European Parliament decision of 3 February 2011 on the request for waiver of the immunity of Tamás Deutsch (2010/2123(IMM))

P7_TA(2011)0029 A7-0015/2011

The European Parliament,

–  having regard to the request for waiver of the immunity of Tamás Deutsch, forwarded by the Hungarian judicial authorities on 9 June 2010 and announced in plenary sitting on 8 July 2010,

–  having heard Tamás Deutsch in accordance with Rule 7(3) of its Rules of Procedure,

–  having regard to Articles 8 and 9 of the Protocol of 8 April 1965 on the Privileges and Immunities of the European Union, and Article 6(2) of the Act of 20 September 1976 concerning the election of the members of the European Parliament by direct universal suffrage,

–  having regard to the judgments of the Court of Justice of the European Union of 12 May 1964, 10 July 1986 and 21 October 2008(1),

–  having regard to Section 10(2) of Act LVII of 2004 on the legal status of Hungarian Members of the European Parliament, Section 5(1) of Act LV of 1990 on the legal status of Members of the Hungarian Parliament and Section 12(1) of Act LVII of 2004,

–  having regard to Rules 6(2) and 7 of its Rules of Procedure,

–  having regard to the report of the Committee on Legal Affairs (A7-0015/2011),

A.  whereas criminal proceedings have been brought by a Hungarian citizen against Tamás Deutsch, a Member of the European Parliament, who is accused in the Court of the 2nd and 3rd Districts of Budapest of defamation under Section 179(2)(b-c) of the Hungarian Criminal Code,

B.  whereas, according to Article 9 of the Protocol on the Privileges and Immunities of the European Union, during the sessions of the European Parliament its Members enjoy in the territory of their own State the immunities accorded to members of their parliament; whereas immunity cannot be claimed when a Member is caught in the act of committing an offence; and whereas this does not prevent the European Parliament from exercising its right to waive the immunity of one of its Members,

C.  whereas, according to Section 10(2) of Act LVII of 2004 on the legal status of Hungarian Members of the European Parliament, a Member of the European Parliament is accorded the same immunity as a Member of the Hungarian Parliament,

D.  whereas according to Section 5(1) of Act LV of 1990 on the legal status of Members of the Hungarian Parliament, criminal proceedings may be launched or pursued against the Member only with the prior consent of the Hungarian Parliament and pursuant to Section 12(1) of Act LVII of 2004 the European Parliament shall decide on the suspension of the immunity of a Member of the European Parliament,

E.  whereas Mr Deutsch is charged with an offence of defamation allegedly committed as a result of statements made about the accuser in the course of a radio programme broadcast on 25 March 2010 to which he was invited in his capacity as a politician and a Member of the European Parliament,

F.  whereas it is therefore appropriate to state that Mr Deutsch expressed opinions in the performance of his duties as the Member of the European Parliament,

1.  Decides not to waive the immunity of Tamás Deutsch;

2.  Instructs its President to forward this decision and the report of its competent committee immediately to the appropriate authority of the Republic of Hungary.

(1) Case 101/63 Wagner v Fohrmann and Krier [1964] ECR 195, Case 149/85 Wybot v Faure and Others [1986] ECR 2391 and Joined Cases C-200/07 and C-201/07 Marra v De Gregorio and Clemente, not yet reported in the European Court Reports.

European Parliament legislative resolution of 3 February 2011 on the Council position at first reading with a view to the adoption of a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Council Regulation (EC) No 1905/2006 establishing a financing instrument for development cooperation (16447/1/2010 – C7-0424/2010 – 2010/0059(COD))

P7_TA(2011)0030 A7-0009/2011

(Ordinary legislative procedure: second reading)

The European Parliament,

–  having regard to the Council position at first reading (16447/1/2010 – C7-0424/2010),

–  having regard to the contributions submitted by national parliaments on the draft legislative act,

–  having regard to its position at first reading(1) on the Commission proposal to Parliament and the Council (COM(2010)0102),

–  having regard to Article 294(7) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

–  having regard to Rule 66 of its Rules of Procedure,

–  having regard to the recommendation for second reading of the Committee on Development (A7-0009/2011),

1.  Adopts its position at second reading hereinafter set out;

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

Position of the European Parliament adopted at second reading on 3 February 2011 with a view to the adoption of Regulation (EU) No .../2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Regulation (EC) No 1905/2006 establishing a financing instrument for development cooperation

THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, and in particular Article 209(1) thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the European Commission,

After transmission of the draft legislative act to the national parliaments,

Acting in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure(2),

Whereas:

(1)  The Union's development policy aims to reduce and ultimately eradicate poverty.

(2)  The Union, as a member of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), is committed to mainstreaming trade in development strategies and to promoting international trade in order to advance development and reduce – and, in the long term, eradicate – poverty worldwide.

(3)  The Union supports the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Group of States on their path to poverty reduction and to sustainable economic and social development, and recognises the importance of their commodity sectors.

(4)  The Union is committed to supporting the smooth and gradual integration of developing countries into the world economy with a view to sustainable development. The main ACP banana-exporting countries may face challenges in the context of changing trade arrangements, notably liberalisation of the Most Favoured Nation (MFN) tariff in the framework of the WTO and the bilateral and regional agreements concluded, or in the process of being concluded, between the Union and Latin American countries. Therefore, an ACP Banana Accompanying Measures programme (‘the programme’) should be added to Regulation (EC) No 1905/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council(3).

(5)  The financial assistance measures to be adopted under the programme should aim at improving the living standards and living conditions of people in banana-growing areas and in banana value chains, specifically small farmers and small entities, as well as ensuring compliance with labour and occupational health and safety standards, and environmental standards, notably those regarding the use of and exposure to pesticides. The measures should therefore support the adaptation and include, when relevant, the reorganisation, of areas dependent upon banana exports through sector-specific budget support or project-specific interventions. The measures should aim to provide for social resilience policies, economic diversification or investment to improve competitiveness, where this is viable, taking into account the results of and experiences gained through the Special System of Assistance to traditional ACP suppliers of bananas established in accordance with Council Regulation (EC) No 2686/94(4) and the Special Framework of Assistance (SFA) for traditional ACP suppliers of bananas established in accordance with Council Regulation (EC) No 856/1999(5) and Commission Regulation (EC) No 1609/1999(6). The Union acknowledges the importance of promoting a more equitable distribution of banana revenues.

(6)  The programme should accompany the adaptation process in ACP countries which have exported significant volumes of bananas to the Union in recent years and which will be affected by liberalisation in the framework of the Geneva Agreement on Trade in Bananas(7) and by the bilateral and regional agreements concluded, or in the process of being concluded, between the Union and Latin American countries. The programme builds on the SFA for traditional ACP suppliers of bananas. It is in conformity with the Union's international obligations in the framework of the WTO, focuses on restructuring and boosting competitiveness, and is consequently temporary in nature, with a duration of four years (2010-2013).

(7)  The conclusions of the Commission Communication of 17 March 2010 entitled ‘Biennial Report on the Special Framework of Assistance for Traditional ACP Suppliers of Bananas’ indicate that past assistance programmes made substantial contributions to achieving improved capacity for successful economic diversification, although the full impact cannot be quantified, and that the sustainability of ACP banana exports remains fragile.

(8)  The Commission has carried out an evaluation of the SFA programme and has not carried out an impact assessment of the banana accompanying measures.

(9)  The Commission should ensure proper coordination of this programme with the regional and national indicative programmes operating in the beneficiary countries, in particular as regards the achievement of economic, agricultural, social and environmental objectives.

(10)  Almost 2 % of the world's trade in bananas is endorsed by fair trade producers‘ organisations. The minimum fair trade prices are set on the basis of a calculation of the ’sustainable production costs‘, established following consultations with stakeholders, with a view to internalising the costs of meeting decent social and environmental standards and generating a reasonable profit, enabling producers to safeguard their livelihoods in the long term.

(11)  To prevent the exploitation of local workers, actors in the production chain in the banana industry should agree to ensure that the revenue generated by the industry is allocated fairly.

(11a)  The Commission should be empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 290 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union in respect of Geographic Strategy Papers, Multi-annual Indicative Programmes and Strategy Papers for thematic programmes and the accompanying measures, as they supplement Regulation (EC) No 1905/2006 and are of general application. It is of particular importance that the Commission carry out appropriate consultations during its preparatory work, including at expert level.

(12)  Regulation (EC) No 1905/2006 should therefore be amended accordingly,

HAVE ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

Regulation (EC) No 1905/2006 is hereby amended as follows:

(1)  Article 4 is replaced by the following:"

Article 4

Implementation of Union assistance

Consistent with the overall purpose and scope, objectives and general principles of this Regulation, Union assistance shall be implemented through the geographic and thematic programmes set out in Articles 5 to 16 and the programmes set out in Articles 17 and 17a.

(2)  The following Article is inserted:"

Article 17a

Main ACP banana-supplying countries

1.  ACP banana-supplying countries listed in Annex IIIa shall benefit from banana accompanying measures. Union assistance shall aim at supporting their adjustment process following liberalisation of the Union market for bananas in the framework of the WTO. Union assistance shall in particular be used to combat poverty by improving the living standards and conditions of farmers and persons concerned, where relevant small entities, including by means of compliance with labour and safety standards, as well as with environmental standards, including the use of and exposure to pesticides. Union assistance shall take into account the countries“ policies and adaptation strategies, as well as their regional environment (in terms of proximity to outermost regions of the Union and overseas countries and territories) and shall pay specific attention to the following areas of cooperation:

2.  Within the amount referred to in Annex IV, the Commission shall fix the maximum amount available to each eligible ACP banana-supplying country referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article on the basis of the following objective, weighted indicators:

The measurement of the allocation criteria shall be based on representative data preceding 2010 and covering a period not longer than five years, and on a Commission study assessing the impact on the ACP countries of the agreement reached within the WTO and the bilateral and regional agreements concluded, or in the process of being concluded, between the Union and Latin American countries, which are the leading exporters of bananas.

3.  The Commission shall adopt multi-annual support strategies by analogy to Article 19, and in accordance with Article 21. It shall ensure that such strategies complement the geographic strategy papers of the countries concerned, and the temporary nature of these banana accompanying measures.

By 18 months before the expiry date, the banana accompanying measures programme and the progress made by the countries concerned shall be the subject of an assessment, which shall include recommendations on any measures to be taken and the nature thereof.

(3)  Article 21 is replaced by the following:"

Article 21

Adoption of strategy papers and multiannual indicative programmes

Strategy papers and multi-annual indicative programmes referred to in Articles 19 and 20, and any reviews thereof referred to in Article 19(2) and Article 20(1), as well as accompanying measures referred to in Articles 17 and 17a respectively, shall be adopted by the Commission by means of delegated acts in accordance with Article 35, and subject to the conditions laid down in Articles 35a and 35b.

(3a)  Article 22(3) is replaced by the following:"

3.  The annual action programmes shall be adopted by the Commission taking into account the opinions of the European Parliament and of the Council.

(3b)  In Article 23, paragraphs 3 and 4 are replaced by the following:"

3.  Where the cost of such measures exceeds EUR 10 million, the Commission shall adopt them taking into account the opinions of the European Parliament and of the Council. For special measures below EUR 10 million, the Commission shall send the measures to the European Parliament and to the Council for information within one month of adopting its decision.

4.  Amendments to special measures, such as those making technical adjustments, extending the implementation period, reassigning funds within the forecast budget, or increasing or reducing the size of the budget by less than 20 % of the initial budget, provided those amendments do not affect the initial objectives set out in the Commission decision, shall be communicated within one month to the European Parliament and to the Council.

(4)  Article 25(2) is replaced by the following:"

2.  Union assistance shall not in principle be used for paying taxes, duties or charges in beneficiary countries.

(5)  Article 29(1) is replaced by the following:"

1.  Budget commitments shall be made on the basis of decisions taken by the Commission in accordance with Articles 17a(3), 22(1), 23(1) and 26(1).

(6)  In Article 31(1), the third subparagraph is replaced by the following:"

Participation in the award of procurement or grant contracts financed under a thematic programme as defined in Articles 11 to 16, and the programmes set out in Articles 17 and 17a, shall be open to all natural persons who are nationals of, or legal persons who are established in, a developing country, as specified by the OECD/DAC and in Annex II, in addition to natural or legal persons eligible by virtue of the thematic programme or the programmes set out in Articles 17 and 17a. The Commission shall publish and update Annex II in accordance with regular reviews of the list of aid recipients of the OECD/DAC, and inform the Council thereof.

(6a)  Article 33(2) is replaced by the following:"

2.  The Commission shall send its evaluation reports to the European Parliament and to the Council for information. The results shall feed back into programme design and resource allocation.

(6b)  Article 35 is replaced by the following:"

Article 35

Exercise of the delegation

1.  The power to adopt the delegated acts referred to in Article 17(2) and Articles 17a and 21 shall be conferred on the Commission for the period of application of this Regulation.

2.  As soon as it adopts a delegated act, the Commission shall notify it simultaneously to the European Parliament and to the Council.

3.  The power to adopt delegated acts is conferred on the Commission subject to the conditions laid down in Articles 35a and 35b.

Article 35a

Revocation of the delegation

1.  The delegation of power referred to in Article 17(2) and Articles 17a and 21 may be revoked at any time by the European Parliament or by the Council.

2.  The institution which has commenced an internal procedure for deciding whether to revoke a delegation of power shall endeavour to inform the other institution and the Commission within a reasonable time before the final decision is taken, indicating the delegated power which could be subject to revocation and possible reasons for a revocation.

3.  The decision of revocation shall put an end to the delegation of the power specified in that decision. It shall take effect immediately or at a later date specified therein. It shall not affect the validity of the delegated acts already in force. It shall be published in the Official Journal of the European Union.

Article 35b

Objections to delegated acts

1.  The European Parliament or the Council may object to a delegated act within a period of two months from the date of notification.

At the initiative of the European Parliament or the Council that period shall be extended by two months.

2.  If, on the expiry of the period referred to in paragraph 1, neither the European Parliament nor the Council has objected to the delegated act, it shall be published in the Official Journal of the European Union and shall enter into force on the date stated therein.

The delegated act may be published in the Official Journal of the European Union and enter into force before the expiry of that period if the European Parliament and the Council have both informed the Commission of their intention not to raise objections.

3.  If either the European Parliament or the Council objects to the delegated act within the period referred to in paragraph 1, it shall not enter into force. The institution which objects shall state the reasons for objecting to the delegated act.

(7)  In Article 38, paragraphs 1 and 2 are replaced by the following:"

1.  The financial reference amount for the implementation of this Regulation over the period 2007-2013 is EUR 17 087 million.

2.  The indicative amounts allocated to each programme referred to in Articles 5 to 10, 11 to 16 and 17 to 17a are laid down in Annex IV. These amounts are established for the period 2007-2013.

(8)  Annex IIIa, as contained in Annex I to this Regulation, is inserted;

(9)  Annex IV is replaced by the contents of Annex II to this Regulation.

Article 2

This Regulation shall enter into force on the day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.

Done at

For the European Parliament For the Council

The President The President

ANNEX I

‘ANNEX IIIa

Main ACP banana-supplying countries

1.  Belize

2.  Cameroon

3.  Côte d'Ivoire

4.  Dominica

5.  Dominican Republic

6.  Ghana

7.  Jamaica

8.  Saint Lucia

9.  Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

10.  Suriname‘

ANNEX II

‘ANNEX IV

Indicative financial allocations for the period 2007-2013 (in EUR million)

(1) Texts adopted of 21.10.2010, P7_TA(2010)0382. (2) Position of the European Parliament of 21 October 2010 (not yet published in the Official Journal) and position of the Council at first reading of 10 December 2010 (OJ C 7 E, 12.1.2011, p. 17). Position of the European Parliament of 3 February 2011. (3) OJ L 378, 27.12.2006, p. 41. (4) OJ L 286, 5.11.1994, p. 1. (5) OJ L 108, 27.4.1999, p. 2. (6) OJ L 190, 23.7.1999, p. 14. (7) OJ L 141, 9.6.2010, p. 3.

European Parliament legislative resolution of 3 February 2011 on the Council position at first reading with a view to the adoption of a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Regulation (EC) No 1889/2006 on establishing a financing instrument for the promotion of democracy and human rights worldwide (16446/1/2010 – C7-0427/2010 – 2009/0060B(COD))

P7_TA(2011)0031 A7-0014/2011

(Ordinary legislative procedure: second reading)

The European Parliament,

–  having regard to the Council position at first reading (16446/1/2010 – C7-0427/2010),

–  having regard to its position at first reading(1) on the Commission proposal to Parliament and the Council (COM(2009)0194),

–  having regard to Article 294(7) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

–  having regard to Rule 66 of its Rules of Procedure,

–  having regard to the recommendation for second reading of the Committee on Foreign Affairs (A7-0014/2011),

1.  Adopts its position at second reading hereinafter set out;

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

Position of the European Parliament adopted at second reading on 3 February 2011 with a view to the adoption of Regulation (EU) No .../2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Regulation (EC) No 1889/2006 on establishing a financing instrument for the promotion of democracy and human rights worldwide

THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, and in particular Article 209(1) and Article 212 thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the European Commission,

Acting in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure(2),

Whereas:

(1)  A new framework for planning and delivering assistance was established in 2006 in order to make the Community's external assistance more effective and transparent. It contains Council Regulation (EC) No 1085/2006 of 17 July 2006 establishing an Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance (IPA)(3), Regulation (EC) No 1638/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 October 2006 laying down general provisions establishing a European Neighbourhood and Partnership Instrument(4), Council Regulation (EC) No 1934/2006 of 21 December 2006 establishing a financing instrument for cooperation with industrialised and other high-income countries and territories(5), Regulation (EC) No 1717/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 November 2006 establishing an Instrument for Stability(6), Council Regulation (Euratom) No 300/2007 of 19 February 2007 establishing an Instrument for Nuclear Safety Cooperation(7), Regulation (EC) No 1889/2006(8), and Regulation (EC) No 1905/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 December 2006 establishing a financing instrument for development cooperation(9).

(2)  In implementing those Regulations inconsistencies have emerged regarding exceptions to the principle of non-eligibility for Union financing of costs related to taxes, duties and other charges. It is therefore proposed to amend the relevant provisions of Regulation (EC) No 1889/2006 in order to align it with the other instruments.

(3)  This Regulation does not go beyond what is necessary in order to achieve the objective pursued, in accordance with Article 5(4) of the Treaty on European Union.

(3a)  The Commission should be empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 290 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union in respect of strategy papers, as those strategy papers supplement Regulation (EC) No 1889/2006 and are of general application. It is of particular importance that the Commission carry out appropriate consultations during its preparatory work, including at expert level.

(4)  Regulation (EC) No 1889/2006 should therefore be amended accordingly,

HAVE ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

Regulation (EC) No 1889/2006 is hereby amended as follows:

(-1)  Article 5(3) is replaced by the following:"

3.  Strategy papers, and any revisions or extensions thereof, shall be adopted by the Commission by means of delegated acts in accordance with Article 17, and subject to the conditions laid down in Articles 17a and 17b.

(-1a)  Article 6(3) is replaced by the following:"

3.  Annual Action Programmes, and any revisions or extensions thereof, shall be adopted by the Commission taking into account the opinions of the European Parliament and of the Council.

(-1b)  in Article 7, paragraphs 3 and 4 are replaced by the following:"

3.  Where the cost of such measures is equal to or exceeds EUR 3 000 000, the Commission shall adopt them taking into account the opinions of the European Parliament and of the Council.

4.  For Special Measures costing below EUR 3 000 000, the Commission shall send the measures to the European Parliament and to the Council for information within 10 working days of adopting its decision.

(-1c)  Article 9(2) is replaced by the following:"

2.  The Commission shall regularly inform the European Parliament and the Council of the ad hoc measures carried out.

(1)  Article 13(6) is replaced by the following:"

6.  Union assistance shall not in principle be used for paying taxes, duties or charges in beneficiary countries.“;

(1a)  Article 16(2) is replaced by the following:"

'2.  The Commission shall send its evaluation reports to the European Parliament and to the Council for information. The results shall feed back into programme design and resource allocation.

(1b)  Article 17 is replaced by the following:"

Article 17

Exercise of the delegation

1.  The power to adopt delegated acts as referred to in Article 5(3) shall be conferred on the Commission for the period of application of this Regulation.

2.  As soon as it adopts a delegated act, the Commission shall notify it simultaneously to the European Parliament and to the Council.

3.  The power to adopt delegated acts is conferred on the Commission subject to the conditions laid down in Articles 17a and 17b.

Article 17a

Revocation of the delegation

1.  The delegation of power referred to in Article 5 may be revoked at any time by the European Parliament or by the Council.

2.  The institution which has commenced an internal procedure for deciding whether to revoke a delegation of power shall endeavour to inform the other institution and the Commission within a reasonable time before the final decision is taken, indicating the delegated power which could be subject to revocation and possible reasons for a revocation.

3.  The decision of revocation shall put an end to the delegation of the power specified in that decision. It shall take effect immediately or at a later date specified therein. It shall not affect the validity of the delegated acts already in force. It shall be published in the Official Journal of the European Union.

Article 17b

Objections to delegated acts

1.  The European Parliament or the Council may object to a delegated act within a period of two months from the date of notification.

At the initiative of the European Parliament or the Council that period shall be extended by two months.

2.  If, on the expiry of the period referred to in paragraph 1, neither the European Parliament nor the Council has objected to the delegated act, it shall be published in the Official Journal of the European Union and shall enter into force on the date stated therein.

The delegated act may be published in the Official Journal of the European Union and enter into force before the expiry of that period if the European Parliament and the Council have both informed the Commission of their intention not to raise objections.

3.  If either the European Parliament or the Council objects to the delegated act within the period referred to in paragraph 1, it shall not enter into force. The institution which objects shall state the reasons for objecting to the delegated act.

Article 2

This Regulation shall enter into force on the day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.

Done at ...,

For the European Parliament For the Council

The President The President

(1) Texts adopted of 21.10.2010, P7_TA(2010)0380. (2) Position of the European Parliament of 21 October 2010 (not yet published in the Official Journal) and position of the Council at first reading of 10 December 2010 (OJ C 7 E, 12.1.2011, p. 14). Position of the European Parliament of 3 February 2011. (3) OJ L 210, 31.7.2006, p. 82. (4) OJ L 310, 9.11.2006, p. 1. (5) OJ L 405, 30.12.2006, p. 41. (6) OJ L 327, 24.11.2006, p. 1. (7) OJ L 81, 22.3.2007, p. 1. (8) OJ L 386, 29.12.2006, p. 1. (9) OJ L 378, 27.12.2006, p. 41.

European Parliament legislative resolution of 3 February 2011 on the Council position at first reading with a view to the adoption of a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Regulation (EC) No 1905/2006 establishing a financing instrument for development cooperation (16442/1/2010 – C7-0426/2010 – 2009/0060A(COD))

P7_TA(2011)0032 A7-0006/2011

(Ordinary legislative procedure: second reading)

The European Parliament,

–  having regard to the Council position at first reading (16442/1/2010 – C7-0426/2010),

–  having regard to its position at first reading(1) on the Commission proposal to Parliament and the Council (COM(2009)0194),

–  having regard to Article 294(7) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

–  having regard to Rule 66 of its Rules of Procedure,

–  having regard to the recommendation for second reading of the Committee on Development (A7-0006/2011),

1.  Adopts its position at second reading hereinafter set out;

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

Position of the European Parliament adopted at second reading on 3 February 2011 with a view to the adoption of Regulation (EU) No .../2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Regulation (EC) No 1905/2006 establishing a financing instrument for development cooperation

THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, and in particular Article 209(1) thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the European Commission,

Acting in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure(2),

Whereas:

(1)  A new framework for planning and delivering assistance was established in 2006 in order to make the Community's external assistance more effective and transparent. It contains Council Regulation (EC) No 1085/2006 of 17 July 2006 establishing an Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance (IPA)(3), Regulation (EC) No 1638/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 October 2006 laying down general provisions establishing a European Neighbourhood and Partnership Instrument(4), Council Regulation (EC) No 1934/2006 of 21 December 2006 establishing a financing instrument for cooperation with industrialised and other high-income countries and territories(5), Regulation (EC) No 1717/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 November 2006 establishing an Instrument for Stability(6), Council Regulation (Euratom) No 300/2007 of 19 February 2007 establishing an Instrument for Nuclear Safety Cooperation(7), Regulation (EC) No 1889/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 December 2006 establishing a financing instrument for the promotion of democracy and human rights worldwide(8), and Regulation (EC) No 1905/2006(9).

(2)  In implementing Regulation (EC) No 1905/2006 inconsistencies have emerged regarding exceptions to the principle of non-eligibility for Union financing of costs related to taxes, duties and other charges. It is therefore proposed to amend the relevant provisions of that Regulation in order to align it with the other instruments.

(2a)  The Commission should be empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 290 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union in respect of Geographic Strategy Papers, Multi-annual Indicative Programmes and Strategy Papers for thematic programmes, as they supplement Regulation (EC) No 1905/2006 and are of general application. It is of particular importance that the Commission carry out appropriate consultations during its preparatory work, including at expert level.

(3)  This Regulation does not go beyond what is necessary in order to achieve the objective pursued, in accordance with Article 5(4) of the Treaty on European Union.

(4)  Regulation (EC) No 1905/2006 should therefore be amended accordingly,

HAVE ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

Regulation (EC) No 1905/2006 is hereby amended as follows:

(-1)  In Article 17(2), the second subparagraph is replaced by the following:"

Further instructions regarding the allocation of the overall amount among beneficiaries shall be defined by the Commission by means of delegated acts in accordance with Article 35, and subject to the conditions laid down in Articles 35a and 35b.

(-1a)  Article 21 is replaced by the following:"

Article 21

Adoption of strategy papers and multiannual indicative programmes

Strategy papers and multiannual indicative programmes referred to in Articles 19 and 20, and any reviews thereof referred to in Article 19(2) and Article 20(1), as well as accompanying measures referred to in Article 17, shall be adopted by the Commission by means of delegated acts in accordance with Article 35, and subject to the conditions laid down in Articles 35a and 35b.

(-1b)  Article 22(3) is replaced by the following:"

3.  The annual action programmes shall be adopted by the Commission taking into account the opinions of the European Parliament and of the Council.

(-1c)  In Article 23, paragraphs 3 and 4 are replaced by the following:"

3.  Where the cost of such measures exceeds EUR 10 million, the Commission shall adopt them taking into account the opinions of the European Parliament and of the Council. For special measures below EUR 10 million, the Commission shall send the measures to the European Parliament and to the Council for information within one month of adopting its decision.

4.  Amendments to special measures, such as those making technical adjustments, extending the implementation period, reassigning funds within the forecast budget, or increasing or reducing the size of the budget by less than 20 % of the initial budget, provided those amendments do not affect the initial objectives set out in the Commission decision, shall be communicated within one month to the European Parliament and to the Council.

(1)  Article 25(2) is replaced by the following:"

2.  Union assistance shall not in principle be used for paying taxes, duties or charges in beneficiary countries.

(1a)  In Article 33, paragraphs 1 and 2 are replaced by the following:"

1.  The Commission shall regularly monitor and review its programmes, and evaluate the results of the implementation of geographical and thematic policies and programmes, and of sectoral policies and the effectiveness of programming, where appropriate by means of independent external evaluations, in order to ascertain whether the objectives have been met and enable it to formulate recommendations with a view to improving future operations. Proposals by the European Parliament, the national parliaments or the Council for independent external evaluations shall be taken into due account. Particular attention shall be given to social sectors and to progress made towards achieving the MDGs.

2.  The Commission shall send its evaluation reports to the European Parliament and to the Council for information. The results shall feed back into programme design and resource allocation.

(1b)  Article 34(1) is replaced by the following:"

1.  The Commission shall examine the progress made in implementing the measures taken under this Regulation and shall submit to the European Parliament and the Council an annual report on the implementation and the results and, as far as possible, on the main outcomes and impacts of the assistance. This report shall also be submitted to the national parliaments, to the European Economic and Social Committee and to the Committee of the Regions.

(1c)  Article 35 is replaced by the following:"

Article 35

Exercise of the delegation

1.  The power to adopt the delegated acts referred to in Article 17(2) and Article 21 shall be conferred on the Commission for the period of application of this Regulation.

2.  As soon as it adopts a delegated act, the Commission shall notify it simultaneously to the European Parliament and to the Council.

3.  The power to adopt delegated acts is conferred on the Commission subject to the conditions laid down in Articles 35a and 35b.

Article 35a

Revocation of the delegation

1.  The delegation of power referred to in Article 17(2) and Article 21 may be revoked at any time by the European Parliament or by the Council.

2.  The institution which has commenced an internal procedure for deciding whether to revoke a delegation of power shall endeavour to inform the other institution and the Commission within a reasonable time before the final decision is taken, indicating the delegated power which could be subject to revocation and possible reasons for a revocation.

3.  The decision of revocation shall put an end to the delegation of the power specified in that decision. It shall take effect immediately or at a later date specified therein. It shall not affect the validity of the delegated acts already in force. It shall be published in the Official Journal of the European Union.

Article 35b

Objections to delegated acts

1.  The European Parliament or the Council may object to a delegated act within a period of two months from the date of notification.

At the initiative of the European Parliament or the Council that period shall be extended by two months.

2.  If, on expiry of the period referred to in paragraph 1, neither the European Parliament nor the Council has objected to the delegated act, it shall be published in the Official Journal of the European Union and shall enter into force on the date stated therein.

The delegated act may be published in the Official Journal of the European Union and enter into force before the expiry of that period if the European Parliament and the Council have both informed the Commission of their intention not to raise objections.

3.  If either the European Parliament or the Council objects to the delegated act within the period referred to in paragraph 1, it shall not enter into force. The institution which objects shall state the reasons for objecting to the delegated act.

Article 2

This Regulation shall enter into force on the day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.

Done at

For the European Parliament For the Council

The President The President

(1) Texts adopted of 21.10.2010, P7_TA(2010)0379. (2) Position of the European Parliament of 21 October 2010 (not yet published in the Official Journal) and position of the Council at first reading of 10 December 2010 (OJ C 7 E, 12.1.2011, p. 11). Position of the European Parliament of 3 February 2011. (3) OJ L 210, 31.7.2006, p. 82. (4) OJ L 310, 9.11.2006, p. 1. (5) OJ L 405, 30.12.2006, p. 41. (6) OJ L 327, 24.11.2006, p. 1. (7) OJ L 81, 22.3.2007, p. 1. (8) OJ L 386, 29.12.2006, p. 1. (9) OJ L 378, 27.12.2006, p. 41.

European Parliament legislative resolution of 3 February 2011 on the Council position at first reading with a view to the adoption of a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Council Regulation (EC) No 1934/2006 establishing a financing instrument for cooperation with industrialised and other high-income countries and territories (16440/1/2010 – C7-0425/2010 – 2009/0059(COD))

P7_TA(2011)0033 A7-0005/2011

(Ordinary legislative procedure: second reading)

The European Parliament,

–  having regard to the Council position at first reading (16440/1/2010 – C7-0425/2010),

–  having regard to its position at first reading(1) on the Commission proposal to Parliament and the Council (COM(2009)0197),

–  having regard to Article 294(7) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

–  having regard to Rule 66 of its Rules of Procedure,

–  having regard to the recommendation for second reading of the Committee on International Trade (A7-0005/2011),

1.  Adopts its position at second reading hereinafter set out;

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

Position of the European Parliament adopted at second reading on 3 February 2011 with a view to the adoption of Regulation (EU) No .../2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Council Regulation (EC) No 1934/2006 establishing a financing instrument for cooperation with industrialised and other high-income countries and territories

THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, and in particular Articles 207(2) and 209(1) thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the European Commission,

Acting in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure(2),

Whereas:

(1)  Since 2007 the Community has streamlined its geographical cooperation with developing countries in Asia, Central Asia, and Latin America and with Iraq, Iran, Yemen, and South Africa under Regulation (EC) No 1905/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 December 2006 establishing a financing instrument for development cooperation(3).

(2)  The primary and overarching objective of Regulation (EC) No 1905/2006 is the eradication of poverty through the pursuit of the Millennium Development Goals. The scope of cooperation for the geographic programmes with developing countries, territories and regions established under that Regulation is furthermore limited materially to financing measures designed to fulfil the criteria for Official Development Assistance (‘ODA criteria’) established by the Development Assistance Committee of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (‘OECD/DAC’).

(3)  It is in the Union's interests to further deepen its relations with the developing countries concerned, which are important bilateral partners and players in multilateral fora and in global governance. The Union has a strategic interest in promoting diversified links with those countries, in particular in areas such as economic, commercial, academic, business and scientific exchanges. It therefore needs a financial instrument that allows the financing of such measures which, in principle, do not qualify as ODA under the ODA criteria but which are crucially important in terms of consolidating relations and which make an important contribution to promoting the progress of the developing countries concerned.

(4)  For that purpose, four Preparatory Actions were set up in the 2007 and 2008 budget procedures to initiate such enhanced cooperation in accordance with point (b) of Article 49(6) of Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002 of 25 June 2002 on the Financial Regulation applicable to the general budget of the European Communities(4). Those four Preparatory Actions are: business and scientific exchanges with India; business and scientific exchanges with China; cooperation with middle-income group countries in Asia; and cooperation with middle-income group countries in Latin America. Under that Article the legislative procedure further to Preparatory Actions must be concluded before the end of the third financial year.

(5)  The objectives and provisions of Regulation (EC) No 1934/2006(5) are appropriate to pursue such enhanced cooperation with countries falling under Regulation (EC) No 1905/2006. For that purpose, it is necessary to extend the geographical scope of Regulation (EC) No 1934/2006 and to provide for a financial envelope to cover cooperation with those developing countries.

(6)  Extending the geographical scope of Regulation (EC) No 1934/2006 brings the developing countries concerned within the scope of two different external action financial instruments. Care should be taken to ensure that these two financial instruments are kept strictly separate from each other. Measures which fulfil the ODA criteria will be financed under Regulation (EC) No 1905/2006, whereas Regulation (EC) No 1934/2006 will apply exclusively to measures which, in principle, do not fulfil those criteria. It is also necessary to ensure that the countries previously falling within the scope of Regulation (EC) No 1934/2006 - industrialised and other high-income countries and territories - are not placed at a disadvantage, particularly in financial terms, by the extension of that Regulation's geographical scope.

(7)  Since the economic crisis has placed budgets under extreme strain throughout the Union and the proposed extension embraces countries which sometimes demonstrate a similar level of competitiveness to that of the Union and have attained an average standard of living which approaches that of some Member States, the Union's cooperation should take into consideration efforts made by the recipient countries to comply with the International Labour Organisation international agreements and to participate in the general objectives of greenhouse gas emissions reduction.

(8)  The review of implementation of the external action financial instruments has identified inconsistencies in the provisions that exclude costs relating to taxes, duties or other charges as ineligible. For the sake of consistency, it is proposed to bring those provisions into line with the other instruments.

(8a)  The Commission should be empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 290 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union in respect of multiannual cooperation programmes, as these programmes supplement Regulation (EC) No 1934/2006 and are of general application. It is of particular importance that the Commission carry out appropriate consultations during its preparatory work, including at expert level.

(9)  Regulation (EC) No 1934/2006 should therefore be amended accordingly,

HAVE ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

Amendments to Regulation (EC) No 1934/2006

Regulation (EC) No 1934/2006 is hereby amended as follows:

(1)  the title of the Regulation is replaced by the following:"

Council Regulation (EC) No 1934/2006 of 21 December 2006 establishing a financing instrument for cooperation with industrialised and other high-income countries and territories, and with developing countries falling under Regulation (EC) No 1905/2006, for activities other than official development assistance

(2)  Articles 1 to 4 are replaced by the following:"

Article 1

Objective

1.  For the purpose of this Regulation, “industrialised and other high-income countries and territories” shall comprise countries and territories listed in Annex I to this Regulation and “developing countries” shall comprise countries falling under Regulation (EC) No 1905/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 December 2006 establishing a financing instrument for development cooperation* and listed in Annex II to this Regulation. They are together hereinafter referred to as “partner countries”.

Union financing under this Regulation shall support economic, financial, technical, cultural and academic cooperation with partner countries in the areas set out in Article 4, falling within its spheres of competence. This Regulation shall serve to finance measures which, in principle, do not fulfil the criteria for Official Development Assistance (“ODA criteria”) established by the Development Assistance Committee of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (“OECD/DAC”).

2.  The primary objective of cooperation with partner countries shall be to provide a specific response to the need to strengthen links and to engage further with them on a bilateral, regional or multilateral basis in order to create a more favourable and transparent environment for the development of relations between the Union and partner countries in accordance with the principles guiding the Union's external action as laid down in the Treaty. This refers amongst others to the promotion of democracy, respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, the rule of law, as well as decent work, good governance, and the preservation of the environment, in order to contribute to progress and sustainable development processes in the partner countries.

Article 2

Scope

1.  Cooperation shall be aimed at engaging with partner countries in order to enhance dialogue and rapprochement and to share and promote similar political, economic and institutional structures and values. The Union shall also aim at increasing cooperation and exchanges with established or increasingly important bilateral partners and players in multilateral fora and in global governance. The cooperation also covers partners with which the Union has a strategic interest in promoting links and its values as laid down in the Treaty.

2.  In duly justified circumstances and in order to ensure the coherence and effectiveness of Union financing and to foster regional cooperation, the Commission may decide when adopting annual action programmes referred to in Article 6 that countries not listed in the Annexes are eligible for measures under this Regulation, where the project or programme to be implemented is of a regional or cross-border nature. Provisions shall be made for this in the multiannual cooperation programmes referred to in Article 5.

3.  The Commission shall amend the lists in Annexes I and II following the regular OECD/DAC reviews of its list of developing countries, and shall inform the European Parliament and the Council thereof.

4.  For Union financing under this Regulation, particular attention shall be paid where appropriate to the compliance of the partner countries with the core labour standards of the International Labour Organisation and to their efforts to pursue reductions of greenhouse gas emissions.

5.  In relation to countries listed in Annex II to this Regulation, policy coherence with measures financed under Regulation (EC) No 1905/2006 and Regulation (EC) No 1337/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 December 2008 establishing a facility for rapid response to soaring food prices in developing countries** shall be strictly observed.

Article 3

General principles

1.  The Union is founded on the principles of liberty, democracy, respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms and the rule of law and seeks to promote, develop and consolidate commitment to those principles in partner countries through dialogue and cooperation.

2.  In the implementation of this Regulation a differentiated approach in designing cooperation with partner countries shall be pursued, where appropriate, to take account of their economic, social and political contexts as well as of the Union's specific interests, strategies and priorities.

3.  Measures financed under this Regulation shall be consistent with and cover areas of cooperation set out notably in the instruments, agreements, declarations and action plans between the Union and the partner countries, as well as areas pertaining to the Union's specific interests and priorities.

4.  For measures financed under this Regulation, the Union shall aim to ensure coherence with other areas of its external action as well as with other relevant Union policies, in particular development cooperation. This shall be ensured by formulating policy, strategic planning and the programming and implementation of measures.

5.  Measures financed under this Regulation shall complement and bring added value to the efforts undertaken by Member States and Union public bodies in the area of commercial relations and cultural, academic and scientific exchanges.

6.  The Commission shall inform and have regular exchanges of views with the European Parliament.

Article 4

Areas of cooperation

(3)  in Article 5, paragraphs 2 and 3 are replaced by the following:"

2.  Multiannual cooperation programmes shall cover no more than the period of validity of this Regulation. They shall set out the Union's specific interests and priorities, the general objectives and the expected results. In particular with regard to Erasmus Mundus, programmes shall aim for the most balanced geographical coverage possible. They shall also set out the areas selected for financing by the Union and outline the indicative financial allocation of funds, overall, per priority area and per partner country or group of partner countries for the period concerned. Where appropriate, this may be given in the form of a range. Multiannual cooperation programmes shall be reviewed at mid-term, or ad hoc if necessary.

3.  Multiannual cooperation programmes and any reviews thereof shall be adopted by the Commission by means of delegated acts in accordance with Article 14a, and subject to the conditions laid down in Articles 14b and 14c.

(4)  ▌ Article 6 is amended as follows:

(5)  Article 7 is amended as follows:

(6)  in Article 8, paragraph 3 is replaced by the following:"

3.  Union financing shall, in principle, not be used for paying taxes, duties or charges in the partner countries.

(7)  Article 9 is amended as follows:

(8)  Article 12 is amended as follows:

(9)  Articles 13 and 14 are replaced by the following:"

Article 13

Evaluation

1.  The Commission shall regularly evaluate the actions and programmes financed under this Regulation, where appropriate or at the request of the European Parliament or the Council, by means of independent external evaluations, in order to ascertain whether the objectives have been met and to enable it to formulate recommendations with a view to improving future operations. The results shall feed back into programme design and resource allocation.

2.  The Commission shall send the evaluation reports referred to in paragraph 1 to the European Parliament and to the Council for information.

3.  The Commission shall associate relevant stakeholders, including non-State actors, in the evaluation phase of the Union cooperation provided for under this Regulation.

Article 14

Annual report

The Commission shall examine the progress made on implementing the measures taken under this Regulation and shall submit to the European Parliament and the Council a detailed annual report on the implementation of this Regulation. The report shall set out the results of implementation of the budget and present all the actions and programmes financed, and as far as possible, set out the main outcomes and impacts of the cooperation actions and programmes.

(9a)  the following Articles are inserted:"

Article 14a

Exercise of the delegation

1.  The power to adopt delegated acts referred to in Article 5 shall be conferred on the Commission for the period of application of this Regulation.

2.  As soon as it adopts a delegated act, the Commission shall notify it simultaneously to the European Parliament and to the Council.

3.  The power to adopt delegated acts is conferred on the Commission subject to the conditions laid down in Articles 14b and 14c.

Article 14b

Revocation of the delegation

1.  The delegation of power referred to in Article 5 may be revoked at any time by the European Parliament or by the Council.

2.  The institution which has commenced an internal procedure for deciding whether to revoke a delegation of power shall endeavour to inform the other institution and the Commission within a reasonable time before the final decision is taken, indicating the delegated power which could be subject to revocation and possible reasons for a revocation.

3.  The decision of revocation shall put an end to the delegation of the power specified in that decision. It shall take effect immediately or at a later date specified therein. It shall not affect the validity of the delegated acts already in force. It shall be published in the Official Journal of the European Union.

Article 14c

Objections to delegated acts

1.  The European Parliament or the Council may object to a delegated act within a period of two months from the date of notification.

At the initiative of the European Parliament or the Council this period shall be extended by two months.

2.  If, on expiry of the period referred to in paragraph 1, neither the European Parliament nor the Council has objected to the delegated act, it shall be published in the Official Journal of the European Union and shall enter into force on the date stated therein.

The delegated act may be published in the Official Journal of the European Union and enter into force before the expiry of that period if the European Parliament and the Council have both informed the Commission of their intention not to raise objections.

3.  If either the European Parliament or the Council objects to the delegated act within the period referred to in paragraph 1, it shall not enter into force. The institution which objects shall state the reasons for objecting to the delegated act.

(9b)  Article 15 is deleted;

(10)  Article 16 is replaced by the following:"

Article 16

Financial provisions

The financial reference amount for the implementation of this Regulation for the period from 2007 to 2013 shall be EUR 172 million for countries listed in Annex I and EUR 176 million for countries listed in Annex II. The annual appropriations for the period 2010-2013 will be decided by the budgetary authority as part of the annual budget procedure. The Commission shall provide the budgetary authority with detailed information on all budget lines and the annual appropriations to be used for financing the measures under this Regulation. Those appropriations shall be authorised by the budgetary authority within the limits of the financial framework. Care shall also be taken to ensure that the industrialised and other high-income countries and territories listed in Annex I are not placed at a disadvantage by the application of this Regulation to the partner countries listed in Annex II.

Appropriations programmed for use under Regulation (EC) No 1905/2006 shall not be used for this purpose.

(11)  in the Annex, the title is replaced by the following:"

ANNEX I ‐ List of industrialised and other high-income countries and territories covered by this Regulation

(12)  a new Annex II, the text of which is set out in the Annex to this Regulation, is added.

Article 2

Entry into force

This Regulation shall enter into force on the day following its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.

Done at ...,

For the European Parliament For the Council

The President The President

ANNEX

‘ANNEX II

List of developing countries covered by this Regulation

Latin America

1.  Argentina

2.  Bolivia

3.  Brazil

4.  Chile

5.  Colombia

6.  Costa Rica

7.  Cuba

8.  Ecuador

9.  El Salvador

10.  Guatemala

11.  Honduras

12.  Mexico

13.  Nicaragua

14.  Panama

15.  Paraguay

16.  Peru

17.  Uruguay

18.  Venezuela

Asia

19.  Afghanistan

20.  Bangladesh

21.  Bhutan

22.  Burma/Myanmar

23.  Cambodia

24.  China

25.  India

26.  Indonesia

27.  Democratic People's Republic of Korea

28.  Laos

29.  Malaysia

30.  Maldives

31.  Mongolia

32.  Nepal

33.  Pakistan

34.  Philippines

35.  Sri Lanka

36.  Thailand

37.  Vietnam

Central Asia

38.  Kazakhstan

39.  Kyrgyz Republic

40.  Tajikistan

41.  Turkmenistan

42.  Uzbekistan

Middle East

43.  Iran

44.  Iraq

45.  Yemen

South Africa

46.  South Africa‘

(1) Texts adopted, 21.10.2010, P7_TA(2010)0381. (2) Position of the European Parliament of 21 October 2010 (not yet published in the Official Journal) and position of the Council at first reading of 10 December 2010 (OJ C 7 E, 12.1.2011, p. 1). Position of the European Parliament of 3 February 2011. (3) OJ L 378, 27.12.2006, p. 41. (4) OJ L 248, 16.9.2002, p. 1. (5) OJ L 405, 30.12.2006, p. 41.

European Parliament resolution of 3 February 2011 on the conclusion of a Geneva Agreement on Trade in Bananas between the European Union and Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru and Venezuela and of an Agreement on Trade in Bananas between the European Union and the United States

P7_TA(2011)0034 B7-0074/2011

The European Parliament,

–  having regard to its resolutions of 1 December 2005 on preparations for the sixth Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organisation in Hong Kong(1), of 4 April 2006 on the assessment of the Doha Round following the WTO Ministerial Conference in Hong Kong(2), of 27 April 2006 on a stronger partnership between the European Union and Latin America(3), of 7 September 2006 on the suspension of negotiations on the Doha Development Agenda (DDA)(4), of 12 October 2006 on economic and trade relations between the EU and Mercosur with a view to the conclusion of an Interregional Association Agreement(5), of 23 May 2007 on Economic Partnership Agreements(6), of 12 December 2007 on Economic Partnership Agreements(7), of 24 April 2008 on the Fifth Latin America and Caribbean-European Union Summit in Lima(8) and on Towards a reform of the World Trade Organisation(9), of 9 October 2008 on the suspension of the WTO Doha Round and the future of the Doha Development Agenda(10), of 25 March 2009 on the Economic Partnership Agreement between the Cariforum States, of the one part, and the European Community and its Member States, of the other part(11), of its position of 25 March 2009 on the proposal for a Council Decision on the conclusion of the Economic Partnership Agreement between the Cariforum States, of the one part, and the European Community and its Member States, of the other part(12), of 5 May 2010 on the EU strategy for relations with Latin America(13) and of 21 October 2010 on the European Union's trade relations with Latin America(14),

–  having regard to the ‘Geneva Agreement on Trade in Bananas’ between the European Union and Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru and Venezuela and of the Agreement on Trade in Bananas between the European Union and the United States (hereinafter ‘the Agreements on Trade in Bananas’),

–  having regard to the Marrakesh Agreement establishing the World Trade Organisation,

–  having regard to the Partnership Agreement between the members of the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Group of States, of the one part, and the European Community and its Member States, of the other part, signed in Cotonou on 23 June 2000 (the Cotonou Agreement),

–  having regard to the Economic Partnership Agreement between the Cariforum States, of the one part, and the European Community and its Member States, of the other part,

–  having regard to the conclusion of the negotiations on an Association Agreement between the EU and Central America,

–  having regard to the conclusion of the negotiations between the EU and Colombia and Peru on a Multi-Party Trade Agreement,

–  having regard to the WTO Ministerial Conference declarations adopted in Doha on 14 November 2001 and in Hong Kong on 18 December 2005 and to the Chairman's Summary adopted in Geneva on 2 December 2009,

–  having regard to the waiver from the application of Article I of the GATT granted in Doha in November 2001 (the ‘Doha waiver’) in respect of the Cotonou Agreement trade preferences, with a duration commensurate with those trade preferences, i.e. until 31 December 2007,

–  having regard to the US-EC Understanding on Bananas of 11 April 2001,

–  having regard to the report of 22 December 2009 by the Director-General of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) on the Use of His Good Offices (pursuant to Article 3.12 of the Dispute Settlement Understanding) in the disputes EC – Regime for the importation of bananas (DS361) initiated by Colombia and EC – Regime for the importation of bananas (DS364) initiated by Panama,

–  having regard to Council Regulation (EEC) No 404/93 of 13 February 1993 on the common organisation of the market in bananas,

–  having regard to the declaration issued by the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly on 1 April 2010 regarding the EU-Latin America bananas agreement and its impact on ACP and EU banana producers,

–  having regard to the questions of 24 January 2011 to the Council (O-0012/2011 – B7-0007/2011) and the Commission (O-0013/2011 – B7-0008/2011) on the conclusion of a Geneva Agreement on Trade in Bananas,

–  having regard to Rules 115(5) and 110(2) of its Rules of Procedure,

A.  whereas the Agreements on Trade in Bananas settle the longest ever dispute between the EU and Latin American Most-Favoured Nation (MFN) suppliers of bananas; whereas they also settle a particularly acrimonious incidental dispute between the USA and the EU and rule out the possibility of damaging sanctions being imposed by the USA; whereas they also settle all Latin American MFN suppliers‘ claims relating to the last three enlargements of the EU,

B.  whereas until 1 July 1993 each EU Member State maintained its own banana import regime, with some Member States having special arrangements favouring countries with which they have strong historical ties,

C.  whereas following the adoption of Council Regulation (EEC) No 404/93 several Latin American WTO member countries which supply bananas to the EU on an MFN basis and the USA initiated WTO dispute-settlement proceedings against the EU with respect to the disparities in the treatment of bananas exported to the European Communities‘ market by different suppliers,

D.  whereas certain aspects of the European Communities‘ banana import regime were found to be inconsistent with WTO law,

E.  whereas a number of proposals by the European Communities (EC) to modify their regime to bring it into line with the recommendations and rulings of the Dispute Settlement Body were rejected by the countries which had brought the complaints,

F.  whereas the new EC regime on bananas introduced on 1 January 2006 was still found to be inconsistent with the EU's WTO obligations,

G.  whereas only some 20% of world banana production is exported, as the majority is intended for domestic markets,

H.  whereas there are wide variations in terms of productivity and level of competitiveness in banana production between and within countries; whereas the Latin American countries and the Philippines are the most competitive producers and the major exporters,

I.  whereas the EU has concluded the negotiations with Colombia and Peru on a Multi-Party Trade Agreement, and those with six Central American countries on an Association Agreement,

J.  whereas the EU's domestic support programme POSEI (‘Programme of Options Specifically Relating to Remoteness and Insularity’) assists producers in the outermost regions of the EU,

K.  whereas bananas are the world's fourth biggest agricultural export, and whereas the EU is the largest (net) banana importer in the world, importing almost 5 million tonnes in 2007,

L.  whereas banana production has a major impact on local communities, not only in economic terms, but also as regards the environment, migration and labour standards,

M.  whereas multinationals operating in Latin America control over 80% of the global market,

N.  whereas the EU's tariff-rate quota system has created the conditions which enable the ACP countries to export substantial quantities of bananas to the EU and has also limited the impact of trade agreements on European producers and protected a large number of jobs linked to banana production,

O.  whereas the agreement will mean significant tariff cuts (35% between 2010 and 2017) for non-ACP imports of bananas; whereas, as a result, ACP and EU producers will certainly have to adjust to the new reality of the international market,

1.  Notes the Agreements on Trade in Bananas and welcomes the ending of one of the most technically complex, politically sensitive and commercially significant legal disputes ever brought before the WTO;

2.  Considers that the deal reached is a solution, but that it could not fully reconcile the legitimate interests of all the parties; calls, therefore, on the Commission to submit at the earliest opportunity an assessment of the impact of the Agreements on Trade in Bananas on banana-producing developing countries and Europe's outermost regions over the period to 2020;

3.  Welcomes the fact that the Agreements on Trade in Bananas will constitute the EU's final market-access commitments for bananas and will be included in the final results of the next round of multilateral market-access negotiations for agricultural products to be successfully concluded under WTO auspices (Doha Round);

4.  Stresses that the deal reached represents a step forward in the Doha Round talks, but only a limited one, given that the difficulties encountered go well beyond the simple issue of bananas;

5.  Stresses that, upon certification of the Geneva Agreement on Trade in Bananas, all pending disputes and all claims filed before 15 December 2009 by any Latin American MFN banana supplier with respect to the EU trading regime for bananas will be deemed to have been settled;

6.  Notes that the figures for 2010 show that banana prices for EU consumers remained stable or increased only slightly;

7.  Stresses that the EU will gradually cut its import tariff on bananas from Latin America from EUR 176/t to EUR 114 by 2017, thus endangering small and medium-sized producers in the ACP, the EU and its outermost regions (which are already amongst those in Europe with the highest unemployment rates);

8.  Stresses that the Agreements on Trade in Bananas will make it possible to decouple the banana sector from the Doha Round negotiations on ‘tropical products’; stresses that whilst ‘tropical products’ will be subject to deeper tariff cuts, tariff cuts on ‘preference erosion products’ of interest to ACP countries will be implemented over a relatively longer period than will be the case under the general formula applied in the negotiations; stresses, nevertheless, that the Agreements on Trade in Bananas are not likely to pave the way for an agreement acceptable to the ACP countries on tropical products and the erosion of their preferential treatment, since the proposals formulated at the time of the Agreements on Trade in Bananas have already been rejected by some large emerging economies, as demonstrated by the reactions of India and Pakistan at the meeting of the WTO General Council in December 2009;

9.  Points out that the EU has traditionally granted special tariff preferences to bananas from ACP countries; recalls that some WTO members have repeatedly challenged the compatibility of this preferential treatment with WTO rules; stresses that a series of legal rulings by WTO dispute panels, the Appellate Body and special arbitrators have called for a change to the existing regime;

10.  Views with regret the fact that the original regional approach could not be retained in the negotiations on the Multi-Party Agreement with the Andean countries, which left Ecuador in the position of not benefiting from the same tariffs as Colombia and Peru;

11.  Emphasises that, since 2008, bananas from ACP countries have entered the EU duty- and quota-free, thanks to the current agreements;

12.  Stresses that the parallel discussions with the ACP countries produced an agreement to the effect that, in addition to regular EU aid, the main ACP banana-exporting countries will receive extra support through a new programme – the so-called ‘Banana Accompanying Measures’ (BAM); stresses that the BAM financing arrangement could be insufficient in terms of resources and too short in terms of its implementing period to provide effective help to ACP banana producers in adapting to the effects of the changes in the EU's import regime; asks the Commission to indicate clearly that the financing arrangement consists of money additional to current development cooperation funds and that it is not just a contribution to national budgets which cannot be earmarked for specific programmes, such as education and diversification; asks the Commission to present a new multiannual financing arrangement;

13.  Calls on the Commission to conduct an assessment of the BAM 18 months before the programme's expiry, including recommendations on any further measures to be taken and the nature thereof;

14.  Firmly rejects any attempts to finance the programme for ACP banana-producing countries by redeploying appropriations from the budget lines for development cooperation;

15.  Points out that it will be important to allocate the resources from the BAM to countries on the basis of their expected losses in terms of banana exports and production and their level of development, weighted indicators and the volume of their trade in bananas with the EU; stresses the need to strike the right balance between three types of non-mutually exclusive measure that can be taken: those to improve the efficiency of existing production, those to increase the value added locally, and those to help countries diversify away from banana production;

16.  Calls on the EU and the ACP States to bring forward measures to help heavily banana-dependent States to diversify their economies, including in the form of more Aid for Trade;

17.  Emphasises that bananas are one of the main agricultural crops of some outermost regions of the Union, in particular the French overseas departments of Guadeloupe and Martinique, the Azores, Madeira and the Canary Islands;

18.  Recommends that due account should be taken of the socioeconomic importance of the banana sector to the outermost regions of the EU and the contribution it makes to achieving social and economic cohesion, on account of the income and employment which it generates, the economic activities to which it gives rise, and the effect which it has of maintaining an environmental and landscape balance which encourages the development of tourism;

19.  Notes that the POSEI support programme was adopted in 2006 in the light of the agreed WTO European market-access tariff of €176/tonne, which means that the tariff laid down in the WTO Agreements on Trade in Bananas has not yet been taken into account in the POSEI budget; encourages the relevant EU authorities to adjust the support package for domestic EU producers included in the POSEI budget and to take other steps in order to ensure that, in the face of the trend towards the liberalisation of the global trade in bananas, domestic EU producers are able to remain on the market and pursue their traditional activities;

20.  Considers that producers from ACP countries and from the EU and its outermost regions could be significantly affected by the Agreements on Trade in Bananas; calls on the Commission therefore to increase support for them and extend that support to 2020 if necessary;

21.  Notes that banana production in the EU's outermost regions (ORs) meets higher social and environmental standards than is the case in most Latin American countries; draws attention to the fact that in the ORs the use of active agents, such as pesticides, is 20 to 40 times lower than in South and Central American countries, whilst in the phytosanitary field most of the active agents banned under European food safety rules are widely used throughout South and Central American plantations;

22.  Notes that, in its most recent bilateral agreements involving banana producers (the Multi-Party Trade Agreement with Colombia and Peru and the Association Agreement with Central America), the EU has agreed progressively to reduce its import tariff on bananas originating in those countries to €75/tonne by 1 January 2020;

23.  Notes that the €39/tonne preferential margin ultimately granted by the Agreements on Trade in Bananas will significantly improve the competitiveness on the EU market vis-à-vis other exporters of the eight Andean and Central American countries concerned and of transnational companies operating in that region; stresses that from 2020 onwards the benefits for those countries already exporting bananas to the EU will be conspicuous, as both their exports and the price they are paid for their bananas will increase;

24.  Stresses that other MFN exporters to the EU (the most important, by far, being Ecuador), ACP countries and least-developed countries could experience a decline in their relative competitiveness on the EU market with respect to the signatories of the Agreements on Trade in Bananas;

25.  Considers that access to the EU market should be granted only to producers who respect the ILO's decent labour agenda and human rights and observe environmental rules;

26.  Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the governments and parliaments of the Member States and Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru and Venezuela, the United States and the ACP countries.

(1) OJ C 285 E, 22.11.2006, p. 126. (2) OJ C 293 E, 2.12.2006, p. 155. (3) OJ C 296 E, 6.12.2006, p. 123. (4) OJ C 305 E, 14.12.2006, p. 244. (5) OJ C 308 E, 16.12.2006, p. 182. (6) OJ C 102 E, 24.4.2008, p. 301. (7) OJ C 323 E, 18.12.2008, p. 361. (8) OJ C 259 E, 29.10.2009, p. 64. (9) OJ C 259 E, 29.10.2009, p. 77. (10) OJ C 9 E, 15.1.2010, p. 31. (11) OJ C 117 E, 6.5.2010, p. 101. (12) OJ C 117 E, 6.5.2010, p. 256. (13) Texts adopted, P7_TA(2010)0141. (14) Texts adopted, P7_TA(2010)0387.

European Parliament legislative resolution of 3 February 2011 on the draft Council decision on the conclusion of a Geneva Agreement on Trade in Bananas between the European Union and Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru and Venezuela and of an Agreement on Trade in Bananas between the European Union and the United States of America (07782/2010 – C7-0148/2010 – 2010/0057(NLE))

P7_TA(2011)0035 A7-0002/2011

(Consent)

The European Parliament,

–  having regard to the draft Council decision (07782/2010),

–  having regard to the draft Geneva Agreement on Trade in Bananas (07968/2010) and the draft Agreement on trade in bananas between the European Union and the United States of America (07970/2010),

–  having regard to the request for consent submitted by the Council in accordance with Article 207(4), first subparagraph and Article 218(6), second subparagraph, point (a) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (C7-0148/2010),

–  having regard to Rules 81 and 90(8) of its Rules of Procedure,

–  having regard to the recommendation of the Committee on International Trade and the opinion of the Committee on Development (A7-0002/2011),

1.  Consents to conclusion of the agreements;

2.  Instructs its President to forward its position to the Council, the Commission, and the governments and parliaments of the Member States and of Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru and Venezuela and the United States of America.

European Parliament legislative resolution of 3 February 2011 on the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council repealing Council Regulation (EC) No 1964/2005 on the tariff rates for bananas (COM(2010)0096 – C7-0074/2010 – 2010/0056(COD))

P7_TA(2011)0036 A7-0003/2011

(Ordinary legislative procedure: first reading)

The European Parliament,

–  having regard to the Commission proposal to Parliament and the Council (COM(2010)0096),

–  having regard to Article 294(2) and Article 207(2) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, pursuant to which the Commission submitted the proposal to Parliament (C7-0074/2010),

–  having regard to Article 294(3) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

–  having regard to Rule 55 of its Rules of Procedure,

–  having regard to the report of the Committee on International Trade (A7-0003/2011),

1.  Adopts its position at first reading hereinafter set out;

2.  Calls on the Commission to refer the matter to Parliament again if it intends to amend its proposal substantially or replace it with another text;

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

Position of the European Parliament adopted at first reading on 3 February 2011 with a view to the adoption of Regulation (EU) No .../2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council repealing Council Regulation (EC) No 1964/2005 on the tariff rates for bananas

(As an agreement was reached between Parliament and Council, Parliament's position corresponds to the final legislative act, Regulation (EU) No 306/2011.)

European Parliament legislative resolution of 3 February 2011 on the proposal for a directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) (recast) (COM(2008)0810 – C6-0472/2008 – 2008/0241(COD))

P7_TA(2011)0037 A7-0229/2010

(Ordinary legislative procedure: recast)

The European Parliament,

–  having regard to the Commission proposal to Parliament and the Council (COM(2008)0810),

–  having regard to Article 251(2) and Article 175(1) of the EC Treaty, pursuant to which the Commission submitted the proposal to Parliament (C6-0472/2008),

–  having regard to the Commission Communication to Parliament and the Council entitled ‘Consequences of the entry into force of the Treaty of Lisbon for ongoing interinstitutional decision-making procedures’ (COM(2009)0665),

–  having regard to Article 294(3) and Article 192(1) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

–  having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee of 11 June 2009(1),

–  having regard to the opinion of the Committee of the Regions of 4 December 2009(2),

–  having regard to the Interinstitutional Agreement of 28 November 2001 on a more structured use of the recasting technique for legal acts(3),

–  having regard to the letter of 3 April 2009 from the Committee on Legal Affairs to the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety in accordance with Rule 87(3) of its Rules of Procedure,

–  having regard to Rules 87 and 55 of its Rules of Procedure,

–  having regard to the report of the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (A7-0229/2010),

A.  whereas, according to the Consultative Working Party of the legal services of the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission, the proposal in question does not include any substantive amendments other than those identified as such in the proposal and whereas, as regards the codification of the unchanged provisions of the earlier acts together with those amendments, the proposal contains a straightforward codification of the existing texts, without any change in their substance,

1.  Adopts the position at first reading hereinafter set out, taking into account the recommendations of the Consultative Working Party of the legal services of the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission;

2.  Calls on the Commission to refer the matter to Parliament again if it intends to amend the proposal substantially or replace it with another text;

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

Position of the European Parliament adopted at first reading on 3 February 2011 with a view to the adoption of Directive 2011/.../EU of the European Parliament and of the Council on waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) (recast)

(Text with EEA relevance)

THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, and in particular Article 192(1) thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the European Commission,

Having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee(4),

Having regard to the opinion of the Committee of the Regions(5),

Acting in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure(6),

Whereas:

(1)  A number of substantial changes are to be made to Directive 2002/96/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 January 2003 on waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE)(7). In the interests of clarity, that Directive should be recast.

(2)  The objectives of the Union's environment policy are, in particular, to preserve, protect and improve the quality of the environment, protect human health and utilise natural resources prudently and rationally. That policy is based on the precautionary principle and the principles that preventive action should be taken, that environmental damage should as a priority be rectified at source and that the polluter should pay.

(3)  The Community programme of policy and action in relation to the environment and sustainable development (Fifth Environmental Action Programme)(8) states that the achievement of sustainable development calls for significant changes in current patterns of development, production, consumption and behaviour and advocates, inter alia, the reduction of wasteful consumption of natural resources and the prevention of pollution. It mentions waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) as one of the target areas to be regulated, in view of the application of the principles of prevention, recovery and safe disposal of waste.

(4)  This Directive supplements the general EU waste management legislation, such as Directive 2008/98/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 November 2008 on waste(9). It refers to the definitions of that Directive including the definitions of waste and general waste management operations. The definition of collection according to Directive 2008/98/EC includes the preliminary sorting and preliminary storage of waste for the purposes of transport to a waste treatment facility. Directive 2009/125/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council(10) establishes a framework for setting ecodesign requirements for energy-related products and enables the adoption of specific eco-design requirements for energy-related products which may also be covered by this Directive. Directive 2009/125/EC and the implementing measures adopted pursuant to it are without prejudice to Union waste management legislation. Directive 2002/95/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 January 2003 on the restriction of the use of certain hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment(11) requires the substitution of banned substances for all electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) within its scope.

(5)  Directive 2008/98/EC provides that specific rules for particular instances, or supplementing those of that Directive, on the management of particular categories of waste may be laid down by means of individual Directives.

(6)  As the market continues to expand and innovation cycles become even shorter, the replacement of equipment accelerates, making WEEE a fast growing waste stream. While Directive 2002/95/EC contributes effectively to reducing hazardous substances in new EEE, hazardous substances such as mercury, cadmium, lead, hexavalent chromium and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and ozone-depleting substances will still be present in WEEE for many years. The content of hazardous components in EEE is a major concern during the waste management phase and recycling of WEEE is not undertaken to a sufficient extent. A lack of recycling would result in the loss of valuable resources.

(7)  The purpose of this Directive is to contribute to sustainable production and consumption through, as a first priority, the prevention of WEEE, and in addition, through the re-use, recycling and other forms of recovery of WEEE so as to reduce the disposal of waste and contribute to the efficient use of resources and the retrieval of strategic raw materials. It also seeks to improve the environmental performance of all operators involved in the life cycle of EEE, such as producers, distributors and consumers and in particular those operators directly involved in the collection and treatment of WEEE. In particular, different national applications of the ‘producer responsibility’ principle may lead to substantial disparities in the financial burden on economic operators. Having different national policies on the management of WEEE hampers the effectiveness of recycling policies. For that reason the essential criteria should be laid down at Union level and harmonised standards for the collection and handling of WEEE should be developed.

(8)  Since the objectives of the action to be taken cannot be sufficiently achieved by the Member States and can be better achieved at Union level by reason of the scale of the problem, the Union may therefore adopt measures, in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity as set out in Article 5 of the Treaty on European Union. 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 those objectives.

(9)  The provisions of this Directive should apply to products and producers irrespective of the selling technique, including distance and electronic selling. In this connection the obligations of producers and distributors using distance and electronic selling channels should, as far as is practicable, take the same form and should be enforced in the same way in order to avoid other distribution channels having to bear the costs resulting from this Directive concerning WEEE for which the equipment was sold by distance or electronic selling.

(10)  This Directive should cover all EEE used by consumers and EEE intended for professional use. This Directive should apply without prejudice to Union legislation on safety and health requirements protecting all actors in contact with WEEE as well as specific Union waste management legislation, in particular Directive 2006/66/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 6 September 2006 on batteries and accumulators and waste batteries and accumulators(12), and Union product design legislation, in particular Directive 2005/32/EC. Large-scale fixed installations should be excluded from the scope of this Directive because they are permanently installed and operated at a particular location, are assembled and disassembled by specialist personnel and therefore represent a controlled waste stream. Large-scale stationary industrial tools installed for operation at a specific location should also be excluded from the scope of this Directive. Mobile machinery operated exclusively by professional users should likewise be excluded because it too is disassembled and disposed of by specialist personnel and it therefore represents a controlled waste stream. Photovoltaic modules, which are also installed and removed by specialist personnel and are instrumental in achieving renewable-energy targets, thus helping to reduce CO2, should also be excluded. Furthermore, the solar industry has concluded a voluntary environmental agreement with the aim of recycling 85% of photovoltaic modules. The Commission should assess whether that agreement is achieving at least equivalent results as compared to this Directive and whether it covers all photovoltaic modules placed on the market, and it should, if appropriate, on the basis of a report, submit a proposal to include photovoltaic modules in the scope of the Directive.

(11)  The establishment, by this Directive, of producer responsibility is one of the means of encouraging the design and production of EEE which take into full account and facilitate their repair, possible upgrading, re-use, disassembly and recycling.

(12)  In order to guarantee the safety and health of distributors' personnel involved in the take-back and handling of WEEE, Member States should, in accordance with national and Union legislation on safety and health requirements, determine the conditions under which take-back may be refused by distributors.

(13)  Separate collection is a precondition to ensure specific treatment and recycling of WEEE and is necessary to achieve the chosen level of protection of human health and the environment in the Union. Consumers have to actively contribute to the success of such collection and should be encouraged to return WEEE. For this purpose, convenient facilities should be set up for the return of WEEE, including public collection points, where private households should be able to return their waste at least free of charge. Distributors, municipalities and recyclers all have an important role in contributing to the success of WEEE collection and treatment and thus should be subject to the requirements of this Directive.

(14)  In order to attain the chosen level of protection and harmonised environmental objectives of the Union, Member States should adopt appropriate measures to minimise the disposal of WEEE as unsorted municipal waste and to achieve a high level of separate collection of WEEE. In order to ensure that Member States strive to set up efficient collection schemes, they should be required to achieve a high level of collection of WEEE, particularly for cooling and freezing equipment containing ozone-depleting substances and fluorinated greenhouse gases, given their high environmental impact and in view of obligations contained in Regulation (EC) No 1005/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 September 2009 on substances that deplete the ozone layer(13) and Regulation (EC) No 842/2006of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 May 2006 on certain fluorinated greenhouse gases(14). Data included in the impact assessment show that 65% of EEE placed on the market is already separately collected today, but more than half of this potentially leaks to improper treatment and illegal exports, or is treated properly but the amounts treated were not reported. This leads to losses of valuable secondary raw materials, environmental degradation and provision of inconsistent data. To avoid this, it is necessary to set an ambitious collection target, to oblige all actors that collect WEEE to ensure it is treated in an environmentally sound way, and to require such actors to report the volumes collected, handled and treated. It is of fundamental importance that Member States ensure that this Directive is effectively enforced, in particular as regards checks on used EEE shipped out of the Union.

(15)  Specific treatment for WEEE is indispensable in order to avoid the dispersion of pollutants into the recycled material or the waste stream. Such treatment is the most effective means of ensuring compliance with the chosen level of protection of the environment of the Union. Any establishment or undertakings carrying out collection, recycling and treatment operations should comply with minimum standards to prevent negative environmental impacts associated with the treatment of WEEE. Best available treatment, recovery and recycling techniques should be used provided that they ensure human health and high environmental protection. Best available treatment, recovery and recycling techniques may be further defined in accordance with the procedures of Directive 2008/1/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 January 2008 concerning integrated pollution prevention and control(15).

(16)  The Scientific Committee on Emerging and Newly Identified Health Risks, in its opinion on ‘Risk Assessment of Products of Nanotechnology’ of 19 January 2009, stated that exposure to nanomaterials that are firmly embedded in large structures, for example in electronic circuits, may occur in the waste phase and during recycling. To control possible risks to human health and the environment from the treatment of WEEE containing nanomaterials, selective treatment may be necessary. It is appropriate for the Commission to assess whether selective treatment should be applied to relevant nanomaterials.

(17)  Where appropriate, priority should be given to the re-use of WEEE and its components, subassemblies and consumables. Where re-use is not preferable, all WEEE collected separately should be sent for recovery, in the course of which a high level of recycling and recovery should be achieved. In addition, producers should be encouraged to integrate recycled material in new equipment.

(18)  The recovery, preparation for re-use and recycling of equipment may count towards achievement of the targets laid down in this Directive only if that recovery or preparation for re-use or recycling does not conflict with other Union and national legislation applicable to the equipment. Ensuring proper recovery and preparation for re-use and recycling of equipment is important for sound resource management and will optimise the resources supply.

(19)  Basic principles with regard to the financing of WEEE management have to be set at Union level and financing schemes have to contribute to high collection rates as well as to the implementation of the principle of producer responsibility.

(20)  Users of EEE from private households should have the possibility of returning WEEE at least free of charge. Producers should therefore finance ▌ collection from collection facilities, and the treatment, recovery and disposal of WEEE. Member States should encourage all stakeholders handling WEEE to help achieve the objective of this Directive in order to avoid leakage of separately collected WEEE to sub-optimal treatment and illegal exports. In order that payment for the collection of this waste be shifted from general tax payers to the consumers of EEE in line with the ‘polluter pays’ principle, Member States should encourage producers to treat all WEEE collected. In order to make proper treatment possible, consumers should have a responsibility to ensure that end-of-life EEE is taken to collection facilities. In order to give maximum effect to the concept of producer responsibility, each producer should be responsible for financing the management of the waste from his own products. The producer should be able to choose to fulfil this obligation either individually or by joining a collective scheme. Each producer or third party acting on its behalf should, when placing a product on the market, provide a financial guarantee to prevent costs for the management of WEEE from orphan products from falling on society or the remaining producers. The responsibility for the financing of the management of historical waste should be shared by all existing producers in collective financing schemes to which all producers, existing on the market when the costs occur, contribute proportionately. Collective financing schemes should not have the effect of excluding niche and low-volume producers, importers and new entrants.

▌

(21)  Information to users about the requirement not to dispose of WEEE as unsorted municipal waste and to collect WEEE separately, and about the collection systems and their role in the management of WEEE, is indispensable for the success of WEEE collection. Such information implies the proper marking of EEE which could end up in rubbish bins or similar means of municipal waste collection.

(22)  Information on component and material identification to be provided by producers is important to facilitate the management, and in particular the treatment and recovery or recycling, of WEEE.

(23)  Member States should ensure that inspection and monitoring infrastructure enable the proper implementation of this Directive to be verified, having regard, inter alia, to Recommendation 2001/331/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 4 April 2001 providing for minimum criteria for environmental inspections in the Member States(16).

(24)  Information about the weight of EEE placedon the market in the Union and the rates of collection, re-use, including as far as possible re-use of whole appliances, recovery or recycling and export of WEEE collected in accordance with this Directive is necessary to monitor the achievement of the objectives of this Directive.

(25)  Member States may choose to implement certain provisions of this Directive by means of agreements between the competent authorities and the economic sectors concerned provided that particular requirements are met.

▌

(26)  To reduce barriers to the proper functioning of the internal market, administrative burdens should be reduced by standardising registration and reporting procedures and by preventing multiple charges for multiple registrations in individual Member States. In particular, a producer should no longer be required to have a legal seat in a Member State in order to be allowed to place EEE on the market in that Member State. Instead, the appointment of a local legal representative resident in that Member State should be sufficient. For practical enforcement of this legislation it must be possible for Member States to identify the producer that is responsible for the product and trace back the supply chain from the final distributor. Member States should ensure that a distributor making EEE available for the first time on the territory of a Member State (intra-Union trade) either concludes an agreement with the producer or takes care of the registration of that equipment and the financing of the management of the waste from that equipment.

(27)  In order to adapt the provisions of this Directive to technical and scientific progress and to adopt other necessary measures, the Commission should be empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 290 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union in respect of transitional arrangements, the adaptation of annexes, detailed rules for verifying and monitoring compliance, the minimum requirements and methodology for calculating the level of financial guarantees, the definition of ‘very small volume WEEE and of ’micro enterprises operating on a small surface area‘, the format for registration and reporting, the frequency of reporting and amendments to the rules concerning reports on the implementation of this Directive.

(28)  The obligation to transpose this Directive into national law should be confined to those provisions which represent a substantive change as compared with the earlier Directives. The obligation to transpose the provisions which are unchanged arises under the earlier Directives.

(29)  This Directive should be without prejudice to the obligations of the Member States relating to the time-limits for transposition into national law and application of the Directives set out in Annex VI, Part B,

HAVE ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE:

Article 1

Subject matter

This Directive lays down measures to protect the environment and human health by preventing or reducing the adverse impacts of the generation and management of WEEE and by reducing overall negative impacts of resource use and improving the efficiency of such use, in accordance with Articles 1 and 4 of Directive 2008/98/EC. This Directive requires all operators involved in product life cycles to improve their environmental standards, thereby contributing to sustainable production and recovery.

Article 2

Scope

1.  This Directive shall, subject to paragraph 3, apply to all EEE ▌.

2.  This Directive shall apply without prejudice to requirements of Union legislation on safety and health, on chemicals, in particular Regulation (EC) 1907/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 December 2006 concerning the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH), establishing a European Chemicals Agency(17) as well as of specific Union waste management or product design legislation.

3.  This Directive shall not apply to ▌:

No later than ...(18), and every five years thereafter, the Commission shall submit a report to the European Parliament and the Council examining the scope of this Directive, in particular whether photovoltaic modules should be included in its scope. The part of the report on photovoltaic modules shall assess, in particular, the effective collection and recycling rates achieved. Where appropriate, on the basis of that report, the Commission shall submit a proposal.

▌

Article 3

Definitions

Whoever exclusively provides financing under, or pursuant to, any finance agreement shall not be deemed a ‘producer’ unless he also acts as a producer within the meaning of subpoints (i) to (iii);

(m)  ‘WEEE from private households’ means WEEE that comes from private households, or from commercial, industrial, institutional or other sources, which, because of its nature and quantity, is similar to WEEE from private households, and WEEE which may have been used as EEE by both private households and users other than private households;

Article 4

Product design

Member States shall, in line with Union product legislation including Directive 2009/125/EC, encourage cooperation between producers and recyclers and measures to be taken to promote the design and production of EEE notably in view of facilitating re-use, dismantling and recovery of WEEE, its components and materials. These measures shall respect the proper functioning of the internal market. In this context, Member States shall take appropriate measures so that producers do not prevent, through specific design features or manufacturing processes, WEEE from being re-used, unless such specific design features or manufacturing processes present overriding advantages, for example, with regard to the protection of the environment and/or safety requirements. Eco-design requirements facilitating re-use, dismantling, recovery of WEEE and reducing hazardous substance emissions shall be established no later than 31 December 2014 in the framework of the implementing measures adopted pursuant to Directive 2009/125/EC.

Article 5

Separate collection

1.  ▌To achieve a high level of separate collection of WEEE and correct treatment for all types of WEEE, notably the cooling and freezing equipment containing ozone-depleting substances and fluorinated greenhouses gases, mercury-containing lamps, and small appliances, Member States shall ensure that all WEEE is separately collected and not mixed with bulky or unsorted household waste, and that untreated WEEE is not sent to landfill or incineration.

2.  For WEEE from private households, Member States shall ensure that:

Member States may provide for specific arrangements for the return of WEEE as under points (a) and (b) if the equipment does not contain the essential components or if the equipment contains waste other than WEEE.

3.  In the case of WEEE other than WEEE from private households, and without prejudice to Article 13, Member States shall ensure that producers or third parties acting on their behalf provide for the collection of such waste.

Article 6

Disposal and transport of collected WEEE

1.  Member States shall prohibit the disposal of separately collected untreated WEEE and monitor enforcement of that prohibition.

2.  Member States shall ensure that the collection and transport of separately collected WEEE is carried out in a way which optimises re-use and recycling and the confinement of hazardous substances. In order to maximise re-use of whole appliances, Member States shall also ensure that collection schemes provide for the separation of re-usable appliances from separately collected WEEE at the collection points, prior to any transportation.

Article 7

Collection targets

1.  Without prejudice to Article 5(1), each Member State shall ensure that as of 2016 a minimum of 85%of WEEE generated on its territory is collected.

Each Member State shall ensure that as of 2012 at least 4 kg/capita of WEEE is collected or the same amount of WEEE in weight as was collected in that Member State in 2010, whichever is greater.

Member States shall ensure that the volume of WEEE collected is gradually increased during the years 2012 to 2016.

Member States may set more ambitious individual collection targets and shall in such a case report this to the Commission.

The collection targets shall be achieved annually ▌.

Member States shall present improvement plans to the Commission no later than ...(22).

2.  In order to establish that the minimum collection rate has been achieved, Member States shall ensure that relevant actors communicate, at no cost to the Member States, in accordance with Article 16 and on an annual basis, information on WEEE that has been:

3.  Transitional arrangements may be laid down in respect of the period until 31 December 2015, by means of delegated acts in accordance with Article 19 and subject to the conditions of Articles 20 and 21, to address difficulties faced by Member States in meeting the targets set out in paragraph 1 as a result of specific national circumstances;

4.  By 31 December 2012 at the latest the Commission shall adopt, by means of delegated acts in accordance with Article 19 and subject to the conditions of Articles 20 and 21, a common methodology for determining the amount of WEEE generated by weight in each Member State. The methodology shall include detailed rules on the application and calculation methods for verifying compliance with the targets set out in paragraph 1.

▌

5.  On the basis of a report of the Commission accompanied, if appropriate, by a proposal, the European Parliament and the Council shall, by 31 December 2012 at the latest, re-examine the collection rate, and target dates referred to in paragraph 1 inter alia with a view to possibly setting a separate collection target for cooling and freezing equipment, lamps, including filament bulbs, and small appliances.

Article 8

Treatment

1.  Member States shall ensure that all separately collected WEEE undergoes treatment.

The Commission shall, not later than...(23), request the European Standardisation Organisations to develop and adopt European standards for the collection, storage, transport, treatment, recycling and repair of WEEE as well as preparation for re-use. Those standards shall reflect the state of the art.

Reference to the standards shall be published in the Official Journal of the European Union.

The collection, storage, transport treatment, recycling and repair of WEEE as well as preparation for re-use shall be conducted with an approach geared to preserving raw materials and shall aim at recycling valuable resources contained in EEE with regard to ensuring better commodities supply within the Union.

2.  Treatment other than preparing for re-use shall, as a minimum, include the removal of all fluids and a selective treatment in accordance with Annex III.

3.  Member States shall ensure that producers or third parties acting on their behalf set up systems to provide for the recovery of WEEE using best available techniques. The systems may be set up by producers individually or collectively. Member States shall ensure that any establishment or undertaking carrying out collection or treatment operations stores and treats WEEE in compliance with the technical requirements set out in Annex IV.

4.  ▌ In order to introduce other treatment technologies that ensure at least the same level of protection for human health and the environment, the Commission shall adopt, by means of delegated acts in accordance with Article 19 and subject to the conditions of Articles 20 and 21, amendments to Annex III. The Commission shall evaluate as a matter of priority whether the entries regarding printed circuit boards for mobile phones and liquid crystal displays need to be amended. The Commission shall evaluate whether amendments to Annex III are necessary to address relevant nanomaterials.

5.  For the purposes of environmental protection, Member States may set up minimum quality standards for the treatment of collected WEEE.

Member States which opt for such quality standards shall inform the Commission thereof, which shall publish these standards.

6.  Member States shall encourage establishments or undertakings which carry out treatment operations to introduce certified environmental management systems in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 1221/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 November 2009 on the voluntary participation by organisations in a Community eco-management and audit scheme (EMAS)(24).

Article 9

Permits and inspections

1.  Member States shall ensure that any establishment or undertaking carrying out treatment operations obtains a permit from the competent authorities, in compliance with Article 23 of Directive 2008/98/EC.

2.  The derogation from the permit requirement referred to in Article 24(b) of Directive 2008/98/EC may apply to recovery operations concerning WEEE if an inspection is carried out by the competent authorities before the registration in order to ensure compliance with Article 13 of that Directive.

The inspection shall be carried out at least once a year and the results shall be communicated by the Member States to the Commission.

3.  Member States shall ensure that the permit or the registration referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2 includes all conditions necessary for compliance with the requirements of Article 8(2), 8(3) and 8(5) and for the achievement of the recovery targets set out in Article 11.

Article 10

Shipments of WEEE

1.  The treatment operation may also be undertaken outside the respective Member State or the Union provided that the shipment of WEEE is in compliance with Regulation (EC) No 1013/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 June 2006 on shipments of waste(25).

2.  WEEE exported out of the Union in line with Regulation (EC) No 1013/2006 and Commission Regulation (EC) No 1418/2007 of 29 November 2007 concerning the export for recovery of certain waste listed in Annex III or Annex IIIA to Regulation (EC) No 1013/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council to certain countries to which the OECD Decision on the control of transboundary movements of wastes does not apply(26) shall count towards the fulfilment of obligations and targets set out in of Article 11 of this Directive only if the exporter can prove, by submitting conclusive evidence prior to shipment, that recovery, preparation for re-use and recycling will take place under conditions that are equivalent to the requirements of this Directive. After recovery, preparation for re-use or recycling has taken place, compliance with those equivalent conditions shall be confirmed.

3.  Member States shall not permit the shipment of any item of EEE intended for re-use unless it has been certified by a competent identified individual or corporate body to be in full working order and it bears a label to this effect.

4.  In order to allow treatment operations to be undertaken outside the Union with an equivalent level of protection, the Commission shall, not later than ...(27), adopt, by means of delegated acts in accordance with Article 19 and subject to the conditions of Articles 20 and 21, detailed rules in respect of ▌paragraphs 1 and 2, in particular criteria for the assessment of equivalent conditions ▌.

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Article 11

Recovery targets

1.  Regarding all WEEE separately collected and sent for treatment in accordance with Articles 8, 9 and 10 or for preparation for re-use, Member States shall ensure that, by 31 December 2011, producers meet the following minimum targets: