Proposal for a Council Regulation on rehabilitation and reconstruction operations in developing countries

(95/C 235/08)

COM(95) 291 final - 95/0165(SYN)

(Submitted by the Commission on 28 June 1995)

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,

In cooperation with the European Parliament (1),

Whereas the Commission, in its communication of 12 May 1993 to the Council and Parliament on a special rehabilitation support programme in developing countries (2), highlighted the specific nature and scale of the rehabilitation and reconstruction aid needed by developing countries that have suffered serious destruction through war, civil disorder or natural disaster;

Whereas the Council's conclusions of 2 December 1993 on rehabilitation aid define the principal objectives, conditions and criteria for such aid and emphasize the need for close coordination between the Commission and the Member States when planning and implementing it (3);

Whereas the European Parliament, in its resolution of 16 November 1993 (4) emphasized the scale of the developing countries' need for rehabilitation aid and proposed the establishment of a specific financial framework for that purpose in the Community budget;

Whereas the budgetary authority included in the 1994 budget a new item B7-5076 for the financing of rehabilitation and reconstruction operations in developing countries;

Whereas procedures should be established for the administration of such operations,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

The Community shall carry out rehabilitation and reconstruction operations in developing countries or regions which have suffered serious damage through war, civil disorder and destabilization. Operations of limited duration shall be designed to help re-establish a working economy and the institutional capacities needed to restore social and political stability to the countries concerned and meet the needs of the people affected. The operations must progressively take over from humanitarian action and pave the way for the resumption of long-term development aid.

Article 2

The priorities for operations under this Regulation shall be: the relaunch of production, the physical and operational rehabilitation of basic infrastructure, social reintegration and the restoration of the institutional capacities needed in the rehabilitation period, especially at local level.

Article 3

The agents of cooperation eligible for financial support under this Regulation include national, regional and local government departments and agencies, local authorities and other local bodies, international organizations and non-governmental organizations.

Article 4

1. The instruments to be employed in the course of the operations referred to in Article 1 include studies, technical assistance, training or other services, supplies and works, along with audits and evaluation and monitoring missions.

2. Community financing may cover both investment, with the exception of the purchase of buildings, and operating costs in local or foreign currency, depending on the needs of the operation.

3. A systematic effort shall be made to get the agents or partners ultimately benefiting from the operation (countries, local communities, firms, etc.) to contribute, in particular financially, according to their means and the nature of the operation concerned.

4. Opportunities shall be sought for cofinancing, especially with Member States. Necessary measures will be taken to emphasize the Community character of aid provided under this Regulation.

5. In order to reinforce coherence and complementarity between the actions financed by the Community and those financed by the Member States, with the aim of guaranteeing optimal efficiency of the totality of these actions, the Commission will take all necessary coordination measures, notably:

(a) the establishment of a system for the systematic exchange of information on actions financed or for which financing is foreseen by the Community and the Member States;

(b) on-the-spot coordination of these actions by means of regular meetings and exchange of information between the representatives of the Commission and Member States in the beneficiary country or countries concerned.

Article 5

Financial support under this Regulation shall be in the form of grants.

Article 6

1. The Commission shall appraise, decide and administer operations covered by this Regulation according to the budgetary and other procedures in force, and in particular those laid down in the Financial Regulation applicable to the general budget of the European Communities.

2. Decisions relating to grants of more than ECU 2 million for individual operations financed under this Regulation or any change resulting in an increase of more than 20 % in the sum initially approved for such an operation shall be taken under the procedure laid down in Article 7.

3. All financing agreements or contracts concluded under this Regulation shall provide for the Commission and the Court of Auditors to conduct on-the-spot checks according to the usual procedures laid down by the Commission under the rules in force, and in particular those of the Financial Regulation applicable to the general budget of the European Communities.

4. Where operations are the subject of financing agreements between the Community and the recipient country, such agreements shall stipulate that the payment of taxes, duties or any other charges is not be covered by the Community.

5. Participation in invitations to tender and the award of contracts shall be open on equal terms to natural and legal persons of the Member States and of the recipient country. It may be extended to other developing countries and, in exceptional cases which are fully justified, to third countries.

6. Supplies shall originate in the Member States, the recipient country or other developing countries. In exceptional cases, where circumstances warrant, supplies may originate elsewhere.

Article 7

1. The Commission shall be assisted by an advisory committee made up of representatives from the Member States and chaired by a representative of the Commission, depending on the beneficiary country or region concerned, as follows:

(a) for the ACP countries, the EDF Committee set up by Article 21 of Internal Agreement 91/401/EEC on the financing and administration of Community aid under the fourth Lomé Convention, adopted on 16 July 1990 by the representatives of the Member States meeting in the Council;

(b) for the Mediterranean countries, the MED Committee set up by Article 6 of Council Regulation (EEC) No 1762/92 of 29 June 1992;

(c) for the Asian and Latin American countries, the ALA Committee set up by Article 15 of Council Regulation (EEC) No 443/92 of 25 February 1992.

2. The Commission representative shall submit to the committee a draft of the measures to be taken. The committee shall deliver its opinion on the draft, voting if necessary, within a period that the chairman may specify according to the urgency of the matter at hand.

The opinion shall be entered in the minutes; each Member State shall be entitled to ask that its position be recorded in the minutes. The Commission shall take full account of the committee's opinion. It shall notify the committee of the manner in which it has taken account of that opinion.

Article 8

An exchange of views will 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, in the framework of a joint meeting of the three committees mentioned in Article 7 (1).

Article 9

After each budget year, the Commission shall report to Parliament and the Council, summarizing the operations financed in the course of that year and evaluating the implementation of this Regulation in that period.

The summary shall in particular contain information about those with whom contracts have been concluded.

The report shall also set out the conclusions of any independent evaluations of specific operations.

Article 10

This Regulation shall enter into force on the third day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Communities.

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.

(1) Opinion delivered on . . . (OJ No . . ., . . .) and Decision of . . . (OJ No . . ., . . .).

(2) COM(93) 204, 12. 5. 1993.

(3) Council 10641/93, 2. 12. 1993.

(4) PE A3-0329/93, Doc. 176.642, 16. 11. 1993.