Opinion of the Economic and Social Committee on the 'Proposal for a Council Regulation (EC) on measures to promote the full integration of the environmental dimension in the development process of developing countries'
Date: 1999-07-07
Institutions: European Economic and Social Committee
Subjects: developing countries, environmental protection, sustainable development

C 258/16

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

10.9.1999

Opinion of the Economic and Social Committee on the ‘Proposal for a Council Regulation (EC)
on measures to promote the full integration of the environmental dimension in the development
process of developing countries’ (1)

(1999/C 258/05)

On 5 March 1999 the Council decided to consult the Economic and Social Committee, under Article 198
of the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community, on the above-mentioned proposal.

The Section for External Relations, which was responsible for preparing the Committee’s work on the
subject, adopted its opinion on 9 June 1999. The rapporteur was Mr Jaarsma.

At its 365th Plenary Session (meeting of 7 July 1999) the Economic and Social Committee adopted the
following opinion with 110 votes in favour and two abstentions.

1.

Introduction

1.1.
The Council regards the proposal as a crucial instru-
ment to assist the Community in meeting its legal and political
commitments to the protection of the environment within a
context of sustainable development.

The aim of this regulation is to ensure the continuation
1.2.
of activities implemented under Council Regulation (EC)
no. 722/97 of 22 April 1997 after its expiry on 31 December
1999.

1.3.
EC economic and development cooperation operates
under clear commitments to environmental protection and
sustainability. Articles 177 and 174 of the Amsterdam Treaty
(Rome Treaty Articles 130 and 130 r, as amended) are of
specific relevance here.

1.4.
On the international scene, Community commitments
made at the United Nations Conference for Environment and
Development (UNCED) in Rio in 1992, as well as subsequent
developments, are of particular relevance.

The Community is also party to multilateral environ-
1.5.
ment agreements, such as the Convention on Biological
Diversity, the Framework Convention on Climate Change
and the Convention to Combat Desertification. All of these
conventions entail specific obligations to assist developing
countries which are parties to the conventions to meet their
own commitments.

1.6.
In addition the Community has subscribed to the
OECD/CAC’s ‘Shaping the 21st Century Strategy’ which calls
for support for the implementation of national strategies for
sustainable development in all countries by 2005.

1.7.
Integration of the environmental dimension into the
development process is an important principle of Community
cooperation policy. Environmental main-
development

(1) OJ C 47, 20.2.1999, p. 10.

streaming is a dynamic, gradual process. The proposed regu-
lation will contribute to effective environmental main-
streaming in the activities funded by other (mainly geographi-
cal) Community development cooperation instruments, thus
giving rise to the desired complementarity.

1.8.
The proposed regulation sets the framework for the
management of budget line B7-6200. This is a specific financial
instrument available to the EC for complying with the above
commitments.

The aforementioned instrument has evolved to finance

1.9.
essentially two types of activities:

— pilot schemes in developing countries

— the development of guidelines and operational

instru-

ments.

1.10.
that all development projects must be sustainable.

This will promote the universally accepted principle

2. Objective and resources

2.1.
The appropriation in budget heading B7-6200 is
intended to finance schemes aimed at supporting developing
countries in their efforts to integrate the environmental
dimension into their development process. The assistance and
expertise provided complement and reinforce those provided
under other development cooperation instruments. The
resources benefit the developing country stakeholders directly
and indirectly.

The activities to be carried out serve the purpose of
tools and

2.2.
elaborating and promoting policies, strategies,
technologies for the pursuit of sustainable development.

2.3.

The Council intends that they should address:

— global environmental issues

— transboundary environmental issues, in particular air and

water pollution

— environmental

impacts related to the integration of

developing countries into the world economy

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— environmental impacts of macro-economic and sectoral

policies in developing countries

— sustainable management and use of natural and environ-
mental resources in all productive sectors of the economy

— conservation of biological diversity

— water-related issues

— coastal zone management

— preventing desertification

— urban environmental problems

— sustainable production and use of energy

— sustainable patterns of production and consumption.

2.4.
As environmental mainstreaming is a long-term com-
mitment, the Council suggests that the regulation apply for an
unlimited period.

2.5.
A breakdown is given of the costs for 1998 and 1999
under the existing regulation. A total of ECU 15 million was
available for 1998 (5 million for guidelines and instruments
and 10 million for pilot schemes) and a total of 16 million eu-
ros for 1999 (7 million for guidelines and instruments and
9 million for pilot schemes).

3. General comments

The Committee is pleased to note that Council Regu-
3.1.
lation (EC) no. 722/97, which applied for a limited period, is
to be replaced by a regulation of unlimited duration. The
integration of the environmental dimension into the develop-
ment process requires a long-range approach.

3.2.
The Committee would stress the need to fully integrate
the environmental dimension into other Community develop-
ment cooperation instruments. Although they fall outside the
draft regulation under review, the Committee considers, in the
light of Amsterdam Treaty Articles 174 and 177, that this
principle must apply not only to Community instruments and
projects but also to those of the individual Member States and
those of NGOs which use EU funds.

3.3.
In the Committee’s view the financial resources avail-
able for the implementation of this regulation are not commen-
surate with the Community’s obligations under international
treaties.

3.5.
In view of (i) the limited resources available; (ii) the
possibility of also funding the elaboration of guidelines and
instruments with EDF-ALA-MED funds; (iii) the difficulty for
relatively small, innovative and locally-oriented pilot schemes
— especially those of NGOs — to secure access to these major
funds, the Committee would recommend that at least equal
emphasis be placed on financing pilot schemes under this
regulation.

3.6.
In the Committee’s view the limited resources under
this regulation should be made available in such a way that
they can be used effectively.

3.7.
It seems inevitable that a great many objectives will be
pursued through this regulation. If it is to be implemented
effectively, however, the Committee considers that a limited
number of priority objectives should be set every four years. If
necessary they could be adjusted every two years. It is all the
more important to adjust priorities periodically because the
regulation is of unlimited duration and it is not until four years
after it comes into force that the Commission has to submit to
the European Parliament and Council an overall assessment of
the operations financed, together with suggestions concerning
the future of
the draft
regulation).

the regulation (see Article 10 of

3.8.
It is important for these priorities to be publicised in a
clear way and in good time so that anyone wishing to submit
a project is aware of the selection criteria.

3.9.
The Committee notes that many projects are being
submitted under the present regulation. It is to be anticipated
that this will continue under the new regulation. The sub-
mission of complete project proposals entails considerable
work for both applicants and assessors. Since the number of
successful projects is inevitably limited, a lot of unnecessary
work is carried out. The Committee recommends systematising
the use of the so-called project profiles and in this way
giving especially those organisations applying for pilot scheme
funding the opportunity to submit outlines of proposed
projects (objective, region, partners, budget, time-span) from
which an initial selection of promising projects can be made.
These can then be fully worked up and submitted for final
selection.

3.10.
A further recommendation is that contract partners
and especially NGOs with which the Commission has worked
successfully for a number of years be offered a programme
contract to carry out a package of various small-scale projects
covered by this regulation.

4. Specific comments

3.4.
Such limited resources make it all the more necessary
to encourage, even more than in the past, the integration of
the environmental dimension into regular development aid
programmes.

In the Committee’s view, paragraph (2) of the preamble
4.1.
should mention the soil as well as the atmosphere, hydrosphere
and biological diversity.

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4.2.
The Committee endorses Article 2.3, second indent,
which states that it is possible to finance programmes for
developing the institutional and operational capacity of all
players in the development process; the Committee feels that
the following should be added: ‘and for promoting cooperation
between these players.’
financing
opportunities is often a bottleneck for such cooperation.

In practice the lack of

4.3.
The third paragraph of Article 4(1) states that ‘apart
from training, education and research programmes, such
expenditure may as a general rule be covered only during the
start-up period’. It is, however, difficult to define the start-up
period. Furthermore, it is often a very long time before a
project really bears fruit.

4.4.
Article 4(3) states that ‘opportunities may be sought
for co-financing with other donors, especially with Member
States and the international organisations concerned’. The
Committee proposes replacing this by: ‘opportunities may be
sought for cofinancing with other donors, especially with the
Member States, the international organisations concerned and
NGOs’.

4.5.
The Committee endorses the provision contained in
Article 6(2), namely that decisions relating to grants of more
than 2 million euros for operations financed under the regu-
lation are to be adopted under the procedure laid down in
Article 7.

4.6.
The Committee welcomes the margin of 20 % laid
down in Article 6(3) for overruns or additional requirements.
This will increase flexibility.

4.7.
Article 9(1) states that after each budget year the
Commission is to submit an annual report to the European
Parliament and the Council. This report summarises the
operations financed and evaluates the implementation of the
regulation. The Economic and Social Committee recommends
wide dissemination of the report, together with information
on the periodic list of priorities advocated in points 3.7 and
3.8 above, and would itself like to receive a copy of the report
and information. As the regulation is to be of unlimited
duration, the Committee envisages using the opportunity to
reassess its objectives and effectiveness.

4.8.
Article 9(2) states that operations financed by the
Community are to be assessed regularly. The Committee
considers that
these assessments should be made widely
available. Assessments of projects can in fact be highly
instructive, especially in the case of innovative projects.

Brussels, 7 July 1999.

4.9.
Article 9(3) states that the Commission is to inform
the Member States, at the latest one month after its decision,
of the operations and projects that have been approved. The
Committee considers that this should apply for all the actors
mentioned in Article 3 who have submitted an application for
an activity or project.

5. Conclusions

if

The Committee regards the proposed regulation as
5.1.
very important
the environmental dimension is to be
properly incorporated into the development process of
developing countries; but it does not regard the funding
provided for its implementation as commensurate with the
Community’s international treaty commitments. The Com-
mittee calls attention to the discrepancy between the scant
resources and the large number of applications received every
year.

5.2.
The Committee considers that at least equal emphasis
should be placed on financing pilot schemes under the
regulation since only limited funds are available and there is
scope for financing the elaboration of guidelines and instru-
ments from EDF-ALA-MED funds, while it is difficult for
locally-oriented pilot schemes
relatively small,
(especially those of NGOs) to access major funds. The Com-
mission can make the workload manageable for both itself and
the contract partners by further developing and integrating
into the decision-making process, specific instruments, such as
project profiles and programme contracts (the latter with
contract partners, especially NGOs with which the Com-
mission has had long positive experiences).

innovative,

5.3.
In view of the Commission’s duty to be accountable,
transparent and reliable, and the need to pass on useful
experience, all documents drawn up under this regulation
should be made widely available. This applies in particular to
documents concerning policy priorities, assessments of the
actions funded, and annual reports. The Committee would like
to receive copies of the annual reports and information on the
periodic list of priorities. As the regulation is to be a permanent
instrument, the Committee may review the aims and effective-
ness thereof when the report is issued.

The President

of the Economic and Social Committee

Beatrice RANGONI MACHIAVELLI