Draft Supplementary and Amending Budget No 3/2001 of the European Union for the financial year 2001 - Section III - Commission, Section VI - Economic and Social Committee, Section VII - Committee of the Regions (9802/2001 - C5-0271/2001 - 2001/2049(BUD))

Amendment 3

STAFF - SECTION III - COMMISSION

1 The following are regarded as occupying scientific or technical posts: all staff assigned to scientific or technical departments (including managerial staff).

2 The following are regarded as occupying administrative posts: all staff assigned to administrative and financial departments; all secretaries, whatever the departments to which they have been assigned; and the small number of staff assigned to scientific departments as administrative assistants.

3Of which one official benefiting 100% from the advantages provided for in Article 93 of the Staff Regulations and two A 1 ad personam.

4Of which one A 2 ad personam.

5Of which two posts occupied by staff seconded to national bodies pursuant to Article 6(c) of the Euratom Treaty.

6 Half-time working in certain posts may be offset by the recruitment of other staff within the limit of the number of posts released in each category.

Amendment 4

STAFF - EUROPEAN ANTI-FRAUD OFFICE (OLAF)

Amend the establishment plan as follows :

_______________________________________________

2 For the Director of Intelligence and Operational Strategy, the Director of Investigations and Operations and a principal adviser for anti-fraud cooperation in the acceding countries.

3 Of which one post for the Supervisory Committee Secretariat.

SECTION III - COMMISSION - EXPENDITURE - Part A

Amend figures as follows :

NOMENCLATURE: Unchanged

REMARKS: Unchanged

SCHEDULE: Automated schedule

Draft Supplementary and Amending Budget No 4/2001 of the European Union for the financial year 2001 - Section III - Commission (9803/2001 - C5-0272/2001 - 2001/2094(BUD))

Amendment 1

SECTION III - COMMISSION - Part B

Amend figures as follows :

NOMENCLATURE: Unchanged

REMARKS: Unchanged

SCHEDULE: Automated schedule

European Parliament resolution on Draft Supplementary and Amending Budget No 3/2001 of the European Union for the financial year 2001 - Section III - Commission, Section VI - Economic and Social Committee, Section VII - Committee of the Regions (9802/2001 - C5-0271/2001 - 2001/2049(BUD)) and on Draft Supplementary and Amending Budget No 4/2001 of the European Union for the financial year 2001 - Section III - Commission (9803/2001 - C5-0272/2001 - 2001/2094(BUD))

P5_TA(2001)0389 A5-0239/2001

The European Parliament,

-  having regard to Article 272 of the EC Treaty, Article 78 of the ECSC Treaty, and Article 177 of the EURATOM Treaty,

-  having regard to the Financial Regulation of 21 December 1977 applicable to the general budget of the European Communities, as last amended by Regulation (EC, ECSC, EURATOM) No 762/2001(1) ,

-  having regard to the Interinstitutional Agreement of 6 May 1999 between the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission on budgetary discipline and improvement of the budgetary procedure(2) ,

-  having regard to Council Decision 94/728/EC, Euratom of 31 October 1994 on the system of the European Communities" own resources(3) ,

-  having regard to Council Decision 2000/597/EC, Euratom of 29 September 2000 on the system of the European Communities" own resources(4) ,

-  having regard to the general budget of the European Communities for the financial year 2001, finally adopted on 14 December 2000(5) ,

-  having regard to Preliminary Draft Supplementary and Amending Budgets No 3/2001 and No 4/2001 of the European Union for the financial year 2001 (SEC(2001) 663 and SEC(2001) 793 ),

-  having regard to Draft Supplementary and Amending Budgets No 3/2001, and No 4/2001 (9802/2001 - C5-0271/2001 and 9803/2001 - C5-0272/2001 ),

-  having regard to Rule 92 of and Annex IV to its Rules of Procedure,

-  having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgets and the opinion of the Committee on Budgetary Control (A5-0239/2001 ),

A.  whereas Draft Supplementary and Amending Budget No 3/2001 amends the establishment plans of the Commission, as regards research and development activities and the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF), as well as the establishment plans of the Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions,

B.  whereas Draft Supplementary and Amending Budget No 4/2001 concerns the balance for the financial year 2000 and an increase in payment appropriations for assistance to the reconstruction of the Western Balkans in 2001,

C.  whereas the Council has adopted at the same time the Draft Supplementary and Amending Budgets No 3/2001 and No 4/2001, therefore it is necessary to merge the two procedures in order to avoid needless administrative burden,

D.  whereas there has been a substantial increase in the number of posts for OLAF agreed by the budgetary authority over the past two years: 224 in the 2000 budget and 300 in the 2001 budget, and whereas the setting up of OLAF's management and operational structures has been subject to considerable Commission delay,

E.  whereas Parliament, the Council and the Commission have established legislative provisions, which confer on the Director-General of OLAF appointing authority powers in relation to OLAF staff in particular establishment of the office's preliminary draft budget which may not be altered by the Commission before it is sent to the budgetary authority,

F.  whereas in the 2001 budget, Parliament significantly amended OLAF's establishment plan, in particular by increasing the number of temporary posts from 13 to 42% and the number of B posts in relation to A posts, and placed the remaining 76 new posts in the reserve until all staff working for OLAF have been reassessed in accordance with the resolution of 16 May 2000 on protecting the Communities' financial interests and the fight against fraud(6) ,

G.  whereas Draft Supplementary and Amending Budget No 3/2001 contains significant changes to the OLAF establishment plan adopted by Parliament in December 2000 in particular regarding the balance between permanent and temporary posts as well as the creation of new specialised units while the 2001 Budget has not been properly implemented yet,

H.  whereas the mid-term strategy to staff OLAF should be presented by the Director of OLAF and approved by OLAF Supervisory Committee by the end of October 2001,

I.  whereas Draft Supplementary and Amending Budget No 3/2001 also covers for the Committee of Regions and the Economic and Social Committee the recruitment of two temporary A grade staff, as well as contract extension for another temporary A grade staff member and one temporary B grade staff member for monitoring the refurbishment of the Belliard building,

J.  whereas the two committees will become owners of the building at the end of the lease contract, and have therefore to monitor all the financial, technical and legal aspects of the refurbishment, involving both the appropriations made available by the Community budget as well as the monies invested by the owner of the building,

K.  whereas the Commission entered the final calculation of the correction of budgetary imbalances in favour of the United Kingdom for 1997 in the PDSAB No 4/2001, as well as updated correction figures for 1999 and 2000 in order to reduce inaccuracies and reduce the need for significant adjustments to the final calculations,

L.  whereas the balance is the difference between revenue and expenditure pursuant to Article 15 of Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1150/2000(7) , and whereas the balance from the 2000 budget presents a surplus of EUR 11.6 billion, which is to be entered as revenue in the 2001 budget through SAB 4/2001,

M.  whereas revenue for 2000 was higher than expected and the level of expenditure under the 2000 budget was one of the lowest in recent years, with a particularly low implementation rate of only 88% of the appropriations made available by the budgetary authority,

N.  whereas the Commission has failed to implement the appropriations decided by the budgetary authority on the basis of the priorities of the Union, thus denying citizens the possibility of benefiting from its budget,

O.  whereas responsibility for this must be shared between the Commission and Council which by adopting the appropriate legal bases late, jeopardises implementation of the available funding,

P.  whereas the budget adopted must be more closely followed up and monitored by the budgetary authority in order to anticipate and prevent under-utilisation of appropriations as far as possible,

1.  Decides to deal with the two Draft Supplementary and Amending Budgets in a single procedure in order to avoid needless administrative costs and to speed up implementation of the proposed changes, adopts, in accordance with the result oon the budget amendments, a single budgetary act, which includes Draft Supplementary and Amending Budgets No 3/2001 and No 4/2001, adopted by the Council;

2.  Welcomes that the Commission has revised through PDSAB No 3/2001 its forecasts on administrative RTD expenditure made in PDB 2001, which will lead to a transfer of EUR 5.6 million from administrative to operational expenditure;

3.  Agrees to set up 27 new posts for shared-cost RTD projects but decides that the 15 posts dedicated for administrative purposes should be placed in the lower levels of the corresponding categories (A7, A8, B5 and C5);

4.  Agrees that payment appropriations must match commitment appropriations as stated in the Financial Regulation, particularly in the case of the Balkans where take-up of appropriations is high and rapid, and therefore stresses the need for supplementary payments to cover the gap between commitments (EUR 839 million) and payments (EUR 515 million) for Chapter B7-54 ;

5.  Takes note that the Commission indicates needs in payment appropriations at EUR 420 million for the Balkans and that an additional EUR 30 million are necessary to finance a grant to the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia; considers it necessary, for the time being, to avoid further reductions or redeployment, and welcomes the budgetary authorities' decision to provide EUR 100 million additionally to cover these estimated needs;

6.  Agrees to the additional remarks for Article B7-702 A allowing administrative expenditure for Articles B7-704 and B7-709 to be covered without requiring additional appropriations;

7.  Considers that the adjustments in the OLAF establishment plan in DSAB No 3/2001 do not reflect the objectives that OLAF should achieve according to Parliament's approach;

8.  Agrees to the part of DSAB No 3/2001 that deals with the Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions;

9.  Agrees to the part of the DSAB No 4/2001 that deals with the revenue side of the budget;

10.  Is deeply concerned about the budgetary rigour of the Commission and the Council, when the expenditure of the year 2000 was over-estimated by EUR 8.5 billion, or 10.6%;

11.  Amends Draft Supplementary and Amending Budgets No 3/2001 and No 4/2001 concerning the following elements:

welcomes the approval of the budgetary amendment to the OLAF establishment plan modifying the breakdown between permanent and temporary posts and restoring the 3 posts deleted by the Council and enters EUR 3.8 billion in reserve until a redeployment of 10 A officials from OLAF to the Commission services is achieved and until a favourable opinion is given by OLAF Supervisory Committee;

12.  Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the other institutions.

(1) OJ L 111, 20.4.2001, p.1. (2) OJ C 172, 18.6.1999, p.1. (3) OJ L 293, 12.11.1994, p. 9. (4) OJ L 253, 7.10.2000, p. 42. (5) OJ L 56, 26.2.2001, p. 1. (6) OJ C 59, 23.2.2001, p. 61. (7) OJ L 130, 31.5.2000, p. 1.

European Parliament resolution on the situation concerning the European Union's own resources in 2001 (2001/2019(INI))

P5_TA(2001)0390 A5-0238/2001

The European Parliament,

-  having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Article 272 thereof, and the Treaty establishing the European Atomic Energy Community, and in particular Article 173 thereof,

-  having regard to Council Decision 94/728/EC, Euratom of 31 October 1994 on the European Communities' system of own resources(1) ,

-  having regard to Council Decision 2000/597/EC, Euratom of 29 September 2000 on the system of the European Communities' own resources(2) ,

-  having regard to the general budget of the European Union for the 2001 financial year, finally adopted on 14 December 2000(3) ,

-  having regard to its resolutions of 21 April 1994 on a new system of own resources for the European Union(4) and 22 November 1990 on the future financing of the European Community(5) ,

-  having regard to its resolution of 11 March 1999 on the need to modify and reform the European Union's own resources system(6) ,

-  having regard to its position of 17 November 1999(7) on the proposal for a Council decision on the system of the European Union's own resources (COM(1999) 333 - C5-0092/1999 - 1999/0139 (CNS) )(8) ,

-  having regard to the document entitled 'Financing the European Union - Commission Report on the Operation of the Own Resources System' (COM(1998) 560 - C4-0579/1998 ),

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

-  having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgets (A5-0238/2001 ),

A.  whereas the new Decision 2000/597/EC, Euratom will replace Decision 94/728/EC, Euratom after ratification in the Member States, coming into force on 1 January 2002,

B.  whereas appropriations for payments of EUR 92.569 billion were entered in the 2001 budget, of which EUR 90.972 billion has to be raised from own resources,

C.  whereas own resources are made up of traditional own resources (TOR), the resource accruing from value-added tax (VAT resource) and the GNP, or fourth resource (the application of a rate to the sum of the Member States" GNP), as laid down in Decision 94/728/EC,

D.  whereas, in the 2001 budget, the GNP resource accounts for the largest share of total Community own resources (47.54%), with the VAT resource accounting for 36.79% and TOR for 15.67%,

E.  whereas customs duties account for by far the largest share of TOR (86.62%), the remainder being derived from agricultural duties and levies, and sugar and isoglucose levies,

F.  whereas the own resources share accounted for by TOR has decreased from 29.1% in the 1988 budget to 15.7% in the 2001 budget, the share accounted for by the VAT resource has fallen from 60% to 36.8%, and the GNP resource has become the most important own resource, increasing from 10.9% to 47.5%,

G.  whereas an estimated EUR 1.597 billion, or 1.73% of the initial 2001 budget, is covered by revenue paid not by the Member States, but directly into the EU budget, representing 0.019% of the Member States" GNP; whereas more than half of this non-own-resources revenue stems from the surplus available from the 2000 budget (EUR 900 million), the other sources being miscellaneous Community taxes, levies and dues (EUR 562.3 million), revenue accruing from the administrative operation of the institutions (EUR 62.0 million), contributions to Community programmes, repayment of expenditure etc. (EUR 45.6 million), borrowing and lending operations (EUR 22.3 million) and miscellaneous revenue (EUR 5.1 million),

H.  whereas the Commission has presented the third report on the operation of the inspection arrangements for traditional own resources (1997-1999) (COM(2001) 32 ), which describes the inspections carried out by the Commission,

I.  whereas the Commission has discovered a considerable number of anomalies, irregularities and instances of fraud; whereas Community claims were submitted for the recovery of unduly unpaid amounts and for late-payment interest, as a result of which, in 1997 to 1999, additional entitlements of EUR 3.04 million and EUR 6.97 million in late-payment interest were paid into Community accounts,

J.  whereas for 1998 customs duties and the EU share of VAT lost to the EU budget through cigarette smuggling are put at EUR 118 million, and the total loss to the EU budget and all Member States" budgets (tax losses) is put at between EUR 1 and 5 billion per year,

K.  whereas the Commission filed a civil action against Philip Morris and RJ Reynolds (Nabisco) before the US District Court of Eastern New York on 3 November 2000 seeking compensation for financial losses the EU has suffered from cigarette smuggling into the Community market and injunctive relief in order to prevent further smuggling,

1.  Takes note of the Commission's estimates of expected 2001 revenues, on which the revenue side of the 2001 budget is based, and urges the Commission to update its estimates for 2001 budget revenues after the 2001 SAB on balances is adopted;

2.  Notes that own resources constitute 98.3% of revenue for the 2001 EU budget, which means that the resources to be collected by the Member States on behalf of the EU and transferred to it are equivalent to 1.06% of their GNP;

3.  Notes that payments under the 2001 EU budget have increased to EUR 93.305 billion (including Supplementary and Amending Budgets 1/2001 and 2/2001), compared to EUR 89.441 billion under the 2000 budget; stresses that this represents 1.09% of the Member States´ GNP in 2001 (January 2001), compared to 1.11% in 2000, confirming the trend for a virtually constant reduction in the share of Community GNP accounted for by the EU budget, which has fallen from 1.20% since 1996;

4.  Recalls that Decision 2000/597/EC, Euratom, which will come into force on 1 January 2002, fails to take into account the position Parliament adopted on 17 November 1999;

5.  Recalls its view that the “EU must move steadily away from dependence on transfers from Member States” and that “in the long term, the own resources system must be modified with a view to achieving financial autonomy”; believes that the purpose of the reform should be to provide the Union with an autonomous source of revenue which is sufficient for its needs and directly linked to the taxpayers;

6.  Takes the view that own resources should be developed in order to be more transparent and visible to citizens;

7.  Notes that the GNP resource share has increased steadily and significantly between 1988 and 2001 while TOR and VAT resource shares have decreased over that period;

8.  Notes that the effect of the new Decision 2000/597/EC, Euratom will be to heighten this trend further, because of an increase from 10% to 25% in the proportion of TOR to be kept by the Member States, by way of collection costs, and because of the reduction in the maximum call-in rate for the VAT resource, which is currently 1% and has been set at 0.75% for 2002 and 2003 and 0.50% from 2004 onwards;

9.  Deplores the fact that the Council has not exploited the opportunity afforded by the adoption of the new Decision to move towards financial autonomy for the European Union and full involvement of Parliament in the budgetary procedure, notably concerning the revenue side;

10.  Welcomes the announcement by the Belgian Government that it will propose launching a debate on defining a new budgetary framework over the medium term, during the Belgian Presidency, which could lead to discussions on the desirability of a European tax;

11.  Recalls that the new Decision replaces the old European System of Accounts from 1979 (ESA 79) by the new system from 1995 (ESA 95) without changing the amount available under the own resources ceiling; stresses that this will lead to an adjustment to the own resources ceiling percentage, probably reducing it from 1.27% to 1.25%, for which Annexes I and II to the Interinstitutional Agreement of 6 May 1999 (financial perspective and financial framework) will have to be adapted; stresses that this unilateral decision by Council was criticised in Parliament´s position of 17 November 1999;

12.  Welcomes the efforts by the Commission and the Court of Auditors to discover anomalies, irregularities and instances of fraud; notes that the Commission carried out 70 inspections during the period 1997-1999, discovering 246 anomalies in the process; insists that the Commission step up efforts to recover a higher volume of costs stemming from anomalies, irregularities and fraud, and finally reduce the scale on which these infringements of rules take place in order to avoid additional costs for the European taxpayer;

13.  Welcomes the Commission's announcement to examine the operational consequences of holding the Member States liable for some of the errors committed by their administrations; invites, however, the Commission to explore all possibilities of including losses to the EU budget because of non-collection of TOR in the Member States payments to the EU budget;

14.  Supports the legal action by the Commission against US tobacco companies for cigarette smuggling, and deplores the fact that not all Member States have become joined to the Commission's suit, which might result in a major loss of taxpayers' money in those Member States;

15.  Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the Court of Justice and the Court of Auditors.

(1) OJ L 293, 12.11.1994, p. 9. (2) OJ L 253, 7.10.2000, p. 42. (3) OJ L 56, 26.2.2001, p. 1. (4) OJ C 128, 9.5.1994, p. 363. (5) OJ C 324, 24.12.1990, p. 243. (6) OJ C 175, 21.6.1999, p. 238. (7) OJ C 189, 7.7.2000, p. 72. (8) OJ C 274 E, 28.9.1999, p. 39.

European Parliament draft resolution on the 2002 budget in view of the conciliation procedure before the Council's first reading (2001/2063(BUD))

P5_TA(2001)0391 A5-0241/2001

The European Parliament,

-  having regard to Article 272 of the EC Treaty, Article 177 of the Euratom Treaty and Article 78 of the ECSC Treaty,

-  having regard to the Interinstitutional Agreement of 6 May 1999 between the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission on budgetary discipline and improvement of the budgetary procedure(1) , and in particular Annex III thereof,

-  having regard to the preliminary draft budget of the Commission for 2002 (C5-0300/2001 )

-  having regard to its resolution of 3 April 2001 on the guidelines for the 2002 budget procedure - Section III - Commission(2) ,

-  having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgets and the opinions of the Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development, Committee on Fisheries, the Committee on Foreign Affairs, Human Rights, Common Security and Defence Policy and the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs (A5-0241/2001 ),

A.  whereas the Commission has presented a preliminary draft budget for 2002 which foresees an increase of 3.49% in commitment appropriations compared to the 2001 budget,

B.  whereas the increase in total payment appropriations is 4.8% compared to the 2001 budget, representing nonetheless only 1.06% of the combined GNP of the Member States which represents an historical low; whereas the ceiling under the financial perspective for 2002 is 1.14% of EU GNP,

C.  whereas the conciliation before Council's first reading aims, in particular, to evaluate the needs and to secure an agreement on the appropriate level of expenditure for agriculture, international fisheries agreements and the common foreign and security policy, now including defence policy; whereas the first reading conciliation is also an occasion to secure agreement on other expenditure,

D.  whereas Parliament in its guidelines set out the following priorities for the 2002 budget: food safety, consumer confidence and sustainable agriculture; improved performance and priority setting in external policies; improved implementation of the budget, and Commission reform; whereas other initiatives announced in the guidelines include the encouragement of "e-learning” and other measures to improve employment and social inclusion, as well as the development of policy on asylum and migration,

Financial framework

1.  Considers that an appreciable margin exists under the overall ceiling for payment appropriations in 2002; underlines that this margin should be used better to implement Community policies, especially under Heading 3 and 4 and to liquidate the continuing large volume in outstanding commitments in various sectors; considers that the payments to be made available for the reserve for agriculture should not prejudice the assessment of needs for payments in Heading 3 and 4; states that this margin represents a one-off opportunity, given the likely evolution of the ceiling in payment appropriations in future years;

Agriculture

2.  Considers that the proposal by the Commission to create a reserve for agriculture earmarked for measures regarding BSE and FMD partly meets the concerns expressed by Parliament on this subject on successive occasions in the past; wonders at the Commission's reasons for proposing such a large reserve at this stage when it still has the opportunity of adjusting the PDB by means of a Letter of Amendment later in the procedure; warns against the creation of excessive reserves whenever it is extremely uncertain if the appropriations will be needed or what kind of measures will have to be covered; expects the Commission to substantiate the need for this reserve in detail in the Letter of Amendment on the most recent estimates for agriculture expenditure, in time for Parliament's first reading;

3.  Notes the Commission's readiness to present a study analysing the different measures taken as part of the 1999 reforms already underway and of the impact of the current crisis measures on Agenda 2000; expects that on the occasion of the presentation of the Letter of Amendment, this study should give the budget authority a clearer and more detailed view of the future course of reform before it takes its final decisions on the 2002 agricultural budget;

4.  Is disappointed that the Commission failed fully to implement appropriations for food safety, consumer confidence and sustainable agriculture which have been entered in the budget by the budgetary authority in recent years; calls on the Commission to seize the opportunities provided by the budgetary authority in this respect, in view of the future orientation of the CAP;

5.  Once more reaffirms its determination that agricultural expenditure should remain within the ceilings laid down in the financial perspective, in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 2040/2000 on budgetary discipline; notes that, according to the Commission's budget estimates, a margin of EUR 365 million below the ceiling remains within Titles B1-1 to B1-3 ; calls for it to be made possible, in future, to transfer funding not needed from the compulsory expenditure area to non-compulsory CAP expenditure, in order to give appropriate acknowledgement to the growing importance of Title B1-4 (Rural development) in terms of policy formulation and budgeting;

6.  Asks the Commission to submit a report on the implementation and possible violation of rules relating to animal transport in the Community; suggests that this report should be made available by 15 September 2001 so that it can be taken into account before Parliament's first reading;

Fisheries

7.  Recalls the conclusions of the Fisheries Council of 25 April 2001 that it has not been possible to conclude a fisheries agreement with Morocco; asks the Commission therefore to propose a specific action programme for restructuring the Community fleet which fished in the framework of the former fisheries agreement with Morocco, following the conclusions of the Nice European Council;

8.  Notes that the PDB still includes a provision of EUR 125 million in the reserve for line B7-8000 without further specifying the purpose of the appropriations; considers that an agreement should be reached on the amount which is actually needed in the reserve for international fisheries agreements under discussion; expects any amounts made available under Heading 4 to be used to finance Parliament's priority policies;

Common foreign and security policy

9.  Notes that the Commission in the PDB maintains the allocation for CFSP at the same level as in recent years; expresses doubts that this allocation is really justified given the number of activities previously financed under CFSP which now have their own separate legal base and given the actual implementation record of the last three years; considers also that the inclusion of administrative expenditure related to Special Representatives in the Council budget should lead to savings in the Commission budget;

10.  Notes the Commission's proposed changes in the nomenclature; before taking its final decisions on this nomenclature and on the overall financial allocation for 2002, insists that the use to be made of this appropriations is better specified in the budget remarks, notably by reference to the legal base for the actions;

11.  Supports the Commission's efforts to secure a better planning and evaluation of CFSP actions; urges the Council and Commission to move towards a multiannual programme of actions;

12.  Calls for the further development of actions for the reduction and destruction of weapons of mass destruction, as part of the development of the CFSP;

Administrative expenditure

13.  Considers that its position on further resources for the Commission and other Institutions will be conditioned by the overall situation in Heading 5 and by the progress of the reforms; points out that the current estimates submitted by the other institutions taken together with the Commission's proposals for its own administrative budget already exceed the ceiling in Heading 5, with the increase requested by the Council for its budget being among the largest of all, at 9.10% compared to 2001;

14.  Insists that the cost of the new European security and defence policy is presented in a transparent way in a separate title of Section II of the budget, in line with the Council's undertakings on the occasion of SAB No 2/2001; considers it a sine qua non that the Council presents as well the separate establishment plan relating to its ESDP activities; points out that similar questions are raised in connection with Eurojust, the EC data protection officer and the data protection bodies under Schengen and Europol;

15.  Considers that it is now urgent for the Council to engage with Parliament, as the two arms of the budgetary authority, and Commission in a study both for budget 2002 and of the longer-term needs of the ESDP, enlargement, other expanding budget areas and their implications for Heading 5, suggests that the time has come for the Council to name an overall envelope within Heading 5, which it undertakes to respect;

Improved implementation and Commission reform;

16.  Welcomes the Council's budget guidelines of 12 March 2001, which share Parliament's concern for improving implementation and evaluation; looks forward to developing further with the Council the approach taken in their joint declaration of December 2000 on the basis of the progress report presented by the Commission;

17.  Repeats its broad support for the reform process; will examine closely the effectiveness of the reforms, the progress report, the proposed allocation of the requested posts and the impact of the early retirement scheme as a necessary basis for further decision-making;

18.  Intends to continue linking the evaluation of needs for different programmes with their implementation record; intends in particular to elaborate performance targets for budget implementation and criteria for evaluating outstanding commitments in light of expected implementation; looks forward to developing further the other issues in the joint declaration, especially concerning the role of commitology in implementation and the match between the legislative programme and the budgetary procedure;

Implementation of EP initiatives

19.  Considers that the implementation of the budget as decided by the budgetary authority, is not only a matter of loyal cooperation between the institutions and respect of their obligations under the Treaty, but also a matter of Parliament's confidence in the Commission; would regret if any failure to implement budget decisions were to lead to a re-consideration of the relevant provisions of the IIA or to questions being raised in the discharge procedure;

20.  Expresses its willingness to discuss with the Commission and the Council the pilot projects and preparatory actions that it intends to include in the budget;

E-learning, employment and social inclusion

21.  Stresses the importance of this subject for enhancing employment and increasing the competitiveness of the European economy; notes the statements by the European Council on this subject and the two communications from the Commission; expects that this initiative will lead to a specific proposal of the Commission for appropriate actions at EU level; recalls its intention, as announced in the guidelines, to provide appropriate budgetary support for this initiative;

22.  Urges the Commission and Council to strengthen the measures introduced last year on employment, new technologies and SMEs and to improve their implementation;

External actions

23.  Expresses its concern about the Commission's reductions in commitments in Heading 4, as regards Parliament's traditional priorities;

Policy on migration and asylum

24.  Confirms its intention, as stated in the guidelines, to launch appropriate initiatives related to policy on asylum and migration; notes the needs identified by the Commission, including re-admission policy, the fight against trafficking, cooperation on external border controls, joint measures to do with clandestine immigration, and measures for the social inclusion of migrants; takes note of the Commission proposal on family reunification;

o
o   o

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

(1) OJ C172, 18.6.1999, p 1. (2) Texts Adopted, Item 9.

Proposal for a Council regulation laying down the statute for executive agencies to be entrusted with certain tasks in the management of Community programmes (COM(2000) 788 - C5-0036/2001 - 2000/0337(CNS) )

P5_TA(2001)0392 A5-0216/2001

The proposal was amended as follows:

Text proposed by the Commission (1)   Amendments Amendment 2 Recital 2    (2) Implementation of these Community programmes is financed, at least in part, from appropriations entered in the general budget of the European Union. Under Article 274 of the Treaty, the Commission is responsible for executing that budget.    (2) Implementation of these Community programmes is financed, at least in part, from appropriations entered in the general budget of the European Union. (2a) Under Article 274 of the Treaty, the Commission is responsible for implementing that budget. Amendment 3 Recital 3 a (new) (3a) Externalisation of some of the tasks to public implementing bodies must meet a specific objective. With regard to the Commission's public service activities, only tasks which, because of their temporary nature or technical complexity, justify large-scale recourse to persons who are not established Commission officials may be delegated to such agencies. Amendment 4 Recital 5    (5) Externalisation should only be used after assessment of a number of factors (such as a cost-benefit analysis that includes the costs for coordination and controls, efficiency and flexibility in the implementation of externalised tasks, simplification of the procedures used, proximity of externalised activities to final beneficiaries, visibility of the Community as promoter of the programme concerned, the need to maintain an adequate level of know-how inside the Commission).    (5) Externalisation should be used only after assessment of a number of factors (such as identification of the tasks in respect of which externalisation is justified, a cost-benefit analysis that includes the costs for coordination, controls and the impact on human resources, efficiency and flexibility in the implementation of externalised tasks, simplification of the procedures used, proximity of externalised activities to final beneficiaries, visibility of the Community as promoter of the programme concerned, the need to maintain an adequate level of know-how inside the Commission). Amendment 5 Recital 11    (11) The activities performed by an executive agency must also fully comply with the programming that the Commission defines for the Community programmes which the agency is involved in managing. The agency's annual work programme must therefore be subject to the Commission's approval.    (11) The activities performed by an executive agency must also fully comply with the programming that the Commission defines for the Community programmes which the agency is involved in managing. The agency's annual work programme must therefore be subject to the Commission's approval and in accordance with budgetary decisions . Amendment 6 Recital 15    (15) It should also be possible to entrust an executive agency with tasks relating to the management of programmes that are financed from sources other than the general budget of the European Union. In such cases, this Regulation should apply, subject to specific provisions in the legal bases of the programmes concerned.    (15) It might also be possible to entrust an executive agency with tasks relating to the management of programmes that are financed from sources other than the general budget of the European Union, provided that this does not entail, even indirectly, extra administrative costs which would need to be covered by additional appropriations . In such cases, this Regulation should apply, subject to specific provisions in the legal bases of the programmes concerned. Amendment 7 Recital 18    (18) The Treaty provides for no powers for the adoption of this Regulation other than those conferred by Article 308, Deleted Amendment 8 Article 5 An executive agency shall have its headquarters in one of the places where the Commission departments are located. It may decide to set up branch offices, both inside and outside the territory of the Member States, if this will serve to improve the performance of its tasks in implementing the Community programmes it is called on to manage . An executive agency shall have its headquarters in one of the places where the Commission departments are located. It shall organise its departments in accordance with the programme management requirements for which it is responsible . Amendment 9 Article 12, paragraph 1    1. All revenue and expenditure of an executive agency shall be the subject of forecasts for each financial year (identical with the calendar year) and shall be entered in its operating budget, which shall include the establishment plan submitted to the Budgetary Authority. The establishment plan, consisting exclusively of temporary posts, shall specify the number, grade and category of the staff employed by the executive agency during the financial year concerned.    1. All revenue and expenditure of an executive agency shall be the subject of forecasts for each financial year (identical with the calendar year) and shall be entered in its operating budget, the estimates of which shall be forwarded to the budgetary authority with the documents of the preliminary draft budget, which shall include the establishment plan which must be approved by the budgetary authority. The establishment plan, consisting exclusively of temporary posts and specifying the number, grade and category of the staff employed by the executive agency during the financial year concerned, shall be adopted by the budgetary authority and published as an annex to the Commission's budget. Amendment 10 Article 13, paragraph 2    2. No later than 1 March each year, the steering committee shall adopt the draft operating budget for the following year and submit it to the Commission.    2. No later than 1 March each year, the steering committee shall adopt the draft operating budget, including the provisional staffing plan, and submit it to the Commission, which shall forward it to the budgetary authority . Amendment 11 Article 13, paragraph 4 a (new) 4a. The final budget may be adopted only after the final adoption of the general budget of the Union. Amendment 12 Article 13, paragraph 4 b (new) 4b. Any modification of the budget, including the staffing plan, must be the subject of a supplementary and amending budget in accordance with the procedure set out in this article. Amendments 13 and 24 Article 14, paragraph 2    2. No later than 31 March each year, the director shall submit detailed accounts to the European Parliament, the Court of Auditors, the Commission and the steering committee showing all the revenue and expenditure for the previous budget year.    2. The Commission's departments responsible for financial control and internal auditing shall assess the efficiency of the system for managing and monitoring the agency and shall verify the regularity of operations. They shall report their findings in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Financial Regulation. The agency shall submit an annual activity report to the authority responsible for giving discharge. Amendment 26 Article 14, paragraph 3    3. The European Parliament shall grant discharge to an executive agency for the execution of its budget no later than 30 April of year n+2.    3. The budget of the executive agencies shall be discharged according to the normal procedure as part of the European Parliament's decision on discharge to the Commission taken no later than 30 April of year n+2 Amendment 14 Article 15 The financial regulation applicable to the operating budget of the executive agency shall be adopted by the Commission, after receiving the opinion of the Court of Auditors, in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 23(2) and in compliance with Article 142 of the Financial Regulation applicable to the general budget of the European Union . One single financial regulation applicable to the operating budget of all the executive agencies shall be adopted by the Commission, after consultation of the European Parliament and the Council, and after receiving the opinion of the Court of Auditors. That financial regulation may deviate from the Financial Regulation applicable to the general budget of the European Union only in instances where the specific nature of the operation of executive agencies so requires. Amendment 25 Article 18, paragraph 2    2. An executive agency's staff shall consist partly of Community officials seconded by the Institutions to the executive agency as temporary officials, and partly of other servants recruited by the executive agency.    2. An executive agency's staff shall consist partly of Community officials seconded by the Institutions to the executive agency as temporary officials for the purpose of occupying posts of responsibility there. Other servants shall be recruited by the executive agency on renewable contracts. The nature of the contract, governed by either private law or public law, the duration of the obligation binding such servants to the executive agency and the qualification criteria required shall depend on the specific content and duration of the tasks to be performed, in compliance with the applicable national legislation. Amendment 16 Article 19, paragraphs 2 and 3    2. As soon as an executive agency is created it shall subscribe to the interinstitutional agreement on internal investigations conducted by the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF). The steering committee shall formalise this assent and adopt the provisions needed to facilitate OLAF's conduct of its internal inquiries.    2. The European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) shall enjoy the same powers with regard to the executive agency and its entire staff as to the Commission's departments. As soon as an executive agency is created it shall subscribe to the interinstitutional agreement on internal investigations conducted by the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF). The steering committee shall formalise this assent and adopt the provisions set out in the interinstitutional agreement relating to OLAF's conduct of its internal inquiries. It shall adopt and apply measures to combat fraud and irregularities. Agency staff shall cooperate with OLAF in the fight against fraud.    3. The Court of Auditors shall scrutinise an executive agency's accounts in accordance with Article 248 of the Treaty.    3. The Court of Auditors shall scrutinise an executive agency's accounts in accordance with Article 248(1) and (2) of the Treaty. Amendment 17 Article 20, paragraph 2 a (new) 2a. Personal liability of staff towards the agency shall be governed by the provisions of the statute or scheme applicable to them. Amendment 18 Article 21 The Court of Justice shall monitor the legality of acts of an executive agency intended to have binding legal effect on the same terms and conditions as laid down in Article 230 of the Treaty relating to the control of legality of the acts of the Commission. The Commission shall be liable in law for the acts of an executive agency intended to have binding legal effect within the meaning of Article 230 of the Treaty. Amendment 19 Article 22, paragraph 1, subparagraph 2 An agency's steering committee shall adopt any provisions needed to implement such right of access no later than during the first year after the creation of the executive agency. An agency's steering committee shall adopt any provisions needed to implement such right of access no later than during the first year after the creation of the executive agency. The provisions relating to the forwarding of documents and information between the Commission and the European Parliament shall apply to the executive agencies. Amendment 20 Article 23 Article 23 Deleted. Committee procedure    1. The Commission shall be assisted by a Committee for Executive Agencies, composed of representatives of the Member States and chaired by a representative of the Commission.    2. Where reference is made to this paragraph, the regulatory procedure provided for in Article 5 of Decision 1999/468/EC shall apply, subject to Article 7 of that Decision.    3. The period provided for in Article 5(6) of Decision 1999/468/EC shall be three months. Amendment 21 Article 23 a (new) Article 23a Evaluation An external assessment report covering the first three years of operation of each executive agency shall be drawn up and submitted to the agency's steering committee, to the Commission and to the European Parliament. Where appropriate, the report shall include recommendations concerning the changes to be made to the current statute.

European Parliament legislative resolution on the proposal for a Council regulation laying down the statute for executive agencies to be entrusted with certain tasks in the management of Community programmes (COM(2000) 788 - C5-0036/2001 - 2000/0337(CNS) )

P5_TA(2001)0392 A5-0216/2001

(Consultation procedure)

The European Parliament,

-  having regard to the Commission proposal to the Council (COM(2000) 788 )(2) ,

-  having been consulted by the Council pursuant to Article 308 of the EC Treaty (C5-0036/2001 ),

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

-  having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control and the opinion of the Committee on Budgets (A5-0216/2001 ),

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.  Calls for the conciliation procedure to be initiated should the Council intend to depart from the text approved by Parliament;

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

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

(1) OJ C 120 E, 24.4.2001, p. 140. (2) OJ C 120 E, 24.4.2001, p. 140.

Proposal for a European Parliament and Council decision on a regulatory framework for radio spectrum policy in the European Community (COM(2000) 407 - C5-0449/2000 - 2000/0187(COD) )

P5_TA(2001)0393 A5-0232/2001

The proposal was amended as follows:

Text proposed by the Commission (1)   Amendments by Parliament Amendment 1 Recital 1    (1) On 10 November 1999 the Commission presented a communication to the European Parliament, the Council, the Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions proposing the next steps in radio spectrum policy on the basis of the results of the public consultation on the Green Paper on radio spectrum policy in the context of European Community policies such as telecommunications, broadcasting, transport and R&D. This Communication received the support of the European Parliament in a Resolution of 18 May 2000. It underlined the need for action at Community level to achieve a harmonised and balanced approach on the use of radio spectrum in the Community in order to fulfil internal market principles and to protect Community interests at international level.    (1) On 10 November 1999 the Commission presented a communication to the European Parliament, the Council, the Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions proposing the next steps in radio spectrum policy on the basis of the results of the public consultation on the Green Paper on radio spectrum policy in the context of European Community policies such as telecommunications, broadcasting, transport and R&D. This Communication, which was welcomed by the European Parliament in a Resolution of 18 May 20001 , emphasised that a certain degree of further harmonisation of Community policy on the radio spectrum was desirable, in particular for pan-European services and applications, and that it was necessary to ensure that Member States transposed in a binding way the decisions of the European Conference of Postal and Telecommunications Administrations (CEPT). __________________ 1 OJ C 59, 23.2.2001, p. 245. Amendment 2 Recital 2    (2) Where necessary, policy principles on the use of radio spectrum need to be defined at Community level with a view to meeting Community policy objectives, in particular in the areas of communications, broadcasting, transport, research which all require, to various extents, the use of radio spectrum, while maintaining a high standard of citizen's health . On the basis of these principles, the use of radio spectrum should be coordinated and harmonised at Community level, where necessary to fulfill these Community objectives. Community coordination and harmonisation may also help achieving harmonisation and coordination of the use of the spectrum at global level in certain cases. At the same time, appropriate technical support can be provided at national level.    (2) Policy principles on the use of radio spectrum should be defined at Community level with a view to meeting Community policy objectives, in particular in the areas of communications, broadcasting, transport and research which all require, to various extents, the use of radio spectrum. On the basis of these principles, the use of radio spectrum should be coordinated and, where appropriate, harmonised at Community level, in order to fulfill Community policy objectives efficiently . Community coordination and harmonisation may also help in achieving harmonisation and coordination of the use of the spectrum at global level in certain cases. At the same time, appropriate technical support can be provided at national level. Amendment 3 Recital 2 a (new) (2a) Radio spectrum policy in the Community should guarantee freedom of expression, including freedom of opinion and freedom to receive and disseminate information and ideas without interference by public authorities and irrespective of borders, as well as freedom and plurality of the media. Amendment 4 Recital 3 a (new) (3a) Member States should ensure the effective management of radio spectrum for electronic communication services in their territory. They should ensure that the allocation and assignment of radio spectrum by national regulatory authorities is based on objective, transparent, non-discriminatory and proportionate criteria, taking into account the democratic, social and cultural interests linked to the use of their frequencies . Amendment 5 Recital 4    (4) In order to define general policy objectives regarding the use of spectrum, an appropriate consultative body should be created which will gather together, under the chairmanship of the Member State holding the Presidency of the Council, senior Member States representatives responsible for the various sectors using or affected by the use of radio spectrum, such as communications, broadcasting, audio-visual, transport, research and development as well as of security policy, military defence and police sectors, which may be indirectly affected. This group should provide guidance to the Commission, both on its own initiative and at the request of the Commission, on the need for harmonisation of the use of radio spectrum in the general context of Community policy and on regulatory and other issues related to the use of radio spectrum which impact on Community policies, including, for example, methods for granting rights to use spectrum, information availability, availability of spectrum, refarming, relocation, valuation and efficient use of radio spectrum as well as protection of human health. For that purpose, each national delegation should have a coordinated view of all policy aspects affecting spectrum use in its Member State in relation with the issues to be discussed in the group.    (4) In order to define general policy objectives regarding the use of spectrum, an appropriate consultative body should be created which will gather together, under the chairmanship of the Member State holding the Presidency of the Council, senior Member State representatives responsible for all the sectors using or affected by the use of radio spectrum, such as communications, broadcasting, audio-visual, transport, research and development as well as of security policy, military defence and police sectors, which may be indirectly affected. This group should provide guidance to the Commission, both on its own initiative and at the request of the Commission, on the need for harmonisation of the use of radio spectrum in the general context of Community policy and on regulatory and other issues related to the use of radio spectrum which affect Community policies, including, for example, methods for granting rights to use spectrum, information availability, availability of spectrum, refarming, relocation, valuation and efficient use of radio spectrum as well as protection of human health. For that purpose, each national delegation should have a position agreed at national level on all policy aspects affecting spectrum use in its Member State in relation to the issues to be discussed in the group. Amendment 6 Recital 5    (5) The group will take into account the views of the industry and of all users involved, both commercial and non-commercial, as well as of other interested parties, on technological, market and regulatory developments which may affect the use of radio spectrum. Spectrum users" should be free to provide all input they believe is necessary. The group may decide to hear representatives of the spectrum users communities at group meetings where necessary to illustrate the situation in a particular sector.    (5) The group should take into account the views of the industry and of all users involved, both commercial and non-commercial, as well as of other interested parties, on technological, market and regulatory developments which may affect the use of radio spectrum. Spectrum users" should be free to provide all input they believe is necessary. The group may decide to hear representatives of the spectrum users communities at group meetings where necessary to illustrate the situation in a particular sector. The activities of the group should be sufficiently transparent to allow all spectrum users to express their views and participate in due time . Amendment 7 Recital 6    (6) The Commission should report on a regular basis to the European Parliament and the Council on the results achieved under this Decision, on policy objectives for radio spectrum in the Community as well as on planned future actions. This will allow for the provision of the appropriate political support for the policy objectives.    (6) The Commission should report on a regular basis to the European Parliament and the Council on the results achieved under this Decision, on policy objectives for radio spectrum in the Community as well as on planned future actions. Amendment 8 Recital 7    (7) Radio spectrum technical management includes the harmonisation and allocation of radio spectrum. Such harmonisation should reflect the requirements of general policy principles identified at Community level. Coordinated introduction in the Community of systems using radio spectrum is dependent on the various national approaches to assignment and licensing including with regard to spectrum pricing and license fees. These issues should therefore be discussed and, where appropriate, be harmonised at Community level.    (7) Radio spectrum technical management includes the harmonisation and allocation of radio spectrum. Such harmonisation should reflect the requirements of general policy principles identified at Community level. Coordinated introduction in the Community of systems using radio spectrum is dependent on the various national approaches to assignment and licensing including with regard to spectrum pricing and license fees. These issues should therefore be discussed, coordinated and, where appropriate, harmonised at Community level. Amendment 9 Recital 7 a (new) (7a) Proposals should be made to establish clear priorities between, on the one hand, military use of radio spectrum and, on the other hand, civilian use. Member States should observe these priorities in a transparent manner. In order to achieve efficient and effective use of radio spectrum in the Community, Member States, in collaboration with the Commission, the European Parliament and the High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy, should explore ways of initiating a discussion on harmonising the military use of radio spectrum and on how to incorporate such use into general radio spectrum use. Amendment 21 Recital 8    (8) The Community approach should also benefit from cooperation with radio spectrum experts from national authorities responsible for radio spectrum management. The experience of mandating procedures gained in specific sectors, for example as a result of the application of Decision No 710/97/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 March 1997 on a coordinated authorisation approach in the field of satellite personal-communication services in the Community (the S-PCS Decision) as amended by Decision No 1215/2000/EC and Decision No 128/1999/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 December 1998 on the coordinated introduction of a third generation mobile and wireless communications system (UMTS) in the Community (the UMTS Decision), a permanent, stable and uniform framework needs to be created at Community level to ensure harmonised availability of radio spectrum use and to provide adequate legal certainty. Harmonisation measures should be adopted as a result of mandates to national experts acting in appropriate spectrum management bodies including the European Conference of Postal and Telecommunications administration (CEPT). Where necessary, the Commission should be able to make the results of such mandates compulsory for Member States and, where the results of such mandates are not acceptable, to propose appropriate alternative action. This will in particular provide for the harmonisation of frequency spectrum necessary for the implementation of Directive ../../EC of the European Parliament and Council [on the authorisation of electronic communications networks and services[.    (8) The Community approach should also benefit from cooperation with radio spectrum experts from national authorities responsible for radio spectrum management. The experience of mandating procedures gained in specific sectors, for example as a result of the application of Decision No 710/97/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 March 1997 on a coordinated authorisation approach in the field of satellite personal-communication services in the Community (the S-PCS Decision) as amended by Decision No 1215/2000/EC and Decision No 128/1999/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 December 1998 on the coordinated introduction of a third generation mobile and wireless communications system (UMTS) in the Community (the UMTS Decision), has shown that it may be appropriate to create a permanent, stable and uniform framework at Community level to ensure harmonised availability of radio spectrum for Community activities dependent on radio spectrum and to provide adequate legal certainty. Decisions on harmonisation measures should be adopted under the Community legislative procedure. If technical implementing measures are needed to implement harmonisation measures, the Commission should be authorised to grant mandates to spectrum management bodies, in particular the CEPT, in which experts from the Member States are involved. Such mandates should relate to solving technical problems arising from the implementation of radio spectrum policy in the Community. Where necessary, the Commission should be able to make the results of such mandates compulsory for Member States and, where the results of such mandates are not acceptable, to propose appropriate alternative action. This will in particular provide for the harmonisation of frequency spectrum necessary for the implementation of Directive ../../EC of the European Parliament and Council [on the authorisation of electronic communications networks and services[. In order to ensure that political control is maintained in such cases, the Commission should report to, or should submit a regular report to, the European Parliament on specific issues. The European Parliament then should then have three months in which to consider the measures and, if necessary, adopt a resolution stating that the draft measures exceed the implementing powers provided for in this Directive. Where the European Parliament adopts such a resolution, the Commission should re-examine its proposal. Should disagreement on the nature of the proposal persist, the European Parliament should have the right to bring an action before the Court of Justice of the European Communities. Amendment 11 Recital 9    (9) Appropriate information on present and future planning, allocation and assignment of radio spectrum, as well as conditions of access to and use of the whole radio spectrum are essential elements for investments and policy-making. So are technological developments which will give rise to new spectrum allocation and management techniques and frequency assignment methods. Development of long-term strategic aspects require proper understanding of the implications of how technology evolves. Such information should therefore be made accessible in the Community, without prejudice to confidential business and personal information protection under Directive 97/66/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 December 1997 concerning the processing of personal data and the protection of privacy in the telecommunications sector. The implementation of a cross-sectoral spectrum policy makes the availability of information on the whole radio spectrum necessary. In view of the general purpose of harmonising spectrum use in the Community and in Europe, such information needs to be aggregated at a European level in a user-friendly manner.    (9) Appropriate information on present and future planning, allocation and assignment of radio spectrum, as well as conditions of access to and use of the whole radio spectrum are essential elements for investments and policy-making. As are technological developments which will give rise to new spectrum allocation and management techniques and frequency assignment methods. Development of long-term strategic aspects requires proper understanding of the implications of how technology evolves. Such information should therefore be made accessible in the Community, without prejudice to confidential business and personal information protection under Directive 97/66/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 December 1997 concerning the processing of personal data and the protection of privacy in the telecommunications sector. The implementation of a cross-sectoral spectrum policy makes the availability of information on the whole radio spectrum necessary. In view of the general aim of more efficient spectrum use in the Community and in Europe, such information should be aggregated at a European level in a user-friendly manner. Amendment 12 Recital 13    (13) Implementation of Community policies may require coordination of radio spectrum use, in particular the provision of communications services including Community-wide roaming facilities. Moreover, certain types of spectrum use entail a geographical coverage which goes beyond the borders of a Member State and allow for transborder services without requiring the movement of persons, such as satellite communications services. It is therefore necessary that the Community be adequately represented in the activities of all relevant international organisations and conferences related to radio spectrum management matters, such as within the International Telecommunications Union and its World Radiocommunications Conferences. In international negotiations, Member States and the Community should develop a common action and closely cooperate during the whole negotiations process so as to safeguard the unity of the international representation of the Community. As a consequence, Member States should support the request by the Community in view of involvement in such negotiations, based in particular on the procedures which had been agreed in the Council conclusions of 3 February 1992 for the World Administrative Radio Conference and as confirmed by the Council conclusions of 22 September 1997 and 2 May 2000. For such international negotiations, the Commission sets out the objectives to be achieved in the context of Community policies, in view of obtaining endorsement by Council on the positions to be taken by Member States at international level. Member States accompany any act of acceptance of any agreement or regulation within international fora in charge of or concerned with spectrum management by a joint declaration stating that they will apply such agreement or regulation in accordance with their obligations under the Treaty.    (13) Implementation of Community policies may require coordination of radio spectrum use, in particular the provision of communications services including Community-wide roaming facilities. Moreover, certain types of spectrum use entail a geographical coverage which goes beyond the borders of a Member State and allow for transborder services without requiring the movement of persons, such as satellite communications services. The Community should therefore be adequately represented in the activities of all relevant international organisations and conferences related to radio spectrum management matters, such as within the International Telecommunications Union and its World Radiocommunications Conferences. The existing preparation and negotiation mechanisms for ITU World Radiocommunication Conferences have generated excellent results due to willing cooperation within the CEPT, and the Community's interests have been taken into account in the preparations. In international negotiation , Member States and the Community should develop common action and closely cooperate during the whole negotiations process so as to safeguard the unity of the international representation of the Community. As a consequence, Member States should support the request by the Community to be involved in such negotiations, based in particular on the procedures which had been agreed in the Council conclusions of 3 February 1992 for the World Administrative Radio Conference and as confirmed by the Council conclusions of 22 September 1997 and 2 May 2000. For such international negotiations, the Commission proposes to the Council, after consulting the European Parliament, objectives to be achieved in the context of Community policies, in view of obtaining endorsement of the positions which should be taken by Member States at international level. Member States accompany any act of acceptance of any agreement or regulation within international fora in charge of or concerned with spectrum management by a joint declaration stating that they will apply such agreement or regulation in accordance with their obligations under the Treaty. Amendment 13 Article 1 The aim of this Decision is to: The aim of this Decision is to:    (a) create a policy framework to address the strategic planning and harmonisation of the use of radio spectrum in the Community, taking into consideration in particular economic, health, public policy, cultural, scientific, social and technical aspects of Community policies, as well as the various interests of radio spectrum users" communities, with the aim of optimising the use of spectrum and of avoiding harmful interference;    (a) create a policy framework to address the strategic planning, coordination and, where necessary, harmonisation of the use of radio spectrum for Community activities dependent on radio spectrum, taking into consideration in particular safety, economic, health, public policy, cultural, scientific, social and technical aspects of Community policies, as well as the various interests of radio spectrum users" communities, with the aim of optimising the use of spectrum and of avoiding harmful interference;    (b) establish a procedural framework to ensure the effective implementation of radio spectrum policy in the Community, and in particular establish a general methodology for harmonisation of the use of radio spectrum;    (b) establish a procedural framework to ensure the effective implementation of radio spectrum policy in the Community, and in particular establish a general methodology for harmonisation of the use of radio spectrum. All technical implementing measures pursuant to this Decision shall be adopted in accordance with the procedures set out in Articles 5 and 6. All legislative proposals shall be subject to the codecision procedure, thus ensuring proper political accountability ;    (c) ensure the coordinated and timely provision of information on radio spectrum use and availability in the Community;    (c) ensure the coordinated and timely provision of information on radio spectrum use and availability in the Community;    (d) safeguard Community interests in international negotiations where radio spectrum use affects Community policies.    (d) safeguard Community interests in international negotiations where radio spectrum use affects Community policies. This Decision is without prejudice to the specific rules adopted by Member States or the Community governing the content of audio-visual programmes intended for the general public, to the provisions of Directive 1999/5/EC and to the right of Member States to organise their radio spectrum for public order and public security purposes. This Decision is without prejudice to the specific rules adopted by Member States or the Community governing the content of audio-visual programmes intended for the general public, to the provisions of Directive 1999/5/EC and to the right of Member States to determine radio spectrum policy themselves, where Community activities dependent on radio spectrum are not affected, and to organise their radio spectrum for public order and public security purposes. This Decision is without prejudice to freedom of expression, including freedom of opinion and freedom to receive and disseminate information and ideas without interference by public authorities and irrespective of borders, as well as freedom and plurality of the media. Amendment 14 Article 2, point (b)    (b) “Allocation of a radio frequeny band” means the entry of a radio frequency band in a table of radio frequency allocations for the purpose of its use by one or more types of services under specified conditions.    (b) “Allocation of a radio frequeny band” means the entry of a specific radio frequency band in a table of radio frequency allocations for the purpose of its use by one or more types of activities dependent on radio spectrum under specified conditions. Amendment 15 Article 2, point (c)    (c) “Assignment of a radio frequency” means the authorisation given by an authority to use a radio frequency under specified conditions.    (c) “Assignment of a radio frequency” means the authorisation given by an authority or administration to use a radio frequency under specified conditions. Amendment 16 Article 3, paragraph 2 a (new) The Commission shall forward to the European Parliament the agenda of the Group's meetings before the meetings take place, the decisions adopted, results of votes and the minutes, as well as the list of participants. The European Parliament shall have the right to send three observers to the Group's meetings who shall report to the European Parliament on the work in progress. Amendment 17 Article 4, paragraph 2, point (b)    (b) review current needs and anticipate future needs for radio spectrum for commercial as well as non-commercial applications in the Community, based in particular on strategic, economic, technological , political , health, social and cultural aspects of radio spectrum use, in view of the fulfilment of Community policy objectives; advise the Commission on strategic planning of radio spectrum use and, where necessary, balance the various requirements for radio spectrum of different users;    (b) review current needs and anticipate future needs for radio spectrum for commercial as well as non-commercial applications in the Community, based in particular on strategic, economic, technical , safety, public policy , health, social and cultural aspects of radio pectrum use, in view of the fulfilment of Community policy objectives; advise the Commission on strategic planning of radio spectrum use and, where necessary, balance the various requirements for radio spectrum of different users, paying due attention to those activities entirely dependent on radio for communication ; Amendment 24 Article 4, paragraph 2, point (f a) (new)    (fa) consider the regional aspects of the use of radio spectrum to ensure that the different circumstances that prevail in different parts of the Community are taken into account . Amendment 18 Article 5, paragraph 1    1. The Commission shall be assisted by a committee composed of representatives of the Member States and chaired by the representative of the Commission (“the Radio Spectrum Committee”).    1. To implement harmonisation measures, the Commission shall be assisted by a committee composed of representatives of the Member States and chaired by the representative of the Commission (“the Radio Spectrum Committee”). Amendments 19, 23 and 20 Article 6, paragraphs 1 and 2    1. Where appropriate , and taking into account where possible the advice of the Senior Official Radio Spectrum Policy Committee , the Commission shall propose measures to harmonise the use of the radio spectrum, assignment methods, conditions for such use, as well as the availability of information related to the use of radio spectrum.    1. With a view to further harmonisation of radio spectrum policy at Community level for Community activities dependent on radio spectrum , and taking into account the advice of the Radio Spectrum Committee , the Commission shall propose to the European Parliament and the Council, where appropriate, measures to harmonise the use of the radio spectrum, assignment methods, conditions for such use, as well as the availability of information related to the use of radio spectrum. 1a. In order to meet the aim of this Decision defined in Article 1(b), the Commission shall propose appropriate technical implementing measures with a view to ensuring harmonised conditions for the availability and efficient use of radio spectrum, as well as the availability of information related to the use of radio spectrum in accordance with paragraphs 2 to 4.    2. For these purposes , the Commission shall give mandates to the CEPT, setting out the tasks to be performed and the timetable therefor. The Commission shall act in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 5(2) .    2. For the development of the technical implementing measures referred to in paragraph 1a , the Commission shall give mandates to the CEPT, setting out the tasks to be performed as well as the timetable therefor and including the obligation to consult the appropriate spectrum management bodies . The Commission shall act in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 5(3) . Amendment 25 Article 7 Member States shall publish without delay the information as defined in the Annex and shall keep this information up to date. Moreover, Member States shall take measures to develop an appropriate database in order to make such information available to the public in a harmonised way . Member States shall ensure that their national table of frequency allocations and information on rights, conditions, procedures, charges, availability of frequencies, decisions, where relevant, and usage fees, are published, where appropriate to meet the aim of this Decision as defined in Article 1. They shall keep this information up to date and shall take measures to develop appropriate databases in order to make such information available to the public, where applicable in accordance with the relevant harmonisation measures laid down in Article 6.

European Parliament legislative resolution on the proposal for a European Parliament and Council decision on a regulatory framework for radio spectrum policy in the European Community (COM(2000) 407 - C5-0449/2000 - 2000/0187(COD) )

P5_TA(2001)0393 A5-0232/2001

(Codecision procedure: first reading)

The European Parliament,

-  having regard to the Commission proposal to the European Parliament and the Council (COM(2000) 407 (2) ),

-  having regard to Article 251(2) and Article 95 of the EC Treaty, pursuant to which the Commission submitted the proposal to Parliament (C5-0449/2000 ),

-  having regard to Rule 67 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 Regional Policy, Transport and Tourism and the Committee on Culture, Youth, Education, the Media and Sport (A5-0232/2001 ),

1.  Approves the Commission proposal as amended;

2.  Asks to be consulted again should the Commission intend to amend the proposal substantially or replace it with another text;

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

(1) OJ C 365 E, 19.12.2000, p. 256. (2) OJ C 365 E, 19.12.2000, p. 256.

Proposal for a European Parliament and Council recommendation concerning the implementation of Integrated Coastal Zone Management in Europe (COM(2000) 545 - C5-0474/2000 - 2000/0227(COD) )

P5_TA(2001)0394 A5-0219/2001

The proposal was amended as follows:

Text proposed by the Commission   Amendments by Parliament Amendment 1 Recital 1    (1) The coastal zone is of great economic, environmental, social and cultural importance to Europe.    (1) The coastal zone is of great environmental, economic, social, cultural and recreational importance to Europe. Amendment 2 Recital 1 a (new) (1a) Coastal zones possess a unique biodiversity in terms of flora and fauna, recognised and protected in Directives 92/43/EEC 1 and 79/409/EEC 2 . _____________ 1 Council Directive 92/43/EEC of 21 May 1992 on the conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora; (OJ L 206, 22.7.1992, p. 7) as last amended by Directive 97/62/EC (OJ L 305, 8.11.1997, p. 42). 2 Council Directive 79/409/EEC of 2 April 1979 on the conservation of wild birds (OJ L 103, 25.4.1979, p. 1) as last amended by Directive 97/49/EC (OJ L 223, 13.8.1997, p. 9). Amendment 3 Recital 2    (2) The last report of the European Environment Agency indicates a continuing degradation of conditions in the coastal zones of Europe.    (2) The last report of the European Environment Agency indicates a continuing deterioration of conditions in the coastal zones of Europe as regards both the coasts themselves (e.g. erosion, high population density, waste, deforestation and the retreat of dunes) and the quality of coastal water (oil discharge, rising temperatures and the resulting proliferation of algae). Amendment 4 Recital 2 a (new) (2a) EU coastal zones are further threatened by the effects of global warming, in particular rising sea levels, changes in storm frequency and strength, and increased coastal erosion and flooding. Amendment 5 Recital 2 b (new) (2b) The decline of fishing activity and related employment, which is a fundamental element of the socio-economic fabric of many fisheries-dependent areas, makes these regions particularly vulnerable. Amendment 6 Recital 2 c (new) (2c) Population growth and the development of economic activity, including polluting industries, maritime waste, ship-generated waste and general litter, are increasingly threatening the environmental equilibrium of coastal zones. Amendment 7 Recital 2 d (new) (2d) Coastal zones are increasingly subject to the effects of climate change. Amendment 8 Recital 2 e (new) (2e) The European Union promotes integrated spatial planning on a larger scale by means of horizontal instruments. Integrated spatial planning activities therefore represent an important contribution to integrated coastal zone management. Amendment 10 Recital 3    (3) It is essential to implement an environmentally sustainable, economically equitable, socially responsible, and culturally sensitive management of coastal zone , which maintains the integrity of this important resource.    (3) It is essential to implement an environmentally sustainable, economically equitable, socially responsible, and culturally sensitive management of coastal zones , which respects traditional local activities and customs and maintains the integrity of this important resource. Amendment 11 Recital 4    (4) The Commission communications COM(97) 744 and COM(2000)[…[ note that integrated management of the coastal zone requires action at the local and regional level, guided and supported by an appropriate framework at the national level.    (4) The Commission communications COM(97) 744 and COM(2000) […[ note that integrated management of the coastal zone first requires strategic, coordinated and concerted action at the local and regional level, guided and supported by an appropriate framework at the national level. Amendment 12 Recital 4 a (new) (4a) Further consideration should be given to establishing a Community legal framework for integrated coastal zone management. Member States should see this Recommendation as the first stage in a Community legal development to enable and ensure action on coastal zone management at all levels. Amendment 13 Recital 4 b (new) (4b) Existing regional disparities in the European Union affect the management and conservation of each coastal zone in a different way. Amendment 14 Recital 5    (5) There is a need to ensure coherent action at the European level, including cooperative action, particularly at the scale of the regional seas, to address cross-border coastal zone problems.    (5) There is a need to ensure coherent action at the European level, including cooperative action and consultation with the International Maritime Organisation, particularly at the scale of the regional seas, to address cross-border coastal zone problems. Amendment 15 Recital 6 a (new) (6a) Since the Council resolution of 6 May 1994 the European Union has experienced an increase in pressure on coastal resources, an increase in coastal population and an increase in near-shore and on-shore infrastructure. Amendment 16 Recital 7    (7) In accordance with the subsidiarity and proportionality principles as set out in Article 5 of the Treaty, and with Protocol 7 to the Amsterdam Treaty on the implementation of subsidiarity and proportionality, and given the diversity of conditions in the coastal zones and the legal and institutional frameworks in the Member States, the objectives of this action can best be achieved by guidance at the Community level.    (7) In accordance with the subsidiarity and proportionality principles as set out in Article 5 of the Treaty, and with Protocol 7 to the Amsterdam Treaty on the implementation of subsidiarity and proportionality, and given the diversity of conditions in the coastal zones and the legal and institutional frameworks in the Member States, the objectives of this action can best be achieved by guidance at the Community level as a first step, followed by the establishment of a Community legal framework, including the priorities under the existing financial instruments such as Interreg III. Amendment 17 Chapter I A Common Vision A Common Strategy The Member States should commit to a common vision for the future of their coastal zones, based on: The Member States should commit themselves to a binding common strategy for the future of their coastal zones, based on the following principles:    - the protection of the ecosystem as a first priority, and sustainable management of the living and non-living resources of both the marine and terrestrial components of the coastal zone,    - recognition of the threat to coastal zones posed by continued global warming,    - durable economic opportunities and employment options,    - durable economic opportunities and employment options,    - a functioning social and cultural system in local communities,    - a functioning social and cultural system in local communities,    - adequate open land for future enjoyment and aesthetics,    - adequate open land for future enjoyment and aesthetics,    - the integrity of the ecosystem, and sustainable management of the living and non-living resources of both the marine and terrestrial components of the coastal zone, and    - in the case of remote coastal areas, their full incorporation into the European mainstream.    - in the case of remote coastal areas, their full incorporation into the European mainstream. Amendment 18 Chapter II, introductory part Member States should furthermore adopt the principles of good coastal zone management as identified in the Commission's Demonstration Programme on Integrated Coastal Zone Management, namely that coastal zone management should be based on: Before establishing a Community legal framework, and no later than three years after the adoption of this Recommendation, Member States should adopt binding measures to ensure good coastal zone management as identified in the Commission's Demonstration Programme on Integrated Coastal Zone Management, namely that coastal zone management should be based on: Amendment 19 Chapter II, point 1    1. A Broad 'Holistic' Perspective (Thematic and Geographic)    1. A broad 'holistic' perspective (thematic and geographic) taking into account the interdependence and disparity of the systems with an impact on coastal zones. Amendment 20 Chapter II, point 1 a (new) 1a. A binding commitment to apply the precautionary principle Amendment 21 Chapter II, point 2    2. A Long Term Perspective    2. A long-term perspective which will guarantee the precautionary principle and take into account the needs of present and future generations. Amendment 22 Chapter II, point 3    3. Adaptive Management (responding to new information and conditions) During a Gradual Process    3. Adaptive management (responding to new information and conditions) during a gradual process which will facilitate adjustment as problems and knowledge develop. Amendment 23 Chapter II, point 4    4. Local Specificity    4. Local specificity and the great diversity of European coastal zones, which will make it possible to respond to their practical needs with specific solutions and flexible measures. Amendment 24 Chapter II, point 5 a (new) 5a. Protecting coastal settlements and their cultural heritage from the dangers of rising sea levels, the increasing frequency and violence of coastal storms, and changes in wind direction. Amendment 25 Chapter II, point 6    6. Participatory Planning    6. Participatory planning which will involve all the parties concerned (maritime interests, local residents and businesses, users of recreational facilities, holidaymakers, fishing communities and environmental NGOs) in the spatial planning process, by means of agreement and shared responsibility. Amendment 26 Chapter II, point 7    7. Support and involvement of all Relevant Administrative Bodies    7. Support and involvement of all relevant administrative bodies, establishing links between the various levels and sectors of government and the necessary coordination of existing policies. Amendment 27 Chapter II, point 8    8. Use of a Combination of Instruments    8. Use of a combination of instruments to ensure coherence between legal instruments and administrative objectives and between planning and management. Amendment 28 Chapter II, point 8 a (new) 8a. Coherence between all sectoral plans already in preparation. Amendment 29 Chapter III, paragraph 1    1. Member States should conduct a national stocktaking to analyse which actors, laws and institutions influence the planning and management of their coastal zone.    1. Before a Community legal framework on integrated coastal zone management is established, and before 31 December 2002, Member States, in partnership with the regional authorities, shall conduct a national stocktaking to analyse which actors, laws and institutions influence the planning and management of their coastal zone, and to ensure the convergence of public policies and local initiatives . Amendment 46 Chapter III, paragraph 2    2. This stocktaking should cover all administrative levels, as well as describe the role of citizens, NGOs, and the private sector.    2. This stocktaking should cover all administrative levels, as well as describe the role of citizens, elected members of local authorities, interregional organisations, NGOs, and the private sector. Amendment 31 Chapter III, paragraph 3    3. Sectors to be considered in this stockholding include (but are not limited to) fisheries, transport, energy, resource management, species and habitat protection, employment, regional development, tourism and recreation, industry and mining, waste management, agriculture and education.    3. Sectors to be considered in this stocktaking include (but are not limited to) fisheries, aquaculture , transport, including ports and sea transport , energy, resource management, species and habitat protection, maritime safety , employment, regional development and town planning , tourism and recreation, industry and mining, waste management, agriculture, and education. Amendment 32 Chapter IV, paragraphs 1 and 2    1. Based on the results of the stocktaking, Member States should develop a National Strategy to implement the principles for integrated management of the coastal zone.    2. This strategy might be specific to the coastal zone, or might be in the context of a broader national strategy for promoting integrated planning and management. Based on the results of the stocktaking, Member States, in partnership with the regional authorities and interregional organisations, shall develop, before 31 December 2004, a National Strategy to implement the principles for integrated management of the coastal zone. This strategy might be specific to the coastal zone, or might be in the context of a broader national strategy for promoting integrated planning and management. The results are to be incorporated in the Community legal framework. Amendment 33 Chapter IV, paragraph 3, point (a)    3. This national strategy should: This national strategy should lead to binding legal instruments to:    (a) define the relative roles of the different administrative actors within the country whose competence includes activities or resources of the coastal zone, and identify mechanisms for their coordination. This definition of roles should ensure both adequate local control, and also sufficient regional vision and consistency (especially in ensuring that local administrations are not overly influenced by the short-term economic concerns of their constituents and neighbours).    (a) define the roles of the different administrative actors within the country whose competence includes activities or resources of the coastal zone,    (aa) identify and, if necessary, set up mechanisms for their coordination. This definition of roles should ensure both adequate local control, and also sufficient regional vision and consistency (especially in ensuring that local administrations are not overly influenced by the short-term economic concerns of their constituents and neighbours). Amendment 34 Chapter IV, paragraph 3, point (b)    (b) define the appropriate mix of instruments for implementation of the principles, within the national legal and administrative context. In developing this strategy, the Member States might consider the appropriateness of: developing a national strategic plan for the coast, using spatial or land use planning instruments to promote integrated planning and management (including instruments that give priority to coastal dependent uses in the foreshore area), land purchase mechanisms and declarations of public domain, developing contractual or voluntary agreements with coastal zone users, harnessing economic and fiscal incentives (compatible with Community legislation), and working through regional development planning mechanisms.    (b) define the appropriate mix of instruments for implementation of the principles, within the national legal and administrative context. In developing this strategy, the Member States shall consider the appropriateness of: developing one or more national strategic plans for the coast, using spatial or land use planning instruments to promote integrated planning and management (including instruments that give priority to coastal dependent uses in the foreshore area), land purchase mechanisms and declarations of public domain, developing contractual or voluntary agreements with coastal zone users, harnessing economic and fiscal incentives (compatible with Community legislation), and working through regional development planning mechanisms. Amendment 35 Chapter IV, paragraph 3, point (f)    (f) define mechanisms to ensure full and coordinated implementation and application of existing EU legislation related to coastal zone.    (f) define mechanisms to ensure full and coordinated implementation and application of existing and future EU legislation related to coastal zones, in particular the reformed Common Fisheries Policy from 2002 which includes the 12-mile fishing limit . Amendment 36 Chapter IV, paragraph 3, point (g)    (g) establish adequate, continuous systems for monitoring and diffusing information about their coastal zone. These systems should collect and provide information in appropriate and compatible formats to decision makers at national, regional and local levels to facilitate integrated management. This data should be publicly available at reasonable cost .    (g) establish adequate, continuous systems for monitoring and diffusing information about their coastal zone, in partnership with the European Environment Agency and regional authorities . These systems should collect and provide information in appropriate and compatible formats to decision makers at national, regional and local levels to facilitate integrated management. This data should be publicly available without charge . Amendment 37 Chapter IV, paragraph 3, point (h a) (new)    (ha) establish appropriate procedures to enable ample public participation in the development of coastal zone strategies. Amendment 38 Chapter IV, paragraph 3 a (new) Member States shall ensure closely concerted action between the national, regional and local authorities, the different levels of government, the economic and social partners, organisations representing citizens/inhabitants, NGOs and the private sector. Amendment 39 Chapter V, paragraph 1    1. Member States should enter into dialogue with neighbouring countries, including non-Member States in the same regional sea, to establish mechanisms for better coordination of responses to cross-border issues.    1. Member States should enter into dialogue and enforce existing conventions with neighbouring countries, including non-member countries in the same regional sea, to establish mechanisms for better coordination of responses to cross-border issues. Amendment 40 Chapter VI, title Reporting Reporting and Review Amendment 42 Chapter VI, paragraph 2, point (d a) (new)    (da) an evaluation of compliance with Community law in coastal zones, particularly with regard to protected zones and species. Amendment 43 Chapter VI, paragraph 2 a (new) 2a. The European Commission should review this Recommendation within three years following the date of its adoption and submit to the European Parliament and Council an evaluation report accompanied by a proposal for a Community legal framework on integrated coastal zone management.

European Parliament legislative resolution on the proposal for a European Parliament and Council recommendation concerning the implementation of Integrated Coastal Zone Management in Europe (COM(2000) 545 - C5-0474/2000 - 2000/0227(COD) )

P5_TA(2001)0394 A5-0219/2001

(Codecision procedure: first reading)

The European Parliament,

-  having regard to the Commission proposal to the European Parliament and the Council (COM(2000) 545 ),

-  having regard to Articles 251(2) and 175(1) of the EC Treaty, pursuant to which the Commission submitted the proposal to Parliament (C5-0474/2000 ),

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

-  having regard to the report of the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Consumer Policy and the opinions of the Committee on Fisheries and the Committee on Regional Policy, Transport and Tourism (A5-0219/2001 ),

1.  Approves the Commission proposal as amended;

2.  Asks to be consulted again should the Commission intend to amend the proposal substantially or replace it with another text;

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

Proposal for a European Parliament and Council directive modifying Directive 94/25/EC on the approximation of the laws, regulations and administrative provisions of the Member States relating to recreational craft (COM(2000) 639 - C5-0529/2000 - 2000/0262(COD) )

P5_TA(2001)0395 A5-0218/2001

The proposal was amended as follows:

Text proposed by the Commission (1)   Amendments by Parliament Amendment 43 RECITAL 8    (8) The harmonisation of national laws is the only way to abolish such barriers to trade and unfair competition found in the internal market. The objective of limiting noise and exhaust emissions cannot be satisfactorily met by the Member States individually. The measures provided for in this Directive lay down only the essential requirements for the free movement of all the types of engines to which it applies.    (8) The harmonisation of national laws may help to abolish such barriers to trade and unfair competition found in the internal market. The objective of limiting noise and exhaust emissions cannot be satisfactorily met by the Member States individually. The measures provided for in this Directive lay down only minimum requirements for facilitating the free movement of all the types of engines to which it applies. Member States may, subject to compliance with Treaty provisions applicable to certain waters, in particular inland waters that are used, or are to be used, for the abstraction of drinking water, impose more stringent requirements for limiting emissions and protecting the environment. Amendment 1 RECITAL 10    (10) The provisions on emissions laid down in this Directive should apply to all engines, whether inboard, outboard or stern drive, and to personal watercraft in order to ensure optimum effectiveness in the protection of human health and the environment. Engines undergoing major alterations should also be included as regards gaseous emissions. Craft or partly completed craft with an inboard or stern drive engine, or one of such types of craft whose engine is undergoing major alterations should also comply with the provisions regarding noise emissions.    (10) The provisions on emissions laid down in this Directive should apply to all engines, whether inboard, outboard or stern drive, and to personal watercraft in order to ensure optimum effectiveness in the protection of human health and the environment. Engines undergoing major alterations should also be included as regards gaseous emissions. Craft with an inboard or stern drive engine, or one of such types of craft whose engine is undergoing major alterations should also comply with the provisions regarding noise emissions. Amendment 2 RECITAL 11    (11) Conformity with the essential requirements for emissions from the engines concerned is essential to protect human health and the environment. Maximum authorised levels should be laid down for exhaust emissions of carbon monoxide (CO), hydrocarbons (HC), nitrogen oxide (NOx) and particulate pollutants. As far as noise emissions are concerned, the maximum levels should be broken down as a function of the power of such engines and the number of engines on board. These measures are consistent with all other measures to reduce engine emissions in order to protect human beings and the environment.    (11) Conformity with the essential requirements for emissions from the engines concerned is essential to protect human health and the environment. Maximum authorised levels should be laid down for exhaust emissions of carbon monoxide (CO), hydrocarbons (HC), nitrogen oxide (NOx) and particulate pollutants. As far as noise emissions are concerned, the maximum levels should be broken down as a function of the power of such engines and the number of engines on board. These measures must be consistent with all other measures to reduce engine emissions in order to protect human beings and the environment. Amendment 3 RECITAL 11 a (new) (11a) Member States should consider introducing national support policies to encourage the use of synthetic biodegradable lubrication oils to reduce water pollution by the recreational sector. The introduction of EU-wide measures must be considered during the review of this Directive. Amendment 4 RECITAL 19    (19) The efficient functioning of legislation requires a mechanism for amending the technical provisions concerning the evolution of exhaust and noise emission limits and of exhaust duty cycles and test fuels in the light of advances in technology; a Regulatory Committee established following the Council Decision 1999/468/EC of 28 June 1999 laying down the procedures for the exercise of implementing powers conferred on the Commission(1 ) would be required to advise the Commission on the measures to be taken. _____________ ( 1 ) OJ L 184, 17.7.1999, p. 23. Deleted Amendment 5 ARTICLE 1, POINT 1 Article 1, paragraph 1, point (b), point (ii) (Directive 94/25/EC)    (ii) propulsion engines installed on or in these craft that are subject to a "major engine modification”;    (ii) propulsion engines installed on or in these craft first put into service after the entry into force of this Directive that are subject to a "major engine modification”; Amendment 6 ARTICLE 1, POINT 1 Article 1, paragraph 1, point (c), point (i) (Directive 94/25/EC)    (i) recreational craft and partly completed boats, with stern drive or inboard propulsion engine installations,    (i) recreational craft with stern drive or inboard propulsion engine installations, Amendment 7 ARTICLE 1, POINT 1 Article 1, paragraph 1, point (c), point (ii) (Directive 94/25/EC)    (ii) recreational craft, with stern drive or inboard propulsion engines that are subject to a “major craft conversion”,    (ii) recreational craft first put into service after the entry into force of this Directive with stern drive or inboard propulsion engines that are subject to a “major craft conversion”, Amendment 8 ARTICLE 1, POINT 1 Article 1, paragraph 1, point (c), point (iv) (Directive 94/25/EC)    (iv) outboard engines intended for installation on recreational craft.    (iv) outboard engines and stern drive engines with integral exhausts intended for installation on recreational craft. Amendment 9 ARTICLE 1, POINT 1 Article 1, paragraph 2, point (a), point (xi a) (new) (Directive 94/25/EC)    (xia) steam-powered craft . Amendment 10 ARTICLE 1, POINT 1 Article 1, paragraph 2, point (b), point (i), indent 3 a (new) (Directive 94/25/EC)    - craft built for own use, provided that they are not subsequently placed on the Community market during a period of five years; Amendment 11 ARTICLE 1, POINT 1 Article 1, paragraph 2, point (b), point (ii) (Directive 94/25/EC)    (ii) Original and individual replicas of historical propulsion engines, which are based on a pre 1960 design, not produced in series and fitted on craft referred to in paragraph 2(a)(v) .    (ii) Original and individual replicas of historical propulsion engines, which are based on a pre 1960 design. Amendment 12 ARTICLE 1, POINT 1 Article 1, paragraph 2, point (c) (Directive 94/25/EC)    (c) With regard to paragraph 1(c):    (c) With regard to paragraph 1(c): all craft referred to in point (b) of this paragraph.    (i) all craft referred to in point (b) of this paragraph,    (ii) recreational craft with stern drive or inboard propulsion engines that have undergone for own use "major craft conversion" no earlier than five years after being placed on the Community market, provided that such craft are not subsequently placed on the Community market during a period of five years following the conversion. Amendment 13 ARTICLE 1, POINT 1 Article 1, paragraph 3, point (e), indent 2 (Directive 94/25/EC)    - involves either a major engine modification or the replacement of the propulsion engine by a different type or size of engine ,    - involves a major engine modification, Amendment 15 ARTICLE 1, POINT 2 a (new) Article 4, paragraph 5 a (new) (Directive 94/25/EC) The following paragraph 5a is added to Article 4: “5a. By way of derogation from paragraphs 1 to 5 above, and in respect of inland waters,    - which are actually used, or to be used, for the abstraction of drinking water and therefore must in particular be protected against pollution, or    - which are in the vicinity of residential areas or protected natural habitats which must be afforded protection in particular from noise, Member States may lay down stricter environmental protection requirements and prohibit the putting into service of the products specified in Article 1(1) wholly, partly or temporarily if they do not comply with such stricter environmental protection requirements. In so far as Member States make use of this possibility, they shall notify the stricter national environmental protection requirements to the Commission at least one year before they enter into force and have them published in the Official Journal of the European Communities.” Amendment 16 ARTICLE 1, POINT 3 Article 6 a (Directive 94/25/EC) The following Article 6a shall be inserted: Deleted “Regulatory Committee Article 6a    1. Amendments which are necessary, in the light of evolution of technical knowledge and new scientific evidence, to the requirements of Annex I.B.2, concerning limit values of exhaust emissions, duty cycles and reference fuels, and Annex I.C.1, concerning limit values of noise emissions, shall be adopted by the Commission assisted by the Standing Committee set up pursuant to Article 6(3), acting as a regulatory committee in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 6a(2).    2. Where reference is made to this provision, the regulatory procedure laid down in Article 5 of Decision 1999/468/EC shall apply, in compliance with Article 7(3) and Article 8 thereof.    3. The period stipulated in Article 5(6) of Decision 1999/468/EC shall be three months.” Amendment 14 ARTICLE 1, POINT 5 Article 8, paragraph 2, point (a), point (i) (Directive 94/25/EC)    (i) for boats of less than 12 m hull length: the internal production control plus tests (module Aa) referred to in Annex VI, or the EC type-examination (module B) as described in Annex VII, supplemented by module C (type conformity) referred to in Annex VIII, or any of the following modules: B+D or G or H.    (i) for boats from 2.5 m to 12 m hull length: the internal production control plus tests (module Aa) referred to in Annex VI, or the EC type-examination (module B) as described in Annex VII, supplemented by module C (type conformity) referred to in Annex VIII, or any of the following modules: B+D or G or H. Amendment 17 ARTICLE 1, POINT 5 Article 8, paragraph 2, point (d) (Directive 94/25/EC)    (d) For personal watercraft:    (d) For personal watercraft: the EC type-examination (module B) as described in Annex VII followed by module C (type conformity) referred to in Annex VIII, or any of the following modules: B+D, B+E, B+F, or G, or H. the internal production control (module A) referred to in Annex V, or the internal production control plus tests (module Aa) referred to in Annex VI, or the EC type-examination (module B) as described in Annex VII followed by module C (type conformity) referred to in Annex VIII, or any of the following modules: B+D, B+E, B+F, or G, or H. Amendment 18 ARTICLE 1, POINT 5 Article 8, paragraph 4, point (a), point (i a) (new) (Directive 94/25/EC)    (ia) where the Froude number and power displacement ratio method is used for assessment: either the internal production control (module A) referred to in Annex V, or the internal production control plus tests (module Aa) referred to in Annex VI, or unit verification (module G) referred to in Annex XI, or full quality assurance (module H) referred to in Annex XII. Amendment 44 ARTICLE 1, POINT 6 Article 10, paragraph 2, subparagraph 1 (Directive 94/25/EC)    2. The CE marking of conformity, as shown in Annex IV, must appear in a visible, legible and indelible form on the craft and the personal watercraft as in point 2.2 of Annex I.A, on components, as referred to in Annex II and/or on their packaging, and on outboard engines and personal watercraft engines as in point 1.1 of Annex I.B.    2. The CE marking of conformity, as shown in Annex IV, must appear in a visible, legible and indelible form on the craft and the personal watercraft as in point 2.2 of Annex I.A, on components, as referred to in Annex II and/or on their packaging, and on outboard engines as in point 1.1 of Annex I.B. Amendment 45 ARTICLE 1, POINT 6 Article 10, paragraph 3 (Directive 94/25/EC)    3. The affixing of markings or inscriptions on the craft, the personal watercraft, and on propulsion engines which are likely to mislead third parties with regard to the meaning or the form of the CE marking shall be prohibited. Any other markings may be affixed to the recreational craft and components as referred to in Annex II and/or on their packaging provided that the visibility and legibility of the CE marking is not thereby reduced.    3. The affixing of markings or inscriptions on the craft, the personal watercraft, the outboard engine or any component referred to in Annex II which are likely to mislead third parties with regard to the meaning or the form of the CE marking shall be prohibited. Any other markings may be affixed to the recreational craft and components as referred to in Annex II and/or on their packaging provided that the visibility and legibility of the CE marking is not thereby reduced. Inboard and stern drive engines must be accompanied by a declaration of incorporation, indicating compliance with the exhaust requirements, by the engine manufacturer or his authorised representative in the Community. This declaration of incorporation must be affixed to the inboard/stern drive engine in a clear and legible form. Amendment 20 ARTICLE 2 Two years after the implementation of this Directive by the Member States, the Commission shall submit a report to the European Parliament and the Council on how to implement a system of in-use compliance testing. Two years after the implementation of this Directive by the Member States, the Commission shall submit a proposal to the European Parliament and the Council on how and when to implement a system of in-use compliance testing. In the context of in-use compliance testing, Member States' competent authorities may, in the case of justified suspicion, inspect a representative proportion of craft placed on the market to verify whether emission limit values are being complied with. Such in-use compliance testing shall be free of charge to operators. The Commission proposal shall take account of further provisions that ensure compliance with emission limit values throughout a craft's entire life cycle. Amendment 21 ARTICLE 2 a (new) Article 2a No later than three years following the entry into force of this Directive, the Commission shall present a proposal for a further stage of requirements and emission limit values from recreational craft engines. Amendment 22 ANNEX A, POINT 1 A (new) Annex I, Section 1 A (Directive 94/25/EC) 1a. Section 1A is replaced by the following text: “A. OCEAN: Designed for extended voyages where conditions may exceed wind force 8 (Beaufort scale) and significant wave heights of 4 m and above, and vessels which are largely self-sufficient under these conditions, but excluding abnormal conditions such as hurricanes.” Amendment 46 ANNEX A, POINT 1 B (new) Annex I, Section 1 D (Directive 94/25/EC) 1b. Section 1D is replaced by the following text: ""D. SHELTERED WATERS: Designed for voyages in close coastal waters, small bays, lakes, rivers and canals where conditions up to, and including, wind force 4 and significant maximum wave heights up to, and including, 0.3 m may be experienced. Crafts in each Category must be designed and constructed to withstand these parameters in respect of stability, buoyancy and other relevant essential requirements listed in Annex I, and to have good handling characteristics. Amendment 23 ANNEX A, POINT 2 a (new) Annex I, Section 2.1 (Directive 94/25/EC) Section 2.1 "Hull identification”, the introduction is replaced by the following text: “Each craft shall be marked with an identification number including the following information:” Amendment 24 ANNEX A, POINT 3 Annex I, section 2.2 (Directive 94/25/EC) “....excluding the weight of the fuel and water tanks when full.” “....excluding the weight of the fuel and water in fixed tanks when full.” Amendment 28 ANNEX A, POINT 5 a (new) Annex I, Section 5.2.2 (Directive 94/25/EC) 5a. Section 5.2.2. "Fuel tanks” is replaced by the following text: “5.2.2 Fuel tanks Fuel tanks, lines and hoses shall be secured and separated or protected from any source of significant heat. The material the tanks are made of and their method of construction shall be according to their capacity and the type of fuel. All tank spaces shall be ventilated. Petrol fuel shall be kept in tanks which do not form part of the hull and are:    (a) insulated from the engine compartment and from all other source of ignition;    (b) separated from living quarters. Diesel fuel may be kept in tanks that are integral with the hull.” Amendments 29, 30 and 31 ANNEX A, POINT 6 Annex I, Part B, point 2 (Directive 94/25/EC) Text proposed by the Commission    2. EXHAUST EMISSION REQUIREMENTS Propulsion engines shall be designed, constructed and assembled so that when correctly installed and in normal use, emissions shall not exceed the limit values obtained from the following table: Table 1 Type Carbon monoxide CO=A + B/PNn g/kWh Hydrocarbons HC=A + B/PNn g/kWh Nitrogen oxides NOx g/kWh Particulates A B n A B n Two-stroke spark ignition 150.0 600.0 1.0 30.0 100.0 0.75 10.0 Not applicable Four-stroke spark ignition 150.0 600.0 1.0 6.0 50.0 0.75 15.0 Not applicable Compression ignition 5.0 0 0 1.5 2.0 0.5 9.8 1.0 Where A, B and n are constants in accordance with the table, PN is the rated engine power in kW and the exhaust emissions are measured in accordance with the harmonised standard. For engines above 130 kW either E3 (IMO) or E5 (recreational marine) duty cycles may be used. Reference fuels specified in Directive 98/69/EC shall be used for the emissions tests (Annex XI, Table 2 and Table 3). Amendment by Parliament    2. EXHAUST EMISSION REQUIREMENTS Propulsion engines for engines of recreational craft using the sea, coastal waters and watercourses shall be designed, constructed and assembled so that when correctly installed and in normal use, emissions shall not exceed the limit values obtained from the following table: Table 1 Type Carbon monoxide CO=A + B/PNn g/kWh Hydrocarbons HC=A + B/PNn g/kWh Nitrogen oxides NOx g/kWh Particulates (PT) g/kWh A B n A B n Two-stroke spark ignition 150.0 600.0 1.0 30.0 100.0 0.75 10.0 Not applicable Four-stroke spark ignition 150.0 600.0 1.0 6.0 50.0 0.75 15.0 Not applicable Compression ignition 5.0 0 0 1.5 2.0 0.5 9.8 1.0 Where A, B and n are constants in accordance with the table, PN is the rated engine power in kW and the exhaust emissions are measured in accordance with the harmonised standard. Propulsion engines for engines of recreational craft using standing inland waters (lakes) shall be designed, constructed and assembled so that, when correctly installed and in normal use, emissions shall not exceed the limit values obtained from the following table: Table 1 a Type Carbon monoxide CO=A + B/P Nn g/kWh Hydrocarbons HC=A + B/P Nn g/kWh Nitrogen oxides NO x g/kWh Particulates (PT) g/kWh A B n A B n A B n Two-stroke spark ignition    150.0    600.0    1.0    0.45    35.0    0.75    4.2    8.0    0.5 Not applicable Four-stroke spark ignition    150.0    600.0    1.0    0.45    35.0    0.75    4.2    8.0    0.5 Not applicable Compression ignition    5.0    600.0    1.0    0.45    35.0    0.75    9.8 0 0    0.14 Where A, B and n are constants in accordance with the table, PN is the rated engine power in kW and the exhaust emissions are measured in accordance with the harmonised standard. For engines above 130 kW either E3 (IMO) or E5 (recreational marine) duty cycles may be used. The reference fuels to be used for the emissions test for petrol engines shall be as specified in Directive 98/69/EC (Annex XI, Table 3), and for diesel engines as specified in Directive 97/68/EC (Annex IV) . Amendment 33 ANNEX A, POINT 6 Annex I, Part C, introductory part (Directive 94/25/EC) Recreational craft with inboard or stern drive engines, personal watercraft and outboard engines shall comply with the following essential requirements for noise emissions. Recreational craft with inboard or stern drive engines, personal watercraft and outboard engines and stern drive engines with integral exhausts shall comply with the following essential requirements for noise emissions. Amendment 34 ANNEX A, POINT 6 Annex I, Part C, point 1.1, introductory part (Directive 94/25/EC)    1.1. Recreational craft with inboard or stern drive engines, personal watercraft and outboard engines shall be designed, constructed and assembled so that noise emissions measured in accordance with tests defined in the harmonised standard shall not exceed the limit values in the following table:    1.1. Recreational craft with inboard or stern drive engines, personal watercraft and outboard engines and stern drive engines with integral exhausts shall be designed, constructed and assembled so that noise emissions measured in accordance with tests defined in the harmonised standard shall not exceed the limit values in the following table: Amendment 48 ANNEX A, POINT 6 Annex I, Part C, point 1.1, Table 2 and last 2 paragraphs (Directive 94/25/EC) Table 2 Table 2 Engine Power in kW Maximum Sound Pressure Level = LpASmax in dB Engine Power in kW Maximum Sound Pressure Level = LpAFmax in dB PN ≤ 10 67 PN ≤ 10 67 10 <PN ≤40 72 10 <PN ≤40 72 PN >40 75 PN >40 75 Where PN= rated engine power in kW at rated speed and LpASmax = the maximum sound pressure level in dB. Where PN= rated engine power in kW at rated speed and LpAFmax = the maximum sound pressure level in dB. For twin-engine and multiple-engine units, an allowance of 3 dB may be applied. Amendment 35 ANNEX A, POINT 6 Annex I, Part C, point 1.1 a (new) (Directive 94/25/EC)    1.1 a. As an alternative to sound measurement tests, recreational craft with inboard or stern drive engine configurations shall be deemed to comply with these noise requirements if they have a Froude number of <=>1.1 and a power displacement ratio of <=>40, and where the engine and exhaust system are installed in accordance with the engine manufacturer's specifications. Amendment 36 ANNEX A, POINT 6 Annex I, Part C, point 1.1 b (new) (Directive 94/25/EC)    1.1 b. “Froude number” shall be calculated by dividing the maximum boat speed (V, m/s.) by the square root of the waterline length (lwl, m.) multiplied by a given gravitational constant, (g = 9,8 m/s2 )Fn == V √(g.lwl) “Power displacement ratio” shall be calculated by dividing the engine power (P) by the boat's displacement    (D) P    D. Amendment 37 ANNEX A, POINT 6 Annex I, Part C, point 2, subparagraph 2 (Directive 94/25/EC) For outboard engines, the Owner's Manual required under Annex I.B.4 shall provide instructions necessary to maintain the outboard engine in a condition, that in so far as is practicable, will ensure compliance with the specified noise limit values when in normal use. For outboard engines and stern drive engines with integral exhausts , the Owner's Manual required under Annex I.B.4 shall provide instructions necessary to maintain the outboard or stern drive engine in a condition, that in so far as is practicable, will ensure compliance with the specified noise limit values when in normal use. Amendment 38 ANNEX A a (new) Annex II, point 1 (Directive 94/25/EC)    Aa. Annex II is amended as follows:    1. Point 1 is replaced by the following text: “1. Ignition-protected equipment for petrol inboard and stern drive engines.” Amendment 39 ANNEX A a (new) Annex II, point 4 (Directive 94/25/EC)    2. Point 4 is replaced by the following text: “4. Permanently installed fuel tanks and fuel hoses.” Amendment 40 ANNEX A a (new) Annex II, point 5, Directive 94/25/EC)    3. The following text is added to point 5: ""Inspection covers and deck plates are not covered by Annex II. They shall comply with Annex IA, point 3.4.” Amendment 41 Annex B Annex VI, point B, subheading 2 (Directive 94/25/EC) For outboard engines: For outboard engines and stern drive engines with integral exhausts: Amendment 42 ANNEX D Annex XV, point 3 (Directive 94/25/EC)    3. With regard to inboard and stern drive propulsion engines the declaration of conformity shall include in addition to the information of point 2 above, a statement of the manufacturer that the engine will meet the exhaust emission requirements of this Directive, when installed in a recreational craft, in accordance with the manufacturer's supplied instructions and that this engine must not be put into service until the recreational craft into which it is to be installed has been declared in conformity with the relevant provision of the Directive.    3. With regard to inboard and stern drive propulsion engines the declaration of conformity shall include in addition to the information of point 2 above, a statement of the manufacturer that the engine will meet the exhaust emission requirements of this Directive, when installed in a recreational craft, in accordance with the manufacturer's supplied instructions and that this engine must not be put into service until the recreational craft into which it is to be installed has been declared in conformity with the relevant provision of the Directive. When using the Standard Boat method, the manufacturer of stern drive engines with integral exhausts must also declare that the engine will meet the sound emissions requirements of the Directive when installed in recreational craft in accordance with the instructions supplied by the engine manufacturers.

European Parliament legislative resolution on the proposal for a European Parliament and Council directive modifying Directive 94/25/EC on the approximation of the laws, regulations and administrative provisions of the Member States relating to recreational craft (COM(2000) 639 - C5-0529/2000 - 2000/0262(COD) )

P5_TA(2001)0395 A5-0218/2001

(Codecision procedure: first reading)

The European Parliament,

-  having regard to the Commission proposal to the European Parliament and the Council and the amended proposal (COM(2000) 639 )(2) ,

-  having regard to Articles 251(2) and 95 of the EC Treaty, pursuant to which the Commission submitted the proposal to Parliament (C5-0529/2000 ),

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

-  having regard to the report of the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Consumer Policy (A5-0218/2001 ),

1.  Approves the Commission proposal as amended;

2.  Asks to be consulted again should the Commission intend to amend the proposal substantially or replace it with another text;

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

(1) OJ C 62 E, 27.2.2001, p. 139. (2) OJ C 62 E, 27.2.2001, p. 139.

Proposal for a European Parliament and Council regulation on operations to aid uprooted people in Asian and Latin American developing countries (COM(2000) 831 - C5-0758/2000 - 2000/0338(COD) )

P5_TA(2001)0396 A5-0228/2001

The proposal was amended as follows:

Text proposed by the Commission (1)   Amendments by Parliament Amendment 1 Recital 1    (1) In the context of refugee policy, the United Nations have adopted the Convention of 28 July 1951 relating to the Status of Refugees, the New York Protocol of 31 January 1967 and many resolutions.    (1) In the context of refugee policy, the United Nations have adopted the Convention concluded in Geneva on 28 July 1951 relating to the Status of Refugees, the New York Protocol of 31 January 1967 and many resolutions in this field and in the fields of human rights and humanitarian law . Amendment 2 Recital 2    (2) The 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the 1966 International Treaty on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the 1979 Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women and the 1989 Convention on Children's Rights also addresses the issue of refugees.    (2) The Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 10 December 1948, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights of 16 December 1966, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights of 16 December 1966, the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women of 18 December 1979 and the Convention on Children's Rights of 20 November 1989 also address the issue of refugees. Amendment 3 Recital 5    (5) Links and synergies between emergency aid, rehabilitation and development aid must be strengthened to improve complementarity and ensure consistency in the Community's operations.    (5) An integrated, consistent and effective strategy must be devised for Community action in respect of humanitarian aid, rehabilitation, aid to uprooted people and development cooperation, with a view to pursuing a sustainable European Community development policy. Amendment 4 Recital 5 a (new) (5a) It is particularly necessary to integrate aid for uprooted peoples with the development strategy of the countries and population groups for whom the aid is destined; Community action should therefore facilitate the move from the emergency stage to that of development, encouraging the socio-economic integration or reintegration of the people affected and, given the need to eliminate the causes of armed conflict, encourage the establishment or strengthening of democratic structures and the role of the population in the development process. Amendment 5 Recital 6    (6) Support programmes for uprooted people and demobilised former soldiers are an integral part of an overall rehabilitation strategy for Latin American and Asian developing countries. For the programmes to be effective, aid must be coordinated at Community level and with other donors, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and United Nations bodies.    (6) Support programmes for uprooted people and demobilised former soldiers are an integral part of an overall rehabilitation strategy for Latin American and Asian developing countries. For the programmes to be effective, aid must be coordinated at Community level and with other donors, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and United Nations bodies, particularly the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) . The Commission should take responsibility both for monitoring and ensuring the visibility of funds channelled through NGOs and the United Nations. The Commission is moreover politically responsible for the ways in which its funds are spent by NGOs and the United Nations. Amendment 6 Recital 7    (7) For the countries in question, this type of aid is a necessary pre-condition for development and therefore contributes significantly to the objectives of the Community's cooperation policy. Deleted Amendment 7 Recital 7 a (new) (7a) The effectiveness and consistency of Community, national and international prevention and intervention mechanisms should be ensured, both in order to prevent conflicts and to encourage all peaceful solutions to political conflicts and wars which result in population displacement. Amendment 8 Recital 9    (9) Ideally, action to help uprooted people should form part of an approach that aims to move on from so-called subsistence to a stage in which they become self-sufficient or less dependent. Aid to help them settle or resettle themselves should take the form of measures to develop self-sufficiency through agricultural production, livestock rearing, fish farming, setting up credit facilities, basic education and vocational training, and at ensuring decent levels of health and hygiene.    (9) Ideally, action to help uprooted people should form part of an approach that aims to move on from so-called subsistence to a stage in which they become self-sufficient or less dependent. Amendment 9 Recital 9 a (new) (9a) Effective, flexible and expeditious procedures need to be guaranteed for aid operations in this sphere; the Community should also ensure maximum transparency in the granting of aid, and strict controls on the use of appropriations. Amendment 10 Recital 10    (10) Until 31 December 2000, the legal basis for Community action in this field is Council Regulation (EC) No 443/97 of 3 March 1997 on operations to aid uprooted people in Asian and Latin American developing countries, as amended by Regulation (EC) No 1880/2000.    (10) Until 31 December 2000, the legal basis for Community action in this field was Council Regulation (EC) No 443/97 of 3 March 1997 on operations to aid uprooted people in Asian and Latin American developing countries, as amended by Regulation (EC) No 1880/2000. The experience acquired during its application should be reflected in this Regulation. Amendment 11 Recital 11    (11) This Regulation should enable the Community to continue its operations in these fields for an indefinite period.    (11) This Regulation lays down, for its entire duration, a financial framework constituting the prime reference, within the meaning of point 33 of the Interinstitutional Agreement between the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission of 6 May 1999 on budgetary discipline and improvement of the budgetary procedure(1 ), for the budget authority during the annual budgetary procedure. _____________ (1 ) OJ C 172, 18.6.1999, p. 1. Amendment 12 Recital 12 a (new) (12a) The protection of the Community's financial interests and the fight against fraud and irregularities form an integral part of this Regulation, Amendment 13 Article 1 The Community shall implement a programme of support and assistance to the persons referred to in Article 4 to contribute to their urgent requirements not covered by humanitarian aid and to carry out longer-term projects and programmes aimed at the self-sufficiency and integration or reintegration of such persons. In particular, this programme must provide for the basic needs of those persons from the time a humanitarian emergency subsides to the adoption of a longer-term solution to resolve their status. The Community shall implement a programme of support and assistance to uprooted people in Asian and Latin-American developing countries. The programme shall apply to the uprooted people and other persons referred to in Article 4 and contribute to their requirements not covered by humanitarian aid and carry out longer-term activities aimed at the self-sufficiency and integration or reintegration of such persons. In particular, this programme must provide for the basic needs of those persons from the time a humanitarian emergency subsides to the adoption of a longer-term solution to resolve their status. The objectives of the assistance programmes shall include the establishment of democratic structures and the promotion of human rights. Amendment 14 Article 2 For the purposes of this Regulation: For the purposes of this Regulation:    (a) ""uprooted people” are:    (a) “ refugees” are those persons defined as such in the Convention on the Status of Refugees adopted on 28 July 1951 by the United Nations Conference on the Status of Refugees and Stateless Persons ;    - refugees, as defined in the Convention on the Status of Refugees concluded in Geneva on 28 July 1951 and the New York Protocol of 31 January 1967 ; or    (b) “ displaced persons” are persons who have been forced to seek refuge outside their region of origin owing to conflict situations but who do not enjoy refugee status as defined by the 1951 Convention ;    - displaced persons , who have been forced to seek refuge outside their region of origin owing to conflict situations but who do not enjoy refugee status; or    (c) “returnees” are former refugees or displaced persons who have returned to their country or region of origin;    - former refugees or displaced persons who have returned to their country or region of origin;    (d) “demobilised former soldiers” are former members of armed forces, be they regular or opposition forces, who have agreed to lay down their arms and reintegrate into civilian life.    (b) “demobilised former soldiers” are former members of armed forces, be they regular or opposition forces, who have agreed to lay down their arms and reintegrate into civilian life. Amendment 15 Article 3, paragraph 1    1. The Community shall give financial support to operations aimed in particular at:    1. The Community shall give financial support to operations aimed in particular at:    (a) the self-sufficiency and reintegration into the socio-economic fabric of uprooted people as such (refugees, displaced persons and returnees) and demobilised former soldiers;    (a) the self-sufficiency and reintegration into the socio-economic fabric of uprooted people and demobilised former soldiers; aid to secure their integration or reintegration must have as its objective the promotion of sustainable production processes, and could include actions such as providing food aid, developing self-sufficiency by means of agricultural production, cattle farming, fish farming, developing infrastructure, setting up credit systems, basic education and vocational training and ensuring satisfactory health and hygiene standards;    (b) aid to local host communities and resettlement areas to foster acceptance and integration of uprooted persons ;    (b) aid to local host communities and resettlement areas to foster acceptance and integration of uprooted people and demobilised former soldiers ;    (c) helping those people return to and settle in their countries of origin or third countries ;    (c) helping those people voluntarily return to and settle in their countries of origin or other countries of their choice, if conditions permit ;    (d) support, where applicable, for any operation to reconcile parties to a conflict;    (d) support, where applicable, for any operation to prevent conflict and/or reconcile parties to a conflict;    (e) operations to help persons recover their belongings or property rights and aid for the legal settlement of human rights violations against the people in question.    (e) operations to help persons recover their belongings or property rights and aid for the settlement of human rights violations against the people in question. 1a. Particular attention should be paid to especially vulnerable groups such as women and children. Amendment 16 Article 4, point (a)    (a) uprooted people as such (refugees, displaced persons and returnees) in Latin American and Asian developing countries and persons from one of these countries provisionally settled in another developing country and, in duly substantiated exceptional cases, in another third country;    (a) uprooted people in Latin American and Asian developing countries and persons from one of these countries provisionally settled in another developing country and, in duly substantiated exceptional cases, in another country; Amendment 17 Article 4, point (b)    (b) demobilised former soldiers of regular armies and armed opposition movements , plus their families and, where appropriate, their local communities;    (b) demobilised former soldiers, in Asian and Latin American developing countries, plus their families and, where appropriate, their local communities; Amendment 18 Article 5 Operations carried out under this Regulation shall complement those provided for by other Community instruments governing development cooperation. Operations carried out under this Regulation shall complement those provided for by other Community instruments governing short-term humanitarian aid and long-term development cooperation. Amendment 19 Article 6, paragraph 1    1. In the context of the operations referred to in Article 3, Community support may include the financing of studies (which shall, as far as possible, be carried out by consultants of the host country), technical assistance, training and other services, supplies, works, audits and evaluation and monitoring missions.    1. In the context of the operations referred to in Article 3, Community support may include the financing of action to provide technical assistance, training and other services, supplies, works, studies (which should, as far as possible, be entrusted to or involve collaboration with consultants either of the host country or stationed there, and involve universities and research institutes), audits and evaluation and monitoring missions. Amendment 20 Article 6, paragraph 2    2. Community financing may cover both investment expenditure, excluding the purchase of real estate, and , in duly substantiated cases and taking into account the fact that the project must, as far as possible, aim at medium-term viability, recurring expenditure (including administrative expenditure, maintenance and running costs), so that maximum use is made of the investments referred to in paragraph 1, the operation of which temporarily represents a burden for the partner.    2. Community financing may cover investment expenditure, including the purchase of real estate, when the latter is necessary for the direct implementation of the operation and provided that ownership is transferred to the beneficiary's local partners or the final beneficiaries of the operation once the latter has come to an end. It may also cover, in duly substantiated cases and taking into account the fact that the project must, as far as possible, aim at medium-term viability, recurring expenditure (including administrative expenditure, maintenance and running costs), so that maximum use is made of the investments referred to in paragraph 1, the operation of which temporarily represents a burden for the partner. Amendment 21 Article 8, paragraph 1    1. The Commission shall be responsible for appraising, deciding or administering the operations covered by this Regulation in accordance with the budgetary and other procedures in force, in particular those laid down by the Financial Regulation applicable to the general budget of the European Communities.    1. The Commission shall be responsible for appraising, deciding or administering the operations covered by this Regulation in accordance with the budgetary and other procedures in force, in particular those laid down in Articles 2, 116 and 118 of the Financial Regulation applicable to the general budget of the European Communities. Amendment 22 Article 11, point (f)    (f) its commitment to defending, respecting and promoting human rights and democratic principles.    (f) its commitment to defending, respecting and promoting human rights, democratic principles and humanitarian law . Amendment 23 Article 12, paragraph 3    3. Any financing agreement or contract concluded under this Regulation shall stipulate that the Commission and the Court of Auditors may carry out on-the-spot checks according to the usual arrangements laid down by the Commission under the provisions in force, particularly those in the Financial Regulation applicable to the general budget of the European Communities.    3. Any financing agreement or contract concluded under this Regulation shall stipulate that the Commission, the Court of Auditors and the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) may carry out, if necessary, on-the-spot checks according to the usual arrangements laid down by the Commission under the provisions in force, particularly those in the Financial Regulation applicable to the general budget of the European Communities. Amendment 24 Article 13, paragraph 1    1. Participation in invitations to tender and the award of contracts shall be open on equal terms to all natural and legal persons of the Member States and of the host country. It may be extended to other developing countries and, in duly substantiated exceptional cases, to other third countries.    1. Participation in invitations to tender and the award of contracts shall be open on equal terms to all natural and legal persons of the Member States and of the host country. It may be extended to operators in other developing countries and, in exceptional cases, to other third countries. Amendment 25 Article 13, paragraph 2    2. Supplies shall originate in the Member States, the host country, or other developing countries . In duly substantiated exceptional cases supplies may originate elsewhere.    2. Supplies shall originate in the host country, other developing countries or the Member States . In exceptional cases supplies may originate elsewhere. Amendment 26 Article 14, paragraph 1    1. In order to secure the objectives of consistency and complementarity referred to in the Treaty and to ensure maximum effectiveness of these operations as a whole, the Commission may take all necessary coordination measures, including:    1. In order to secure the objectives of consistency and complementarity referred to in the Treaty and to ensure maximum effectiveness of the operations provided for in this Regulation, these shall be subject to on-the-spot operational coordination and shall form an integral part of the country strategy process.    (a) establishing a system for the systematic exchange and analysis of information on the operations financed and those which the Community and the Member States propose to finance;    (b) on-the-spot coordination of the implementation of operations through regular meetings and exchanges of information between the representatives of the Commission and the Member States in the recipient country. Amendment 27 Article 15 The budgetary authority shall determine the appropriations available for each financial year taking account of the principles of sound financial management referred to in Article 2 of the Financial Regulation applicable to the general budget of the European Communities.    1. The financial framework for the implementing this Regulation for the period from 2001 to 2004 shall be EUR 200 million.    2. The annual appropriations shall be authorised by the budgetary authority within the limits of the financial perspective. Separate vote Article 17, paragraph 2    2. Where the supplementary commitment referred to in paragraph 1 is less than 8 million euro, the committee referred to in Article 18(1) shall be informed of the Commission's decision. Where the supplementary commitment is greater than 8 million euro but less than 20%, the committee will be asked to give its opinion. Deleted Amendment 28 Article 19, paragraph 1    1. An exchange of views shall take place once a year on the basis of a presentation by the representative of the Commission of the general guidelines for the operations to be carried out in the year ahead, within the Committee referred to in Article 18(1).    1. An exchange of views shall take place once a year on the basis of a presentation by the representative of the Commission of the strategic guidelines for the operations to be carried out in the years ahead, within the Committee referred to in Article 18(1). The guidelines shall include, as far as possible, measurable objectives and deadlines for specific actions. These guidelines shall be drawn up following consultation with departments responsible, in the field or at headquarters, for programming, implementation and evaluation. Amendment 29 Article 19, paragraph 2    2. After each budget year, the Commission shall submit an annual report to the European Parliament and to the Council, summarising the operations financed in the course of that year and the Commission's conclusions on the implementation of this Regulation over the previous budget year. The summary shall in particular provide information about those with whom contracts have been concluded. The annual report shall also summarise any independent evaluations of specific operations.    2. After each budget year, the Commission shall submit, in its annual report on Community development policy to the European Parliament and to the Council, information on the operations financed in the course of that year and the Commission's conclusions on the implementation of this Regulation over the previous budget year. The summary shall in particular provide information about the strengths and weaknesses of operations, those with whom contracts have been concluded as well as the results of any independent evaluations of specific operations. Amendment 30 Article 19, paragraph 3    3. Every three years, the Commission shall submit an evaluation report on the implementation of this Regulation to the European Parliament and the Council with a view to establishing whether its objectives have been achieved and providing guidelines for improving the effectiveness of future operations.    3. After three years, the Commission shall submit an independent overall assessment report on the implementation of this Regulation to the European Parliament and the Council with a view to establishing whether its objectives have been achieved and providing guidelines for improving the effectiveness of future operations. The report will assess the effectiveness of action taken following performance audits and independent evaluations. Amendment 31 Article 20, paragraphs 1 a and 1 b (new) It shall apply until 31 December 2004. The renewal of this Regulation will be dependent on the results of the independent overall assessment report referred to in Article 19(3), which shall be available at least one year before the expiry of this Regulation, and the possibilities for integrating this Regulation into a single framework Regulation for Asia and Latin America.