Proposal for a Council Regulation (EC) amending for the second time Regulation (EEC) No 1360/90 establishing a European Training Foundation (97/C 156/09) COM(97) 177 final - 97/0126(CNS)

(Submitted by the Commission on 28 April 1997)

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Article 235 thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,

Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament,

Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social Committee,

Whereas the European Council meeting in Strasbourg on 8 and 9 December 1989 called on the Council, acting on a proposal from the Commission, to adopt the necessary decisions for the establishment of a European Training Foundation for Central and Eastern Europe; whereas to that end on 7 May 1990 the Council adopted Regulation (EEC) No 1360/90 (1) which established the said Foundation;

Whereas, pursuant to Regulation (EEC) No 1360/90, the countries eligible for the Foundation's programmes are the countries eligible for economic aid pursuant to Council Regulation (EEC) No 3906/89 (2) (Phare programme) and Council Regulation (Euratom, EC) No 1279/96 (3) (Tacis programme);

Whereas the representatives of the Council, the Commission, the Member States and the Mediterranean partner countries, meeting in Barcelona on 27 and 28 November 1995, agreed in their declaration on the establishment of a Euro-Mediterranean partnership to place greater emphasis on the social, cultural and human dimension; whereas, in order to contribute to the attainment of that objective, the work programme implementing the Barcelona declaration provides for an initial focus, inter alia, on vocational training, to which the European Training Foundation will contribute; whereas the European Council, meeting in Madrid on 15 and 16 December 1995, called on the Council and the Commission to put into practice the Barcelona declaration and work programme;

Whereas Council Regulation (EC) No 1488/96 (4) provides for financial and technical measures to accompany the reform of economic and social structures within the framework of the Euro-Mediterranean partnership (MEDA);

Whereas, in the context of the Mediterranean partners' efforts to reform their economic and social structures, the development of human resources is essential for the attainment of long-term stability and prosperity and in particular the achievement of socioeconomic equilibrium;

Whereas the Foundation was set up to provide a flexible response to the specific and differing requirements of the individual countries to be assisted; whereas, in providing assistance on the basis of Community experience in the area of vocational training, the Foundation is charged with collaborating with regional, national, public and private facilities in the Community and third countries, and with exercising its functions in close cooperation with existing national and international institutions; whereas the possibility exists for participation by third countries which share the Community's commitment to the provision of aid in the training field; whereas consistency and complementarity between the work of the Foundation and other Community actions should be ensured;

Whereas within the institutional framework established for the Foundation the Community's experience can be placed at the disposal also of the Mediterranean partners;

Whereas the Foundation's governing board should be strengthened to take account of this wider remit without, however, providing for a corresponding increase in the number of votes held by the representatives of the Commission;

Whereas the efficiency of the Foundation's operations will benefit from a number of accompanying measures; whereas guidance by the Commission will allow for the Foundation's activities to be aligned efficiently with the Community policies adopted with respect to the partner countries;

Whereas cooperation with other relevant Community bodies is a prerequisite for the efficient use of resources and should be reinforced in order to exploit synergies; whereas this can be ensured most efficiently by the Commission;

Whereas the decision-making powers of the Foundation's governing board will be strengthened by creating a closer link between the Foundation's work programme and its budget, in particular by adopting both documents through a coordinated procedure and linking the Foundation's expenditure closely to its operations;

Whereas experience has shown that the role of the Foundation's advisory forum would be strengthened by providing it with more efficient counsel from the Commission;

Whereas there is a need to define the mandate of the Foundation's director in a more precise and flexible manner,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

Regulation (EEC) No 1360/90 is amended as follows:

1. The first paragraph of Article 1 shall be replaced by the following:

'This Regulation hereby establishes the European Training Foundation (hereinafter referred to as "the Foundation") whose objective shall be to contribute to the development of the vocational training systems of:

- the countries of Central and Eastern Europe designated as eligible for economic aid by the Council in Regulation (EEC) No 3906/89 or in any subsequent relevant legal act,

- the newly independent States and Mongolia which are the beneficiaries of the programme to assist economic reform and recovery pursuant to Regulation (Euratom, EC) No 1279/96 or in any subsequent relevant legal act, and

- the Mediterranean non-member countries and territories beneficiaries of the financial and technical measures to accompany the reform of their economic and social structures pursuant to Regulation (EC) No 1488/96 or in any subsequent relevant legal act.`

2. Article 2 shall be replaced by the following:

'Following general policy guidelines set by the Commission, the Foundation shall work in the training field, covering initial and continuing vocational training as well as retraining for young people and adults, including in particular management training.`

3. The introductory sentence of Article 3 shall be replaced by the following:

'For the purpose of achieving the objectives set out in Article 1, the Foundation shall, following general policy guidelines set by the Commission`.

4. Point (e) of Article 3 shall be replaced by the following:

'(e) confer on the governing board the power to lay down tendering procedures for projects funded or co-financed by the Foundation, taking full account of the procedures established pursuant to Regulation (EEC) No 3906/89, in particular Article 7 thereof, pursuant to Regulation (Euratom, EC) No 1279/96, in particular Articles 6 and 7 thereof, Regulation (EC) No 1488/96 in particular Article 8 thereof, or in any subsequent relevant legal act;`.

5. The second subparagraph of Article 4 (1) shall be replaced by the following:

'The Commission shall ensure cooperation between the Foundation and other relevant Community bodies, in particular Cedefop.`

6. The first subparagraph of Article 5 (1) shall be replaced by the following:

'The Foundation shall have a governing board consisting of one representative of each Member State and three representatives of the Commission.`

7. The third subparagraph of Article 5 (4) shall be replaced by the following:

'The members of the governing board representing the Member States shall each have one vote. The representatives of the Commission shall have at their disposal one vote.`

8. Article 5 (7) shall be replaced by the following:

'On the basis of a draft submitted by the director of the Foundation, the governing board, in consultation with the Commission, shall adopt the annual work programme for the Foundation at the beginning of each year, within the framework of a three-year rolling perspective. The programme may be adapted during the year using the same procedure.

The projects and activities in the annual work programme shall be accompanied by an estimate of the necessary expenditure and by allocations of staff and budgetary resources.`

9. The second subparagraph of Article 6 (1) shall be replaced by the following:

'The members of the forum shall be selected from experts among training and other circles concerned in the work of the Foundation, taking into account the need to ensure the presence of representatives of the social partners, of the Commission, of those international organizations active in the provision of training assistance, and of the eligible countries.`

10. Article 6 (2) shall be replaced by the following:

'The governing board shall seek nominations for appointment from:

- each of the Member States,

- each of the eligible countries,

- the Commission,

- the social partners at European level which are already active in the work of the Community institutions, and

- relevant international organizations.`

11. The first paragraph of Article 7 shall be replaced by the following:

'The director of the Foundation shall be appointed by the governing board on a proposal from the Commission for a term of office of three to five years, which can be extended on a proposal from the Commission.

The director shall be responsible:

- for the preparation and organization of the work of the governing board, of any ad hoc working parties convened by the governing board and, in particular, following general policy guidelines set by the Commission, for the preparation of the draft annual work programme of the Foundation,

- the day-to-day administration of the Foundation,

- for the preparation of the statement of revenue and expenditure and execution of the budget of the Foundation,

- for the preparation and publication of reports specified pursuant to this Regulation,

- for all staff matters,

- for undertaking the tasks set out in the annual work programme referred to in Article 5 (7),

- for properly implementing the governing board's decisions and the guidelines set down for the Foundation's activities.`

12. Article 8 shall be replaced by the following:

'Article 8

Links with other Community actions

The Commission, in cooperation with the governing board and, where appropriate, in accordance with the procedures set out in Article 9 of Regulation (EEC) No 3906/89, Article 8 of Regulation (Euratom, EC) No 1279/96 and Article 11 of Regulation (EC) No 1488/96 or in any subsequent relevant legal act, shall ensure consistency and, where necessary, complementarity between the work of the Foundation and other actions at Community level, both within the Community and in assistance to the eligible countries, with particular reference to actions under the Tempus scheme.`

13. Article 10 (4) shall be replaced by the following:

'The governing board, after receiving the advice of the Commission, shall adopt the budget of the Foundation together with the work programme at the beginning of each financial year, adjusting it to the several contributions granted to the Foundation and to its other resources`.

14. The first subparagraph of Article 16 (1) shall be replaced by the following:

'The Foundation shall be open to the participation of countries which are not members of the European Community and which share the commitment of the Community and the Member States to the provision of aid in the training field to the eligible countries, under arrangements to be laid down in agreements between the Community and themselves, following the procedure laid down in Article 228 of the Treaty`.

Article 2

This Regulation shall enter into force on the eighth day following its publication in the Official Journal of the European Communities.

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.

(1) OJ No L 131, 23. 5. 1990, p. 1, Regulation as amended by Regulation (EC) No 2063/94 (OJ No L 216, 20. 8. 1994, p. 9).

(2) OJ No L 375, 23. 12. 1989, p. 11. Regulation as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 753/96 (OJ No L 103, 26. 4. 1996, p. 5).

(3) OJ No L 165, 4. 7. 1996, p. 1.

(4) OJ No L 189, 30. 7. 1996, p. 1.