The proposal was amended as follows:

Text proposed by the Commission(1)   Amendments by Parliament Amendment 1 FIRST CITATION Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Article 37 thereof, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Articles 37 and 299(2) thereof, Amendment 2 RECITAL 1 a (new) (1a) Article 299(2) of the Treaty states that the Council, acting by a qualified majority on a proposal from the Commission and after consulting the European Parliament, shall adopt specific measures aimed at laying down the conditions of application of the Treaty to the outermost regions of the EU for the purposes, among other things, of access to the Structural Funds. Amendment 4 RECITAL 3    (3) Council Regulation (EC) No 3763/91 seeks to remedy the handicaps due to the remote and insular nature of these departments and to improve the conditions under which their agricultural products are produced and marketed.    (3) Council Regulation (EEC) No 3763/91 seeks to remedy the handicaps due to the remote and insular nature of these departments, and to other difficulties and limiting factors, and to improve the conditions under which their agricultural products are produced and marketed. Amendment 5 RECITAL 4    (4) The structures of certain agricultural holdings or processing and marketing enterprises located in the French overseas departments show serious shortcomings and are beset with specific difficulties. Provision should accordingly be made for derogations for certain types of investments from the provisions limiting or preventing the grant of some structural aid provided for in Regulation (EC) No 1257/1999.    (4) The structures of the agricultural holdings or processing and marketing enterprises located in the French overseas departments show serious shortcomings and are beset with permanent limitations and specific difficulties requiring specific action to deal with them . Provision should accordingly be made for derogations for investments by these holdings or enterprises from the provisions limiting or preventing the grant of some structural aid provided for in Regulation (EC) No 1257/1999. Amendment 6 RECITAL 5 a (new) (5a) In accordance with Article 14 of Regulation (EC) No 1260/1999, each plan, Community support framework, operational programme, or single programming document covers a period of seven years, the programming period having begun on 1 January 2000. In the interests of consistency and in order to avoid discrimination between the beneficiaries of any given programme, the derogations provided for in this Regulation should apply, on an exceptional basis, to the whole of the current programming period. Amendment 7 ARTICLE 1 Article 21, paragraph 1 (Regulation (EEC) No 3763/91)    1. Notwithstanding Article 7 of Regulation (EC) No 1257/1999, the total value of the aid, expressed as a percentage of the volume of eligible investments, shall not exceed 75% for investments intended in particular to encourage diversification, restructuring or a shift towards sustainable agriculture on agricultural holdings of very small economic size to be defined in the programme complement referred to in Article 19(4) of Council Regulation (EC) No 1260/1999.    1. Notwithstanding Article 7 of Regulation (EC) No 1257/1999, the total value of the aid, expressed as a percentage of the volume of eligible investments, shall not exceed 75% for investments intended to encourage diversification, restructuring or a shift towards sustainable agriculture on agricultural holdings of small economic size to be defined in the programme complement referred to in Article 19(4) of Council Regulation (EC) No 1260/1999. Amendment 8 ARTICLE 1 Article 21, paragraph 2 (Regulation (EEC) No 3763/91)    2. Notwithstanding Article 28(2) of Regulation (EC) No 1257/1999, the total value of the aid, expressed as a percentage of the volume of eligible investments, shall not exceed 65% for investments in small and medium-sized enterprises engaged in processing and marketing agricultural products consisting mainly of local produce in sectors to be defined in the programme complement referred to in Article 19(4) of Regulation (EC) No 1260/1999.    2. Notwithstanding Article 28(2) of Regulation (EC) No 1257/1999, the total value of the aid, expressed as a percentage of the volume of eligible investments, shall not exceed 75% for investments in small and medium-sized enterprises engaged in processing and marketing agricultural products consisting mainly of local produce in all sectors . Amendment 9 ARTICLE 1 Article 21, paragraph 3 (Regulation (EEC) No 3763/91)    3. The restriction laid down in Article 29(3) of Regulation (EC) No 1257/1999 shall not apply to forests or wooded areas located in the French overseas departments.    3. The restriction laid down in Article 29(3) of Regulation (EC) No 1257/1999 shall not apply to tropical forests or wooded areas located in the French overseas departments. Amendment 10 ARTICLE 1 Article 21, paragraph 3 a (new) (Regulation (EEC) No 3763/91) 3a. Notwithstanding the provisions of the third indent of the second subparagraph of Article 47(2) of Regulation (EC) No 1257/1999, the Community's financial contribution to the agri-environmental measures laid down in Articles 22 to 24 of that Regulation shall be 85%. Amendment 11 ARTICLE 2, PARAGRAPH 1 This Regulation shall enter into force on the seventh day following its publication in the Official Journal of the European Communities. This Regulation shall enter into force on the day of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Communities. It shall apply from 1 January 2000.

(1) OJ C 96 E, 27.3.2001, p. 274.

(Consultation procedure)

The European Parliament,

-  having regard to the Commission proposal to the Council (COM(2000) 774 )(1) ,

-  having been consulted by the Council pursuant to Article 37 of the EC Treaty (C5-0748/2000 ),

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

-  having regard to the opinion of the Committee on Legal Affairs and the Internal Market on the proposed legal basis,

-  having regard to the report of the Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development and the opinion of the Committee on Regional Policy, Transport and Tourism (A5-0195/2001 ),

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.

(1) OJ C 96 E, 27.3.2001, p. 274.