Proposal for a Council regulation regarding the implementation of measures to intensify the EC-Turkey customs union (COM(1998) 600 - C4-0669/1998 - 1998/0299(CNS))
C 194/60 Official Journal of the European Communities EN 11. 7. 2000 Thursday 2 December 1999 having regard to Rule 67 of its Rules of Procedure, having regard to the report of the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Consumer Policy (A5-0065/1999); 1. Approves the Commission proposal as amended; Asks to be consulted again should the Commission intend to amend its proposal ubstantially or 2. replace it with another text; 3. Instructs its President to forward its position to the Council and Commission. 7. EC-Turkey Customs Union * A5-0070/1999 Proposal for a Council regulation regarding the implementation of measures to intensify the EC- Turkey customs union (COM(1998) 600 ) C4-0669/1998 ) 1998/0299(CNS)) The proposal was amended as follows: TEXT PROPOSED BY THE COMMISSION (1) AMENDMENTS BY PARLIAMENT (Amendment 5) Recital 1 Whereas the Luxembourg European Council on 12 and 13 December 1997 confirmed that Turkey was eligible to accede to the European Union; Whereas the Luxembourg European Council on 12 and 13 December 1997 confirmed that Turkey was eligible to accede to the European Union, on the basis of the same cri- teria applicable to all applicant states; (Amendment 1) Recital 5a (new) Whereas, on 13 September 1999, the Council took a deci- sion on the allocation of funds to Turkey; (Amendment 6) Recital 7 Whereas the provisions of this Regulation are based on respect for democratic principles, the rule of law, human rights and fundamental freedoms and respect for international law, which underpin the policies of the European Community and its Member States; Whereas the provisions of this Regulation are based on respect for democratic principles, the rule of law, fundamental human rights and freedoms, the rights of minorities, and respect for international law and international treaties which underpin the policies of the European Union and its Member States; (1) OJ C 408, 29. 12. 1998, p. 14. 11. 7. 2000 EN Official Journal of the European Communities C 194/61 TEXT PROPOSED BY THE COMMISSION Thursday 2 December 1999 AMENDMENTS BY PARLIAMENT (Amendment 7) Recital 8 Whereas the Community attaches great importance to the pro- cess on which Turkey has embarked to improve its democratic practices, promote respect for fundamental human rights and more closely involve civil society in its development; Whereas the Community attaches great importance to the need for Turkey to improve and promote its democratic practices, respect for fundamental human rights, the sound management of public affairs and the closer involvement of civil society in that process; (Amendment 8) Recital 8a (new) Whereas the European Parliament has adopted a number of resolutions on the importance of respect for human rights in Turkey to the development of close ties between that country and the European Union, in particular those of 13 December 1995 on the human rights situation in Turkey (1), 17 September 1998 on the Commission reports on developments in relations with Turkey since the entry into force of the customs union (2), 3 December 1998 on the communication from the Commission to the Council and the European Parliament on the further development of relations with Turkey and on the communication from the Commission to the Council entitled ‘European Strat- egy for Turkey: the Commission’s initial operational pro- posals’ (3) and 6 October 1999 on the state of relations between Turkey and the European Union (4); (1) OJ C 17, 22. 1. 1996, p. 46. (2) OJ C 313, 12. 10. 1998, p. 176. (3) OJ C 398, 21. 12. 1998, p. 57. (4) Not yet published in Official Journal. (Amendment 2) Recital 8b (new) Whereas, on 6 March 1995, the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission adopted a joint declaration on the incorporation of financial provisions into legisla- tive acts (1); (1) OJ C 102, 4. 4. 1996, p. 4. (Amendment 4) Recital 8c (new) Whereas on 6 May 1999 the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission approved an interinstitu- tional agreement on budgetary discipline and improve- ment of the budgetary procedure (1); (1) OJ C 172, 18. 6. 1999, p. 1. C 194/62 Official Journal of the European Communities EN 11. 7. 2000 Thursday 2 December 1999 TEXT PROPOSED BY THE COMMISSION AMENDMENTS BY PARLIAMENT (Amendment 9) Recital 9 Whereas a financial reference amount within the meaning of point 2 of the Declaration of the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission of 6 March 1995 has been included in this Regulation for the period 1999-2001, although it does not affect the competence of the budgetary authority as defined by the Treaty; Whereas, without prejudice to the powers of the budget- indicative amount for the ary authority, a multiannual period 2000-2002 is proposed as the financial reference which illustrates the will of the legislative authority. Such a reference shall be part of the multiannual financial framework of the MEDA programme; (Amendment 3) Recital 9a (new) Whereas Council Decision 1999/468/EC (1) laid down the procedures for the exercise of implementing powers con- ferred on the Commission. (1) OJ L 184, 17. 7. 1999, p. 23. (Amendment 10) Article 2 The financial reference amount for this Regulation is ECU 15 mil- lion for the period 1999-2001. The annual appropriations shall be authorised by the Budgetary Authority within the limits of the financial perspectives. The financial reference illustrating the will of the legisla- tive authority is EUR 15 million for the period 2000-2002. This reference shall not affect the powers of the budgetary authority as defined in the Treaty. The budgetary authority shall set the annual funding in relation to the appropriations available for each financial year, taking into account the principles of sound manage- ment referred to in Article 2 of the Financial Regulation. (Amendment 11) Article 3(2) 2. When an essential element for the continuation of assistance to Turkey is lacking, in particular in the event of the violation of demo- cratic principles, the rule of law, human rights and fundamental free- law, the Council, acting by qualified doms, and international majority on a proposal from the Commission, may decide upon appropriate measures. 2. Where obstacles are placed to the implementation of projects, operations and measures in any of the areas defined in Article 4, and particularly in that referring to cooperation seeking to defend and promote democracy, the rule of law, human rights and the protection of mino- rities, the Council, acting by qualified majority on a proposal from the Commission or the European Parliament, may decide to suspend all cooperation under this Regulation. (Amendment 12) Article 3(2a) (new) 2a. The Commission shall, before implementing the actions provided for in this Regulation, draw up a list of priorities and refer its indicative programme to the com- mittee referred to in Article 7 of this Regulation and the bodies set up by the EU-Turkey Association Agreement and the acts adopted on the basis thereof, and notably the joint parliamentary committee and the EU-Turkey joint economic and social committee. 11. 7. 2000 EN Official Journal of the European Communities C 194/63 TEXT PROPOSED BY THE COMMISSION Thursday 2 December 1999 AMENDMENTS BY PARLIAMENT (Amendment 13) Article 4, indent 3a (new) ) support for programmes to repair damage caused by the recent earthquakes; (Amendment 14) Article 5(2) 2. The instruments to be employed in the course of the operations covered by this Regulation shall include technical assistance, training or other services, supplies and works, along with audits and evaluation and monitoring missions. The instruments to be employed in the course of the 2. operations covered by this Regulation shall include, within the limits established during the annual budget procedure by the budgetary authority, technical assistance, training or other services, supplies and works, along with audits and evalu- ation and monitoring missions. cultural, social, gender and environmental aspects, cultural, social and gender aspects, (Amendment 15) Article 6(2), indent 2 ) conservation and protection of the environment on the basis of the principles of sustainable development, (Amendment 16) Article 6(3), second subparagraph a (new) Special provision shall be made by the Commission for a reduction in the obstacles to small, non-profit-making NGOs taking up grants. (Amendment 17) Article 7 The Commission shall be assisted by the committee set up by Regula- tion (EC) No 1488/96 of 23 July 1996 (1), known as the MED Committee, composed of the representatives of the Member States and chaired by the representative of the Commission, in accordance with the following procedure. On the basis of Decision 1999/468/EC, in particular Arti- cles 2 and 4 thereof, the Commission shall be assisted by a management committee, composed of the representatives of the Member States and chaired by the representative of the Commission. (1) OJ L 189, 30. 7. 1996, p. 1. The representative of the Commission shall submit to the Committee a draft of the measures to be taken. The Committee shall deliver its opinion on the draft, within a time limit which the Chairman may lay down according to the urgency of the matter. The opinion shall be delivered by the majority laid down in Article 148(2) of the Treaty in the case of decisions which the Council is required to adopt on a proposal from the Commission. The votes of the representatives of the Member States within the Committee shall be weighted in the manner set out in that Article. The Chairman shall not vote. The Commission shall adopt the measures envisaged if they are in accordance with the opinion of the Committee. The Commission shall ensure that the provisions of this decision concerning transparency and informing the Euro- pean Parliament about the committee’s work are applied to the letter. C 194/64 Official Journal of the European Communities EN 11. 7. 2000 Thursday 2 December 1999 TEXT PROPOSED BY THE COMMISSION If the measures envisaged are not in accordance with the opinion of the Committee or if no opinion is delivered, the Commission shall without delay submit to the Council a proposal relating to the mea- sures to be taken. The Council shall act by qualified majority. If, on the expiry of a period of three months from the date of referral to the Council, the Council has not acted, the proposed measures shall be adopted by the Commission. AMENDMENTS BY PARLIAMENT Within one month of taking a decision, the Commission shall the measures and projects inform the Member States of approved, describing their nature, the sums attached to them and the partners involved. Within one month of taking a decision, the Commission shall inform the Member States and the European Parliament of the measures and projects approved, describing their nature, the sums attached to them and the partners involved (Amendment 18) Article 8 An exchange of views shall take place, once a year, on the basis of a presentation by the Commission’s representative of the general guidelines for the operations to be carried out in the year ahead, the committee referred to in Article 7. in a meeting of An exchange of views shall take place, once a year, in accor- dance with the procedures laid down by the budgetary authority, on the basis of a presentation by the Commission’s representative of the programme for the operations to be car- ried out in the year ahead, in a meeting of the committee referred to in Article 7. The European Parliament shall be informed of the proposals and of the outcome of the dis- cussions. (Amendment 19) Article 8a (new) Article 8a The Commission shall submit an annual report on pro- gress with regard to respect for democratic principles, the rule of law, human rights and fundamental freedoms and international law, (Amendment 20) Article 9 After each budget year, the Commission shall report to the European Parliament and the Council, summarising the operations financed in the course of that year and assessing the implementation of this Reg- ulation in that period. The summary shall with whom implementation contracts have been concluded. in particular contain information about those The report shall also include a summary of the conclusions of any evaluations, including those relating to specific operations. The Commission shall submit a report to the European Parliament and to the Council each year. This report shall contain at least the following contents: (a) a detailed summary of the operations financed during the previous financial year; (b) the planned programme for the current financial year and a statement of the progress made with regard to the operations included therein; the forecasts for the programme and the operations to be undertaken during the following financial year; (d) a summary of the conclusions of any evaluations, (c) (e) including those relating to specific operations; information on the bodies with which the agreements or contracts have been concluded. The annual report must be submitted to Parliament during the first quarter of the year to enable Parliament to take note of it and evaluate it in good time before it considers and adopts the Budget of the European Union. 11. 7. 2000 EN Official Journal of the European Communities C 194/65 TEXT PROPOSED BY THE COMMISSION Thursday 2 December 1999 AMENDMENTS BY PARLIAMENT (Amendment 21) Article 10 The Commission shall regularly evaluate operations financed by the Community in order to establish whether the objectives of the operations have been achieved and to provide guidelines for improving the effectiveness of future operations. The Com- mission shall submit to the Committee referred to in Article 7 a summary of the evaluations made, which the latter may, if necessary, examine. Evaluation reports shall be made available to any Member States requesting them. The Commission shall regularly evaluate operations financed by the Community in order to establish whether the objectives of the operations have been achieved and to provide guidelines for improving the effectiveness of future operations. In accor- dance with the procedures laid down by the budgetary authority, the Commission shall submit to the Committee referred to in Article 7 a summary of the evaluations made, which the latter may, if necessary, examine. Evaluation reports shall be made available to the European Parliament and to any Member States requesting them. (Amendment 22) Article 11 Three years after this Regulation enters into force, the Commission shall submit to the European Parliament and the Council an overall evaluation of operations financed by the Community under this Regulation, together with suggestions regarding the future of this Regulation and, where necessary, proposals for amending it. Six months before the end of the three-year financial framework, the Commission shall submit to the European Par- liament and the Council an overall evaluation of operations financed by the Community under this Regulation, together with suggestions regarding the future of this Regulation and, where necessary, proposals for amending it. European Parliament legislative resolution on the proposal for a Council regulation regarding the implementation of measures to intensify the EC-Turkey customs union (COM(1998) 600 ) C4- 0669/1998 ) 1998/0299(CNS)) (Consultation procedure) The European Parliament, having regard to the Commission proposal to the Council (COM(1998) 600) (1), having been consulted by the Council pursuant to Article 308 of the EC Treaty (C4-0669/1998), having regard to Rule 67 of its Rules of Procedure, having regard to the report of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, Human Rights, Common Security and Defence Policy and the opinions of the Committee on Budgets and the Committee on Industry, External Trade, Research and Energy (A5-0070/1999); 1. Approves the Commission proposal as amended; Calls on the Commission to alter its proposal accordingly, pursuant to Article 250(2) of the EC 2. Treaty; Calls on the Council to notify Parliament should it intend to depart from the text approved by Parlia- 3. ment; Calls for the conciliation procedure to be initiated should the Council intend to depart from the text 4. approved by Parliament; 5. 6. Asks to be consulted again if the Council intends to amend the Commission proposal substantially; Instructs its President to forward its position to the Council and Commission. (1) OJ C 408, 29. 12. 1998, p. 14