European Parliament resolution on the Commission's Annual Report 1998 on the Cohesion Fund (COM(1999) 483 - C5-0326/1999 - 1999/2212(COS))
Date: 2000-06-16
Institutions: Committee on Regional Development, European Parliament
Subjects: Cohesion Fund, activity report, environmental protection, transport policy

C 67/326

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

1.3.2001

Friday 16 June 2000

TEXT PROPOSED
BY THE COMMISSION

AMENDMENTS
BY PARLIAMENT

(Amendment 4)
ARTICLE 1(7a) (new)
Article 11(2), first indent (Regulation (EEC) No 3508/92)

7a. In Article 11(2) the first indent is deleted.

European Parliament legislative resolution on the proposal for a Council regulation amending
Regulation (EEC) No 3508/92 establishing an integrated administration and control system for
certain Community aid schemes (COM(1999) 517 * C5-0317/1999 * 1999/0207(CNS))

(Consultation procedure)

The European Parliament,

(cid:20) having regard to the Commission proposal to the Council (COM(1999) 517) (1),

(cid:20) having been consulted by the Council pursuant to Article 37 of the EC Treaty (C5-0317/1999),

(cid:20) having regard to Rule 67 of its Rules of Procedure,

(cid:20) having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control and the opinion of the Committee

on Agriculture and Rural Development (A5-0137/2000),

1.

Approves the Commission proposal as amended;

Calls on the Commission to alter its proposal accordingly, pursuant to Article 250(2) of the

2.
EC Treaty;

Calls on the Council to notify Parliament should it intend to depart from the text approved by Parlia-

3.
ment;

Calls for the conciliation procedure to be initiated should the Council intend to depart from the text

4.
approved by Parliament;

5.

6.

Asks to be consulted again if the Council intends to amend the Commission proposal substantially;

Instructs its President to forward its position to the Council and Commission.

(1) OJ C 89 E, 28.3.2000, p. 8.

4. Cohesion Fund (1998)

A5-0140/2000

European Parliament resolution on the Commission’s Annual Report 1998 on the Cohesion Fund
(COM(1999) 483 * C5-0326/1999 * 1999/2212(COS))

The European Parliament,

(cid:20) having regard to the Commission’s Annual Report (COM(1999) 483 (cid:20) C5-0326/1999),

(cid:20) having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 1164/94 of 16 May 1994 establishing the Cohesion

Fund (1),

(1) OJ L 130, 25.5.1994, p. 1.

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(cid:20) having regard to the Court of Auditors’ Annual Report covering the financial year 1998 (1),

(cid:20) having regard to its resolutions of 29 June 1995 (2), 19 April 1996 (3), 26 June 1997 (4), 28 May
1998 (5), and 13 April 1999 (6) and on the annual reports of the Commission on the Cohesion Fund
and the cohesion financial instrument,

(cid:20) having regard to Rule 47(1) of its Rules of Procedure,

(cid:20) having regard to the report of the Committee on Regional Policy, Transport and Tourism and the
opinions of the Committee on Industry, External Trade, Research and Energy and the Committee on
Fisheries (A5-0140/2000),

A. whereas according to Article 2 of the EU Treaty and Article 2 of the EC Treaty, the Community shall
promote economic and social progress which is balanced and sustainable, in particular through the
strengthening of economic and social cohesion, alongside the completion of the single market and the
establishment of economic and monetary union,

B. whereas the Cohesion Fund provides financial contributions to projects in the fields of the trans-Euro-
pean transport infrastructure networks and the environment in Member States with a per capita gross
national product, measured in purchasing power parities, of less than 90 % of the Community average,

C. whereas the economic disparities between the regions and Member States of the European Union are

having an adverse effect on the pace of economic development,

D. whereas the purpose of the Cohesion Fund is to contribute to economic and social cohesion and to

reduce social and regional disparities, with regard to solidarity between the Member States,

E. whereas one of the objectives of the Cohesion Fund is to support the Member States in fulfilling the

convergence criteria and whereas, for this reason, it is subject to a conditionality clause,

F. whereas the difference between nominal and real convergency should be taken into account when

estimating the economic situation and development in a Member State,

G. whereas the Annual Report in question covers the Cohesion Fund decisions taken during 1998 and

describes its operation and activities,

H. whereas the year 1998 was the penultimate year of the Cohesion Fund operations under the program-

ming period 1994-1999,

I. whereas the Cohesion Fund continues its operation in the current programming period 2000-2006,

J. whereas enlargement will provide new challenges for social and economic cohesion and whereas the
accession of applicant countries will have far-reaching implications for the current beneficiaries of the
Cohesion Fund,

Considers that the Cohesion Fund Annual Report gives a comprehensive overview of the operation

1.
and activities of the Fund in 1998;

Appreciates the results achieved so far with the help of the Cohesion Fund in the fields of transport
2.
and the environment; expresses its satisfaction at the considerable rate of jobs created in connection with
the Cohesion Fund projects;

Managing the financial assistance and projects and measures adopted

3. Welcomes the full implementation of the Cohesion Fund commitment and payment appropriations
of the final budget for the year 1998 and the otherwise satisfactory budgetary development;

(1) OJ C 349, 3.12.1999, p. 1.
(2) OJ C 183, 17.7.1995, p. 36.
(3) OJ C 141, 13.5.1996, p. 265.
(4) OJ C 222, 21.7.1997, p. 55.
(5) OJ C 195, 22.6.1998, p. 52.
(6) OJ C 219, 30.7.1999, p. 41.

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4.

Notes with satisfaction that no case of fraud was detected in 1998;

5.
Supports the development towards more investment for the railways, ports and maritime transport,
which should balance the investment allocated to the road sector; Reiterates its request that greater atten-
tion should be paid to sustainable modes of transport including multimodal transport connections and
combined transport;

6.
Calls for priority to be given, in the allocation of transport-related Cohesion Fund investment during
the 2000-2006 period, to investment intended to facilitate the integration of outlying regions into the
trans-European rail network;

Notes that,

7.
in the environmental field, assistance continues to concentrate on the water sector,
namely the abstraction and distribution of drinking water and waste-water treatment, whereas, in many
cases, there is a need for other measures to preserve, protect and improve the quality of the environment
and to achieve prudent and rational utilisation of resources as laid down in Article 174 of the EC Treaty
(reafforestation, land reclamation, etc.);

Considers that substantial investment is required to deal with the serious problem of treating waste
8.
and refuse and proposes that incentives for using the most modern, environmentally-friendly and efficient
existing technology should be provided;

Calls for the resources available for environmental projects to be able to be used in addition for

9.
financing projects for the conservation and long-term assessment of biodiversity;

Urges the Commission to ensure that, if various alternatives exist for one and the same project,

10.
preference is given to those which have least impact on the environment;

Monitoring, evaluation and control

11.
Considers that with more than 80 % of the Cohesion Fund’s resources committed to individual
projects, monitoring and follow-up of decisions from earlier years must be efficient; welcomes the fact
that verification and monitoring visits by the Commission became more frequent in 1998;

Is surprised by the fact that it has taken five years to produce a study on the socio-economic effects
12.
of the Cohesion Fund assistance; is disappointed that the final report was still not available when the
Annual Report 1998 went to press; calls on the Commission to submit the final report to the Parliament;

Calls for consistency between structural policies and the Cohesion Fund through the incorporation
13.
of the actions financed by means of the Cohesion Fund into Structural Fund regional planning; calls on the
Commission to forward to Parliament a study on the way in which Cohesion Fund investment is distrib-
uted internally within the eligible Member States and on consistency between the application of the fund
and the Structural Fund objectives concerned with regional balance;

14. Welcomes the inclusion of descriptions of ex post evaluations in the Annual Report, as proposed by
Parliament;

Information and publicity

15.
Is concerned at the fact that the Annual report for 1998 was only presented in October 1999;
considers that late presentation of Annual Reports hinders the early detection of problems and, as a result,
the recommendations and modifications cannot take effect as early in the programming period as would
be preferable;

Considers that the form employed by the Commission to provide information on the activities of

16.
the Cohesion Fund in the Annual Report has developed satisfactorily over the years;

17.
Congratulates the Commission on the efficient use of the special budget line, initiated by Parlia-
ment, for information and publicity measures to encourage environmental practice in pursuit of a policy
geared to sustainable development;

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Continued solidarity towards the Cohesion Countries

18.
Acknowledges that the Cohesion Fund makes a significant contribution to promoting development
in the beneficiary countries and encourages the Commission to continue its efforts to guarantee a well-
functioning and efficient Cohesion Fund in the new programming period;

Emphasises the fact that the importance of diminishing economic disparities between the current

19.
Member States and their regions will remain important in the future;

20.
Considers that the forthcoming enlargement is a great challenge for the Union and that necessary
preparations in the areas of transport and the environment will need to be made in the framework of the
Structural Instrument for Pre-Accession (ISPA);

Reminds the Commission and the Member States concerned of the importance of the fisheries sec-

21.
tor and of the need to take this into account when evaluating the projects undertaken;

22.

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

*

*

*

5. Nuts and locust beans

B5-0566/2000

European Parliament resolution on support measures for nuts and locust beans

The European Parliament,

A. having regard to the imminent expiry of the specific measures for nuts and locust beans instituted by
Regulation (EEC) No 789/89 and the flat-rate aid for hazelnuts granted under Article 55 of Regulation
(EC) No 2200/96,

B. whereas the circumstances which led the Community to introduce specific measures for nuts have not

only not improved but have persisted and even worsened,

C. whereas the difficult topography and dry climate prevailing in most of the areas where these crops are
grown, as well as labour costs in the Community, make it difficult to boost yields and competitiveness
in any substantial fashion,

D. whereas the evolution of the CAP over the period of application of the specific measures for nuts and

locust beans has made it impossible to convert to substitute crops,

E. whereas these circumstances, coupled with the withdrawal of specific Community aid, are likely to
bring about the disappearance of holdings, with irreversible social, economic and environmental con-
sequences for regions which are particularly sensitive,

F. whereas this is one of the few sectors which do not produce a surplus, while Community protection

as regards trade is minimal,

G. whereas the general measures applying under the existing COM in the fruit and vegetables sector are
inadequate and are not adapted to the current high levels of competition from third countries, which
are selling their nuts and locust beans at low prices, even though, since the 1996 reform of the fruit
and vegetables COM, a sufficient financial margin has existed to fund the modest degree of support
required for the Community’s nut and locust bean production,