Common Position (EC) No 14/2000 of 16 December 1999 adopted by the Council, acting in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 251 of the Treaty establishing the European Community, with a view to adopting a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on measures to promote the conservation and sustainable management of tropical forests and other forests in developing countries
Date: 1999-12-16
Institutions: Council of the European Union
Subjects: EU programme, developing countries, environmental policy, environmental protection, forest, tropical forest

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COMMON POSITION (EC) No 14/2000

adopted by the Council on 16 December 1999

with a view to adopting Regulation (EC) No .../2000 of the European Parliament and of the
Council of ... on measures to promote the conservation and sustainable management of
tropical forests and other forests in developing countries

(2000/C 64/03)

THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE
EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Com-
munity, and in particular Articles 175 and 179 thereof,

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

Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social
Committee (2),

After consulting the Committee of the Regions,

Acting in accordance with the procedure laid down in
Article 251 of the Treaty (3),

Whereas:

(1)

(2)

(3)

Forests have a variety of functions and values for mankind
and can contribute to the achievement of Community
development and environment objectives such as the
campaign against poverty, sustainable economic and
social development and the protection of the environ-
ment.

In numerous resolutions, the European Parliament has
expressed its concern over the destruction of forests
and the consequences for forest-dependent people,
in
particular indigenous peoples.

In reply to the request by the European Parliament in its
resolution on the European Union’s forestry strategy (4)
the Commission has adopted a Communication ‘Forests
and development: the EC approach’ setting out a strategy
for Community action on the promotion of the conser-
vation and sustainable management of
in
developing countries.

forests

(1) OJ C 87, 29.3.1999, p. 97.
(2) OJ C 258, 10.9.1999, p. 13.
(3) Opinion of the European Parliament of 5 May 1999 (OJ C 279,
1.10.1999, p. 184), Council common position of 16 December
1999 and Decision of the European Parliament of ... (not yet
published in the Official Journal).

(4) OJ C 55, 24.2.1997, p. 22.

(4) The objectives of this strategy are to be pursued in the
context of the broader Community aim to promote the
conservation and sustainable use of forests, in whatever
geographical area or climate zone they may be situated.

(5) The Community and its Member States are signatories to
the Rio Declaration and the Agenda 21 action pro-
gramme and are committed to the United Nations General
Assembly Special Session (Ungass) resolution ‘Programme
for the further implementation of Agenda 21’.

(6) The Community and its Member States are members of
the World Trade Organisation and parties to multilateral
environment agreements, notably the Convention on
biological diversity, the Framework Convention on cli-
mate change and the Convention to combat deserti-
fication; they are thus committed to take into account the
common but differentiated responsibilities of developed
parties and developing parties on these subjects.

(7)

In its 1997 Special Session, the United Nations General
Assembly has endorsed the proposals for action formu-
lated in the framework of the intergovernmental panel
on forests (IPF); the Community and its Member States
are fully committed to the implementation of these
proposals.

(8) Council Regulation (EC) No 3062/95 of 20 December
1995 on operations to promote tropical forests (5) set out
the framework for Community assistance in this area;
Regulation (EC) No 3062/95 was
applicable until
31 December 1999; the experience acquired during the
implementation of Regulation (EC) No 3062/95 should
be reflected in this Regulation.

(9)

In its resolution of 30 November 1998, the Council
acknowledges the role that indigenous peoples play in
managing the environment,
in particular with regard
to the conservation and sustainable use of forests in
developing countries.

(5) OJ L 327, 30.12.1995, p. 9.

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(10) The financial instruments available to the Community for
supporting the conservation and sustainable development
of forests should be supplemented.

the forest ecosystem, while securing as far as possible their
current and future value for mankind and in particular for
forest-dependent people,

(11) Provision should be made for funding the activities

referred to in this Regulation.

(12) This Regulation lays down, for the entire duration of
the programme it establishes, a financial
framework
constituting the prime reference, within the meaning of
point 33 of the Interinstitutional Agreement between the
European Parliament, the Council and the Commission
of 6 May 1999 on budgetary discipline and improvement
of the budgetary procedure (1), for the budgetary authority
during the annual budgetary procedure.

(13) Detailed rules for implementation should be laid down,
in particular the form of action, the cooperation partners
and the decision-making procedure.

(14) The measures necessary for the implementation of this
Regulation should be adopted in accordance with Council
Decision 1999/468/EC of 28 June 1999 laying down the
procedures for the exercise of implementation powers
conferred on the Commission (2),

HAVE ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

The Community shall provide financial assistance and appro-
priate expertise to promote the conservation and sustainable
management of tropical forests and other forests in developing
countries, so as to meet the economic, social and environmen-
tal demands placed on forests at local, national and global
levels.

The assistance and expertise provided under this Regulation
shall complement and reinforce that provided through other
instruments of development cooperation.

Article 2

For the purposes of this Regulation:

— ‘tropical forests and other forests’, hereinafter referred
to as ‘forests’, means natural and semi-natural
forest
ecosystems, whether primary or secondary, whether closed
or open forests, in dry, semi-arid and humid areas,

— ‘conservation’ means all activities to preserve and rehabili-
tate forests, in particular activities designed to protect or
restore the biological diversity and ecological functions of

(1) OJ C 172, 18.6.1999, p. 1.
(2) OJ L 184, 17.7.1999, p. 23.

— ‘sustainable forest management’ means the management
and use of forests and wooded lands in a way, and at a
rate, that maintains their biological diversity, productivity,
regeneration capacity, vitality and their potential to fulfil,
now and in the future, relevant ecological, economic and
social
levels,
local, national, and global
without causing any damage to other ecosystems,

functions, at

— ‘sustainable development’ means the improvement of the
standard of living and welfare of the relevant populations
within the limits of the capacity to the ecosystems by
maintaining natural assets and their biological diversity for
the benefit of present and future generations,

— ‘forest-dependent people’ means the indigenous peoples
who inhabit the forest or claim it as their traditional home
and any people who live in or near the forest and have
traditionally been directly and to a large extent dependent
on the forest.

Article 3

Activities to be carried out under this Regulation shall aim at:

— raising the status of

forests in national policies and
integrating forest policies based on sustainable forest
management in development planning,

— promoting the production and use of wood and non-wood
forest products from sustainably managed resources,

— contributing to the adequate valuation of forest resources

and services.

Article 4

The activities to be carried out under this Regulation

1.
shall address in particular:

(a) development of appropriate national and international
forest policy frameworks based on realistic valuation of
forests, which include land use planning, equitable trade in
legal and fiscal
sustainably produced forest products,
measures,
to the private
institution building, support
sector and support to self-development of forest-dependent
people to shape their own social, economic and cultural
development. These shall take into account other sectoral
policies which have an impact on forests and the interests
and customary rights of forest-dependent people;

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(b) conservation and restoration of forests which are con-
sidered to be of importance due to their high ecological
in particular their value for the preservation of
value,
biodiversity, or due to their local and global impacts, such
as the protection of hydrographic basins, the prevention
of soil erosion, or of climate change;

— sustainability of any proposed activity, social, economic as

well as environmental,

— proper coordination and information flows between the
Commission and the Member States in order to ensure
coherence of activities in the regions concerned,

(c) sustainable forest management and utilisation to provide
economic, social and environmental benefits and includ-
ing, inter alia, forest certification — taking account of the
different management conditions for small and large forest
areas — and environmentally sound harvesting of both
wood and non-wood forest products and natural and
assisted forest regeneration;

(d) economic viability of sustainable forest management
through more efficient utilisation of forest products and
technical improvements of downstream activities related
to the forest sector such as small and medium-scale
processing and marketing of wood and non-wood forest
products, the sustainable use of wood as an energy source
and the promotion of alternatives to agricultural practices
based on forest clearing;

(e) knowledge and information generation and management
concerning forest services and products,
in order to
provide a sound scientific basis for the activities listed
under (a) to (d).

2.
Activities eligible for financing shall include pilot projects
in the field, innovative programmes, studies and research, the
results of which will, in addition to their specific objectives,
contribute to the development, adjustment and better
implementation of forestry policies of the Community and of
partner countries.

3.

Particular attention shall be given to:

— encouraging environmentally and socially responsible pri-
vate entrepreneurship in the forest products processing
and marketing chain, in the context of agreed policies for
private sector development and taking into account exist-
ing social systems and Community-based economic activi-
ties,

— encouraging the direct participation of cooperation part-
ners in the developing countries, and at the same time
ensuring an appropriate scale of interventions and adap-
tation of administrative procedures to local management
capacity,

— gender-specific roles, knowledge, perspectives and contri-
butions of women/girls and men/boys in the management
and use of forests.

4.

Priorities shall be determined in accordance with:

— the needs of each country as reflected in regional and
national development and environment policies relating to
forests, considering national forest plans and local needs,
and

— Community cooperation objectives as established by the
Commissions in jointly agreed country strategy papers.

5.
Activities carried out under this Regulation shall be
preceded by environmental and sociocultural impact assess-
ments,
including an assessment of the congruence of the
envisaged operations with the development priorities of the
forest-dependent people and local communities concerned, as
well as analysis of financial and economic feasibility. These
activities shall also be preceded by a transparent exchange of
information with forest-dependent people and local commu-
nities and be conditional on their support.

6.
Activities carried out under this Regulation shall be
coordinated with, and may provide support for, national and
international programmes and activities on the conservation
and sustainable management of
in particular the
proposals for action formulated by the intergovernmental
panel for forests/intergovernmental forum for forests (IPF/IFF)
process.

forests,

7. When appropriate, activities shall be carried out within
the framework of regional organisations and international
programmes of cooperation and shall be supportive to the
development of a global policy on the conservation and
sustainable management of forests.

Article 5

— participation of forest-dependent people and local com-
munities in activities carried out under this Regulation,
their development priorities and
taking into account
inter alia, through
economic, social and cultural rights,
capacity building, in order to ensure their full participation
in all decision-making processes,

Cooperation partners which may receive assistance under this
Regulation shall
include international organisations, States,
regions and regional bodies, decentralised departments, public
agencies, private operators and industries, cooperatives, local
communities, non-governmental organisations and associ-
ations representing local people, in particular forest-dependent
people.

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Article 6

1.
Community financing may cover studies, technical assist-
ance, education, training or other services, supplies and works,
small grant funds as well as appraisals, audits and evaluation
It may cover, within the limit
and monitoring missions.
established annually by the budgetary authority, technical
and administrative assistance costs, to the benefit of the
Commission and the beneficiary, related to operations other
than the permanent tasks of the public administration, linked
to the identification, preparation, management, monitoring,
auditing and control of programmes or projects.

Community financing may cover both investment, linked to a
specific activity, with the exception of the purchase of real
estate, and recurrent expenditure (including administrative,
maintenance and operating expenditure).

With the exception of training, education and research pro-
grammes, recurrent expenditure may normally be covered
only during the start-up phase and on a gradually decreasing
basis.

2.
A contribution from the cooperation partners defined in
Article 5 shall be sought for each cooperation activity. Their
contribution shall be requested according to their means and
the nature of the activity concerned.

3.
Opportunities may be sought for co-financing with other
donors, especially with Member States and the international
organisations concerned. In this respect, coordination with the
measures taken by other donors shall be sought.

The necessary measures shall be taken to emphasise the
4.
Community character of the assistance provided under this
Regulation.

5.
In order to attain the objectives of consistency and
complementary laid down in the Treaty and with the aim of
guaranteeing optimum efficiency for all these activities, the
Commission shall,
in liaison with Member States, take all
coordination measures necessary, including in particular:

(a) the systematic exchange and analysis of information on
operations financed or being considered for financing by
the Community and the Member States;

(b) on-the-spot coordination of these activities by means of
regular meetings and of information between representa-
tives of the Commission and of the Member States in the
beneficiary countries.

6.
In order to obtain the greatest possible impact of the
activities at global, national and local levels, the Commission,
in liaison with the Member States, will take any initiative
necessary for ensuring proper coordination and close collabor-
ation, especially regarding the exchange of information, with
the cooperation partners, donors and other international
organisations involved, in particular those forming part of the
United Nations system.

Article 7

Financial assistance under this Regulation shall take the form
of grants.

Article 8

The financial framework for implementing this Regulation
during the period from 2000 to 2006 shall be EUR 63 million.

The annual appropriations shall be authorised by the budgetary
authority within the limits of the financial perspective.

Article 9

1.
The Commission shall be responsible for appraising,
taking decisions to finance and administering activities covered
by this Regulation according to the budgetary and other
procedures in force, and in particular those laid down in the
Financial Regulation applicable to the general budget of the
European Union.

Each year, the Commission shall adopt, in accordance
2.
with the procedure laid down in Article 10(2), strategic
guidelines and priorities for implementing the activities to be
carried out in the following year.

3.
Decisions relating to grants of EUR 2 million or more
for individual activities financed under this Regulation shall be
adopted by the Commission in accordance with the procedure
laid down in Article 10(2).

4.
The Commission shall inform the Committee referred to
in Article 10(1) succinctly of any financing decisions it intends
to take with regard to grants of less than EUR 2 million for
activities covered by this Regulation. The information shall be
made available not later than one week before the decision is
taken.

5.
The Commission shall be authorised to approve any
extra commitments needed for covering any expected or real
cost overruns or additional requirements in connection with
the activities, provided that the overrun or additional require-
ment is less than or equal to 20 % of the initial commitment
fixed by the financing decision.

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6.
All financing agreements or contracts concluded under
this Regulation shall provide for the Commission and the
Court of Auditors to conduct on-the-spot checks in accordance
with the usual procedures laid down by the Commission under
the rules in force, in particular those of the Financial Regulation
applicable to the general budget of the European Union.

7. Where operations are the subject of financing agreements
between the Community and the recipient country, such
agreements shall stipulate that the payment of taxes, duties or
any other charges is not to be covered by the Community.

8.
Participation in invitations to tender and the award of
contracts shall be open on equal terms to all natural and legal
persons of the Member States and of the recipient country. It
in
may be extended to other developing countries and,
exceptional cases which are fully justified, to other third
countries.

the
Supplies shall originate in the Member States,
9.
recipient country or other developing countries. In exceptional
cases, where circumstances warrant, supplies may originate in
other countries.

10.

Particular attention will be given to:

— the pursuit of cost effectiveness and sustainable impact of

activities,

— the clear definition and monitoring of objectives and

indicators of achievement for all activities.

Article 10

1.
The Commission shall be assisted by the appropriate
geographically-determined committee responsible for develop-
ment, hereinafter referred to as the ‘Committee’.

2. Where reference is made to this paragraph, the manage-
ment procedure laid down in Articles 4 and 7 of Decision
1999/468/EC shall apply, having regard to the provisions of
Article 8 thereof.

The period laid down in Article 4(3) of Decision 1999/468/EC
shall be set at one month.

3.

The Committee shall adopt its rules of procedure.

Article 11

By 1 September after each budget year, the Commission
1.
shall submit an annual report to the European Parliament and
the Council, summarising the activities financed in the course
of
this
that year and evaluating the implementation of
Regulation over that period.

The summary shall in particular provide information about the
number and nature of the activities financed, the cooperation
partners and the countries concerned. The report shall also
indicate the number of external evaluations carried out regard-
ing specific activities.

2.
The Commission shall regularly evaluate activities finan-
ced by the Community with a view to establishing whether the
objectives aimed at by those activities have been achieved and
to providing guidelines for improving the effectiveness of
future activities. The evaluations will take into account the
views of the beneficiaries, including forest-dependent people
and local communities. The Commission shall submit to the
Committee referred to in Article 10(1) a summary of the
evaluations made. The evaluation reports shall be available to
any Member State, to the European Parliament and to other
interested parties.

3.
The Commission shall inform the Member States, at the
latest one month after its decision, of the activities that have
been approved, stating their cost and nature, the country
concerned and the cooperation partners.

4.
A financing guide specifying the guidelines and criteria
applicable to the selection of activities shall be published and
communicated to the interested parties by the Commission
services, including Commission Delegations in the countries
concerned.

Article 12

1.
This Regulation shall enter into force on the third day
following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the
European Communities.

It shall apply until 31 December 2006.

2.
Four years after the entry into force of this Regulation,
the Commission shall submit to the European Parliament and
to the Council an overall evaluation of the activities financed
by the Community under this Regulation, in the context of
overall Community development cooperation, together with
proposals concerning the future of this Regulation, including
its possible modification or termination.

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.

Done at ...

For the European Parliament

The President

For the Council

The President

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STATEMENT OF THE COUNCIL’S REASONS

I.

INTRODUCTION

1. On 3 February 1999, the Commission submitted to the Council a proposal for a Regulation,
based on Articles 175 and 179 of the EC Treaty (ex Articles 130s and 130w), laying down the
objectives and procedures for activities under the current budget item B7-6 2 0 1 ‘Tropical
forests’.

2. The European Parliament (after its first reading) delivered its opinion on 5 May 1999.

3. The Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions have been asked to
deliver their opinions. The Economic and Social Committee delivered it on 7 July 1999. The
Committee of the Regions informed the Council by letter of 25 October 1999 that it does not
intend to issue an opinion on the proposed Regulation.

4.

In the light of the European Parliament’s opinion and the Commission’s position on it, the
Council working group has agreed upon a draft common position taking into account certain
changes pursuant to the entry into force of the Amsterdam Treaty.

5. On 16 December 1999 the Council adopted its common position in accordance with Article 251

of the EC Treaty.

II. PURPOSE OF THE PROPOSAL

The objective of this proposal is to ensure the continuation of activities implemented under Council
Regulation (EC) No 3062/95 of 20 December 1995 after its expiry on 31 December 1999. The
proposal takes the form of a multiannual programme which aims at promoting measures at
international level to contribute to the conservation and sustainable management of tropical and
other forests in developing countries.

III. ANALYSIS OF THE COMMON POSITION

1.

General remarks

1.1.

The Council has been able to accept a substantial number of the amendments proposed by the
European Parliament (see point 2.3 below). Where the Commission and the Council were
unable to accept the Parliament’s amendments or parts of them it was usually for one or
several of the following reasons:

— procedural or administrative proposals that were not

in accordance with standard

formulations and practices of similar regulations, including the Financial Regulation,

— quotes from legal acts or policy documents which were considered to be redundant and to

unnecesarily lengthen the text,

— amendments considered to be unclear or subjective, or which repeated ideas expressed

elsewhere in the Regulation or in other accepted amendments,

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— amendments which, if accepted, would reduce the focus and hence the effectiveness of the

activities contemplated under the Regulation,

— amendments concerning management

issues which are of

the competence of

the

Commission.

1.2.

the Council has approved the essence and wording of

the
In its common position,
Commission’s proposal with the exceptions referred to under point 2.2 (specific comments).
In Article 9(2) of the draft common position, the Council thought desirable to integrate a new
task for the joint Committees’ meeting (under the Comitology procedure set out in Article 10)
which aims at the approval of annual strategic guidelines and priorities to underline the focus
on a strategic approach.

2.

Specific comments

2.1.

Legal basis

The legal basis put forward by the Commission in its proposal, namely Articles 175 and 179
of the EC Treaty (ex Articles 130s and 130w), is considered by the Council in its common
position as being the most appropriate in view of the aim and contents of the proposal.

2.2. Amendments made by the Council to the Commission proposal

2.2.1. Duration of the programme

As far as duration of the Regulation is concerned, the Council has opted for a seven-year
period (2000 to 2006) which corresponds to the period for which financial perspectives have
been fixed. The Commission’s evaluation report will be due four years after the entering into
force of the Regulation and shall contain suggestions concerning the future of the Regulation.

2.2.2. Funding

As a consequence of the seven-year programme, the financial reference amount has been fixed
at EUR 63 million, which results from the 2000 draft budget appropriations of annual EUR
10 million. This amount has further been reduced by 10 % to take account of the July Decision
of the Budget Council on category 4 expenditures. By the introduction of this indicative
amount
the Council has partially taken into consideration the European Parliament’s
Amendment 34.

2.2.3. Comitology (Article 10)

The Council has changed the Committee procedure whereby the powers of the Committee
would be exercised under the management Committee procedure, as set out in the Council
Decision of 28 June 1999 laying down the procedure for the exercise of implementing powers
conferred on the Commission. The Council considers that such a Committee procedure will
ensure maximum coordination with Member States activities and thus contribute to necessary
complementarity.

In addition, an annual Commission document on strategic guidelines and priorities will be
submitted to the appropriate geographical Committee which will approve the document in
accordance with the management Committee procedure.

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2.3.

European Parliament amendments

2.3.1. Parliament amendments adopted by the Council

The Council adopted in full the 18 amendments adopted by the Commission and in essence
the first part of Amendment 34 proposed by the Parliament.

2.3.2. Parliament amendments not adopted by the Council

Apart from the amendments not adopted by the Commission the Council could not accept
other amendments for the reason that it was not possible to reach the requisite unanimity.

IV. CONCLUSIONS

The Council considers that its common position constitutes a balanced text to ensure the continuation
of activities implemented under Council Regulation (EC) No 3062/95 of 20 December 1995 after its
expiry on 31 December 1999. It reflects the need to meet the Community’s commitments to the
conservation and management of
forests and forests in the context of sustainable
development.

tropical