REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION on the working of committees in 2002

1. PRELIMINARY COMMENTS

This report covers the activities of comitology committees in 2002. It follows the basic structure of the two previous reports and contains an introductory Section 1, a horizontal overview of committee activities in Section 2 and an Annex with detailed statistics regarding the individual comitology committees, organised according to the different areas covered by the services of the Commission. Compared to previous years, this report significantly improves the transparency of the statistics in the Annex by listing all committees individually together with textual comment on the activities of the committees.

1.1 The legal nature and role of the comitology committees

The purpose of the comitology committees is to assist the Commission in exercising the implementing powers conferred upon it by the legislator, i.e. the Council and the European Parliament. The comitology committees share three essential features.

Firstly, they are created by the legislator (the Council and the European Parliament) in accordance with the "legislative" procedures in force at the time of adoption of the basic instrument under which they are established, namely the cooperation or advisory procedures and, since the Maastricht Treaty, the codecision procedure. Hence, the legal basis of the comitology committees is enshrined in a so-called "basic instrument".

Secondly, in several respects their structure and working methods are standardised. A representative of the Commission chairs each committee, which consists of Member State representatives; these are the only "members" of the committees. The committees intervene under the procedures set out in the basic legislative instrument, in compliance with the Council's comitology decision.

Article 9 of Council Decision 1999/468/EC [1] repeals the old comitology Decision 87/373/EEC of 13 July 1987 (the 1987 Comitology Decision). [2] The 1987 procedures remained temporarily in force until the amendment of the basic legislative instruments in line with the comitology procedures pursuant to Decision 1999/468/EC. This has been achieved either by individual amendment acts or the « alignment regulations » (see Section 1.2).

[1] OJ L 184, 17.07.1999, p. 23

[2] OJ L 197, 18.07.1987, p. 33.

Thirdly, the committees deliver opinions on draft implementing measures submitted to them by the Commission pursuant to the basic legislative instrument and intervene under the advisory procedure, the management procedure or the regulatory procedure provided for that purpose.

Pursuant to Article 2 of Council Decision 1999/468/EC, the management procedure should be reserved for management measures such as those relating to the application of the common agricultural and common fisheries policy or to the implementation of programmes with substantial budgetary implications (Article 2(a)). The regulatory procedure is prescribed in the case of measures of general scope designed to apply essential provisions of basic instruments, including measures concerning the protection of the health or safety of humans, animals or plants and in updating the "technical" elements of a basic instrument (Article 2 (b)). The advisory procedure is applied wherever it is considered to be the most appropriate.

1.2 The state of implementation of Decision 1999/468/EC

In Declaration No. 2 on the implementation of Council Decision 1999/468/EC [3], the Council and the Commission agreed to adapt as soon as possible the provisions governing the committees assisting the Commission in the exercise of its implementing powers under Decision 87/373/EEC. This would bring them into line with the provisions of Articles 3 to 6 of Decision 1999/468/EC, in compliance with the appropriate legislative procedures.

[3] OJ C 203, 17.07.1999, p. 1.

Since the entry into force of Decision 1999/468/EC, the committee procedures of a number of basic instruments have been updated on a case-by-case basis. In order to complete the update, at the end of 2001 the Commission presented a package of four separate proposals (the so-called "alignment regulations") [4], covering more than 300 basic instruments laying down implementing procedures. The four proposals for Council and Parliament Regulations correspond to the different legislative procedures (assent procedure, codecision procedure and consultation procedure with qualified majority and unanimity). It is worth noting that the proposals do not affect the substantive provisions of the amended legislative acts nor do they affect the safeguard procedures or the identity of the committees provided for by the basic legal acts.

[4] Proposals COM(2001) 789 final, adopted on 27.12.2001.

The "alignment regulations" were under examination by the Council and the European Parliament throughout 2002. By the time this report was adopted (July 2003) three of the four regulations had been adopted and had entered into force without any need for transposition by the Member States [5].

[5] Council regulations (EC) N° 806/2003 (OJ L 122, 16.05.2003, p. 1) and N° 807/2003 (OJ L 122, 16.05.2003, p. 36) of 14 April 2003 adapting to Decision 1999/468/EC the provisions relating to committees which assist the Commission in the exercise of its implementing powers laid down in Council instruments adopted in accordance with the consultation procedure (qualified majority/unanimity) and Council Regulation (EC) N° 1105/2003 of 26 May 2003 amending Regulation (EC) No 1260/1999 laying down general provisions on the Structural Funds, OJ L 158 of 27.06.2003, p. 3.

An important new element is that Article 7 of Decision 1999/468/EC, and Council and Commission statements relating to that provision (notably statements Nos. 4 and 5), put in place measures designed to improve the transparency of the working of the comitology committees.

In this respect, publication of this annual report on the working of the committees, as provided for in Article 7(4), is in itself a significant contribution to shedding light on the Commission's activities in terms of exercising its implementing powers.

Also in compliance with Article 7(4), the Commission has published a list of all the committees which help it exercise these implementing powers. [6] This list will be updated and published again in the course of 2003. On 31 January 2001, in compliance with Article 7(1), the Commission adopted the standard rules of procedure [7] on the basis of which existing or newly-created committees draw up their rules of procedure. The Commission intends to adopt an updated version of the standard rules of procedure by the end of 2003 and to bring them into line with the new rules on access to documents (see below). By the end of 2002 89 out of the total of 257 committees had adopted internal rules of procedure based on the standard text in force.

[6] OJ C 225, 08.08.2000, p. 2.

[7] OJ C 38, 06.02.2001, p. 3. Following a number of amendments to be approved by the Commission and linguistic review, the standard rules of procedure will be published afresh in the Official Journal.

Finally, Article 7(5) of Decision 1999/468/EC provides that the Commission has to publish a register giving the references of all documents sent to the European Parliament under comitology procedures. The register will be in operation by the end of 2003. As noted in its statement No. 5 on Council Decision 1999/468/EC, the Commission intends, as an additional transparency measure, to widen the scope of the register by adding a repository, making documents communicated to the European Parliament available to the public in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 of the Parliament and of the Council regarding public access to the institutions' documents, [8] which came into effect on 3 December 2001. [9]

[8] OJ L 145, 31.05.2001, p. 43.

[9] The next report will include an evaluation of the impact of Regulation No 1049/2001, which was adopted during 2001.

1.3 The European Parliament's right of scrutiny

The Commission is obliged to inform the European Parliament about the work of the committees and to send it all draft implementing measures pursuant to a basic instrument adopted under Article 251 of the Treaty, so that the European Parliament can exercise its right of scrutiny enshrined in Article 8 of Decision 1999/468/EC.

In February 2000, the European Parliament and the Commission concluded an Agreement on procedures for implementing Council Decision 1999/468/EC, designed specifically to regulate the procedures for implementing the obligations incumbent on the Commission. [10]

[10] OJ L 256, 10.10.2000, p. 19. The agreement nullifies certain earlier agreements: the Plumb/Delors Agreement of 1988, the Samland/Williamson Agreement of 1996 and the "modus vivendi" of 1994.

The agreement provides for the electronic transmission of documents, a task which was implemented progressively during 2001. Documents from the various Commission departments are first transmitted to the Secretariat-General of the Commission, which promptly dispatches them to a central service at the European Parliament. Today practically all documents are transmitted electronically.

Except in emergencies, the agreement stipulates a period of one month from receipt of a "definitive" draft implementing measure [11] under a legal act adopted through codecision to allow the European Parliament, where appropriate, to adopt a resolution (in plenary session), pursuant to Article 8 of Council Decision 1999/468/EC, if it considers that the draft exceeds the implementing powers enshrined in the basic instrument. [12] It should be noted that again during 2002 no cases were reported where the European Parliament felt the need to adopt a resolution based on Article 8 of Council Decision 1999/468/EC.

[11] The drafts are first sent before the committee meeting and, if they are substantially modified during the meeting, are sent again afterwards.

[12] This basic instrument must itself have been adopted under the codecision procedure (Article 251 of the Treaty) between the Council and the European Parliament.

The bilateral agreement of February 2000 was implemented by a further administrative agreement by the Secretariats-General of the European Parliament and the Commission, dated 14 December 2001. This administrative agreement is intended to ensure a harmonised approach by the departments of the Commission so that all the Commission obligations under the bilateral agreement of February 2000 are properly fulfilled. In particular, it provides for minimum standards with regard to the types of documents and their structure.

1.4 Referrals to the Council

Seven cases of referrals to the Council were reported in 2002. Pursuant to Council Decision 1999/468/EC, draft measures must be referred to the Council when the Commission fails to obtain the necessary majority under the regulatory procedure or faces an opposing vote under the management procedure. The seven referrals occurred in different policy sectors. Two cases concerned Agriculture (see Annex, point 3), two cases Transport policy (see Annex, point 4), one case Environment (see Annex, point 5), one case Health and Consumer Protection (see Annex, point 13) and one case Trade policy (see Annex, point 16).

As in previous years, the small percentage of referrals, about 0,25 %, of the total number of instruments adopted by the Commission (under the management or regulatory procedure) shows that the work of the committees under the current system results in a high degree of consensus and that the proposals by Commission representatives are normally approved by the committees.

1.5 Wider developments

In the White Paper on Governance, [13] the Commission proposed re-examining the conditions under which it adopts implementing measures and the need to maintain the existing committee procedures, in particular the management and regulatory procedures. [14] The Commission announced its intention to launch initiatives aimed at amending Article 202 of the Treaty with a view to putting the Council and the European Parliament on an equal footing "in supervising the way in which the Commission exercises its executive role". [15]

[13] COM (2001) 428 final.

[14] See the White Paper, p. 36.

[15] Idem.

A concrete Commission proposal for reorganising the comitology framework within the existing Treaty was presented in December 2002 [16]. In essence the proposal provides for a revised regulatory procedure for some executive measures in respect of acts adopted under the codecision procedure (Article 251 of the Treaty). This new procedure would be divided into an « executive phase », to allow the comitology committees to deliver their opinions and a subsequent « supervisory phase », where the European Parliament and the Council are placed on an equal footing in supervising the Commission's exercise of implementing powers. The proposal implies an adjustment of the scope of application of current committee procedures under acts adopted under the codecision procedure. In this context, it is proposed to apply the advisory procedure for certain administrative measures, where the management procedure is currently used (notably financial aid programmes). Thus, the regulatory committee procedure would apply to executive measures of general scope concerning the substance of the basic act (measures designed to widely implement the essential aspects of the basic instruments or adapt certain aspects of it). The proposal is currently under examination in the Council; the European Parliament is expected to adopt its resolution in September 2003.

[16] Proposal for a Council Decision amending Decision 1999/468/EC laying down the procedures for the exercise of implementing powers conferred on the Commission (COM (2002) 719 final, adopted 11.12.2002).

In its draft Constitutional Treaty the Convention on the Future of Europe proposed to the Intergovernmental Conference (IGC) that the executive powers of the Commission should be reorganised [17]. The Convention's draft introduces the instrument of "delegated" regulations to be adopted by the Commission in order to supplement or amend certain "non-essential" elements of European laws under the control of the Parliament and the Council, which can revoke the delegation itself or object to a specific draft regulation; a distinction should be made between these delegated regulations and implementing acts that the Commission will adopt under the supervision of the Member States.

[17] Draft Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe, submitted to the European Council meeting in Thessaloniki, 20 June 2003, Articles I-35 and I-36.

Preparations for the enlargement of the European Union include the participation of representatives of the ten acceding States and remaining candidate countries as observers in comitology committees. When concluding the accession negotiations at the Copenhagen Summit of December 2002, the Member States and the ten acceding States agreed to establish an information and consultation procedure for the interim period (running until the accession date of 1 May 2004), to be supplemented by an active observer status for acceding States in most EU institutions and bodies as from the day following the signature of the Accession Treaty on 16 April 2003 [18]. Both Council and Commission adopted each for their area of responsibility certain internal implementing arrangements. Under the Commission arrangements, acceding States have been granted an "active observer status" insofar, as representatives of acceding States should in principle be invited to all meetings of comitology committees and of many working groups chaired by the Commission [19]. They have a possibility to express their views on the issues discussed in the meetings, but do not have the right to take part in the voting on draft implementing measures. For the remaining three candidate countries, participation continues to be organised on the basis of the "Communication from the Commission to the Council on the participation of candidate countries in Community programmes, agencies and committees". [20] In 2002, though before active observer status applied to the ten acceding countries, the then candidate countries were represented in approximately 50 of the total of 257 committees.

[18] TOWARDS THE ENLARGED UNION, Strategy Paper and Report of the European Commission on the progress towards accession by each of the candidate countries (9.10.2002), COM(2002) 700 final, see point 3.3 (p. 25).

[19] Commission decision C (2003) 341 of 25.2.2003 (not published).

[20] COM (1999) 710 final, adopted 20.12.1999.

2. HORIZONTAL OVERVIEW OF ACTIVITIES

2.1 Number of committees and types of procedures

In evaluating the activities of committees as a whole, the first step is to identify the number of comitology committees in existence on a specific date. Here it is important to make a distinction between the comitology committees and other entities, in particular "expert groups" created by the Commission itself, the latter being concerned with preparing and carrying out policies, whereas the comitology committees are involved in the context of implementing legislative decisions. This report focuses exclusively on comitology committees. The number of comitology committees has been calculated by sector of activity (Table I), updated to 31.12.2002. The figures for the previous year (status as at 31.12.2001) are given for comparison.

TABLE I - Total number of committees

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These figures show the focus of activities in the different policy sectors from the comitology perspective. Transport/Energy (39), Environment (35), Enterprise (31), Agriculture (29), and Health and Consumer Protection (22) have the largest number of committees. With 156 out of a total of 257 committees, these policy sectors alone account for more than half of the committees. The Commission is continuing its efforts to limit the growth in the number of committees as far as possible. However, the increase in the number of committees at the end of 2002, compared with 2001, is a result of the creation of new committees in some policy areas with increased activities (in particular in the sectors of Environment, Information society and Home and Justice Affairs).

The comitology committees can be classified according to type of procedure under which they operate (advisory procedure, management procedure, regulatory procedure, and safeguard procedure - see Table II). For the year 2002, i.e. before the entry into force of the "alignment regulations" (see above Section 1.2), the different variants in accordance with the 1987 comitology procedures (IIa and IIb, IIIa and IIIb) are counted together with the corresponding new types of procedure as prescribed in Declaration No 2 on the implementation of Council Decision 1999/468/EC. [21]

[21] OJ C 203, 17.07.1999, p. 1. This means: Variant I together with the advisory procedure, variants IIa and IIb together with the management procedure and variants IIIa and IIIb together with the regulatory procedure.

Since certain committees have multiple functions (i.e. they use different procedures ranging from the advisory procedure to the regulatory procedure, plus the safeguard procedure), they have been singled out from the other committees to provide a true picture of the procedures applicable.

TABLE II - Number of committees by procedure (2002)

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* Including, respectively, procedures I, II and III in accordance with Council Decision 87/373/EC

The figures indicate that a relative majority of the committees (97 out of 257) work exclusively under the regulatory procedure, followed by a considerably smaller number of committees working exclusively under the management procedure (78). The breakdown by policy sector shows that the use of the three types of procedures varies from policy sector to policy sector. However in some of the policy sectors a clear dominance of one of the procedure types can be noted: Environment and Transport/Energy work with a large number of committees functioning under the regulatory procedure, whereas Agriculture works with a large number of committees functioning under the management procedure.

2.2 Number (and days) of meetings

The number of committees is not the only indicator of activity at comitology level. The number of meetings held in 2002 reflects the intensity of each committee's work (Table III).

TABLE III - Number of meetings

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Agriculture leads the field (with 352 meetings), since managing the different agricultural markets requires frequent meetings. It is followed by Health and Consumer (with 109 meetings) which is responsible among other things for food safety and Taxation and Customs Union (with 106 meetings), where the focus is on customs matters involving trade with third countries.

A further indicator, particularly as regards the allocation of funds, is the number of days taken up by the meetings (Table IV). Meetings normally take half a day, hence the decimals.

TABLE IV - Number of days

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The figures in Table IV broadly correspond to those of the preceding table: a large number of meetings means a large number of meeting days. This shows that meetings do not normally last more than one day, or two half-days on two consecutive days.

2.3 Number of opinions and instruments

Earlier reports used the number of consultations the Commission puts on a committee's agenda as a key indicator of the intensity of activity. This report presents overall figures on the formal opinions delivered by the committees [22] and the subsequent instruments (i. e. implementing measures = legal acts, administrative decisions) adopted by the Commission, since they describe the concrete « output » of the committees more accurately. (Table V). The total number of opinions delivered by the committees in 2002 was 3610; the number of instruments adopted by the Commission counted 3077.

[22] Including favourable, unfavourable and no opinions, following a formal voting in case of regulatory and management procedures

TABLE V - Number of OPINIONS AND INSTRUMENTS (2002)

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The large number of instruments in certain policy sectors - Agriculture (1455), Enterprise (601), and Health and Consumer Protection (244) - again reflect the intensity of the work delegated to the Commission in these areas via the comitology procedures. [23]

[23] However, it has to be noted that the sheer number of instruments adopted as such does not qualify the political economic or financial importance of the decisions taken. A high number of instruments may reflect an intense work on projects or decisions with administrative character.

3. PRESENTATION OF ACTIVITIES BY SECTORAL POLICY

A sector snapshot of the activities of committees should include the figures for all the committees in a sector. In this report and in all reports in the future, all the individual committees under the responsibility of each Directorate-General, whether active or not, will be presented together with their relevant data. This approach will significantly improve the transparency of the sector policy activities. In addition, textual comments are given highlighting some important aspects of the work in the reporting year.

The following explanations should enable the reader to better understand the statistical data:

Opinions delivered by the committees may be of various kinds: they may concern draft legislative acts (directives, regulations), decisions designed to regulate a specific legal situation or to approve financial projects in the context of any of the many Community programmes, or just position statements (which explains why the total number of favourable opinions may be greater than the total number of legal instruments adopted in a specific sector).

Consequently, the instruments adopted by the Commission are listed according to these categories.

In the event of a favourable opinion, the rule is that the Commission adopts the implementing measures (the instruments); under the management procedure it may also adopt an instrument in the absence of an opinion. Only if there is an unfavourable opinion is the decision referred to the Council as "an appeal body", which then has the power to decide (referrals to the Council). Under the regulatory procedure a draft instrument is subject - even in case of absence of an opinion - of a formal proposal to the Council, which decides with qualified majority.

A further source of difference between the total number of favourable opinions delivered by committees and the number of instruments adopted by the Commission in a given sector occurs when opinions were delivered in 2001 but the instruments only adopted the following year, or opinions were adopted at the end of 2002 and instruments only adopted in 2003.

In certain cases committees are required to deliver opinions on dossiers which will not be the subject of a draft instrument until some time later. Hence there may be considerable discrepancies between the total number of opinions and the number of instruments adopted by the Commission.

ANNEX

This Annex provides an overview of "comitology" activities during 2002 with a breakdown by sector. For each sector the list of all existing committees (whether they have been active in 2002 or not) with their relevant data is reported

1. ENTERPRISE

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Among the 31 committees in this policy sector, 11 committees met in 2002. However, a significant number of the 642 opinions adopted in 2002 were approved by written procedure, which did not involve any meetings. Compared with 345 opinions in 2001, the number of opinions has increased within one year by almost one hundred per cent. One of the main contributors to the increase is the Standing committee on medicinal products for human use. Since 1995, when the committee was created, the number of opinions has increased steadily. This is due to a permanently increasing number of authorisations and variations to these authorisations granted under new procedures. However, 2001 was a year of relatively weak activity, so the figures for 2002 seem to be very high, although they follow the general trend of recent years.

In 2002, the Commission services continued its approach towards enhanced openness and transparency in this policy sector by inviting different stakeholders to the committee meetings as experts and/or observers. A questionnaire sent to the secretaries of the committees revealed that consumer organisations attend most of the committees dealing with products that are of interest to consumers. An example is the Committee on the adaptation to technical progress of the directives on the removal of technical barriers to trade in the cosmetic products sector.

As regards individual files with institutional importance, the measures taken by the Committee on the adaptation to technical progress in the cosmetic products sector are worth mentioning. The Directive 76/768/EEC concerning cosmetic products provided in its article 4, point 1 (i) the ban of marketing cosmetic products containing ingredients or combinations of ingredients tested on animals after 30 June 2000. The Commission Directive 2000/41/EC of 19 June 2000 prolongated this deadline to 30 June 2002. In September 2002, the Commission proposed a directive to postpone retroactively this deadline of June 2002. The European Parliament adopted a resolution on the 24 September 2002 by which it "calls on the Commission to withdraw its draft decision on implementation measures". As the European Parliament and the Council have adopted on the 27 February 2003 the Directive 2003/15/EC which solve the question of testing on animals, there was no more need to use the Comitology procedure to adopt an implementing measure.

2. EMPLOYMENT AND SOCIAL AFFAIRS

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In 2002, 2 new committees, both created in 2001, started working in this policy sector:

The Committee for a Community action programme to encourage cooperation between Member States to combat social exclusion, created by Decision 50/2002/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 7 December 2001 establishing a programme of Community action to encourage cooperation between Member States to combat social exclusion (OJ L 10 pf 12.01.2002, p.1), and the Disability Advisory Committee (established within the framework of the European Year of People with Disabilities), created by Council Decision 2001/903/EC of 3 December 2001 on the European Year of People with Disabilities 2003 (OJ L 335 of 19.12.2001, p. 15).

Against that, the Committee on exceptional financial support in favour of Greece in the social field was abolished.

The increase of the number of meetings (17 in 2002 compared to 8 in the previous year) is mainly due to the beginning of the work of the two new committees mentioned above.

3. AGRICULTURE

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In 2002, DG AGRI's 29 committees and its joint committees delivered 1354 favourable opinions and 101 "no opinions". Two of these "no opinions" were given in the framework of a regulatory committee and were therefore referred to the Council. These two referrals, along with 45 other proposals relating to rural development, have been forwarded to the European Parliament for information. The 1455 drafts have been adopted by the Commission.

One of the two referrals to the Council is reported for the Regulatory Committee for protection of geographical indications and designations of origin. This Committee has not delivered an opinion on a draft regulation on the registration of « Feta » as a designation of origin. As the Council has not adopted or voted against the implementation measures proposed within the period of three months, these measures have been adopted by the Commission [24].

[24] Commission Regulation (EC) No 1829/2002 of 14 October 2002 amending the Annex to Regulation (EC) No 1107/96 with regard to the name "Feta", OJ L 277 of 15 October 2002, p.10.

The other referral to the Council relates to the Standing Committee on Organic Farming. This Committee has not delivered an opinion on the draft regulation amending Council Regulation (EEC) No 2092/91 of 24 June 1991 on organic production of agricultural products and indications referring thereto on agricultural products and foodstuffs . As the Council has not adopted or voted against the implementation measures proposed within the period of three months, these measures have been adopted by the Commission [25].

[25] Commission Regulation (EC) No 599/2003 of 1 April 2003 amending Regulation (EEC) No 2092/91 on organic production of agricultural products and indications referring thereto on agricultural products and foodstuffs, OJ L 85 of 2 April 2003, p.15.

4. TRANSPORT/ENERGY/TRANS-EUROPEAN NETWORKS

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Only a few of the committees working in the policy sector Transport, Energy and Transeuropean Networks held meetings in 2002. The following committees dealt with cases which are particularly worth reporting because of their importance for the sector:

The Committee on the Transport of Dangerous Goods was consulted on the adaptation to technical progress Directives 94/55/EC and 96/49/EC on transport of dangerous goods by road and rail and Directive 1999/36/EC on transportable pressure equipment and the adoption of certain national derogations to the requirements of Directives 94/55/EC and 96/49/EC. The deferral of the date of application of Directives 94/55/EC and 96/49/EC for certain types of transportable pressure equipment and the security aspects of the transport of dangerous goods was set in force by two Commission Decisions [26], after 'no opinions' were reached in the Committee and the submission of the files to the Council.

[26] Commission Decision of 7 November 2002 amending Council Directive 94/49/EC as regards the time-limits within which pressure drums, cylinder racks and tanks for the transport of dangerous goods by road must comply with it (2002/885/EC), OJ L 308 of 9.11.2002, p. 44 and Commission Decision of 7 November 2002 amending Council Directive 94/55/EC as regards the time-limits within which pressure drums, cylinder racks and tanks for the transport of dangerous goods by rail must comply with it (2002/886/EC), OJ L 308 of 9.11.2002, p. 45.

The Committee on driving licences discussed the future revision of Annex III on mental and physical fitness to drive a vehicle and the necessary adaptation to technical progress of the definition of (semi)-automatic gearboxes.The Committee on the conventional rail system interoperability discussed and adopted the guidelines for writing technical specifications for interoperability (TSIs) according to the provisions of Directive 2001/16/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 March 2001 on the interoperability of the trans-European conventional rail system [27]. A second mandate was given to the AEIF for the development of conventional rail TSIs on safety in tunnels, accessibility for people with reduced mobility and air pollution. The relevant TSIs are expected for 2005. The Committee also discussed and approved the representative architecture of the conventional rail system and developed formal methodology and system engineering tools, as provided for by Article 23(3b) of the Directive. This architecture ensures the completeness and compatibility of the TSIs, as well as a safety assessment of the specifications.

[27] OJ L 110 of 20.04.2001, p. 1

The Committee on the Adaptation to Technical Progress of the Directives on Roadworthiness Tests for Motor Vehicles and their Trailers came into being through the adoption of Council Directive 91/225/EEC that adapted the original framework Council Directive 77/143/EEC. The Committee is both legislative and advisory. The Committee's terms of reference now include adaptation to Council Directive 99/37/EC on the Registration Document for Vehicles. Since the Committee's inception it has approved eight Commission Directives that have adapted to technical progress the Council Directive on regular roadworthiness testing (consolidated Directive 96/96/EC) and the Council and Parliament Directive on roadside inspections (Directive 2000/30/EC).

5. ENVIRONMENT

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In the Environment sector the Committee for the implementation of the Community framework for co-operation to promote sustainable urban development, created by legislation in 2001 (Decision No 1411/2001/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 June 2001 on a Community Framework for cooperation to promote sustainable urban development OJ L 191 of 13.07.2001, p. 1) was set up in 2002 and met for the first time. In this respect, Decision No 1411/2001/EC lays down that, between 2001 and 2004, the Commission will publish every year a call for proposals in order to finance networks of local authorities active in the field of sustainable urban development. The committee, working under the advisory procedure, is called to give its opinion on the list of projects selected each year by the Commission for financing. The total budget available for the four years is EUR 14 million.

The Committee for the Adaptation to Scientific and Technical Progress of Directive 75/442/EEC on waste delivered a "no opinion" on the draft Commission Decision establishing criteria and procedures for the acceptance of waste in landfills. The file was referred to the Council, which adopted a final Decision on 16 December 2002 (Council Decision 2003/33/EC, establishing criteria and procedures for the acceptance of waste at landfills, OJ L 11, 16.1.2003, p. 27). The criteria and procedures will reinforce the protection measures laid down in Directive 1999/31/EC on the landfill of waste, in order to reduce as far as possible negative impacts on the environment and human health from landfilling.

The Bathing Water Committee, created under the Bathing Water Directive (76/160/EEC), has assisted the Commission in the revision of the Directive, which resulted into the Commission proposal for a new Bathing Water Quality Directive (COM (2002)581 final), currently going through the first reading in the Parliament. It is a good example of how a committee can offer field experience. It is expected that the Committee will meet again once the Council and the Parliament adopt the proposal, in order to discuss the transition between the old and new directive. This will be done until the directive 76/160/EEC will be repealed (3 years after entry into force of the proposed directive).

The "Noise Committee" (Committee for the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to noise emission in the environment by equipment for use outdoors) will in future also work according to Directive 2002/49/EC related to the assessment and management of environmental noise. The "Non-road mobile machinery Committee" (Committee for the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to measures against the emission of gaseous and particulate pollutants from internal combustion engines to be installed in non-road mobile machinery) is currently run by the services of Directorate General for Enterprise; thus the data only refer to initiatives driven by the services of Directorate General for Environment. The competence on the impact of the Chernobyl aftermath has been transferred to Directorate General for Transport/Energy in 2002. Consequently, the "Chernobyl Committee" (Committee overseeing the conditions governing imports of agricultural products originating in third countries following the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power station) will not be chaired any longer by the services of Directorate General for Environment.

6. RESEARCH

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2002 was the last year of operation for the committees working under the various Specific programmes and the rules for participation and dissemination for the Fifth Framework Programme for research, technological development and demonstration. These committees have efficiently continued and concluded their business, maintaining, as in previous years, the good spirit of collaboration between the Commission and the representatives of the States who sat on them. Their role in the smooth implementation of the Fifth Framework Programme is greatly appreciated.

The last few months of 2002 saw the work of the two committees under the Specific Programmes for the Sixth Framework Programme for research, technological development and demonstration commence [28]. These new committees have been consulted quickly and effectively on the first work programme for each Specific Programme. Their support for the Commission's proposals made the timely launch of the new Framework Programme easier.

[28] The programme committee for the execution of the specific programme for research, technological development and demonstration: "Integrating and Strengthening the European Research Area" (2002-2006), which is set up by Council 2002/834/EC, published in OJ L 294, 29.10.2002, p.1, as management and regulatory committee and the programme committee for the execution of the specific programme for research, technological development and demonstration: "Structuring the European Research Area" (2002-2006), which is set up by Council 2002/835/EC, published in OJ L 294, 29.10.2002, p.44, as management committee.

7. INFORMATION SOCIETY

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Two new committees stemming from the new regulatory framework for electronic communications networks and services which came into force on 24 April 2002 started work in 2002. These two new committees carry out their tasks in accordance with the consultation and regulatory procedures laid down by Council Decision No 1999/468/EC.

The first is the Communications Committee (COCOM - framework directive 2002/21/EC), which replaces the ONP Committee (provision of an open telecommunications network) and the GAIL (general authorisations and individual licences) committee assists the Commission in its executive powers in the areas covered by the new regulatory framework and Regulation No 733/2002 on the implementation of the .eu Top Level Domain. The Committee also offers a platform for exchanging information on market development and regulatory activities.

The second is the Radio Spectrum Committee (RSC - Decision n° 676/2002/EC), which assists the Commission in developing and adopting technical implementation measures to harmonise the conditions of availability and efficient use of the radio spectrum, and to ensure availability of information on utilisation of the radio spectrum.

During the last year of operations under the fifth framework programme, the IST (Information Society Technologies) Programme Committee examined over 650 shared cost proposals, concerted actions, support measures, specific measures aimed at SMEs, etc. These operations consolidated support for the development of key technologies for the competitiveness of European industry and enabled the people of Europe to gain access to more information society services, resulting in a major impact in areas such as health, transport, education and training.

In preparation for the sixth framework programme (2003-2006), the programme of work for 2003-2004 was drafted (and adopted) in close conjunction with the authorities in the Member States (with the participation of the associated countries) and the research community, applying the guidelines suggested by the IST Advisory Group (ISTAG).

8. FISHERIES

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The following committees dealt with cases which are particularly worth reporting because of their importance for the sector:

The Management Committee for Fisheries Products focused its work on the common organisation of the fisheries and aquaculture products markets in the wake of the reform of 2001. Mention should be made of Commission Regulation (EC) No 2306/2002 on the notification of the prices of imported fishery products.

With regard to current management activities priority went to implementation of the common organisation of the markets in the Member States. In particular, given the high political sensitivity of this issue in several Member States, seven interpretative notes on Commission Regulation (EC) No 2065/2001 on information to consumers were drafted and discussed in detail.

Following a proposal from the Commission, the Council adopted Regulation (EC) No 2346/2002 fixing for the 2003 fishing year the guide prices and Community producer prices. The Commission on this basis adopted six implementing regulations relating to the prices needed for the operation of the intervention mechanism: Regulations (EC) n° 2349/2002, n° 2350/2002, n° 2351/2002, n° 2352/2002, n° 2353/2002 and n° 2354/2002.

The Advisory Committee on Fisheries and Aquaculture (ACFA) was informed of the arrangements for ex-post and mid-term evaluation of the FIFG programmes, of the communication of irregularities in the implementation of the Structural Funds and of the closure of programmes for the period 1994-1999, the closure of the operational programmes and single programming documents and the N+2 rule on the decommitment of unused appropriations, of the implementation of the MAGP IV and the associated assistance schemes, of the EC proposals on simplification of Structural Fund management, of the results of the call for "innovative actions" proposals and of the Communication on further indicative guidelines for the applicant countries (Structural and Cohesion Funds).

9. INTERNAL MARKET

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Most of the committees in these areas share the task of implementing legislation with advisory activities outside the "comitology" structure. Important work was carried out in 2002 by the Banking Advisory Committee in the areas of capital adequacy and international accounting standards. In the insurance field, the Insurance Committee held extensive discussions on the prudential rules applicable to reinsurance companies, the legislative proposals covering financial conglomerates and "environmental" accountability. Lastly, in the area of public procurement, the advisory committee exchanged views on legislative work in progress to amend the existing directives, and on international negotiations to amend the Government Procurement Agreement - GPA).

In 2002 in the area of financial services a new committee, the Accounting Regulatory Committee, has been set up and the UCITS Contact Committee [29] was charged with a comitology (regulatory) procedure by Directive 2001/108/EC [30]. Activity in this sector should develop strongly over the coming years with the implementation of the "Lamfalussy" arrangements and the financial services action programme.

[29] Undertakings for Collective Investment in Transferable Securities

[30] Directive 2001/108/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 January 2002 amending Council Directive 85/611/EEC on the coordination of laws, regulations and administrative provisions relating to undertakings for collective investment in transferable securities (UCITS), with regard to investments of UCITS, OJ L 41 of 13.02.2002, p. 35.

Important opinions delivered in 2002 by the committees managed by DG MARKT include, notably, the opinion on a draft measure setting out the implementation arrangements and charges concerning the implementation of Regulation (EC) n° 6/2002 on Community designs.

Similarly, with regard to the protection of personal data, a favourable opinion was delivered by the Committee for the protection of personal data on a proposal for a decision stating that Argentina ensures "an adequate level of protection" in accordance with Article 25 of Directive 95/46/EC.

10. REGIONAL POLICY

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The following committees dealt with cases which are particularly worth reporting because of their importance for the sector:

The Committee on the Development and Conversion of the Regions (CDCR) acts as a management committee when dealing with rules implementing the Structural Funds Regulation No 1260/1999 and as a consultative committee with other points. In addition, it acts as a forum for information on and discussion of any specific points relating to the implementation of the Structural Funds, in particular the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). 2002 was marked in particular by the discussions of the Commission proposals for simplification, clarification, coordination and flexible management of the structural policies. For the proposed modification of the implementing regulations on eligibility, a vote by written procedure within the CDCR became necessary because of the widely-divergent views of the Member States. The results of these discussions have shaped the Communication from the Commission on simplification, adopted by the Commission on 25.4.2003.

The ISPA Committee gave a favourable opinion on the draft guidelines for final reports on ISPA measures as well as on a proposal to strengthen the provisions of Annex III.4 of the Financing Memoranda regarding financial management and control and irregularities. In addition, the Commission reported on its activities under the ISPA "Technical Assistance action programme 2001" and on the operational modalities for the transition from ISPA to the Cohesion Fund.

11. TAXATION AND CUSTOMS UNION

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In 2002, the nine committees working in the Taxation and Customs sector have delivered 58 favorable opinions and one "no opinion".

The following committees dealt with cases which are particularly worth reporting because of their importance for the sector:

The "Customs 2002" programme managed by the Customs Committee 2002 provided amongst other things a major computer network for processing Transit and Tariff under the "Customs 2002" programme. The numerous joint actions undertaken in 2002 benefited from a high level of participation both by the Member States and by the candidate countries.

The work of the Committee on the export and return of cultural goods focused essentially on the draft guidelines for the implementation of Regulation No 3911/92 on the export of cultural goods, on administrative cooperation between the competent authorities and on a new export licence form.

The Committee on mutual assistance for the recovery of claims delivered a favourable opinion on draft Commission Directive 2002/94/EC of 9 December 2002 laying down detailed rules for implementing certain provisions of Council Directive 76/308/EEC on mutual assistance for the recovery of claims relating to certain levies, duties, taxes and other measures.

The work of the Excise Committee was devoted to the study of a computerised Excise Movement and Control System ("EMCS").

12. EDUCATION AND CULTURE

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The committees working in the policy sector of Education and Culture dealt with the following cases which are particularly worth reporting because of their importance for the sector:

The Socrates Committee gave a favourable opinion on the annual political priorities defined for the programme which are set against the background of policy discussions going on in the Council and prepared the evaluation of the programme (national reports, interim evaluation) which will feed into the ex-ante evaluation for the new generation of programmes.

The Tempus Committee discussed the forthcoming extension of the Tempus programme to the MEDA countries. The committee gave a favourable opinion on the MEDA Supplement to the Guide for applicants. The evaluation of Tempus IIbis and Tempus III and the results of the 2001 selection exercise were the main information points.

The Leonardo da Vinci Committee delivered formal opinions on the text of the 2003-2004 call for proposals, the statistical programme for 2003-2004, the draft selection lists for 2002, the timetable for implementing the call for 2003-2004 (1st year of selection), the work programme for 2003 and the draft selection list for pre-proposals (pro. C).

The Committee CULTURE 2000 gave a favourable opinion on the following key issues concerning the Culture 2000 Programme: projects proposed for EU financial support from the Culture 2000 Programme under the call for Proposals 2002, approval of projects proposed for EU financial support following a special call for proposals for a European presence in St. Petersburg in 2003, organisation of a European Heritage Prize; Budget 2002 [Part B], approval of projects proposed for EU financial support from the Culture 2000 Programme in 2002 for the "European Heritage Days", approval of a proposal for a joint action with the Council of Europe in the field of cultural heritage for the Balkan region.

The two politically most important dossiers examined by the Youth Committee concerned : 1) the distribution of appropriations and the criteria and arrangements for implementing the Community youth-related action plan for the cross-border areas of the European Union bordering on the candidate countries, a plan designed to promote the cultural side of the run-up to enlargement and to facilitate integration and rapprochement between the populations of the regions concerned; and 2) policy guidelines for the implementation of the Youth programme in 2003. In addition to administrative and budgetary management arrangements for implementing the programme, the Committee set out the eight priorities to be pursued through different actions of the programme in 2003, stemming from the guidelines established by the Commission's White Paper "A new impetus for European youth".

The MEDIA Committee, sub-committee "Media Plus", has issued a favourable opinion on the modification of guidelines (concerning Slate funding, single projects, selective support, support to the cinema network, pilot projects, festivals and promotion in third countries). The Committee has also been informed and consulted in the selection of projects to be funded. The subcommittee "Media Training" has issued a favourable opinion concerning two calls for proposals published in 2002. Moreover, the Committee has issued a favourable opinion on 12 training projects (of a total of 35 projects proposed for funding), for which the community contribution exceeded EUR 200.000.

13. HEALTH AND CONSUMER PROTECTION

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Two major events have marked the organisation of the Committees assisting the Commission in the fields of Food safety and of Health protection respectively.

With the entry into force of Regulation No (EC) 178/2002, a number of Committees previously active in the field of Food Safety have been replaced by a single Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health (SCoFCAH). This is a consequence of the new overall approach in matters relating to the safety of food as outlined by the White Paper on food law and by the newly adopted provisions of Regulation n° (EC) 178/2002.

Thus the Standing Committee on Foodstuffs, the Standing Committee for Feedingstuffs and the Standing Veterinary Committee have been replaced by the new committee. Similarly, the activities of the Standing Committee on Plant Health have been replaced by those of the new committee for matters relating to plant protection products and the setting of maximum residue levels.

In addition, in the field of Public Health protection, a new Programme of Community action in the field of public health for the years 2003/2008 has been adopted. A new integrated approach is envisaged to replace the seven existing sectoral programmes, whose implementation has relied on the assistance of seven different committees. The new Committee for the Public health programme will make use of both the management and the advisory procedures provided for in Council decision 1999/468/EC, as a function of the matter submitted to it.

The general food law section of the SCoFCAH dealt in particular with and/or adopted favourable opinions on the following subjects: labelling of caffeine- and quinine-containing foodstuffs, labelling of meat by products (agreement on transitional arrangements) and the drawing up of the list, concentration limits and labelling requirements for the constituents of natural mineral waters and the conditions for using ozone for the treatment of natural mineral waters and spring waters.

The Toxicological Safety Section of the SCoFCAH discussed and/or adopted a series of favourable opinions on legislative measures related to the establishment of maximum levels for certain contaminants in foodstuffs and in particular aflatoxins, ochratoxin A, and nitrates, the suspension of the placing on the market and import of jelly confectionery containing the food additive E 425 konjac, plastic materials and articles intended to come into contact with foodstuffs, specific purity criteria on food additives other than colours and sweeteners, pesticides in infant formulae and follow-on formulae and pesticides in processed cereal-based foods and baby foods for infants and young children.

The new 'Public Health Committee', after having adopted its rules of procedure, discussed and gave favourable opinions on the drafts of the (first) annual Work Plan for 2003 as well as the draft rules, criteria and procedures for the selection and funding of actions under the 'Public Health' programme.

14. JUSTICE AND HOME AFFAIRS

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Seven committees were active in this area in 2002. Their work was to assist the Commission in drafting policies, with focus on sensitive technical aspects of these policies (Visa committee and the committee on the development of the second generation Schengen Information System - SIS II), and in implementing Commission-managed funding programmes (DAPHNE, ARGO, AGIS programme committees and the committee for the framework programme on the area of judicial cooperation in civil matters, and the European Refugee Fund Advisory Committee). The AGIS programme committee stems from Title VI of the TEU (third pillar) and was set up by Council Decision 2002/630/JAI of 22 July 2002, which is aligned on Council Decision 1999/468/EC.

15. EXTERNAL RELATIONS

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On 20 December 2002, the Council adopted Regulation (EC) N° 2368/2002 implementing the Kimberley process certification scheme for the international trade in rough diamonds [31], which creates a new committee, operating under the management procedure.

[31] OJ L 358 of 31.12.2002, p. 28.

The EXPROM Advisory Committee [32] focused on the EU Gateway to Japan export promotion campaign. Information was given about the final results of the second campaign (1997-2001) and on the implementation mechanisms of the new Campaign (starting in 2002). As regards the Executive Training Programme, the Commission gave an update on the implementation of the programme in Japan and Korea. The delegations expressed their satisfaction with the Commission initiatives.

[32] According to the Commission's internal arrangements concerning the division of responsibilities within the area of external relations, DG RELEX has contributed to the functioning of the CARDS, MEDA, ALA, Human Rights' and TACIS committees and, moreover, presided the meetings of these committees (see point 18, AIDCO).

16. TRADE

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The following committees dealt with cases which are particularly worth reporting because of their importance for the sector:

The Safeguard (import regime) Committees focused on the EC safeguard proceeding on imports of steel which was launched in response to the US safeguard tariffs applied in March 2002. The Committees were called at several stages to pronounce on the actions proposed by the Commission, i.e. import surveillance, investigative process, provisional and definitive safeguard measures.

The TBR Committee dealt with several cases related to the exercise of the Community's rights under international trade rules, in particular those established under the auspices of the WTO. Among the practices investigated were: lack of protection by Canada of the geographical indication of " Bordeaux and Médoc ", subsidies granted to, or otherwise benefiting, Korean shipbuilding companies by the Republic of Korea, and US legislation on Copyright which exempts restaurants, bars, shops or any other public venue from the obligation to obtain licences for the broadcasting of music works.

The Generalised Preferences Committee discussed matters relating to the requests of beneficiary countries for the special incentive schemes for environment and labour protection, gave opinions on establishing duty-free tariff quotas for sugar and rice for the Least Developed Countries. Following an unfavourable vote in the Generalised Preferences Committee, the draft Commission regulation on implementing Article 12 of the GSP Regulation was referred to the Council. After discussion, a compromise was reached on the application schedule of graduation. Further, the "crisis clause" (implemented through an amendment to the GSP regulation) was applied in the regulation. The instrument was finally adopted as a Council Regulation [33].

[33] Council Regulation (EC) No 815/2003 of 8 May 2003 implementing Article 12 of Regulation (EC) No 2501/2001 applying a scheme of generalised tariff preferences for the period from 1 January 2002 to 31 December 2004, OJ L 116 of 13.5.2003, p. 3.

The Committee dealing with non-textile quotas from the People's Republic of China gave a favourable opinion on the criteria and parameters to be used for the allocation of quotas amongst applicant importers.

17. ENLARGEMENT

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All the programmes (66) presented to the Phare Management Committee were adopted. The whole of the Phare 2002 budget was committed. Phare continues to focus on two main priorities: Institution Building and Investment. Within the national programmes the total proportion of support for Institution Building and Investment in 2002 was 40 % and 60 % respectively. However, these percentages vary greatly from country to country. In 2002, Phare continued to increase its support for Economic and Social Cohesion. A strategy was presented for phasing out the Phare national programmes and Phare Cross-Border programmes in the acceding countries. The Phare guidelines and the Cross-Border Commission regulation were reviewed. New impetus was given to the EDIS process by adopting a horizontal programme.

18. EUROPE AID - COOPERATION OFFICE

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The Commission is assisted by eight committees in implementing external Community aid. Five committees work on the cooperation programmes in the following geographical zones: the Southern Mediterranean and the Middle East (MED), the Balkan states (CARDS), Eastern Europe and Central Asia (TACIS), Asia and Latin America (PVD-ALA) and South Africa. The other three committees work on programmes dealing with the following themes: food safety and food aid, the European Initiative for Democracy and Human Rights (EIDHR), and cooperation with NGOs [34].

[34] Since the beginning of 2001, with the creation of the EuropeAid Co-operation Office and according to the Commission's internal arrangements concerning the division of responsibilities within the area of external relations, the Secretariat of the Development Committees is provided by EuropeAid. The services of Directorate General for Development has contributed to the functioning and presided the meetings of the EDF, NGOs, South Africa and the Food Security and Food Aid Committee.

These committees held a total of 40 meetings in 2002 and there were also eight meetings of the European Development Fund Committee [35]. The purpose of this Fund is to finance Community aid in sub-Saharan African, the Caribbean and the Pacific (ACP).

[35] While the European Development Fund Committee does not fall within the "comitology" strictu sensu given the specific nature of the Committee, its work and its role are nonetheless similar to those of the above-mentioned committees.

During the course of their meetings, the Committees continued to examine the national and regional strategy documents and the multi-annual indicative programmes for the geographical areas for which it had not been possible to terminate this exercise in 2001. These documents map out for the period 2000-2006 the strategic framework and the priorities for Community aid action and the relevant budgets to be allocated thereto. They thus provide a crucial tool for ensuring coherence and concentration of external Community aid, and coordination with action taken by other donors.

The Committees also gave their views on the projects and programmes which the Commission proposed for funding in 2002 under the various external aid programmes [36].

[36] While coordination with the Member States for the preparation and implementation of projects is carried out primarily at the local level in the beneficiary country, the Committees provide the appropriate forum for coordinating the policies and strategies to be pursued, including with respect to crisis situations.

19. HUMANITARIAN AID

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The Humanitarian Aid Committee (HAC) (set up under Article 17 of Regulation 1257/96 concerning humanitarian aid) provided favourable opinions on 36 draft humanitarian financial decisions and discussed around 60 strategy and/or policy issues such as ECHO Aid Strategy, ECHO's Information Strategy, crisis prevention mechanisms, civil protection, food crisis in Southern Africa, ECHO cooperation with UN organisations and NGOs, and including ECHO missions, evaluations and statistical data. In 2002, a working group on Member States' policy on NGOs was set up. In addition to the formal HAC meetings, the Committee also meets on an informal basis once or twice a year in the capital of the country which holds the EU presidency. In the informal meetings senior representatives from the humanitarian authorities in Member States and ECHO discuss strategy, policy or thematic issues outside the constraints of the formal HAC meetings. One such meeting was held in October 2002 in Copenhagen where the topics discussed were "Civilian and Humanitarian Aspects of Crisis Management" and "Lessons Learned and Monitoring in Humanitarian Work".

20. EUROSTAT

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The activities of the committees in this area in 2002 focused on completing implementation of the Community statistical programme for 1998-2002 [37]. The other activities prompted discussions on improving methodology in order to provide a high quality statistical service for the purposes of the strategies and priorities to support decision-making at the Community level.

[37] Council Decision 1999/126/EC of 22 December 1998 on the Community statistical programme 1998 - 2002 (OJ L 42 of 16.02.1999, p.1).

The Statistical Programme Committee (SPC) continued to play an important general coordination role in ensuring consistency between action to be undertaken and that decided on within the national statistical programmes. In addition, within the comitology structure, it delivered favourable opinions on social statistics (salaries and labour force), transport, the audiovisual sector, the economy and business structure.

The Standing Committee for Agricultural Statistics (SCAS) delivered favourable opinions on the organisation of Community surveys on the structure of agricultural holdings in 2003, 2005 and 2007 and on the continued application of aerial-survey and remote-sensing techniques to the agricultural statistics for the period 2002-2003 (LUCAS project).

The Committee on statistics relating to the trading of goods between Member States (Intrastat) and the Committee on statistics relating to the trading of goods with non-member countries (Extrastat) examined issues relating to the application of Intrastat and Edicom regulations (favourable opinions on the Commission's annual decision ; follow-up work). These committees looked at questions concerning Edicom, collection/processing and dissemination of data and the various points relating to methodology. In addition, the Extrastat committee examined projects in the area of international relations.

The Committee on the harmonisation of the compilation of gross national product at market prices (GNP) continued its talks with the Member States on matters relating to Gross National Income (GNI). It examined the impact of the introduction of the new European System of Accounts (ESA 95) which would be used to establish the GNP (henceforth termed Gross National Income); the annual GNP estimates for own resources were also approved.

The Confidentiality of Statistics Committee examined the implementation of Commission Regulation (EC) 831/2002 implementing Council Regulation (EC) No 322/97 on Community Statistics, concerning access to confidential data for scientific purposes.

21. BUDGET

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Advisory Committee on the Communities' Own Resources (ACOR): its Forecasts Section drew up the budget income forecasts for 2004 on the basis of figures from the Member States; its Traditional Own Resources Section examined the results of checks carried out in the Member States on traditional own resources, and also general matters concerning these resources: and its VAT Section examined the results of checks carried out in the Member States concerning GNP and VAT resources, as well as general matters relating to these resources.

As the Committee delivered no formal votes, there was nothing to report in terms of the importance of these dossiers.

22. EUROPEAN ANTI-FRAUD OFFICE

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The Committee on mutual assistance in customs and agricultural matters (set up by Council Regulation (EC) No 515/97) essentially examined problems related to the management and use of AFIS/CIS computerised anti-fraud modules. The Member States were asked to have themselves represented by IT Managers. A presentation of the roles and responsibilities in the new Directorate C/OLAF « Intelligence, Operational strategy and Information technology » was given to the Member States in order to make contacts with the team responsible for managing the AFIS project in OLAF easier. This was followed by a review of the current status of the AFIS project and of new developments expected in infrastructure and software such as the "AFIS Portal", the "Virtual OCU" for joint customs operations, and the "MIS" for exporting sensitive goods to Russia.

The Member States had in October 1999 been invited to implement migration of the AFIS/SID terminals to the CCN/CSI network (instead of the XXATMI network) by 31 December 2002 in order to increase user security and cut communications. Considering the increasing number of users of the AFIS system, the current procedure of registering users for access to AFIS applications was reviewed in order to switch to an automatic procedure managed directly by the Member States. The minimum security measures of the Customs Information System (CIS), the installation procedure of the CIS Border Query Tool (simplified search tool) and the preparation of the pilot phase were presented to the Committee with a view to operational implementation of the system in 2003. OLAF also presented to the Committee the advantages of using the CIGINFO application in relations with the World Customs Organisation and the BRLR (Cologne).