Amended proposal for a EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND COUNCIL REGULATION CONCERNING ACTION AGAINST ANTI-PERSONNEL LANDMINES

(presented by the Commission pursuant to Article 250 (2) of the EC Treaty)

EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM

A. Introduction

In the period 1992-98, the European Union committed over 180 m EUR to mine action world-wide to support de-mining programmes, assistance to mine victims, and research and development of technology.

On 14 March 2000, the Commission adopted a Proposal for a European Parliament and Council Regulation concerning Action against Anti-Personnel Landmines", COM(2000)111. This was a clear expression of the determination of our Institution to pursue a coherent, comprehensive and focused approach in the solution of the Landmines problem under Community responsibility.

This proposal aims to reinforce Community's mine actions in order to make possible complementarity and consistency between current, diversified Community instruments used in the fight against landmines in order to reinforce overall efficiency and thus to remove the scourge of landmines within the next 10 to 15 years at the latest.

Specific technical purposes of the Regulation are as follows:

* Overcome the lack of a legal basis for budget line B7-661, created by the EP in 1996.

* Overcome the multitude and dispersion of financial instruments currently used in support of mine actions which made difficult not only to properly use budgetary appropriations (under B7-661), but also prevented the definition of a Community overall, coherent and result-oriented strategy, policy definition and accountability.

Specific political purposes are as follows:

* Obligations under Ottawa Convention (entered into force 1st of March 1999) requiring increased efforts in terms of co-ordination, coherence, efficiency and funding.

* The internal (EC) requirement of addressing the APL problem under a comprehensive EC mine action, with priorities and a pluri-annual Work Plan, in the framework of external relations.

The Commission, after having adopted and presented to the European Parliament and to the Council a Draft Regulation based on Article 179 (TEU) has agreed on the desirability to pursue the actions envisaged under the original proposal with a differentiated legal basis for differentiated geographic scopes, according to the lines agreed at Coreper level and confirmed at the Development Council of 10 November.

The Commission therefore proposes two identical Regulations split according to geographic coverage and respectively based on Art. 179 EC for the Regulation addressing developing countries and on Art. 308 EC for the Regulation addressing third countries other than developing countries.

The split operation only requires minor amendments in the legal text, namely the Preamble, the last Recital and Article 1. The rest remains unchanged, it must be further highlighted that the two Regulations will have identical texts.

Also, on 25 October 2000, the European Parliament adopted, in first reading, a series of amendments to the Commission's original proposal. The purpose of the modified Commission proposals is thus also to integrate into both proposals those of the European Parliament's amendments which sere found acceptable by the Commission.

The revised proposals contain the following changes:

1. The amendments presented by the European Parliament and accepted by the European Commission on the first Commission's proposal;

2. The amendments resulting from the split of the legal basis according to the geographical scope;

3. Changes deemed as appropriate and in the interest of the clarity of the text.

B Explanation of amendments

The Commission has accepted the majority of the amendments presented by the EP because are in line with the spirit of the Draft; these are : N° 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 20, 24, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30.

1. Amendment N°1 of the EP. Line preceding the Preamble. The addition of the mention of the EP is accepted as self-explanatory in the case of the Regulation based on Art. 179 but shall be omitted in the Regulation based on Art. 308.

2. Preamble is adapted to the specific Legal Basis.

3. Recital 2 is adapted to the specific Legal Basis.

4. Amendment N°2 (EP). The addition of the new Recital 4a reinforces the awareness of the need for this regulation. Minor drafting improvements have been made to proposed text.

5. Amendment N°3 (EP). The suggested draft amendment to the Recital 9 cannot be accepted because existing geographical lines should continue to have the possibility to do de-mining namely within specific integrated national indicative programmes. The horizontal Budget Line will ensure horizontal co-ordination, coherence and increased efficiency across the board and, not least, more transparency of all Community expenditures in the field.

6 . Amendments N°4 and 5 (EP). The new Recitals 9a and 9b stress the need not to neglect to pursue the elimination of stockpiles as part and parcel of a comprehensive strategy which must encompass both the cheaper and more effective prevention as well as the treatment of the problem. It also stresses the need not to penalise ongoing plans for the total elimination of planted landmines to the benefit of stockpile destruction. In this spirit Commission also accepts Amendment N°14 to Art. 2.2 e which specifically adds this objective.

7. Amendments N°6 and 7 (EP). The new Recitals 9c and 9d are accepted as they both reinforce the spirit of the Regulation of intensifying the efforts towards efficiency and focus at scientific, technological and industrial level.

8. Recital 10 is adapted to the specific Legal Basis.

9. The Commission cannot accept the following 4 amendments which are to be considered together in the light of their relevance to the same issue: Amendment N°8 to Recital 12, Amendment N° 22 to Art. 6 (1), N°23 to Art 6 (2) and (3) and N°25 to Art. 8 (2), (3) and (4). The Commission does not want to create another Comitology Committee -be it Management or Advisory. There are too many of them already. Under Commission's proposals for reform of EC external assistance we hope to move away from the heavy handed scrutiny of individual projects and instead focus our discussion with Member States on overall strategies and programming. This will be done in the various existing geographic Committees. Instead of adding another one to the list, we propose the creation of the Expert Group which will give us a forum, going beyond government experts, where we can discuss and define overall mine action strategy to be applied horizontally and reviewed annually.

However as for the second part of Amendment 22 relating to "one representative for Member State" Commission recommends that this provision should be integrated into the Rules of Procedure of the relevant Committees.

10. Amendment N°9. Commission can accept to delete Recital 14 and accepts Amendment N° 10 on a new Recital 14a as in line with Commission's position on budgetary lines for de-mining and progressive reinforcement of the Line B7-661.

11. Recital 17 is added for the specific requirement of the Legal Basis of the Council Regulation based on Art. 308 but is absent from the European Parliament and Council Regulation based on Art. 179.

12. Art. 1.1 has been modified to fit the requirements of the specific Legal Basis. Moreover the language "while advancing" has been replaced by "ensuring".

13. Art.1.2 has been modified to fit the requirements of the specific Legal Basis. Additional, more focused language has been inserted.

14. On Article 2.1d, the addition proposed by the EP's Amendment N°11 makes clear how it is proposed to use the Regulation in aid to countries which have not acceded to Ottawa Convention. Furthermore the text can be reinforced by stating that the "exceptional cases" relate to "humanitarian needs".

15. Amendment N° 12. Addition of new indent e.a. to Art. 2.1 is in line with the spirit of the proposal and the need for it. It is clear that without a specific co-ordinating mechanism it would be difficult, also in the case of technological response, to orchestrate transfers of best practices and of lessons learned from a large number of fields and experiences to the laboratories and vice-versa.

16. Amendment N° 13. New indent e.b. to Art. 2.1 is very welcome as the environmental aspects of de-mining tends to be underestimated.

17. A new indent f has been added to Art. 2.1 as desirable precision pointing to the need to support co-ordination among all international players in this field as one important medium for intensifying efforts and improving rationalisation and efficiency.

18. Amendment N° 15. More explicit description of text of Art. 2.2.f is added.

19. A new indent h has been added to Art. 2.2.

20. For Amendments N°16 and 21 to Art. 2 (4) and for a new Art. 4(a), which are in turn related to the position adopted for Amendment N°3 to Recital 9, while understanding the ambition behind the proposals to concentrate all funds for mine action under the horizontal budget line, with the exception of ECHO and research lines, Commission pursues the reinforcement of the policies through a positive complementarity between flexibility and country-specific responses. Both components are necessary to maximise the effectiveness of EC interventions. It may be that over time the horizontal line will attract more attention and appreciation, but Commission thinks that it also needs to maintain the link to broader national or regional programming through the geographic budget lines and regulations. For reasons of coherence, and although the amount of 200 m EUR proposed by the EP for the financial reference period 2000-2006 would not be excessive if considered as a total EC contribution, we cannot accept the concentration of this amount on the horizontal budget line. For these reasons the Commission is not convinced that these Amendments can improve the overall efficiency of the mechanism.

21. The coherence with the line pursed by the Commission and explained in paragraph 20 results in the rejection of the new Art. 2 (4a) (Amendment N° 17) because complementarity between different instruments also implies complementarity of work. Commission is confident that the human and administrative resources requested in the draft Regulation for the central mine action policy team is sufficient to guarantee the proper implementation of the Regulation.

22. The addition proposed by the EP with Amendment N°18 to Art. 3 weakens the message delivered under Art. 2.1.d as amended by the EP. It is preferable to stick to original draft of this Article which is perfectly in line with Art. 2.1. This Article contains however minor drafting improvements.

23. Amendment N°19. Deletion of Art. 4.2 as suggested by the EP is not accepted as it would prevent the Community from benefiting of best available expertise in the world which might, in exceptional cases, be found outside the territory of the EU. It is in the interest of EU operators to have access to and work under optimal practices.

24. Amendment N°20. The text of the new Art.4.2a is a welcome addition and it reinforces the "best practices" spirit also as far as the safety of the operators is concerned.

25. Amendment N°24. The text of Art. 7.3 is completed by the addition of "and NGOs" as requested by the EP and by the further addition of "such as the GCIHD".

26. Art. 9.1 and 9.3 will be amended as proposed by the EP (Amendment N° 26) as this is in line with the implications of the reform of external aid, according to which Committees will no longer scrutinise projects but will focus on overall policies and strategies. Setting ceilings for individual projects then becomes obsolete. In the same spirit, in the text of Art. 12 "discussion" within Committees will be replaced by "reference" (Amendment N°29).

27. Art.10.1 takes into consideration both the EP's Amendment N°27 replacing "relevance" with "positive impact" and Member States amendment replacing "where appropriate" with "wherever possible""

28. Amendment N°28 to Art. 10.2 refers explicitly to "local societies and NGOs" as this is perfectly in line with the objective of promoting local capacity building.

29. Amendment N°30. The added value of the Regulation lies in the pursuit of synergy, complementarity and horizontal building of a focused and more efficient capacity. There is no reason not to accept that the detailed progress resulting from such upgrading of the Community response be made public as suggested by the EP in the amended Art. 13.2, and might be subject to wider interaction with civil society.

30. The point 3 of the Financial Statement now contains a mention referring to the differentiated legal bases for the differentiated geographical scopes of the two Regulations; thus making clear that the same budgetary line will service two Regulations between which no overlapping is possible, including in financial terms.

31. Under point 4.2 of the Financial Statement the second date in the period of application has been corrected to fit the content of point 7 on the Financial Impact.

32 Under point 7. of the Financial Statement, a sentence has been added to clarify that the Financial Statements accompanying the two regulations refer to one Budget Line and to one common budgetary provision.

2000/0062/A (COD)

Amended Proposal for a EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND COUNCIL REGULATION CONCERNING ACTION AGAINST ANTI-PERSONNEL LANDMINES IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES

THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Article 179 (1) thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission [1],

[1] OJ L

Acting in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 251 of the Treaty,

Whereas:

(1) The Community is concerned by the presence of anti-personnel land-mines and other unexploded devices in the areas of civil communities which are trying to recover from armed conflict.

(2) Anti-personnel landmines cause suffering and casualties, particularly in the poorest parts of the world, and constitute a serious obstacle to economic development, inhibit the return of refugees and displaced persons, and obstruct humanitarian aid operations, reconstruction and rehabilitation and the restoration of normal social conditions.

(3) The Community is committed to the goal of total elimination of anti-personnel landmines world-wide in the coming years.

(4) The Community and its Member States have provided the largest contribution to the wider international effort to overcome the tragedy of anti-personnel landmines.

(4a) Action to achieve the total elimination of antipersonnel landmines is still at an early stage and therefore the Community should continue to exercise determined leadership until the goal is fully achieved.

(5) This Regulation is a direct response to the Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Land Mines and Their Destruction (Ottawa Convention).

(6) Therefore, financial aid should, as a priority, benefit those developing countries which are committed to the fight against anti-personnel landmines and are parties to the Ottawa Convention.

(7) Such an approach should not prevent Community response to humanitarian emergencies wherever they occur.

(8) Community mine action is often an integral part of humanitarian aid, rehabilitation, reconstruction or development projects, whilst being a discrete and specialised activity responding to distinct priorities, operational requirements and political imperatives.

(9) As part of such projects, as well as in the case of framework programmes for the research and development of mine action technology, new and existing actions will continue to be funded from specific budget lines, supported, complemented and co-ordinated under this Regulation where appropriate.

(9a) For the Community to be able to contribute effectively to preventive actions on mines, it will be necessary also to ensure stockpile destruction. This new task will require a substantial increase in Community funding for mine action and should not detract from the other de-mining activities.

(9b) To destroy the stockpiles still being held by many States would be highly advantageous in financial terms and would reduce the possibility of the mines in question being sold on the black market.

(9c) Scientific research should be intensified with the aim of developing technologies to facilitate mine detection and identification of the affected areas with greater precision.

(9d) The Community needs to be in a position to ascertain that the de-mining actions which it has financed have been effective. It must therefore employ the appropriate technical means, including military technology where necessary;

(10) This Regulation is designed to provide the basis for a coherent and efficient approach for the Community mine action in developing countries, through advancing an integrating strategy, in close co-ordination between the Commission, the Member States and the international community at all stages of mine actions.

(11) It is necessary to ensure that these actions are coherent with the European Union's foreign policy as a whole, including the Common Foreign and Security Policy.

(12) Since the measures necessary for the implementation of this Regulation are management measures within the meaning of Article 2 of Council Decision 1999/468/EC of 28 June 1999 laying down the procedures for the exercise of implementing powers conferred on the Commission, [2] they should be adopted by use of the management procedure provided for in Article 4 of that Decision.

[2] OJ L 194, 17.7.1999, p.23

(13) The anti-personnel landmine problem, by its life-threatening nature and its global extent, requires efficient, flexible and, where necessary, rapid decision-making procedures for the financing of Community actions.

(14) The Commission, in accordance with Article 3 of the Financial Regulation, will revise the financial statement, in particular its estimated schedule of annual requirements in appropriations, in the light of progress in implementing this Regulation.

(15) The Community should ensure maximum transparency in the implementation of the financial assistance and stringent controls in the use of appropriations.

(16) The protection of the Communities' financial interests as well as the fight against fraud and irregularities constitute an inherent part of this Regulation,

HAVE ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

1. The purpose of this Regulation is to lay down the procedures for the implementation of Community operations in developing countries ensuring a consistent and coherent humanitarian de-mining strategy at Community and international levels and responding to the Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and their Destruction (hereinafter referred to as the "Ottawa Convention").

2. The operations referred to in this Regulation shall be implemented in the territory of developing countries or shall be directly related to situations arising in developing countries, particularly in those most vulnerable amongst them, as well as in those recovering from conflicts.

Mine Actions should be integrated into all development strategies of those developing countries which suffer from the consequences of antipersonnel landmines.

Article 2

1. The principal objectives of the Community mine action shall be:

(a) to support the elaboration, monitoring and implementation of a civilian de-mining strategy;

(b) to assist afflicted countries in the implementation of their obligations under the Ottawa Convention;

(c) to create and sustain national structures and local capabilities within the afflicted countries to carry out mine actions with maximum effectiveness;

(d) to respond to humanitarian emergency, prevent casualties and assist the rehabilitation of mine victims, in exceptional cases of humanitarian need, also in states which have not acceded to the Ottawa Convention;

(e) to support the in-country trial and introduction into operational use of appropriate mine action equipment and techniques.

(e.a) to promote co-ordination with end users of the de-mining equipment at the early stages of research and to support the use of these technologies in the poorest mine-affected countries;

(e.b) to encourage de-mining actions that are compatible with the local environment and consistent with the sustainable development of the affected region;

(f) to support co-ordination among international Mine Action players

2. The operations financed under this Regulation may comprise all activities related to mine action, including:

(a) mine awareness education;

(b) training of specialist personnel;

(c) survey and marking of suspected areas;

(d) detection and identification of landmines;

(e) de-mining (mine clearance to humanitarian standards) and landmine and stockpile destruction;

(f) victim assistance for the care, rehabilitation and socio-economic reintegration of mine victims;

(g) information management, including geographical information systems;

(h) improvement of the effectiveness of techniques and safety standards

(i) other activities, which contribute to the reduction of the human, economic, and environmental impact of anti-personnel landmines, and other hazardous debris of war.

3. In the context of paragraph 2, priority shall be given to actions addressing immediate and unforeseeable requirements generated by outbreaks of fighting, migration of large groups of people towards mine-afflicted areas, or comparable situations such as urgent assistance in the implementation of peace agreements. Priority will also be given to actions in the most seriously mine-afflicted countries, where anti-personnel landmines and other unexploded ordnance cause many civilian casualties or where the presence or suspected presence of these devices is a major obstacle to the restoration of economic and social activity or to development and thus require a specific long-term commitment that emergency humanitarian or reconstruction aid are unable to provide.

4. In order to ensure coherence, complementarity and synergy within regional co-operation programmes and in the context of humanitarian aid, rehabilitation, reconstruction and development projects, mine actions which can be financed within the framework of any of those programs or projects will continue to be financed from the budget line on which the principal action is financed. Where necessary, these activities may be complemented or supported by mine actions financed under this Regulation.

Article 3

The operations financed under this Regulation shall in principle benefit those countries which are committed to the fight against landmines and are parties to the Ottawa Convention. Exceptions may be made for humanitarian emergency, for assistance to mine victims, and for actions in direct support of vulnerable civil communities, such as refugees and displaced persons, or where the national administration is not functioning.

Article 4

1. Partners eligible for financial support under this Regulation may include regional and international organisations and agencies, non-governmental organisations, national, provincial and local governments departments and agencies, institutes, and public and private operators with appropriate specialised expertise and experience.

2. Participation in invitations to tender and the award of contracts shall be open on equal terms to natural and legal persons of the Member States and of the recipient country. In exceptional cases which are fully justified, participation may be extended to third countries.

2.a Companies and other organisations tendering for contracts shall show that they have an operations policy that does not put their employees unduly at risk, and that such policy is supported by adequate employee accident and liability insurance.

Article 5

1. Community aid under this Regulation may be used to finance technical assistance, training, personnel or other services related to mine action; trials of equipment and techniques; logistical support, procurement, provision and storage of any equipment, supplies and works needed for the implementation of mine actions; studies and conferences and measures to strengthen international co-ordination of mine action; evaluation and monitoring missions; activities to raise public awareness; as well as the costs of highlighting the Community nature of the aid.

2. Community financing under this Regulation shall take the form of grants.

3. The operations covered by this Regulation shall be exempt from taxes, charges, duties and customs duties.

Article 6

1. The Commission shall be assisted by the relevant geographical committee composed of representatives of Member States and chaired by the representative of the Commission.

2. Where reference is made to this paragraph, the management procedure laid down in article 4 of the Decision 1999/468/EC shall apply, in compliance with Article 7(3) and Article 8 thereof.

3. The period provided for in Article 4(3) of Decision 1999/468/EC shall be three months

Article 7

1. The Commission shall, on the basis of a reciprocal and regular exchange of information, including the exchange of information on the spot, facilitate effective co-ordination of the assistance efforts undertaken by the Community and individual Member States, in order to increase the coherence and complementarity of their programmes.

2. The Commission may seek opportunities for co-financing with other providers of funds, especially with Member States.

3. The Commission shall promote co-ordination and co-operation with other international contributors and players, in particular those which form part of the United Nations system, such as the GICHD in Geneva, and with NGOs.

4. The necessary measures shall be taken to give visibility to the contribution by the Community.

Article 8

1. The Commission shall appraise, decide, and administer operations covered by this Regulation in accordance with the budgetary and other procedures in force, and in particular those laid down in Articles 116 and 118 of the Financial Regulation applicable to the general budget of the European Communities.

2. Financing decisions exceeding 3 million euro shall be taken under the procedure laid down in Article 6(2), with the exception of emergency action set out in Article 9.

3. The Commission shall inform the Committees referred to in Article 6 succinctly of any financing decisions of less than 3 million euro in value. This information shall be made available not later than two months following the adoption of the financing decision.

4. The Commission may take decisions amending financing decisions adopted in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 6(2), where they do not entail any substantial amendments or additional commitments in excess of 20% of the initial commitment.

Article 9

1. The Commission may decide on emergency action when deemed necessary.

2. Operations to meet immediate and unforeseeable requirements generated by sudden natural or man-made disasters, such as floods, famine, migration of large groups of people towards mine-afflicted areas, sudden peace settlements, or comparable situations, as well as urgent assistance in the implementation of peace agreements, shall be deemed to necessitate emergency action.

3. The Commission, having adopted a decision in accordance with paragraph 1, shall inform the Member States in writing within two working days and account for its decision at the next meeting of the Committee concerned.

Article 10

1. Projects shall be prioritised and appraised in terms of their positive impact and cost effectiveness and, wherever possible, integrated into the wider development or reconstruction framework of the country or region in question.

2. Wherever possible, the project should be clearly integrated within a national anti-personnel landmines programme co-ordinated by the beneficiary government or by local society in co-operation with NGOs, or by an international institution mandated for that purpose. The aim should be for the project to be taken over, in due course, by the beneficiary government itself or by local society or NGOs in order to enhance local capacity and the sustainability of the project.

Article 11

All financing agreements or contracts concluded under this Regulation shall provide for the Commission and the Court of Auditors to conduct on-the-spot checks according to the usual procedures laid down by the Commission under the rules in force, and in particular those of the Financial Regulation applicable to the general budget of the European Communities. [3]

[3] OJ L 356, 31.12.1977, p.1

In addition, the Commission may carry out on-the-spot checks and inspections in conformity with Council Regulation (Euratom, EC) No 2185/96 [4]. The measures taken by the Commission shall provide for adequate protection of the financial interests of the Community in conformity with Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 2988/95 [5].

[4] OJ L 292, 15.11.1996, p.2

[5] OJ L 312, 23.12.1995, p.1

Article 12

To facilitate multi-annual mine action co-ordination and programming, an APL Strategy Paper comprising horizontal guidelines and priorities for Community mine actions and the benchmarks for their achievement, shall regularly be presented to the Committees concerned, for reference. It shall cover issues such as a multi-annual indicative programme and shall refer to existing mine action programmes at country and regional levels, to the contributions of other donors including Member States and to Community mine actions funded from other budget lines.

Article 13

1. The Commission shall regularly assess mine actions financed by the Community in order to establish whether the objectives of the operations have been achieved and to provide guidelines for improving the effectiveness of future operations.

2. The Commission shall regularly inform the European Parliament and the Council of the progress of its mine actions. It shall submit a detailed and public report summarising Community mine action in the previous year to the European Parliament and to the Council by 30 April each year at the latest, and evaluate the implementation of this Regulation. The report shall specify which actions have been implemented and indicate the respective amounts from the different budget lines.

Article 14

Three years after entry into force of this Regulation, the Commission shall submit an overall assessment of the operations financed by the Community under this Regulation to the European Parliament and the Council, together with suggestions for the future of the regulation and, as necessary, proposals for amendments to it.

Article 15

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

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

Done at Brussels,

For the European Parliament For the Council

The President The President

FINANCIAL STATEMENT

1. Title of operation

Anti-Personnel Landmines

2. Budget heading involved

B7-661

3. Legal basis

The draft proposal for a new specific EP and Council Regulation for budget line B7-661, bringing together the various Community requirements for mine action, as attached.

This draft proposal based on Article 179 (TEU) will only cover activities in favour of developing countries. This draft proposal is accompanied by a parallel draft proposal based on Art. 308 (TEU) and covering activities favour of third countries with the exception of developing countries.

The legal bases for mine action continue to be provided by Council regulation (EC) N° 1257/96 of 20 June 1996 concerning humanitarian aid (OJ L 163, 2.7.1996), Council regulation (EC) n° 2258/96 of 22 November 1996 concerning rehabilitation and reconstruction operations in developing countries, Council regulation (EC) No 1628/96 of 25 July 1996 concerning aid for Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia, Council Regulation (EC) n° 443/97 of 3 March 1997 on operations to aid up-rooted people in Asian and Latin American developing countries, and the Joint Action of 1 October 1996 on anti-personnel landmines (OJ L 260, 12.10.96) concerning funds reserved for disarmament actions under the Common Foreign and Security Policy.

4. Description of operation

4.1 General objective

Anti-Personnel Landmines create appalling casualties in many of the poorest parts of the world and are an obstacle in the implementation of a range of Community programmes. In the period 1992-98, the Community therefore committed over 180 Mio Euro to mine action world-wide to support demining programmes, assistance to mine victims, and research and development of technology. This has been a major contribution to the global efforts of the international community but much remains to be done.

The aim now is to continue with programmes to help overcome the landmine problem in a finite timeframe, specifically over the next 10-15 years, and thereby facilitate the implementation of a range of other assistance programmes as well as contributing to the solution of a major humanitarian tragedy.

Overall, interventions of the Community should be at least at the same level of funding as in the past.

4.2 Period covered and arrangements for renewal

- Action : Anti-Personnel Landmines

- Period of application: 2000 - 2006.

In line with Article 12 of the Regulation, the Commission shall submit by June 2007 at the latest to the European Parliament and the Council an overall evaluation of operations financed by the Community under this Regulation, including assessments of relevance, cost effectiveness and impact. It is on this basis that the continuation of application of this Regulation will be decided upon.

5. Classification of Expenditure or revenue

5.1 Non-compulsory expenditure

5.2 Differentiated appropriations

5.3 No revenue involved

6. Type of expenditure or revenue

- 100% subsidy; possible co-financing of activities

- Subsidy for joint financing with other sources in the public and/or private sector

- Other

7. Financial Impact

The creation of a single, multi-annual budget line (B7 661) with increased funding will provide better focus for Community mine action. It is proposed that during the 2000-2006 period activities of the Community should be carried out at least at the same level of funding as in the past (180 MEURO in the period 1992-98), with an increased importance attached to mine action in response to the commitments of the Ottawa Convention. This could entail an increase of financial allocations under the budget line B7-661.

This budget line has two legal bases provided for by 2 Regulations respectively based on Art. 179 and Art. 308 (TUE).

7.1 Method of calculating total cost of operation (relation between individual and total costs)

The annual appropriation shall be authorised by the budgetary authority within the limits of the financial perspective.

7.2 Itemised breakdown of cost

Commitment appropriations MEURO (to 3rd decimal)

>TABLE POSITION>

7.3 Operational expenditure for studies, experts etc. included in part B of the budget

7.4 Schedule of commitment and payment appropriations

8. Fraud prevention measures

All financing agreements or contracts shall provide for the Commission and the Court of Auditors to conduct on-the-spot checks according to the usual procedures laid down by the Commission under the rules in force, and in particular those of the Financial Regulation applicable to the general budget of the European Communities. In addition, the Commission may carry out on-the-spot checks and inspections in conformity with Regulation No 2185/96. The measures taken by the Commission in accordance with the procedure set out in article 5 shall provide for adequate protection of the financial interests of the European Community in conformity with Regulation No 2988/95.

9. Elements of cost-effectiveness analysis

9.1 Specific and quantified objectives; target population

The principal objectives for Community mine action shall be to:

a. support the elaboration, monitoring and effective implementation of a coherent and consistent humanitarian demining strategy at Commission, EU and other international levels;

b. assist seriously-afflicted states in the implementation of their obligations under the Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on their Destruction;

c. create and sustain national structures and local capabilities within the afflicted countries to carry out mine actions with maximum effectiveness;

d. in the context of immediate and unforeseeable requirements, respond to humanitarian emergency, prevent casualties and assist the rehabilitation of mine victims;

e. support the in-country trial and introduction into operational use of appropriate mine action equipment and techniques.

These objectives will be pursued through projects of common interest and in the most seriously mine afflicted countries in geographical regions, and may include the following:

- Projects of common interest (e.g. elaboration of APL Strategy Paper, support for the UN, GICHD, ICRC, Central Mine Action Policy Unit, in-country trial and introduction into operational use of mine action equipment and techniques, expert assistance).

- Africa (e.g. Angola, Mozambique, Somalia, Zimbabwe, SADC)

- Asia (e.g. Afghanistan, Cambodia, Laos,)

- New Independent States (e.g. Tajikistan)

- Middle East (e.g. northern Iraq)

- Europe (e.g. Bosnia Herzegovina, Croatia, Kosovo)

- Latin America (e.g. Nicaragua, El Salvador)

9.2 Grounds for the operation

The operations financed under this Regulation shall comprise all activities related to mine action including mine awareness education, survey and marking of suspected areas, detection and identification of landmines, training of specialist personnel, demining (i.e. mine clearance to humanitarian standards) and landmine destruction, as well as victim assistance and rehabilitation, information management (including geographical information systems), and other activities, which contribute to the reduction of the human, economic, and environmental impact of anti-personnel landmines, and other hazardous debris of war.

Projects are expected to be multi-annual. The duration of the projects will depend on their features and will not normally exceed three years.

9.3 Monitoring and evaluation of the operation

The Commission shall regularly assess mine actions financed by the Community in order to establish whether the objectives of the operations have been achieved and to provide guidelines for improving the effectiveness of future operations. The Commission shall inform the European Parliament and the Council of the progress of its mine actions. It shall submit a report summarising Community mine action in the previous year to the European Parliament and to the Council by 30 April each year at the latest.

10. Administrative expenditure (Section III, Part A of the budget)

Actual mobilisation of the necessary administrative resources will depend on Commission's annual decision on the allocation of resources, taking into account the number of staff and additional amounts authorised by the budgetary authority.

10.1 Effect on the number of posts

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The purpose of this regulation is to bring together existing actions to create a coherent EU Mine Action Policy. In the short term only a modest allocation of three posts (two permanent and one END) would be required. The permanent posts can be found via redeployment.

10.2 Overall financial impact of additional human resources

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The actual availability of additional human and administrative resources will depend on the Commission's decisions in the context of the annual allocation of resources, taking into account, in particular, the possibilities of internal redeployment and the additional resources approved by the budgetary authority.

10.3 Increase in other administrative expenditure as a result of the operation

The following table is illustrative, based on experience in 1998.

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The expenditure set out in the above table under heading A-7 (missions) will be covered by appropriations within the DG RELEX global envelope.