Thursday 1 December 2011

Establishment of a financing instrument for cooperation with industrialised countries ***III

P7_TA(2011)0533

European Parliament legislative resolution of 1 December 2011 on the joint text approved by the Conciliation Committee for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Council Regulation (EC) No 1934/2006 establishing a financing instrument for cooperation with industrialised and other high-income countries and territories (PE-CONS 00056/2011 – C7-0376/2011– 2009/0059(COD))

2013/C 165 E/22

(Ordinary legislative procedure: third reading)

The European Parliament,

having regard to the joint text approved by the Conciliation Committee and the relevant Parliament, Council and Commission statements (PE-CONS 00056/2011 – C7-0376/2011),

having regard to its position at first reading (1) on the Commission proposal to Parliament and the Council (COM(2009)0197),

having regard to its position at second reading (2) on the Council position at first reading (3) ,

having regard to the Commission's opinion on Parliament's amendments to the Council position at first reading (COM(2011)0167),

having regard to Article 294(13) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

Instructs its President to sign the act with the President of the Council, in accordance with Article 297(1) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union;

Instructs its Secretary-General to sign the act, once it has been verified that all the procedures have been duly completed, and, in agreement with the Secretary-General of the Council, to arrange for its publication, together with the statements by Parliament, Council and Commission thereon, in the Official Journal of the European Union;

Instructs its President to forward this legislative resolution to the Council, the Commission and the national parliaments.

(1) Texts adopted of 21.10.2010, P7_TA(2010)0381.

(2) Texts adopted of 3.2.2011, P7_TA(2011)0033.

(3) OJ C 7 E, 12.1.2011, p. 1.

Thursday 1 December 2011

ANNEX TO THE LEGISLATIVE RESOLUTION

Statement by the European Parliament and the Council on the use of Delegated Acts in the future Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) 2014-2020

The European Parliament and the Council take note of the Commission Communication "A Budget for Europe 2020" (COM(2011)0500 (1)), in particular in relation to the proposed use of delegated acts in the future external financing instruments and await legislative proposals, which will be duly considered.

Commission declaration concerning Article 16

The Regulation addresses the issue of support for a number of specific non-Official Development Assistance (ODA) activities in countries covered by the Development Cooperation Instrument (DCI Regulation (EC) No 1905/2006). The Regulation is intended to be a one-off solution to this issue.

The Commission reaffirms that the eradication of poverty, including the pursuit of the Millennium Development Goals, is the primary objective of its development cooperation and remains a priority.

It recalls that the financial reference amount fixed in Article 16 for countries listed in Annex II will be implemented using dedicated budget lines which are intended for activities other than Official Development Assistance.

Furthermore, the Commission confirms its intention to respect the financial reference amount fixed in Article 38 of the Development Cooperation Instrument (Regulation (EC) No 1905/2006) for the period 2007-2013 as well as the provisions in the same Regulation regarding the fulfilment of the criteria for ODA. It recalls that on the basis of its current financial planning, this reference amount will be exceeded in 2013.

In this context, the Commission intends to propose draft budgets which ensure a progression in development assistance for Asia and Latin America under the DCI Regulation (EC) No 1905/2006 over the period until 2013 so that the currently projected ODA amounts under the DCI and the EU budget generally are not affected.

(1) The Commission in its Communication: "A budget for Europe 2020" (COM(2011)0500), states that: "Furthermore, the future legal bases for the different instruments will propose the extensive use of delegated acts to allow for more flexibility in the management of the policies during the financing period, while respecting the prerogatives of the two branches of legislator." and "It is considered that democratic scrutiny of external aid must be improved. This could be achieved by the use of delegated acts in accordance with Article 290 of the Treaty for certain aspects of programmes, not only placing the co-legislators on an equal footing but also ensuring more flexibility in programming. For the EDF, it is proposed to bring scrutiny into line with the DCI, whilst taking into account the specificities of this instrument".