial resources should therefore also be made available directly for urgent, short-term research projects; the current shortages in the labour market in the European ICT sector (1 million vacancies) will lead to the loss of jobs to other parts of the world; there is a need for a policy that offers (financial) scope for ad hoc responses to trends and new market opportunities; it should be considered how far flexible training centres in the European Union can react to the reduction of shortages of skilled researchers in the areas of telecommunications, e-commerce and m-commerce, etc.;

37.  Underlines that full realisation of the aim of a single market will include easy mobility of researchers in the natural, medical, social, and human sciences among universities, research institutes, government research establishments, and private industry;

38.  Considers in this context that it would be an enhancement of European research cultures if deliberate steps were taken to establish or enhance contacts of various kinds between business firms of all kinds and universities and other research establishments, but with due precautions against abuse of commercial confidentiality to suppress publication of research findings that ought to be in the public domain;

39.  Believes that the Marie Curie Mobility Programme (MCMP) has been one of the most effective and successful parts of the fourth and fifth framework programmes and that it should be strengthened and expanded in the future, in particular by the inclusion of countries linked to the EU by association agreements and third countries, to include longer-term fellowships for post-doctorate scientists, return fellowships to encourage reintegration in countries of origin and senior fellowships to provide opportunities for established scientists and engineers from major European research centres to engage in the foundation of start-ups or spin-offs;

40.  Emphasises that research infrastructure in the European Union is not yet complete and that action needs to be taken in this area to give all citizens access to the available content, and calls on the Commission to make proposals as soon as possible for action based on the decisions taken at the extraordinary summit in Lisbon in this area;

41.  Calls on the national scientific organisations to speak with one voice in the European Union;

42.  Calls on the Commission to take or support all worthwhile measures in the field of communications infrastructures to promote the development of networks and enable research findings to be disseminated as widely as possible;

43.  Stresses the need to secure closer coordination between the Union's R&D framework programme and large-scale intergovernmental-level science and technology initiatives, such as EUREKA, EMBL, ESA, ESO or COST;

44.  Calls on the Commission to make provision for at least 5% of the Structural Funds not used by Objective 1 regions to be employed by the latter, on the condition that they promote genuine local and regional development, to promote scientific research in various sectors, so as to reduce the technological gap between these regions and the rest of Europe and prevent unused Structural Funds from being withdrawn;

45.  Calls for the serious integration of activities between the Structural Funds and pre-accession programmes, on the one hand, and the research programmes, on the other, so that the former provide research infrastructure in less favoured regions and the latter provide the mechanisms and financial means for collaboration at high levels of scientific rigour;

46.  Believes that the fifth framework programme must continue to be pursued with a view to the explicit involvement of the candidates for accession, especially the countries of Central and Eastern Europe with their good science base, but insists that scientific excellence must continue to be the decisive criterion for the eligibility of a project;

47.  Is convinced that the promotion of research, technological development and innovation needs a broader basis in European policy-making than that provided by the framework programme and urges the Commission therefore to suggest models and procedures to Parliament and the Council to allow and facilitate both at the planning and the practical implementation stage, ties of reciprocity between the framework research programme and other Community policies, and in particular the Structural Funds;

48.  Continues to believe that, in view of the present Treaty context, consideration must be given for every possible means of making European research funding - particularly for the framework programme and the specific programmes - more efficient and effective; within this Treaty context; calls, therefore, on the Commission to answer the following questions in planning the sixth framework programme:

49.  Calls on the Commission, as part of its assessment of possible new decision-making procedures to enhance both continuity and flexibility, to examine where and how greater concentrations of financial resources might be useful and necessary; it is particularly important in this context to establish how the European added value of research funding should be defined and on which technologies and/or projects the limited financial resources available should be concentrated in order to achieve optimum use of resources, for example:

50.  Calls on the Commission to examine the brief and the scope of the JRC and its institutes and the financial resources they require ahead of the next research programme and bearing in mind the future importance of the individual technologies and the specific added value of their work and to report to the European Parliament and the Council before the submission of first practical plans regarding the future framework programme;

51.  Calls on the Commission, in broadening the basis for European research policy, to consider how it can, on its own initiative and/or in cooperation with the Member States, make a contribution to drawing up, coordinating and implementing international research activities, for instance in the case of global challenges such as examining climatic change;

52.  Points out that Europe is currently the leader in a number of areas (e.g. renewable energies, software development, mobile communications, development of sensors/actuators, consumer electronics, digital TV, drug development, combined cycle energy production, waste management and recycling, telematics for transport applications); it should be considered how Europe might also take the lead in the future in fields where it now lags well behind the USA (e.g. imaging and visualisation technologies, basic chip production, artificial intelligence, agrofood applications, photovoltaics, battery development, ceramic material developments); a constant effort must be made to establish common standards; this is where Europe's advantage lies;

53.  Urges that Europe should play a leading role in the world in the key technologies and points out that the increasing links between biology and information technology pose a special challenge;

54.  Refers to the benefits of more benchmark studies in and outside the European Union that indicate clearly where and why certain (European) countries are more successful in a given area of technology than other countries, after which the EU Member States can take advantage of these best practices; in this context a benchmark of R&D efforts may help to improve the coordination of national and European R&D policies and of national and European R&D programmes; considers, furthermore, that it serves no useful purpose for the Commission to develop a generally recognised system for the validation of scientific findings and corresponding analysis, inspection and certification procedure, since the validation of scientific findings is a primary task of science and cannot be determined by policy-makers;

55.  Urges the Commission and Member States to consider how access to knowledge, innovation and R&D by and for SMEs can be promoted, and draws attention to the importance of closer cooperation between SMEs and regional universities and research institutes; calls on the Commission to make more resources available to improve the competitiveness of SMEs;

56.  Stresses the need to encourage participation not only by high-technology SME but also by those which are potential users of R&D findings in order to increase the competitiveness of European industry;

57.  Calls for common research initiatives which leave scope for both applied research and basic research in various areas of technology, and which take account of the fact that innovation often arises at the interface between different scientific disciplines; in the future new employment may emerge primarily in the areas of biotechnology and ICT; research in the human and social sciences continues to be needed in the European Union, with its still growing diversity of cultures;

58.  Invites the Commission to continue with interinstitutional concerted action before submitting a proposal for a draft sixth framework programme;

59.  Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Commission, the Council and the parliaments of the Member States.

(1) OJ L 26, 1.2.1999, p. 1. (2) OJ C 80, 16.3.1998, p. 41. (3) OJ C 200, 30.6.1997, p. 196. (4) OJ C 380, 16.12.1996, p. 72.

European Parliament resolution on the follow-up to the Beijing Action Platform (2000/2020(INI))

P5_TA(2000)0235 A5-0125/2000

The European Parliament,

-  having regard to the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights (10 December 1948),

-  having regard to the United Nations Convention on the Political Rights of Women (31 March 1953),

-  having regard to the UN Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) of 18 December 1979,

-  having regard to its resolution of 11 June 1986 on the results of the UN Conference concluding the Decade for Women (1975-1985) held in Nairobi (15-26 July 1985)(1) ,

-  having regard to the Vienna Human Rights Conference of 1993,

-  having regard to its resolution of 4 July 1996 on the Follow-up to the Cairo Conference on Population and Development(2) ,

-  having regard to its resolution of 15 June 1995 on the participation by the European Union in the United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing: 'Equality, Development and Peace'(3) ,

-  having regard to the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action adopted in Beijing, on 15 September 1995 by the Fourth World Conference on Women: Action for Equality, Development and Peace,

-  having regard to its resolution of 21 September 1995 on the Fourth World Conference in Beijing(4) ,

-  having regard to the Council Recommendation of 2 December 1996 on an equal role for men and women in the decision-making process(5) ,

-  having regard to its resolution of 16 September 1997 on incorporating equal opportunities for women and men into all Community policies and activities - 'mainstreaming'(6) ,

-  having regard to its resolution of 9 March 1999 on the progress report on the follow-up to the Communication: Incorporating equal opportunities for women and men into all Community policies and activities(7) ,

-  having regard to its resolution of 16 September 1997 on discrimination against women in advertising(8) ,

-  having regard to its resolutions of 16 December 1997 on the Commission communication to the Council and the European Parliament on trafficking in women for the purpose of sexual exploitation(9) and of 19 May 2000 on the Commission communication to the Council and the European Parliament on further actions in the fight against trafficking in women(10) ,

-  having regard to its resolution of 9 March 1999 on the state of women's health in the European Community(11) ,

-  having regard to its position of 4 November 1999 on the Commission's proposal "Guidelines for Member States' Employment Policy 2000"(12) ,

-  having regard to its legislative resolution of 17 November 1999 on the adoption of a programme of Community action (DAPHNE) (2000-2003) on preventive measures to fight violence against children, young persons and women(13) ,

-  having regard to its resolution of 3 February 2000 on women and science - mobilising women to enrich European research(14) ,

-  having regard to Rule 163 of its Rules of Procedure,

-  having regard to the report of the Committee on Women's Rights and Equal Opportunities (A5-0125/2000 ),

A.  whereas the Treaty of Amsterdam provides a stronger legal basis for Community action in favour of equality between women and men by making equality a task, a principle and a goal of the Community, as stipulated in Articles 2 and 3 of the EC Treaty,

B.  whereas women's and children's rights are an integral, inalienable and indivisible part of universal human rights,

C.  whereas violence against women, be it discriminatory, oppressive or physical, still exists and sexual exploitation is increasing dramatically,

D.  whereas economic independence for women is essential in order to attain true equality and whereas poverty is a phenomenon affecting women in particular,

E.  whereas the empowerment of women is a crucial factor in the eradication of poverty and necessary for the full development of economic resources,

F.  mindful of the lack of indicators and benchmarks in the Beijing Platform for Action,

G.  whereas the rising employment rate in Europe requires the promotion of specific measures on both the demand and the supply side of the offer, to facilitate women's access to skilled jobs,

H.  whereas the wage gap between men and women in the EU is up to 30%,

I.  whereas women encounter specific health problems requiring particular attention from the competent authorities; whereas the focus should be on sexually transmitted diseases, especially HIV, reproductive health services and family planning; whereas health care and services should be made available to all women, including migrant women, women refugees and victims of trafficking,

J.  whereas the 1995 Platform for Action expressly mentions the freedom of decision and responsibility on matters related to sexuality, full respect for the integrity of the individual and equality in the relationship between women and men in matters of sexual relations and reproduction;

K.  whereas the specific crimes of which women are the victims during armed conflict (rape, forced pregnancy, sexual exploitation, genital mutilation etc.) require specific responses and international recognition,

1.  Acknowledges that various aspects of women's life in the EU have improved since 1995, whilst deploring the lack of agreed indicators, gender-segregated data, benchmarks and a clear timetable in the Platform for Action, this being a major obstacle to proper evaluation of progress made over the last five years;

2.  Requests agreement on a Fifth UN World Conference on Women to be organised in five years in order to assess the advancement of women in the areas of equality, development and peace;

3.  Urges the participants at the New York Conference on Beijing +5 to establish indicators, benchmarks and a precise time schedule;

4.  Requests that in the future EU Charter of Fundamental Rights women's and girls" rights should not be considered as 'special' rights, but as an integral part of universal human rights, in order to achieve the objective laid down in Article 2 of the Treaty;

5.  Asks the Council, the Commission and the Member States to act decisively to tackle violence against women, whether in the home, at the workplace and in society in general, as well as in armed conflicts, where rape has been declared a war crime under Articles 7 and 8 of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (July 1998), which all Member States need to ratify and to provide support;

6.  Urges the UN to emphasise gender mainstreaming in the resolution of armed conflicts, peace-building, and reconciliation;

7.  Urges those UN member states who have not yet done so to ratify the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women;

8.  Recommends that the EU, in cooperation with the Council of Europe and NGOs, conduct a multiannual campaign against violence and discrimination against women, also through EU relations with third countries;

9.  Requests the Commission to present a report on the implementation of recommendations contained in the document on the consultation of management and labour on the prevention of sexual harassment (COM(96) 373 );

10.  Calls on the Commission to present a report on the follow up by the Member States to the memorandum on equal pay for work of equal value (COM (94) 6) and calls for the implementation of legislative proposals to ensure strict application of Article 141 of the EC Treaty;

11.  Calls on the EU Delegation in New York not to accept renegotiation of the agreed Platform for Action but to speed up implementation in the EU Member States;

12.  Calls on EU Member States to take the following measures in order to tackle gender gaps in employment:

13.  Strongly supports a people-friendly economy, allowing for diversified careers for men and women, job sharing, encouraging of the role of men in the household and their participation in family life, and flexible working time adapted to the reality of men's and women's lives, by facilitating career breaks, child care and care of the elderly;

14.  Underlines the need for lifelong learning and vocational training to promote women's access to skilled jobs and to prevent computer illiteracy among women;

15.  Urges the EU to step up the fight against poverty and social exclusion by pursuing a more concerted policy in the field of social protection;

16.  Calls on the EU Member States to advocate the use of quotas, as a transitional measure to achieve balanced representation of women and men in political life, and calls for the provision of political training and information for women candidates by parties so that they may enter political life with confidence;

17.  Requests that EU Member States develop new mechanisms and strategies, including the use of quotas, to achieve a critical mass of women leaders in all areas and all democratic institutions, and at all levels of decision making, and insists that special attention be paid to the social partners;

18.  Strongly supports a more positive and realistic portrayal and image of women in the media; underlines the need for a more gender balanced participation at all decision making levels of the mass media industry and encourages the media industry to take initiatives which help to attract female journalists;

19.  Highlights the fact that many health problems only affect women or affect them differently; calls accordingly for preventive measures and health promotion directed specifically at women; urges specific attention be paid to the right to reproductive health; calls especially for actions to prevent the increasing number of teenage pregnancies by making contraceptives more widely available tor young people, making more use of information campaigns and improving the quality and accessibility of sex education;

20.  Calls for legislative initiatives to combat sex tourism involving children and child pornography on the Internet;

21.  Urges the EU Member States to provide for adequate penal sanctions for the practice of sexual mutilation perpetrated within the EU;

22.  Asks EU Member States to pay particular attention to the problems of migrant women and other groups who are particularly vulnerable (especially to violence and other forms of mistreatment);

23.  Calls for priority to be given to the following measures at EU level:

24.  Urges the Commission and the EU Member States to pay special attention to the fact that in development cooperation women are the key to sustainable development and to environmental sustainability and consequently asks to include women and a gender perspective in all planning, implementation and evaluation of development cooperation;

25.  Recognises the important role played by the partnership with civil society, in particular women's NGOs;

26.  Calls on EU Member States and the Commission to provide sufficient financial resources to ensure that the aforementioned measures and gender mainstreaming are duly implemented in order to achieve the goals of the Platform for Action;

27.  Urges the Commission and the EU Member States to insist on respect for women's rights in relations with third countries, also by the inclusion of the respect for women's rights in parliamentary and ministerial dialogue in the context of discussions on human rights clauses, and to help combating all violations of women's rights; the respect for women's rights should be one of the main conditions for the granting of aid and should be closely monitored in all external relations and cooperation;

28.  Calls on the European Union to monitor the work of all international war crimes tribunals and to endeavour to ensure that, whenever women are victims of sexual abuse in wartime, responsibilities are established on an international scale;

29.  Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the governments of the Member States and the UN Secretary General.

(1) OJ C 176, 14.7.1986, p.64. (2) OJ C 211, 22.7.1996, p. 31. (3) OJ C 166, 3.7.1995, p. 92. (4) OJ C 269, 16.10.1995, p.146. (5) OJ L 319, 10.12.1996, p.11. (6) OJ C 304, 6.10.1997, p. 50. (7) OJ C 175, 21.6.1999, p. 72. (8) OJ C 304, 6.10.1997, p. 60. (9) OJ C 14, 19.1.1998, p. 39. (10) Texts Adopted, Item 2. (11) OJ C 175, 21.6.1999, p. 68. (12) Texts Adopted , Item 5(II). (13) Texts Adopted, Item 1. (14) Texts Adopted, Item 2.

Proposal for a Council directive on implementing the principle of equal treatment between persons irrespective of racial or ethnic origin (COM(1999) 566 - C5-0067/2000 - 1999/0253(CNS) )

P5_TA(2000)0236 A5-0136/2000

The proposal was amended as follows:

Text proposed by the Commission   Amendments by Parliament (Amendment 1) Title of directive Proposal for a Council directive implementing the principle of equal treatment between persons irrespective of racial or ethnic origin Proposal for a Council directive implementing the principle of equal treatment regardless of racial or ethnic origin of both natural and legal persons and non-formalised groups of persons (Amendment 2) 1st citation a (new) Having regard to the international legal instruments in this area, in particular the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination and Article 14 of the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, (Amendment 3) 1st citation b (new) Having regard to the Joint Action of 15 July 1996 adopted by the Council on the basis of Article K.3 of the Treaty on European Union, concerning action to combat racism and xenophobia(1 ), ___________ (1 ) OJ L 185, 24.7.1996, p. 5. (Amendment 4) 1st citation c (new) Having regard to the resolutions adopted by the European Parliament on combating racism, xenophobia and ethnic cleansing in the European Union, (Amendment 5) Recital 1    (1) The Treaty on European Union marks a new stage in the process of creating an ever closer union among the peoples of Europe.    (1) The Treaty on European Union marks a new stage in the process of creating an ever closer union among the peoples of Europe and among everyone living in Europe . (Amendment 6) Recital 5a (new) (5a) The Commission has proposed two directives for the implementation of Article 13 of the Treaty which diverge in their material effects and the grounds for discrimination they prohibit. These differences must not lead to one directive being regarded as more valuable than the other. (Amendment 7) Recital 7a (new) (7a) In accordance with Article 3(2) of the Treaty, it is essential that this directive should contribute to eliminating inequalities between men and women and to promoting equality between men and women, especially given that women are often victims of multiple discrimination. (Amendment 8) Recital 7b (new) (7b)Since the adoption on 11 June 1986 of the Joint Declaration by the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission against racism and xenophobia(1), momentum has been growing at EU level for legislation based on racial and ethnic origin and whereas since 1995 the European Parliament has repeatedly demanded a specific anti-discrimination directive. ___________ (1 ) OJ C 158, 25.6.1986, p. 1. (Amendment 9) Recital 8a (new) (8a) The Council in its Joint Action on 15 July 1996 mentioned above seeks to ensure judicial cooperation between the Member States with a view to combating racism and xenophobia. (Amendment 10) Recital 8b (new) (8b) In 1997, in the context of the international year against racism, the EU's Consultative Commission on Racism and Xenophobia proposed a Charter of European political parties for a non-racist society, which has been signed by the European political parties. This Charter pledges signatory parties to defend basic human rights and democratic principles and to reject all forms of racial violence, incitement to racial hatred and harassment and any form of racial discrimination. (Amendment 11) Recital 8c (new) (8c) The Commission has proposed in its Scoreboard to review progress on the creation of an area of freedom, security and justice in the European Union (COM(2000) 167 ) a Framework Decision on common incrimination of racism and xenophobia. (Amendment 12) Recital 8d (new) (8d) On 16 March 2000 the European Parliament adopted two resolutions on racism and xenophobia in the European Union and in the candidate countries. (Amendment 13) Recital 9    (9) To ensure the development of democratic and tolerant societies which allow the participation of all persons irrespective of racial or ethnic origin, specific action in the field of discrimination based on racial or ethnic origin should go beyond access to employed and self-employed activities and cover areas such as education, social protection and social security, social advantages and access to and supply of goods and services.    (9) To ensure the development of democratic and tolerant societies which allow the participation of all persons irrespective of racial or ethnic origin, specific action in the field of discrimination based on racial or ethnic origin should go beyond access to employed and self-employed activities and cover areas such as education, social protection and social security, social advantages and access to and supply of goods and services and also extend to the issue of institutional racism . (Amendment 14) Recital 10a (new) (10a) This Directive implements the principle of equal treatment regardless of racial or ethnic origin of both natural and legal persons and non-formalised groups of persons. (Amendment 15) Recital 10b (new) . (10b) Discrimination on the basis of racial or ethnic origin which is presented as a difference in treatment on the grounds of religion, conviction or nationality is covered by the scope of this directive. (Amendment 16) Recital 10c (new) (10c) It is necessary to improve the treatment accorded to third-country nationals in order to further the fight against racism and xenophobia. Member States should include nationality as one of the factors determining racial and ethnic origin. (Amendment 17) Recital 12a (new) (12a) Encouraging "proportional participation" will enrich the principle of equal treatment and contribute to achieving equal opportunities. Actions by the European Union and the Member States in this context can provide positive support for the objectives of this directive. (Amendment 18) Recital 14    (14) Persons who have been subject to discrimination based on racial and ethnic origin should have adequate means of legal protection. To provide a more effective level of protection, associations or legal entities should also be empowered to exercise the rights of defence on behalf of any victim.    (14) Natural and legal persons and non-formalised groups of persons who have been subject to discrimination based on racial and ethnic origin should have adequate means of legal protection. To provide a more effective level of protection, associations, organisations or other legal entities should also be empowered to exercise the rights of defence on behalf of any victim. In addition, associations, organisations or other legal entities having a legitimate interest in appearing in court should be given a right of collective action, i.e. the power to ask the court to rule whether unequal treatment is present, aside from the particular circumstances of an individual case. (Amendment 19) Recital 15    (15) The effective implementation of the principle of equality requires adequate judicial protection in civil matters against victimisation and an adjustment of the general rules on the burden of proof.    (15) The effective implementation of the principle of equality requires adequate judicial protection in legal cases against victimisation and an adjustment of the general rules on the burden of proof in civil and administrative matters . (Amendment 20) Recital 16a (new) (16a) Training of public bodies on the aims and the provisions of this Directive is vital because of their responsibility in implementing the Directive in the community at large and in order to offset any risk of institutional racism in the public bodies themselves. (Amendment 21) Recital 18    (18) Member States should promote social dialogue between the social partners to address different forms of discrimination and to combat them.    (18) Member States should promote consultation in the social field and in government establishments to address different forms of discrimination and to combat them. Social dialogue between the social partners is an important component of such consultation. (Amendment 22) Recital 19    (19) Protection against discrimination based on racial or ethnic origin would itself be strengthened by the existence of an independent body in each Member State, with competence to analyse the problems involved , to study possible solutions and to provide concrete assistance for the victims.    (19) Protection against discrimination based on racial or ethnic origin would itself be strengthened by the existence of an independent body in each Member State, with competence to analyse complaints and problems,to carry out detailed investigations, to study possible solutions and to provide concrete assistance for the victims. (Amendment 23) Recital 22a (new) (22a) This Directive will form part of the Community acquis which the candidate countries will be required to implement for European Union accession. In the meantime, where Association Agreements apply for the candidate countries, they should not allow discrimination on the basis of racial or ethnic origin or religion or belief. (Amendment 24) Recital 22b (new) (22b) Equal treatment and non-discrimination are fundamental principles of European Union law. This directive is an expression of these fundamental principles. It is essential that the EU institutions, in line with other public authorities in the Member States, respect these principles in the exercise of their functions. (Amendment 25) Article 1 The purpose of this Directive is to put into effect in the Member States the principle of equal treatment between individuals irrespective of racial or ethnic origin. The purpose of this Directive is to put into effect in the Member States the principle of equal treatment regardless of racial or ethnic origin of both natural and legal persons and non-formalised groups of persons . (Amendment 26) Article 2(2)(a)    (a) direct discrimination shall be taken to occur where one person is treated less favourably than another is, has been or would be treated on grounds of racial or ethnic origin;    (a) direct discrimination shall be taken to occur where one natural or legal person or non-formalised group of persons is treated less favourably than another is, has been or would be treated on grounds of racial or ethnic origin; (Amendment 27) Article 2(2)(b)    (b) indirect discrimination shall be taken to occur where an apparently neutral provision, criterion or practice is liable to affect adversely a person or a group of persons of a particular racial or ethnic origin, unless that provision, criterion or practice is objectively justified by a legitimate aim which is unrelated to the racial or ethnic origin of a person or group of persons and the means of achieving that aim are appropriate and necessary.    (b) indirect discrimination shall be taken to occur where an apparently neutral provision, criterion or practice affects or is intrinsically liable to affect adversely a person or a group of persons of a particular racial or ethnic origin so that they are placed, or there is a consequent risk that they will be placed, at a particular disadvantage, unless that provision criterion or practice is objectively justified by a legitimate aim which is unrelated to the racial or ethnic origin of a person or group of persons and the means of achieving that aim are appropriate and necessary. (Amendment 28) Article 2(3a) (new) 3a. Behaviour consisting of incitement, instructions or pressure to discriminate shall fall within the definitions in (a) and (b) above irrespective of whether any specific victim of discrimination is identified. (Amendment 29) Article 2(3b) (new) 3b. Discrimination on the basis of racial or ethnic origin which is presented as a difference in treatment on the grounds of religion, conviction or nationality is deemed to be discrimination within the meaning of Article 1. (Amendment 30) Article 3(a)    (a) the conditions for access to employment, self-employment and occupation, including selection criteria and recruitment conditions, whatever the sector or branch of activity and at all levels of the professional hierarchy, including promotion;    (a) the conditions for access to employment, unpaid and voluntary work, public duties, self-employment and occupation, including selection criteria and recruitment conditions, whatever the sector or branch of activity and at all levels of the professional hierarchy, including promotion; (Amendment 31) Article 3(b)    (b) access to all types and to all levels of vocational guidance, vocational training, advanced vocational training and retraining;    (b) access to all types and to all levels of vocational guidance, traineeships , vocational training, advanced vocational training, practical work experience and retraining; (Amendment 62) Article 3(c)    (c) employment and working conditions, including dismissals and pay;    (c) employment and working conditions, including dismissals, pay, safety and health, information and consultation ; (Amendment 33) Article 3(d)    (d) membership of and involvement in an organisation of workers or employers, or any other organisation whose members carry on a particular profession,    (d) membership of and involvement in an organisation of workers or employers, or any other organisation whose members carry on a particular profession, and voting or standing as a candidate in elections to bodies within or between such organisations. (Amendment 34) Article 3(e)    (e) social protection and social security;    (e) social protection and social security, including health care and pensions ; (Amendment 35) Article 3(g)    (g) education, including grants and scholarships, while fully respecting the responsibility of the Member States for the content of teaching and the organisation of education systems and their cultural and linguistic diversity;    (g) education, including grants, study loans and scholarships, while fully respecting the responsibility of the Member States for the content of teaching and the organisation and funding of education systems and their cultural and linguistic diversity; (Amendment 36) Article 3(ha) (new)    (ha) housing; (Amendment 37) Article 3(hb) (new)    (hb) the exercise by any public body, including police, immigration, criminal and civil justice authorities, of its functions; (Amendment 38) Article 3(hc) (new)    (hc) participation in cultural, political, economic and social life and in clubs and associations; (Amendment 39) Article 4, 2nd paragraph (new) This Article shall be applied in a restrictive sense. After no more than five years each Member State shall assess the exemptions it has permitted in the light of social developments. Member States shall notify the Commission of the exemptions and periodic assessments. The Commission shall publish these. (Amendment 40) Article 5 This Directive shall be without prejudice to the right of the Member States to maintain or adopt measures intended to prevent or compensate for disadvantages suffered by a group of persons of a particular racial or ethnic origin. The principle of equal treatment shall not prevent any Member State, with a view to ensuring that full equality within the meaning of this Directive is achieved in practice, from maintaining or adopting measures providing for specific advantages in order to make it easier for under-represented persons to participate fully in social life or to prevent or compensate for disadvantages they may experience. (Amendment 41) Article 7    1. Member States shall ensure that judicial and/or administrative procedures for the enforcement of obligations under this Directive are available to all persons who consider themselves wronged by failure to apply the principle of equal treatment to them, even after the relationship in which the discrimination is alleged to have occurred has ended.    1. Member States shall ensure that judicial and/or administrative procedures for the enforcement of obligations under this Directive are available to both natural and legal persons and non-formalised groups of persons who consider themselves wronged by failure to apply the principle of equal treatment to them, even after the relationship in which the discrimination is alleged to have occurred has ended. Recourse to a judicial remedy shall be in accordance with the most effective national procedures, after possible recourse to other competent authorities where appropriate; 1a.Member States shall provide support in respect of legal costs in accordance with the most favourable provisions of national law.    2. Member States shall ensure that associations, organisations or other legal entities may pursue, on behalf of the complainant with his or her approval, any judicial and/or administrative procedure provided for the enforcement of obligations under this Directive.    2. Member States shall ensure that associations, organisations or other legal entities may be entitled to institute or support any judicial and/or administrative procedure providing for the enforcement of obligations under this Directive. 2a. In addition, associations, organisations or other legal entities having a legitimate interest in appearing in court shall be given a right of collective action, i.e. the power to ask the court, of their own motion, to rule whether unequal treatment is present, aside from the particular circumstances of an individual case. (Amendment 42) Article 7(2b) (new) 2b.Member States shall ensure that appropriate conciliation procedures are available. These procedures shall not be compulsory and shall be without prejudice to the plaintiff's right of recourse to judicial protection as set out in paragraph 7(1). (Amendment 44) Article 8a (new) Article 8a Statistics Public authorities and employers shall keep and monitor statistics on all aspects of the employment and training of persons covered by this Directive. These shall be periodically submitted to the independent body or bodies established pursuant to Article 12. (Amendment 45) Article 9 Member States shall introduce into their national legal systems such measures as are necessary to protect individuals from any adverse treatment or adverse consequence as a reaction to a complaint or to legal proceedings aimed at enforcing compliance with the principle of equal treatment. Member States shall introduce into their national legal systems such measures as are necessary to protect both natural and legal persons and non-formalised groups of persons from any adverse treatment or adverse consequence as a reaction to a complaint or to legal proceedings aimed at enforcing compliance with the principle of equal treatment. (Amendment 47) Article 9, second paragraph (new) The Member States shall also introduce appropriate penalties which are proportionate, effective and dissuasive, such as the payment of compensation to the victim. (Amendment 46) Article 9a (new) Article 9a Contract compliance A Member State may take into account an undertaking's or organisation's record of compliance with national provisions implementing this Directive, including the record of compliance with national provisions of Member States other than the State in question, when awarding contracts and grants. In public procurement tenders authorities may include demands that discriminate in favour of persons falling within the scope of this Directive. (Amendment 48) Article 10(1)    1. Member States shall ensure that adequate information on the provisions adopted pursuant to this Directive is provided throughout their territory, and in particular in vocational training and educational bodies and in the workplace.    1. Member States shall ensure that adequate information on the provisions adopted pursuant to this Directive is provided, in understandable language, free from jargon, acronyms and abbreviations, throughout their territory, and in particular in vocational training and educational bodies and in the workplace. (Amendment 61) Article 10(2)    2. Member States shall ensure that competent public authorities are informed by appropriate means as regards all national measures taken pursuant to this directive.    2. Member States shall ensure that competent public authorities are informed by appropriate means as regards all national measures taken pursuant to this Directive, and that training is provided on the impact of the directive on all public bodies. (Amendment 49) Article 10(2a) (new) 2a. In disseminating information, Member States and the bodies responsible for combating discrimination in the areas covered by this Directive shall seek to make society more aware with regard to fostering equality and combating discrimination. (Amendment 50) Article 11, title and (1) Social dialogue    1. Member States shall take adequate measures to promote the social dialogue between the two sides of industry with a view to fostering equal treatment, including through the monitoring of workplace practices, collective agreements, codes of conduct, research or exchange of experiences and good practices. Consultation in the social sphere    1. Member States shall take adequate measures to promote consultation between organisations in the social sphere and government establishments with a view to fostering equal treatment, including through the monitoring of workplace practices, collective agreements, codes of conduct, research or exchange of experiences and good practices and training of their members in all areas to which this directive applies. Social dialogue between the two sides of industry is an important component of such consultation. (Amendment 51) Article 11(2a) (new) 2a.Member States shall encourage the competent public authorities to promote civil dialogue with appropriate associations and non-governmental organisations with a view to fostering equal treatment. (Amendment 52) Article 12(1)    1. Member States shall provide for an independent body or bodies for the promotion of equal treatment of persons of different racial or ethnic origin. These bodies may form part of independent agencies charged at national level with the defence of human rights or the safeguard of individuals' rights.    1. Member States shall provide for an independent body or bodies for the promotion of equal treatment of both natural and legal persons and non-formalised groups of persons of different racial or ethnic origin. These bodies may form part of independent agencies charged at national level with the defence of human rights or the safeguard of individuals' rights. (Amendment 53) Article 12(2)    2. Member States shall ensure that the functions of these independent bodies include receiving and pursuing complaints from individuals about discrimination on grounds of racial or ethnic origin, commencing investigations or surveys concerning discrimination based on racial or ethnic origin and publishing reports and making recommendations on issues relating to discrimination based on racial or ethnic origin.    2. Member States shall ensure that the functions of these independent bodies include receiving, pursuing, investigating, researching and giving an opinion on complaints from both natural and legal persons and non-formalised groups of persons, associations or non governmental organisations about discrimination on grounds of racial or ethnic origin, carrying out detailed investigations, providing concrete help for victims, commencing investigations or surveys concerning discrimination based on racial or ethnic origin, publishing reports and making recommendations on issues relating to discrimination based on racial or ethnic origin and undertaking public awareness campaigns . (Amendment 54) Article 12(2a) (new) 2a.Member States shall ensure that sufficient financial resources are made available to the independent bodies. As a minimum, Member States shall guarantee the treatment of complaints free of charge for those who are not in a position to make their own financial contribution. (Amendment 55) Article 12(2b) (new) 2b.In so far as this is relevant to their operations, the independent bodies must be permitted to inspect confidential information, including pay and personnel administration data. (Amendment 56) Article 13(a)    (a) any laws, regulations and administrative provisions contrary to the principle of equal treatment are abolished.    (a) any rules , laws, regulations and administrative provisions contrary to the principle of equal treatment are abolished by 31 December 2002 . (Amendment 57) Article 14 Member States shall lay down the rules on penalties applicable to infringements of the national provisions adopted pursuant to this Directive and shall take all measures necessary to ensure that they are implemented. The penalties provided for must be effective, proportionate and dissuasive. The Member States shall notify those provisions to the Commission by the date specified in Article 15 at the latest and shall notify it without delay of any subsequent amendment affecting them. Member States shall lay down the rules on penalties applicable to infringements of the national provisions adopted pursuant to this Directive and shall take all measures necessary to ensure that they are implemented. This will include prohibiting by legal sanction:    (a) incitement or pressure to racial discrimination;    (b) any act or practice by a public authority or public institution of racial discrimination against persons, groups of persons or institutions; Penalties may include payment of compensation to the victim. The penalties provided for must be effective, proportionate and dissuasive. The Member States shall notify those provisions to the Commission by the date specified in Article 15 at the latest and shall inform it without delay of any subsequent amendment affecting them. (Amendment 58) Article 15 Member States shall adopt the laws, regulations and administrative provisions necessary to comply with this Directive by 31 December 2002. They shall forthwith inform the Commission thereof. In application of the principle of equal treatment, Member States shall adopt the laws, regulations and administrative provisions necessary to comply with this directive by 31 December 2002. They shall forthwith inform the Commission thereof. When Member States adopt those provisions, they shall contain a reference to this Directive or shall be accompanied by such a reference on the occasion of their official publication. Member States shall determine how such reference is to be made. When Member States adopt those provisions, they shall contain a reference to this Directive or shall be accompanied by such a reference on the occasion of their official publication. Member States shall determine how such reference is to be made. They shall also communicate to the Commission the texts of the provisions of national law already adopted or being adopted in the field governed by this Directive. (Amendment 59) Article 16 The Member States shall communicate to the Commission, within two years of the date mentioned in Article 15, all the information necessary for the Commission to draw up a report to the European Parliament and the Council on the application of this Directive.    1. The Member States shall communicate to the Commission, within one year of the date mentioned in Article 15 and every two years thereafter , all the information necessary for the Commission to draw up a report to the European Parliament and the Council on the application of this Directive and to make suggestions and general recommendations. .    2. The report shall indicate clearly the appropriate measures adopted for the benefit of women of different racial or ethnic origin.    3. In accordance with Council Regulation 1035/97 of 2 June 1997, the European Monitoring Centre on Racism and Xenophobia shall record and analyse information relevant to the implementation of this Directive and shall advise the Community institutions and the Member States in the exercise of their functions within the limits of their various powers.    4. In drawing up its report and in making suggestions and general recommendations, the Commission shall take into consideration the views and information received from the European Monitoring Centre on Racism and Xenophobia and from non-governmental organisations.    5. The Commission and the European Monitoring Centre on Racism and Xenophobia shall also advise on the collection of statistical data to monitor the implementation of this Directive.    6. The Commission shall encourage the exchange of experiences and best practice between Member States. (Amendment 60) Article 16a (new) Article 16a Monitoring    1. Within one year of the adoption of this Directive, the European Monitoring Centre on Racism and Xenophobia shall specify standard criteria for annual monitoring of the performance of Member States in meeting the objectives of this Directive.    2. Starting one year after the date mentioned in Article 15, the Member States shall submit to the European Monitoring Centre on Racism and Xenophobia annual monitoring returns based on the specified criteria.

European Parliament legislative resolution on the proposal for a Council directive on implementing the principle of equal treatment between persons irrespective of racial or ethnic origin (COM(1999) 566 - C5-0067/2000 - 1999/0253(CNS) )

P5_TA(2000)0236 A5-0136/2000

(Consultation procedure)

The European Parliament,

-  having regard to the Commission proposal to the Council (COM(1999) 566 ),

-  having been consulted by the Council pursuant to Article 13 of the EC Treaty (C5-0067/2000 ),

-  having regard to Rule 67 of its Rules of Procedure,

-  having regard to the report of the Committee on Citizens' Freedoms and Rights, Justice and Home Affairs and the opinions of the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs, the Committee on Legal Affairs and Internal Market, the Committee on Industry, External Trade, Research and Energy, and the Committee on Women's Rights and Equal Opportunities (A5-0136/2000 ),

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 should it intend to depart from the text approved by Parliament;

4.  Asks to be consulted again if the Council intends to amend the Commission proposal substantially;

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

European Parliament resolution on the situation in Sierra Leone

P5_TA(2000)0237 RC-B5-0432/2000

The European Parliament,

-  having regard to its previous resolutions on the conflicts in Africa and the situation in Sierra Leone,

-  having regard to its resolution of 21 January 2000 on protection for volunteer and humanitarian workers(1) ,

-  having regard to the EU Presidency statement on Sierra Leone of 5 May 2000,

A.  whereas the attacks by the RUF (Revolutionary United Front) on the United Nations peacekeeping forces are an international crime and represent a violation of the Lomé accord signed on 7 July 1999,

B.  whereas the conflict has claimed thousands of victims and is creating waves of refugees and huge suffering for the civilian population, thus preventing access by the population to international aid and triggering anew the recruitment of child soldiers,

C.  whereas the United Kingdom has decided to deploy ground forces to protect the capital, Freetown, while Nigeria and other African countries are involved in the UN contingent,

D.  whereas UNAMSIL's mandate, revised by the Security Council (resolution no. 1289/2000) authorises UNAMSIL to take all action necessary to perform its duties; whereas these include, inter alia , facilitating access to humanitarian aid and protecting the vulnerable civilian population,

E.  whereas the presence of the United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone was requested by all parties to the Lomé negotiations; whereas the objective of this presence is to establish peace and secure the disarmament of the RUF,

F.  whereas one of the conditions imposed by the RUF in the Lomé peace negotiations was an amnesty for those guerrillas who waged a brutal campaign in January 1999; whereas this condition was granted subject to the disarmament of the guerrilla forces,

G.  whereas international law makes no provision for amnesties for genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and other violations of international humanitarian law,

H.  whereas Sierra Leone is one of the poorest countries in the world in spite of its significant natural resources, most of which are controlled by the RUF and are being used to finance the conflict,

I.  whereas some neighbouring countries, including Burkina Faso, Liberia and Togo, are reported to be connected with the smuggling of RUF-controlled diamond resources, and to be actively contributing to the destabilisation of Sierra Leone by providing illicit assistance to the rebels,

J.  whereas thousands of children have been actively involved in the violence as child soldiers, while others have had their arms amputated in a massive campaign orchestrated by the RUF, which has created some 10 000 amputees in the country,

1.  Strongly condemns the criminal actions of the RUF against the civilian population, the killing of at least two UN peace-keepers and four civilians in two separate incidents, and the situation whereby approximately 300 UNAMSIL peace-keepers are being held hostage;

2.  Urges the UN and its Member States to speed up the deployment of the remaining UN peace-keepers authorised by the Security Council before the planned deadline of July 2000 and to consider sending a Rapid Intervention Force to Sierra Leone, as proposed by the UN Secretary-General;

3.  Calls on the guerillas to immediately surrender their weapons, to refrain from using force against the United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL), and to take part in discussions to resolve their differences with the Government of Sierra Leone;

4.  Condemns the alleged involvement of neighbouring countries, namely Burkina Faso, Liberia and Togo, in the smuggling of RUF-controlled diamonds and in providing assistance to the rebels;

5.  Calls on the United Nations, the Organisation of African Unity, the European Union and the European Commission to take appropriate measures against diamond trafficking, which fuels the war, and to protect the civilian population, which is bearing the brunt of the civil war;

6.  Calls on the RUF forces and their leaders, Foday Sankoh and Sam Bockarie, to release immediately the members of UNAMSIL, to recognise the constitutional government of Sierra Leone and to respect the UNAMSIL operations in the framework of the peace process launched in July 1999;

7.  Urges the surrounding countries to refrain from any action liable to contribute to the continuation of the war in Sierra Leone and to support the regional peace-building efforts in the framework of the OAU and Ecowas;

8.  Calls on the European Union to work with the OAU to prevent the conflict spreading to other countries in the grip of instability in the region;

9.  Demands the release of all abducted children taking part in this conflict;

10.  Calls on the Commission to mobilise the resources necessary to provide humanitarian assistance to Sierra Leone, and to launch a special programme for the rehabilitation of former child soldiers and to provide assistance for amputees;

11.  Considers that rebel fighters and all other perpetrators of human rights violence should be held accountable for their actions and should be brought to justice;

12.  Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the governments and parliaments of the Member States, the Governments of Liberia, Burkina Faso and Togo, the Government of Sierra Leone and the Secretary-General of the United Nations.

(1) Texts Adopted, Item 2.

European Parliament resolution on Sri Lanka

P5_TA(2000)0238 RC-B5-0433/2000

The European Parliament,

A.  whereas internal conflict has plagued Sri Lanka for over 17 years, resulting in the deaths of some 60 000 people, with about one million internally displaced and some 600 000 who have fled the country,

B.  whereas over the years the so-called Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) have carried out indiscriminate acts of terrorism throughout Sri Lanka, claiming many hundreds of civilian lives,

C.  whereas, through their attacks on over 20 leading democratic politicians from both the Sinhala and Tamil communities, including the murder of Sri Lankan President Premadasa and Sri Lankan Presidential candidate Gamini Dissanayake, and, in the last few months, the serious injury of President Kumaratunga and the attempted murder of Assistant Defence Minister Ratwatte, the LTTE has deliberately sought to undermine and destabilise the democratic political structure in Sri Lanka,

D.  whereas government forces have suffered serious reverses in the north of Sri Lanka in recent days, with the likelihood that fighting will intensify and the lives of some 500 000 people in the immediate area of Jaffna will be put at risk and the democratic political system in Sri Lanka as a whole placed in jeopardy,

E.  whereas the imposition of new emergency regulations in Sri Lanka is prejudicial to the functioning of the democratic process and the critical scrutiny of the conduct of operations and whereas parliamentary elections are scheduled to take place before the end of this year,

F.  whereas the European Parliament is unequivocal in its condemnation of terrorism and its support for democratically elected government,

G.  having regard to the action of the United States in declaring the LTTE to be a terrorist organisation, with legal consequences for those supporting it,

H.  aware that the government of Sri Lanka has offered to open talks with the LTTE,

I.  having regard to the recent letter of the EU Presidency addressed to President Chandrika Kumaratunga and Ranil Wickremesinghe, leader of the biggest opposition party UNP, in a plea for a negotiated solution to the conflict,

J.  whereas the internal conflict has been one of the underlying causes for a worrisome record of human rights violations and whereas it has had a hampering effect on Sri Lanka's development,

1.  Expresses its deep concern at the current situation in Sri Lanka and calls for an immediate cessation of hostilities on a basis agreed by all parties;

2.  Urges the LTTE to accept the offer by the government of Sri Lanka to open talks in order to reach a political settlement that is in the interests of all citizens of Sri Lanka;

3.  Calls for the emergency regulations to be lifted as soon as possible, and in any case well ahead of elections, which must be held before the end of the year;

4.  Calls on the parliamentary opposition, especially the UNP, and the government, to expedite discussions to arrive at an urgently needed consensus in order to strengthen the government's negotiating position for a peaceful, political solution to the conflict;

5.  Urges the governments of the Member States to take steps to proscribe organisations operating on their territory which continue to provide financial and other support to terrorist actions in Sri Lanka, and in so doing, to relieve the intimidation by the LTTE of Tamil people living in third countries;

6.  Calls on the Council and the Commission to address the situation as a matter of urgency and to make available in timely manner whatever humanitarian and other support may be requested to assist the people in the Jaffna peninsula, and, in due course, to assist post-conflict reconstruction;

7.  Welcomes the efforts of the Norwegian Government and the Indian Government to bring about an acceptable, peaceful political solution and urges the Commonwealth to use its good offices in order to assist the process of urgent and high-level mediation;

8.  Calls on those Member States of the European Union that are members of the UN Security Council to bring the situation before the UN as a matter of urgency;

9.  Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the governments of the Member States, the Secretary General of the United Nations, the Secretary General of the Commonwealth and the Government of Sri Lanka.

European Parliament resolution on the Philippines

P5_TA(2000)0239 RC-B5-0434/2000

The European Parliament,

-  having regard to its previous resolutions on the Philippines,

-  having regard to the visit of the High Representative of the EU, Mr Javier Solana, to the Philippines,

-  having regard to the declaration of the EU Presidency of 7 May 2000 condemning the hostage-taking,

A.  whereas political tension has existed on the southern island of Mindanao and neighbouring islands since the 1970s and has intensified in recent months,

B.  whereas sporadic peace talks between the Philippine Government and the largest armed Islamic separatist group, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) have continued to falter, amid hostilities on both sides,

C.  whereas in January 2000, President Estrada announced an extension (until the end of June) of the deadline for the conclusion of the peace talks,

D.  whereas on 1 May 2000 the MILF announced that negotiations would be suspended indefinitely and blamed the government for an escalation in military attacks,

E.  whereas armed opposition groups and other vigilante groups in Mindanao have been responsible, in recent years, for human rights abuses, including hostage-taking and killings,

F.  whereas elements within the Philippine armed forces have also committed human rights violations in the context of counter-insurgency operations, including extra-judicial executions, torture, “disappearances” and indiscriminate killings of civilians,

G.  whereas the Abu Sayyaf group, one of the two armed opposition groups fighting for a separate Islamic State, is responsible for the kidnapping of 21 people from the remote resort island of Sipadan in eastern Malaysia,

H.  whereas most of those abducted are Malaysians, but they also include 7 European citizens - 2 French, 3 Germans and 2 Finns - as well as 2 South Africans, a Lebanese and 2 Filipinos,

I.  welcoming the rescue of a number of hostages abducted from two schools in March in Basilan but deeply angered at the discovery of the bodies of two of their teachers who had been brutally murdered and concerned about the continued holding of about eight of the remaining hostages,

J.  in the firm conviction that taking civilian hostages is an appalling abuse of human rights,

1.  Strongly condemns the kidnappings and calls on those responsible to release all hostages immediately;

2.  Sympathises with the families of the hostages;

3.  Welcomes the decision by the European Union to send its High Representative on a humanitarian mission to inquire into the situation of the hostages and to seek a swift and peaceful solution to the kidnapping;

4.  Calls on the kidnappers belonging to the terrorist group Abu Sayyaf to release all the hostages without delay and immediately make it possible for them to receive adequate medical care;

5.  Calls for efforts to be continued also to secure the early and safe release of the people, mostly children, who are still being held in Basilan province by other members of the Abu Sayyaf group;

6.  Supports the Philippine Government in its efforts to carry out its duty to bring the holding of the hostages to a peaceful end as swiftly as possible by means of negotiations, without endangering the hostages, and asks the Council and the Commission to assist the Government of the Philippines to this end;

7.  Recalls its resolutions of 13 December 1990(1) , 17 July 1997(2) and 14 January 1999(3) on the Philippines in the hope that political and economic reforms will consolidate democracy in the country and increase prosperity in order to bring peace to the country;

8.  Welcomes in this context the appeal by the Archbishop of Manila to President Estrada to finally initiate socio-economic reforms;

9.  Calls on the Council and the Commission to assist the Government of the Philippines in implementing a long-term assistance programme aimed at easing the tensions in the southern island of Mindanao and the neighbouring islands;

10.  Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the High Representative of the EU, the governments of the applicant states and the Government of the Philippines.

(1) OJ C 19, 28.1.1991, p. 233. (2) OJ C 286, 22.9.1997, p. 245. (3) OJ C 104, 14.4.1999, p. 116.

European Parliament resolution on Equatorial Guinea

P5_TA(2000)0240 RC-B5-0435/2000

The European Parliament,

-  having regard to its previous resolutions on Equatorial Guinea,

-  having regard to the statement by the Presidency on behalf of the European Union concerning the municipal elections in Equatorial Guinea,

-  having regard to the general provisions of the Fourth Lomé Convention and in particular Article 5 concerning respect for fundamental rights, the application of democratic principles and good governance,

A.  whereas it has been confirmed that municipal elections are to be held on 28 May 2000 in Equatorial Guinea,

B.  whereas these municipal elections should be one of the crucial elements in the democratisation process in the country,

C.  whereas a constructive dialogue between the government and all political forces in Equatorial Guinea is the only way forward for this process,

D.  having regard to previous elections called in Equatorial Guinea where the minimum conditions needed to ensure transparency and democracy were not achieved,

E.  highly concerned at the process of the democratic transition in Equatorial Guinea, especially in the light of the fact that the 1999 national elections were disrupted by violence and irregularities, as stated by many international observers,

F.  whereas the holding of free elections in Equatorial Guinea is one of the requirements of the Lomé Convention and still more so of the recent Association Agreement, and bearing in mind also the views expressed in the ACP-EU Joint Assembly on sound and sustainable democratisation of countries,

G.  concerned that the judicial system in Equatorial Guinea is neither impartial nor independent and that political trials are often not conducted in accordance with due legal process,

1.  Calls on the Government of Equatorial Guinea to hold the elections under acceptable conditions of transparency and with free exercise of fundamental freedoms, since they are an opportunity for the government to show the international community its genuine desire to commit itself to the process of democratisation and consolidating the rule of law in the country;

2.  Urges the Government of Equatorial Guinea to guarantee the right to vote and ensure freedom of movement, association and expression for citizens and all opposition parties;

3.  Calls on the Commission to send a delegation of observers to ensure that the elections are run properly and, if necessary, pinpoint any factors which may entail a breach of basic political rights; considers also that the European Parliament should send observers to these elections;

4.  Demands that the Government of Equatorial Guinea guarantee that the media are allowed to operate and that opposition parties are given access to them throughout the electoral campaign;

5.  Calls for the immediate release of political prisoners, condemns the use of violence and intimidation against democratic opponents and requests the Government of Equatorial Guinea to ratify the United Nations Convention against torture;

6.  Calls on the Commission not to resume its aid to Equatorial Guinea, except humanitarian aid and aid directly implemented by independent NGOs, if the electoral process once again fails to respect democratic standards and fundamental freedoms;

7.  Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Commission, the Council, the Co-Presidents of the ACP-EU Joint Assembly, the OAU, the President and Government of Equatorial Guinea and the representatives of the opposition political parties.

European Parliament resolution on Iran

P5_TA(2000)0241 RC-B5-0436/2000

The European Parliament,

-  having regard to its resolutions of 16 September 1999 on the situation of prisoners accused of spying in Iran(1) and 13 April 2000 on the prisoners facing trial in Iran on charges of espionage on behalf of Israel and the United States(2) ,

A.  whereas the independent press is playing a crucial and popular role in contemporary Iranian political life, but noting the escalating harassment, intimidation and punishment of the country's independent journalists and publishers,

B.  expressing its grave concern for the well-being of the detained Iranian writer Akbar Ganji who has been moved from the relative security of an area of Evin prison to an area of the prison under the control of the judiciary, which is used to house serious violent criminals and drug traffickers,

C.  whereas numerous other writers, editors and publishers have recently been summoned to appear before the Press Court or other official bodies solely in connection with their attempts to exercise their right to freedom of expression,

D.  whereas Machallah Chamsolvaezine, former editor of "Nechat", was arrested at the beginning of April 2000 following confirmation on appeal of his three-year prison sentence for "offences against Islam",

E.  whereas Latif Safari, director of "Nechat", was arrested and sent to Evin prison after being sentenced to two-and-a-half years" prison and five years" disqualification from work,

F.  whereas since 1998 there has been repression of the independent press in the Islamic Republic and more than 17 Iranian newspapers have been closed over the past weeks,

G.  dismayed by manipulated television coverage of the Berlin conference on 7 and 8 April 2000 on the reform process in Iran and by the arrest of six prominent Iranian intellectuals, including Mehrangiz Kar, a women's rights advocate, Shahla Lahiji, a publisher of women's books, Ali Afshari, a student leader, Essatolah Sahabi, a former minister, and Hamid Reza Jalai-Pur, an editor, for participating in the conference,

H.  whereas these six intellectuals are charged with "acting against the internal security of the State and disparaging the holy order of the Islamic Republic",

1.  Strongly protests against the continuous threatening of the lives of independent journalists;

2.  Asks for the withdrawal of the official steps taken against these individuals, whose sole offence has been to exercise their right of freedom of expression, and asks for an immediate withdrawal of the judicial proceedings against these individuals;

3.  Calls on the Iranian authorities to lift the ban on newspapers and periodicals;

4.  Calls for the immediate release of Mr Ganji and the other editors, publishers and journalists imprisoned for exercising their protected right to freedom of expression;

5.  Calls on Iran to respect its international obligations as a signatory to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and guarantee the right to freedom of expression and association;

6.  Calls on the Iranian Government to cease the prosecution of journalists, writers and others in revolutionary courts and the special Court of the Clergy for expressing opinions that in no way threaten public order or national security as these terms are understood in international law;

7.  Asks the Council, the Member States and the Commission to take due account of the outcome of this situation when considering the establishment of more normal and mutually productive relations with Iran, based on respect for fundamental human rights, including freedom of speech and freedom of expression;

8.  Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the governments of the Member States and the Iranian Government, Parliament and Revolutionary Court.

(1) OJ C 54, 25.2.2000, p. 112. (2) Texts Adopted, Item 10.

European Parliament resolution on Burma

P5_TA(2000)0242 RC-B5-0437/2000

The European Parliament,

-  having regard to its previous resolutions on Burma, in particular its resolution of 16 September 1999(1) ,

A.  whereas on 27 May 2000 it will be ten years since Aung San Suu Kyi was elected President by a large majority of the people of Burma when the National League for Democracy (NLD) won 392 of the 485 seats in Parliament in free and fair elections and whereas the elected Parliament, which is now represented by the CRPP (Committee representing the People's Parliament), has still not been permitted to convene,

B.  whereas many thousands of people have died and hundreds of thousands of people have fled to neighbouring countries such as India, Thailand and Malaysia, where they have for years been living in refugee camps and are dependent on humanitarian aid from NGOs and from those neighbouring countries,

C.  deploring the SPDC's continued intimidation and restrictions on Aung San Suu Kyi, who has recently been threatened with imprisonment, and other NLD members, who were again imprisoned in 1999, in many cases under very poor conditions, without adequate food or medical care,

D.  condemning the arrest of 40 NLD youth members and of U Aye Thar Aung of the Arakan League for Democracy in April 2000, as well as 82-year old Nai Tun Shein of the Mon National Democratic Front and Kyin Shin Htan of the Zomi National Congress in November 1999, after they spoke with Alvaro de Soto, then the UN's special envoy to Burma, and the detention of 83-year old Saw Mra Aung, the Speaker of the CRPP, who has been under arrest since the committee was formed in September 1998,

E.  deeply concerned about reports on special guerrilla retaliation units of the Burmese army, whose mission is to execute any civilians in Karen State suspected of interaction with the Karen National Union (KNU),

F.  whereas in Burma itself large numbers of people have also been moved to new areas, as a result of which whole communities have disintegrated and fallen into deep poverty,

G.  whereas according to reports the Burmese army has the highest ratio of child soldiers in the world,

H.  whereas at the end of March 2000 the governing body of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) documented the SPDC's maintenance of a system of forced labour without any sign of improvement, and urged member countries and international organisations to withhold cooperation from the country,

I.  whereas in a recent report the World Bank indicated that constructive economic reform cannot be effectively implemented without progress toward democratisation,

J.  whereas nearly all universities in Burma have been closed since December 1996, and in the last twelve years have only been open for less than three years,

K.  whereas investment by European multinational oil companies reportedly accounts for almost a third of the total official foreign investment in Burma, thus greatly benefiting the SPDC,

L.  whereas the Government of the United Kingdom has called on Premier Oil to withdraw from Burma,

M.  welcoming the fact that the Council has strengthened its Common Position on Burma by including a ban on export of equipment that might be used for internal repression or terrorism, naming those in the regime and its supporters to whom the visa ban applies, and imposing a freeze on the funds held abroad by those same persons,

N.  noting however that the Council has still not responded to Aung San Suu Kyi's request to implement economic sanctions, and has not taken any significant economic measures against the SPDC, and noting that the USA has already halted investment in Burma,

O.  regretting that the meeting of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) held in Rangoon on 1 and 2 May 2000, which brought together Ministers from the 10 member countries as well as Japan and China, permitted the military regime to use it as a platform to promote its own political interests,

1.  Deeply regrets that ASEAN held its two-day meeting of the region's economic ministers without raising the fundamental question of respect for human rights;

2.  Calls on the SPDC to enter into a meaningful dialogue with the democratic opposition and ethnic groups;

3.  Calls again on the SPDC to immediately release all political prisoners, to cease human rights abuses, and to allow political parties to function freely;

4.  Calls on the SPDC to end its widespread practice of forced labour and the associated human rights violations, which has been described by the ILO as a "crime against humanity";

5.  Calls on the SPDC to open all universities to provide higher education for its civilian population and not just for the military elite; calls on the SPDC furthermore to stop recruiting child soldiers and to send those children to school instead;

6.  Calls on the Council to demand that all European companies cease to invest in Burma;

7.  Considers that the governments of the EU Member States should advise their citizens against visiting Burma as tourists, particularly because many new tourist facilities have also been created using forced labour;

8.  Considers it high time that the EU Member States adopted a common policy on Burma and calls on the Commission and Council to take effective decisions on this subject as soon as possible;

9.  Confirms the importance of EU-ASEAN cooperation and partnership but supports the exclusion of Burma from the ASEAN-EU process, and insists that the military regime of Burma should not be allowed to participate in the ASEAN-EU Senior Official Meeting in June 2000;

10.  Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Commission, the Council, the governments of the EU Member States and the accession candidate countries, ASEAN and its Member States and the governments of Burma, India, China and Japan.

(1) OJ C 54, 25.2.2000, p. 111.

European Parliament resolution on Guatemala

P5_TA(2000)0244 RC-B5-0438/2000

The European Parliament,

-  having regard to its previous resolutions on the situation in Guatemala and, in particular, that of 14 May 1998 on the murder of Bishop Gerardi in Guatemala(1) ,

-  having regard to its resolution of 16 March 2000 on support for the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949 and international humanitarian law(2) ,

-  having regard to the Declaration on human rights in Guatemala which was made on 26 April 2000 by the Presidency on behalf of the European Union,

-  having regard to its profound and lasting commitment to the peace process in Guatemala;

A.  whereas the State of Guatemala has ratified both the Geneva Conventions of 1949 and the Convention for the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide;

B.  whereas the Commission on Historical Clarification for Guatemala has recommended that, in particular, those responsible for instigating or promoting crimes against humanity, including genocide, be brought to justice by the Guatemalan authorities;

C.  whereas President Portillo of Guatemala has declared that the recommendations of the Commission on Historical Clarification are to be converted into undertakings of Government and State;

D.  whereas the implementation of the peace agreements requires the joint efforts of all sectors of the Guatemalan authorities in order to turn agreed measures and objectives into lasting reality, including full respect for human rights, equal opportunities for the indigenous population and reform of the judicial system;

E.  whereas the institution of ad hoc tribunals in relation to the Yugoslavian and Rwandan conflicts and the signing of the Rome Statute in July 1998 for the establishment of an International Criminal Court and the recent events concerning Senator Pinochet emphasise a trend in international law and politics favouring the view that a major antidote to human rights abuses is prosecution;

F.  whereas the obligation of the fifteen Member States of the European Union is to respect and ensure respect for international humanitarian law in ratifying the relevant Conventions;

1.  Calls on the Member States to support President Portillo in his undertaking to carry out the recommendations of the Commission on Historical Clarification;

2.  Calls on the Guatemalan authorities to carry out a full investigation into the crimes against humanity which were committed in Guatemala during the civil war and to bring those responsible for such crimes to justice;

3.  Asks the Commission and the Member States to support the initiatives currently in progress with a view to bringing those responsible for crimes against humanity to justice in Guatemala and expects the Guatemalan authorities to guarantee full independence and liberty in the work of the Guatemalan judicial powers responsible for investigating those crimes;

4.  Asks the Commission and the Member States to support the Guatemalan State in protecting witnesses, lawyers and other defenders of human rights who participate in the bringing of legal actions against those allegedly responsible for crimes against humanity;

5.  Emphasises the special importance of ending the existing atmosphere of impunity for crimes with political implications and therefore urges that the cases of murder of Bishop Gerardi and the massacre of Xaman be solved and the intellectual authors thereof be brought to trial;

6.  Assures the Guatemalan State of its continued interest and support in its transition to peace and democracy;

7.  Calls upon all Guatemalans, and particularly their authorities, to make determined efforts to continue implementing the peace agreements in order to create a freer, more democratic and socially just society;

8.  Calls on the Commission to strengthen EU programmes intended to help eradicate human rights abuses and implement the peace agreements;

9.  Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the governments of the Member States, the President and Government of the Republic of Guatemala, the Secretary-General of the Organisation of American States and the Central American Parliament.

(1) OJ C 167, 1.6.1998, p. 218. (2) Texts Adopted, Item 6.

European Parliament resolution on the Non-Proliferation Treaty

P5_TA(2000)0245 RC-B5-0439/2000

The European Parliament,

-  having regard to its previous resolutions on nuclear non-proliferation, especially the resolution adopted on 13 March 1997 on the Non-Proliferation Treaty(1) ,

-  having regard to the sixth nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) Review Conference taking place in New York until 19 May 2000,

-  having regard to the Common Position of the Council of the European Union adopted on 13 April 2000,

A.  whereas the NPT Conference in 1995 resulted in agreements on strengthening the review process of the Treaty, principles and objectives for nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament and an indefinite extension of the Treaty,

B.  whereas this is the first Review Conference since the new review process for the Treaty was adopted at the time of its indefinite extension in 1995 and whereas it will thus be a vital first test of the strengthened new regime since 1995,

C.  whereas a constructive session with concrete outcomes will help ensure a strong future for the NPT and the non-proliferation regime as a whole,

D.  recalling the active role played by the EU during the NPT Review and Extension Conference in 1995 and in the Preparatory Committees in 1997, 1998 and 1999,

E.  noting the very recent resolutions supporting the NPT Review Conference in the Australian and Canadian Parliaments, and the motion in the German Bundestag,

F.  welcoming the ratification by France and the UK of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, the first nuclear states to ratify the CTBT; recognising the important contribution this will make to improving chances for a successful NPT Review Conference and welcoming the unilateral moves towards nuclear disarmament these two states have taken in the years since the 1995 Review and Extension Conference,

G.  taking into account the efforts of the New Agenda Coalition, on which Parliament passed a near unanimous resolution on 19 November 1998(2) , and of which Ireland and Sweden are founding members, to contribute substantively to the debate on the question of nuclear disarmament, non-proliferation and other matters related to the Treaty's objectives,

H.  believing that the report of the Canberra Commission and the statement by the former generals and admirals of 4 December 1996 on the obligation to pursue nuclear disarmament in good faith are important contributions to the implementation of Article 6 of the NPT,

I.  believing moves towards nuclear disarmament by the nuclear weapon states to be an essential component of non-proliferation measures taken under the Treaty and in other fora, according to their obligations under Article 6 of the NPT,

1.  Believes that the NPT remains the cornerstone both for the nuclear non-proliferation regime globally and for the pursuit of nuclear disarmament;

2.  Welcomes and shares the objectives of the Common Position adopted by the Council of the European Union on 13 April 2000 relating to the 2000 Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons;

3.  Calls on the Council to promote policies and mechanisms for the NPT that look forward to future action, not just backwards to progress already achieved, and which should include a set of new benchmarks for progress until the next Review Conference in 2005;

4.  Calls on all states party to the NPT to actively pursue their efforts and obligations to promote the universality of the Treaty which may include, but is not limited to, an open formal dialogue between NPT states and the states still outside the Treaty;

5.  Calls on the United States and Russia to redouble their efforts to ensure early implementation of START II and urges both to maintain at all costs the integrity of the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty (ABM), which is a cornerstone of strategic stability and a precondition for progress on non-proliferation and disarmament;

6.  Urges those states that have not already done so, to take the necessary steps to accede to the NPT;

7.  Calls on all Member States of the European Union to ratify the CTBT urgently, and to adopt a joint action under Article 13(3) of the EU Treaty to promote signature and ratification by other states, to include all necessary assistance to these states to enable them to comply with the provisions of the Treaty;

8.  Regrets deeply that the US conducted its third subcritical nuclear test on 6 April 2000 at 3.30 p.m. and urges all states to stop subcritical nuclear testing and other means of nuclear testing by simulation;

9.  Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the governments of the Member States, the UN Under-Secretary General for Disarmament Affairs and the President of the 2000 NPT Review Conference.

(1) OJ C 115, 14.4.1997, p. 175. (2) OJ C 379, 7.12.1998, p. 261.