European Parliament legislative resolution on the proposal for a Council decision on providing further macro-financial assistance to the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (COM(2002) 436 – C5-0401/2002 – 2002/0192(CNS))

P5_TA(2002)0455 A5-0317/2002

(Consultation procedure)

The European Parliament,

–   having regard to the Commission proposal to the Council (COM(2002) 436),

–   having been consulted by the Council pursuant to Article 308 of the EC Treaty (C5-0401/2002),

–   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 (A5-0317/2002),

1.  Approves the Commission proposal as amended;

2.  Calls on the Commission to alter its proposal accordingly, pursuant to Article 250(2) of the EC Treaty;

3.  Calls on the Council to notify Parliament should it intend to depart from the text approved by Parliament;

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

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

Text proposed by the Commission   Amendments by Parliament Amendment 1 Citation 1 a (new) Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 2666/2000(1), and, in particular Article 6(4) thereof, _______________ (1) OJ L 306, 7.12.2000, p. 1. Amendment 2 Recital 5 a (new) (5a) financial assistance from the Community is supplementary to funds provided for by the CARDS programme under the conditions and terms laid down in Regulation (EC) No 2666/2000; Amendment 3 Recital 12 a (new) (12a) financial assistance from the Community should be effective and properly implemented and also conform to the objectives of reform of external aid; Amendment 4 Article 2, paragraph 1 a (new) 1a. The economic policy conditions attached to this assistance and referred to in paragraph 1 shall also conform to the monitoring mechanism and to economic requirements as laid down in Regulation (EC) No 2666/2000.

European Parliament legislative resolution on the proposal for a Council decision on providing further macro-financial assistance to Bosnia and Herzegovina (COM(2002) 437 – C5-0402/2002 – 2002/0193(CNS))

P5_TA(2002)0456 A5-0318/2002

(Consultation procedure)

The European Parliament,

–   having regard to the Commission proposal to the Council (COM(2002) 437),

–   having been consulted by the Council pursuant to Article 308 of the EC Treaty (C5&nbhy;0402/2002),

–   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 s (A5-0318/2002),

1.  Approves the Commission proposal as amended;

2.  Calls on the Commission to alter its proposal accordingly, pursuant to Article 250(2) of the EC Treaty;

3.  Calls on the Council to notify Parliament should it intend to depart from the text approved by Parliament;

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

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

Text proposed by the Commission   Amendments by Parliament Amendment 1 Citation 1 a (new) Having regard to the Council Regulation (EC) No 2666/2000(1),and in particular Article 6(4) thereof ____________ (1) OJ L 306, 7.12.2000, p. 1. Amendment 2 Recital 5 (5) financial assistance from the Community shall be instrumental in bringing Bosnia and Herzegovina closer to the Community; the Community already provided macro-financial assistance to Bosnia and Herzegovina; (5) financial assistance from the Community shall be instrumental in bringing Bosnia and Herzegovina closer to the Community; the Community already provided in 1999 macro-financial assistance of EUR 60 million to Bosnia and Herzegovina. Amendment 3 Recital 5 a (new) (5a) financial assistance from the Community is supplementary to funds provided for by the CARDS programme under the conditions and terms laid down in Regulation (EC) No 2666/2000; Amendment 4 Recital 12 a (new) (12a) financial assistance from the Community should be effective and properly implemented and also conform to the objectives of reform of external aid; Amendment 5 Article 2, paragraph 1 a (new) 1a. The economic policy conditions attached to this assistance and referred to in paragraph 1 shall also conform to the monitoring mechanism and to economic requirements as laid down in Regulation (EC) No 2666/2000.

European Parliament resolution on the Commission's evaluation activities (2002/2131(INI))

P5_TA(2002)0457 A5-0284/2002

The European Parliament,

–   having regard to Article 274 of the EC Treaty,

–   having regard to Article 2 of the Financial Regulation applicable to the general budget of the European Communities as amended by Council Regulation (EC, Euratom, ECSC) No 2333/95(1),

–   having regard to Annual Evaluation Review 2001 (SEC(2002) 337)(2), 2000 (SEC(2001) 152)(3), 1999(4) and 1998(5),

–   having regard to the Commission's communication "Concrete steps towards best practice across the Commission" of 8 May 1996 (SEC(1996) 659)(6),

–   having regard to the Commission's communication "Spending more wisely: Implementation of the Commission's evaluation policy" (SEC(1999) 69/4)(7),

–   having regard to the memorandum to the Commission from Mrs Schreyer on the Commission's evaluation policy and activities in 1999 and 2000(8),

–   having regard to the communication to the Commission from Mrs Schreyer in agreement with Mr Kinnock and the President "Focus on Results: Strengthening evaluation of Commission activities" (SEC(2000) 1051)(9),

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

–   having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control (A5&nbhy;0284/2002),

A.   whereas the Treaty and the Financial Regulation require the Commission to observe the principles of sound financial management when preparing and executing European Union expenditure programmes,

B.   whereas result-oriented public sector management makes an efficient and independent evaluation function indispensable,

C.   whereas the Commission in the context of the SEM 2000 initiative in May 1996 adopted a policy of systematic evaluation of EU expenditure programmes and actions,

D.   whereas this policy is built on - among others - the following general principles:

1.  Is convinced that one of the most important tasks for the institutions of the European Union is to respond efficiently to European taxpayers' request for clarity, openness and transparency as regards the use of their contribution to the EU budget;

2.  Fully shares the view that systematic evaluation is a prime instrument to ensure value for money for expenditure from the EU budget;

3.  Believes that quality of information has an impact on the usefulness of the information exchanged as well as on the perception by the beneficiary of the information;

4.  Welcomes and recognises the Commission's efforts to develop a general culture of evaluation in the institution;

5.  Invites the Commission to follow strict criteria of cost-benefit analysis when requesting evaluation reports, preventing their multiplication, especially when they apply to very small-scale projects;

Division of responsibility

6.  Notes the existing evaluation practice within the Commission whereby operational DGs and Services are responsible for regular evaluation of their programmes and for organising the capacity needed for planning and managing the evaluations in their area;

7.  Notes also that the central services, DG Budget and the Secretariat General have been made responsible for support and coordination;

8.  Recognises that this division of responsibility is in line with the general thrust of the Commission reform, which seeks to give more responsibility to Directors-General;

9.  Considers however, that there might be reasons for giving central services a greater say in defining priorities for the annual evaluation programme and in developing a system with the aim of greater comparability of reports and their results at various levels of implementation; would welcome an opinion on the matter from the Court of Auditors;

10.  Invites the Commission to make a better use of its evaluation effort by an increased co-ordination effort; this effort could be developed namely by keeping regular updates, on a monthly basis, of all evaluation reports finished, planned or being developed;

11.  Considers evaluation to be a normal and systematic task of the Commission, as well as of the other institutions; however, external evaluations may be developed whenever deemed necessary, on a case-by-case basis; the independence of the chosen evaluator with regard to European institutions is a key element for these evaluations; invites the Commission, therefore, to end the practice of establishing so-called "framework contracts" and to evaluate the rationale of keeping existing ones;

Better integration into decision-making

12.  Takes the view that the main role of the evaluation process is to support policy development and improve the effectiveness of activities; believes at the same time that the most difficult task is to integrate evaluation findings into future policy, budgetary orientations and resource allocation;

13.  Invites the Commission to take all necessary steps to ensure further improvement of the quality of evaluation and to enhance the internal feedback of evaluation reports and hence their usefulness in programme formulation and implementation; welcomes the development of forward planning of evaluations as a means to improve policy review procedures;

14.  Invites the Commission to enhance the role of evaluation in the context of activity-based management (ABM), so as to strenghten the link between evaluation findings and the decision-making process on policy priorities and the corresponding allocation of resources;

15.  Invites the Commission to consider whether the debate on major evaluation reports within the Commission takes place at the appropriate level; considers it necessary for the results of critical evaluations to be discussed in the relevant parliamentary committee, both when policy changes are envisaged and when they are not due to resource allocation factors which may require political input;

16.  Points to a number of areas highlighted by particularly strong criticism such as agricultural set-aside, international fisheries agreements, cooperation with Asia and Latin America and EU support for NGO structures; expects the Commission to take account of such criticism in current policy reviews in these areas;

Recurrent findings

17.  Invites the Commission to avoid the repetition in its different evaluation reports of the same stock phrases of general aims, and to present precise and concrete criticisms and proposals; invites the Commission to make a more readable and more concrete annual evaluation review for 2002 than the one presented for 2001;

18.  Notes with concern that different evaluators in different policy areas have been repeating similar types of criticism for several years(11) such as too heavy an administrative burden on beneficiaries, complexity of procedures, lack of clear strategy and clear objectives, lack of coherence between interventions and lack of efficiency;

19.  Invites the Commission to further analyse the background and reasons underlying these recurrent criticisms and to include its conclusions in the next evaluation review;

20.  Points out that a useful evaluation system is one which is able to react rapidly; invites the Commission to consider whether its ability to react to evaluation findings and to review its policies accordingly should be improved;

21.  Points out that the special reports of the Court of Auditors, whilst focusing on an audit-based assessment of programmes, often level criticism of operational effectiveness as well as budget management and can thus also be taken into account in evaluation reviews; urges the two processes to work in a complementary fashion in eliminating waste and inefficient use of resources;

Transparency and openness

22.  Congratulates the Commission on its Evaluation website which presents clearly key documents and links to other evaluation websites; invites the Commission to continue developing its dissemination of information concerning evaluation activities with regular updates;

23.  Welcomes the fact that further to a request by Parliament, the Commission will now forward to Parliament's competent committee details of forthcoming evaluation reports twice per annum, ideally in January and July;

24.  Notes that most evaluation reports are published on the individual DGs' websites; regrets however that its competent committee is not informed directly as and when evaluation reports are finalised; urges the Commission to find a way to do so;

25.  Notes with dismay the high number of unavailable evaluation reports listed in the Annual Evaluation Review 2001; notes that under European Parliament and Council Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001(12) regarding public access to documents the Commission may refuse access to its documents only in the exceptional cases referred to in Article 4; invites the Commission to justify, case by case, under the specific provision contained in Article 4, the reasons for the refusal to make each of the reports available;

26.  Considers the fact that ex-ante evaluations in several "high risk" areas are carried out by the national or regional authorities and project managers to be a potential weak link in the evaluation process since they often have a vested interest in the continuation of the programme or project; asks the Commission to consider the ways and means necessary to conduct independent evaluations of all key Community programmes, at least once during their lifetime, with the results being transmitted to Parliament;

o
o   o

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

(1) OJ L 240, 7.10.1995, p. 1. (2) http://europa.eu.int/comm/budget/evaluation/pdf/review2001_en.pdf. (3) http://europa.eu.int/comm/budget/evaluation/pdf/review2000_en.pdf. (4) http://europa.eu.int/comm/budget/evaluation/pdf/review99_en.pdf. (5) http://europa.eu.int/comm/budget/evaluation/pdf/review98_en.pdf. (6) http://europa.eu.int/comm/budget/evaluation/communications/communication96_en.htm. (7) http://europa.eu.int/comm/budget/evaluation/communications/communication99_en.htm. (8) http://europa.eu.int/comm/budget/evaluation/communications/memorandum2000_en.htm. (9) http://europa.eu.int/comm/budget/evaluation/pdf/sec20001051_en.pdf. (10) Annex 1 in SEC(2000) 1051. (11) see http://europa.eu.int/comm/budget/evaluation/pdf/review2001_en.pdf, page 8http://europa.eu.int/comm/budget/evaluation/pdf/review2000_en.pdf, page 6http://europa.eu.int/comm/budget/evaluation/pdf/review99_en.pdf, page 7. (12) OJ L 145, 31.5.2001, p. 43.

European Parliament resolution on the Commission report to the European Parliament and the Council: Growth and Employment Initiative - measures on financial assistance for innovative and job-creating small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) (2001/2242(INI))

P5_TA(2002)0458 A5-0304/2002

The European Parliament,

–   having regard to the Commission report (COM(2002) 345),

–   having regard to the Commission communication on corporate social responsibility - A Business Contribution to Sustainable Development (COM(2002) 347),

–   having regard to the Commission Decision of 10 December 2001(1) on the implementation of the financial instruments of MAP,

–   having regard to Rule 47(2) and to Rule 163 of its Rules of Procedure,

–   having regard to the report of the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs and the opinion of the Committee on Industry, External Trade, Research and Energy (A5&nbhy;0304/2002),

A.   whereas the crucial importance of encouraging the promotion of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in particular, and a regulatory climate conducive to investment, innovation and entrepreneurship in general, was confirmed as a priority at the Lisbon European Council of 23 and 24 March 2000 and reaffirmed at the Barcelona European Council of 15 and 16 March 2002,

B.   whereas the Santa Maria da Feira European Council of 19 and 20 June 2000 endorsed a European Charter for Small Enterprises and the majority of the governments of the candidate countries also adopted the Charter, to constitute a foundation in these countries for policies to develop small enterprises,

C.   whereas micro-enterprises are a key political priority and should form a much greater percentage of SMEs benefiting from the EU financial instruments,

D.   whereas the Seville European Council of 21 and 22 June 2002 recognised that the recent downturn in economic activity has ended and that this will underpin the ongoing recovery of growth and job creation,

E.   whereas SMEs are essential players in laying the foundations for sustainable and social development which is at the very heart of the concerns of the e-Europe 2005 action plan,

F.   whereas SMEs are not always aware of the possibilities offered by the financial instruments and support available at the European level to support their activities,

G.   whereas, in the event of economic losses caused by unforeseen natural disasters, easier and unbureaucratic access to financial resources should forthwith be made available to SMEs from existing special credit programmes (for example the EIB programmes) to support their activities and maintain jobs,

H.   whereas a gap exists between EU and USA SMEs in accessing risk capital, thus leading to limit EU SMEs' participation in a global economy and disparities exist amongst the SMEs benefiting from the three instruments in the Members States, creating a risk of weakening economic and social cohesion within the EU,

I.   whereas banks did not always show interest in acting as intermediaries between SMEs and the European Investment Fund (EIF) in the SME Guarantee facility, thus creating a prejudice particularly for those SMEs operating in EU regions with a lower income rate,

J.   whereas the Growth and Employment Initiative was set up in 1998 as a multiannual programme, stimulated by the decision of the European Parliament to allocate an initial sum of EUR 420 million for the purpose,

K.   whereas on 20 December 2000 by Decision 2000/819/EC on a multiannual programme for enterprise and entrepreneurship, and in particular for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) (2001-2005)(2), the Council decided to extend the financial instruments of the Growth and Employment Initiative under a new legal basis, the multiannual programme for enterprise and entrepreneurship (MAP), and in particular introducing a new action: the Seed Capital Action,

L.   whereas neither of these decisions were discussed with the Parliament beforehand, nor even reported to the Parliament afterwards, until the publication of the Commission Report for the year in question,

M.   whereas the original Council Decision 98/347/EC of 19 May 1998 on measures of financial assistance for innovative and job-creating small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) - the growth and employment initiative(3) stated clearly that appropriate arrangements would be made to allow the Court of Auditors of the European Community to exercise its mission in order to verify the integrity of payments made,

N.   whereas the Court of Auditors sent a management letter to the Commission on 10 July 2001 following audit missions in three Member States of five venture capital funds regarding the European Technology Facility (ETF) Start-up Facility,

O.   whereas the Court of Auditors sent a management letter to the Commission on 25 January 2002 following missions to six Member States including nine financial intermediaries concerning the SME Guarantee Facility,

P.   whereas neither of these letters has been made available to the Parliament, despite highlighting the need for such auditing activity in its previous resolutions of 16 January 2001(4) and 11 December 2001(5),

Q.   whereas the 1999 Commission Report recorded that the EIF expected the ETF Start-up Facility to have 25-30 venture capital funds from all fifteen Member States,

R.   whereas France and Germany still account for around 40% of the take-up of investments in both the ETF Start-up and the SME Guarantee Facility,

S.   whereas according to Article 7(2) of Council Decision 98/347/EC the Commission must provide an evaluation of the programme by the end of May 2002, notably as regards its overall utilisation, its immediate effects on the creation of employment and the prospects for the creation of employment in the long term,

T.   whereas the total number of SMEs benefiting from the SME Guarantee Facility has doubled to 92,408 in 2001 compared with 40,778 in 2000 and 7,223 the year before, and whereas these SMEs currently forecast employment growth of 111,378 jobs within two years,

U.   whereas its abovementioned resolution of 11 December 2001 observed that while 15% of the SME beneficiaries of the SME Guarantee Facility received pre-start financing in 1999 before their establishment in 2000, all except six of these companies (i.e. 2269) were in France and Germany, and stated that their success deserved detailed analysis in the next Commission report,

V.   whereas the ETF Start-up Facility has recorded an actual increase of 858 jobs in those investee SMEs that received an investment before the end of 2000, i.e. an annual increase of 20%,

W.   whereas SMEs in the high technology sector account for 88% of the total number of SMEs currently in the portfolios of risk capital funds,

X.   whereas the Joint European Venture (JEV) programme in its present form has proven to be of low interest to SMEs and to have limited effect on employment,

Y.   whereas its abovementioned resolutions of 16 January 2001 and 11 December 2001 on the Commission reports for the years 1999 and 2000 asked for subsequent annual Commission reports to be made available to Parliament earlier than the end of May each year,

Z.   whereas a recent European Network for SME Research (ENSR) study on SMEs and social and environmental responsibility (Observatory of European SMEs 2002, No 4) states that 50% of the SMEs considered were socially and environmentally responsible, but that barriers still existed,

1.  Commends the Commission for producing their draft 2001 report fully six weeks earlier than the 2000 report, but records its displeasure that the official report only emerged on 1 July, and insists that this dilatoriness must not be repeated in future years;

2.  Commends the Commission and the EIF for the strong progress that has been made in developing the take-up of the SME Guarantee Facility in particular, and in increasing employment and employment prospects;

3.  Calls for a commitment that a copy of the fuller evaluation of the employment impact of this initiative, due by the end of May 2002, together with any other similar documentation as appropriate, will be sent automatically and immediately to Parliament for information;

4.  Notes that the ETF Start-up Facility now comprises 16 contracts signed by the EIF, with one still being processed, while other contracts approved in principle failed in final negotiations; welcomes the new inclusion of Italy, Portugal and Austria, thereby extending the coverage to eleven Member States and notes the expectation that full coverage of all fifteen Member States should be achieved during 2002;

5.  Notes that there are some EU countries which have not received aid from the ETF Start-up Facility or the SME Guarantee Facility, and calls on the Commission to take the necessary measures to ensure full geographical cover and effective support for SMEs in all Member States;

6.  Endorses the revisions to the MAP agreed by the Council in December 2001, observes with concern that there was no prior discussion with Parliament about these proposals, and insists that the right for Parliament to be involved in any future discussion is fully recognised;

7.  Points out that Parliament cannot fully exert its responsibilities in reporting on this initiative unless it is satisfied that sufficient auditing has taken place, in which case it considers it reasonable to demand immediate access to the letters from the Court of Auditors in order to study their assessments;

8.  Calls for an explanation as to why Parliament's formal request for further analysis on the pre-start financing of SMEs has been ignored;

9.  Notes that the SME Guarantee Facility is forecasting a growth in two years of 25,000 employees in beneficiary SMEs in Spain, an increase of over 100% and by far the largest increase of any Member State, and asks for a fuller analysis of this development in the next report;

10.  Asks for a fuller analysis of default loans in the next report;

11.  Asks for a fuller analysis in the next report why France is still attracting nearly 30% of the total take-up of the ETF Start-up Facility;

12.  Calls on the Commission to state how it proposes to correct the one-sided emphasis on SMEs in the high-technology sector so that the available appropriations are not spent solely on those SMEs which deal with advanced technology and knowledge-based operations, and that small businesses in the craft, commercial, tourist and other service sectors, including the third sector, can also have every opportunity to benefit from these appropriations;

13.  Notes that there are doubts about the JEV programme in the form in which it has existed hitherto, as SMEs investing in other Member States prefer to create subsidiaries rather than joint ventures, or enter into looser cooperation agreements without the obligation to create a new legal entity; therefore notes that the JEV in its current form is no longer appropriate and calls on the Commission to come forward with new proposals to encourage SMEs to develop business links across national borders, and in particular to help setting up cooperation links and stimulate entrepreneurship in the new Member States;

14.  Reiterates that by concentrating on seed capital and start-ups, there still remains a relative lack of support for a key part of the SME business cycle, i.e. ongoing business development, initial public offering or subsequent sale; renews its call for such further initiatives to be considered and calls on the Commission to give a concrete answer on this point;

15.  Notes that while the 2000 Commission report referred to the aim of achieving the Community objectives for growth and employment not only in existing Member States but also in the candidate countries, an aim welcomed by Parliament, the 2001 report makes minimal mention of the candidate countries; asks for an explanation and confirmation of proactivity in this area in the coming year;

16.  Notes the importance of stimulating investments and entrepreneurship in the candidate countries and calls on the Commission to make full use of experience with the existing instruments for stimulating employment in SMEs in order to improve the range of such instruments and make the best possible use of them in the new Member States;

17.  Calls on the Commission to make an early report back to the Parliament on the subject of SMEs and the promotion of social responsibility;

18.  Reminds that a balanced access to credit from all European SMEs is essential in order to avoid delays in reaching social and economic cohesion;

19.  Reminds that the European Charter for Small Enterprises has been annexed to the Decision adopting the MAP for enterprises and entrepreneurship;

20.  Calls on the Council and the Member States to confer legal force on the Charter under a formal Council decision; without such a legal status, the importance of the Charter may fade and no progress will be made in this domain;

21.  Calls on the banking systems of all Member States to improve their openness toward SMEs, in particular to those which have become bankrupt owing to unforeseeable natural disasters and are being reconstructed, and asks the Commission and the Member States to encourage them to play their intermediaries role in the framework of the SME Guarantee facility allowing loans to SMEs;

22.  Calls on the Commission and the Member States to exercise particular care in selecting the intermediaries for each financial instrument on the basis of their merits, intermediaries which must be familiar with the conditions facing SMEs;

23.  Stresses the need to explore the financial intermediaries, to simplify financing procedures and to eliminate red tape, thus easing SMEs involvement in new projects;

24.  Draws the attention of Member States to the tendency of certain public administrations to set terms and conditions for the eligibility of SMEs in such a way that finally those excluded are more numerous than those eligible for participation;

25.  Asks the Commission and in particular Member States to launch campaigns to give SMEs clear and simple information on how to benefit from EU financial instruments and any other opportunities offered by the EU in the field of entrepreneurship;

26.  Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Commission, the Council, the European Investment Fund (EIF) and the Court of Auditors.

(1) Internal Commission document only (C(2001) 3973). (2) OJ L 333, 29.12.2000, p. 84. (3) OJ L 155, 29.5.1998, p. 43. (4) OJ C 262, 18.9.2001, p. 71. (5) OJ C 177 E, 25.7.2002, p. 72.

European Parliament legislative resolution on the Council common position with a view to the adoption of a directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on the energy performance of buildings (8094/2/2002 – C5&nbhy;0268/2002 – 2001/0098(COD))

P5_TA(2002)0459 A5-0297/2002

(Codecision procedure: second reading)

The European Parliament,

–   having regard to the Council common position (8094/2/2002 – C5&nbhy;0268/2002)(1),

–   having regard to its position at first reading(2) on the Commission proposal to Parliament and the Council (COM(2001) 226(3)),

–   having regard to the Commission's amended proposal (COM(2002) 192(4)),

–   having regard to Article 251(2) of the EC Treaty,

–   having regard to Rule 80 of its Rules of Procedure,

–   having regard to the recommendation for second reading of the Committee on Industry, External Trade, Research and Energy (A5&nbhy;0297/2002),

1.  Amends the common position as follows;

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

Position of the European Parliament adopted at second reading on 10 October 2002 with a view to the adoption of European Parliament and Council Directive 2002/…/EC on the energy performance of buildings

THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Article 175(1) thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission(5),

Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social Committee(6),

Having regard to the opinion of the Committee of the Regions(7),

Acting in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 251 of the Treaty(8),

Whereas:

(1)  Article 6 of the Treaty requires environmental protection requirements to be integrated into the definition and implementation of Community policies and actions.

(2)  The natural resources, to the prudent and rational utilisation of which Article 174 of the Treaty refers, include oil products, natural gas and solid fuels, which are essential sources of energy but also the leading sources of carbon dioxide emissions.

(3)  Increased energy efficiency constitutes an important part of the package of policies and measures needed to comply with the Kyoto Protocol and should appear in any policy package to meet further commitments.

(4)  Demand management of energy is an important tool enabling the Community to influence the global energy market and hence the security of energy supply in the medium and long term.

(5)  In its Conclusions of 30 May 2000 and of 5 December 2000 the Council endorsed the Commission's Action Plan on Energy Efficiency and requested specific measures in the building sector.

(6)  The residential and tertiary sector, the major part of which is buildings, accounts for more than 40% of final energy consumption in the Community and is expanding, a trend which is bound to increase its energy consumption and hence also its carbon dioxide emissions.

(7)  Council Directive 93/76/EEC of 13 September 1993 to limit carbon dioxide emissions by improving energy efficiency (SAVE)(9), which requires Member States to develop, implement and report on programmes in the field of energy efficiency in the building sector, is now starting to show some important benefits. However, a complementary legal instrument is needed to lay down more concrete actions with a view to achieving the great unrealised potential for energy savings and reducing the large differences between Member States' results in this sector.

(8)  Council Directive 89/106/EEC of 21 December 1988 on the approximation of laws, regulations and administrative provisions of the Member States relating to construction products(10) requires construction works and their heating, cooling and ventilation installations to be designed and built in such a way that the amount of energy required in use will be low, having regard to the climatic conditions of the location and the occupants.

(9)  The measures further to improve the energy performance of buildings should take into account climatic and local conditions as well as indoor climate environment and cost&nbhy;effectiveness. They should not contravene other essential requirements concerning buildings such as accessibility, prudence and the intended use of the building.

(10)  The energy performance of buildings should be calculated on the basis of a methodology, which may be differentiated at regional level, that includes, in addition to thermal insulation other factors that play an increasingly important role such as heating and air&nbhy;conditioning installations, application of renewable energy sources and design of the building. A common approach to this process, carried out by qualified and/or accredited experts, whose independence is to be guaranteed on the basis of objective criteria, will contribute to a level playing field as regards efforts made in Member States to energy saving in the buildings sector and will introduce transparency for prospective owners or users with regard to the energy performance in the Community property market.

(11)  The Commission intends further to develop standards such as EN 832 and prEN 13790, also including consideration of air conditioning systems and lighting.

(12)  Buildings will have an impact on long-term energy consumption and new buildings should therefore meet minimum energy performance requirements tailored to the local climate. Best practice should in this respect be geared to the optimum use of factors relevant to enhancing energy performance. As the application of alternative energy supply systems is generally not explored to its full potential, the technical, environmental and economic feasibility of alternative energy supply systems should be considered; this can be carried out once, by the Member State, through a study which produces a list of energy conservation measures, for average local market conditions, meeting cost-effectiveness criteria. Before construction starts, specific studies may be requested if the measure, or measures, are deemed feasible.

(13)  Major renovations of existing buildings above a certain size should be regarded as an opportunity to take cost&nbhy;effective measures to enhance energy performance. Major renovations are cases such as those where the total cost of the renovation related to the building shell and/or energy installations such as heating, hot water supply, air&nbhy;conditioning, ventilation and lighting is higher than 25% of the value of the building, excluding the value of the land upon which the building is situated, or those where more than 25% of the building shell undergoes renovation.

(14)  However, the improvement of the overall energy performance of an existing building does not necessarily mean a total renovation of the building but could be confined to those parts that are most relevant for the energy performance of the building and are cost-effective.

(15)  Renovation requirements for existing buildings should not be incompatible with the intended function, quality or character of the building. It should be possible to recover additional costs involved in such renovation within a reasonable period of time in relation to the expected technical lifetime of the investment by accrued energy savings.

(16)  The certification process may be supported by programmes to facilitate equal access to improved energy performance; based upon agreements between organisations of stakeholders and a body appointed by the Member States; carried out by energy service companies which agree to commit themselves to undertake the identified investments. The schemes adopted should be supervised and followed up by Member States, which should also facilitate the use of incentive systems. To the extent possible, the certificate should describe the actual energy&nbhy;performance situation of the building and may be revised accordingly. Public authority buildings and buildings frequently visited by the public should set an example by taking environmental and energy considerations into account and therefore should be subject to energy certification on a regular basis. The dissemination to the public of this information on energy performance should be enhanced by clearly displaying these energy certificates. Moreover, the displaying of officially recommended indoor temperatures, together with the actual measured temperature, should discourage the misuse of heating, air-conditioning and ventilation systems. This should contribute to avoiding unnecessary use of energy and to safeguarding comfortable indoor climatic conditions (thermal comfort) in relation to the outside temperature.

(17)  Member States may also employ other means/measures, not provided for in this Directive, to encourage enhanced energy performance. Member States should encourage good energy management, taking into account the intensity of use of buildings.

(18)  Recent years have seen a rise in the number of air-conditioning systems in southern European countries. This creates considerable problems at peak load times, increasing the cost of electricity and disrupting the energy balance in those countries. Priority should be given to strategies which enhance the thermal performance of buildings during the summer period. To this end there should be further development of passive cooling techniques, primarily those that improve indoor climatic conditions and the microclimate around buildings.

(19)  Regular maintenance of boilers and of air conditioning systems by qualified personnel contributes to maintaining their correct adjustment in accordance with the product specification and in that way will ensure optimal performance from an environmental, safety and energy point of view. An independent assessment of the total heating installation is appropriate whenever replacement could be considered on the basis of cost effectiveness.

(20)  The billing, to occupants of buildings, of the costs of heating, air-conditioning and hot water, calculated in proportion to actual consumption, could contribute towards energy saving in the residential sector. Occupants should be enabled to regulate their own consumption of heat and hot water, in so far as such measures are cost effective.

(21)  In accordance with the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality as set out in Article 5 of the Treaty, general principles providing for a system of energy performance requirements and its objectives should be established at Community level, but the detailed implementation should be left to Member States, thus allowing each Member State to choose the regime which corresponds best to its particular situation. This Directive confines itself to the minimum required in order to achieve those objectives and does not go beyond what is necessary for that purpose.

(22)  Provision should be made for the possibility of rapidly adapting the methodology of calculation and of Member States regularly reviewing minimum requirements in the field of energy performance of buildings with regard to technical progress, inter alia as concerns the insulation properties or quality of the construction material, and to future developments in standardisation.

(23)  The measures necessary for the implementation of this Directive should be adopted in accordance with Council Decision 1999/468/EC of 28 June 1999 laying down the procedures for the exercise of implementing powers conferred on the Commission(11),

HAVE ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE:

Article 1

Objective

The objective of this Directive is to promote the improvement of the energy performance of buildings within the Community, taking into account outdoor climatic and local conditions, as well as indoor climate requirements and cost-effectiveness.

Article 2

Definitions

Article 3

Adoption of a methodology

Member States shall apply a methodology, at national or regional level, of calculation of the energy performance of buildings on the basis of the general framework set out in the Annex. Parts 1 and 2 of this framework shall be adapted to technical progress in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 14(2), taking into account standards or norms applied in Member State legislation.

This methodology shall be set at national or regional level.

The energy performance of a building shall be expressed in a transparent manner and may include a CO2 emission indicator.

Article 4

Setting of energy performance requirements

1.  Member States shall take the necessary measures to ensure that minimum energy performance requirements for buildings are set, based on the methodology referred to in Article 3. When setting requirements, Member States may differentiate between new and existing buildings and different categories of buildings. These requirements shall take account of general indoor climate conditions, in order to avoid possible negative effects such as inadequate ventilation, as well as local conditions and the designated function and the age of the building. These requirements shall be reviewed at regular intervals which should not be longer than 5 years and, if necessary, updated in order to reflect technical progress in the building sector.

2.  The energy performance requirements shall be applied in accordance with Articles 5 and 6.

3.  Member States may decide not to set or apply the requirements referred to in paragraph 1 for the following categories of buildings:

Article 5

New buildings

Member States shall take the necessary measures to ensure that new buildings meet the minimum energy performance requirements referred to in Article 4.

Article 6

Existing buildings

Member States shall take the necessary measures to ensure that when buildings with a total useful floor area over 1000m2 undergo major renovation, their energy performance is upgraded in order to meet minimum requirements in so far as this is technically, functionally and economically feasible. Member States shall derive these minimum energy performance requirements on the basis of the energy performance requirements set for buildings in accordance with Article 4. The requirements may be set either for the renovated building as a whole or for the renovated systems or components when these are part of a renovation to be carried out within a limited time period, with the abovementioned objective of improving the overall energy performance of the building.

Article 7

Energy performance certificate

1.  Member States shall ensure that, when buildings are constructed, sold or rented out, an energy performance certificate is made available to the owner or by the owner to the prospective buyer or tenant, as the case might be. The validity of the certificate shall not exceed 10 years.

Member States may exclude the categories referred to in Article 4(3) from the application of this paragraph.

2.  The energy performance certificate for buildings shall include reference values such as current legal standards and benchmarks in order to make it possible for consumers to compare and assess the energy performance of the building. The certificate shall be accompanied by recommendations for the cost-effective improvement of the energy performance.

The objective of the certificates shall be limited to the provision of information and any effects of these certificates in terms of legal proceedings or otherwise shall be decided in accordance with national rules.

3.  Member States shall take measures to ensure that for buildings with a total useful floor area over 1000 m2 occupied by public authorities and by institutions providing public services to a large number of persons and therefore frequently visited by these persons an energy certificate, not older than 10 years, is placed in a prominent place clearly visible to the public.

The range of recommended and current indoor temperatures and, when appropriate, other relevant climatic factors may also be clearly displayed.

Article 8

Inspection of boilers

Boilers of an effective rated output of more than 100 kW shall be inspected at least every 2 years. For gas boilers, this period may be extended to 4 years.

For heating installations with boilers of an effective rated output of more than 20 kW which are older than 15 years, Member States shall lay down the necessary measures to establish a one-off inspection of the whole heating installation. On the basis of this inspection, which shall include an assessment of the boiler efficiency and the boiler sizing compared to the heating requirements of the building, the experts shall provide advice to the users on the replacement of the boilers, other modifications to the heating system and on alternative solutions;

Article 9

Inspection of air-conditioning systems

With regard to reducing energy consumption and limiting carbon dioxide emissions, Member States shall lay down the necessary measures to establish a regular inspection of air-conditioning systems of an effective rated output of more than 12 kW.

This inspection shall include an assessment of the air-conditioning efficiency and the sizing compared to the cooling requirements of the building. Appropriate advice shall be provided to the users on possible improvement or replacement of the air-conditioning system and on alternative solutions.

Article 10

Independent experts

Member States shall ensure that the certification of buildings, the drafting of the accompanying recommendations and the inspection of boilers and air-conditioning systems are carried out in an independent manner by qualified and/or accredited experts, whether operating as sole traders or employed by public or private-enterprise bodies.

Article 11

Review

Article 12

Information

Member States may take the necessary measures to inform the users of buildings as to the different methods and practices that serve to enhance energy performance. Upon Member States' request, the Commission shall assist Member States in staging the information campaigns concerned, which may be dealt with in Community programmes.

Article 13

Adaptation of the framework

Parts 1 and 2 of the Annex shall be reviewed at regular intervals, which shall not be shorter than 2 years.

Any amendments necessary in order to adapt Parts 1 and 2 of the Annex to technical progress shall be adopted in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 14(2).

Article 14

Committee

1.  The Commission shall be assisted by a Committee.

2.  Where reference is made to this paragraph, Articles 5 and 7 of Decision 1999/468/EC shall apply, having regard to the provisions of Article 8 thereof.

The period laid down in Article 5(6) of Decision 1999/468/EC shall be set at three months.

3.  The Committee shall adopt its rules of procedure.

Article 15

Transposition

1.  Member States shall bring into force the laws, regulations and administrative provisions necessary to comply with this Directive at the latest on  (12). They shall forthwith inform the Commission thereof.

When Member States adopt these measures, they shall contain a reference to this Directive or shall be accompanied by such reference on the occasion of their official publication. Member States shall determine how such reference is to be made.

2.  Member States may, because of lack of qualified and/or accredited experts, have an additional period of three years to apply fully the provisions of Articles 7, 8 and 9. When making use of this option, Member States shall notify the Commission, providing the appropriate justification together with a time schedule with respect to the further implementation of this Directive.

Article 16

Entry into force

This Directive shall enter into force on the day of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Communities.

Article 17

Addressees

This Directive is addressed to the Member States.

Done at,

For the European Parliament For the Council

The President The President

ANNEX

General Framework for the calculation of energy performance of buildings (Article 3)

1.  The methodology of calculation of energy performances of buildings shall include at least the following aspects:

2.  The positive influence of the following aspects shall, where relevant in this calculation, be taken into account:

3.  For the purpose of this calculation buildings should be adequately classified into categories such as:

(1) OJ C 197 E, 20.8.2002, p. 6. (2) P5_TA(2002)0039. (3) OJ C 213 E, 31.7.2001, p. 266. (4) OJ C 203 E, 27.8.2002, p. 69. (5) OJ C 213 E, 31.7.2001, p. 266 and OJ C 203 E, 27.8.2002, p. 69. (6) OJ C 36, 8.2.2002, p. 20. (7) OJ C 107, 3.5.2002, p. 76. (8) Position of the European Parliament of 6 February 2002, Council Common Position of 7 June 2002 (OJ C 197 E, 20.8.2002, p. 6), and Position of the European Parliament of 10 October 2002. (9) OJ L 237, 22.09.1993, p. 28. (10) OJ L 40, 11.02.1989, p. 12. Directive amended by Directive 93/68/EEC (OJ L 220, 30.8.1993, p. 1). (11) OJ L 184, 17.07.1999, p. 23. (12) * 36 months after the entry into force of this Directive.

European Parliament legislative resolution on the Council common position for adopting a European Parliament European Parliament resolution and Council directive amending for the twenty-third time Council Directive 76/769/EEC relating to restrictions on the marketing and use of certain dangerous substances and preparations (substances classified as carcinogens, mutagens or substances toxic to reproduction) (8328/1/2002 – C5&nbhy;0267/2002 – 2001/0110(COD))

P5_TA(2002)0460 A5-0285/2002

(Codecision procedure: second reading)

The European Parliament,

–   having regard to the Council common position (8328/1/2002 – C5&nbhy;0267/2002)(1),

–   having regard to its position at first reading(2) on the Commission proposal to Parliament and the Council (COM(2001) 256(3)),

–   having regard to Article 251(2) of the EC Treaty,

–   having regard to Rule 80 of its Rules of Procedure,

–   having regard to the recommendation for second reading of the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Consumer Policy (A5&nbhy;0285/2002),

1.  Amends the common position as follows;

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

Position of the European Parliament adopted at second reading on 10 October 2002 with a view to the adoption of European Parliament and Council Directive 2002/…/EC amending for the twenty–third time Council Directive 76/769/EEC relating to restrictions on the marketing and use of certain dangerous substances and preparations (substances classified as carcinogens, mutagens or substances toxic to reproduction – c/m/r)

THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Article 95 thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission(4),

Having regard to the Opinion of the Economic and Social Committee(5),

Acting in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 251 of the Treaty(6),

Whereas:

(1)  Under Article 14 of the Treaty, an area without internal frontiers is to be established in which the free movement of goods, persons, services and capital is ensured.

(2)  On 29 March 1996 the European Parliament and the Council adopted Decision No 646/96/EC adopting an action plan to combat cancer within the framework for action in the field of public health (1996 to 2000) (7).

(3)  To improve health protection and consumer safety, substances classified as carcinogenic, mutagenic or toxic to reproduction and preparations containing them should not be placed on the market for use by the general public. The Commission should submit as soon as possible a proposal to prohibit the use of products containing such substances, when there is scientific evidence that they are released from these products leading to exposure of the general public.

(4)  Directive 94/60/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 December 1994 amending for the fourteenth time Directive 76/769/EEC (8) establishes, in the form of an Appendix concerning points 29, 30 and 31 of Annex I to Directive 76/769/EEC (9), a list containing substances classified as carcinogenic, mutagenic or toxic to reproduction of category 1 or 2. Such substances and preparations containing them should not be placed on the market for use by the general public.

(5)  Directive 94/60/EC provides that the Commission will submit to the European Parliament and Council a proposal to extend this list not later than six months after publication of an adaptation to technical progress of Annex I to Council Directive 67/548/EEC of 27 June 1967 on the approximation of the laws, regulations and administrative provisions relating to the classification, packaging and labelling of dangerous substances (10), which contains substances classified as carcinogenic, mutagenic or toxic to reproduction of category 1 or 2.

(6)  Commission Directive 98/98/EC of 15 December 1998 adapting for the twenty-fifth time Council Directive 67/548/EEC(11), and more particularly Annex I thereto, to technical progress, contains 20 substances newly classified as carcinogenic, mutagenic or toxic to reproduction of category 1 or 2, and Commission Directive 2000/32/EC of 19 May 2000 adapting for the twenty-sixth time Council Directive 67/548/EEC(12), and more particularly Annex I thereto, to technical progress, contains two substances newly classified as carcinogenic, mutagenic or toxic to reproduction of category 1 or 2. These substances should be added to points 29, 30 and 31 of the Appendix to Annex I to Directive 76/769/EEC.

(7)  The risks and advantages of the substances thus newly classified have been taken into account.

(8)  This Directive applies without prejudice to Community legislation laying down minimum requirements for the protection of workers contained in Council Directive 89/391/EEC of 12 June 1989 on the introduction of measures to encourage improvements in the safety and health of workers at work(13), and individual directives based thereon, in particular Council Directive 90/394/EEC of 28 June 1990 on the protection of workers from the risks related to exposure to carcinogens at work(14),

HAVE ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE:

Article 1

The substances listed in the Annex shall be added to those listed in the Appendix, under points 29, 30 and 31 respectively, of Annex I to Directive 76/769/EEC.

Article 2

1.  Member States shall adopt and publish not later than …………, ((15)) the laws, regulations and administrative provisions necessary to comply with this Directive. They shall forthwith inform the Commission thereof.

They shall apply these measures from ……… ((16)*)

2.  When Member States adopt these measures, they shall contain a reference to this Directive or be accompanied by such a reference on the occasion of their official publication. The methods of making such reference shall be laid down by Member States.

Article 3

This Directive shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Communities.

Article 4

This Directive is addressed to the Member States.

Done at ,

For the European Parliament For the Council

The President The President

ANNEX

Point 29 – Carcinogens: category 2

Point 30 – Mutagens: category 2

Point 31 – Toxic to reproduction: category 2

(1) OJ C 197 E, 20.8.2002, p.1. (2) P5_TA(2002)0025. (3) OJ C 213 E, 31.7.2001, p. 263. (4) OJ C 213 E, 31.7.2001, p. 263. (5) OJ C 311, 7.11.2001, p. 7. (6) Position of the European Parliament of 5 February 2002, Council Common Position of 3 June 2002 (OJ C 197 E, 20.8.2002, p. 1) and Position of the European Parliament of 10 October 2002. (7) OJ L 95, 16.4.1996, p. 9. Decision as last amended by Decision No 521/2001/EC (OJ L 79, 17.3.2001, p. 1). (8) OJ L 365, 31.12.1994, p. 1. (9) OJ L 262, 27.9.1976, p. 201. Directive as last amended by Commission Directive 2002/62/EC (OJ L 183, 12.7.2002, p. 58). (10) OJ 196, 16.8.1967, p. 1. Directive as last amended by Commission Directive 2001/59/EC (OJ L 225, 21.8.2001, p .1). (11) OJ L 355, 30.12.1998, p. 1. Directive as amended by Commission Decision 2000/368/EC (OJ L 136, 8.6.2000, p. 108). (12) OJ L 136, 8.6.2000, p. 1. (13) OJ L 183, 29.6.1989, p. 1. (14) OJ L 196 , 26.7.1990, p. 1. Directive as last amended by Directive 1999/38/EC (OJ L 138, 1.6.1999, p. 66). (15) * 12 months after the entry into force of this Directive. (16) ** 18 months after the entry into force of this Directive.

European Parliament legislative resolution on the proposal for a European Parliament and Council directive establishing a scheme for greenhouse gas emission allowance trading within the Community and amending Council Directive 96/61/EC (COM(2001) 581 – C5&nbhy;0578/2001 – 2001/0245(COD))

P5_TA(2002)0461 A5-0303/2002

(Codecision procedure: first reading)

The European Parliament,

–   having regard to the Commission proposal to the European Parliament and the Council (COM(2001) 581(1)),

–   having regard to Articles 251(2) and 175(1) of the EC Treaty, pursuant to which the Commission submitted the proposal to Parliament (C5&nbhy;0578/2001),

–   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 Economic and Monetary Affairs, the Committee on Legal Affairs and the Internal Market and the Committee on Industry, External Trade, Research and Energy (A5&nbhy;0303/2002),

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.

Position of the European Parliament adopted at first reading on 10 October 2002 with a view to the adoption of European Parliament and Council Directive 2002/…/EC establishing a scheme for greenhouse gas emission allowance trading within the Community and amending Council Directive 96/61/EC

THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Article 175(1) thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission(2),

Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social Committee(3),

Having regard to the opinion of the Committee of the Regions(4),

Acting in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 251 of the Treaty(5),

Whereas:

(1)  The Green Paper on greenhouse gas emissions trading within the European Union(6) launched a debate across Europe on the suitability and possible functioning of greenhouse gas emissions trading within the European Union. The European Climate Change Programme(7) has considered Community policies and measures through a multi-stakeholder process, including a framework for greenhouse gas emissions trading in the Community based on the Green Paper. In its Conclusions of 8 March 2001, the Council recognised the particular importance of the European Climate Change Programme and work based on the Green Paper, and underlined the urgent need for concrete action on Community level.

(2)  The sixth Environmental Action Programme: Environment 2010: Our Future, Our Choice(8) identifies climate change as a priority for action and provides for the establishment of a Community–wide emissions trading scheme by 2005. That Programme recognises that the Community is committed to achieving an 8% reduction in emissions of greenhouse gases by 2008 to 2012 compared to 1990 levels, and that in the longer-term global emissions of greenhouse gases will need to be reduced by approximately 70% compared to 1990 levels.

(3)  The ultimate objective of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, which was approved by Council Decision 94/69/EC of 15 December 1993 concerning the conclusion of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change(9), is to achieve stabilisation of greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level which prevents dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system.

(4)  Once it enters into force, the Kyoto Protocol, which was approved by Council Decision 2002/358/EC of 25 April 2002 concerning the approval, on behalf of the European Community, of the Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the joint fulfilment of commitments thereunder(10) will commit the Community and its Member States to reduce their aggregate anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gases listed in Annex A to the Protocol by 8% compared to 1990 levels in the period 2008 to 2012.

(5)  The Community and its Member States have agreed to fulfil their commitments to reduce anthropogenic greenhouse gases emissions under the Kyoto Protocol jointly, in accordance with Decision 2002/358/EC.

(6)  In its position of 6 February 2002 the European Parliament approved by an overwhelming majority the proposal for a Council decision concerning the approval, on behalf of the European Community, of the Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the joint fulfilment of commitments thereunder. The European Parliament insisted that the burden sharing agreement agreed in June 1998 be fully observed.

(7)  Member States should meet their national reduction commitments in situ, as a matter of urgency, using the resources they consider appropriate for that purpose.

(8)  Council Decision 93/389/EEC of 24 June 1993 for a monitoring mechanism of Community CO2 and other greenhouse gas emissions(11), established a mechanism for monitoring greenhouse gas emissions and evaluating progress towards meeting commitments in respect of these emissions. This mechanism will assist Member States in determining the total quantity of allowances to allocate.

(9)  The problem of emissions should be tackled at EU level, and not by each Member State individually, because there is an internal market and numerous EU firms have production installations in more than one Member State.

(10)  Community provisions relating to allocation of allowances by the Member States are necessary to contribute to preserving the integrity of the internal market and to avoid distortions of competition. In order to keep to a minimum distortions of competition within the same sectors in different Member States, allowances should be allocated in accordance with best available techniques which, in so far as possible, ensure equal treatment of installations whose environmental performance is similar. Member States should ensure that the operators of certain specified activities monitor and report their emissions of greenhouse gases specified in relation to those activities.

(11)  Member States should lay down rules on penalties applicable to infringements of the provisions of this Directive and ensure that they are implemented. Those penalties must be effective, proportionate and dissuasive.

(12)  In order to ensure transparency, the public should have access to information relating to the allocation of allowances and to the results of monitoring of emissions subject only to restrictions provided for in Council Directive 90/313/EEC of 7 June 1990 on the freedom of access to information on the environment(12).

(13)  Member States should submit a report on the implementation of this Directive drawn up on the basis of Council Directive 91/692/EEC of 23 December 1991 standardising and rationalising reports on the implementation of certain Directives relating to the environment(13).

(14)  The Member States should ensure that indirect mechanisms to reduce CO2, such as combined heat and power generation, receive consideration in national allocation plans.

(15)  Since the measures necessary for the implementation of this Directive are measures of general scope within the meaning of Article 2 of Council Decision 1999/468/EC of 28 June 1999 laying down the procedures for the exercise of implementing powers conferred on the Commission(14), they should be adopted by use of the regulatory procedure provided for in Article 5 of that Decision.

(16)  Council Directive 96/61/EC of 24 September 1996 concerning integrated pollution prevention and control(15) establishes a general framework for pollution prevention and control, through which greenhouse gas emissions permits may be issued. Directive 96/61/EC should be amended to ensure that emission limit values are not set for direct emissions of greenhouse gases from an installation subject to this Directive, without prejudice to any other requirements pursuant to Directive 96/61/EC.

(17)  Since the objective of the proposed action, the establishment of a scheme for greenhouse gas emission allowance trading in the Community, cannot be sufficiently achieved by the Member States acting individually, and can therefore by reason of the scale and effects of the proposed action be better achieved at Community level, the Community may adopt measures, in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity as set out in Article 5 of the Treaty. In accordance with the principle of proportionality, as set out in that Article, this Directive does not go beyond what is necessary in order to achieve that objective.

(18)  This Directive is compatible with the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Kyoto Protocol. It should be reviewed in the light of developments in that context and to take into account experience in its implementation and progress achieved in monitoring of emissions of greenhouse gases.

(19)  The European Community will continue the negotiations for commitments by its major trading partners in order to establish an international scheme for greenhouse gas emission allowance trading. Meanwhile the European Community should set a good example to the world by leading the way in reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

(20)  Emission allowance trading should form a flexible and complementary part of a comprehensive and coherent package of policies and measures implemented at Member State and Community level that generates substantial emission reductions across all sectors of the EU economy. While this Directive should aim at achieving this for energy-intensive industries and energy-sector utilities, comparable targets should be set and instruments developed for other sectors, such as non-energy intensive manufacturing, small and medium-sized enterprises and the transport, service, agricultural, public and housing sectors. Greenhouse gas emission allowance trading and energy taxation should be seen as complementary instruments. Therefore, without prejudice to the application of Articles 87 and 88 of the Treaty, where activities are covered by the Community greenhouse gas emission allowance trading scheme, it would be appropriate to take into account the level of taxation that pursues the same objectives. The review of the Directive should consider the extent to which these have been attained.

(21)  Policies and measures should be implemented at Member State and Community level across all sectors of the EU economy, and not only within the industry and energy sectors, in order to generate substantial emissions reductions. Member States should ensure that the choice and substance of policies and measures do not, within a particular sector, result in competition-distorting unequal treatment of undertakings which is not objectively justified, such as, for instance, advantages and disadvantages in terms of climate policy.

(22)  Emission allowance trading should not replace existing charges levied on energy and CO2 emissions, instead it should supplement regulations on charges and ensure that the Member States' commitments on reducing greenhouse gas emissions are fulfilled.

(23)  This Directive should only apply to the use of fluorinated gases in the industrial activities referred to in Annex I. The use and containment of fluorinated gases in consumer products should be covered by the future proposal for framework legislation on fluorinated gases.

(24)  Notwithstanding the multifaceted potential of market-based mechanisms, the EU strategy for climate change mitigation should be built on a balance between the emission allowance trading scheme and other types of Community, domestic and international action.

(25)  This Directive respects the fundamental rights and observes the principles recognised in particular by the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union.

(26)  Mutual recognition of allowances between the Community greenhouse gas emission allowance trading scheme and other greenhouse gas emission allowance trading schemes according to Article 26 of this Directive is an unique opportunity to get Parties, such as the U.S., which have not yet ratified the Kyoto Protocol, back on board,

HAVE ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE:

Article 1

Subject matter

This Directive establishes a Community greenhouse gas emission allowance trading scheme in order to promote reductions of greenhouse gas emissions in a cost-effective manner. It contributes to fulfilling the commitments of the EU and its Member States more effectively, with the least possible diminution of economic development and employment.

Article 2

Scope

1.  This Directive shall apply to emissions from the activities listed in Annex I of greenhouse gases specified in relation to those activities. The Member States shall, however, also be able to extend the scheme to additional sectors, activities and installations if it does not conflict with Articles 87 and 88 of the Treaty. For the period referred to in Article 12(1), a list of additional sectors, activities and installations shall be notified to the Commission by 31 March 2004 at the latest. For subsequent periods, the list of additional sectors, activities and installations shall be notified to the Commission at least 18 months before the beginning of the relevant period. Within 3 months of notification, the Commission may reject completely, or in part, the list of additional sectors, activities and installations on the basis that it conflicts with Article 87 or 88 of the Treaty.

2.  This Directive shall apply without prejudice to any requirements pursuant to Directive 96/61/EC that relate to energy efficiency.

Article 3

Condition for the inclusion of greenhouse gases

Article 4

Definitions

Article 5

Greenhouse gas emissions permits

Member States shall ensure that, from 1 January 2005, no installation undertakes any activity listed in Annex I resulting in emissions of a greenhouse gas specified in relation to that activity unless its operator holds a permit issued by a competent authority in accordance with Articles 6 and 7.

Using the European Guidance on Carbon Equivalence, which shall be prepared by the Commission prior to the scheme's entry into force, Member States shall take account of the corresponding carbon value of savings achieved through combined heat and power generation investments and of the replacement of fuel by waste fuels when allocating allowances to operators.

Article 6

Applications for permits

The application shall also include a non-technical summary of the details referred to in the first paragraph.

Article 7

Conditions for and contents of the permit

1.  Without prejudice to other requirements laid down in national or Community law, the competent authority shall issue a greenhouse gas emissions permit granting authorisation to emit greenhouse gases from all or part of an installation if it is satisfied that the operator is capable of monitoring and reporting emissions.

A permit may cover one or more installations on the same site operated by the same operator.

2.  Greenhouse gas emissions permits shall contain the following:

Article 8

Changes relating to installations

The operator shall inform the competent authority of any change planned in the nature or functioning, or an extension, of the installation. Where appropriate, the competent authority shall update the permit in consultation with the operator.

Where there is a change in the identity of the installation's operator, the new operator shall inform the competent authority within one month.

Article 9

Coordination with Directive 96/61/EC

Member States shall take the necessary measures to ensure that, where installations carry out activities that are included in Annex I to Directive 96/61/EC, the conditions of, and procedure for, the issue of a greenhouse gas emissions permit are coordinated with those for the permit provided for in that Directive. The requirements of Articles 6, 7 and 8 of this Directive may be integrated into the procedures provided for in Directive 96/61/EC.

Article 10

National allocation plan

1.  For each period referred to in Article 12(1) and (2), each Member State shall develop a national plan stating the total quantity of allowances that it intends to allocate for that period and how it proposes to allocate them. The plan shall be based on the objective and transparent criteria listed in Annex III.

For the period referred to in Article 12(1), the plan shall be published and notified to the Commission and to the other Member States by 31 March 2004 at the latest. For subsequent periods, the plan shall be published and notified to the Commission and to the other Member States at least eighteen months before the beginning of the relevant period.

2.  The total quantity of allowances referred to in paragraph 1 shall be no more than x%(16) of the Member State's emissions level determined in terms of tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent pursuant to Decision 2002/358/EC.

Before this determination has taken place, the total quantity of allowances referred to in paragraph 1 shall be no more than x%(1) of the quantity of emissions that would result in the relevant period determined by a straight trend-line between the Member State's base year emissions and its target established by that Decision.

3.  Late entrants (i.e. eligible installations constructed after 1990) shall be allocated allowances in accordance with the provisions of Article 11 equal to the average emissions of installations of the same or most similar type in the year of commissioning, constructed according to best available practice (in terms of CO2 emissions). The Commission shall issue further detailed guidance on this matter before 2004 and shall update the guidance annually.

4.  National allocation plans shall be considered within the committee referred to in Article 24(1).

5.  The committee shall compare the national allocation plans and assess them with a view to identifying elements which would distort the market and prevent competition within the European Union. The committee shall advise the Commission on the subject.

6.  Within three months of notification of a national allocation plan by a Member State under paragraph 1, the Commission may reject that plan, or any aspect thereof, on the basis that it is incompatible with the criteria listed in Annex III or with Article 11. The Member State shall only take a decision under Article 12(1) or (2) if proposed amendments are accepted by the Commission. The Commission shall take into account the compatibility with other greenhouse gas emission allowance trading schemes which already exist in Member States.

Article 11

Method of allocation

For the three-year period beginning 1 January 2005 and the five-year period beginning 1 January 2008, Member States shall allocate 15% of the allowances against payment and the remaining part free of charge. When selling the allowances, Member States shall endeavour to avoid any increase in the overall financial burden for operators, notably where energy taxes are applied, in order to achieve neutrality.

Article 12

Allocation and issue of allowances

1.  For the three-year period beginning 1 January 2005, each Member State shall, after having calculated the total quantity of allowances for that period according to Article 10, decide upon the allocation of those allowances to the operator of each installation. This decision shall be taken at least six months before the beginning of the period and be based on its national allocation plan developed pursuant to Article 10 and in accordance with Article 11, taking due account of comments from the public.

2.  For the five-year period beginning 1 January 2008, and for each subsequent five-year period, each Member State shall, after having calculated the total quantity of allowances for the relevant period according to Article 10, decide upon the allocation of those allowances to the operator of each installation. This decision shall be taken at least twelve months before the beginning of the relevant period and be based on its national allocation plan developed pursuant to Article 10 and in accordance with Article 11, taking due account of comments from the public.

3.  For the periods referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2, new entrants shall receive their allowances in the same way as all other participants in the market. The total quantity of allowances shall be adjusted for the periods referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2 in accordance with Article 10(2).

The provisions of this paragraph shall apply in the same way to existing participants in the market which extend their installations as to new entrants.

The adjustment shall be made one year after the new entrant enters the market, also taking into account installations which are closed.

4.  Decisions taken pursuant to paragraph 1 or 2 shall be in conformity with the requirements of the Treaty, in particular Articles 87 and 88 thereof. When deciding upon allocation, Member States shall take into account the need to provide access to allowances for new entrants.

5.  The competent authority shall issue a proportion of the total quantity of allowances each year of the period referred to in paragraph 1 or 2, by 28 February of that year.

6.  Following the accession of new Member States, the total quantity of allowances referred to in Article 11 shall be reduced, after review by the Commission, so as to ensure that no surplus of allowances develops.

Article 13

Transfer, surrender and cancellation of allowances

1.  Member States shall ensure that allowances can be transferred between persons within the Community without restrictions other than those contained in, or adopted pursuant to, this Directive. In particular, allowances allocated to installations in one Member State which are owned by the same company may be transferred without restrictions within the company.

2.  Member States shall ensure that allowances issued by a competent authority of another Member State are recognised for the purpose of meeting an operator's obligations pursuant to paragraph 3.

3.  Member States shall ensure that, by 31 March each year at the latest, the operator of each installation surrenders a number of allowances equal to the total emissions from that installation during the preceding calendar year as verified in accordance with Article 17, and that these are subsequently cancelled.

4.  Member States shall take the necessary steps to ensure that allowances can be cancelled at any time at the request of the person holding them.

5.  Member States shall cancel the allowances of installations

6.  The system introduced by the Member States for the transfer, surrender and cancellation of allowances must ensure transparency as regards the ownership of allowances at all times and as regards the transactions performed between companies inside and outside the Member States.

7.  Member States shall ensure that operators may use, in the next period, allowances that have not been used or sold.

8.  Member States shall ensure that operators may, within the periods referred to in Article 12(1) and (2), bring forward allowances or put aside allowances for a subsequent year.

Article 14

Cessation of activities

Where an installation ceases to carry out an activity listed in Annex I during a period referred to in Article 12(1) or (2), the competent authority may decide not to issue any further allowances to the operator of that installation during the remainder of the period in respect of that installation unless the operator can demonstrate that the closure is related to a corresponding new investment made within the Community.

Article 15

Validity of allowances

1.  Allowances shall be valid for emissions during the period referred to in Article 12(1) or (2) for which they are issued.

2.  Three months after the beginning of the first five-year period referred to in Article 12(2), allowances which are no longer valid and have not been surrendered and cancelled in accordance with Article 13(3) shall be cancelled by the competent authority.

Member States may issue allowances to persons for the current period to replace any allowances held by them which are cancelled in accordance with the first subparagraph.

3.  Three months after the beginning of each subsequent five-year period referred to in Article 12(2), allowances which are no longer valid and have not been surrendered and cancelled in accordance with Article 13(3) shall be cancelled by the competent authority.

Member States shall issue allowances to persons for the current period to replace any allowances held by them which are cancelled in accordance with the first subparagraph.

Article 16

Guidelines for monitoring and reporting of emissions

1.  The Commission shall adopt guidelines for monitoring and reporting of emissions resulting from the activities listed in Annex I of greenhouse gases specified in relation to those activities, in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 24(2). The guidelines shall be based on the principles for monitoring and reporting set out in Annex IV.

2.  Member States shall ensure that emissions are monitored in accordance with the guidelines.

3.  Member States shall ensure that each operator of an installation reports the emissions from that installation during each calendar year to the competent authority three months after the end of that year in accordance with the guidelines.

Article 17

Verification

Member States shall ensure that the reports submitted by operators pursuant to Article 16(3) are verified in accordance with the criteria set out in Annex V, and that the competent authority is informed thereof.

Member States shall ensure that an operator whose report has not been verified as satisfactory in accordance with the criteria set out in Annex V by 31 March each year for emissions during the preceding year cannot make further transfers of allowances until a report from that operator has been verified as satisfactory.

Article 18

Penalties

1.  Member States shall lay down the rules on penalties applicable to infringements of the national provisions adopted pursuant to this Directive and shall take all measures necessary to ensure that they are implemented. The penalties provided for must be effective, proportionate and dissuasive. Member States shall notify these provisions to the Commission by 31 December 2003 at the latest, and shall notify it without delay of any subsequent amendment affecting them.

2.  Member States shall publish the names of operators who fail to comply with their obligation to surrender allowances pursuant to this Directive.

3.  Member States shall ensure that any operator which does not surrender sufficient allowances by 31 March of each year to cover its emissions during the preceding year shall be held liable for the payment of an excess emissions penalty. The excess emissions penalty shall be EUR 100 for each tonne of carbon dioxide equivalent emitted by that installation for which the operator has not surrendered allowances. Payment by the excess emissions shall not release the operator from the obligation to surrender an amount of allowances equal to those excess emissions when surrendering allowances in relation to the following calendar year.

4.  During the three-year period beginning 1 January 2005, Member States shall apply a lower excess emissions penalty of EUR 50 for each tonne of carbon dioxide equivalent emitted by that installation for which the operator has not surrendered allowances. Payment of the excess emissions penalty shall not release the operator from the obligation to surrender an amount of allowances equal to those excess emissions when surrendering allowances in relation to the following calendar year.

5.  Member States shall report on the way in which penalties and the purchase of additional allowances are treated for tax purposes against results.

6.  Revenues derived from the penalties referred to in paragraphs 3 and 4 shall be used for the purpose of reducing emissions via the purchase of allowances by the Member State of additional joint implementation or clean development mechanism projects to further enhance global efforts in climate policy.

7.  The Member States shall harmonise the fiscal treatment of trading in allowances and corresponding penalties by means of the open method of coordination.

Article 19

Access to information

Decisions relating to the allocation of allowances and the reports of emissions required under the greenhouse gas emissions permit and held by the competent authority shall be made available to the public by that authority subject to the restrictions laid down in European Parliament and Council Directive 2002/.../EC of ... [on public access to environmental information and repealing Council Directive 90/313/EEC](17).

Article 20

Competent authority and access to justice

Member States shall make the appropriate administrative arrangements, including the designation of the appropriate competent authority or authorities, for the implementation of the rules of this Directive. Where more than one competent authority is designated, the work of these authorities pursuant to this Directive must be coordinated.

Member States shall ensure that, in accordance with the relevant national legal system, operators and other persons participating in allowance trading have access to a review procedure before a court of law or another independent and impartial body established by law to challenge the substantive or procedural legality of decisions, acts or omissions subject to the provisions of this Directive.

Article 21

Registries

1.  Member States shall establish and maintain a registry in order to ensure the accurate accounting of the issue, holding, transfer and cancellation of allowances. Member States may maintain their registries in a consolidated system, together with one or more other Member States.

2.  Any person may hold allowances. The registry shall contain separate accounts to record the allowances held by each person to whom allowances are issued or transferred.

3.  In order to implement this Directive, the Commission shall adopt a Regulation in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 24(2) for a standardised and secured system of registries in the form of standardised electronic databases, containing common data elements to track the issue, holding, transfer and cancellation of allowances, to provide for confidentiality as appropriate and to ensure that there are no transfers incompatible with obligations resulting from the Kyoto Protocol.

Article 22

Central Administrator

1.  The Commission shall designate a Central Administrator to maintain an independent transaction log recording the issue, transfer and cancellation of allowances.

2.  The Central Administrator shall conduct an automated check on each transaction in registries through the independent transaction log to ensure there are no irregularities in the issue, transfer and cancellation of allowances.

3.  If irregularities are identified through the automated check, the Central Administrator shall inform the Member State or Member States concerned who shall not register the transactions in question or any further transactions relating to the allowances concerned until the irregularities have been resolved.

Article 23

Reporting by Member States

1.  Each year the Member States shall submit to the Commission a report on the application of this Directive. This report shall pay particular attention to the arrangements for the allocation of allowances, the operation of registries, the application of the monitoring and reporting guidelines, verification and issues related to compliance with the Directive. The first report shall be sent to the Commission by 31 May 2005. The report shall be drawn up on the basis of a questionnaire or outline drafted by the Commission in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 6 of Directive 91/692/EEC. The questionnaire or outline shall be sent to Member States at least six months before the deadline for the submission of the first report.

2.  Based on the reports referred to in paragraph 1 the Commission shall publish a report on the application of this Directive within three months of receiving the reports from the Member States.

3.  The Commission shall organise an exchange of information between the competent authorities of the Member States concerning developments related to issues of allocation, the operation of registries, monitoring, reporting, verification and compliance.

Article 24

Committee

1.  The Commission shall be assisted by the committee instituted by Article 8 of Decision 93/389/EEC.

2.  Where reference is made to this paragraph, the regulatory procedure laid down in Article 5 of Decision 1999/468/EC shall apply, in compliance with Article 7 and Article 8 thereof.

3.  The period provided for in Article 5(6) of Decision 1999/468/EC shall be three months.

Article 25

Temporary exclusion of certain installations

1.  Member States may apply to the Commission to temporarily exclude certain installations from the Community greenhouse gas emission allowance trading scheme until 31 December 2007. Any such application shall list each such installation and shall be published.

2.  The Commission shall agree to the request by a Member State for the temporary exclusion of certain installations, provided that the installations

3.  Member States shall include information about installations falling within paragraph 2 in the national allocation plans developed pursuant to Article 10. This information shall include a description of the installations concerned and details of the policies or measures limiting their emissions.

Article 26

Links with other greenhouse gas emissions trading schemes

1.  The Community may, on the basis of the agreements under the Kyoto Protocol, conclude agreements with the third countries listed in Annex B of that Protocol which have ratified that Protocol, to provide for the mutual recognition of allowances between the Community greenhouse gas emissions trading scheme and other greenhouse gas emissions trading schemes in accordance with the rules set out in Article 300 of the Treaty.

In so far as the Community's agreements with the applicant countries on the mutual recognition of allowances are not covered by the accession negotiations, the Community must conclude agreements with those countries.

2.  Where an agreement referred to in paragraph 1 has been concluded, the Commission shall draw up any necessary provisions relating to the mutual recognition of allowances under that agreement in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 24(2).

Any agreement referred to in paragraph 1 for mutual recognition of allowances between the Community greenhouse gas emission allowance trading scheme and other greenhouse gas emission allowance trading schemes shall be limited to the trading of emission reduction allowances. The use of carbon sinks within this scheme shall not be permitted.

Article 27

Links with the Kyoto Protocol project-based mechanisms

1.  Credits from clean development mechanism and joint implementation projects under the Kyoto Protocol shall not fall within the scope of this Directive in the first period beginning in 2005.

2.  The trading of allowances pursuant to this Directive may only be linked to credits from clean development mechanism or joint implementation projects which do not involve carbon sinks and nuclear energy sources.

Article 28

Amendment of Directive 96/61/EC

In Article 9(3) of Directive 96/61/EC the following sub-paragraph is added:

Where emissions of a greenhouse gas from an installation are specified in Annex I to Directive 2002/.../EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of ... [establishing a scheme for greenhouse gas emission allowance trading within the Community and amending Council Directive 96/61/EC]* in relation to an activity carried out in that installation, the permit shall not include an emission limit value for direct emissions of that gas unless it is necessary to ensure that no significant local pollution is caused. Where necessary, the competent authorities shall amend the permit to remove the emission limit value.

______________

* OJ L …

Article 29

Review

1.  Based on progress achieved in the monitoring of emissions of greenhouse gases, the Commission shall submit a proposal to the European Parliament and the Council by 30 June 2006 to amend Annex I to include other sectors and activities.

2.  Based on experience obtained in the three-year period beginning 1 January 2005 and on progress achieved in the monitoring of emissions of greenhouse gases and in the light of developments in the international context, the Commission shall draw up a report on the application of this Directive, accompanied by proposals as appropriate, considering:

The Commission shall submit any such report to the European Parliament and the Council by 30 June 2006, accompanied by proposals as appropriate.

Article 30

Implementation

Member States shall bring into force the laws, regulations and administrative provisions necessary to comply with this Directive by 31 December 2003 at the latest. They shall forthwith inform the Commission thereof. The Commission shall notify the other Member States of those laws, regulations and administrative provisions.

When Member States adopt those provisions, they shall contain a reference to this Directive or be accompanied by such a reference on the occasion of their official publication. Member States shall determine how such reference is to be made.

Article 31

Entry into force

This Directive shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Communities.

Article 32

Addressees

This Directive is addressed to the Member States.

Done at ,

For the European Parliament For the Council

The President The President

ANNEX I

CATEGORIES OF ACTIVITIES REFERRED TO IN ARTICLE 2(1), ARTICLES 4, 5, 16(1) AND 29

1.  Installations or parts of installations used for research, development and testing of new products and processes are not covered by this Directive.

2.  The threshold values given below generally refer to production capacities or outputs. Where one operator carries out several activities falling under the same subheading in the same installation or on the same site, the capacities of such activities are added together.

ANNEX II

GREENHOUSE GASES REFERRED TO IN ARTICLES 4 AND 29

Carbon dioxide (CO2)

Methane (CH4 factor 23)

Nitrous Oxide (N2O factor 310)

Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs)

Perfluorocarbons (PFCs)

Sulphur Hexafluoride (SF6 factor 23 900)

ANNEX III

CRITERIA FOR NATIONAL ALLOCATION PLANS REFERRED TO IN ARTICLE 10

(1)  Quantities of allowances to be allocated shall be consistent with the technological potential of installations to reduce emissions, taking account of emission reductions achieved by technological improvements introduced through early action;

Benchmarks derived from reference documents relating to the best available techniques shall be used in order to reward previous and future achievements and prevent unduly high or low allowances from being provided; the benchmarks shall be established in consultation between the Member States and the Commission;

The benchmarks shall reflect equivalent efforts by all sectors and types of installation;

(2)  Member States shall only begin to allocate allowances for emissions of greenhouse gases other than CO2 when standardised methods under Annex IV are fully developed and recognised at EU level and provide the same security of measurement as methods for establishing energy-related CO2 emissions;

(3)  The plan shall be consistent with other EC legislative and policy instruments. In particular, no allowances should be allocated to cover emissions which would be reduced or eliminated as a consequence of Community legislation on renewable energy in electricity production so as to avoid accumulation of financial benefits, and account should be taken of unavoidable increases in emissions resulting from new legislative requirements. Member States shall avoid cumulating greenhouse gas-related measures (such as energy taxes or CO2 levies) on the sectors involved;

(4)  The allocation plan shall not discriminate between companies or sectors in such a way as to unduly favour certain undertakings or activities, nor shall any installation be allocated more allowances than it is likely to need, unless this is done in recognition of emission reductions already achieved;

(5)  The plan shall contain information on the manner in which new entrants will be able to begin participating in the greenhouse gas emissions trading scheme in the Member State especially through the allocation of allowances, although no distortions of competition must occur, and on how new production capacity will be taken into account when allowances are allocated;

(6)  The plan shall contain information on the manner in which the Member States fulfil their obligation to take into account early action carried out from 1990 to 2004;

(7)  The plan shall include provisions for comments to be expressed by the public, and contain information on the arrangements by which due account will be taken of these comments before a decision on the allocation of allowances is taken; and

(8)  The plan shall contain a list of the installations included in this Directive and of those installations' emissions permits.

ANNEX IV

PRINCIPLES FOR MONITORING AND REPORTING REFERRED TO IN ARTICLE 16(1)

Monitoring of carbon dioxide emissions

Emissions shall be monitored either by calculation or on the basis of measurement.

Calculation

Calculations of emissions shall be performed using the formula:

Activity data x Emission factor x Oxidation factor

Activity data (fuel used, production rate etc) shall be monitored on the basis of supply data or measurement.

Accepted emission factors shall be used. Activity-specific emission factors are acceptable for all fuels. Default factors are acceptable for all fuels except non-commercial ones (waste fuels such as tyres and industrial process gases). Seam-specific defaults for coal, and EU-specific or producer country-specific defaults for natural gas shall be further elaborated. IPCC default values are acceptable for refinery products. The emission factor for biomass shall be zero.

If the emission factor does not take account of the fact that some of the carbon is not oxidised, then an additional oxidation factor shall be used. If activity-specific emission factors have been calculated and already take oxidation into account, then an oxidation factor need not be applied.

Default oxidation factors developed pursuant to Directive 96/61/EC shall be used, unless the operator can demonstrate that activity-specific factors are more accurate.

A separate calculation shall be made for each activity and for each fuel.

Measurement

Measurement of emissions shall use standardised or accepted methods, and shall be corroborated by a supporting calculation of emissions.

Monitoring of emissions of other greenhouse gases

Standardised methods shall be developed by the Commission in collaboration with all stakeholders and agreed in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 24(2).

Reporting of emissions

Each operator shall include the following information in the report for an installation:

A.  Data identifying the installation, including:

B.  For each Annex I activity carried out on the site for which emissions are calculated:

C.  For each Annex I activity carried out on the site for which emissions are measured:

D.  For emissions from energy combustion, the report shall also include the oxidation factor, unless oxidation has already been taken into account in the development of an activity-specific emission factor.

Member States shall take measures to coordinate reporting requirements with any existing reporting requirements in order to minimise the reporting burden on businesses.

ANNEX V

CRITERIA FOR VERIFICATION REFERRED TO IN ARTICLE 17

General Principles

(1)  Emissions from each activity listed in Annex I shall be subject to verification.

(2)  The verification process shall include consideration of the report pursuant to Article 16(3) and of monitoring during the preceding year. It shall address the reliability, credibility and accuracy of monitoring systems and the reported data and information relating to emissions, in particular:

(3)  Reported emissions may only be validated if reliable and credible data and information allow the emissions to be determined with a high degree of certainty. A high degree of certainty requires the operator to show that:

(4)  The verifier shall be given access to all sites and information in relation to the subject of the verification.

(5)  The verifier shall take into account whether the installation is registered under the Community eco-management and audit scheme (EMAS).

Methodology

Strategic analysis

(6)  The verification shall be based on a strategic analysis of all the activities carried out in the installation. This requires the verifier to have an overview over all the activities and their significance for emissions.

Process analysis

(7)  The verification of the submitted information shall, where appropriate, be carried out on the site of the installation. The verifier shall use spot-checks to determine the reliability of the reported data and information.

Risk analysis

(8)  The verifier shall submit all the sources of greenhouse gas emissions in the installation to an evaluation with regard to the reliability of the data of each source contributing to the overall emissions of the installation.

(9)  On the basis of this analysis the verifier shall explicitly identify those sources with a high risk of error and other aspects of the monitoring and reporting procedure which are likely to contribute to errors in the determination of the overall emissions. This especially involves the choice of the emission factors and the calculations necessary to determine the emissions of single sources of emissions. Particular attention shall be given to those sources with a high risk of error and those aspects of the monitoring procedure.

(10)  The verifier shall take into consideration any effective risk control methods applied by the operator with a view to minimising the degree of uncertainty.

Report

(11)  The verifier shall prepare a report on the validation process stating whether the report pursuant to Article 16(3) is satisfactory. This report shall specify all issues relevant to the work carried out. A statement that the report pursuant to Article 16(3) is satisfactory may be made if, in the opinion of the verifier, the total emissions are not materially misstated.

Minimum competency requirements for the verifier

(12)  The verifier shall be independent of the operator, carry out his activities in a sound and objective professional manner, and understand:

(1) OJ C 75 E, 26.3.2002, p. 33. (2) OJ C 75 E, 26.3.2002, p. 33. (3) OJ C 221, 17.9.2002, p. 27. (4) OJ C 192, 12.8.2002, p. 59. (5) Position of the European Parliament of 10 October 2002. (6) COM(2000) 87. (7) COM(2000) 88. (8) COM(2001) 31. (9) OJ L 33, 7.2.1994, p. 11. (10) OJ L 130, 15.5.2002, p. 1. (11) OJ L 167, 9.7.1993, p. 31; Decision as amended by Decision 1999/296/EC (OJ L 117, 5.5.1999, p. 35). (12) OJ L 158, 23.6.1990, p. 56. (13) OJ L 377, 31.12.1991, p. 48. (14) OJ L 184, 17.7.1999, p. 23. (15) OJ L 257, 10.10.1996, p. 26. (16) x corresponds to the share of total emissions produced by the installations covered by this Directive in the Member State concerned in 1990. (17) OJ L ...

European Parliament resolution on the conclusion of an Association Agreement with Algeria

P5_TA(2002)0462 B5-0489/2002

The European Parliament,

–   having regard to the proposal for a decision of the Council presented by the Commission (COM(2002) 157),

–   having regard to the draft Euro-Mediterranean agreement establishing an association between the European Community and its Member States, of the one part, and the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, of the other part,

–   having regard to its assent of 10 October 2002 concerning the conclusion of this agreement (10819/2002 - COM(2002) 157 – C5-0362/2002 - 2002/0077(AVC))(1),

A.   mindful of the importance of the political, economic and cultural ties that have always existed between the European Union and Algeria,

B.   whereas Algeria is in a difficult transition period marked by a continuation of the most varied forms of violence and political, economic and social uncertainty,

C.   having regard to the opportunities offered by the new agreement as regards political cooperation, strengthening relations between the European Union and Algeria and social, economic and cultural development in a climate of mutual respect,

D.   whereas the economic cooperation provided for under the agreement must address the real employment, housing and water-supply shortages faced by Algeria and help develop public health and education services so as to guarantee social and territorial cohesion,

E.   regarding as wholly inadequate the absence of any reference to political dialogue between the European Parliament and the National People's Assembly of Algeria, given that such dialogue would guarantee parliamentary monitoring of the implementation of the new agreement,

F.   whereas the Algerian people have been suffering violations of human rights for many years,

G.   having regard to Article 2 of the association agreement, which stipulates that respect for democratic principles and fundamental human rights inspire the domestic and external policies of the parties and constitute an essential element of the agreement,

H.   whereas the procedures for assessing the application of Article 2, which establishes respect for fundamental human rights and democratic principles as an essential element of the agreement, are inadequate; whereas neither the European Parliament nor the National People's Assembly of Algeria has been involved in those procedures,

I.   whereas the state of emergency decree of 9 February 1992 and all accompanying decrees and laws remain in force,

J.   whereas efforts must be continued to guarantee respect for human rights, to improve procedures for defending and protecting fundamental freedoms and to build and strengthen a solid, independent civil society that rejects the use of violence and makes a telling contribution to democratisation and reconciliation in Algeria,

K.   whereas the fact that it is still possible to act with impunity remains a major obstacle to restoring the rule of law in Algeria,

L.   whereas terrorism and organised crime pose a threat to the achievement of the aims of the agreement,

M.   having regard to the contrast between Algeria's huge economic potential and the social circumstances of its population, which feels deprived of the benefits of the economic transition, and, in particular, the dire situation facing the country's young people,

N.   noting the results of the third multi-party parliamentary elections in Algeria (30 May 2002), which were characterised by the lowest turnout ever (46%, according to official sources); regretting the fact that they took place without the presence of any international observers,

1.  Welcomes the Council's plan to conclude a Euro-Mediterranean Association Agreement and hopes that the said agreement will help give decisive impetus to the political and economic reforms required to improve the economic and social situation in Algeria;

2.  Calls on the Council and the Commission urgently to develop together with Algeria plans and measures to fight against extremely high unemployment, especially among the younger generation;

3.  Reasserts that respect for human rights, which includes resolving the problem of the "disappeared" and eliminating all forms of impunity, is an essential element of the new association agreement;

4.  Takes the view that lifting the state of emergency would contribute to the development of the rule of law and hence to fulfilment of the prior conditions set out in Article 2 of the agreement;

5.  Calls on the Algerian authorities to respond favourably to the repeated requests from various UN special rapporteurs (on summary executions, violence against women, torture, enforced disappearances and adequate housing), from the Special Rapporteur of the Commission on Human Rights on the right to education and from international NGOs to gain access to Algerian territory;

6.  Calls on the Algerian authorities to pursue and step up their efforts to ensure greater respect for fundamental rights such as freedom of the press, freedom of association and the right to organise, in accordance with the international agreements to which Algeria is a party, and expresses the wish that Algeria will implement the recommendations formulated by the supervisory bodies for those agreements at the earliest opportunity;

7.  Urges the Algerian authorities to quickly adopt and implement legislative measures to promote both decentralised decision-making and the linguistic and cultural diversity of the Algerian people;

8.  Reasserts the necessity of a withdrawal of the military from political decision-making and of strengthening the political institutions;

9.  Calls on Algeria to accept help and support from the European Union in its fight against the devastating "fundamentalist" terrorism and asks the Council and the Commission to fight against any organisation of or support for this terrorism from European soil;

10.  Expresses its solidarity with the families of the victims and with the Algerian people as a whole, and reiterates its condemnation of terrorism in all its forms and its support for an international conference to be convened by the United Nations with a view to signing a general convention on terrorism; in the meantime, encourages the Algerian authorities to sign, ratify and implement without delay all international treaties to combat terrorism and organised crime, whilst fully observing the democratic principles and fundamental rights set out in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights;

11.  Regrets that the text of the agreement does not include an explicit reference to interparliamentary dialogue or to relations between the European Parliament and the new National People's Assembly of Algeria, elected on 30 May 2002; hopes that, once it is up and running, the new Euro-Mediterranean Parliamentary Assembly proposed in Valencia will monitor the association agreement and provide it with full democratic legitimacy;

12.  Supports the role of civil society and its associations in the pursuit of peace and democracy in Algeria and encourages them to establish relations with civil society and associations in Europe and around the world;

13.  Calls on the Council, the Member States and the Commission to promote asylum and immigration policies that respect human rights, are based on the free movement of persons and an improved right to asylum, and are compatible with the provisions on the free movement of persons in the new agreement and with the acquired rights of the legal immigrants of Algerian origin living in the European Union, who should enjoy equal treatment as regards economic, social and cultural rights;

14.  Calls on the Commission and the Council to do their utmost to ensure that the association agreement makes for an improvement in the economic and social situation of Algeria's people, and of its young people in particular;

15.  Expresses concern at the corruption in various sectors in Algeria and calls on the Algerian authorities and the Commission to take all possible measures to prevent and curb corruption, particularly in view of the opening-up of markets provided for under the agreement, and to introduce monitoring procedures;

16.  Calls on the National People's Assembly of Algeria to abolish the death penalty and to draw up, at the earliest opportunity, a just and equitable legal framework for key issues such as the status of women (primarily involving a revision of the Family Code), family law and educational reform;

17.  Calls on the Algerian authorities to find a solution to the crisis in Kabylia by instituting legal proceedings against those responsible for the repression there;

18.  Calls on the Commission to contribute towards developing cooperation in the public services (transport, energy, telecommunications, education and health) so as to better meet the needs of the Algerian population;

19.  Calls on the Commission to carry out a regular assessment of the economic, social and environmental consequences of implementing the Association Agreement;

20.  Calls further on the Algerian authorities to improve the country's legislation on the prison system and to take action to guarantee a truly independent justice system in line with international standards in order to strengthen the rule of law in Algeria;

21.  Calls on the Commission to guarantee that independent associations can be involved in drawing up and implementing Euro-Mediterranean programmes, including the MEDA Democracy programmes;

22.  Believes that all signatories to the Barcelona Declaration must be committed to undertake concrete measures in order to develop and implement all the aspects of the partnership; in this regard urges all parties to define clear mechanisms concerning the implementation of Article 2 of the association agreement;

23.  Calls on the Council and the Commission to set in motion procedures for structured political dialogue and for the regular assessment of compliance with Article 2 of the agreement by all the parties thereto, procedures in which the European Parliament, the National People's Assembly of Algeria and Algerian civil society should also be involved;

24.  Calls on the Commission to take all of the aspects mentioned in this resolution as points of reference for assessing compliance with the human rights clause;

25.  Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the Algerian Government and the National People's Assembly of Algeria.

(1) P5_TA-PROV(2002)0463.

European Parliament legislative resolution on the proposal for a Council decision on the conclusion of the Euro-Mediterranean agreement establishing an association between the European Community and its Member States of the one part, and the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria of the other part (10819/2002 - COM(2002) 157 – C5-0362/2002 – 2002/0077(AVC))

P5_TA(2002)0463 A5-0299/2002

(Assent procedure)

The European Parliament,

−   having regard to the proposal for a Council decision (COM(2002) 157),

−   having regard to the draft Euro-Mediterranean association agreement between the European Community and its Member States and the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria (10819/2002),

−   having regard to the Council's request for Parliament's assent pursuant to Article 300(3), second subparagraph, in conjunction with Article 310 of the EC Treaty (C5&nbhy;0362/2002),

−   having regard to Rules 86 and 97(7) of its Rules of Procedure,

−   having regard to the recommendation of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, Human Rights, Common Security and Defence Policy (A5&nbhy;0299/2002),

1.  Gives its assent to the conclusion of the agreement;

2.  Instructs its President to forward its position to the Council and Commission, and the governments and parliaments of the Member States and of the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria.

European Parliament legislative resolution on the proposal for a Council regulation establishing the European Union Solidarity Fund (COM(2002) 514 – C5–0441/2002 – 2002/0228(CNS))

P5_TA(2002)0464 A5-0341/2002

(Consultation procedure)

The European Parliament,

–   having regard to the Commission proposal to the Council (COM(2002) 514),

–   having been consulted by the Council pursuant to Article 159, third paragraph, of the EC Treaty (C5&nbhy;0441/2002),

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

–   having regard to the report of the Committee on Regional Policy, Transport and Tourism and the opinion of the Committee on Budgets (A5&nbhy;0341/2002),

1.  Approves the Commission proposal as amended;

2.  Calls on the Council to alter its proposal accordingly, pursuant to Article 250(2) of the EC Treaty;

3.  Calls on the Council to notify Parliament should it intend to depart from the text approved by Parliament;

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

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

Text proposed by the Commission   Amendments by Parliament Amendment 1 Recital 1 (1)  In the event of major natural, technological or environmental disasters, the Community must show its solidarity with people in the regions concerned by providing financial assistance to contribute to a rapid return to normal living conditions in the disaster-stricken regions. (1)  In the event of major disasters, the Community must show its solidarity with people in the regions concerned by providing financial assistance to contribute to a rapid return to normal living conditions in the disaster-stricken regions. Amendment 3 Recital 2 (2)  Existing economic and social cohesion instruments are able to finance risk-prevention measures and the repair of damaged infrastructure. However, provision should also be made for an instrument which enables the Community to act swiftly and efficiently to help, as quickly as possible, in mobilising emergency services to meet people's immediate needs and contribute to the short-term restoration of damaged key infrastructure so that economic activity can resume in regions hit by a major disaster. (2)  Existing economic and social cohesion instruments are able to finance risk-prevention measures and the repair of damaged infrastructure. However, provision should also be made for an additional instrument, to be distinguished from existing Community instruments, which enables the Community to act swiftly and efficiently to help, as quickly as possible, in mobilising emergency services to meet people's immediate needs and contribute to the short-term restoration of damaged key infrastructure so that economic activity can resume in regions hit by a major disaster. Amendment 4 Recital 4 (4)  Community aid should be complementary to the efforts of the countries concerned and be used to cover a share of the public expenditure committed to dealing with the damage caused by a major disaster. (4)  Community aid should be complementary to the efforts of the countries concerned and be used to cover a share of the public expenditure committed to dealing with the damage caused by a major disaster. In fixing the amount of assistance, any insurance claims that may arise should not be taken into account, since processing and estimating all insurance claims would not be possible at short notice. Amendment 5 Recital 5 (5)  In line with the principle of subsidiarity, assistance under this instrument should be confined to major natural, technological and environmental disasters with serious repercussions on living conditions, the natural environment or the economy. (5)  In line with the principle of subsidiarity, assistance under this instrument should be confined to major disasters with serious repercussions on living conditions, the natural environment or the economy. Amendment 6 Recital 6 (6)  A major disaster within the meaning of this Regulation shall mean any disaster, in at least one of the states concerned, resulting in important damage expressed in financial terms or as a percentage of the GDP. In order to permit interventions in the case of disasters that, while important do not reach the minimum scale required, and under very exceptional circumstances, assistance can also be granted whenever a substantial part of the population of the region or the state concerned is affected by a disaster. (6)  A major disaster within the meaning of this Regulation shall mean any disaster, in at least one of the states or regions concerned, resulting in important damage expressed in financial terms or as a percentage of the GDP. In order to permit interventions in the case of disasters that, while important do not reach the minimum scale required, and under very exceptional circumstances, assistance can also be granted whenever a substantial part of the population of the region or the state concerned is affected by a disaster. Amendment 7 Recital 7 (7)  Community action should not relieve third parties of responsibility or discourage preventive measures. (7)  Community action should not relieve third parties, who, under the 'polluter-pays' principle, are liable in the first instance for damage caused by them, of responsibility, or discourage preventive measures at both Member State and Community level. Amendment 8 Recital 8 (8)  This instrument should allow a rapid decision to be taken to commit specific financial resources and mobilise them as quickly as possible. (8)  This instrument should allow a rapid decision to be taken to commit specific financial resources and mobilise them as quickly as possible. Administrative procedures should be adjusted accordingly, and confined to the minimum absolutely necessary. Amendment 9 Recital 11 (11)  An operation funded by this instrument should not benefit for the same purpose from assistance under Council Regulation (EC) No 1164/94 of 16 May 1994 establishing a Cohesion Fund, Council Regulation (EC) No 1260/1999 of 21 June 1999 laying down general provisions on the Structural Funds, Council Regulation (EC) No 1257/1999 of 17 May 1999 on support for rural development from the European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund (EAGGF), Council Regulation (EEC) No 3906/89 of 18 December 1989 on economic aid to the Republic of Hungary and the Polish People's Republic, Council Regulation (EC) No 1267/1999 of 21 June 1999 establishing an Instrument for Structural Policies for Pre-accession, Council Regulation (EC) No 1268/1999 of 21 June 1999 on Community support for pre-accession measures for agriculture and rural development in the applicant countries of central and eastern Europe in the pre-accession period, Commission Regulation (EC) No 2760/98 of 18 December 1998 concerning the implementation of a programme for cross-border cooperation in the framework of the PHARE programme or Council Regulation (EC) No 1266/1999 of 21 June 1999 on coordinating aid to the applicant countries in the framework of the pre-accession strategy and amending Regulation (EEC) No 3906/89 (11)  An operation funded by this instrument should not benefit for the same purpose from assistance under Council Regulation (EC) No 1164/94 of 16 May 1994 establishing a Cohesion Fund, Council Regulation (EC) No 1260/1999 of 21 June 1999 laying down general provisions on the Structural Funds, Council Regulation (EC) No 1257/1999 of 17 May 1999 on support for rural development from the European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund (EAGGF), Council Regulation (EEC) No 3906/89 of 18 December 1989 on economic aid to the Republic of Hungary and the Polish People's Republic, Council Regulation (EC) No 1267/1999 of 21 June 1999 establishing an Instrument for Structural Policies for Pre-accession, Council Regulation (EC) No 1268/1999 of 21 June 1999 on Community support for pre-accession measures for agriculture and rural development in the applicant countries of central and eastern Europe in the pre-accession period, Commission Regulation (EC) No 2760/98 of 18 December 1998 concerning the implementation of a programme for cross-border cooperation in the framework of the PHARE programme or Council Regulation (EC) No 1266/1999 of 21 June 1999 on coordinating aid to the applicant countries in the framework of the pre-accession strategy and amending Regulation (EEC) No 3906/89. That should not, however, apply to the reinstatement of projects that had originally been financed and co-financed under those Regulations. Amendment 10 Article 2, paragraph 1 1.  At the request of a Member State or country involved in accession negotiations with the European Union, hereinafter referred to as "beneficiary state", assistance from the Fund may be mobilised when a major natural, technological or environmental disaster with serious repercussions on living conditions, the natural environment or the economy in one or more regions or one or more countries occurs on the territory of that state. 1.  At the request of a Member State or country involved in accession negotiations with the European Union, hereinafter referred to as "beneficiary state", assistance from the Fund may be mobilised when a major disaster with serious repercussions on living conditions, the natural environment or the economy in one or more regions or one or more countries occurs on the territory of that state. Amendment 11 Article 2, paragraph 2, subparagraph 1 2.  A major disaster within the meaning of this Regulation shall mean any disaster resulting, in at least one of the states concerned, in damage estimated at over EUR 1 billion, in 2002 prices, or more than 0.5% of its GDP. 2.  A major disaster within the meaning of this Regulation shall mean any disaster resulting, in at least one of the states concerned, in damage estimated either at over EUR 1 billion, in 2002 prices, or more than 0.5% of its GDP. Amendment 12 Article 2, paragraph 2, subparagraph 2 Under very exceptional circumstances, can be included any disaster affecting a substantial part of the population of the region or state concerned. However, under exceptional circumstances, even when the quantitative criteria laid down in the previous subparagraph are not met, any disaster affecting a substantial part of the population of the specific zones concerned can be included. Amendment 13 Article 3, paragraph 3 3.  The aim of the Fund is to help the beneficiary state to carry out the following essential measures, depending on the type of disaster: 3.  The aim of the Fund is to help the beneficiary state to carry out the following essential measures, depending on the type of disaster: - immediate restoration to working order of infrastructure and plant in the fields of energy, water and waste water, telecommunications, transport, health and education; - providing temporary accommodation and funding rescue services to meet the immediate needs of the people concerned; - immediate securing of preventive infrastructures and measures of immediate protection of the cultural heritage; - cleaning up of disaster-stricken natural zones. - immediate restoration to working order of buildings, infrastructure and plant in the fields of energy, water and waste water, telecommunications, transport, health and education; - providing temporary accommodation and funding rescue services to meet the immediate needs of the people concerned; - immediate securing of preventive infrastructures and measures of immediate protection of the cultural heritage; - immediate cleaning up of all disaster-stricken areas, including natural zones. Amendment 14 Article 4, paragraph 1 1.  As soon as possible and no later than two months after the first damage caused by the disaster, a state may submit an application for assistance from the Fund to the Commission taking account of, among other factors: 1.  As soon as possible and no later than three months after the first damage caused by the disaster, a state may submit an application for assistance from the Fund to the Commission taking account of, among other factors: (a) the scale of the disaster; (a) the total damage caused by the disaster; (b) the estimated cost of the operations referred to in Article 3; (b) the estimated cost of the operations referred to in Article 3; (c) any other sources of Community and national funding, including private funding, which might contribute to the costs of repairing the damage. (c) any other sources of Community and national funding which might contribute to the costs of repairing the damage. Amendment 15 Article 4, paragraph 2, suparagraph 1 2.  On the basis of this information, and any clarifications to be provided by the state concerned, the Commission shall determine the amount of any possible grant as quickly as possible within the limits of the financial resources available. However, this grant must leave available 25% of the annual amount allocated to the Fund up to 1 October each year. 2.  On the basis of this information, and any clarifications to be provided by the state concerned, the Commission shall determine the amount of any possible grant as quickly as possible within the limits of the financial resources available. However, this grant must leave available 25% of the annual amount allocated to the Fund up to 1 October each year according to the provisions established in 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). ______________ (1) OJ C 172, 18.6.1999. Amendment 17 Article 5, paragraph 1 In conformity with the specific constitutional, institutional, legal or financial provisions of the beneficiary state and of the Community, the Commission and the beneficiary state, and, where appropriate, the regional or local authorities, shall conclude an agreement to implement the decision to grant financial assistance. That agreement shall describe in particular the type and location of operations to be financed by the Fund. In conformity with the specific constitutional, institutional, legal or financial provisions of the beneficiary state and of the Community, the Commission and the beneficiary state and, possibly, the regional or local authorities, shall conclude an agreement to implement the decision to grant financial assistance. That agreement shall describe in particular the type and location of operations to be financed by the Fund, as well as the measures to be taken to prevent, to the extent possible, a similar event from taking place in future. Amendment 18 Article 8, paragraph 4 Where the cost of repairing the damage is subsequently met by a third party, the Commission shall require the beneficiary state to reimburse a corresponding amount of the grant. Where the cost of repairing the damage is subsequently met by a third party, within the period set in paragraph 1, the Commission shall require the beneficiary state to reimburse a corresponding amount of the grant, in such a case that the amount subsequently met by a third party was not anticipated by the beneficiary state or the Commission, according to the provisions of Article 4(1) and (2). Amendment 19 Article 10 In exceptional circumstances, having regard to the specific nature or intensity of a disaster and the financial resources available, notwithstanding Article 3(1) the Commission may, within one year of the grant decision, provide a supplementary grant at the request of the beneficiary state. This request is supported by new elements, notably a significantly higher valuation of the damages incurred. The supplementary grant shall be awarded on the same terms as the initial grant. In exceptional circumstances, having regard to the specific nature or intensity of a disaster and the financial resources available, notwithstanding Article 3(1) the Commission may, according to the procedures established in the Interinstitutional Agreement of 6 May 1999 as modified on ... (date), propose to the budgetary authority, within one year of the grant decision, to provide a supplementary grant at the request of the beneficiary state. This request is supported by new elements, notably a significantly higher valuation of the damages incurred. The supplementary grant shall be awarded on the same terms as the initial grant.

European Parliament legislative resolution on the proposal for a Council regulation on establishing specific access requirements and associated conditions applicable to fishing for deep-sea stocks (COM(2002) 108 – C5&nbhy;0135/2002 – 2002/0053(CNS))

P5_TA(2002)0465 A5-0307/2002

(Consultation procedure)

The European Parliament,

–   having regard to the Commission proposal to the Council (COM(2002) 108)(1),

–   having been consulted by the Council pursuant to Article 37 of the EC Treaty (C5-0135/2002),

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

–   having regard to the report of the Committee on Fisheries (A5-0307/2002),

1.  Approves the Commission proposal as amended;

2.  Calls on the Commission to alter its proposal accordingly, pursuant to Article 250(2) of the EC Treaty;

3.  Calls on the Council to notify Parliament should it intend to depart from the text approved by Parliament;

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

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

Text proposed by the Commission   Amendments by Parliament Amendment 12 Recital 5 (5)  Accurate information about fishing operations is a prerequisite for provision of high quality scientific advice, and such information can best be collected by trained and independent scientific observers. (5)  Accurate and up-to-date information about fishing operations is a prerequisite for provision of high quality scientific advice, and such information can best be collected by trained and independent scientific observers in collaboration with the fishing industry and other interested parties. Amendment 13 Recital 6 (6)  Appropriate information for scientific advice about fisheries should be made available to the relevant scientific and management bodies as soon as possible. (6)  Appropriate, verifiable and up-to-date information for scientific advice about fisheries and the marine environment should be available to the relevant scientific and management bodies prior to taking and implementing management decisions. Amendment 1 Article 3, paragraph 2 2.  It shall be prohibited to catch, retain on board, tranship or to land any aggregate quantity of the deep-sea species other than ling or tusk in excess of 50 kg, or any aggregate quantity of ling and tusk in excess of 1 tonne, unless the vessel in question holds a deep-sea fishing permit. 2.  It shall be prohibited to catch, retain on board, tranship or to land any aggregate quantity of the deep-sea species in excess of 50 kg unless the vessel in question holds a deep-sea fishing permit. Amendment 2 Article 4, paragraph 1, subparagraph 1 1.  Member States shall calculate the aggregate power and the aggregate capacity of its vessels which, in any one of the years 1998,1999 or 2000, have landed more than 10 tonnes of any mixture of the deep-sea species with the exception of ling and tusk, or more than 100 tonnes of any mixture of ling and tusk. 1.  Member States shall calculate the aggregate power and the aggregate capacity of their vessels which, in any one of the years 1998, 1999 or 2000, have landed more than 10 tonnes of any mixture of the deep-sea species. Amendment 10 Article 4, paragraph 2 a (new) 2a. Each year, on the basis of scientific advice and in consultation with the industry, the Commission shall designate areas for seasonal or full-year closures to conserve particularly vulnerable stocks. Amendment 4 Article 7, paragraphs 1 and 2 1.  It shall be prohibited to land any quantity of any mixture of deep-sea species other than ling and tusk in excess of 50 kg or any aggregate quantity of ling and tusk in excess of 1 tonne at any place other than the ports which have been designated for landing deep-sea species. 1.  It shall be prohibited to land any quantity of any mixture of deep-sea species in excess of 50 kg at any place other than the ports which have been designated for landing deep-sea species. 2.  Each Member State shall designate ports into which any landing of deep-sea species other than ling and tusk in excess of 50 kg and any landing of any mixture of ling and tusk in excess of 1 tonne shall take place and shall determine the associated inspection and surveillance procedures, including the terms and conditions for recording and reporting the quantities of deep-sea species within each landing. 2.  Each Member State shall designate ports into which any landing of deep-sea species in excess of 50 kg shall take place and shall determine the associated inspection and surveillance procedures, including the terms and conditions for recording and reporting the quantities of deep-sea species within each landing. Amendment 16 Article 7, paragraph 3 a (new) 3a. Enforcement of the designated ports system shall not risk the safety of vessels and their crew. Where a vessel lands deep-sea species as defined under paragraph 1 at an undesignated port owing to safety reasons or force majeure, the master of the vessel shall immediately inform the relevant authorities of the catch landed and provide justification for landing at an undesignated port. Amendment 5 Article 9, paragraph 1 In addition to the obligations laid down in Articles 15 and 19i of Regulation (EEC) No 2847/93, Member States, on the basis of the information recorded in logbooks and reports presented by the scientific observers, shall communicate for each half calendar year within three months of the expiry of that half calendar year to the Commission the information about catches of deep-sea species and fishing effort deployed, expressed as kilowatt-fishing days, broken down by quarter of the year, by type of gear, by species and by ICES statistical rectangle or CECAF subdivision. In addition to the obligations laid down in Articles 15 and 19i of Regulation (EEC) No 2847/93, Member States, on the basis of the information recorded in logbooks, including full records of fishing days out of port and reports presented by the scientific observers, shall communicate for each half calendar year within three months of the expiry of that half calendar year to the Commission the information about catches of deep-sea species and fishing effort deployed, expressed as fishing days out of port, broken down by catch area and identification of vessel concerned. Amendment 6 Article 9 a (new) Article 9a Review A general review of the progress made in achieving the aims of this Regulation shall be undertaken, in the light of the latest available scientific evidence, no later than three years after its entry into force. Amendment 8 Article 9 b (new) Article 9b Economic and operational impact The Commission shall conduct a thorough investigation into the expected loss of revenue and effort displacement resulting from the reduction in fishing effort implied by this Regulation. The outcome of this investigation shall be reported to the Council together with recommendations to mitigate any adverse impact on the conservation of stocks or the viability of affected fishing enterprises. Amendment 7 Annex I Scientific name Common name Scientific name Common name Aphanopus carbo Black scabbardfish Aphanopus carbo Black scabbardfish Apristuris spp. Iceland catshark Apristuris spp. Iceland catshark Argentina silus Greater silver smelt Argentina silus Greater silver smelt Beryx spp. Alfonsinos Beryx spp. Alfonsinos Brosme brosme Tusk Deleted Centrophorus granulosus Gulper shark Centrophorus granulosus Gulper shark Centrophorus squamosus Leafscale gulper shark Centrophorus squamosus Leafscale gulper shark Centroscyllium fabricii Black dogfish Centroscyllium fabricii Black dogfish Centroscymnus coelolepis Portuguese dogfish Centroscymnus coelolepis Portuguese dogfish Coryphaenoides rupestris Roundnose grenadier Coryphaenoides rupestris Roundnose grenadier Dalatias licha Kitefin shark Dalatias licha Kitefin shark Deania calceus Birdbeak dogfish Deania calceus Birdbeak dogfish Etmopterus princeps Greater lanternshark Etmopterus princeps Greater lanternshark Etmopterus spinax Velvet belly Etmopterus spinax Velvet belly Galeus melastomus Blackmouth dogfish Galeus melastomus Blackmouth dogfish Galeus murinus Mouse catshark Galeus murinus Mouse catshark Hoplostethus atlanticus Orange roughy Hoplostethus atlanticus Orange roughy Molva dypterigia Blue ling Molva dypterigia Blue ling Molva molva Ling Deleted Pagellus bogaraveo Red Seabream Pagellus bogaraveo Red Seabream Phycis spp. Forkbeards Phycis spp. Forkbeards

(1) OJ C 151 E, 25.6.2002, p. 184.

European Parliament resolution on the Commission communication to the Council, the European Parliament, the Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions on the Commission's Action Plan for skills and mobility (COM(2002) 72 – C5&nbhy;0287/2002 – 2002/2147(COS))

P5_TA(2002)0466 A5-0313/2002

The European Parliament,

–   having regard to the Commission communication (COM(2002) 72 – C5&nbhy;0287/2002),

–   having regard to Articles 39, 40, 149, and 150 of the EC Treaty,

–   having regard to Council Regulation (EEC) No 1408/71 of 14 June 1971(1) and Council Regulation (EEC) 574/72 of 29 March 1972(2) on the application of social security schemes to employed persons and their families moving within the Community,

–   having regard to Council Directive 98/49/EC of 29 June 1998 on safeguarding the supplementary pension rights of employed and self-employed persons moving within the Community(3),

–   having regard to the report of the Commission High-Level Task Force on Skills and Mobility of 14 December 2001,

–   having regard to the Commission working document on "The social situation in the European Union 2002" (SEC(2002) 593),

–   having regard to the Commission communication to the Council entitled "New European Labour Markets, Open to All, with Access for All" (COM(2001) 116),

–   having regard to its resolution of 13 December 2001 on the Commission communication on New European Labour Markets, Open to All, with Access for All(4),

–   having regard to its resolution of 4 July 2002 on the Commission communication "Strengthening the local dimension of the European Employment Strategy" (COM(2001) 629)(5),

–   having regard to the conclusions of the Stockholm European Council of 23 and 24 March 2001, the Barcelona European Council of 15 and 16 March 2002, and the Seville European Council of 21 and 22 June 2002,

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

–   having regard to the report of the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs and the opinions of the Committee on Culture, Youth, Education, the Media and Sport and the Committee on Women's Rights and Equal Opportunities (A5&nbhy;0313/2002),

A.   whereas Article 15 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union(6) stipulates that everyone has the right to engage in work and to pursue a freely chosen or accepted occupation and that every citizen of the Union has the freedom to seek employment, to work, to exercise the right of establishment, and to provide services in any Member State,

B.   whereas the Stockholm European Council pointed to the importance of implementing policies to remove the obstacles to labour mobility between Member States so as to create European labour markets open to all and encourage workers in the Union to acquire skills,

C.   whereas the structure of, and the range of skills within, the labour force are variables having a crucial bearing on the differences in terms of Europe's regions where job creation is concerned,

D.   whereas innovative enterprises, i.e. in the services and environment sectors, could do a great deal to galvanise the potential of the knowledge-based society to create high-quality jobs,

E.   whereas the social partners bear the prime responsibility for implementing lifelong training at the workplace; whereas collective bargaining is the ideal way to determine the conditions that have to be satisfied in order to promote access to training and enable all employees to develop their qualifications and skills,

F.   whereas high-technology sectors are dominated by men, who make up nearly two-thirds of the work-force,

G.   whereas cross-border mobility is still being impeded by fairly considerable obstacles relating to supplementary pensions; whereas, social security coordination in the EU has to be strengthened, through the modernisation, simplification and extension of Regulation (EEC) No 1408/71 (which, however, does not cover compulsory occupational pension schemes), and Directive 98/49/EC deals with the problems only in part; whereas, in addition to the above obstacles, there are also those stemming from differences in the tax arrangements applying to frontier workers in particular,

H.   having regard to the conclusions of the Lisbon Summit, endorsed by the Barcelona Summit, according to which if Europe is to develop into "the most competitive and dynamic knowledge-based economy in the world capable of sustainable economic growth with more and better jobs and greater social cohesion", more Europeans will have to become skilled in the new information and communication technologies,

I.   whereas the need to promote mobility should be taken carefully into account when considering any legislative measure, especially relating to employment and social matters,

J.   whereas although it is still low, intra-Community migration has nevertheless been rising in recent years in some Member States and whereas the contribution of migration will become increasingly necessary to offset – at least in part – the fall in the working-age population,

K.   whereas the lack of jobs is the problem for more than 18 million unemployed people in the EU and not insufficient occupational mobility, low levels of geographical mobility and poor access to information on mobility,

L.   whereas unemployment in the eastern and central European countries (CEEC) is due to a large extent to the structural problems which businesses encounter when they attempt the difficult task of finding highly skilled workers and which are encouraging a "brain drain" from those countries to Member States,

M.   whereas the Commission has recognised that further progress needs to be made on the mutual recognition of qualifications in its proposal for a European Parliament and Council Directive on the recognition of professional qualifications(7),

N.   whereas temporary work assignments may help promote mobility as proposed by the Commission in its proposal for a European Parliament and Council Directive on working conditions for temporary workers(8),

1.  Welcomes the Commission's new action plan and welcomes the fact that it is consistent with its recommendation concerning the Broad Economic Policy Guidelines for 2002, which repeated the call to remove the obstacles to geographical and occupational mobility; but points out that the abovementioned 1997 action plan had the same objectives and was only partially implemented; hopes that the new action plan will have a more substantial impact on citizens" lives including immigrants; hopes that the Member States will respond in kind to the action plan by making all the structural changes required for its complete success; requests that the Commission include an annex to the communication indicating how they have incorporated the gender mainstreaming policy into all the policies, plans and actions in the communication;

2.  Regrets the absence of a clear timetable for implementing the action plan's objectives and actions; calls on the Commission to keep the European Parliament informed concerning the setting of a timetable;

3.  Supports any measure seeking to encourage geographical mobility, provided that such mobility is based on a voluntary decision by the workers concerned, bearing in mind that the commitment to reduce regional imbalances and the guarantee that workers are entitled to high-quality employment with rights have to constitute the priority;

4.  Insists on the need for extension, modernisation and simplification of social security coordination, by speeding up the revision of Regulation (EEC) No 1408/71; stresses again the need for the Commission to initiate a dialogue with the social partners including those of the candidate countries, to study the possibility of laying down a "European workers" status", a European system of labour law and social security for workers with a permanent degree of mobility;

5.  Calls on the Commission to enforce more rigorously existing Community law on mutual recognition of qualifications by more speedy referral to the Courts of First Instance and Justice of persistent breaches of such law by the public authorities in Member States, and to require all Member States to transpose the directive on the recognition of professional qualifications into domestic law;

6.  Draws the Commission's attention to the need to promote regional initiatives and agreements in support of training and mobility;

7.  Urges the Commission and the Member States to pay particular attention to "early school leaving", which ranges in different Member States from 8% to more than 40%;

8.  Believes that, given their strategic role, local authorities should be involved in setting up a network of industry-based and educational advisory bodies to bring the world of work and education systems closer together;

9.  Welcomes the measures proposed by the Commission, which provide for additional funding to promote youth exchanges in border regions; considers, however, that more effective action under other headings is needed in order to reduce regional imbalances;

10.  Calls on the Commission, when drawing up the future employment guidelines and its programmes, to propose that the Member States take practical steps to enable innovative enterprises to be set up and job creation projects to be implemented, particularly in the services and environment sectors;

11.  Calls on the Member States to give proper effect to the "entrepreneurship" pillar of the employment guidelines; believes that they should provide support, using the necessary funds, and coordinate training-related activities more closely by promoting training for the self-employed and owners of businesses and underpinning the support services to meet their specific needs;

12.  Welcomes the Commission's proposal to establish by 2004 a network of industry/educational advisory bodies to strengthen cooperation between the world of work and the education systems as a whole and calls on the Commission to examine how such a network can help to tackle the high share of the population in the EU leaving school without formal qualifications;

13.  Calls on the European works councils(9) to restore momentum to consultation and launch a new dialogue encompassing the elected, trade-union and European bodies with a view to drawing up assessment guidelines to enable qualifications and different forms of work experience to be genuinely transposed; believes that guidelines serving that purpose could do much to encourage worker mobility and mobility in vocational training;

14.  Welcomes the fact that, as part of their efforts to foster lifelong upskilling, the social partners have taken the initiative of producing an annual report on national measures in the priority areas, namely: identification of needs, recognition and validation, support and guidance and resources; calls on the Member States, however, to draw up their national lifelong learning pacts in close collaboration with the social partners and local and regional authorities;

15.  Emphasises the importance of the role of social enterprises and the social partners at European, national and regional levels throughout the strategy's implementation period; calls for them to be involved in the monitoring and follow-up procedure for the action plan and its individual initiatives; calls on the social partners to conclude company-level agreements to develop exchanges, especially in companies with operations in several Member States;

16.  Calls on the Commission to note that Article 6 of European Parliament and Council Regulation (EC) No 1784/1999 of 12 July 1999 on the European Social Fund(10) could play a key part in the formulation of innovative solutions for the promotion of mobility as part of the resetting of thematic priorities;

17.  Believes that the regional training initiatives and agreements to be drawn up on a partnership basis must seek to support training in occupations in which women are represented in lower numbers and to introduce ICT and new learning systems enabling women to gain access as a matter of priority, while also providing training and upskilling opportunities for older workers, the handicapped, and other disadvantaged groups;

18.  Considers that teleworking is one of the main means to exploit innovation in new information and communication technologies in such a way as to ensure that workers do not have to accept geographical mobility against their will, providing that the workers concerned enjoy adequate social protection;

19.  Is pleased with the emphasis placed on cross-cultural education as a means of preparing young people for mobility in the European Union; calls on the Member States to ensure that they provide information and training to the heads of schools and educational bodies on the possibilities offered by the programmes available;

20.  Considers it essential for trade union stakeholders to have the necessary information about the electronic communication society and the upheavals that it is entailing for traditional working patterns, employment, and union activities and practices; believes that if trade unions understand the processes now in motion, they will be better able to make a positive contribution in responding to such changes;

21.  Looks favourably on the effort to make cross-border participation in pension funds a reality; accordingly welcomes the Commission's very recent decision to begin consultations with the social partners on the transfer of supplementary pension rights in the Union and calls for Parliament likewise to be fully involved;

22.  Stresses that a solution must be found regarding the excessively long qualifying period for supplementary pension rights, the effect of which is to reduce entitlement to pensions for mobile workers and discriminate against women;

23.  Agrees with the Commission that a success must be made of the transferability of supplementary pension rights of migrant workers; stresses once again the importance of eliminating double taxation and of working towards a single system of taxing pension income and eliminating or reducing tax on contributions;

24.  Urges the Commission to lose no time in submitting its assessment – agreed upon in European Parliament and Council Directive 96/71/EC of 16 December 1996 concerning the posting of workers in the framework of the provision of services(11) – which should have taken place as long ago as December 2001;

25.  Welcomes the fact that the Commission has taken one important initiative in its action plan which Union citizens will be certain to notice, namely the projected European health insurance card; looks to the Commission to submit this measure early in 2003 to enable it to be implemented in 2004;

26.  Points out that Member States have begun to actively recruit third-country nationals from outside the EU; believes in this respect that the admission of labour migrants can make an important contribution to the European employment strategy, and therefore calls on the Commission and the Council to respect the spirit of the mandate given by Tampere European Council and to guarantee their economic, social and political integration;

27.  Believes that Europe-wide databases should be set up in order to give a clear and complete picture of the forms of mobility in the educational and vocational training sphere (mobility programmes, time spent abroad on a person's own initiative, etc. in or outside the EU);

28.  Calls on the Commission to keep close track of the mobility programmes offered to young people undergoing training (university or technological training) and to encourage the Member States to provide the appropriate reception facilities (accommodation and various other services); points out to the Commission that the cost of these exchanges impedes mobility de facto and results in out-and-out selection of young people according to their financial means;

29.  Hopes that the Commission will put forward effective proposals to modernise the EURES system and integrate it into the Member States" employment services, taking into account the essential involvement of local and regional authorities and social partners, so that the EURES system will not be centralised but will continue to concentrate on the affected border regions;

30.  Points out that it is important in this connection to keep the Interregional Trade Union Councils going, as they largely incorporate the operation of the EURES system, but that it is undesirable to leave their survival to the discretion of the various national governments concerned;

31.  Calls on the Commission, when drawing up the employment guidelines, to lay down migration management criteria and targets and measures to help immigrants integrate through work and help them and their families integrate into the local community through the provision of high-standard public services;

32.  Supports the Commission's efforts to issue a report in 2003 on the reciprocal effects of immigration policy, employment and social policy;

33.  Supports the Commission's call on the Council to speed up its approval of the various directives referred to in the action plan, and at the same time notes that regulations such as Council Regulation (EEC) No 1612/68 of 15 October 1968 on freedom of movement for workers within the Community(12) and Regulation (EEC) No 1408/71 should also take account of third-country nationals;

34.  Considers it important that the Commission, when pursuing the pre-accession strategy, should help the CEEC to identify the steps to be taken as a matter of priority in order to implement a specifically targeted policy to enable workers and job-seekers to become highly skilled;

35.  Also considers it important that the CEEC, aided by Commission programmes, should set up their own innovation and research facilities to ensure that they do not lose highly-skilled workers; believes that the Member States, aided to some extent by Commission programmes, should give higher profile support to exchanges of experience with CEEC and be willing to work in close collaboration to support measures to stimulate economic and employment growth and local job-creation;

36.  Calls on the European institutions to set a good example by reforming the conditions of employment and remuneration of officials and other employees of the European institutions, so as to facilitate, for example, the transfer to the Community pension scheme of pension rights acquired in previous employment;

37.  Deplores the fact that it was not given an opportunity to comment on the Communication before it was presented to the Barcelona European Council;

38.  Signals its intention, in the event of a repetition of this manner of presenting Commission proposals, to draw the appropriate conclusions and to act on these in the context of the budgetary procedure;

39.  Believes that education systems have broader and more humane objectives than training systems and that transient skills shortages should not determine their content; believes further that, in addition to vocational skills, educational systems should also seek to promote awareness of different cultures, language skills, and citizenship, which in their turn serve to promote mobility;

40.  Underlines the importance in this context of the Community e-Europe and e-Learning initiatives;

Specific actions

41.   'Action 1": Stresses the importance of ensuring a good supply of well-motivated teachers with appropriate skills (especially in ICT) and the need to promote teacher exchanges between the Member States and also with the applicant countries;

42.   'Action 2": Calls on the Commission to identify programmes at national and regional level which have been successful in stimulating young people's interest in mathematics, science and technology, especially interest among young women; calls further on the Commission to disseminate examples of good practice;

43.   'Action 3": Draws attention to the role that e-Learning could play in improving the educational attainment of pupils living in isolated rural areas;

44.   'Action 4": Underlines that the goal of the network of industry/educational advisory bodies to be established by the Commission should be the dissemination of good practice;

45.   'Action 6": Draws attention to the need for an information campaign to alert employers to the existence of lifelong learning awards and to contribute to their prestige by publicising the achievements for which have they have been made;

46.   'Action 18": Draws attention to the need to build on the achievements of the European Year of Languages 2001; highlights the need to promote the learning of foreign languages among vocational trainees, where international mobility rates tend to be lower than among those who have passed through higher education; and points out that it is vital for the Commission and Member States to do everything in their power to encourage the learning of foreign languages from an early age;

47.   'Action 19": Considers that the Socrates and Leonardo da Vinci programmes are excellent examples of international mobility; considers further, however, that efforts to promote mobility need to pay more attention to the less well-qualified;

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o   o

48.  Calls on the Commission to take full account of the conclusions of the Lisbon European Council, in particular the fact that 60 % of women should be participating in the labour market by 2010;

49.  Points out that the new revised and adopted Council Directive (EEC) No 76/207/EEC of 9 February 1976 on the implementation of the principle of equal treatment for men and women as regards access to employment, vocational training and promotion, and working conditions(13) will allow Member States to take positive measures for vocational training as well as access to employment where one of the sexes is under-represented and calls on the Commission to incorporate this in its proposals;

50.  Considers the fact that the mobility of workers with children, especially women, depends to a great extent on the availability and costs of services such as childcare and good quality education facilities which vary both between and within Member States; calls for secondary measures in those areas to achieve the aims of the action plan;

51.  Requests that the Commission guarantee within the framework of its powers that men and women are equally represented in the network of industrial/educational advisory bodies and all other advisory bodies to be set up under this action plan;

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

(1) OJ L 149, 5.7.1971, p. 2. (2) OJ L 74, 27.3.1972, p. 1. (3) OJ L 209, 25.7.1998, p. 46. (4) OJ C 177 E, 25.7.2002, p. 330. (5) P5_TA(2002)0373. (6) OJ C 364, 18.12.2000, p. 1. (7) OJ C 181 E, 30.7.2002, p. 183. (8) OJ C 203 E, 27.8.2002, p.1. (9) Establishment of a European works council: Council Directive 94/45/EC of 22 September 1994 on the establishment of a European Works Council or a procedure in Community-scale undertakings and Community-scale groups of undertakings for the purposes of informing and consulting employees: report on the application of the Directive (COM(2000) 188). (10) OJ L 213, 13.8.1999, p. 5. (11) OJ L 18, 21.1.1997, p. 1. (12) OJ L 257, 19.10.1968, p. 2. (13) OJ L 39, 14.2.1976, p. 40.

European Parliament resolution on the situation in Côte d'Ivoire

P5_TA(2002)0467 RC-B5-0520/2002

The European Parliament,

–   having regard to its previous resolutions on Côte d'Ivoire,

–   having regard to the declaration by the UN Security Council and its Secretary-General,

–   having regard to the statement by the African Union,

–   having regard to the declaration by the Presidency, on behalf of the European Union,

–   having regard to the declaration by the President of the European Parliament,

–   having regard to the declaration by the Co-President of the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly,

A.   whereas the attempted coup d'état under way in the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire since 19 September 2002 is seriously undermining the constitutional legality and unity of the country,

B.   deploring the lives lost, including those of civilians,

C.   concerned about the risks of communal confrontation and the climate of social and political instability in the country,

D.   mindful of the risks of destabilisation that this crisis poses to political, economic and humanitarian activities across the entire subregion,

E.   whereas ethnic, religious and political diversity is an asset when set in a climate of equality and fraternity,

F.   whereas at their Extraordinary Summit in Accra the heads of state and government of ECOWAS decided to set up a high-level contact group in an attempt to mediate between the government and the rebels,

1.  Strongly condemns the attempted coup d'état and deplores the persistence of fighting and the loss of human life in Côte d'Ivoire;

2.  Strongly regrets that ECOWAS's mediation attempt has so far failed;

3.  Calls for an immediate cease-fire and reiterates its commitment to a political solution to the crisis that encompasses all the opposing parties, pursues the course of national reconciliation embarked upon in October 2001 and respects democratic institutions and the unity of the national territory of the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire;

4.  Calls on the African Union and ECOWAS to intervene again to help resolve this crisis;

5.  Reiterates its support for the democratically elected President, Mr Laurent Gbagbo, and the government of national unity of the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire as the guarantor of democratic legitimacy and the unity of the country;

6.  Calls on President Gbagbo to urge his government and the Ivorian military to guarantee the protection of civilians, whatever their ethnic origin, and to step up their moves towards the integration and reconciliation of all the components of Ivorian society;

7.  Calls on the EU to intensify its cooperation with Côte d'Ivoire and to focus its development policies on the northern part of the country in particular;

8.  Calls for a radical improvement in conflict prevention mechanisms, given their obvious shortcomings;

9.  Calls for the establishment of an international committee of inquiry to shed light on violations of human rights by both sides;

10.  Instructs its Development and Cooperation Committee to monitor closely developments in Côte d'Ivoire and hopes that a delegation from the European Parliament will be sent to Côte d'Ivoire without delay to support the national reconciliation efforts by seeking to meet the two parties to the conflict;

11.  Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Commission, the Council, the secretaries-general of the UN, the AU and ECOWAS, and the President and Government of the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire.

European Parliament resolution on the Commission communication concerning the fraud-proofing of legislation and contract management (SEC(2001) 2029 – C5&nbhy;0158/2002 – 2002/2066(COS))

P5_TA(2002)0468 A5-0283/2002

The European Parliament,

–   having regard to the Commission communication (SEC(2001) 2029 – C5&nbhy;0158/2002),

–   having regard to the 239th Council meeting -Justice, Home Affairs and Civil Protection- on 6/7 December 2001 setting up Eurojust,

–   having regard to the Commission Green Paper on criminal law protection of the financial interests of the Community and the establishment of the European Prosecutor (COM(2001) 715),

–   having regard to its resolution of 13 December 2000 on the Commission communication "Protection of the Communities' financial interests - The fight against fraud: For an overall strategic approach" (COM(2000) 358 - C5-0578/2000 - 2000/2279(COS))(1),

–   having regard to its resolution of 29 November 2001 on the Commission annual report 2000 on the protection of the Communities' financial interests and the fight against fraud (COM(2001) 255 - C5-0469/2001 - 2001/2186(COS)) and the Commission communication on protecting the Community's financial interests, Fight against fraud, Action plan for 2001-2003 (COM(2001) 254 - C5-0470/2001 - 2001/2186(COS))(2),

–   having regard to the White Paper "Reforming the Commission, part II" (COM(2000) 200), action 94,

–   having regard to European Parliament and Council Regulation (EC) No 1073/1999 of 25 May 1999 concerning investigations conducted by the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF)(3),

–   having regard to Article 280 of the EC Treaty,

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

–   having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control (A5&nbhy;0283/2002),

A.   whereas the value of cases of fraud and irregularities established by Member States and the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) increased dramatically in the year 2000 and in 2001 and was considerably higher than the average for previous years, at about EUR 1.25 billion,

B.   whereas the protection of the Community's financial interests concerns Member State and Community institutions alike,

C.   whereas the aim of making legislation and contract management as fraud-proof as possible is to reduce the scope for fraud, thus preventing or at least minimising the risk of fraud from the outset,

D.   whereas fraud-proofing measures must not detract from OLAF's actual task of fighting fraud,

E.   whereas fraud-proofing must also be seen in the wider context of the protection of the Community's financial interests, including a necessary strengthening of the European legal framework,

F.   whereas the separation of powers should be adhered to and the adoption of legislation, the implementation and enforcement thereof and the monitoring of implementation and enforcement should therefore be effected by different, clearly separate bodies, institutions or authorities,

1.  Welcomes the communication from the Commission as a necessary contribution to protecting the Community's financial interests which must, however, be part of an overall approach;

2.  Confirms in this connection its call for a European public prosecutor for financial matters as a key element of such an overall approach;

3.  Welcomes in particular the fact that the measures proposed aim at preventing fraud by reducing the scope for fraud instead of by combating fraud after it has been committed, which is always less efficient and less effective; draws the Commission's attention, however, to the fact that decisive action to deal with suspected cases of fraud, corruption and favouritism is the most effective means of fraud prevention because it is the only deterrent;

4.  Stresses in this connection that a 'zero-tolerance' policy is a basic prerequisite for fraud-proofing;

5.  Stresses that OLAF's priority task is to fight fraud;

6.  Calls on the Council to take a greater interest in fraud-proofing and invites Member States to fully cooperate with the Commission in this area; in particular, invites Member States to ensure that similar fraud protection measures are taken when they transpose EC legislation into national law so that the scope for abuse is minimised;

7.  Notes that OLAF already receives almost 300 interservice consultation requests on fraud-proofing each year;

8.  Welcomes, in the context of Commission reform and increased financial management responsibility of its directorates-general, the creation of a network of "correspondents" serving as an interface with OLAF;

9.  Points to the necessity of developing an "anti-fraud handbook" and specific vocational training modules for the services concerned;

10.  Notes that OLAF is currently defining criteria to help with preliminary identification of high-risk sectors; requests that particular attention be given to the following policy areas given their budgetary importance: agricultural and fishery policy, structural funds, trade policy, pre-accession aid, research policy, and customs;

11.  Considers fraud-proofing to be a vital tool in the battle against fraud but that it cannot be limited to new legislation; insists that the 'high-risk' areas, to be identified by OLAF and the specific working group, be subjected to retroactive fraud assessment and that any weaknesses in existing legislation be corrected or the legislation in question be repealed; recalls by way of example in this connection the widespread misuse of preferential agreements and export refunds in the context of 'carousel' fraud; suggests that the Commission might also usefully draw on the audits and special reports of the Court of Auditors in highlighting financial weaknesses in existing programmes;

12.  12 Insists that the Commission use existing EU legislation to minimise fraud and irregularities; regrets that this is not always the case; reminds the Commission of Council Directive 92/50/EEC relating to the coordination of procedures for the award of public service contracts(4), which may exclude a service provider from participation in a contract if the service provider supplies false information or is guilty of tax fraud; regrets that Eurostat has not used this directive to exclude certain service providers;

13.  Asks to be informed about the selected criteria and the identified high-risk sectors before the end of 2002; accepts that these lists may be subject to alterations in the light of experience;

14.  Insists that OLAF be involved from the start in the drafting of European legislation in the defined 'high-risk' sectors and that legislation as amended by the legislative authority be similarly screened for potential fraud abuse before it enters into force;

15.  Asks OLAF, however, to make sure that fraud-proofing does not prolong the process of drafting European legislation unduly and that, when consulted, the "reaction time" be clearly defined;

16.  Insists that all legislative proposals presented to the European Parliament indicate clearly whether they were subjected to fraud-proofing by OLAF and if so, what OLAF's findings were and what modifications they gave rise to;

17.  Considers that it makes sense to use the results of ongoing and concluded OLAF investigations to screen new and existing legislation; insists that OLAF's investigative duties have absolute priority with a view to further improving the quality of investigations; underlines in this context that a decision on the staff and financial resources available to OLAF can be taken only when OLAF has submitted a programme of activities as referred to in Article 11(7) of Regulation (EC) No 1073/1999;

18.  Insists that, when awarding contracts, the Commission use the practice of a public call for tender as its normal procedure for selecting recipients;

19.  Welcomes the establishment of standardised contracts and agreements to be kept in a central database in the Commission, based on best practice, which should make it easier to establish contracts, trace operations and monitor operators;

20.  Calls for a clause to be included in standard contracts and agreements stipulating that partners found guilty of fraud should be excluded from the award of future contracts;

21.  Asks that as of 2003 a chapter on fraud-proofing of legislation and contract management be included in the Commission's annual report on the protection of the Community's financial interests and the fight against fraud;

22.  Emphasises that an ex ante assessment of all contracts and budget authorisations is essential if a high level of fraud-proofing is to be achieved; considers that such an ex ante assessment must be made by officials who are different from those responsible for initiating the operation and who are not subordinated to them;

23.  Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Director of OLAF, the President of the OLAF Supervisory Committee, the Commission and the Court of Auditors.

(1) OJ C 232, 17.8.2001, p. 191. (2) OJ C 153 E, 27.6.2002, p. 325. (3) OJ L 136, 31.5.1999, p. 1. (4) OJ L 209, 24.7.1992, p. 1.