L 354/14 Official Journal of the European Communities 30.12.98 COUNCIL REGULATION (EC) No 2840/98 of 21 December 1998 amending Regulation (EC) No 1734/94 on financial and technical cooperation with the Occupied Territories THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Article 130w thereof, Having regard to the proposal from the Commission ('), Acting in accordance with the procedure referred to in Atrticle 189c of the Treaty (%), Whereas Council Regulation (EC) No 1734/94 of 11 July 1994 on financial and technical cooperation with the Occupied Territories (°) lays down detailed arrangements and rules for administering the Community programme for aid and assistance to the Palestinian population in the West Bank and Gaza Strip; Whereas, according to that Regulation, the Community is to implement financial and technical cooperation with the West Bank and Gaza Strip under a five-year programme; whereas this programme expires at the end of 1998; Whereas the persistent deadlock in the peace process that prevails is the worst crisis since the Middle East peace process was launched in 1991; whereas international economic assistance has nevertheless succeeded in main- taining the peace process alive and providing support for the Palestinian Authority; Whereas the objective is to prevent any further deteriora- tion of the Palestinian economy by minimising and cancelling out the effects of closures and other obstacles to development as well as to contribute to a sound management and fiscal balance of the Palestinian Authority and to consolidate it by means of institutional reinforcement; Whereas the ultimate aim is the achievement of sustain- able economic and social development and to foster democracy, human rights and the development of civil society; Whereas, given the present situation, the Community should pursue its aid effort; whereas to this end a five-year period of assistance (1999 to 2003) should be launched and Regulation (EC) No 1734/94 amended accordingly; whereas this Regulation should be reviewed by the Council within two years and not later than 31 December (") OJ C 253, 12. 8. 1998, p. 15. (3) Opinion of the European Parliament of 16 September 1998 (OJ C 313, 12. 10. 1998), Council Common Position of 13 October 1998 (OJ C 388, 14. 12. 1998) and Decision of the European Parliament of 3 December 1998 (O] C 398, 21. 12. 1998). () OJ ﬂ 182, 16. 7. 1994, p. 4. 2000 in order to take into account recent development and bring it into line with the reviewed Council Regula- tion (EC) No 1488/96 of 23 July 1996 on financial and technical measures to accompany (MEDA) the reform of economic and social structures in the framework of the Euro-Mediterranean partnership (*); Whereas ‘the Occupied Territories’ should be replaced by ‘the West Bank and the Gaza Strip’ throughout the text of Regulation (EC) No 1734/94; Whereas Article 4 of Regulation (EC) No 1734/94 provides that all financing decisions on projects and operations are to be adopted in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 5 thereof;, whereas, in order to allow for rapid and flexible reactions and to increase expediency, only financing decisions exceeding ECU 2000 000 other than those relating to interest-rate subsidies on Bank loans should be adopted in accordance with that procedure; Whereas Council Decision 97/256/EC of 14 April 1997 granting a Community guarantee to the European Invest- ment Bank against losses under loans for projects outside the Community (Central and Eastern Europe countries, Mediterranean countries, Latin America and Asian coun- tries and South Africa) (°) covers guarantees also in this region for the period to the year 2000, HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION: Article 1 Regulation (EC) No 1734/94 is hereby amended as follows: 1. the title shall be replaced by the following: ‘Council Regulation (EC) No 1734/94 of 11 July 1994 on finan- cial and technical cooperation with the West Bank and the Gaza Strip; 2. Article 1 shall be replaced by the following: Article 1 1. The Community shall implement financial and technical cooperation with the West Bank and the Gaza Strip under a five-year period (1999 to 2003) with () OJ L 189, 30. 7. 1996, p. 1. Regulation as amended by Regu- lation (EC) No 780/98 (OJ L 113, 15. 4. 1998, p. 3). () OJ L 102, 19. 4. 1997, p. 33. Decision as amended by De- cision No 98/348/EC (O] L 155, 29. 5. 1998, p. 53).