ddrg/super_eurlex huggingface dataset:
Opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee on the "Proposal for a Council Regulation amending Regulation (EC) No 1268/1999 on Community support for pre-accession measures for agriculture and rural development in the applicant countries of Central and Eastern Europe in the pre-accession period"

(COM(2002) 519 final)

(2003/C 61/33)

On 18 October 2002 the Council decided to consult the European Economic and Social Committee, under Article 262 of the Treaty establishing the European Community, on the above-mentioned proposal.

The European Economic and Social Committee decided to appoint Mr Adalbert Kienle as rapporteur-general to prepare its opinion.

At its 394th Plenary Session on 24 October 2002, the European Economic and Social Committee adopted the following opinion by a majority vote with one abstention.

1. The European Commission's proposals

1.1. The floods in mid August 2002 also caused considerable damage in several applicant countries. The Czech Republic and Slovakia were particularly affected.

1.2. The Commission thinks that, inter alia, the Sapard pre-accession instrument set up by Council Regulation (EC) No 1268/1999 should be used to respond to exceptional natural disasters in applicant countries. The objectives of Sapard include "solving priority and specific problems for the sustainable adaptation of the agricultural sector and rural areas in the applicant countries."

1.3. The Commission is therefore proposing higher ceilings on aid for rebuilding measures in rural areas hit by exceptional natural disasters. The ceiling on public aid is to be raised from 50 % to 75 %, and the Community may contribute up to 85 % of the total eligible public expenditure instead of 75 %.

2. The European Economic and Social Committee's comments

2.1. The Committee approves the proposal, which it regards as a sensible adjunct to the Commission proposal establishing an EU Solidarity Fund to deal with natural disasters.

2.2. The fact that the proposal will not affect the Community budget makes the Committee's decision to give its approval that much easier.

2.3. On the other hand, the Committee regrets the enormous start-up problems and administrative difficulties involved in implementing Sapard. To date it has not been possible to deploy anywhere near the EUR 550 million provided each year from the Community budget for the 10 applicant countries. The Committee thought in its opinion CES 70/99 that given the serious weaknesses in agricultural structures and the huge problems of adjustment facing the agricultural and food sectors the funding would be inadequate to prepare successfully for accession.

Brussels, 24 October 2002.

The President

of the European Economic and Social Committee

Roger Briesch
2.7

Physical and mental incapacity reduces labour supply significantly, particularly among workers in their 50s and 60s who are prime targets of a European Making Work Pay strategy. In some Member States up to one fifth or even one quarter of people in the age groups 55-59 and 60-64 are on invalidity benefits. This fact reflects significant pressures in today's world of work, which can be highly detrimental to physical and mental health. This problem, which can be linked to occupational health, needs to be tackled by adopting appropriate strategies with regard to preventive employee-protection and health-protection and by improving working conditions. Persons who are not fully incapacitated but have only an impaired ability to work have little chance of finding a suitable job which takes account of their limitations. There is therefore a need to boost the supply of such jobs in order to provide opportunities also for persons who are not fully able to work. However, many people who are in this situation of disguised unemployment would prefer to pursue some gainful activity if they still have significant working capacity left. Member States must take necessary measures to ensure that employment and disability benefits do not force disabled workers into an unemployment trap, but instead raise the complementarity of different strands of social policy in the interests of disabled workers. It must, however, be recognized that disability is on a spectrum of ability and new thinking defines disability as society's response to an individual which is disabling rather than the physical or other constraint on its own determining whether or not a person is disabled. In this context, the Committee would caution against policies that inadvertently end up obscuring true levels of unemployment. While remaining protective and supportive of disabled people's needs, closer cooperation for observing and improving the exchange of best practice in invalidity policy across States is crucial. So is the need for an open coordination framework of good practice and positive action providing benefits that are related to the promotion of employment and self employment among those along the spectrum of physical and mental ability.
4.5.17

This viewpoint is further strengthened by the point that in the case of countries which are net contributors to the Community budget, part of the resources made available through the Structural Funds returns to the economy thanks to exports. This question has already been studied in the 15-member EU, and this is expected to operate in the same way in the 25-member EU. As a result, a significant proportion of the funds to be released for the development of the 10 new Member States will still come back to the countries which will be net contributors to the Community budget (market in technological or electronic equipment, provision of special services, transfer of know-how, etc.). This aspect cannot be ignored with a view to the preparation of the new Community budget. The Commission does not fail to refer in its Communication to this specific question, pointing out that applying the rules of the single market also to cohesion policy makes it possible to obtain a measurable added value, through the increase in intra-Community trade between the less developed Member States and regions and the rest of the EU. The reason for this rise in intra-Community trade is that ‘around one quarter of expenditure under the programmes for these areas returns to the rest of the Union in the form of increased exports’.
7.5.1

In its XXXIIIrd report on competition policy, the Commission states that maintaining and developing media pluralism and the freedom to provide and receive information are fundamental objectives of the European Union as values crucial to the democratic process. It also states that responsibility for the control of media concentration rests primarily with the Member States. The application of competition policy instruments in the media sector, it adds, is limited to addressing the problems raised by the creation or strengthening of dominant positions in the respective markets and the control of foreclosure of competitors from those markets. In the EESC's opinion, the distinction between the EU's tasks and those of national governments is somewhat vague, and also leaves a number of important issues unresolved: — It should be noted that in the various Member States there are differing regulations and approaches requiring harmonisation: the Commission began the process in 1989 and then continued in 1997 with the Television without Frontiers directive, whose objectives were not only economic efficiency but also respect for cultural diversity, protection of minors, right of reply, etc. — A distinction must be drawn in the media field between general antitrust rules and rules specifically designed to defend the pluralism of information. Operational competition rules are a basic condition for promoting pluralism, but not enough in themselves. Unlike a competitive system in which the market power of each company must face up to the initiative and activities of competing companies, the promotion and defence of pluralism demands the explicit recognition of the public's right to have effective access to independent sources of information and to alternative and potentially differing information, a right that should be protected at all levels. — Lastly, the process of the gradual convergence between telecommunications, IT, radio, television and publishing makes it difficult to pinpoint the structures of the various markets. The danger of failing to properly understand this process is that the competition rules will be diminished and the principle of pluralism weakened.
2.4.3

Under the present conditions, the role of a civil society in the process towards such a system can only be a very limited one. On the employers' side, subsidiaries of foreign multinationals and the European Chamber of Commerce in Beijing could engage themselves more in that process. However, they have not shown great commitment so far. Perhaps the instrument of corporate social responsibility, in which the Chinese Government has shown some interest to date can play a role. Trade unions in the EU are, generally speaking, reluctant to cooperate with the ACFTU as long as this organisation does not seem to be inclined to enter the area of representation of the interests of their members. There is an interest in supporting activities in China with respect to making workers aware of their rights, training them in areas like occupational health and safety, and providing them with legal assistance in court. Sometimes they cooperate with local NGOs. If such activities will lead eventually to the establishment of an adequate system of industrial relations, they are the first (and necessarily very cautious) steps on a very long road.
EN Official Journal of the European Union C 175/40

Opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee on the ‘Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council relating to the installation of lighting and light-signalling devices on wheeled agricultural and forestry tractors’

COM(2007) 192 final — 2007/0066 (COD)

(2007/C 175/10)

On 11 May 2007 the Council of the European Union decided to consult the European Economic and Social Committee, under Article 95 of the Treaty establishing the European Community, on the abovementioned proposal.

Considering that the content of the proposal is entirely satisfactory and requires no comment on its part, the Committee, at its 436th plenary session, held on 30 and 31 May 2007 (meeting of 30 May), approved the proposed text by 162 votes to 1 with 8 abstentions.
EN Official Journal of the European Union C 10/21

Opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee on the ‘Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council relating to the roll-over protection structures of wheeled agricultural or forestry tractors (codified version)’

COM(2007) 310 final — 2007/0107 (COD)

(2008/C 10/05)

On 2 July 2007 the Council decided to consult the European Economic and Social Committee, under Article 95 of the Treaty establishing the European Community, on the abovementioned proposal.

Since the Committee unreservedly endorses the proposal and feels that it requires no comment on its part, it decided, at its 438th plenary session of 26 and 27 September 2007 (meeting of 26 September) by 172 votes, with 4 abstentions, to issue an opinion endorsing the proposed text.
6.6

Another aspect not to be underestimated is the means by which the consumer perceives the product. In the case of tangible goods, the product is perceived through the senses, which, clearly, are not susceptible to linguistic or cultural barriers. Financial services, in contrast, cannot be seen or touched, but are only perceived via the description given in information leaflets and in the terms of contracts: the language and cultural issue cannot, then, be underrated. Consumers can purchase services abroad effectively if they have a good knowledge of the language and the key financial practices of the broker's country. Imposing a kind of multilingualism in information and contracts could be envisaged as a way around this obstacle. The EESC thinks it would be neither realistic nor reasonable to oblige brokers to draft information leaflets and contracts in all the Union's languages. There is no way that the costs of initiatives of this kind, made all the greater by the continuing evolution of the product, could be offset by an increase in volume. The Green Paper itself, in fact, maintains that in the medium term no increase in cross-border consumer mobility can be expected in the financial services sector. The language-barrier issue is therefore set to remain unresolved in the medium term and be a major obstacle to cross-border access to retail financial services.
EN Official Journal of the European Union C 211/45

Opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee on the ‘Adaptation to the regulatory procedure with scrutiny — Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Regulation (EC) No 338/97 on the protection of species of wild fauna and flora by regulating trade therein as regards the implementing powers conferred on the Commission’

COM(2008) 104 final — 2008/0042 (COD)

(2008/C 211/12)

On 17 March 2008 the Council decided to consult the European Economic and Social Committee, under Article 175(1) of the Treaty establishing the European Community, on the

Adaptation to the regulatory procedure with scrutiny — Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Regulation (EC) No 338/97 on the protection of species of wild fauna and flora by regulating trade therein as regards the implementing powers conferred on the Commission.

Since the Committee unreservedly endorses the contents of the proposal and has already set out its views on the subject in its earlier opinion, adopted on the 26 May 1992 (1), it decided, at its 444th plenary session, held on 22 and 23 April 2008 (meeting of 22 April 2008), by 146 votes in favour and 2 abstentions to issue an opinion endorsing the proposal and to refer to the position it had taken in the above-mentioned documents.

The opinion of the Committee on the regulatory procedure with scrutiny is currently under preparation [COM(2007) 741 final, COM(2007) 822 final, COM(2007) 824 final and COM(2008) 71 final].

Brussels, 22 April 2008. The President of the European Economic and Social Committee Dimitris DIMITRIADIS

(1) Opinion on the Proposal for a Council Regulation (EEC) laying down provisions with regard to possession of and trade in specimen of species of wild fauna and flora — OJ C 223, 31.8.1992, p. 19.
EN Official Journal of the European Union C 224/39

Opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee on the Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council relating to insurance against civil liability in respect of the use of motor vehicles, and the enforcement of the obligation to insure against such liability (Codified version)

COM(2008) 98 final — 2008/0037 (COD)

(2008/C 224/08)

On 22 April 2008, the Council of the European Union decided to consult the European Economic and Social Committee, under Article 95 of the Treaty establishing the European Community, on the

Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council relating to insurance against civil liability in respect of the use of motor vehicles, and the enforcement of the obligation to insure against such liability (Codified version)

Since the Committee unreservedly endorses the content of the proposal and feels that it requires no comment on its part, it decided, at its 445th plenary session of 28 and 29 May 2008 (meeting of 29 May), by 80 votes and 3 abstentions, to issue an opinion endorsing the proposed text.
EN Official Journal of the European Union C 182/77

Opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee on the ‘Proposal for a Council Directive on the common system of taxation applicable in the case of parent companies and subsidiaries of different Member States (codified version)’

COM(2008) 691 final — 2008/0206 (CNS)

(2009/C 182/18)

On 19 November 2008 the Council decided to consult the European Economic and Social Committee, under Article 94 of the Treaty establishing the European Community, on the

Proposal for a Council Directive on the common system of taxation applicable in the case of parent companies and subsidiaries of different Member States (codified version)

COM(2008) 691 final — 2008/0206 (CNS).

Since the Committee unreservedly endorses the content of the proposal and feels that it requires no comment on its part, it decided, at its 450th plenary session of 14 and 15 January 2009 (meeting of 14 January), by 180 votes to two with six abstentions, to issue an opinion endorsing the proposed text.
EN Official Journal of the European Union C 306/79

Opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee on the Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on the conservation of wild birds (codified version)

COM(2009) 129 final — 2009/0043 (COD)

(2009/C 306/18)

On 3 April 2009 the Council decided to consult the European Economic and Social Committee, under Article 175 (1) of the Treaty establishing the European Community, on the

‘Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on the conservation of wild birds (Codified Version)’

Since the Committee unreservedly endorses the contents of the proposal and has already set out its views on the subject in its earlier opinion, adopted on 25 May 1977 (*), the opinion adopted on 14 September 1994 (**) and the opinion adopted on 22 April 2008 (***) it decided, at its 454th plenary session, held on 10 and 11 June 2009 (meeting of 10 June 2009), by 110 votes in favour and 5 abstentions to issue an opinion endorsing the proposal and to refer to the position it had taken in the above-mentioned documents.

Brussels, 10 June 2009. The President of the European Economic and Social Committee Mr Mario SEPI

(*) Opinion of the Economic and Social Committee on the Proposal for a Council Directive on bird conservation — OJ C 152 on 29.6.1977, p. 3.

(**) Opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee on the Proposal for a Council Directive amending Directive 79/409/EEC on the conservation of wild birds (94/C 393/19) — OJ C 393 on 31.12.1994, p. 93.

(***) Opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee on Adaptation to the regulatory procedure with scrutiny/Proposal for a directive of the European Parliament and of the Council amending, as regards the implementing powers conferred on the Commission, Council Directive 79/409/EEC on the conservation of wild birds — OJ C 211 on 19.08.2008, p. 46.
EN Official Journal of the European Union C 54/32

Opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee on the ‘Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on the permissible sound level and the exhaust system of motor vehicles’

COM(2010) 508 final — 2010/0261 (COD)

(2011/C 54/07)

On 15 and 7 October 2010 respectively the Council and the European Parliament decided to consult the European Economic and Social Committee, under Article 114 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, on the

Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on the permissible sound level and the exhaust system of motor vehicles

COM(2010) 508 final – 2010/0261 (COD).

Since the Committee unreservedly endorses the content of the proposal and feels that it requires no comment on its part, it decided unanimously, at its 467th plenary session of 8 and 9 December 2010 (meeting of 8 December 2010), to issue an opinion endorsing the proposed text.
EN Official Journal of the European Union C 84/54

Opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee on the Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on roll-over protection structures mounted in front of the driver’s seat on narrow-track wheeled agricultural and forestry tractors

(codification)

COM(2010) 610 final — 2010/0302 (COD)

2011/C 84/13

On 10 November 2010, the European Parliament and, on 8 December 2010, the Council decided to consult the European Economic and Social Committee, under Article 114 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), on the

Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on roll-over protection structures mounted in front of the driver's seat on narrow-track wheeled agricultural and forestry tractors

COM(2010) 610 final — 2010/0302 (COD).

Since the Committee unreservedly endorses the proposal and feels that it requires no comment on its part, it decided, at its 467th plenary session of 19 and 20 January 2011 (meeting of 19 January), by 96 votes with two abstentions, to issue an opinion endorsing the proposed text.
3.10

Question 10. Too often solutions are driven by technical architecture as against business process. The level of security applied should reflect the degree of risk faced and investment in the security framework adopted should be balanced against the said risk. The security bias adopted in the design of authentication mechanism of e-procurement is one based on advanced electronic signatures. Advanced electronic signatures, however, are expensive to attain – in terms of setting up, cost of digital certificates, etc. The question arises: should e-procurement be de facto tied to an advanced electronic signature authentication mechanism? The EESC is of the opinion that there should be more debate on the risks to e-procurement by the Commission and Member States before a decision is made that the authentication mechanism to e-procurement should be tied to advanced electronic signatures. It is pertinent to note that a debit or credit card – which if lost or stolen render a person open to financial risk – is subject to a 4 number pin. The EESC poses the following questions: — Do all of the stages on the e-procurement value chain need advanced electronic signature authentication? Is this level of security necessary to enter the Portal, view information on tenders and enable e- or m-services such as notification et al required? — If it is not required, should the authentication mechanism be two tiered: simple registration for those processes on the value chain that are in the public domain under the traditional business process and a higher level of authentication for the submission of a bid or participation in an e-Auction? — If a two tier authentication mechanism is adopted does it so follow that the higher level of authentication is based on an advanced electronic signature or should a less complex but secure authentication mechanism be adopted? — Should the authentication mechanism be on the basis of a strong alpha numeric password together with a strong numeric pin number; or should it include the above, together with a unique password generated by a token similar to access to e-banking? The EESC is of the opinion that whilst a secure mechanism has to be in place with regards to e-procurement the solution must be commensurate to the risk and as least complex to implement as possible. In the event that the decision would be that the advanced qualified certificates should be the best security model for e-procurement, the EESC proposes that work in this regard is based on the Virtual Company Dossier (VCD) that the Pan European Public Procurement Online (PEPPOL) is undertaking (8). The EESC recognises that current Directive provides that equivalents to certificates should be recognised by Contracting Authorities. The fact is that in practice it is often difficult to find the equivalents and some Member States require tedious procedures, such as supplying authorised translations, certified, with apostille, or requiring originals only. This is cumbersome and expensive, not only for enterprises, but also for Contracting Authorities.