COMMON POSITION (EC) No 68/98 adopted by the Council on 20 November 1998 with a view to the adoption of Decision No .../98/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of ... amending Decision No 2085/97/EC establishing a programme of support, including translation, in the field of books and reading (Ariane)
Date: 1998-11-20
Institutions: Council of the European Union
Subjects: EU programme, cultural cooperation, cultural policy, cultural transmission, literature, translation

23.12.98

EN

Official  Journal  of  the  European  Communities

C 404/17

COMMON  POSITION  (EC)  No  68/98

adopted  by  the  Council  on  20  November  1998

with  a  view  to  the  adoption  of  Decision  No  . . ./98/EC  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the
Council  of  . . .  amending  Decision  No  2085/97/EC  establishing  a  programme  of  support,
including  translation,  in  the  field  of  books  and  reading  (Ariane)

(98/C 404/03)

THE  EUROPEAN  PARLIAMENT  AND  THE  COUNCIL  OF
THE  EUROPEAN  UNION,

European Community in the areas covered by the Ariane
programme,

Having  regard  to  the  Treaty  establishing  the  European
Community,  and  in  particular  Article  128  thereof,

Having  regard  to  the  proposal  from  the  Commission (1),

HAVE  DECIDED  AS  FOLLOWS:

Having  regard  to  the  opinion  of  the  Committee  of  the
Regions (2),

Article  1

Acting  in  accordance  with  the  procedure  laid  down  in
Article  189b  of  the  Treaty (3),

Whereas  Decision  No  2085/97/EC  of  the  European
Parliament and of the Council (3) establishes a programme
of  support,  including  translation,  in  the  field  of  books
and  reading  (the  ‘Ariane  programme’)  for  the  period
1  January  1997  to  31  December  1998;

Whereas the third paragraph of Article 8 of that Decision
provides  for  any  suitable  measure  to  be  taken  to  avoid
interruption  of  the  programme;

Whereas  the  Commission  presented  a  proposal  to  the
European  Parliament  and  the  Council  on  28  May  1998
for  a  Decision  establishing  a  single  financing  and
programming  instrument  for  cultural  cooperation  for  the
period  1  January  2000  to  31  December  2004;

Decision  No  2085/97/EC  is  hereby  amended  as  follows:

1.

2.

in Article 1, ‘31 December 1998’ shall be replaced by
‘31  December  1999’;

in  Article  6,  ‘ECU  7  million’  shall  be  replaced  by
‘EUR  11,1  million’.

Article  2

This  Decision  shall  enter  into  force  on  1  January  1999.

Done  at  . . .

Whereas,  pending  adoption  of  that  proposal,  there  is  a
need  to  ensure  the  continuity  of  cultural  action  by  the

For  the  European  Parliament

For  the  Council

The  President

The  President

(1) OJ  C  319,  16.10.1998,  p.  13.
(2) Opinion  of  the  European  Parliament  of  9  October  1998  (OJ
C  328,  26.10.1998,  p.  237),  Council  common  position  of
20 November 1998 and Decision of the European Parliament
of  . . .  (not  yet  published  in  the  Official  Journal).

(3) OJ  L  291,  24.10.1997,  p.  26.

C 404/18

EN

Official  Journal  of  the  European  Communities

23.12.98

STATEMENT  OF  THE  COUNCIL’S  REASONS

I.

INTRODUCTION

1. On  25  September  1998,  the  Commission  submitted  to  the  Council  a  proposal  for  a
Decision  of 
the  Council  amending  Decision
No 2085/97/EC establishing a programme of support, including translation, in the field
of  books  and  reading  (Ariane  programme).

the  European  Parliament  and 

2. The  European  Parliament  delivered  its  opinion  on  9  October  1998.

3. The  Commission  submitted  an  amended  proposal  on  29  October  1998.

4. The  Committee  of  the  Regions  delivered  its  opinion  on  19  November  1998.

5. The  Council  adopted  its  common  position  in  accordance  with  Article  189b  of  the

Treaty  on  20  November  1998.

II. PURPOSE  OF  THE  PROPOSAL

The  purpose  of  the  proposal  is  to  ensure  continuity  of  Community  activities  in  respect  of
books and reading prior to entry into force of the ‘Culture 2000’ programme, scheduled for
1  January  2000.

General  comments

In  its  common  position,  the  Council  has  approved  the  amended  Commission  proposal,
which,  in  turn,  incorporated  the  amendment  proposed  by  the  European  Parliament.

III. CONCLUSIONS

The  Council  considers  that  its  common  position  will  ensure  continuity  of  Community
activities  in  respect  of  books  and  reading  prior  to  entry  into  force  of  the  ‘Culture  2000’
programme,  scheduled  for  1  January  2000.