COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 
COM(93) 299 final 
Brussels, 22 July 1993 
Proposal for a 
COUNCIL REGULATION (EEC) 
amending Council regulation (EEC) N°302/93 
on the establishment of the « 
European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction 
(presented by the Commission) 
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EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM 
1. In its communication to the Council and the Parliament on the 
establishment of a European Drugs Monitoring Centre^1), the Commission 
had proposed the following provision with regard to financial regulations 
(Article 10(13)) : 
"After the Court of Auditors has delivered its opinion, the 
management board shall adopt the internal financial provisions 
specifying, in particular, the detailed rules for establishing 
and implementing the Centre's budget." 
This provision was identical to Article 14 of Council Regulation (EEC) No 
1210/90 of 7 May 1990 on the establishment of the European Environment 
Agency, and was thus a word-for-word repetition of a precedent which had 
already been agreed upon by the three institutions (Commission, Council 
and European Parliament). 
2. In giving its opinion on the proposal^)f the European Parliament, at 
the suggestion of the budget committee, adopted an amendment (No 30) on 
13 May 1992 replacing the formula proposed by the Commission with the 
following text: 
"The Financial Regulation applicable to the general budget of the 
European Communities shall apply to the Centre. The Council may, 
acting by a qualified- majority on a proposal from the Commission, 
and after consulting the European Parliament and the management 
board, grant derogations from the general Financial Regulation 
when the specific requirements of the functioning of the Centre 
so dictate." 
3. The text voted on by Parliament was the result of a mistake in 
treating the provision in the same way as a different precedent relating 
to the Trademark Office which, according to the Commission's proposal, 
differed from the European Environment Agency and the European Drugs 
Monitoring Centre in that it was not intended to be a decentralised 
Community body with its own budget - as distinct from the general budget 
of the European Communities - but was, on the contrary, to be an integral 
part (annex) of the general budget. While the general Financial 
Regulation would apply to the Trademark Office, however, it can under no 
circumstances apply to the European Drugs Monitoring Centre or to the 
European Environment Agency, which have their own budget. 
4. This technical error, introduced inadvertently into the text when it 
was being examined by the European Parliament, was not noticed either by 
the Commission or the Council during the course of the procedure, 
primarily due to pressure of time (the European Council in Maastricht had 
set 30 June 1992 as the date for adopting the Regulation on the Centre). 
This wording therefore still exists in the final text of the Regulation 
as adopted by the Council^3). 
(1) COM(91)463 final of 27 January 1992 
(2) PE 156.389/fin. of 23 April 1992 
(3) OJ L 36, 12.2.1993, p. 6 
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5. In the meantime, the European Parliament has recommended the 
harmonisation of budgetary and financial provisions relating to 
decentralised Community bodies (•*•), while the Commission has drawn up 
clear guidelines which have been submitted to the budgetary 
authority(2). it is therefore important that Regulations establishing 
decentralised Community bodies take account of this requirement for 
harmonisation. 
6. The European Drugs Monitoring Centre has its own budget and must 
therefore have its own financial regulations in order to be able to begin 
functioning, on the understanding that these financial regulations must, 
as far as possible, contain the provisions of the general Financial 
Regulation^3). 
The technical amendment to Article 11(12) of Regulation No 302/93 by 
means of the following provision, as dictated by the nature of this body, 
should therefore be approved without delay. 
(1) cf. Report by Mrs Theato, PE 202.729/fin. of 10 December 1992 
(2) cf. SEC(92)2389 final of 17 December 1992 
(3) cf. Article 130 of the general Financial Regulation 
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Council Regulation (EEC) 
amending Council Regulation (EEC) N°302/93 on the 
establishment of the 
European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction 
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, 
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Economic 
Community, and in particular Article 235 thereof, 
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission1, 
Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament2, 
Whereas the Council adopted Regulation (EEC) N* 302/93, 8 
February 1993, on the establishment of the European Monitoring 
Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction3; 
Whereas the budgetary and financial provisions relating to such 
decentralised Community bodies should be harmonised; 
Whereas Article 11 of the Regulation which concerns the financial 
provisions of the Centre should be amended to take account of 
this requirement for harmonisation; 
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION : 
Article l 
Article 11 (12) of Council Regulation (EEC) N* 302/93 shall be 
replaced by the following: 
1 OJ N# 
20JN' 
3 OJ N* L 36, 12.2.93, pages 1 to 8 
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" 12. After the Commission and the Court of Auditors have 
delivered their opinions, the management board shall adopt 
the internal financial provisions specifying, in 
particular, the detailed rules for establishing and 
implementing the Centre's budget." 
Article 2 
This regulation shall come into force on the day following the 
decision of the competent authorities on the seat of the Centre. 
This regulation shall be binding in its entirety and 
directly applicable in all Member States. 
Done at 
For the Council 
The President 
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ISSN 0254-1475 
COM(93) 299 final 
DOCUMENTS 
EN 05 
Catalogue number : CB-CO-93-335-EN-C 
ISBN 92-77-57213-2 
Office for Official Publications of the European Communities 
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