Proposal for a Council Regulation on information measures relating to the common agricultural policy
C 376 E/40 EN Official Journal of the European Communities 28. 12. 1999 Proposal for a Council Regulation on information measures relating to the common agricultural policy (1999/C 376 E/06) COM(1999) 536 final - 1999/0209(CNS) (Submitted by the Commission on 26 October 1999) THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Article 37 thereof, Having regard to the proposal from the Commission, Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament, Whereas: (1) Articles 32 to 38 of the Treaty provide for the implemen- tation of a common agricultural policy. (2) Council Regulation (EC) No 1258/1999 of 17 May 1999 on the financing of the common agricultural policy (1) stipulates that measures intended to provide information on the common agricultural policy are to be financed by the EAGGF Guarantee Section. (3) Article 22(1) of the Financial Regulation of 21 December 1977 applicable to the general budget of the European the implementation of Communities (2) stipulates that appropriations entered for significant Community action requires Interinstitutional Agreement of 13 October 1998 on legal bases and implementation of the budget, a basic act is also needed for the measures covered by this Regulation. act. Under basic the a achieve this goal should therefore be eligible to make proposals. (8) The Commission must have the necessary resources to implement the information actions it wishes to realise in the area of agriculture. (9) Although activities that can be assisted under other Community programmes should not be financed under this Regulation, the complementarity of such activities with other Community initiatives should nevertheless be encouraged. (10) Since the measures required for the implementation of this Regulation are management measures within the meaning of Article 2 of Council Decision 1999/468/EC of 28 June 1999 laying down the procedures for the conferred on the exercise of Commission (3), they should be adopted by use of the management procedure provided for in Article 4 of that Decision. implementing powers HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION: Article 1 The Community may finance information measures relating to the common agricultural policy that aim, in particular, at: (4) The issues surrounding the common agricultural policy and its development explained to both farmers and other parties directly concerned, as well as the general public. should be (a) helping to explain, implement and develop this policy, (b) promoting the European model of agriculture and helping people understand it, (5) The priority measures which the Community may support should be defined. (c) informing farmers and other parties active in rural areas, (6) Organisations representing those active in farming and in rural areas, particularly farmers’ organisations, consumers’ associations and environmental protection associations play a vital role in informing their members about the common the policy relaying Commission the opinions of the parties concerned in general and farmers in particular. agricultural and to (7) Since the common agricultural policy is the first and most extensive of the Community’s integrated policies, it should be explained to the general public. Other parties likely to information projects that will help be able to present (1) OJ L 160, 26. 6. 1999, p. 103. (2) OJ L 356, 31. 12. 1977, p. 1. Regulation as last amended by Regu- lation (EC, ECSC, Euratom) No 2779/98 (OJ L 347, 23. 12. 1998, p. 3). (d) raising public awareness of the issues and objectives of the CAP. These actions aim to supply coherent, objective and compre- hensive information in order to give an overall picture of this policy. Article 2 1. The measures referred to in Article 1 may be: (a) annual work programmes presented, in particular, by farmers’ or rural development organisations, consumers’ associations and environmental protection associations, (3) OJ L 184, 17. 7. 1999, p. 23. 28. 12. 1999 EN Official Journal of the European Communities C 376 E/41 (b) specific measures presented by any party other than those referred to in (a), in particular the public authorities of the Member States, the media and universities. (c) activities implemented at in particular measures of mutual benefit to the Commission and the target groups of the measures referred to in Article 1. the Commission’s initiative, The maximum financing rate for the measures referred to 2. in paragraph 1(a) and (b) shall be 75% of eligible costs The following measures may not receive Community 3. financing as provided for in Article 1: Article 5 The Commission shall ensure that the Community measures and projects implemented under this Regulation are consistent with and complement other Community action. Article 6 The Commission shall monitor and check the activities financed by the Community to ensure that they are properly and efficiently implemented. The Commission’s representatives shall be authorised to make on-the-spot checks on such activi- ties, including by sampling. Article 7 The Commission, where it judges it to be appropriate, evaluate the measures financed under this Regulation. (a) measures which are required by law, Article 8 (b) measures already receiving financing under another Community operation. In order 4. referred to in to implement measures as paragraph 1(c), the Commission may have recourse to any technical and administrative assistance it might need. Article 3 1. Measures eligible under Article 2 shall particular, productions, programmes for the exchange of experiences. in talks, seminars, publications, media actions and and participation international include, events in The Commission shall present a report on the implementation of this Regulation to the European Parliament and the Council every two years. The first report must be presented not later than 31 December 2001. Article 9 For the purpose of implementing this Regulation, the 1. assisted in accordance with the Commission shall be procedure provided for in paragraph 2 by the Committee for the European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund set up by Regulation (EEC) No 729/70 (1). 2. Where this paragraph is referred to, the management procedure laid down in Article 4 of Decision 1999/468/EC shall apply. 2. Measures as referred to in Article 2 shall be selected on the basis of general criteria such as: The period provided for 1999/468/EC shall be one month. in Article 4(3) of Decision (a) the quality of the project, (b) cost effectiveness. Article 10 This Regulation shall enter into force on the seventh day following its publication in the Official Journal of the European Communities. Article 4 It shall apply from 1 January 2000. Community financing shall not exceed the annual appro- priations decided by the budgetary authority. This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States. (1) OJ L 94, 28. 4. 1970, p. 13