European Parliament legislative resolution on the proposal for a Council decision amending Deci-
sion 2000/24/EC so as to extend the Community guarantee granted to the European InvestmentBankto cover loans for projects in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (COM(2001)356 Ndash
C5-0335/2001 Ndash 2001/0143(CNS))
(Consultation procedure)
The European Parliament,
kdash having regard to the Commission proposal to the Council (COM(2001)356),
kdash having been consulted bythe Council pursuant to Article308 of the EC Treaty(C5-0335/2001),
kdash having regard to Rule 67 of its Rules of Procedure,
kdash having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgets (A5-0300/2001),
1. Approves the Commission proposal;
2. Calls on the Council to notifyParliament should it intend to depart from the text approved by
Parliament;
3. Asks to be consulted again if the Council intends to amend the Commission proposal substantially;
4. Instructs its President to forward its position to the Council and Commission.
24. Association of overseas countries and territories with the EC
A5-0276/2001
European Parliament resolution on the proposal for a Council decision on the association of the
overseas countries and territories with the European Community (‘Overseas’) (COM(2000)732 Ndash
C5-0070/2001 Ndash 2001/2033(COS))
The European Parliament,
kdash having regard to the proposal for a Council decision (COM(2000)732 kdash C5-0070/2001),
kdash having regard to Article187 of the EC Treaty,
kdash having regard to the Treatyestablishing the European Community , as amended bythe Treatyon
European Union and the Treatyof Amsterdam, in particular Part Four (Articles182 to 188) andArticle299(3) thereof,
kdash having regard to Declaration No 36 on the Overseas Countries and Territories adopted bythe Heads
of State or Government on 2 October 1997 and annexed to the Final Act of the Amsterdam Con-ference,
kdash having regard to the Fourth Lomé Convention and in particular Title XII (Regional Cooperation)
thereof and Annexes XXXII and XXXIV thereto(
1),
kdash having regard to the Cotonou Agreement and in particular Protocol No 1 thereto(2),
kdash having regard to Council Decision 91/482/EEC of 25 July1991 on the association of the overseas
countries and territories with the European Community, as amended by Council Decision 97/803/ECof 24 November 1997 and extended byCouncil Decision 2000/169/EC of 25 February2000 andCouncil Decision 2001/161/EC of 26 February2001,
(1) OJ L 229, 17.8.1991, p. 3.
(2) OJ L 317, 15.12.2000, p. 3.11.4.2002 EN C87E/267 Official Journal of the European Communities
Thursday 4 October 2001
kdash having regard to its resolution of 11 February1999 on relations between Overseas Countries and
Territories (OCTs), the ACP States and the outermost regions of the European Union(1),
kdash having regard to its position of 16 May2001 on the proposal for a Council regulation on the con-
clusion of the Fourth Protocol laying down the conditions relating to fishing provided for in the
Agreement on fisheries between the European Economic Community, on the one hand, and the Gov-
ernment of Denmark and the local Government of Greenland, on the other (COM(2000)865 kdashC5-0028/2001 kdash 2000/0348(CNS))(
2),
kdash having regard to Rule 47(1) of its Rules of Procedure,
kdash having regard to the report of the Committee on Development and Cooperation (A5-0276/2001),
A. whereas the OCTs are characterised byphy sical, geographical and demographic handicaps, such as
their dispersed location, great distance from the European continent and small populations and the
small size of their territories (with the exception of Greenland and the French Southern and AntarcticTerritories); whereas these shared constraints pose a structural obstacle to their economic devel-opment;
B. whereas the European Union and the OCTs maintain special relations, as set out in Part Four of the
EC Treaty, and whereas the principles of solidarity and cooperation to which the OCTs are firmlycommitted were reaffirmed at the Nice European Council,
C. whereas Declaration No 36 on the OCTs, annexed to the Final Act of the Treatyof Amsterdam,
invites the Council to review the relevant arrangements with a fourfold objective, namelyto promotethe economic and social development of the OCTs more effectively, to develop economic relationsbetween the OCTs and the European Union, to take greater account of the diversityand specificcharacteristics of the individual OCTs, including where the right of establishment is concerned, andto ensure that the effectiveness of the financial instrument is improved,
D. whereas the OCTs help extend the European Union’s influence globallyand contribute to its wealth
and cultural diversity, whereas they have chosen freely to maintain constitutional ties with theMember States with which theyhave links, and whereas the large majorityof their nationals aretherefore citizens of the Union, even though the OCTs are not part of Communityterritory ,
E. whereas integration of the OCTs into their geo-economic areas, in particular with the ACP States, has
become increasinglynecessaryowing to the establishment of the Regional Economic Partnership
Agreements (REPAs) introduced bythe Cotonou Agreement,
F. whereas the OCTs in fact wish to be involved more in taking decisions on amendments affecting them
and to see a clearer distinction between them and the ACP States in terms of status as regards theEuropean Development Fund (EDF), from which theyall, with the exception of Greenland, receivefunds,
G. whereas the overriding importance accorded to per capita GNP as a criterion for determining the total
funding granted to the OCTs does not adequatelyreflect the structural imbalances from which theysuffer, although the share-out does allow for other criteria such as population size or use of theprevious EDFs,
H. whereas the weakness regarding commitments noted in respect of the eighth EDF is largelydue to
ignorance of the mechanisms relating to this financial instrument, stemming from the extreme com-plexityof external aid management procedures,
I. whereas, in addition to the financial instrument, the commercial measures envisaged in this proposal
are of great importance for the economic and social future of the OCTs,
(1) OJ C 150, 28.5.1999, p. 439.
(2) ‘Texts Adopted’, Item 14.C87E/268 EN 11.4.2002 Official Journal of the European Communities
Thursday 4 October 2001
J. whereas there are real threats to the commercial achievements of the OCTs, given the harmonisation
of Communityrules and the globalisation of trade,
K. whereas ACP-OCT and EU-OCT cumulation of origin and transhipment are crucial for the future of
the OCTs and their European citizens, and whereas the quantities of goods from the OCTs are not
such as to distort the Community’s internal market,
1. Recalls the historic ties between the European Union and the OCTs, which are associated with the
Communitybut are not integrated into it as the outermost regions are;
2. Considers that, in the context of the ACP-EU Joint ParliamentaryAssembly , the OCTs should not
simplybe informed of the outcome of debates and hopes that the Assemblywill be able, as a matter ofcourse, to invite four members of OCT parliaments to attend its twice-yearly plenary sessions as observers,which would be warranted in view of the subjects addressed bythe Assembly ;
3. Deplores the reduction in the overall budget for regional cooperation when, by2008, the REPAs laid
down in the Cotonou Agreement are due to take shape;
4. Welcomes the establishment of a partnership bringing together the Commission, the local authorities
of the OCTs and the Member States with which the OCTs are linked; notes that the Commission will chairand act as the secretariat of the working parties and the forum and consequentlyprovide the necessaryfunding;
5. Reiterates stronglyits call for the establishment by2007 of a development fund specificallyfor
OCTs, and separate from the EDF, which would accommodate the wishes expressed on numerous occa-sions bythe OCT local authorities and the European Parliament;
6. Calls for the amount of aid payable to each OCT to be allocated not only on a per capita GNP basis
but also on the basis of other objective criteria, such as population size and geographical constraints
(as stipulated bythe Commission for the allocation of funds between budgets A and B and reserve C);notes with regret that, as things stand, three OCTs out of 20 would be deprived of subsidies; calls, there-fore, for a transitional period to be introduced for those three OCTs and for those whose allocations havebeen considerablyreduced;
7. Questions the appropriateness of setting reserve C at an exaggeratedlyhigh level compared with
previous periods, €35 million, this reserve being intended to finance humanitarian and emergencyaidfor all the OCTs and, if necessary, additional support in the event of fluctuations in export earnings; calls
for this reserve to be reassigned if required in order to release additional funds for the development of the
OCTs; notes that the Council intends to make further allocations from reserve C in the light of the chang-ing needs and performances of the OCTs;
8. Welcomes the possibilitythe OCTs now have to adopt Single Programming Documents (SPDs) to set
out their strategic guidelines, which should permit structured identification of the priorities laid down byOCT authorities in consultation with the Commission;
9. Is pleased that the Commission is to have an overall evaluation made of the decision, at the latest
two years before it expires, but regrets that such an impact study will be financed to the tune of €2 millionfrom the EDF budget, which will correspondinglyreduce the appropriations that are strictlymeant forcooperation and development;
10. Calls firmlyon the Commission and the Council to promote the training of local economic and
social actors so that the opportunities offered bythe association arrangements are further enhanced andmaybe better exploited bythose concerned;
11. Is pleased that civil societywill be given a role in drawing up and implementing development
strategies;
12. Fears that, as a result of the pressures exerted both bythe WTO and bythe current harmonisation
of rules within the European Union, the principle of specification, which prevails in the case of the OCTs,will be greatlywatered down; calls, therefore, for the specific points contained in the proposal to be takenproperlyinto account;11.4.2002 EN C87E/269 Official Journal of the European Communities
Thursday 4 October 2001
13. Recalls that the proportion of EU imports that come from the OCTs is still verysmall and that, in
anycase, it could not be such as to seriouslydistort the Communitymarket;
14. Recalls that transhipment is an important policyinstrument for the OCTs, owing to the transfer of
funds it generates from the Communitybudget to the OCTs’ budgets; calls, therefore, for the exceptional
nature of transhipment authorisation to be removed;
15. Calls for an earlywarning mechanism to be introduced so that the Commission consults the OCTs
concerned where safeguard measures are planned in respect of imports of products from OCTs;
16. Is pleased that, as regards the right of establishment, the need for prior approval is to be removed
where derogations are adopted to support the most sensitive economic sectors and is to be replaced bysimple notification;
17. Notes that the guarantee of free, unlimited access to the Communitymarket for products originat-
ing in the OCTs is a founding principle of the association arrangements and therefore regrets that tariffquotas have been imposed in respect of a number of products;
18. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the ACP-EU Joint
ParliamentaryAssembly , the Committee of the Regions, the Economic and Social Committee, the govern-ments of the Member States concerned and the elected bodies of the various local authorities of the OCTs.C87E/270 EN 11.4.2002 Official Journal of the European Communities
Thursday 4 October 2001