(Consultation procedure)

The European Parliament,

–   having regard to the Commission proposal to the Council (COM(2002) 519)(1),

–   having regard to Article 181a of the EC Treaty, in accordance with which the Council consulted Parliament (C5&nbhy;0497/2002),

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

–   having regard to the report of the Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development (A5&nbhy;0028/2003),

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 if it intends to depart from the text approved by Parliament;

4.  Calls on the Council to consult Parliament again if it 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 RECITAL 2 (2)  No special provision is included in the Regulation for actions to help restore rural areas following exceptional natural disasters, (2)  No special provision is included in the Regulation for actions to help restore rural areas following exceptional disasters, Amendment 2 ARTICLE 1, NEW PARAGRAPH AFTER INTRODUCTION Article 2, indents 7a, 7b and 7c (new) (Regulation (EC) No 1268/1999) In Article 2, the following new indents are inserted after the seventh indent: "- special measures when exceptional disasters, particularly natural disasters, are determined to have occurred; - local partnerships between the public, private or voluntary sector, whose aim it is to facilitate the implementation of one or more of the measures within this Article; - capacity development among the actors in the local authorities or non-governmental organisations who are committed to the furtherance of other measures within this Article;" Amendment 3 ARTICLE 1 Article 8, paragraph 1, point (a) (Regulation (EC) No 1268/1999) (a) for relevant projects under any measure where the Commission determines that exceptional natural disasters have occurred the Community contribution may amount to up to 85% of the total eligible public expenditure; (a) for relevant projects under any measure where the Commission determines that exceptional disasters, mainly natural disasters, have occurred the Community contribution may amount to up to 85% of the total eligible public expenditure;

(1) OJ C 331 E, 31.12.2002, p.195.