Proposal for a Council Regulation (EC) in the field of employment creation and support to small and micro-enterprises in the Maghreb countries (94/C 214/08) (Text with EEA relevance) COM(94) 289 final - 94/0167 (SYN)

(Submitted by the Commission on 8 July 1994)

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 Parliament,

Whereas, having regard to the chronically high levels of unemployment in the Maghreb countries and the major adjustments to the industrial sectors implied by a free trade area, for which negotiations have already begun with Morocco and Tunisia, new measures in the form of economic and financial cooperation should be implemented in the said countries in order to foster sustainable employment creation and development of small and micro-enterprises, taking account of the experience acquired by the Community as a major partner of the Maghreb countries;

Whereas this programme should be implemented with financing from the Community budget in the form of grants;

Whereas the arrangements and the rules for the administration of this form of cooperation should be determined;

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

The Community shall implement financial and technical cooperation with the Maghreb countries with the aim of contributing to the creation of durable employment and supporting the development of small and micro-enterprises.

Article 2

1. The priority areas for projects and measures implemented under the cooperation referred to in Article 1 shall be:

- small and micro-enterprise creation and development, vocational training, industrial restructuring, institutional development and access to information.

2. Community aid may be given for investment projects, feasibility studies, technical assistance and training. Investment projects will be subject to implementing conditions and criteria which avoid causing significant market distortions.

3. Community financing for operations covered by this Regulation shall be in the form of grants.

4. For investment projects the grants mentioned in 2.3 shall be allocated to intermediary institutions and shall be used according to agreed conditions and criteria. However, such use shall not take the form of provision of non-refundable capital. The promoter shall finance at least 15 % of the total investment cost either by own resources or by financing at market conditions.

5. Any renewable funds generated by an operation of the European Community pursuant to this Regulation will be held on deposit by the intermediaries on behalf of the European Community and will be managed in accordance with the requirements of the operation and pursuant to the principles of sound management. All funds held by the financial intermediaries are to be paid to the governments of the beneficiary countries if the intermediary ceases to be associated with the operation or if the operation ceases. The funds thus made available shall be used in conformity with the provisions of this Regulation.

6. In order to ensure consistency of cooperation and to improve complementarity between operations, Member States, the Commission and the European Investment Bank shall exchange any relevant information on financing that they envisage granting. Possibilities for co-financing shall be sought when information is exchanged.

7. Member States, the Commission and the European Investment Bank shall also communicate, within the framework of the committee referred to in Article 5, information in their possession on other bilateral and multilateral aid for the recipient countries.

Article 3

The aid referred to in this Regulation may be combined with European Investment Bank financing and may be used for co-financing with Member States, non-member countries in the region, multilateral bodies or the Maghreb countries themselves. Wherever possible, the Community nature of the aid shall be preserved.

Article 4

1. Financing decisions on projects and operations pursuant to this Regulation shall be adopted in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 5.

2. Financing decisions on overall allocations for technical cooperation and training shall be adopted in accordance with the procedures laid down in Article 5.

The Commission shall inform the Committee referred to in Article 5 of the use made of these overall allocations.

3. Decisions amending decisions adopted in accordance with the procedure provided for in Article 5 shall be taken by the Commission where they do not entail any substantial amendments or additonal commitments in excess of 20 % of the original commitment.

Article 5

1. The Commission shall be assisted by the MED Committee set up pursuant to Article 6 of Council Regulation (EEC) No 1762/92 of 29 June 1992 on the implementation of the protocols on financial and technical cooperation concluded by the Community with Mediterranean non-member countries.

2. The representative of the Commission shall submit to the Committee a draft of the measures to be taken. The Committee shall deliver its opinion on the draft within a time limit which the chairman may lay down according to the urgency of the matter. The opinion shall be delivered by the majority laid down in Article 148 (2) of the Treaty in the case of decisions which the Council is required to adopt on a proposal from the Commission. The votes of the representatives of the Member States within the committee shall be weighted in the manner set out in that Article. The chairman shall not vote.

3. (a) The Commission shall adopt the measures envisaged if they are in accordance with the opinion of the Committee.

(b) If the measures envisaged are not in accordance with the opinion of the Committee, or if no opinion is delivered, the Commission shall, without delay, submit to the Council a proposal relating to the measures to be taken. The Council shall act by a qualified majority.

If the Council has not acted within three months from the date on which the matter was referred to it, the proposed measures shall be adopted by the Commission.

Article 6

1. The Commission shall take stock of the implementation of cooperation pursuant to this Regulation and report to Parliament and the Council once a year.

2. The Commission shall evaluate the main projects completed in order to establish whether the objectives fixed during the appraisal of these projects have been achieved and to establish guidelines for making future aid more effective. These evaluation reports shall be sent to the Member States.

Article 7

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.