A4-0057/97

Decision on the common position adopted by the Council with a view to adopting a Council Regulation on aid for population policies and programmes in the developing countries (C4-0631/96 - 95/0166(SYN))

(Cooperation procedure: second reading)

The European Parliament,

- having regard to the common position of the Council, C4-0631/96 - 95/0166(SYN) ((OJ C 6, 9.1.1997, p. 8.)),

- having regard to its opinion at first reading ((OJ C 166, 10.6.1996, p. 245.)) on the Commission proposal to the Council (COM(95)0295) ((OJ C 310, 22.11.1996, p. 13.)),

- having regard to the amended Commission proposal, COM(96)0433 ((OJ C 323, 29.10.1996, p. 7.)),

- having been consulted by the Council pursuant to Articles 189c and 130w of the EC Treaty,

- having regard to Rule 67 of its Rules of Procedure,

- having regard to the recommendation for second reading of the Committee on Development and Cooperation (A4-0057/97),

1. Amends the common position as follows;

2. Instructs its President to forward this decision to the Council and Commission.

(Amendment 1)

Recital 8a (new)

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(8a) Whereas the Community has undertaken to follow up the Cairo Conference, notably by increasing its financial support for population programmes in the developing countries to ECU 300 million by the year 2000;

(Amendment 5)

Article 4(2a) (new)

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2a. Countries or organizations which approve of or encourage compulsory abortion or sterilization and infanticide as methods of controlling population growth shall be excluded from Community support.

(Amendment 2)

Article 11

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1. The Commission shall be assisted by the geographically determined committee competent for development.

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1. The Commission shall be assisted by an advisory committee composed of the representatives of the Member States and chaired by the representative of the Commission, i.e., depending on the country or region at which the measures are targeted:

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(a) for the African, Caribbean and Pacific countries, the EDF Committee set up by Article 21 of Internal Agreement No 91/401/EEC on the financing and administration of Community aid under the Fourth ACP-EEC Convention, adopted on 16 July 1990 by the representatives of the governments of the Member States meeting within the Council(1);

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(b) for the Mediterranean countries, the MED Committee set up by Article 6 of Council Regulation (EEC) No 1762/92 on the implementation of the Protocols on financial and technical cooperation concluded by the Community with Mediterranean non- Member countries(2);

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(c) for the countries of Latin America and Asia, the ALA Committee set up by Article 15 of Council Regulation (EEC) No 443/92 on financial and technical assistance to, and economic cooperation with, the developing countries in Asia and Latin America(3).

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2. The representative of the Commission shall submit to the committee a draft of the measures to be taken. The committee shall deliver its opinion on the draft within a time limit which the chairman may lay down according to the urgency of the matter. The opinion shall be delivered by the majority laid down in Article 148(2) of the Treaty in the case of decisions which the Council is required to adopt on a proposal from the Commission. The votes of the representatives of the Member States within the committee shall be weighted in the manner set out in that Article. The chairman shall not vote.

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2. The representative of the Commission shall submit to the committee a draft of the measures to be taken. The committee shall deliver its opinion on the draft within a time limit which the chairman may lay down according to the urgency of the matter, if necessary, by taking a vote.

The opinion shall be entered in the minutes; in addition, each State has the right to request that its position appear in those minutes.

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The Commission shall adopt the measures envisaged if they are in accordance with the opinion of the committee.

If the measures envisaged are not in accordance with the opinion of the committee, or if no opinion is delivered, the Commission shall without delay submit to the Council a proposal relating to the measures to be taken. The Council shall act by a qualified majority.

If, on the expiry of a period of three months from the date of referral to the Council, the Council has not acted, the proposed measures shall be adopted by the Commission.

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The Commission shall take the utmost account of the opinion delivered by the committee. It shall inform the committee of the way in which it has taken account of its opinion.

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3. An exchange of views shall take place once a year on the basis of a presentation by the representative of the Commission of the general guidelines for the operations to be carried out in the year ahead, in the framework of a joint meeting of the committees pursuant to paragraph 1.

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3. An exchange of views shall take place once a year on the basis of a presentation by the representative of the Commission of the general guidelines for the operations to be carried out in the year ahead, in the framework of a joint meeting of the three committees mentioned in paragraph 1.

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(1) OJ L 229, 17.8.1991, p. 288.

(2) OJ L 181, 1.7.1992, p. 1.

(3) OJ L 52, 27.2.1992, p. 1.