Amended proposal for a COUNCIL DECISION granting a Community guarantee to the European Invesment Bank against losses under loans for projects of mutual interest in Latin American and Asian countries with which the Community has concluded cooperation agreements (Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Salvador, Uruguay and Venezuela; Bangladesh, Brunei, China, India, Indonesia, Macao, Malaysia, Pakistan, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam)
"^ I COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES Brussels, 16. 01. 1997 COM(96) 704 final 96/0015 (CNS) Amended proposal for a COUNCIL DECISION granting a Community guarantee to the European Investment Bank against losses under loans for projects of mutual interest in Latin American and Asian countries with which the Community has concluded cooperation agreements (Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Salvador, Uruguay and Venezuela; Bangladesh, Brunei, China, India, Indonesia, Macao, Malaysia, Pakistan, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam) (presented by the Commission pursuant to Article 189 a (2) of the EC-Treaty) EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM 1. On 18 July 1996 the European Parliament adopted an opinion on the proposal for a Council Decision granting a Community guarantee to the European Investment Bank against losses under loans for projects of mutual interest in Latin American and Asian countries with which the Community has concluded cooperation agreements (Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Salvador, Uruguay and Venezuela; Bangladesh, Brunei, China, India, Indonesia, Macao, Malaysia, Pakistan, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam). 2. Of the five amendments adopted by Parliament, the Commission accepted two in their entirety. The Commission accepted all Parliament's amendments which did not alter the intent or structure of the original proposal and which improved upon it. The amendments are summarized below, followed by a summary of those amendments which the Commission did not accept. II New Recital 6a (EP Amendment 1) The recital emphasizes the commitment of the European Union to the regions of Latin America and Asia and the role of the EIB in this connection. Article 3 (EP Amendment 4) The insertion specifies that the economic and social impact of the scheme in recipient countries should be included in the assessment to be submitted to Council and Parliament at the end of the loan period. Ill The amendments which the Commission did not accept were the following: Inserting a recital (Amendment 2) and a new paragraph in Article 3 (Amendment 5), because the Union's financial contribution is already given a high profile through press releases issued following the approval and signing of loans, through EIB publications concerning the Bank's activities in the area and through participation in seminars and conferences. Furthermore, the Bank, when operating outside the Community, works in conjunction with, and informs, the Commission's delegation of the activities undertaken in that particular country. In turn, the delegation disseminates the information through its usual channels; Deletion of part of the second paragraph of Article 1 (Amendment 3), because the proposed six-month automatic extension of the loan period is required in proposals of this nature to ensure that the EIB has the necessary flexibility to utilize in full the ioar. ceiling approved by Council. Amended proposal for a COUNCIL DECISION granting a Community guarantee to the European Investment Bank against losses under loans for projects of mutual interest in Latin American and Asian countries with which the Community has concluded cooperation agreements (Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Salvador, Uruguay and Venezuela; Bangladesh, Brunei, China, India, Indonesia, Macao, Malaysia, Pakistan, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam) Following Parliament's opinion dated 18 July 1996, the following amendments are made to the recitals and Article 3 of the Commission's original proposal (COM(95)742): Original proposal Amended proposal Recital 6a Whereas the European Union's decision to allow the EIB to operate in Latin America and Asia has given it a basic financial instrument that will enable it to reaffirm its strong political commitment to both regions and support the efforts of European firms to penetrate the emerging markets there; Article 3 Article 3 loan period At the end of the the Commission shall inform the European Parliament and the Council of the loan operations and shall, at the same time, submit an assessment of the operation of the scheme and of coordination between the financial institutions operating in that area. At the end of the loan period the Commission shall inform the European Parliament and the Council of the loan operations and shall, at the same time, submit an assessment of the opera ion of the scheme, of its economic and social impact on the recipient countries and of coordination financial institutions operating in that area. between the ISSN 0254-1475 COM(96) 704 final DOCUMENTS EN 01 n 09 Catalogue number : CB-CO-96-710-EN-C ISBN 92-78-13815-0 Office for Official Publications of the European Communities L-2985 Luxembourg