the 'Proposal for a Decision of the European Parliament and of the Council amending the basic Decision relating to the Socrates programmes to include Turkey among the beneficiary countries', the 'Proposal for a Decision of the European Parliament and of the Council amending the basic Decision relating to the third phase of the Youth for Europe programme to include Turkey among the beneficiary countries', and the 'Proposal for a Decision of the Council amending the basic Decision relating to the Leonardo programme to include Turkey among the beneficiary countries'
13. 10. 1999 EN Official Journal of the European Communities C 293/23 Opinion of the Committee of the Regions on: — the ‘Proposal for a Decision of the European Parliament and of the Council amending the basic Decision relating to the Socrates programmes to include Turkey among the beneficiary countries’, — the ‘Proposal for a Decision of the European Parliament and of the Council amending the basic Decision relating to the third phase of the Youth for Europe programme to include Turkey among the beneficiary countries’, and — the ‘Proposal for a Decision of the Council amending the basic Decision relating to the Leonardo programme to include Turkey among the beneficiary countries’ (1999/C 293/06) THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS, having regard to to the list of Commission proposals pending at 1 May 1999 for which the entry into force of the Treaty of Amsterdam implies a change in the legal base and/or a change in procedure (SEC(1999)581 final); having regard to Proposal for a Decision of the European Parliament and of the Council amending the basic Decision relating to the Socrates and Youth programmes to include Turkey among the beneficiary countries and the proposal for a Decision of the Council amending the basic Decision relating to the Leonardo programme to include Turkey among the beneficiary countries (COM(96) 199 final; 96/0130 (COD) 96/0131 (COD) and 96/0132 (COD) — formerly 96/0132 SYN) (1); having regard to the decision taken by the Council on 11 May 1999, under Article 149, Article 150 and the first paragraph of Article 265 of the Treaty establishing the European Community, to consult the Committee of the Regions on this matter; having regard to the Decision of its Bureau of 7 May 1999 to appoint John Evans as Rapporteur General — to draw up an opinion on this subject, in accordance with Rule 39 of the Rules of Procedure of the Committee of the Regions; having regard to the Committee of the Regions Opinion on the new Socrates, Leonardo and Youth Programmes [COM(1998) 329 final, COM(1998) 330 final; COM(1998) 331 final) (CdR 226/98 fin)] (2) (Rapporteur: John Evans), adopted 19 November 1998, adopted the following opinion at its 29th plenary session of 2-3 June 1999 (meeting of 3 June). On 18 May 1999, the COR received a request from the Council of the European Union to issue an Opinion on the Commission’s proposal for a European Parliament and Council Decision amending the basic decision relating to the Socrates for a Council and Youth programmes and the proposal decision amending the Leonardo programme, to include Turkey among the beneficiary countries. This concerns the period of the programmes from 1995 to 1999. (1) OJ C 186, 26. 6. 1996, p. 8, 9, 10. (2) OJ C 51, 22. 2. 1999, p. 77-85. The Committee of the Regions strongly regrets the fact that the Council has not respected the procedure of Article 265 of the Treaty establishing a deadline which in any case may not be less that a month after the communication from the Council has been received by the president of the Committee of the Regions. The letter from the Council concerning this referral is dated 11 May 1999, registered at the Regions on 20 May 1999 and the time limit was fixed by the Council for 11 June 1999. the Committee of In its Opinion on the new Socrates, Leonardo and Youth programmes establishing the new phase of the programmes from the year 2000 onwards adopted on 19 November 1998 (rapporteur: John Evans) the COR supported the European Commission’s proposal to open the three new programmes to Turkey. C 293/24 EN Official Journal of the European Communities 13. 10. 1999 The COR notes that the proposal to include Turkey in the programmes during the current programming period will enable preparatory measures to be undertaken with a view to supporting Turkey’s participation in the future programmes. In conclusion, the COR supports the Commission’s proposal to open the current programming period (1995-1999) of the Socrates, Leonardo and Youth programmes to include Turkey. Brussels, 3 June 1999. The President of the Committee of the Regions Manfred DAMMEYER Opinion of the Committee of the Regions on ‘Housing and the homeless’ (1999/C 293/07) THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS, having regard to the decision of its bureau of 16 September 1998 under the fourth paragraph of Article 198c of the Treaty establishing the European Community to draw up an opinion on the subject and to direct Commission 4 for Spatial Planning, Urban Issues, Energy and Environment to prepare the opinion; having regard to the draft opinion (CdR 376/98 rev. 1) adopted by Commission 4 on 4 February 1999 (rapporteur: Mr François Geindre), adopted the following opinion at its 29th plenary session on 2 and 3 June 1999 (meeting of 3 June) unanimously. 1. Introduction The Committee of the Regions has for some time wished to address the issue of homelessness. Although homelessness assumes different forms from country to country in the EU, and may not at first sight appear to fall within the Community’s remit, the presence of homeless people in our towns and cities nevertheless remains one of the most serious signs of social exclusion in the European Union, primarily affecting local and regional authorities. This opinion basically reflects the point of view of these authorities. 1. 1. The basis for EU action on the homeless 1. 1. 1. Homelessness is one of the core issues in Community discussions on housing. It is also tied in with the desire to strengthen European social policy, and is encompassed by European initiatives and programmes to combat exclusion, as well as by guidelines for urban policy. 1. 1. 2. action to assist and provide care for homeless people. A number of legal bases may be invoked to underpin Title XIV of the Treaty establishing the European 1. 1. 3. Community (Maastricht) is concerned with economic and social cohesion, with Articles 130a to 130e governing Com- munity action to reduce disparities between the levels of development of the various regions and the backwardness of the least-favoured regions (provisions organizing the machine- ry of the structural funds). Article 13 of the Amsterdam Treaty, which will apply 1. 1. 4. once the Treaty itself comes into force, aims to combat inequality and discrimination in access to the employment market. It will open the door to assistance for projects designed to prevent and reverse the processes of social exclusion. Article 137 of the Amsterdam Treaty will provide explicit authority to act in the field of social exclusion. At present, the EU has to fall back on Article 235 of the Treaty establishing the European Community which, subject to Council unanimity, allows action to be taken where there is no specific provision in the Treaty. This state of affairs sometimes produces deadlock which is extremely damaging to Community social policy