Minutes of the sitting of Friday 19 December 1997
Date: 1997-12-19
Institutions: European Parliament
Subjects: European Parliament, parliamentary debate

C 14/394

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

19. 1. 98

Friday 19 December 1997

MINUTES OF THE SITTING OF FRIDAY 19 DECEMBER 1997

(98/C 14/05)

PART I

Proceedings of the sitting

IN THE CHAIR: Mr ANASTASSOPOULOS

Vice-President

(The sitting opened at 9 a.m.)

1.  Approval of Minutes

The Minutes of the previous sitting were approved.

Mr Posselt referred to his remarks the previous day before the
vote  on  topical  and  urgent  motions  for  resolutions  (Part  I,
before Item 19) when he had objected to the fact that only the
joint motions were available at distributon in all languages and
not  the  motions  on  which  they  were  based,  and  to  the
President(cid:146)s reply; he said that he had learned that arrangements
had  been  made  for  there  to  be  no  longer  any  translation  or
distribution of original motions for resolutions. He crititicized
these arrangements which would make it impossible, if a joint
motion  was  rejected,  which  he  said  sometimes  happened,  to
vote  on  the  individual  motions  on  which  it  was  based.  He
therefore insisted that these motions should be translated and
distributed as before (the President replied that, in view of the
complaints which had been made, he would ask for the matter
to be reconsidered).

2.  Documents received

The  President  announced  that  he  had  received  the  following
texts from the Commission:

(a)  a proposal:

› Proposal for a European Parliament and Council Directive
amending Directive 89/662/EEC concerning veterinary checks
in intra-Community trade with a view to the completion of the
internal market, in order to reinforce checking (COM(97)0643
› C4-0659/97 › 97/0334(COD))

referred to
responsible: ENVI
opinion: AGRI

legal basis: Art. 100a EC

(b)  the following documents:

› Green  Paper  on  the  convergence  of  the  telecommunica-
tions,  media  and  information  technology  sectors,  and  the

implications for regulation › Towards an Information Society
Approach (COM(97)0623 › C4-0664/97)

referred to
responsible: ECON
opinion: RTDE, LEGA, ESOC, ENVI, CULT

languages available: DE, EN, FR

› Commission Working Document: Perspectives and Priori-
ties for the ASEM Proces (SEC(97)1239 › C4-0667/97)

referred to
responsible: FASE
opinion: RELA

3.  Text of agreements forwarded by the Coun-

cil

The  President  announced  that  he  had  received  from  the
Council a certified true copy of the following text:

› Agreement between the European Community and Canada
on  customs  cooperation  and  mutual  assistance  in  customs
matters.

4.  Authorization to draw up reports

The  following  committees  had  been  authorized  to  draw  up
reports:

› RTDE on access to renewable energies on the electricity
network

› ESOC on cross-border workers: problems and solutions

› FISH on the canned fish industry

› RELA on world trade and regional blocks.

5.  Transfer of appropriations

The Committee on Budgetary Control and the Committee on
Budgets had examined proposal for transfer of appropriations
No  51/97  (SEC(97)2141  ›  C4-0610/97)  in  respect  of  those
areas for which they were each responsible.

In particular, the Committee on Budgetary Control had auth-
orized:

› the  topping-up  of  Item  1895  (Other  supplementary  ser-
vices)  by  ECU  215  000  and  of  Item  1896  (Supplementary
services for the translation department) by ECU 600 000 from
Item 1100 (Basic salaries);

19. 1. 98

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 14/395

› the  topping-up  of  Article  200  (Rent)  by  ECU  2  550  700
from various headings in Chapters 10 and 11, it being specified
that this amount was exclusively to be used for payment of the
annual amounts due in respect of the Annex buildings;

› the  topping-up  of  Article  230  (Stationery  and  office
supplies)  by  ECU  50  000  from  Item  2710  (General  publica-
tions);

› the  topping-up  of  Item  3710  (Court  expenses)  by
ECU 76 000 from Item 1100 (Basic salaries).

At its meeting of 8 and 9 December 1997, the Committee on
Budgets considered the above proposed transfer of appropria-
tions, and in particular those parts thereof which fall within its
remit.

Recalling the decisions of the budgetary authority on the draft
budget for 1999, the Committee on Budgets:

› called  on  the  Court  of  Justice  to  conclude  an  agreement
with  the  Luxembourg  authorities  on  the  cost  of  screening
(cf. the  reply  of  the  Registrar  of  the  Court  of  Justice  to
question g in the aforementioned letter);

› had authorized the release of appropriations from Chapt-
er 100 to Article 200 (Rents) as follows:

ECU 430 500 for the Annex buildings;

ECU  2  287  473  in  respect  of  the  rent  on  the  Palais  ›
besides the appropriation of ECU 3 900 000 available in
the heading and also intended to cover payment of the rent
on the Palais.

*

*

*

The Committee on Budgetary Control had considered proposal
for  transfer  of  appropriations  No  0056/97  (SEC(97)2169  ›
C4-0613/97)  which  was  intended  to  supplement  Article  B7-
531: Exceptional assistance to Armenia, Georgia and Tajikis-
tan  in  the  amount  of  ECU  10 million,  in  both  commitment
appropriations and payment appropriations, from Article B7-
320: Cooperation with South Africa (payment appropriations)
and item B7-8000: International fisheries agreements (commit-
ment appropriations).

Pursuant  to  Article  26(5(c))  of  the  Financial  Regulation,  the
Committee on Budgetary Control authorized the above transfer
of  appropriations  in  its  entirety  and  drew  attention  to  the
position  of  Parliament,  as  expressed  in  plenary  sitting  on
16 September  1997,  to  the  effect  that  exceptional  financial
assistance should be allocated only to Armenia and Georgia.

Friday 19 December 1997

It  decided  to  authorize,  pursuant  to  Article  26  (5)(b)  of  the
Financial  Regulation,  the  transfer  of  part  of  the  reserve
entered:

in chapter
B0-40:

Provisions

(for heading B8-013)

to heading
B8-013

Other joint actions of
the European Union
under the Common
Foreign and Security
Policy
in an amount of:
(in payment appropria-
tions).

*

*

*

ECU 2 200 000

The Committee on Budgetary Control had considered proposal
for  transfer  of  appropriations  No  0059/97  (SEC(97)2178  ›
C4-0618/97) which was to increase Item B2-1302: Objective 3
to  ECU  133  020  302  and  Item  B2-1303:  Objective  4  to
ECU 40 495  125  in  payment  appropriations  drawn  from
Chapter B2-14: Community Initiatives.

The Committee on Budgetary Control condemned the lack of
detailed  justification  to  explain  why  a  significant  amount  of
money  had  to  be  taken  away  from  the  various  Community
Initiatives, especially since the slow-down in the implementa-
tion of that part of the budget had earlier been the subject of a
specific reference in the resolution adopted by Parliament on
2 October  1997  on  the  implementation  of  the  1997  budget
((cid:145)Notenboom procedure(cid:146)).

It had therefore decided not to authorize the proposed transfer.

*

*

*

The Committee on Budgetary Control had considered proposal
for  transfer  of  appropriation  No  0060/97  (SEC(98)2173  ›
C4-0625/97) whichwas to increase the payment appropriations
entered in Article B7-8000 International Fisheries Agreements
by ECU 10 980 000 by transfer from Article B7-950 Support
expenditure  for  external  policies,  and  authorized  it  in  its
entirety pursuant to Article 26(5)(c) of the Financial Regula-
tion.

6.  Human  rights  and  democratic  principles

(vote)
Imbeni report (A4-0381/97) and Lenz report (A4-0393/97)
(Simple majority)

*

*

*

(a)  A4-0381/97

MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION:

The  Committee  on  Budgets  had  considered  proposal  for
transfer  of  appropriations  No  0057/97  (SEC(97)2170  ›  C4-
0617/97)  concerning  budget  heading  B8-013  ›  Other  joint
actions of the European Union under the Common Foreign and
Security Policy.

Amendments  adopted:  1;  2;  3;  8  by  EV  (91  for,  56  against,
0 abstentions); 9 (1st part) by EV (90 for, 66 against, 2 absten-
tions); 4 by EV (80 for, 72 against, 5 abstentions); 5 by EV (84
for, 67 against, 4 abstentions); 10

C 14/396

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

19. 1. 98

Friday 19 December 1997

Amendments rejected: 6 by EV (61 for, 62 against, 2 absten-
tions); 7; 9 (2nd part)

The different parts of the text were adopted in order (paras 20
to 24 by EV (92 for, 60 against, 7 abstentions)).

The following spoke during the vote:

8.  Expenditure under CFSP (vote)

Mu¤ller report › A4-0339/97
(Simple majority)

MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION:

› The  President  drew  attention  to  an  error  in  the  Greek
version of am 9:

The following spoke during the vote:

Split votes:

am. 9 (PPE):

1st part: text without the word (cid:145)primarily(cid:146)
2nd part: this word

Parliament adopted the resolution (Part II, Item 1(a)).

(b)  A4-0393/97

MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION:

Amendments adopted: 1 by EV (104 for, 66 against, 4 absten-
tions); 2 (1st part); 7 by EV (94 for, 83 against, 3 abstentions);
3 by EV (100 for, 81 against, 1 abstention); 8 by EV (113 for,
69  against,  3  abstentions);  4;  5  by  EV  (107  for,  78  against,
1 abstention); 6

Amendments rejected: 2 (2nd part); 9

The different parts of the text were adopted in order (para. 7 by
EV  (92  for,  80  against,  7  abstentions),  with  the  exception  of
para.  15  which  was  rejected  by  EV  (88  for,  89  against,
6 abstentions).

The following spoke during the vote:

› the  rapporteur,  who  drew  attention  to  errors  in  various
language versions of am 2 and pointed out that the French text
was  the  authoritative  one,  and  Mr  Ha¤nsch,  who  asked  for
clarification of the split vote on this amendment;

Separate votes: paras 7, 15 (PSE)

Split votes:

am. 2 (PPE):

1st part: text without the words (cid:145)the tendency for(cid:146)
2nd part: these words

Parliament adopted the resolution (Part II, Item 1(b)).

7.  Benchmarking (vote)

Murphy report › A4-0387/97
(Simple majority)

› Mr Fabra Valle·s proposed an oral amendment to para. 7
which he read out: (cid:145)calls on the Courts of Auditors to have its
Opinion 1/97 published in the Official Journal of the European
Communities and to submit ...(cid:146).

Mrs Theato, chairman of the Committee on Budgetary Control,
and Mrs Aelvoet, deputizing for the rapporteur, both agreed to
the oral amendment.

The President then established that there were no objections to
the oral amendment being put to the vote.

Mr Fabre-Aubrespy asked for separate votes to be taken on the
oral amendment and the motion for resolution as a whole.

The President put to the vote para 7 as amended and then the
motion for a resolution as a whole.

Parliament adopted the resolution (Part II, Item 3).

*

*

*

Explanations of vote were given by the following Members:

Murphy report › A4-0387/97

› in writing: Titley

Muller report › A4-0339/97

› orally: Fabre-Aubrespy

› in writing: Willockx; Lindqvist, Sjo¤stedt, Scho¤rling, Sand-
b(cid:230)k

9.  Genetically modified soya and maize (debate)

The next item was a joint debate on seven oral questions to the
Commission by the following Members:

› Breyer  and  Lannoye,  on  behalf  of  the  V  Group,  on
labelling  of  genetically  modified  soya  and  maize  products
(B4-0908/97)

› Florenz, Schleicher and Oomen-Ruijten, on behalf of the
PPE  Group,  on  labelling  of  products  made  from  genetically
modified soya and maize (B4-0909/97)

MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION:

Parliament adopted the resolution (Part II, Item 2).

› Roth-Behrendt,  on  behalf  of  the  PSE  Group,  on  imple-
menting  provisions  for  the  labelling  of  genetically  modified
soya beans and maize (B4-0910/97)

19. 1. 98

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 14/397

Friday 19 December 1997

› Pasty  and  Azzolini,  on  behalf  of  the  UPE  Group,  on  the
labelling  of  certain  foodstuffs  produced  from  genetically
modified organisms, (B4-0912/97)

10. Interim trade agreement with Uzbekistan *

(debate and vote)

› Eisma, on behalf of the ELDR Group, on the labelling of
genetically modified soya and maize (B4-0913/97)

› Papayannakis  and  Gonza·lez  Alvarez,  on  behalf  of  the
GUE/NGL, on the labelling of genetically modified soya and
maize (B4-1003/97)

› Souchet and Nicholson, on behalf of the I-EDN Group, on
the labelling of products made from genetically modified soya
and maize (B4-1006/97)

Mr Berthu made a point of order. He protested at the decision
by  the  Conference  of  Presidents  that  there  should  be  no
motions for resolutions on the oral questions. He said that his
group had tabled a motion for a resolution in full compliance
with  the  Rules  and  asked  for  it  to  be  put  to  the  vote
(the President replied that Mr Berthu(cid:146)s group had been repre-
sented  at  the  Conference  of  Presidents  meeting  at  which  the
decision had been taken). Mr Berthu said that he himself had
represented his group at this meeting and that he had unequi-
vocally opposed the decision which he said was in breach of
the Rules.

Mrs Breyer moved oral question B4-0908/97.

Mrs Schleicher moved oral question B4-0909/97.

Mrs Graenitz moved oral question B4-0910/97.

Mr Santini moved oral question B4-0912/97.

Mr Eisma moved oral question B4-0913/97.

Mrs Gonza·lez A· lvarez moved oral question B4-1003/97.

Mr Souchet moved oral question B4-1006/97.

Mrs  Cresson,  Member  of  the  Commission,  answered  the
questions.

The  following  spoke:  Mrs  Gebhardt,  on  behalf  of  the  PSE
Group, Mrs Keppelhoff-Wiechert, on behalf of the PPE Group,
Mrs Ryyna¤nen, on behalf of the ELDR Group, Mr Lannoye, on
behalf of the V Group, and Mrs Barthet-Mayer, on behalf of
the ARE Group.

IN THE CHAIR: Mr GUTIE· RREZ DI·AZ

Vice-President

The  following  spoke  Mr  Nicholson,  on  behalf  of  the  I-EDN
Group,  Mr  Gillis,  Mr  Olsson,  Mrs  Breyer,  Mrs  Raschhofer,
Mrs  Cresson,  and  Mr  Ru¤big  who  put  a  question  to  the
Commission which Mrs Cresson answered.

Mrs Mann, deputizing for the rapporteur, introduced the report
drawn  up  by  Mr  Wiersma,  on  behalf  of  the  Committee  on
External  Economic  Relations,  on  the  proposal  for  a  Council
Decision,  on  the  conclusion  by  the  European  Community  of
the  Interim  Agreement  on  trade  and  trade-related  matters
between  the  European  Community,  the  European  Coal  and
Steel Community and the European Atomic Energy Commun-
ity, of the one part, and the Republic of Uzbekistan, of the other
part  (COM(96)0466  ›  10521/96  ›  C4-0082/97  ›  96/
0236(ACC)) (A4-0304/97).

The  following  spoke:  Mr  Tindemans,  on  behalf  of  the  PPE
Group, Mr Van Dam, on behalf of I-EDN Group, Mr Posselt,
Mr von Habsburg and Mrs Cresson, Member of the Commis-
sion.

The President closed the debate.

VOTE:
(Simple majority)

DRAFT LEGISLATIVE RESOLUTION:

Parliament adopted the legislative resolution by RCV (PPE):

Members voting:
For:
Against:
Abstentions:

(Part II, Item 4).

71
68
0
3

*

*

*

Mrs Van Bladel, vice-chairman of the Human Rights Subcom-
mittee,  announced  that  she  had  heard  from  humanitarian
organisations in Angola that serious human rights abuses had
been committed the previous day in several provinces. She ex-
pressed horror at these events and asked that the President of
Parliament  call  on  the  Council  and  Commission  to  remind
Angola of its obligations with regard to human rights (the Pre-
sident replied that her feelings were certainly shared by the rest
the  House  and  that  he  would  convey  her  request  to  the
President of Parliament).

11. UEFA  decision  concerning  Coca-Cola  Cup

winners (statement with debate)

Mrs Cresson, Member of the Commission, made a statement
on UEFA(cid:146)s decision not to allow the winners of the Coca-Cola
Cup to take part in European Cup matches.

The following spoke: Mr Cunningham, on behalf of the PSE
Group,  Mr  Perry,  on  behalf  of  the  PPE  Group,  Mr  Titley,
Mr Wynn and Mrs Cresson.

The President closed the debate.

The President closed the debate.

C 14/398

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

19. 1. 98

Friday 19 December 1997

He announced that the following deadlines had been set:

14. Forwarding  of  texts  adopted  during  the  sit-

›  motions  for  resolutions:  12  noon  on  Thursday  8  January

ting

1998

›  amendments and joint motions: 7 p.m. on Monday 12 Jan-

uary 1998.

Mrs Lulling spoke.

12. Membership of committees

At  the  request  of  the  ARE  Group,  Parliament  ratified  the
following appointments:

›  Legal Affairs Committe; Mrs Ewing to replace Mr Scar-

bonchi

The  President  informed  Parliament,  pursuant  to  Rule  133(2),
that  the  Minutes  of  that  day(cid:146)s  sitting  would  be  submitted  to
Parliament for its approval at the beginning of its next sitting.

With Parliament(cid:146)s agreement, he stated that he would forward
the  texts  that  had  just  been  adopted  forthwith  to  the  bodies
named therein.

15. Dates for next sittings

›  Economic  Affairs  Committee;  Mr  Scarbonchi  to  replace

Mrs Ewing

The President announced that the next sittings would be held
from 12 to 16 January 1998.

13. Written declarations (Rule 48)

Pursuant to Rule 48(3), the President announced the number of
signatures to these declarations:

Document No

Author

Signatures

4/97

5/97

Cunningham

Nencini

158

25

16. Adjournment of session

The session was adjourned.

(The sitting closed at 11.45 a.m.)

Julian PRIESTLEY
Secretary-General

Jose· Mar(cid:14)·a GIL-ROBLES GIL-DELGADO
President

19. 1. 98

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 14/399

Friday 19 December 1997

PART II

Texts adopted by the European Parliament

1.  Human rights and democratic principles

(a) A4-0381/97

Resolution  on  the  Commission  report  on  the  implementation  of  measures  intended  to  promote
observance of human rights and democratic principles (for 1995) (COM(96)0672 › C4-0095/97)

The European Parliament,

›  having regard to the Commission report, COM(96)0672 › C4-0095/97,

›  having regard to Articles C and J.1(2) of the Treaty on European Union and Articles 130u, 228 and

238 of the EC Treaty,

›  having regard to its previous resolutions, in particular its resolution of 12 December 1996 on human

rights in the world in 1995-1996 and the Union(cid:146)s human rights policy (1),

›  having regard to the report of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, Security and Defence Policy and the
opinions of the Committee on Development and Cooperation, the Committee on Civil Liberties and
Internal Affairs and the Committee on Budgets (A4-0381/97),

A.  whereas Parliament, the Commission and the Council share the objective of constantly improving the
effectiveness  of  the  EU(cid:146)s  external  activities  and  policies  for  the  promotion  of  human  rights  and
democratic principles, which must be based where possible on positive measures,

B.  whereas the EU is a major international source of funding for such initiatives,

C.  whereas Parliament has created a specific budget chapter on democratization and human rights, with
the objective of achieving greater efficiency, effectiveness and visibility in the EU(cid:146)s activities in this
field; whereas this budget chapter has been reformulated within the 1998 budget procedure in order to
ensure  a  more  coherent  and  consistent  approach  in  EU  policy  and  to  increase  transparency  in  its
implementation,

D.  whereas close parliamentary scrutiny and control of human rights expenditure is essential,

E.  whereas the closest possible cooperation and coordination between Parliament, the Council and the

Commission is crucial if endeavours on behalf of human rights are to be successful,

Institutional cooperation for the promotion of human rights

1. Welcomes the Commission(cid:146)s report as a further contribution to the continuing effort to enhance the
effectiveness and transparency of EU activities in favour of human rights and democratization;

(1)  OJ C 20, 20.1.1997, p. 161.

C 14/400

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

19. 1. 98

Friday 19 December 1997

2.
Acknowledges  the  important  work  by  the  Inter-Service  Group  in  coordinating  human  rights
activities by different Commission DGs, and calls for further efforts to overcome the negative effects of
the geographical compartmentalisation which exists within the Commission;

3.
Notes that within the budget procedure for 1998 an interinstitutional working party on democracy
and  protection  of  human  rights,  comprising  representatives  of  Parliament  and  of  the  Commission,  has
been created; recalls that this working party is to give its opinion on the current annual work programme;

4.
Calls  for  the  relevant  Commission  departments  to  be  strengthened  through  redeployment  and
enhanced training, and, in the framework of the budgetary decisions, through an increase in staff numbers
where there is a clear justification for this;

5.

Urges that the ability to adjust priorities quickly in crisis situations should be enhanced;

6.
Requests the Commission to establish and enforce clear guidelines for the acknowledgement and
publication of EU subsidies in this area, in order to raise the profile of EU support for the promotion of
human rights;

7.
Requests  the  Commission  to  report  promptly  to  Parliament  any  instances  of  third  country
governments objecting to or blocking human rights or democratization projects; it should also draw up
proposals  for  dealing  with  such  objections,  with  a  view  to  overcoming  the  obstacles  that  unwilling
governments can put in the way of human rights project funding;

Calls  on  the  Commission  to  grasp  the  opportunity  provided  by  new  electronic  media  to  make
8.
information on human rights available throughout the world, and to ensure that material from seminars
funded by the EU is made available electronically, in order to encourage its wider distribution and to guide
the work of related seminars in future;

Calls on the Commission to publish annually a communication on compliance, by third countries
9.
with  which  the  Community  has  concluded  agreements,  with  the  human  rights  and  democracy  clause
contained therein;

Requests the Commission, in drawing up its reports on respect for human rights, to be guided by the
10.
information  supplied  by  international  bodies  and/or  institutions  charged  with  the  task  of  monitoring
respect for human rights;

Electoral support and monitoring

11.
Points  out  that  it  has  decided,  within  the  budget  procedure  for  1998,  that  the  financial
implementation of the support for, and supervision of, electoral processes (B7-709) will depend on the
prior adoption by the three institutions of common rules and procedures for their representation during the
special missions for electoral monitoring and/or post-electoral measures; notes that the consolidation of
the budgetary resources used to finance operations related to elections in third countries will depend on
this harmonisation and will be decided within the annual budget procedure;

12.
Calls  for  a  communication  from  the  Commission  evaluating  EU  participation  in  election
monitoring missions in recent years, with a view to enhancing the EU(cid:146)s capacity to promote democracy
through electoral support operations;

13.
Points out that whenever additional ad hoc funding is needed for election observation and support
operations the Commission should propose in due time to the budget authority, in accordance with the
Financial  Regulation,  the  corresponding  transfer  from  other  budget  lines,  if  necessary  from  those
concerning the countries in question, to budget line B7-709;

Insists that a specific line should be created for election observation and support operations, distinct

14.
from the human rights and democratization lines;

19. 1. 98

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 14/401

Friday 19 December 1997

Future reports on human rights expenditure

Calls on the Commission to ensure that future reports include an assessment of the effectiveness of

15.
funded projects, and to make assessments carried out by external consultants available to Parliament;

16.
Calls on the Commission to clarify the respective roles of the report under consideration and the
reports  adopted  pursuant  to  the  November  1991  Council  resolution  on  human  rights,  democracy  and
development;

Calls on the Commission to draw up and publish its criteria for assessing the success or failure of

17.
funded projects;

18.
Recommends that consultant studies of the impact of development assistance projects should also
examine to extent to which they have furthered respect for human rights and democratic principles, in
view of the stipulation in the Treaty on European Union that the promotion of human rights is an objective
of development cooperation;

19.

› 

Calls on the Commission to address the following issues in future reports:

the  effectiveness  of  operations  undertaken  by  organizations  specifically  named  in  human  rights
budget lines;

› 

the ratio of administrative to operational expenditure in the grants given under Chapter B7-70;

› 

› 

the extent to which projects were co-funded through other sources, in order to allow closer scrutiny of
the benefits and shortcomings of cooperation with other actors;

the  breakdown  of  funding  between  official  or  government  activities,  semi-state  activities,  and
non-governmental initiatives, and to seek to achieve a proper balance between government-run and
non-governmental projects;

› 

the  compilation  of  comparative  figures  on  expenditure  on  democratisation  by  EU  Member  States,
other states such as the US, and other international organisations;

Procedures

20.
Calls  on  the  Commission  to  take  steps  to  reduce  undue  delays  in  the  disbursement  of  grants,
particularly in view of disturbing reports of excessive delays in their allocation, apparently due to overly
bureaucratic procedures;

Recommends that information about grants be made readily available, also to smaller organizations
21.
and to organizations not based in Brussels or indeed in the EU, for instance by providing such information
on the Internet, and that information on the status of an application be regularly provided to applicants;

Reiterates that the inclusion of the democracy clause in economic cooperation agreements between
22.
the European Union and third countries is an essential element in promoting human rights and democratic
principles;

23.
Recommends that, in cases where the EU has put its official relations with third countries on ice due
to  serious  shortcomings  in  the  area  of  human  rights,  direct  support  for  forces  in  civil  society  working
towards the country(cid:146)s democratization be continued, with account being taken also of special solutions
appropriate to the specific problems involved;

In conclusion

Reiterates its call for a thorough impact assessment at political level of human rights activities, and

24.
for reports on the human rights situation in third countries to be forwarded regularly to Parliament;

25.
Believes that a major evaluation conference could be held annually on the EU(cid:146)s democratization
programmes throughout the world, along the lines of the October 1997 conference on the PHARE and
TACIS democracy programmes;

C 14/402

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

19. 1. 98

Friday 19 December 1997

26.
Expresses  its  support  in  principle  for  higher  levels  of  expenditure  to  be  made  available  for  the
promotion  of  human  rights,  provided  that  a  more  developed  system  of  human  rights  reporting  is
established in the EU framework, which should include annual reports by each Commission Delegation
identifying  whether  the  situation  regarding  human  rights  and  democracy  in  each  partner  country  has
improved;

Instructs  its  President  to  forward  this  resolution  to  the  Commission,  the  Council  and  the

27.
governments and parliaments of the Member States.

*

*

*

(b) A4-0393/97

Resolution  on  setting  up  a  single  coordinating  structure  within  the  Commission  responsible  for
human rights and democratization

The European Parliament,

›  having regard to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,

›  having regard to the principles of the European Convention on Human Rights,

›  having regard to the CSCE Charter adopted in Paris in 1990,

›  having regard to Article 130u(2) of the EC Treaty,

›  having regard to the resolution of the Council and the representatives of the Member States meeting

within the Council of 28 November 1991 on human rights, democracy and development,

›  having regard to the results of the UN human rights conference in Vienna in June 1993, and of the

UN conferences in Cairo, Copenhagen and Beijing,

›  having regard to its resolutions on human rights throughout the world, particularly the resolution of
12 December 1996 on human rights throughout the world in 1995/96 and the Union(cid:146)s human rights
policy (1),

›  having  regard  to  its  resolution  of  21  April  1994  on  human  rights  in  the  European  Union’s  foreign

policy (2),

›  having regard to its resolution of 12 June 1997 on progress in implementing the common foreign and

security policy (January to December 1996) (3),

›  having  regard  to  the  Commission  communication  to  the  Council  and  Parliament:  (cid:145)The  European
Union and the external dimension of human rights policy: from Rome to Maastricht and beyond(cid:146),
COM(95)0567,

›  having  regard  to  the  Commission  report  on  the  implementation  of  measures  intended  to  promote

human rights and democratic principles (for 1995), COM(96)0672,

›  having regard to the Commission report on cooperation with European non-governmental develop-
ment organizations (NGDOs) in those fields of importance to developing countries (1994 financial
year), COM(96)0032,

›  having regard to its resolution of 20 September 1996 on the communication from the Commission on
the  inclusion  of  respect  for  democratic  principles  and  human  rights  in  agreements  between  the
Community and third countries (4),

(1)  OJ C 20, 20.1.1997, p. 161.
(2)  OJ C 128, 9.5.1994, p. 370.
(3)  OJ C 200, 30.6.1997, p. 148.
(4)  OJ C 320, 28.10.1996, p. 261.

19. 1. 98

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 14/403

Friday 19 December 1997

›  having regard to its resolution of 13 June 1997 on the proposal for a Council Decision on a framework
procedure  for  implementing  Article  366a  of  the  Fourth  Lome· Convention,  and  the  opinion  of  the
Committee on Foreign Affairs, Security and Defence Policy in report A4-0175/97 (1),

›  having regard to its resolution of 21 February 1997 on European Union humanitarian aid and the role
of ECHO, and on the Commission communication to the Council and European Parliament on linking
relief, rehabilitation and development (2),

›  having regard to Rule 148 of its Rules of Procedure,

›  having regard to the report of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, Security and Defence Policy and the
opinions  of  the  Committee  on  Development  and  Cooperation  and  the  Committee  on  Budgets
(A4-0393/97),

A.  whereas the Union has declared that it is founded on the principles of liberty, democracy, respect for
human rights and fundamental freedoms, and the rule of law, and this declaration should find practical
expression in the internal policy of the Union, in the common development policy and the common
foreign and security policy (CFSP),

B.  whereas following the outcome of Amsterdam a troika comprising the Council President, the CFSP
High Representative/Council Secretary-General and the Commission will be set up for the CFSP and
the Commission will be fully involved in the CFSP’s tasks,

C.  whereas with the international recognition of human rights, reference is increasingly being made to
human rights and democracy in international relations also; whereas the Community’s human rights
policy  has  duly  expanded  in  scope  and  the  activities,  funding  and  operators  in  this  area  have
accordingly increased,

D.  whereas the European Union has created new priorities in its human rights policy by introducing the

consolidation of democratic processes and conflict prevention,

E.  whereas the Vienna human rights conference endorsed the indivisibility and universality of human

rights and the right to development as an integral component of fundamental human rights,

F.  whereas  the  Council  introduced  (cid:145)conditional’  development  aid  by  decision  of  November  1991,  in

contrast to its previous policy of unconditional development aid,

G.  whereas the rehabilitation phase of development cooperation is tied to the introduction of democratic

processes and programmes include measures to restore civil society and the rule of law,

H.  whereas  the  Union  as  a  whole  is  required  to  be  consistent  in  its  foreign  policy  measures  and  the
Council and Commission share that responsibility, and whereas foreign policy measures must be not
only consistent but efficient and transparent as well,

I.  whereas, with its most recent proposal for a Council Regulation on the development and consolidation
of  democracy  and  the  rule  of  law  and  respect  for  human  rights  and  fundamental  freedoms
(COM(97)0357), the Commission is putting forward a single legal basis designed to bring about a
greater degree of coherence and efficiency in the implementation of policy and measures in support of
human rights and democracy,

J.  whereas in view of the European Union’s substantial financial contributions to the implementation of
democracy and human rights projects and election support and observation, the conspicuousness of
European Union funding particularly needs improving,

(1)  OJ C 200, 30.6.1997, p. 256.
(2)  OJ C 85, 17.3.1997, p. 181.

C 14/404

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

19. 1. 98

Friday 19 December 1997

K.  convinced that the European Union should coordinate the implementation of its human rights policy
measures  as  closely  as  possible  with  international  organizations  (e.g.  the  Council  of  European
Unionropean Unionrope, OSCE) in order to achieve broad synergies and multiplier effects,

L.  whereas to implement an effective foreign policy, which includes the promotion of human rights and
democracy,  the  European  Union  must  provide  itself  with  suitable  decision-making  structures  and
instruments,

M.  whereas Parliament needs to have procedures and instruments that will enable it to ensure that, in
accordance with its resolutions and recommendations, a consistent policy is pursued in human rights
issues, including an effective capacity to monitor action taken in response to its opinions,

N.  convinced that the variety of proposals put forward in Parliament’s resolutions and recommendations

points to Parliament’s wish for transparency, control, analysis and supervision,

O.  whereas enforcement of the human rights approach depends on the clarity and constancy with which

concepts are defined and the consistency with which the instruments are applied,

P.  convinced  that  assessment  of  and  reporting  on  the  human  rights  situation  in  third  countries  are
essential requirements with regard to the guarantees and sanctions policy and conflict prevention,

Q.  whereas the divided decision-making and administrative structure on which European Union foreign,
development and trade policy is based leads to breakdowns in coordination, and tensions on the issue
of responsibility,

R.  having  regard  to  its  efforts  to  counter  the  fragmentation  of  budget  funds  for  human  rights  and
democracy projects; whereas the Commission strategy is lacking, and responsibility divided, for their
use,

S.  whereas the internal coordinating body for Commission departments concerned with human rights

and democracy is a mirror image of the fragmentation of responsibilities,

T.  whereas the procedures for project allocation are slow-moving and difficult to survey, and lead to

considerable delays in payment,

U.  whereas the Commission’s method of reporting on project assessment and the continuity of projects is
› despite progress › still difficult to survey and incomplete and often provides information at a very
late stage, which affects transparency and Parliament’s monitoring ability,

V.  whereas the Commission does not yet have its own, comprehensive appraisal system for the human
rights  and  democracy  programmes,  and  whereas  an  initial  assessment  report  on  the  PHARE  and
TACIS  democracy  programmes  was  submitted  to  the  first  conference  on  the  assessment  of  the
programmes held on 2 and 3 October 1997 in Brussels,

W.  whereas the annual memorandum on the human rights activities of the Council and the Member States
in the framework of the CFSP should be more detailed and presented each year at a fixed date,

X.  whereas although the participation of non-governmental organizations in project implementation has
steadily expanded, the system of cooperation has also become more difficult to survey as a result,

Y.  whereas the creation of ECHO has decisively helped to improve the coordination, effectiveness and

conspicuousness of European Union measures in the field of humanitarian aid,

Z.  favouring  the  consistency,  transparency,  efficiency,  credibility  and  conspicuousness  of  European
Union human rights policy and its measures to promote respect for human rights and democracy,

1.
Calls  for  regular  reporting  by  the  Council  and  Commission  on  the  situation  of  human  rights  and
democracy, European Union positions, their follow-up, and on relevant measures in third countries in the
form of constantly updated country reports;

Takes the view that annual report must not take the place of the Annual Memorandum of the Council

2.
and Member States in the area of human rights, which could be expanded;

Calls for the European Union delegations to be more closely involved in both political monitoring

3.
and reporting and in the supervision of projects and the assessment of programmes;

19. 1. 98

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 14/405

Friday 19 December 1997

4.
Calls  on  the  Commission,  the  Council  and  the  Member  States  to  do  justice  to  the  need  for  an
adequate  European  Union  monitoring  mechanism  as  part  of  conflict  prevention  by  incorporating  the
observation of human rights throughout the world in the tasks of the early warning unit and, in particular,
to set up facilities for assessing the human rights situation in third countries with which the Union has
concluded agreements incorporating human rights clauses;

5.
Recommends restructuring of the Commission’s decision-making and administrative structure, with
the introduction of a single structure to cover the area of human rights and democratization, in order to
improve  coordination  and  facilitate  dialogue  with  the  European  Parliament,  the  Council,  international
organizations and NGOs;

6.
Therefore  repeats  its  call  for  a  single  Vice-President/Commissioner  for  external  relations  to  be
appointed,  at  the  investiture  of  the  new  Commission  if  not  before,  under  whose  responsibility  close
coordination  of  all  Commissioners  and  Directorates-General  involved  in  external  relations,  the
coordination of programme and project management and policy on guarantees and sanctions would be
assured;

7. Wonders whether it might not be desirable to set up a (cid:145)European Agency for Human Rights and
Democratization(cid:146)  as  an  over-arching  coordinating  structure,  possibly  modelled  on  ECHO,  under  the
responsibility of a Commissioner for Human Rights and Democracy, which would not only administer
programmes and projects but would also coordinate the guarantees and sanctions policy;

8.
Calls for precautions to be taken straight away to define a common strategy to spend the financial
resources for human rights projects to ensure that human rights considerations play a significant and clear
role in formulating foreign policy;

9.
Calls for precautions to be taken straight away to make the management of the relevant programmes
and projects more efficient in the framework of a common administrative structure for all directorates-
general dealing with external relations, making it a priority to coordinate resources and tasks, to simplify
procedures and financial management and to mobilize all available funds as efficiently as possible;

10.
Notes,  in  this  connection,  that  the  Commission,  through  the  forthcoming  establishment  of  the
SCOOP  service  (joint  cooperation  service),  intends  to  reorganize  the  administrative  procedures  for
dealing with all external aid;

11.
Further recommends to the Commission improving cooperation with NGOs, which would include
standardizing application procedure and partnership contracts, and incorporating NGDOs operating in the
field of human rights and democracy in a structure comparable to the NGDO Liaison Committee;

12.
Supports,  as  stated  in  paragraph  5,  the  creation  of  a  common  internal  administrative  structure,
recalling  that,  during  the  budgetary  procedure  for  1998,  it  decided  to  set  up  an  interinstitutional
consultative  working  party  consisting  of  representatives  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the
Commission, which would be required to deliver an opinion on the annual work programme;

13.
Calls for a still stronger concentration of the funds for human rights and democracy by entering
them in Chapter B7-70 of the budget, while giving special consideration to the thematic approach; in this
connection, welcomes the further consolidation of appropriations in the 1998 budget, inter alia for human
rights and democracy in the countries of southern Africa;

14.
Requests  that  coordination  might  be  improved  by  means  of  cooperation  agreements  with
international and regional organizations, in particular the OSCE and the Council of Europe, in view of the
latter(cid:146)s  considerable  experience  in  the  assessment  of  trends  on  human  rights  issues,  thus  avoiding
duplication of work and achieving a consistent approach;

15.
Considers  that  there  is  a  need  for  its  own  parliamentary  bodies  dealing  with  human  rights  and
democracy issues to be more effectively coordinated, including the preparation of election observation;

16.
Regards more efficient coordination between the institutions and the international organizations in
the case of election support and observation as being indispensable, in order to safeguard the efficiency,
productivity and conspicuousness of the action taken; accordingly welcomes the consolidating approach
in the 1998 budget;

C 14/406

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

19. 1. 98

Friday 19 December 1997

17.
Points out in this connection that it has just stipulated, during the budgetary procedure for 1998, that
the  implementation  of  the  appropriations  for  support  for,  and  supervision  of,  electoral  processes
(Article B7-709) will be conditional on the prior adoption by the three institutions of joint measures and of
procedures governing representation in the context of special missions for electoral supervision and/or
post-electoral measures;

18.
Proposes, in addition, creating a (cid:145)European network for human rights and democratization(cid:146) within
the  Commission  for  the  purpose  of  collecting,  analyzing  and  organizing  relevant  information  for
electronic transmission via the Internet and coordinating the operations carried out by individual Member
States with those of the European Union;

19.
Demands,  in  the  interest  of  making  European  Union  human  rights  policy  both  transparent  and
conspicuous, that the network provide the institutions, and particularly Parliament, within the institutional
decision-making  and  cooperation  framework  but  also  in  cooperation  with  all  partners  in  the  fields  of
human rights and democracy, with a quicker, fuller and constantly updated information exchange, which
should concentrate on:

› 

› 

› 

the principles and instruments of European Union human rights policy,

the situation of human rights and democracy in third countries,

the use of all relevant funding and the full assessment of programmes and projects, including prior
effectiveness analysis and programme continuity, and identifying partners involved in implementa-
tion,

›  expert aid for the NGOs and NGDOs,

› 

the activity reports of all establishments funded by the European Union;

20. Wishes  the  network  to  come  under  the  Commission’s  responsibility  and  a  working  party
comprising representatives of the Commission and Parliament to receive the mandate for organizing the
information;

21. Wishes to make it possible, through the network, to carry out an annual impact assessment on the
human rights situation that will meet the need for systematic assessment of European Union human rights
policy and the use of resources;

22.
Proposes  that  this  network  should  be  funded  from  budget  chapters  (cid:145)European  initiative  for
democracy  and  the  protection  of  human  rights(cid:146)  (B7-70)  and  (cid:145)Community  measures  to  support  NGOs(cid:146)
(B7-60),  if  necessary  also  drawing  on  appropriations  for  EU  information  policy  (B3-3),  the  placing  of
appropriations in the budget to be decided during the annual budgetary procedure in accordance with the
needs identified by the Commission and Parliament;

Instructs  its  President  to  forward  this  resolution  to  the  Council,  the  Commission  and  the

23.
governments and parliaments of the Member States.

2.  Benchmarking

A4-0387/97

Resolution on the communication from the Commission to the Council, the European Parliament,
the  Economic  and  Social  Committee  and  the  Committee  of  the  Regions  on  benchmarking  ›
instrument  available  to  economic  actors  and  public  authorities
implementation  of  an 

(COM(97)0153 › C4-0387/97)

The European Parliament,

›  having regard to the Commission communication, COM(97)0153 › C4-0387/97,

›  having regard to its resolution of 9 April 1997 on the Commission communication on benchmarking

the competitiveness of European industry (COM(96)0463 › C4-0622/96) (1),

(1)  OJ C 132, 28.4.1997, p. 106.

19. 1. 98

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 14/407

Friday 19 December 1997

›  having regard to its resolution of 29 June 1995 on the Commission communication on an industrial

competitiveness policy for the European Union (COM(94)0319 › C4-0140/94) (1),

›  having regard to its resolution of 9 March 1994 on the White Paper on Growth, Competitiveness and

Employment (COM(93)0700 › C3-0509/93) (2),

›  having  regard  to  the  conclusions  of  the  Dublin  European  Council  and  the  Amsterdam  European

Council,

›  having regard to the conclusions of the Industry Councils of 14 November 1996 and 24 April 1997,

›  having regard to the reports of the Competitiveness Advisory Group,

›  having regard to the report of the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs and Industrial Policy

(A4-0387/97),

A.  whereas  benchmarking  at  three  levels  (firms,  sectors  and  business  environment)  can  support  the
development  of  an  employment  strategy  for  the  European  Union  and  its  Member  States,  enhance
overall  economic  competitiveness  and  contribute  to  economic  convergence  by  closing  gaps  in
productivity and reducing economic inequality,

B.  whereas the Commission communication on benchmarking the competitiveness of European industry
and  Parliament(cid:146)s  abovementioned  resolution  of  9  April  1997on  this  communication  identified
comparative weaknesses in the performance of the European Union economy, which are the result of
many  factors  (costs,  productivity,  macroeconomic  framework  conditions)  adversely  affecting  the
European economy as a whole and the causes of which must be combated,

C.  whereas structural unemployment in the European Union is increasing regularly; whereas at the end

of each recession residual unemployment levels are higher than those at the beginning,

D.  whereas  benchmarking  can  only  succeed  through  an  inclusive  partnership  approach  involving  all
social partners, especially trade unions, SMEs and representatives of business and public authorities,
which must make every effort to establish a favourable business climate,

1. Welcomes the Commission communication on benchmarking › implementation of an instrument
available to economic actors and public authorities;

2. Welcomes  the  Commission(cid:146)s  observations  that  benchmarking  and  in  particular  measures  to
implement  the  changes  shown  by  benchmarking  to  be  necessary  to  improve  competitiveness  are  not
one-off exercises limited in time, but must be viewed as permanent and on-going;

3. Welcomes the Commission(cid:146)s intention to establish a European network of expertise for enterprises
to  ensure  the  availability  of  coherent,  trustworthy  and  equivalent  services,  especially  for  SMEs,
throughout the European Union;

4. Welcomes the Commission(cid:146)s commitment to annual budgeting or multi-annual programme support
for benchmarking, whichever action proves most suitable in the light of experience gained;

5. Welcomes the Commission(cid:146)s announcement of a high-level group on benchmarking, composed of
industrialists,  representatives  of  Chambers  of  Commerce  and  business  organizations,  trade  unions,
consumers and the civil society; stresses the importance for the high-level group to use the highest-quality
statistical information available, and draws attention to the potential of Eurostat in this respect;

(1)  OJ C 183, 17.7.95, p. 26.
(2)  OJ C 91, 28.3.94, p. 124.

C 14/408

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

19. 1. 98

Friday 19 December 1997

6.
Believes that the full added value of benchmarking to the European Union will be best realized if the
particular needs of SMEs are taken into account as a priority and calls in particular for SMEs to be directly
involved  in  the  high-level  group  through  participants  specifically  representing  them,  and  also  in  the
establishment of the European network of benchmarking expertise;

7.
Asks to be directly involved with the work of the high-level group through the granting of observer
status to a small number of its Members, and asks once again to be invited to participate in the annual
tripartite  benchmark  assessment  visits  to  Japan  and  the  United  States  of  America  organized  by  the
Commission;

8.
Considers  that  particular  attention  should  be  given  to  the  benchmarking  of  competitiveness  with
regard to the business environment, since this forms the basis for the creation of a favourable economic,
social  and  legislative  climate  to  ensure  business  competitiveness,  generate  investment  and  stimulate
economic activity;

9.
Calls on all Member States to make every effort to participate fully in the initiatives launched by the
Commission,  in  particular  the  pilot  project  programme  which  must  be  developed  further  to  integrate
benchmarking into European competitiveness policies;

10.
Rejects  any  narrow  definition  of  industrial  competitiveness  benchmarking  focused  solely  on
wage-price competition, as there is no evidence to link European Union losses in manufacturing market
share to labour costs;

11.
Calls  for  a  specific  amendment  to  the  (cid:145)Development  of  Human  Resources(cid:146)  benchmarking  pilot
project to give much higher priority to the quality of managerial skills and training in the European Union,
given that cost differentials between European firms and their Japanese and American counterparts are
frequently  due  to  operational  inefficiencies  and  not  labour  market  inefficiencies;  calls  also  for  high
priority to be given to the interface between education and training on the one hand and the workplace on
the other, as this is an area where the EU is clearly lagging behind other leading world economies; believes
that this should be done firmly within the context of lifelong learning;

Calls  on  the  Commission  to  introduce  an  extra  pilot  project  which  will  investigate  why  certain
12.
European  Union  sectors,  such  as  food,  drink,  tobacco  and  furniture  all  outperform  their  Japanese  and
American counterparts for industrial added value, and why a number of European Union Member States
outperform Japan and the United States of America in terms of job creation;

13.
Calls on the Commission and the Member States to explore the possible benefits of benchmarking
through the implementation of best practice on the employment market (cost of labour, adaptability of
workforce,  investment  in  human  resources),  which  will  contribute  to  its  flexibility,  and  in  the  area  of
health and safety in the workplace, factors which enhance efficiency, output and productivity gains;

Calls on the Commission to investigate the possibility of an additional benchmarking pilot project

14.
on infrastructure investment in the European Union;

15.
Calls  on  the  Commission  to  report  back  on  the  results  of  the  pilot  projects  to  the  European
Parliament and, building upon these pilot projects, propose a work programme with a specific timetable
and  covering  specific  subjects  for  the  future  work  on  benchmarking,  draw  up  an  annual  report  on
developments in the area of benchmarking and set out the action which must be taken by the Member
States or as part of Community policy in the light of the results obtained from benchmarking;

16.

Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Commission and the Council.

19. 1. 98

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 14/409

Friday 19 December 1997

3.  Expenditure under CFSP

A4-0339/97

Resolution  on  Opinion  No  1/97  of  the  Court  of  Auditors  of  the  European  Communities  on  the
conditions  governing  the  implementation  of  expenditure  under  the  common  foreign  and  security
policy (C4-0220/97)

The European Parliament,

›  having  regard  to  Opinion  No  1/97  of  the  Court  of  Auditors  of  the  European  Communities  on  the
conditions  governing  the  implementation  of  expenditure  under  the  common  foreign  and  security
policy (C4-0220/97),

›  having regard to Article 188c(4) of the EC Treaty,

›  having regard to the Interinstitutional Agreement of 16 July 1997 between the European Parliament,
the  Council  and  the  Commission  on  provisions  regarding  financing  of  the  common  foreign  and
security policy,

›  having regard to its resolution of 26 October 1994 on the financing of the CFSP (1),

›  having  regard  to  its  resolution  of  13  December  1996  on  Special  Report  No  2/96  of  the  Court  of
Auditors  concerning  the  accounts  of  the  Administrator  and  the  European  Union  Administration,
Mostar (EUAM) (2),

›  having  regard  to  its  resolution  of  10  April  1997  containing  the  comments  which  form  part  of  the
Decision giving discharge to the Commission in respect of the implementation of the general budget
of the European Union for the financial year 1995 (3),

›  having regard to its resolution of 12 June 1997 on progress in implementing the common foreign and

security policy (January to December 1996) (4),

›  having regard to its resolution of 26 June 1997 on the meeting of the European Council on 16 and

17 June 1997 in Amsterdam (5),

›  having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control (A4-0339/97),

A.  whereas the common foreign and security policy (CFSP) of the European Union has so far fallen far
short of the objectives assigned to it in the Treaty on European Union and whereas citizens of the
Union have the impression that the Union is not really capable of action in the field of foreign and
security policy,

B.  whereas one of the prime objectives of the recent Intergovernmental Conference was to change this

and to reform the CFSP in the light of experience to date,

C.  whereas the Amsterdam Treaty represents progress on some issues but not a thorough reform of the
CFSP  and  whereas  there  is  even  a  risk  that  decision-making  procedures  may  become  yet  more
complicated in future,

D.  whereas the Interinstitutional Agreement of 16 July 1997 regarding financing of the CFSP disregarded

questions concerning the implementation and supervision of joint actions,

E.  whereas  the  Court  of  Auditors(cid:146)  opinion  very  clearly  identifies  and  analyses  the  weaknesses  and

shortcomings in the implementation of joint actions under the CFSP hitherto,

F.  having regard to the Court of Auditors(cid:146) finding that the six-monthly rotation in the Council Presidency
renders  continuous  political  management  and  supervision  of  joint  actions  complicated  and
cumbersome and that this structural defect cannot be remedied by ad hoc working parties of officials
from the Member States,

(1)  OJ C 323, 21.11.1994, p. 72.
(2)  OJ C 20, 20.1.1997, p. 405.
(3)  OJ L 162, 19.6.1997, p. 32.
(4)  OJ C 200, 30.6.1997, p. 148.
(5)  OJ C 222, 21.7.1997, p. 17.

C 14/410

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

19. 1. 98

Friday 19 December 1997

G.  whereas, while it was agreed at Amsterdam that in future the Presidency should be assisted by the
Secretary-General  of  the  Council,  who  is  to  exercise  the  function  of  High  Representative  for  the
common foreign and security policy, responsibility for the implementation of joint actions is still to
remain with the Council Presidency and the role and status of the High Representative are not clearly
defined,

H.  having regard to the Court of Auditors(cid:146) finding that the greatest difficulties with joint actions have
hitherto as a rule arisen during the initial phase and that vital decisions affecting the future course of
events often had to be taken in situations in which essential information was still lacking,

I.  whereas it was agreed at Amsterdam that a new policy planning and early warning unit should be
established in the General Secretariat of the Council, to which the Member States, the Commission
and WEU should also contribute staff; whereas, however, the Treaty does not vest in the unit any
power to prepare or implement joint actions,

J.  having regard to the Court of Auditors(cid:146) finding that the Commission often has not been promptly or
sufficiently  involved  in  decision-making  procedures,  although  in  practice  it  has  had  to  assume  all
functions relating to the practical management of joint actions,

K.  whereas although it was reaffirmed at Amsterdam that the Commission is to be fully associated in
representing the Union in CFSP matters and in the implementation of joint actions, the Commission(cid:146)s
role was not spelt out beyond this,

L.  having  regard  to  the  Court  of  Auditors(cid:146)  finding  that  there  were  failures  and  shortcomings  in  the
administration of joint actions within the Commission as well as elsewhere, and that they were due
mainly to the unclear allocation of competencies and inadequate staffing,

M.  whereas it was agreed at Amsterdam that it was desirable that in future a Vice-President should be
responsible for external relations at the Commission, a change which would entail a reorganization of
the Commission services,

N.  having regard to the Court of Auditors(cid:146) finding that a total of ECU 266 540 000 was made available
for the CFSP in the years 1993-1996, of which 242 390 000 › more than 90% › came from the budget
of the Union and 24 150 000 in the form of contributions from the Member States,

O.  having regard to the Court of Auditors(cid:146) finding that in some cases there were substantial delays in
making available financial resources › not only contributions from the Member States but also funds
from the Union(cid:146)s budget › and that these unnecessarily hampered and impeded the implementation of
joint actions,

P.  whereas  the  Interinstitutional  Agreement  of  16  July  1997  regarding  financing  of  the  CFSP  will  in
future prevent delays such as have hitherto arisen from budgetary and administrative procedures for
transferring funds from the reserve to operational budget headings,

Q.  whereas, however, the Interinstitutional Agreement still does not solve two problems which the Court
of  Auditors  identified  as  critical,  namely  the  lack  of  resources  available  for  the  preparation  and
initiation of joint actions and the question of the inadequate participation of the Commission at the
preparatory stage,

R.  whereas it is laid down in point G of the Interinstitutional Agreement that the CFSP chapter of the
budget  could  be  divided  into  articles  concerning  observation  of  elections  and  participation  in
democratic  transition  processes,  EU  envoys,  prevention  of  conflicts/peace  and  security  processes,
financial assistance to disarmament processes, contributions to international conferences and urgent
actions,

S.  whereas this does not resolve the problem identified by the Court of Auditors that in many cases the
objectives  of  the  CFSP  coincide  with  Community  tasks  in  the  field  of  development  cooperation,
which in the worst case can lead to poor or even non-existent coordination between measures funded
from the CFSP and measures funded from non-CFSP resources,

T.  whereas  even  at  Amsterdam  the  fundamental  structural  flaw  that  the  CFSP  is  intended  to  be
determined through intergovernmental cooperation but funded from the Community budget was not
eliminated,

19. 1. 98

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 14/411

Friday 19 December 1997

U.  whereas therefore the Commission will continue to be hampered in its efforts to implement the budget
under  its  own  responsibility,  and  whereas  there  is  a  danger  that  it  may  be  confined  to  a  purely
financial, administrative and book-keeping role,

V.  whereas Parliament has a responsibility to the citizens of the EU to ensure that their money is used
economically and sensibly and therefore, when carrying out its supervisory duties as laid down in the
Treaties, must not confine itself to a purely accounts-based audit, as this would undermine its right to
hold  the  Commission  accountable  for  the  implementation  of  the  budget  under  the  discharge
procedure,

W.  whereas  the  Council  does  not  participate  in  the  normal  procedures  in  which  all  parties  can  be
questioned about the reports of the Court of Auditors, and hence seeks to avoid being criticized or
called to account by Parliament and the public,

X.  whereas Parliament, in paragraph 7 of its Decision of 10 April 1997 giving discharge in respect of the
implementation of the budget for the financial year 1995 › Sections IV › Court of Justice, V › Court
of Auditors, VI › Economic and Social Committee and Committee of the Regions (1), instructed its
Committee on Budgetary Control to set up an appropriate procedure, commencing with the discharge
procedure  for  the  financial  year  1996,  for  considering  implementation  of  the  budget  in  Section  II
(Council),

Y.  Whereas care must at all events be taken to ensure that the second attempt to establish an effective
CFSP  does  not,  like  the  first,  become  bogged  down  in  a  tangle  of  bureaucratic  obstacles  and
administrative rivalries,

1.
Observes  that  the  Interinstitutional  Agreement  of  16  July  1997  could  contribute  to  a  more  rapid
provision of funds for joint actions, but that this does not mean that the difficulties of demarcation between
CFSP  actions  and  measures  falling  within  the  sphere  of  competence  of  Community  policies  or  the
difficulties of implementation and supervision of joint actions which have been identified by the Court of
Auditors have been resolved;

Calls on the Commission to propose to Parliament and the Council clear criteria for decision-making
2.
with a view to determining in which cases a measure should be financed from the CFSP budget chapter
and in which cases other budget chapters should be used;

Recommends further development of the Interinstitutional Agreement of 16 July 1997, with the aim
3.
of  arriving  at  a  modus  vivendi  concerning  the  implementation  and  supervision  of  joint  actions,  which
should ensure that:

(a)  in future the Commission is fully involved in and consulted on the planning and preparation of joint

actions from the outset,

(b)  cooperation  between  the  Council  Presidency  and  the  Commission  in  implementing  joint  actions
abides by clear operational rules in order to ensure continuity and effectiveness in the administration
and  monitoring  of  the  actions;  one  minimum  requirement  is  that  the  Commission  should  not  be
hampered in carrying out its duty to implement the budget under its own responsibility,

(c)  CFSP envoys can, when necessary, be questioned by the appropriate committee of Parliament on the

implementation of expenditure,

(d)  statements of accounts and consolidated accounts are drawn up for each joint action, providing an
insight not only into the total Community funds invested but also into the contributions of the Member
States and other donors;

4. Welcomes the fact that the Commission can now itself contract CFSP envoys directly, and calls on
the Council to agree to a salary table to be proposed by the Commission in order in future to obviate the
need to undertake arduous searches for appropriate ad hoc solutions to the problem of payment of envoys;

5.
Recommends that the Member States establish a CFSP staff reserve which can be rapidly mobilized
for joint actions and set up a preparatory group under the overall control of the Commission, to prepare
procedures, on the basis of previous experience, particularly of observing elections and deployment of
envoys,  which  can  ensure  that,  once  joint  actions  have  been  decided  on,  they  proceed  as  quickly  and
smoothly as possible from the organizational and financial points of view;

(1)  OJ C 132, 28.4.1997, p. 149.

C 14/412

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

19. 1. 98

Friday 19 December 1997

Observes  that,  in  connection  with  the  Interinstitutional  Agreement  of  16  July  1997,  certain

6.
procedural questions of a technical nature need to be clarified, particularly:

(a)  that  the  Interinstitutional  Agreement  has  not  in  any  way  altered  the  existing  rules  on  the
implementation  of  the  budget,  based  on  the  Financial  Regulation,  nor  is  there  any  need  for  such
alterations;

(b)  that › in addition to the Council and the Council Presidency › the Commission, which under the
terms  of  the  Treaty  is  the  institution  of  the  Union  responsible  for  implementing  the  budget,
participates fully in all procedures laid down by the Agreement for the consultation and information
of Parliament;

7.
Calls on the Court of Auditors to have its Opinion published in the Official Journal of the European
Communities and to submit a special report on the implementation of CFSP expenditure no later than two
years after the entry into force of the Amsterdam Treaty;

Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission and the parliaments

8.
of the Member States.

4.  Interim trade agreement with Uzbekistan *

A4-0304/97

Legislative resolution embodying Parliament(cid:146)s opinion on the proposal for a Council Decision on the
conclusion  by  the  European  Community  of  the  Interim  Agreement  on  trade  and  trade-related
matters  between  the  European  Community,  the  European  Coal  and  Steel  Community  and  the
European Atomic Energy Community, of the one part, and the Republic of Uzbekistan, of the other
part (COM(96)0466 › 10521/96 › C4-0082/97 › 96/0236(ACC))

(Consultation procedure)

The European Parliament,

›  having regard to the proposal for a Council Decision, COM(96)0466 › 96/0236(ACC),

›  having regard to Article 113, in conjunction with Article 228(2), first sentence, of the EC Treaty,

›  having regard to the draft Interim Agreement initialled by the Commission, COM(96)0466,

›  having been consulted by the Council (10521/96 › C4-0082/97),

›  having regard to Rule 90(7) of its Rules of Procedure,

›  having regard to the report of the Committee on External Economic Relations and the opinions of the
Committee  on  Foreign  Affairs,  Security  and  Defence  Policy  and  the  Committee  on  Budgets
(A4-0304/97),

1.

Approves the conclusion of the agreement;

Instructs its President to forward this opinion to the Council and Commission and the governments

2.
and parliaments of the Member States and of the Republic of Uzbekistan.

19. 1. 98

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 14/413

Friday 19 December 1997

ATTENDANCE REGISTER

19 December 1997

The following signed:

d(cid:146)Aboville,  Adam,  Aelvoet,  Ahlqvist,  Aldo,  Amadeo,  Anastassopoulos,  Angelilli,  Aparicio  Sa·nchez,
Argyros,  Arroni,  Bardong,  Barthet-Mayer,  Berger,  Bertens,  Berthu,  van  Bladel,  Blokland,  Blot,
Boogerd-Quaak, Botz, Bourlanges, de Bre·mond d(cid:146)Ars, Breyer, Brinkhorst, Buffetaut, Cabezo·n Alonso,
Cars, Christodoulou, Colajanni, Colombo Svevo, Correia, Cot, Cottigny, Crawley, Cunha, Cunningham,
Cushnahan, van Dam, Daskalaki, De Coene, De Melo, Deprez, D(cid:14)·ez de Rivera Icaza, van Dijk, Dillen,
Donnelly Brendan Patrick, Dupuis, Dury, Eisma, Elchlepp, Ettl, Fabra Valle·s, Fabre-Aubrespy, Falconer,
Fe·ret,  Ferna·ndez-Albor,  Fitzsimons,  Flemming,  Fontaine,  Garosci,  Garriga  Polledo,  Gebhardt,  Gillis,
Gil-Robles  Gil-Delgado,  Goepel,  Goerens,  Go¤rlach,  Gomolka,  Gonza·lez  A· lvarez,  Graenitz,  Graziani,
Grosch,  Gu¤nther,  Guinebertie‘re,  Gutie·rrez  D(cid:14)·az,  von  Habsburg,  Ha¤nsch,  Hager,  Hallam,  Happart,
Hardstaff, Hatzidakis, Haug, Hawlicek, Heinisch, Hindley, Hoff, Hory, Hughes, Hume, Imaz San Miguel,
Imbeni,  Iversen,  Izquierdo  Collado,  Jo¤ns,  Kaklamanis,  Karamanou,  Katiforis,  Kellett-Bowman,
Keppelhoff-Wiechert,  Kerr,  Kestelijn-Sierens,  Kindermann,  Kla(cid:223),  Kokkola,  Konrad,  Kronberger,
Kuckelkorn, Kuhn, Lage, Lalumie‘re, Lambraki, Lambrias, Langen, Langenhagen, Lannoye, Larive, de
Lassus  Saint  Genie‘s,  Lenz,  Lindeperg,  Lindholm,  Lindqvist,  Lulling,  Macartney,  McCartin,  Malangre·,
Mann  Erika,  Mann  Thomas,  Martens,  Martin  David  W.,  Martin  Philippe-Armand,  Martinez,  Medina
Ortega, Menrad, Miller, Miranda de Lage, Mohamed Ali, Mombaur, Moniz, Moorhouse, Mosiek-Urbahn,
Mulder, Mutin, Myller, Napoletano, Nicholson, Nordmann, Novo, Novo Belenguer, Oddy, Ojala, Olsson,
Paasio, Pack, Perry, Peter, Pettinari, Pinel, Poettering, Pollack, Porto, Posselt, Provan, Puerta, Rapkay,
Raschhofer,  Rehder,  Robles  Piquer,  de  Rose,  Rothley,  Ru¤big,  Ryyna¤nen,  Samland,  Sandb(cid:230)k,  Santini,
Scha¤fer,  Schlechter,  Schleicher,  Schmidbauer,  Scho¤rling,  Schro¤der,  Schroedter,  Schulz,  Schwaiger,
Sichrovsky,  Siso· Cruellas,  Sjo¤stedt,  Skinner,  Smith,  Sonneveld,  Souchet,  Stenmarck,  Striby,  Sturdy,
Tannert,  Tatarella,  Telka¤mper,  Theato,  Theonas,  Theorin,  Thors,  Thyssen,  Tillich,  Tindemans,  Titley,
Torres  Couto,  Trakatellis,  Truscott,  Vanhecke,  Varela  Suanzes-Carpegna,  Vecchi,  van  Velzen  W.G.,
Verwaerde, Viola, Voggenhuber, Walter, Watts, Weber, Weiler, Wemheuer, White, Wiebenga, Wieland,
Wijsenbeek, Willockx, Wilson, von Wogau, Wynn, Zimmermann.

C 14/414

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

19. 1. 98

Friday 19 December 1997

(+) = For
(›) = Against
(O) = Abstention

ANNEX

Result of roll-call votes

1. Wiersma report A4-0304/97

Legislative resolution

(+)

ELDR: Eisma, Lindqvist, Ryyna¤nen
GUE/NGL: Gonza·lez A· lvarez, Gutierrez Diaz, Mohamed Ali, Novo, Puerta, Sjo¤stedt, Theonas
I-EDN: Blokland, van Dam

NI: Hager, Sichrovsky

PPE:  de  Bre·mond  d(cid:146)Ars,  Christodoulou,  Colombo  Svevo,  Deprez,  Donnelly  Brendan,  Fabra  Valle·s,
Ferna·ndez-Albor,  Garriga  Polledo,  Gillis,  von  Habsburg,  Imaz  San  Miguel,  Kellett-Bowman,  Langen,
Lulling,  Martens,  Perry,  Posselt,  Provan,  Stenmarck,  Sturdy,  Thyssen,  Tindemans,  Varela
Suanzes-Carpegna

PSE: Ahlqvist, Aparicio Sa·nchez, Botz, Correia, Cunningham, De Coene, Elchlepp, Gebhardt, Hallam,
Hardstaff,  Imbeni,  Iversen,  Jo¤ns,  Karamanou,  Mann  Erika,  Medina  Ortega,  Miranda  de  Lage,  Paasio,
Pollack, Schmidbauer, Schulz, Skinner, Theorin, Titley, Watts, Wemheuer, Wynn, Zimmermann

UPE: van Bladel, Daskalaki, Kaklamanis

V: Aelvoet, van Dijk, Lindholm

(O)