Declarations
1. The Commission confirms that by April 2000 it will propose an aid programme for the western
Balkans, including Kosovo for the period 2000-2006. The amount concerned will require it to submit aproposal for revision of the financial perspective, together with a programming plan for heading 4.
2. The European Parliament and the Council agree that an aid programme for the western Balkans must
be established. They take note of the fact that, if a sum requiring a financial effort significantly greater thanthat already programmed were to be agreed, this would entail exceeding the current ceilings for heading 4of the financial perspective.
3. The European Parliament undertakes to leave a margin of €20 million under the ceilings for
heading 4 and, if necessary, by means of redeployment, to enter an amount of €40 million for the recon-struction of Kosovo in particular, before the Council’s first reading of the draft budget for 2001, this to bedone by means of transfers of appropriations. The European Parliament undertakes also to reduce payment
appropriations compared to its first reading by €2 billion.
8. 2000budget
A5-0095/1999
European Parliament resolution on the draft general budget of the European Union forthe finan-
cialyear2000,asmodifiedbytheCouncil(allsections)(C5-0600/1999),andonLettersofAmend-mentNos1/2000(11568/1999BdashC5-0313/1999),2/2000(13482/1999BdashC5-0311/1999)and3/2000
(…/1999BdashC5-…/1999)tothe2000draftbudget
The European Parliament,
Ndash having regard to Article 272 of the EC Treaty, Article 177 of the Euratom Treaty and Article 78 of the
ECSC Treaty,
Ndash having regard to the Council decisions of 26 November 1999 on the draft budget for 2000 as
amended and modified by Parliament at first reading (13476/1999 Ndash C5-0600/1999),
Ndash having regard to the Council Decision of 31 October 1994(
1) on the system of the European Com-
munities’ own resources,
Ndash having regard to its resolutions of 23 March 1999 on the guidelines for the 2000 budget(2),
Ndash having regard to the preliminary draft budget submitted by the Commission for the financial year
2000 (COM(1999) 200),
Ndash having regard to the draft budget established by the Council for the financial year 2000 (C5-0300/
1999),
Ndash having regard to Letter of Amendment No 1 to the draft budget for 2000 (11568/1999 Ndash C5-0313/
1999),
Ndash having regard to Letter of Amendment No 2 to the draft budget for 2000 (13482/1999 Ndash C5-0311/
1999),
Ndash having regard to Letter of Amendment No 5 to the preliminary draft budget for 2000 (…/1999 Ndash
C5-…/1999),
Ndash having regard to Letter of Amendment No 3 to the draft budget for 2000 (…/1999 Ndash C5-…/1999),
Ndash having regard to its resolutions of 28 October 1999 on the draft budget for 2000(3),
Ndash having regard to the Interinstitutional Agreement of 6 May 1999 between the European Parliament,
the Council and the Commission on budgetary discipline and improvement of the budgetary pro-
cedure(4),
(1) OJ L 293, 12.11.1994.
(2) OJ C 177, 22.6.1999, pp. 40 and 44.
(3) ‘Texts adopted’ of that sitting, Items 1 and 2.
(4) OJ C 172, 18.6.1999, p. 1.18.10.2000 EN C 296/195 Official Journal of the European Communities
Thursday16December1999
Ndash having regard to the Commission proposal for a European Parliament and Council decision revising
the financial perspective annexed to the Interinstitutional Agreement of 6 May 1999 on budgetarydiscipline and improvement of the budgetary procedure (1999/0211 ACI Ndash C5-0322/1999),
Ndash having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgets and the opinion of the Committee on
Agriculture and Rural Development on Letter of Amendment No 4/2000 to the preliminary draftbudget for the financial year 2000 (A5-0095/1999),
A. whereas it is determined to ensure that the 2000 budget provides funding for the new priorities set
for the Union in the field of external action, in accordance with the Interinstitutional Agreement of6 May 1999, with particular regard to paragraph 19 thereof, and the declaration annexed to thatAgreement, which explicitly provide for a revision of the financial perspective to take account ofreconstruction work in Kosovo, once the needs have been ascertained and estimated,
B. whereas Parliament is seeking to achieve two goals in connection with the funding of reconstruction
work in Kosovo, namely:
Ndash to determine a reasonable amount to enter in the 2000 budget as part of a long-term effort, on
the basis of an accurate, realistic and multiannual estimate of requirements and the share of theoverall effort which should be borne by the EU,
Ndash to agree with the Council to raise the ceilings in heading 4 by means of a multiannual revision of
the financial perspective, with a view to funding new requirements in Kosovo and the Balkans, onthe understanding that the funding of such new responsibilities must not be detrimental to theUnion’s traditional priorities,
C. whereas the proposal for a revision of the financial perspective submitted by the Commission would
entail the ceiling for heading 4 being exceeded in the 2000 financial year alone,
D. whereas the appropriations which the Commission is proposing be earmarked for reconstruction in
Kosovo are not based on an accurate, reliable assessment of requirements, nor are the estimates for
the medium-term requirements in the Balkans as a whole; whereas, however, the Commission willapparently be able to provide more trustworthy estimates at the end of the first quarter of 2000,
E. whereas the Council has failed to take a firm stand on a clear, quantified and multiannual budgetary
commitment on Kosovo and the Balkans,
F. whereas, however, it is the responsibility of the two arms of the budgetary authority to agree on the
granting of the necessary funds for reconstruction work in Kosovo for the 2000 financial year pend-ing a realistic multiannual assessment of funding requirements for Kosovo and the Balkans as a whole;
G. Whereas the proposal for decision adopted by the Council at its meeting of 15 December 1999, after
the vote on amendments at second reading by the Committee on Budgets, seeks to provide fundingfor expenditure in respect of Kosovo in excess of the ceiling for heading 4:
Ndash by making use of the flexibility instrument provided for under paragraph 24 of the Interinstitu-
tional Agreement of 6 May 1999,
Ndash providing for a redeployment of €40 million,Ndash leaving a margin of €20 million under heading 4,Ndash reducing payment appropriations,Ndash initiating a revision of the financial perspective if estimated requirements for Kosovo and the
Balkans are significantly higher than the amounts earmarked under existing programmes,
The priorities
1. Deplores the fact that the Commission did not show greater rigour and foresight in its proposals,
particularly in respect of the planning of funding requirements for Kosovo, and that those proposals arenot realistically based on reliable, confirmed needs; notes with satisfaction that the Council proposal toexceed the ceiling for heading 4 of the financial perspective goes beyond the Commission proposalreferred to in Recital C;C 296/196 EN 18.10.2000 Official Journal of the European Communities
Thursday16December1999
2. Notes in particular that, while the estimates put forward by the Commission refer to the conclusions
of a World Bank study of foreseeable requirements in the region, they are not based on an accurateassumption of the overall volume of such needs, how long the effort needs to be maintained, the shareto be borne by the European Union, the Member States and the other donors and the ability of a regionwith a GNP which, according to the most optimistic assessments, stands at less than €800 million, to takeup such funding;
3. Notes that, in connection with funding for the Balkans, the President of the Commission has exhib-
ited a willingness to pledge €5,5 billion from the EU over a seven-year period, but that the Commissionconsiders that it will be unable to make a satisfactory assessment of requirements before April 2000;
4. Notes that the information provided by the Commisson concerning revenue is included neither in
Letter of Amendment No 4/2000 to the preliminary draft budget nor in Letter of Amendment No 2/2000to the draft budget; points out that the surplus available from the previous year Ndash the 1999 budget bal-
ance Ndash can only be included in the budget by means of an amending and supplementary budget in agree-
ment with Parliament following finalisation in accordance with Article 32 of the Financial Regulation;
5. Notes that the Council’s proposal that the funding required for Kosovo, which was initially set at
€500 million for 2000, be divided between the 2000 financial year (€360 million) and the 2001 financialyear (€140 million) and that part of the reconstruction effort in 2000 be funded by means of carry-oversfrom 1999 is not based on a fully satisfactory analysis of requirements, the appropriate timetable and theresponsibilities to be taken on by the Union;
6. Accepts, despite the additional efforts required, the draft compromise proposed by the Council to
provide funding of €360 million in 2000 for reconstruction work; decides accordingly to leave a marginof €20 million below the ceiling for heading 4 and undertakes if necessary to redeploy appropriations toan amount of €40 million;
7. Accepts, with a view to taking its proper part in the efforts to achieve rigour, that the future fisheries
agreement with Morocco and the requirements identified in East Timor and Turkey should be fundedwithin the current financial perspective by means of redeployment of the appropriations entered underheading 4 (External action) of the budget;
8. Reiterates its wish to see the pre-accession appropriations for Cyprus and Malta entered under Sub-
section B7 (Pre-accession); however, owing to the Council’s refusal to agree to this, enters the necessary
appropriations under heading 4, so as not to penalise the countries concerned;
9. Will await the assessment of funding requirements in Kosovo and the Balkans as a whole, which the
Commission has indicated that it will be able to produce by April 2000, before determining:
Ndash the overall volume of funding to be committed to Kosovo and the Balkans as a whole between 2000
and 2006,
Ndash the share of such funding to be borne by the European Union,
Ndash the total appropriations which are not covered by the existing programmes and which will therefore
call for a raising of the ceiling for heading 4;
10. Emphasises its determination to take appropriate action on the assessment and the Commission
proposal at the earliest opportunity, and by April 2000 at the latest, by negotiating with the other armof the budgetary authority an appropriate revision of the financial perspective in respect of heading 4 inaccordance with the declaration annexed to the joint decision of 16 December 1999(
1);
11. Takes the view that the requirements under Article 14 of the Financial Regulation are substantiated
for the changes to lines against subheading 1a and headings 5 and 7, which were introduced by Letters ofAmendment 1 and 2 to the 2000 draft budget and have been accepted unamended; considers that therequirements of Article 14 of the Financial Regulation have not been met for lines against subheading 1band heading 4, however, and rejects those parts of Letter of Amendment No 2 to the 2000 draft budget on
the ground that, as regards those headings, ’very exceptional circumstances’ have not been adduced;
(1) See Item 7.18.10.2000 EN C 296/197 Official Journal of the European Communities
Thursday16December1999
TAOs: genuine reform under way
12. Welcomes the Commission’s positive reaction to Amendment 460 and the constructive attitude it
has shown to the need for reform; endorses Vice-President Kinnock’s decision to make technical assistancea central issue in the administrative reform process; points out, furthermore, that the Council has approvedthe move to identify administrative expenditure within the budgetary nomenclature;
13. Considers that the assurances given in connection with the implementation of the principles advo-
cated by Parliament, namely the phasing-out of the TAOs, the drawing up of a list of tasks that may bedelegated, and the setting up of Decentralised Implementation Units (DIUs) supervised by regular staff fromthe Commission, who come under its authority, are now credible in that they are covered by a precise andtransparent timetable;
14. Proposes therefore to release the reserve of 90% of the appropriations for technical assistance and
administrative expenditure which was set aside at first reading and to transfer 10% of administrativeappropriations to operational headings, with a view to prompting the Commission to adopt more rigorousmanagement procedures; is keeping 10% of the administrative appropriations for heading 4 lines in thereserve, pending provision of information to the budgetary authority on present contracts;
15. Reserves the right to make a comprehensive appraisal of the action taken by the Commission in
this connection before the vote at first reading on the 2001 budget;
Headings 1, 3, 4 and 5
16. Welcomes the fact that agreement has been reached with the Council on some of the points cov-
ered by Letter of Amendment No 2 to the 2000 draft budget, with particular reference to sub-heading 1a;in this connection, welcomes the Council’s decision to accept that funding of €50 million be provided forconsumer protection without any cut in the appropriations earmarked for the distribution of food pro-ducts to disadvantaged persons;
17. Notes that most of the amendments adopted at first reading have not been taken up by the Council;
draws attention to the need to ensure that the level of payment appropriations to be entered in the budgetis compatible with the level of commitment appropriations;
18. Deplores the fact that the Council has rejected certain pilot projects and preparatory actions for
which the appropriations were entered by Parliament in full compliance with the IIA of 6 May 1999;points out, furthermore, that, when sifting pilot projects and preparatory actions, the Council agreed todelete the measures it itself entered at first reading to assist employees of firms affected by the discontinua-tion of the duty-free system;
19. Confirms its first-reading decisions with regard to the appropriations to be entered for the Union’s
external actions, but has been obliged to redeploy €150 million to permit funding of new needs in EastTimor, Turkey, Cyprus and Malta, and of the fisheries agreement with Morocco; has endeavoured to con-duct this redeployment without sacrificing any of Parliament’s basic priorities and while taking account ofthe reassessment of the needs set out in Letter of Amendment No 4 to the 2000 PDB;
20. Welcomes also the Council’s agreement to allocate 75 new posts intended for OLAF and the crea-
tion of an appropriate structure within the budget; points out, lastly, that the Council has approved con-version of the Sapard pre-accession instrument into differentiated appropriations, albeit without quantify-ing what the payments reduction means;
Other institutions
21. Notes Letter of Amendment No 3/2000, adopted by the Council, to the 2000 draft budget, and
voices its full endorsement of that letter of amendment;
22. Instructs its Secretary-General to adjust the new staff promotion policy to take account of the short-
comings noticed so far, in particular concerning promotion possibilities for the lowest grades in eachcategory;C 296/198 EN 18.10.2000 Official Journal of the European Communities
Thursday16December1999
23. Considers that the new mobility policy for staff in the A grades is in principle a useful means of
making Parliament’s Secretariat more dynamic, but stresses that unless professional training in specialisedareas such as the environment, transport and agriculture is stepped up, there will be a huge loss of humancapital; instructs its Secretary-General to submit a report by 31 March 2000 proposing the action intendedto overcome this loss of human capital in the short and medium term;
24. Emphatically underscores the fact that mobility, promotion and assessment policy must form a
coherent whole; insists that promotions, in particular of A1 and A2 grades, must be based strictly onprofessional performance and on personal and managerial skills; expects its Secretary-General to submit areport by 31 March 2000 on the coherent implementation of mobility, promotion and assessment policy;expects in particular that, in the area of assessment policy, the training of assessors, the assessment criteriaand the scope for officials, for their part, to assess their assessors will also be addressed;
25. Is in favour of the continuation of the agreement between the Ombudsman and the Parliament on
administrative, financial and logistical matters; stresses that although the Ombudsman’s budget willbecome an independent section of the general budget of the Communities as from the 2000 budgetonwards, this should not involve increased staffing in the areas of administration, budgets and finances;
*
**
26. Instructs its President to designate the budgetary act as the budget of the European Union;
27. Instructs its President to forward these budgetary decisions to the Council, the Commission and the
institutions and advisory bodies concerned.
9. Indonesia
B5-0339,0350,0366,0377and0382/1999
EuropeanParliamentresolutiononIndonesia
The European Parliament,
Ndash having regard to its previous resolutions on East Timor and Indonesia,
A. whereas on 16 September 1999 the Council adopted Common Position 1999/624/CFSP introducing
restrictive measures against the Republic of Indonesia, including an arms embargo and the suspensionof bilateral military co-operation between Indonesia and the EU Member States,
B. whereas on 11 October 1999 the Council adopted Regulation (EC) No 2158/1999 prohibiting inter
alia the sale of certain specified equipment that might be used for internal repression,
C. whereas both the Common Position and the Regulation will expire on 17 January 2000,
D. whereas the Indonesian army, including the special troop command Kopassus, continues to perpetrate
human rights violations and acts of repression in the provinces of Aceh, the Moluccan Islands andWest Papua; whereas no members of the security forces have been brought to account for the thou-sands of violations committed there,
E. whereas the Indonesian army has failed to disarm and disband the militia forces who are continuing to
terrorise over 100000 East Timorese refugees trapped in West Timor, and are obstructing efforts byUN agencies to safeguard their health and repatriate them to East Timor,18.10.2000 EN C 296/199 Official Journal of the European Communities
Thursday16December1999