ddrg/super_eurlex huggingface dataset:
Opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee on the "Proposal for a Council Regulation establishing a Cohesion Fund (Codified version)"

(COM(2003) 352 final - 2003/0129 (AVC))

(2004/C 10/09)

On 30 June 2003 the Council decided to consult the European Economic and Social Committee, under Article 262 of the Treaty establishing the European Community, on the above-mentioned proposal.

The Section for Economic and Monetary Union and Economic and Social Cohesion, which was responsible for preparing the Committee's work on the subject, adopted its opinion on 11 September 2003. The rapporteur was Mr Silva.

At its 402nd plenary session of 24 and 25 September 2003 (meeting of 24 September), the European Economic and Social Committee adopted the following opinion by 123 votes to 1 with 3 abstentions.

1. The Committee approves the Commission's initiative to undertake the codification of Council Regulation (EC) No 1164/94 establishing a Cohesion Fund.

2. This exercise will help to simplify and improve understanding of Community legislation in an area that is of particular significance at the current stage of European integration.

Brussels, 24 September 2003.

The President

of the European Economic and Social Committee

Roger Briesch
EN Official Journal of the European Union C 241/23

Opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee on the ‘Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on foodstuffs intended for particular nutritional uses (Codified version)’

(COM(2004) 290 final – 2004/0090 (COD))

(2004/C 241/08)

On 4 May 2004, the Council decided to consult the European Economic and Social Committee, under Articles 95 and 251 of the Treaty establishing the European Community, on the ‘Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on foodstuffs intended for particular nutritional uses’.

The Section for Agriculture, Rural Development and the Environment, which was responsible for preparing the Committee's work on the subject, adopted its opinion on 6 May 2004. The rapporteur was Mr Donnelly.

At its 409th plenary session on 2 and 3 June 2004 (meeting of 2 June 2004), the European Economic and Social Committee adopted the following opinion by 171 votes to three with nine abstentions.

1. Introduction

1.1 The purpose of this proposal is to undertake a codification Council Directive 89/398/EEC of 3 May 1989 on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to foodstuffs intended for particular nutritional uses. The new Directive will supersede the various acts incorporated in it; this proposal fully preserves the content of the acts being codified and hence does no more than bring them together with only such formal amendments as are required by the codification exercise itself.

2. General comments

The Committee regards it as very useful to have all the texts integrated into one Directive. In the context of a People's Europe, the Committee, like the Commission, attaches great importance to simplifying and clarifying Community law so as to make it clearer and more accessible to ordinary citizens, thus giving them new opportunities and the chance to make use of the specific rights it gives them.

3. It has been ensured that this compilation of provisions contains no changes of substance and serves only the purpose of presenting Community law in a clear and transparent way. The Committee expresses its total support for this objective and, in the light of these guarantees, welcomes the proposal.
EN Official Journal of the European Union C 117/10

Opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee on the ‘Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on pollution caused by certain dangerous substances discharged into the aquatic environment of the Community’

(COM(2003) 847 final - 2003/0333 (COD))

(2004/C 117/03)

On 22 January 2004 the Council decided to consult the European Economic and Social Committee, under Article 175 of the Treaty establishing the European Community, on the ‘Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on pollution caused by certain dangerous substances discharged into the aquatic environment of the Community’ (COM(2003) 847 final – 2003/0333 (COD)).

The Section for Agriculture, Rural Development and the Environment, which was responsible for preparing the Committee's work on the subject, adopted its opinion on 5 April 2004. The rapporteur was Ms Sánchez Miguel.

At its 408th plenary session of 28 and 29 April 2004 (meeting of 28 April), the European Economic and Social Committee adopted the following opinion by 97 votes for, none against and one abstention.

1. Introduction

1.1 The purpose of the proposal is to undertake a codification of Council Directive 76/464/EEC of 4 May 1976 on pollution caused by certain dangerous substances discharged into the aquatic environment of the Community (1). The new directive will supersede the various acts incorporated in it (2); the proposal fully preserves the content of the acts being codified and hence does no more than to bring them together with only such formal amendments as are required by the codification itself.

2. General comments

2.1 The Committee regards it as very useful to have all the texts integrated into one directive. In the context of a People's Europe, the Committee, like the Commission, attaches great importance to simplifying and clarifying Community law so as to make it clearer and more accessible to ordinary citizens, thus giving them new opportunities and the chance to make use of the specific rights it gives them.

2.2 It has been ensured that this compilation of provisions contains no changes of substance and serves only the purpose of presenting Community law in a clear and transparent way. The Committee expresses its total support for this objective and, in the light of these guarantees, welcomes the proposal.

Brussels, 28 April 2004. The President of the European Economic and Social Committee Roger BRIESCH

(1) Carried out in accordance with the Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council – Codification of the acquis communautaire, COM(2001) 645 final.

(2) See Part A of Annex II of the proposal.
EN Official Journal of the European Union C 108/55

Opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee on the ‘proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on the regulation of the operation of aeroplanes covered by Part II, Chapter 3, Volume I of Annex 16 to the Convention on International Civil Aviation, second edition (1988)’

(COM(2003) 524 final - 2003/0207 (COD))

(2004/C 108/08)

On 22 September 2003, the Council decided to consult the European Economic and Social Committee, under Article 80(2) of the Treaty establishing the European Community, on the above-mentioned proposal.

The Section for Transport, Energy, Infrastructure and the Information Society, which was responsible for preparing the Committee's work on the subject, adopted its opinion on 8 January 2004. The rapporteur was Mr Green.

At its 405th plenary session on 28 and 29 January 2004 (meeting of 28 January), the European Economic and Social Committee adopted the following opinion by 46 votes to one.

1. Background

1.1 On 1 April 1987, the European Commission instructed its staff that all legislative acts should be codified after a maximum of ten amendments, or at even shorter intervals, to ensure that the Community rules are clear and readily understandable.

1.2 Given that no changes of substance may be made to the instruments affected by codification, an interinstitutional agreement was concluded on 20 December 1994 between the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission under which an accelerated procedure may be used for the fast-track adoption of codified instruments.

2. The Commission proposal

2.1 This proposal seeks to codify Directive 92/14/EEC, which governs the use of aircraft in line with the rules laid down at international level. The new directive will supersede the various instruments incorporated in it. Their content is fully preserved, and only such formal amendments are made as are required by the codification exercise.

2.2 The directive deals with noise-emission standards for civil subsonic jet aeroplanes.

3. General comments

3.1 The European Economic and Social Committee fundamentally endorses the Commission proposal which seeks to make Community law clear and transparent.
3.9

The Commission, in close cooperation with the Member States, might go a step further in the promotion of more effective dialogue between the ILO and the WTO (and, for that matter, the ILO and the IMF, and the ILO and the World Bank) than it proposes in sections 5.5 of the Communication. The WTO (which has so far been very resistant to the idea to pay attention to the social dimension of the policies within their mandate), the IMF and the World Bank might, on the basis of a mandate given by their Member States, establish coordination bodies with the ILO in which the inclusion of a social dimension in their work, as well as the monitoring of the development, could be secured. For instance with the expiration of the WTO's Agreement on Textiles and Clothing (ATC) at the end of 2004, many textiles exporting countries face acute adjustment problems and major job losses. Given the cross-cutting nature of the issue, it provides an evident area for a Policy Coherence Initiative to be undertaken, which should involve all the agencies concerned — the WTO, World Bank, IMF, ILO and other relevant UN agencies — in anticipating the social and economic impact and recommending measures to be taken by the governments that stand to be affected, backed by international assistance.
3.5.1.6

Therefore, and taking into account that fishing — one of the most dangerous occupations in Europe and the world — has the highest number of accidents at work, the Committee reiterates the content of its previous Opinions (7) on the Green Paper on the future of the Common Fisheries Policy and on the Commission Communication on the reform of the Common Fisheries Policy, in which it stated that ‘fleet reduction measures should not lose sight of the need to continue to renew and modernise the Community's fleet. There should be a firm commitment to achieving high-quality conditions for processing the raw material, improving the quality of life on board, and enhancing safety for crews’. The EESC calls on the Commission to reconsider the request made in the conclusions of its Opinion on the reform of the CFP, in which it stressed that ‘Public aid should continue to be granted for the renewal and modernisation of the fishing fleet’, as long as fishery resources allow. The EESC calls on the Commission to reconsider the request made in the conclusions of its Opinion on the reform of the CFP, in which it stressed that ‘Public aid should continue to be granted for the renewal and modernisation of the fishing fleet’, as long as fishery resources allow.
EN Official Journal of the European Union C 65/50

Opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee on the ‘Proposal for a Council Regulation determining the Community scale for the classification of carcases of adult bovine animals’

(COM(2005) 402 final — 2005/0171 CNS)

(2006/C 65/10)

On 7 October 2005 the Council decided to consult the European Economic and Social Committee, under Article 262 of the Treaty establishing the European Community, on the abovementioned proposal.

The Section for Agriculture, Rural Development and the Environment, which was responsible for preparing the Committee's work on the subject, adopted its opinion on 9 November 2005. The rapporteur was Frank Allen.

At its 422nd plenary session, held on 14 and 15 December 2005 (meeting of 14 December), the European Economic and Social Committee adopted the following opinion by 127 votes with 5 abstentions.

1. Introduction

1.1 The purpose of this proposal is to undertake a codification of Council Regulation (EEC) No 1208/81 of 28 April 1981 determining the Community scale for the classification of carcases of adult bovine animals (1). The new Regulation will supersede the various acts incorporated in it (2); this proposal fully preserves the content of the acts being codified and hence does no more than bringing them together with only such formal amendments as are required by the codification exercise itself.

2. General comments

2.1 The Committee regards it as very useful to have all the texts integrated into one Regulation. In the context of a People's Europe, the Committee, like the Commission, attaches great importance to simplifying and clarifying Community law so as to make it clearer and more accessible to ordinary citizens, thus giving them new opportunities and the chance to make use of the specific rights it gives them.

2.2 It has been ensured that this compilation of provisions contains no changes of substance and serves only the purpose of presenting Community law in a clear and transparent way. The Committee expresses its total support for this objective and, in the light of these guarantees, welcomes the proposal.

Brussels, 14 December 2005. The President of the European Economic and Social Committee Anne-Marie SIGMUND

(1) Carried out pursuant to the Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council – Codification of the Acquis communautaire, COM(2001) 645 final.

(2) See Annex III to this proposal.
1.7

With regard to the security of the infrastructure used by the inland modes of transport, a distinction is to be made between the TEN corridors, including nodes and the national infrastructure, although it is not always immediately clear where subsidiarity in the inland modes of transport begins and where it ends. It must be realised, as far as security measures in the inland modes of transport are concerned, that there is a considerable degree of interdependence between all modes of transport in the logistics chain, and not only inland modes. This requires a great deal of coordination when adopting security measures. An intermodal approach to security is in any case also necessary to prevent distortion of competition between the different modes, although we should realise that security costs can differ sharply from one mode of transport to another. Issues arising in connection with increased security measures will also be looked at in detail. These include questions such as: — what is the impact of security measures on employees? — should ‘crisis management’ be included in management training courses? — who should meet the cost of security? — what is the role of the insurance companies? In view of the wide-ranging nature of this subject, it is advisable to bring some order to bear and to indicate how this exploratory opinion has been structured. In chapter 2, the General section, the broader issues of security are dealt with. It covers subjects such as the division of responsibilities and competences respectively of the European Union, the national governments, the modes of transport themselves, the passengers and management of the companies. In addition, the legislative aspect is discussed in this chapter. Chapter 3, the section which deals with specific issues, begins with an outline of initiatives taken at different levels to improve security. Closer attention is then paid to the security of modes of transport themselves. Chapter 4 examines the cost of security and the question of who should meet this cost. The role of the insurance companies is also discussed in this context. Chapter 5 presents a summary and draws the final conclusions.
EN Official Journal of the European Union C 110/33

Opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee on the Proposal for a Council Regulation amending Regulation (EC) No 2037/2000 of the European Parliament and of the Council, as regards the base year for the allocation of quotas of hydrochlorofluorocarbons with respect to the Member States that acceded on 1 May 2004

(COM(2004) 550 final — 13632/05 Add. 1 + Corr. 1)

(2006/C 110/06)

On 16 November 2005 the Council decided, under Article 175(1) of the Treaty establishing the European Community, to consult the European Economic and Social Committee on the abovementioned proposal.

The Section for Employment, Social Affairs and Citizenship, which was responsible for preparing the Committee's work on the subject, adopted its opinion on 27 February 2006. The rapporteur was Ms Cassina.

At its 425th plenary session, held on 15 and 16 March 2006 (meeting of 15 March), the European Economic and Social Committee adopted the following opinion by 139 votes to two with six abstentions.

1. Summary and conclusions

1.1 The EESC welcomes the amendment to Regulation (EC) No 2037/2000 (Article 4(3) (new point (i)); the addition of the European Parliament, as co-legislator, to the title of this regulation; and the proposed change to its legal basis.

2. Content and evaluation of the proposed changes

2.1 The proposed amendment of Regulation (EC) No 2037/2000 entails adding new letter point (i) to Article 4(3), stipulating that a new base date for allocating hydrochlorofluorocarbon quotas applies to the Member States which joined the EU on 1 May 2004: these will no longer be allocated on the basis of the 1999 quotas but on that of the average of the market shares in 2002 and 2003.

2.1.1 This change to the base date is in response to a purely trade-related imperative, preventing the exclusion of businesses present on the market only after 1999 and having minimal impact on the distribution of the total allocation of quotas, the quantities of which remain unchanged: there are thus no environmental consequences. The change to the base date also ensures that any future challenges on the basis of alleged breaches of the principles of ‘non-discrimination and legitimate expectations’ can be met.

2.2 The EESC notes and welcomes the addition of the European Parliament, as co-legislator with the Council, to the title of the regulation in question.

2.3 Lastly, the EESC approves the change of the legal basis of the Regulation itself from Article 57(2) of the Treaty of Accession to Article 175(1) of the EC Treaty, in line with Addendum 1, Corrigendum 1 and the agreement reached by the Working Party on the Environment on 21 October 2005.
4.2.5

Fire-fighting foams: fluorinated surfactants have been used in high-specification fire-fighting foams for many years. PFOS-related substances have been largely replaced in new foams manufactured to replace stocks used to extinguish actual fires or to provide stocks for new developments, airports, petroleum refineries and chemical plants, marine vessels and tank farms. However, the health and environmental impact of these alternative products has not yet been fully assessed. All foams have to be sold with 15-20 year guarantees, as ideally they are never used. Significant stocks of PFOS-containing foams therefore still exist and disposal of these stocks is now the key issue. The surfactants must allow water-based foams to spread quickly on the surface of the burning hydrocarbons, rather than sinking below them, in order to cut off the supply of oxygen and prevent burn-back. Both surfactants and foams must be stable under intense conditions of use and both must resist oxidation. Performance standards for foams for different fire scenarios are set by national and international bodies. Stocks of 3 % or 6 % concentrates are stored in central depots, for distribution and dilution on site when a fire occurs. Large volumes may be required and the problems of waste disposal of the run-off after the fire may be considerable. The run-off is inevitably contaminated by the products that were on fire, by the by-products of uncontrolled low temperature carbon incineration (polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and dioxins) and by the components of the foams. The recent fire in a storage depot in Buncefield, UK, for instance, has left a residue of 20 million litres of contaminated waste. High temperature incineration is the only assured approach, but this is inefficient and costly where the bulk of the material is water. Annual emissions to the environment are therefore hard to determine, being dependent on the number, scale and circumstances of each fire, and critically on the extent to which the run-off can be contained by bund walls. SCHER quoted an annual release in the EU of under 600 kg and noted that this could overstate actual releases. The EESC agrees with SCHER that the existing stocks of PFOS-based foam concentrates should not be incinerated until the alternatives have been fully evaluated. The EESC therefore recommends that the necessary impact and risk assessments should be undertaken as quickly as possible and that remaining PFOS-based foams should be used only where essential on performance grounds and where the run-off can be contained by bund walls. The Commission should work with the industry and with national competent authorities to ensure that there are adequate disposal routes for the large volumes of waste generated. Given the many uncertainties, the EESC believes that there is no point in setting a time limit for the removal of this derogation, but every point in resolving the outstanding questions as fast as possible.
EN Official Journal of the European Union C 161/36

Opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee on the Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on certain parts and characteristics of wheeled agricultural or forestry tractors (Codified version)

COM(2006) 662 final — 2006/0221 (COD)

(2007/C 161/08)

On 22 November 2006, the Council decided to consult the European Economic and Social Committee, under Article 95 of the Treaty establishing the European Community, on the above-mentioned proposal.

The Section for the Single Market, Production and Consumption, which was responsible for preparing the Committee's work on the subject, adopted its opinion on 7 February 2007. The rapporteur was Mr Burns.

At its 434th plenary session, held on 14 and 15 March 2007 (meeting of 14 March), the European Economic and Social Committee adopted the following opinion by 147 votes with 8 abstentions.

1. The purpose of the proposal is to undertake the codification of Council Directive 74/151/EEC of 4 March 1974 on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to certain parts and characteristics of wheeled agricultural or forestry tractors.

2. The Committee considers the codification of all texts in a single directive to be very useful. It has been assured that this codification contains no substantial change and its sole purpose is to render Community legislation clear and transparent. The Committee fully endorses this objective and, having received the above-mentioned assurance, welcomes the proposal.