WRITTEN QUESTION P-2450/99 by Mathieu Grosch (PPE-DE) to the Commission. Community action programme for youth.
Date: 1999-12-13
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: Council of the European Union, EU programme, European Parliament, interinstitutional relations (EU), young person

C 219 E/166

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

1.8.2000

What measures does the Council propose to take to guarantee the implementation of the EU(cid:146)s youth
programme according to the planned timetable?

Does the Council propose to ensure that the Council of Youth Ministers can continue its work?

Reply

(31 January 2000)

Regarding the future Youth programme the honourable member will be aware that according to the Treaty
(Article 251 (cid:129) codecision procedure) the Council has three months in which to approve or not approve
the European Parliament(cid:146)s second reading amendments, and thereafter, in the case of non-approval, six
weeks within which to convene the conciliation committee. It must, however, be stressed that it is very
much the Council(cid:146)s wish that this programme be adopted as soon as possible in the new year.

As far as the future of the (cid:145)Youth(cid:146) Council is concerned, it should be pointed out that the general question
of the future organisation of the Council(cid:146)s work was on the agenda of the Helsinki European Council, and
that though the European Council decided to reduce to a maximum of fifteen the number of Council
formation(cid:146)s, no firm decisions have yet been made as to which compositions of the Council will or will not
continue to meet. Nonetheless, it should be made very clear that initiatives concerning the youth sector at
European level will continue to be given their due place on the agenda of the Council, irrespective of the
composition of the Council concerned.

(2000/C 219 E/211)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-2450/99

by Mathieu Grosch (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(13 December 1999)

Subject: Community action programme for youth

the Commission submitted a proposal

for a European
On 28 August 1998,
Parliament and Council Decision establishing the Community action programme for youth for the period
2000-2004. After the second reading by the European Parliament on 28 October 1999, that Decision was
submitted to the Council for second reading.
If the negotiations fail to culminate in an acceptable
compromise, the programme will not be able to begin, as provided for, on 1 January 2000.

(COM(1998) 331) (1)

Should the Council and the European Parliament

1.
to reach agreement, will a transitional
programme be implemented in place of the real programme, or will the organisations and young people
concerned be left in limbo?

fail

If a transitional programme were to be implemented, would it follow the guidelines of the old action

2.
programme or of the new one?

(1) OJ C 311, 10.10.1998, p. 6.

Answer given by Mrs Reding on behalf of the Commission

(17 December 1999)

At this stage, a final compromise has not yet been reached between the Council and Parliament concerning
the Youth programme. It is planned to hold the first meeting of the Conciliation Committee on 13 January
2000, under the Portuguese Presidency. The Commission is confident that the new programme will be
adopted. Insofar as the conciliation procedure will have to be concluded in the course of the first quarter
of 2000, everything has been done to ensure continuity of the programme.