parliamentary control by the Union and the involvement of the national judicial authorities linked together
in the European judicial network and Eurojust; is of the opinion that the extension of Europol’s tasks inaccordance with the decision taken at Tampere must go hand in hand with an increase in personnel andmore thoroughgoing operational responsibilities;
29.Considers that cooperation between the police authorities of the Member States must be increased
and strengthened, particularly with regard to cross-border crime such as organised illegal immigration,terrorism, money laundering or trafficking in drugs;
Forthcoming Intergovernmental Conference
30.Calls on the Member States to press, at the next intergovernmental conference, for wider-ranging
rights of codecision for Parliament and tighter parliamentary control in the sphere of AFSJ policies, sincethese are the only way of securing acceptance of the AFSJ objective among European citizens;
*
**
31.Welcomes the Council’s willingness, as expressed by the Portuguese Presidency, to reach agreement
with Parliament, since this will undoubtedly help to create firm foundations on which to build the AFSJ;
32.Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, and the parlia-
ments and governments of the Member States.
3. Sustainable urban development (URBAN)
A5-0026/2000
European Parliament resolution on the draft communication from the Commission to the Member
States laying down guidelines for a Community Initiative concerning economic and social regen-eration of cities and of neighbourhoods in crisis in order to promote sustainable urban develop-
ment (URBAN) (COM(1999) 477 7dash C5-0242/1999 7dash 1999/2177(COS))
The European Parliament,
Wdash having regard to the draft Communication from the Commission (COM(1999) 477 Wdash C5-0242/1999),Wdash having regard to the Council Regulation (EC) No 1260/1999 of 21 June 1999 laying down general
provisions on the Structural Funds (
1),
Wdash having regard to its resolution of 19 November 1998 (2) and decision of 6 May 1999 (3) on the general
regulation of the structural funds,
Wdash having regard to Regulation (EC) No 1783/1999 of the European Parliament and of the Council of
12 June 1999 on the Regional Development Fund (4),
Wdash having regard to the Code of Conduct of 6 May 1999 agreed between the European Parliament and
the Commission on the implementation of Structural Policies by the Commission (5),
Wdash having regard to the amended regulations setting out the implementing and financial provisions gov-
erning Structural Funds until 1999, and in particular, having regard to Regulation (EEC) No 2083/1993 of 20 July 1993 on the reform of the ERDF (
6),
(1) OJ L 161, 26.6.1999, p. 1.
(2) OJ C 379, 7.12.1998, p. 164.
(3) OJ C 279, 1.10.1999, p. 292.
(4) OJ L 213, 13.8.1999, p. 1.
(5) OJ C 279, 1.10.1999, p. 488.
(6) OJ L 193, 31.7.1993, p. 34.C 339/44 EN 29.11.2000 Official Journal of the European Communities
Tuesday 15 February 2000
Wdash having regard to its resolution of 28 October 1993 on the future of the Community Initiatives under
the Structural Funds (1),
Wdash having regard to its resolutions of 3 May 1994 (2) on urban areas and 28 March 1996 (3) on the
Community Initiative for urban areas (URBAN),
Wdash having regard to its resolutions of 4 May 1999 on sustainable urban development (4) and of 2 July
1998 ‘Towards an urban agenda in the European Union’ (5),
Wdash having regard to Rule 160 of its Rules of Procedure,
Wdash having regard to the report of the Committee on Regional Policy, Transport and Tourism and the
opinions of the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs, the Committee on the Environment,Public Health and Consumer Policy, the Committee on Women’s Rights and Equal Opportunities andthe Committee on Citizens’ Freedoms and Rights, Justice and Home Affairs (A5-0026/2000),
1.Welcomes the continuation of a new URBAN Community Initiative to tackle the problem of urban
renewal;
2.Stresses the need for an integrated approach to urban policy as currently this looks to be the only
way to address economic, social and environmental problems in urban zones,
3.Welcomes the proposal in the guidelines to improve the coordination of the structural funds with
Community financial instruments in the ‘urban’ eligible zones; emphasises that the purpose of such coor-dination must be to promote integrated sustainable development policies between those urban areas andthe region concerned;
4.Given the reduced allocation to URBAN compared with the other Community initiatives Leader,
EQUAL and Interreg, asks the Commission to urge the Member States to grant more adequate resourcesto URBAN and make optimum use of the opportunities for private financing; considers that the financialresources need to be allocated in a concentrated and efficient way;
5.Reminds the Commission and the Member States that the URBAN initiative resources can only be a
catalyst to the action required in the eligible zones and underlines the need for the competent authorities
involved to look at additional resources such as loans and venture capital to boost the initiative;
6.Welcomes the reduction in the number of programmes for the new URBAN initiative to achieve
critical mass in a concentrated effort, but is of the opinion that the arbitrary maximum threshold of50 projects needs to be increased to reflect regional and local factors whilst maintaining financial alloca-tions to the Member States; considers that in view of the concentration on a limited number of projects,the publication and dissemination of the results of the new Community URBAN initiative will be particu-larly important to achieve a multiplier effect;
7.Calls on the Commission to look into the possibilities for providing technical assistance and eliminat-
ing red tape in connection with the tendering and selection procedures for the new URBAN initiative;
8.Considers that the minimum amount of € 500 per inhabitant should not be a mechanical objective
but will have to be applied in the light of circumstances in the target area;
9.Calls on the Commission to ensure that top priority is given to the basic principles of long-term
effect and transferability of models in the selection procedures for the URBAN initiative;
10.Calls on the Commission to ensure that in the selection procedures for the URBAN initiative syner-
gies with other programmes designed for the urban context are taken into account, but that duplicationbetween projects and funding methods is avoided;
(1) OJ C 315, 22.11.1993, p. 245.
(2) OJ C 205, 25.7.1994, p. 111.
(3) OJ C 117, 22.4.1996, p. 70.
(4) OJ C 279, 1.10.1999, p. 44.
(5) OJ C 226, 20.7.1998, p. 36.29.11.2000 EN C 339/45 Official Journal of the European Communities
Tuesday 15 February 2000
11.Stresses that the early involvement of local partners in the design and delivery of the programme
should be a condition for its selection so as to strengthen the role of the non-governmental sector in urbandevelopment and thus make use of new partnership approaches for urban renewal; stresses the need togive more autonomy to the local authorities in the management of the projects funded under this initia-tive;
12.Notes that the timetable for submission of programmes is inadequate to allow for partnership and
capacity building and quality programmes, and accordingly calls for extension of the timescale to a realisticperiod;
13.Calls on the Commission to interpret the applicable rules in a flexible manner with a view to sim-
plifying certain procedures, for example to enable the Member States to submit the CIP and the pro-gramme complement at the same time and in a single document;
14.Points out that immigrants, refugees and ethnic minorities are often particularly affected by social
exclusion and calls on the Commission to ensure in the appropriate programmes that equal access by thesegroups to employment, training, housing, social provision and cultural activities is made possible,thus allowing active integration into urban society;
15.Believes that additional local deprivation criteria must be considered in designating the eligible
zones, such as specific problems linked to low paid or precarious employment structures, poverty andsocial exclusion, poor health and housing and drug dependency;
16.Underlines the importance of drawing up integrated models as part of the URBAN initiative, to
prevent and curb routine urban crime and the special problems of crime related to drug dealing at local
level, and with the central aim of improving the quality of urban life;
17.Considers that eligible crime-prevention measures must form part of an integrated strategy of com-
bating exclusion and urban decay; notes that innovative and effective action to combat and prevent crime
at local level will require a whole array of measures including the incorporation of crime prevention intown planning, action to prevent juvenile deliquency, the reintegration of offenders and models for effec-tive local cooperation between the various parties involved (police, the courts, social services, etc.);
18.Considers that actions related to poverty and social exclusion should be extended to include health
and anti-discrimination actions in line with Articles 152 and 13 of the EC Treaty;
19.Calls on the Commission to ensure that in the selection procedure projects that cover the field of
environmental safety as well as the social and economic aspects are considered;
20.Is of the opinion that the women’s organisations considered suitable to play a role should become
involved at an early stage of planning; considers that the Community Initiative should include trainingcourses for women;
21.Considers that priority should be given to measures to preserve employment or create new jobs
enabling family and work needs to be reconciled; considers that measures to improve women’s job skillsshould also be promoted;
22.Stresses that funded projects should be assessed in the light of equal opportunity requirements and
the factors applying specifically to women; considers that experiences should be exchanged, and successfulprojects disseminated so that the Community Initiative can, wherever possible, serve as an example toemulate,
23.Considers that the new URBAN initiative programme should demonstrate a multi-agency and inte-
grated approach to the multiple problems prevalent in the eligible areas and not, as in the guidelines,a single solution to a single problem,C 339/46 EN 29.11.2000 Official Journal of the European Communities
Tuesday 15 February 2000
24.Asks the Commission and the Member States to ensure an extensive publicity and communication
campaign for the new URBAN initiative,
25.Calls on the Commission and the Member States to provide full and transparent information on the
selection procedures and the methodology for the URBAN initiative, and to inform Parliament regularly onthe implementation of URBAN,
26.Welcomes the creation of a horizontal mechanism in the fund to enable the exchange of good
practice and highlight innovative approaches to urban regeneration,
27.Asks the Commission to inform it under the Code of Conduct which agencies will be engaged in
this work,
28.Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Commission and the governments of the
Member States.
4. Harmonious and balanced development of the European territory (Interreg)
A5-0028/2000
European Parliament resolution on the draft communication from the Commission to the Member
States laying down guidelines for a Community Initiative concerning trans-European cooperationintended to encourage harmonious and balanced development of the European territory (Interreg)
(COM(1999) 479 7dash C5-0243/1999 7dash 1999/2178(COS))
The European Parliament,
Wdash having regard to the draft communication from the Commission to the Member States
(COM(1999) 479 Wdash C5-0243/1999),
Wdash having regard to Article 299(2) of the EC Treaty,Wdash having regard to Regulation (EC) No 1260/1999 of 21 June 1999 laying down general provisions on
the Structural Funds (
1),
Wdash having regard to Regulation (EC) No 1783/1999 of 12 July 1999 of the European Parliament and of
the Council on the European Regional Development Fund (2),
Wdash having regard to the Code of Conduct of 6 May 1999 agreed between the European Parliament and
the Commission on the implementation of Structural Policies by the Commission (3),
Wdash having regard to its resolution of 3 May 1994 on the Community initiative concerning cross-border
cooperation and selected energy networks (Interreg II) (4),
Wdash having regard to its resolution of 28 March 1996 on the Community initiative concerning transna-
tional cooperation on spatial planning (Interreg II C) (5),
Wdash having regard to its resolution of 16 May 1997 on cross-border and inter-regional cooperation (6),
Wdash having regard to its resolution of 2 July 1998 on regional planning and the European Spatial Devel-
opment Perspective (7),
(1) OJ L 161, 26.6.1999, p. 1.
(2) OJ L 213, 13.8.1999, p. 1.
(3) OJ C 279, 1.10.1999, p. 488.
(4) OJ C 205, 25.7.1994, p. 116.
(5) OJ C 117, 22.4.1996, p. 70.
(6) OJ C 167, 2.6.1997, p. 245.
(7) OJ C 226, 20.7.1998, p. 42.29.11.2000 EN C 339/47 Official Journal of the European Communities
Tuesday 15 February 2000