ddrg/super_eurlex huggingface dataset:
[pic] | COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES |

Brussels, 13.07.2006

SEC(2006) 983

COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT

COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE COUNCIL AND THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENTInterconnecting Africa: the EU-Africa Partnership on InfrastructureEXECUTIVE SUMMARYOF THE IMPACT ASSESSMENT{COM(2006) 376}{SEC(2006) 896}

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY OF THE IMPACT ASSESSMENT

Following the Council’s decision, on 19 December 2005 on the EU Strategy for Africa the Commission took the steps to prepare a proposal for the EU-Africa Partnership on Infrastructure.

The Partnership is the EU’s response to the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) Infrastructure Action Plan. It provides a reference framework for enhancing coherence of EC and EU Member State actions at the continental and regional level, and within national programmes. Based on the EU Strategy for Africa, it represents a concrete proposal for EU Member States to channel, in a coordinated way, their scaling up of aid to Africa.

The Partnership aims to support programmes that facilitate interconnectivity at a continental and regional level. Partnership operations will also complement the EU’s sectoral approach for infrastructure at a country level and contribute to the implementation of Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs). These approaches will assure that investments at a continental and regional level are coherent with national poverty reduction and infrastructure sector strategies. Such complementarity will also increase the sustainability of operations at regional and country levels.

In this Impact Assessment the Commission identifies three possible options for action, (i) a “no policy change” scenario, (ii) an African Agency for Infrastructure scenario, and (iii) the “Partnership” scenario. For reasons of effectiveness, efficiency and consistency the Commission prefers the third option in the form of the EU-Africa Partnership on Infrastructure.

Given the considerable level of EU financing of infrastructure in Africa, the proposed EU-Africa Partnership will have a considerable impact on the work of all EU stakeholders that support infrastructure. In Africa, this Partnership will have an impact on the African Union, the Regional Economic Communities (RECs) and many African countries as well as stakeholders that demand and benefit from infrastructure and its services. The specific impact will vary between sectors and stakeholder and over time.

Regular monitoring and evaluation will be undertaken of the operations carried out in the framework of the Partnership, to assess outcomes and impacts towards meeting the objectives of the Partnership.
[pic] | COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES |

Brussels, 30.8.2006

SEC(2006) 1022

COMMISSION STAFF WORKING PAPER

Summary of the impact assessment of the Communication “Governance in the European Consensus on Development: Towards a harmonised approach within the European Union”

{COM(2006) 421 final}{SEC(2006) 1020}{SEC(2006) 1021}

SUMMARY

Governance has become a priority in many donors’ development policies and aid programmes. It lies at the heart of many partner countries’ development strategies. At a time of rising aid budgets, commitments to ensure the effectiveness of international aid and growing economic and financial interdependence, the emergence in the developing countries of good governance is a crucial factor in achieving the Millennium Development Goals.

The EU must increasingly position itself in the international debate on governance. The Commission therefore calls on the Member States to subscribe to common principles and to back two operational proposals concerning (i) the mainstreaming of governance in the programming of cooperation with the African, Caribbean and Pacific countries and (ii) special support for African machinery, as announced by the Council in its conclusions of 19 December 2005 concerning the EU Strategy for Africa.

In this impact assessment, the Commission considers three options: (i) a “no-change” scenario, in which the Commission would simply implement its proposals after notifying the Member States under the comitology rules; (ii) a scenario in which the Commission would, on a case-by-case basis, promote joint operations with the Member States in the two areas of activity concerned but would not produce a policy document on governance for the time being; (iii) a scenario in which the Commission lays the foundations for a more harmonised long-term approach to governance in development cooperation by presenting a communication setting out the policy principles, announcing the implementation of practical measures to that end in relations with the ACP countries and Africa (governance in ACP programming and support for the African Peer Review Mechanism) and describing the Community’s approach to democratic governance in the other developing countries.

For reasons of effectiveness, efficiency and consistency, the Commission favours the third option.

The nature of this operation makes it difficult to quantify the initiative’s possible impact on governance. However, it is felt that operations in this policy framework will help make EU support for democratic governance processes in the development cooperation sphere more consistent and have an incentive effect on partner countries, thereby contributing to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals.

Activities carried out under the operational part of the communication will be regularly monitored and evaluated to analyse the results of democratic governance processes in the partner countries and the consistency of the EU’s approaches and its support for reform programmes.
EN

EUROPEAN COMMISSION

Brussels, 20.7.2010

COM(2010) 913 final

RECOMMENDATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE COUNCIL

to authorise the Commission to open negotiations on behalf of the European Union for the renewal of the protocol to the Fisheries Partnership Agreement with Cape Verde

RECOMMENDATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE COUNCIL

to authorise the Commission to open negotiations on behalf of the European Union for the renewal of the protocol to the Fisheries Partnership Agreement with Cape Verde

A.EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM

The European Union and the Republic of Cape Verde have concluded a protocol to the fisheries agreement which was initialled by the two parties on 16 December 2005 and entered into force on 30 March 2007. The protocol, which grants fishing opportunities for the EU vessels and fixes the financial counterpart, will expire on 31 August 2011.

The Commission proposes to negotiate a new protocol that meets the actual possibilities and needs of the Member States fleet and is in line with the July 2004 Council guidelines on fisheries partnership agreements.

The Council is asked to adopt the negotiation guidelines attached to this recommendation.

B.RECOMMENDATION

In the light of the above, the Commission recommends that:

–The Council authorises the Commission to open and conduct negotiations for the renewal of the protocol in the framework of the fisheries partnership agreement with the Republic of Cape Verde;

–The Commission is nominated as the Union negotiator for this subject;

–The Commission shall conduct such negotiations in consultation with the special committee pursuant to the provisions laid down in the Treaty on the functioning of the European Union;

–The Council approves the negotiation guidelines attached to this recommendation.

ANNEX
The EU Cohesion policy provides important investment possibilities to implement energy policy objectives in France which will be complemented by national public and private co-financing, aiming at optimal leverage. It also ensures integrated territorial solutions to challenges by supporting capacity building, technical assistance and territorial cooperation, including the macro-regional strategy for the Alpine Region in which France takes part. Internal Energy Market: Over 2014-2020, EU Cohesion Policy will invest some EUR 30 million in smart electricity distribution grids in France. These investments are expected to contribute to around 11 500 additional users connected to smart grids. Energy efficiency: Over 2014-2020, EU Cohesion Policy will invest some EUR 775 million in energy efficiency improvements in public and residential buildings and in enterprises, as well as in high-efficiency cogeneration and district heating in France. A further estimated EUR 810 million will be invested in supporting the move towards an energy-efficient, decarbonised transport sector. These investments are expected to contribute to around 143 000 households with improved energy consumption classification and a decrease of around 83 197 000 kWh per year of decreased primary energy consumption of public buildings, as well as to around 50 km of reconstructed or upgraded railway lines and 600 km of new or improved inland waterways. Decarbonisation: Overall, the EU Cohesion Policy investments in France over 2014-2020 are expected to contribute to an estimated annual decrease of GHG of around 1 067 000 tonnes of CO2eq. Over 2014-2020, EU Cohesion Policy will invest some EUR 423 million in renewable energy in France. These investments are expected to contribute to around 750 MW of additional capacity of renewable energy production. Research, Innovation and Competitiveness: Over 2014-2020, EU Cohesion Policy will invest significantly in R&I and in SME competitiveness in France. This will be based on the regional strategies for smart specialisation. For France, many regional strategies include indeed a focus on energy, mobility and transport. Furthermore, the areas of specialisation in the fields of materials, mechanics and chemistry as well as the "factory of the future" cover eco-innovation issues. Finally, many smart specialisation areas chosen by the French regions (building, mobility, energy, agribusiness,…) are strongly characterised by their sustainability. At this stage, at least EUR 137 million is foreseen for investments in R&I and adoption of low-carbon technologies in France, but this might increase further in line with the evolving content of the smart specialisation strategies.
The EU Cohesion policy provides for important investment possibilities to implement energy policy objectives in Croatia which will be complemented by national public and private co-financing, aiming at optimal leverage. It also ensures integrated territorial solutions to challenges by supporting capacity building and territorial cooperation, including the Danube Region and Adriatic and Ionian Region macro-regional strategies in which Croatia takes part. Internal Energy Market: Over 2014-2020, EU Cohesion Policy will invest some EUR 20 million in smart electricity distribution grids in Croatia. These investments are expected to contribute to around 5 800 additional users connected to smart grids. Energy efficiency: Over 2014-2020, EU Cohesion Policy will invest some EUR 402 million in energy efficiency improvements in public and residential buildings and in enterprises, as well as in high-efficiency cogeneration and district heating in Croatia. A further estimated EUR 810 million will be invested in supporting the move towards an energy-efficient, decarbonised transport sector. These investments are expected to contribute to around 10 000 households with improved energy consumption classification and a decrease of around 55 100 000 kWh per year of decreased primary energy consumption of public buildings, as well as to around 80 km of reconstructed or upgraded railway lines and 250 km of improved inland waterways. Decarbonisation: Over 2014-2020, EU Cohesion Policy will invest some EUR 95 million in renewable energy in Croatia. Research, Innovation and Competitiveness: Over 2014-2020, EU Cohesion Policy will invest significantly in R&I and in SME competitiveness in Croatia. This will be based on the national strategy for smart specialisation. For Croatia, the draft strategy includes a focus on energy and sustainable environment as well as transport and mobility among the selected priorities. At this stage, at least EUR 40 million is foreseen for investments in R&I and adoption of low-carbon technologies in Croatia, but this might increase further in line with the evolving content of the smart specialisation strategy.
Part 1

Methodology and information base

In a first step, a descriptive of offshore regulatory competences and resources required to carry out specific regulatory functions based on the Offshore Safety Directive (OSD) was drawn on the basis of a thorough analysis of an already existing competent authority taken as a sample. For this purpose, the UK was chosen in view of its already established regulatory practice based on a national legislative framework resembling the regime foreseen by OSD. UK data allowed to draw a generic inventory of skills necessary for competent authorities implementing OSD-based national regulatory regimes.

A link between the size of a Member State's offshore industry and the volume of resources necessary for its competent authority was established on the basis of Commission research and discussions with the EU Offshore Authorities Group (EUOAG). The developed ratios served subsequently to scale resources needed for individual Member States' competent authorities in accordance with their size of the offshore operations.

A survey of existing offshore operations and a projection of size and structure of the EU's offshore industry by Member States was carried out according to two scenarios for the industry's future development: a "business as now" (baseline scenario) and a "high activity scenario" (reflecting a possible increase of offshore activities). This stocktaking and projection served to estimate and extrapolate the potential resource requirements after the implementation of the OSD by a Member State in line with the current and expected future structure and size of its offshore sector.

To provide a common basis to the estimates of potential shortfalls, the resource requirements for each Member State would always be compared (i) with the current administrative capacity in the Member State and (ii) with the resource planning of the Member State for the year 2016. Data on Member States state of play and plans were gathered via a written survey and interviews with Member States' staff that is competent for resources in the national administrations; its quality largely depends on the adequacy of data provided by Member States.

In the final step the resource requirements were compared with current and planned resource availability to identify any gaps in the provision of expert resource. Based on this analysis, a "balance sheet" by discipline and under different activity scenarios was established. In parallel, the Commission took stock of available Member States' means and tools to make up potential shortfalls in competent authorities' resourcing. This allowed for the formulation of recommendations to Member States.





Part 2

Additional information on chapter 2 of the report on the adequacy of national expert resources
Since 2013, national targets for sectors outside the ETS are set in the so called Effort Sharing Decision (ESD). The European Council confirmed to continue with this instrument to regulate GHG reductions in the EU also for the period 2021-2030. Following the guidance this impact assessment looks at how (i) to set targets at Member State level in a fair manner corresponding to the GDP per capita and taking into account cost efficiency, and (ii) to improve existing and new flexibilities that ensure targets can be met cost efficiently while reducing administrative burden. New flexibilities include a limited link with the land use sector as well as a limited one off flexibility from the ETS into the non-ETS.
However, covered bond markets are unevenly developed across the Single Market. They are very large in some Member States, less so in others. Whereas covered bonds benefit from a preferential prudential treatment in light of their lower risks, what constitutes a covered bond is only partially defined in EU law.

Investment and job creation are key objectives of the EU. As part of the Capital Markets Union (CMU), the EU has launched several initiatives to unlock funding of Europe's growth and stimulate market financing. Covered bonds are an important source of cheap and long-term funding for banks. They facilitate the financing of mortgage loans and public sector loans, thereby supporting lending more broadly.
A number of policy options were considered for improving use of digital tools and processes, cross-border mergers, divisions and conversions and for resolving legal conflicts. For each of these policy areas, preferred options were chosen. The preferred options for improving the use of digital tools and processes would introduce harmonised rules on online registration of companies and branches and filing company documents, as well as increased transparency of company-related information in business registers. For cross-border operations, the preferred options for employee information, consultation and participation would i) introduce targeted amendments to existing cross-border mergers rules, ii) also apply these to cross-border divisions and conversions, and iii) provide for specific measures for cross-border divisions and conversions as a result of the perceived higher risks for employees inherent in such operations. The preferred options would also introduce harmonised rules to protect creditors and minority shareholders in all cross-border operations. The preferred option for cross-border conversions would introduce rules and procedures requiring Member States to assess on a case-by-case basis whether the cross-border conversion in question constitutes an artificial arrangement designed to obtain undue tax advantages or unduly prejudice the rights of employees, minority shareholders or employees. For conflict-of-laws, the preferred option would harmonise the relevant rules, in particular the connecting factor based on the place of incorporation of the company. Overall, the preferred options complement each other in contributing to the initiative’s policy objectives. This means that the maximum impact would be achieved if the package were composed of all the five policy areas. However, the policy areas are self-standing and the package could be composed of only some of these.
on the implementation of EU waste legislation, including the early warning report for Member States at risk of missing the 2020 preparation for re-use/recycling targets on municipal waste

REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS

1.Introduction

This early warning report is part of the Commission's overall implementation report and aims to assist Member States at risk of failing to meet the 2020 target of 50 % preparation for re-use/recycling of municipal waste set out in Article 11(2)(a) of Directive 2008/98/EC. It builds on previous support provided by the Commission to help Member States comply with EU law in the area of municipal waste management. This resulted in country-specific roadmaps being drawn up for the relevant Member States.

The assessment underpinning the early warning report is based on a collaborative and transparent process involving the Member States concerned and an in-depth analysis of their most recent policy developments. This also involved extensive consultation with the authorities in charge of waste management.

The possible actions identified during this process are based on the existing best practices and aim to help Member States in meeting the 2020 municipal waste preparation for re-use/recycling target; they therefore focus on policy measures that can be taken forward in the short term. These actions should be seen as complementary to those recommended in the roadmaps that were drawn up as part of the preceding compliance promotion activities and to the recommendations made in the Environmental Implementation Review.

2.Key findings

In 2016, the municipal waste recycling rate (including composting) reported by Malta to Eurostat was 7 %, while the landfill rate was 83 %. Based on an analysis of existing and firmly planned policies in the area of waste management, Malta is considered to be at risk of missing the 2020 target of 50 % preparation for re-use/recycling of municipal waste.

The assessment that underpins the early warning report concludes that Malta still faces serious difficulties in its implementation of EU waste law, mainly due to lack of infrastructure and collection systems for recyclables and bio-waste. Progress is also hampered by the lack of coordination between different administrative levels and insufficient capacity at the local level, and more generally by a lack of incentives (including economic instruments) to prevent waste and improve recycling. Moreover, the extended producer responsibility (EPR) scheme for packaging in Malta, along with its monitoring and enforcement, have been somewhat ineffective.

The table below lists possible actions to support Malta’s efforts to improve its performance in waste management.
on the implementation of EU waste legislation, including the early warning report for Member States at risk of missing the 2020 preparation for re-use/recycling target on municipal waste

REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS

1.Introduction

This early warning report is part of the Commission's overall implementation report and aims to assist Member States at risk of failing to meet the 2020 target of 50 % preparation for re-use/recycling of municipal waste set out in Article 11(2)(a) of Directive 2008/98/EC. It builds on previous support provided by the Commission to help Member States comply with EU law in the area of municipal waste management. This resulted in country-specific roadmaps being drawn up for the relevant Member States.

The assessment underpinning the early warning report is based on a collaborative and transparent process involving the Member States concerned and an in-depth analysis of their most recent policy developments. This also involved extensive consultation with the authorities in charge of waste management.

The possible actions identified during this process are based on the existing best practices and aim to help Member States in meeting the 2020 municipal waste preparation for re-use/recycling; they therefore focus on policy measures that can be taken forward in the short term. These actions should be seen as complementary to those recommended in the roadmaps that were drawn up as part of the preceding compliance promotion activities and to the recommendations made in the Environmental Implementation Review.

2.Key findings

In 2016, Slovakia’s municipal waste recycling rate (including composting) reported to Eurostat was 23 %, while its landfilling rate was 65 %. Based on an analysis of existing and firmly planned policies in the area of waste management, Slovakia is considered at risk of missing the 2020 target of 50 % preparation for re-use/recycling of municipal waste.

The assessment that underpins the early warning report concludes that:

·the separate collection of recyclables, including bio-waste, is not yet being carried out effectively;

·economic incentives for households to separate waste are lacking;

·the extended producer responsibility schemes in Slovakia do not fully cover the costs of separate collection; and

·more investment is needed in projects higher up the waste hierarchy (e.g. recycling) that go beyond treatment of residual waste,.

The table below lists possible actions to support Slovakia’s efforts to improve its performance in waste management.