A4-0205/95

Resolution on the draft amending ECSC operating budget for 1995 (SEC(95)0761 - C4-0213/95)

The European Parliament,

- having regard to the draft amending ECSC operating budget for 1995 drawn up by the Commission (SEC(95)0761),

- having regard to its resolution of 26 October 1994 ((OJ C 323, 21.11.1994, p. 66.)) on the draft ECSC operating budget for 1995,

- having regard to the ECSC Consultative Committee memorandum of 28 June 1995 on the various aspects in connection with the expiry of the ECSC Treaty in 2002,

- having regard to the Commission Green Paper 'For a European energy policy' of 11 January 1995 (COM(94)0659),

- having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgets and the opinion of the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs and Industrial Policy (A4-0205/95),

A. whereas the draft amending ECSC operating budget for 1995 primarily takes account of the changes in conditions following the accession of Finland, Austria and Sweden,

B. whereas, irrespective of this amending budget, the new member countries have been participating in ECSC Treaty arrangements since 1 January 1995,

C. whereas expansion of the ECSC's range of resources and activities comes at a time when the competent authorities are giving thought to preparatory measures in connection with the expiry of the ECSC Treaty in 2002,

D. whereas, after the expiry of the ECSC Treaty in the year 2002, it might be appropriate to maintain some of the principles and activities established in the current Treaty,

1. Notes that the draft amending ECSC operating budget for 1995 takes account of changes in conditions following enlargement of the Union and of a number of changes which have arisen while the 1995 operating budget has been implemented;

2. Notes that this amendment increases the total volume of the ECSC operating budget for 1995 by 14% from an initial ECU 291 m to ECU 331 m; points out in this connection that, of the ECU 40 m in additional ECSC appropriations, ECU 6 m comes from application of the levy in the new Member States, while the remaining appropriations stem from repayments for unused conversion aid, from less use of appropriations for social measures and from unused reserves;

3. Notes that, in its proposal, the Commission seeks to use the additional funding to increase aid for deployment by 18%, conversion aid by 17%, social measures connected with coal industry restructuring by 27%, and research aid by 15%;

4. Notes that this will enable an approval rate of over 90% to be achieved for redeployment aid applications, while research allocations remain just above an amount which should be considered an absolute minimum;

5. Points, with regard to ECSC research activities, to the above-mentioned Consultative Committee memorandum, which states that sectoral ECSC research assistance has produced outstanding results and that the appropriations invested on that basis have been recouped several times over, with, at the same time, a striking improvement in working conditions;

6. Notes that, in the light of this track record for ECSC research assistance, it is all the more incomprehensible that this area of assistance has been relatively neglected in previous years and that enlargement has not prompted a shift of focus to it either;

7. Notes that a 17% increase in conversion aid appears unreasonably high and more speculative in nature in the light of the statement that applications are only expected from June of this year onwards;

8. Notes that, unlike for coal, economic indicators in the steel sector have improved considerably in 1995 and that, by comparison with 1992 to 1994, that industry can almost be said to be booming; against this backdrop, would have expected assistance for social measures connected with steel and coal industry restructuring to have been redistributed accordingly;

9. Regrets that the Commission has still not acted on the European Parliament's call for the deletion of administrative expenditure as a separate item of ECSC expenditure;

10. Notes that, in its expenditure estimates in the draft amending budget, the Commission has miscalculated by ECU 2 m when aggregating the six budget items; while a total of ECU 331 m is given for the re-estimated resources, the individual items, when added together, amount to ECU 333 m;

11. Regrets that the Commission has failed to use the opportunity provided by this amending budget to submit the overdue report on ECSC phasing-in;

12. Calls once again on the Commission to complete its assessment of the prospects for 2002, in order to establish a clearer picture of the sums which will remain on that date and clear up the legal uncertainties regarding their availability;

13. Decides, in the light of what is noted above, to amend the expenditure table as follows:

DRAFT AMENDING ECSC OPERATING BUDGET FOR THE FINANCIAL YEAR 1995

PARLIAMENT'S PROPOSALS

in ECU m

>TABLE>

(1) Aid for projects with a specific impact on the environment Line: 3.1: Steel projects specifically related to the environment will come under the framework programme

Line: 3.2: ECU 10 million

(2) Special reserve

NB: Any additional resource will be allocated to social measures connected with the restructuring of the coal and steel industries.

The steel restructuring programme may continue in 1996, reaching a total of ECU 240 million.

14. Calls on the Commission to submit its overdue report on phasing-in proposals by the end of 1995;

15. Instructs its President to forward this resolution and its decisions on establishment of the amending ECSC operating budget for 1995 to the Commission.