Amended proposal for a Council Decision creating a European Refugee Fund (COM(2000) 533 final — 1999/0274(CNS)) (Text with EEA relevance)
Date: 2001-01-30
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: EU Member State, aid to refugees, co-financing, cooperation policy, fund (EU)

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Amended proposal for a Council Decision creating a European Refugee Fund (1)

(2001/C 531 E/07)

(Text with EEA relevance)

COM(2000) 533 final (cid:151) 1999/0274(CNS)

(Submitted by the Commission pursuant to Article 250(2) of the EC Treaty on 15 September 2000)

(1) OJ C 116 E, 26.4.2000, p. 72.

INITIAL PROPOSAL

AMENDED PROPOSAL

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Unchanged

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European
Community, and in particular Article 63(2)(b) thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,

Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament,

Having regard to the opinion of
Committee (1),

the Economic and Social

Having regard to the opinion of the Committee of the Regions,

Whereas:

(1) The preparation of a common policy on asylum, including
a
for
the European Union’s objective of
security and
freedom,
forced by circumstances,

common European arrangements
constituent part of
gradually creating an area of
justice open to those who,
legitimately seek protection in the European Union.

asylum,

is

(2) Implementation of such a policy should be based on soli-
darity between Member States and requires the existence
of mechanisms intended to help to achieve a balance in
the efforts made by Member States in receiving refugees
and displaced persons and bearing the consequences of so
doing. To that end, a European Refugee Fund should be
established.

to grant appropriate

(3) It is necessary to support the efforts made by the Member
States
to
and
refugees
effective asylum procedures, so as to protect the rights
of persons requiring international protection.

and displaced persons,

reception conditions

including fair

(3) It is necessary to support and improve the efforts made by
the Member States
appropriate
reception
to grant
including
conditions to refugees and displaced persons,
fair and effective asylum procedures, so as to protect the
rights of persons requiring international protection.

___________
(1) OJ C 168, 16.6.2000, p. 20.

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INITIAL PROPOSAL

AMENDED PROPOSAL

(4) The integration of refugees into the society of the country
in which they are established is one of the objectives of
the Geneva Convention and, to this end, there should be
support for actions by the Member States to promote
their social and economic integration,
in so far as it
contributes to economic and social cohesion, the main-
tenance and strengthening of which is one of
the
referred to in
fundamental objectives
Community’s
Articles 2 and 3(1)(k) of the Treaty.

Unchanged

(5) The integration of refugees into the society of the host
country could also be helped by supporting the actions
taken by non-governmental organisations working to
achieve social integration.

(6) It is in the interests of both the Member States and the
persons concerned that refugees and displaced persons
who are allowed to stay in the territory of the Member
States are given the opportunity to provide for themselves
by working.

Unchanged

(7) Since measures supported by the Structural Funds and
other Community measures in the field of education
and vocational training are not in themselves sufficient
to promote such integration, support should be given
for special measures to enable refugees and displaced
persons to benefit fully from the programmes which are
organised.

(7) Since measures supported by the Structural Funds and
other Community measures in the field of education
and vocational training are not in themselves sufficient
to promote such integration, support should be given
for special measures to enable refugees and displaced
persons to benefit fully from the programmes which are
organised. For these to be fully effective, the competent
non-governmental organisations should be involved in
such programmes.

(8) Practical

support

is needed to create or

improve
conditions enabling refugees and displaced persons to
take an informed decision to leave the territory of the
Member States and return home, should they so wish.

Unchanged

(9) Practical ways must be found of testing innovatory actions
in this field and exchanges between Member States should
be encouraged with a view to identifying and promoting
the most effective practices.

(10) Account should be taken of

the experience acquired
during implementation of the Council’s joint actions on
refugees,
the reception and voluntary repatriation of
displaced persons and asylum-seekers.

(11) As called for by the European Council at its meeting in
Tampere on 15 and 16 October 1999, a financial reserve
should
implementation of
for
emergency measures to provide temporary protection in
the event of a mass influx of refugees.

established

the

be

(11) As called for by the European Council at its meeting in
Tampere on 15 and 16 October 1999, a financial reserve
should
implementation of
for
emergency measures to provide temporary protection in
the event of a mass influx of refugees or displaced
persons.

established

the

be

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INITIAL PROPOSAL

AMENDED PROPOSAL

(12) It

is fair to allocate resources proportionately to the
burden on each Member State to receive refugees and
displaced persons.

(12) It is fair to take into account, when allocating resources,
the relative efforts made by each Member State to receive
and support refugees and displaced persons.

(13) The support provided by the European Refugee Fund will
be more efficient and better targeted if the co-financing of
eligible actions is based on a request from each Member
State taking into account its situation and needs.

Unchanged

(14) In order to speed up and simplify co-financing procedures,
the responsibilities of the Commission should be distin-
guished from those of
the Member States. Provision
therefore, be made for the Commission, after
should,
examining the Member States’ requests for co-financing,
to adopt co-financing decisions, while the Member States
are to assure the management of the actions.

(15) Such decentralised implementation of the actions by the
Member States should provide sufficient guarantees as to
the details and quality of implementation, the results of
actions
financial
their
management and its supervision.

evaluation and

sound

and

(16) One way of ensuring that the action of the European
Refugee Fund is effective is efficient monitoring;
the
conditions of such monitoring should be set out.

(17) Without prejudice to the Commission’s responsibilities for
financial control, cooperation between the Member States
and the Commission in this regard should be established.

(18) The responsibility of the Member States for the pursuit
irregularities and infringements, and
the Commission where the Member States do

and correction of
that of
not comply with their obligations, should be specified.

(19) The effectiveness and impact of the actions supported by
the European Refugee Fund also depend on the evaluation
thereof and the responsibilities of the Member States and
the Commission in this regard, and arrangements to
ensure the reliability of evaluation, should be laid down.

(20) Actions should be evaluated with a view to their mid-term
review and assessment of their impact, and the evaluation
process should be incorporated into the monitoring of the
actions.

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INITIAL PROPOSAL

AMENDED PROPOSAL

(21) In accordance with Article 2 of Council Decision
1999/468/EC of 28 June 1999 laying down the
implementing powers
procedures
conferred on the Commission (1), the measures required
for the implementation of the present Decision should be
adopted by the advisory procedure provided for in Article
3 of that Decision.

the exercise of

for

(22) In accordance with the principles of subsidiarity and
proportionality as set out in Article 5 of the Treaty, the
objectives of the proposed action, namely to demonstrate
solidarity between Member States by achieving a balance
in the efforts made by those Member States in receiving
refugees and displaced persons and bearing the conse-
quences of so doing, cannot be sufficiently achieved by
the Member States and can therefore, by reason of the
scale or impact of the action, be better achieved by the
Community. This Decision confines itself to the minimum
required in order to achieve those objectives and does not
go beyond what is necessary for that purpose,

HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:

CHAPTER I

OBJECTIVES AND TASKS

Article 1

Establishment and objective of the European Refugee
Fund

1.
A European Refugee Fund (hereinafter (cid:145)the Fund(cid:146)) shall be
established to support and encourage the efforts made by the
Member States in receiving refugees and displaced persons and
bearing the consequences of so doing.

The Fund shall operate from 1 January 2000 to 31

2.
December 2004.

Article 2

Target groups

For the purposes of
comprise the following categories:

this Decision the target groups shall

1.

(cid:145)refugees(cid:146), meaning any third-country nationals or stateless
persons having the status defined by the Geneva Convention
of 28 July 1951 relating to the Status of Refugees and
the Member
permitted to reside as refugees in one of
States and, where appropriate, persons applying to be
granted that status;

1.

(cid:145)refugees(cid:146), meaning any person having the status defined by
the Geneva Convention of 28 July 1951 relating to the
Status of Refugees and permitted to reside as refugees in
one of the Member States and, where appropriate, persons
applying to be granted that status;

___________
(1) OJ L 184, 17.7.1999, p. 23.

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INITIAL PROPOSAL

AMENDED PROPOSAL

2.

(cid:145)displaced persons(cid:146), meaning any third-country nationals or
stateless persons benefiting from temporary protection
arrangements in a Member State and, where appropriate,
persons applying for such protection.

Unchanged

Article 3

Tasks

To achieve the objective described in Article 1, the Fund

1.
shall support Member States’ actions relating to:

(a) conditions for reception of refugees and displaced persons;

(b) integration of refugees and displaced persons;

(c) where appropriate, voluntary repatriation of those persons;
(cid:145)voluntary repatriation(cid:146) means the return of a person to the
country of origin, without compulsion, including where the
person concerned is the subject of a decision withdrawing
the permission to stay granted when they belonged to one
of the target groups referred to in Article 2.

2. With regard to the conditions for reception of refugees
and displaced persons and procedures, the actions may concern
infrastructure or
supply of
material aid, social assistance or help with administrative
formalities.

for accommodation,

services

3.
As regards integration into the society of the Member
State of residence of persons having the status of refugees or
benefiting from temporary protection arrangements
and
members of their family, actions may be to provide social
assistance in areas such as housing, means of subsistence and
healthcare or to enable beneficiaries to adjust to the society of
the Member State or to provide for themselves.

As

refugees

regards voluntary repatriation of

and
4.
displaced persons,
including persons from whom this status
has been withdrawn or to whom it has been refused or who
have withdrawn their application, provided they have not
acquired a new nationality and have not left the territory of
the Member State, the actions may concern information and
advice about voluntary return programmes and the situation in
the country of origin and/or general or vocational training and
help in resettlement.

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INITIAL PROPOSAL

AMENDED PROPOSAL

Article 4

Community actions

At the Commission’s initiative, up to 10 % of the Fund’s annual
allocation may be used to finance innovatory actions or actions
of interest to the Community as a whole, separate from the
actions implemented by the Member States, including studies,
pilot projects, exchanges of experience, measures to promote
cooperation at Community level and assessment of
the
implementation of those measures, and technical assistance.

At the Commission’s initiative, up to 10 % of the Fund’s annual
allocation may be used to finance innovatory actions or actions
of interest to the Community as a whole, separate from the
actions implemented by the Member States, including studies,
public information, pilot projects, exchanges of experience,
measures to promote cooperation at Community level and
assessment of
those measures, and
technical assistance.

the implementation of

The Fund may also be used to finance public information
to persons
concerning the obligation of Member States
seeking international protection, and their obligations in the
context of
including
the European Union’s asylum policy,
public awareness campaigns to supplement other actions.

The Fund may provide 100 % of the funding for those actions.

Unchanged

Article 5

Emergency measures

The Fund may also be used to finance emergency
1.
measures,
separate from and in addition to the actions
referred to in Article 3, to help one or more Member States
in the event of a sudden mass influx of refugees or displaced
persons.

In the situation referred to in paragraph 1, eligible

2.
emergency measures cover the following types of action:

(a) reception and accommodation;

(b) provision of means of subsistence,

including food and

clothing;

(c) medical, psychological or other assistance;

(d) staff and administration costs incurred as a result of the
reception of persons and implementation of the measures.

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INITIAL PROPOSAL

AMENDED PROPOSAL

CHAPTER II

DETAILED PROVISIONS

Article 6

Implementation

The Member States shall be responsible for implementation of
actions supported by the Fund.

To this end, each Member State shall appoint a responsible
authority which shall handle all communication with the
Commission. That authority shall be a public administration
but may delegate its responsibility for
implementation to
another public administration or non-governmental organi-
sation.

Article 7

Requests for co-financing

1. Member States shall send the Commission, in accordance
with the timetable set out in Article 10, a request for the
co-financing of
the actions referred to in Article 3 which
describes:

(a) the requirements justifying the implementation of actions

eligible for support from the Fund;

(b) actions planned for and during the period covered by this

Decision;

(c) funding from the Member State and, where applicable,

from the organisation(s) involved;

(d) the system put in place by the Member State to:

(i) select actions and ensure the procedure is transparent;

(ii) manage, monitor, check and evaluate actions;

(iii) encourage coordination between actions and communi-
for

responsible

cation
implementing them on the ground;

between

people

the

(iv) ensure

proper
contribution to funding.

publicity

for

the

Community’s

The request shall contain, for each of the aspects referred to in
sufficiently detailed information to
the first subparagraph,
enable the Commission to take a fully informed decision.

The request referred to in paragraph 1 shall be the

2.
subject of concertation with the Commission.

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INITIAL PROPOSAL

Article 8

Selection criteria

AMENDED PROPOSAL

Member States shall have sole responsibility for the selection of
individual actions and for
the financial management and
administration of actions supported by the Fund with due
respect for Community policies and the criteria for eligibility.

of

individual

shall have primary responsibility for

the
Member States
selection
financial
actions
management and administration of actions supported by the
Fund with due respect for Community policies and the criteria
for eligibility.

and

the

for

(national,

regional or

Following a call for proposals, actions shall be presented by
local, central or
public authorities
training estab-
devolved), education or research institutions,
lishments,
inter-
national organisations or non-governmental organisations,
in partnerships with a view to
operating individually or
obtaining funding from the Fund.

the social partners, government agencies,

Following a public call for proposals, actions shall be presented
by public authorities (national, regional or local, central or
training estab-
devolved), education or research institutions,
lishments,
inter-
national organisations or non-governmental organisations,
in partnerships with a view to
operating individually or
obtaining funding from the Fund.

the social partners, government agencies,

The responsible authority shall select actions on the basis of
the following criteria:

Unchanged

(a) the situation and requirements in the Member State;

(b) the cost-effectiveness and benefit of

in
view of the number of persons concerned by the action;

the expenditure,

(c) the innovatory nature of the measures and the scope for
using the results to strengthen cooperation between the
Member States or enable other Member States to benefit
from experience;

(d) the

experience,

financial
contribution from the organisation applying for funding
and any partner organisation;

expertise,

reliability

and

(e) the extent to which the actions complement other actions
funded by the budget of the European Communities or as
part of national programmes.

Furthermore, the responsible authority shall ensure

Furthermore, the responsible authority shall ensure:

that the actions are based on the principles of partnership
between all those involved and participation, in particular by
the beneficiaries, in their conception and implementation

(cid:151) that the actions are based on the principles of partnership
between all those involved and participation, in particular
by the beneficiaries,
in their conception and implemen-
tation;

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INITIAL PROPOSAL

AMENDED PROPOSAL

that
they encourage a multi-dimensional approach incor-
porating coordinated action in all relevant areas and taking
account of the complexity of the beneficiaries’ position in the
host society;

(cid:151) that they encourage a multi-dimensional approach incor-
relevant areas and
the beneficiaries’

porating coordinated action in all
taking account of
position in the host society;

the complexity of

(cid:151) that the continuity of the programmes and actions can be

ensured, where necessary, over several years.

Article 9

Unchanged

Distribution of resources

Available resources shall be distributed proportionally between
the Member States as follows:

(a) 65 % in proportion to the average number of persons
international protection

having applied for a form of
registered over the previous three years; and

(b) 35 % in proportion to the number of persons granted
refugee status or temporary protection over the previous
three years.

The reference figures shall be the most recent figures estab-
lished by the Statistical Office of the European Communities.

Article 10

Timetable

The actions shall be implemented between 1 January 2000 and
31 December 2004.

The Commission shall provide the Member States by 1 July
each year at the latest with an estimate of the amounts to be
allocated to them for the following year from the total amounts
allocated within the framework of
the annual budgetary
procedure.

The Member States shall present the request for co-financing
referred to in Article 7 to the Commission within two months
of the date on which this Decision takes effect.

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INITIAL PROPOSAL

AMENDED PROPOSAL

The Commission and the Member State shall adopt the final list
of actions accepted by common accord within three months of
submission of the request for co-financing.

Each year, the Commission and the Member State may, on the
basis of the annual report provided for in Article 18, make
proposals for amendments to the list or the nature of the
actions.

The Commission and the Member State shall, in any event, by
1 June 2002 at the latest, revise the list or nature of the actions
on the basis of the mid-term evaluation provided for by Article
18 and shall make the necessary changes by common accord.

CHAPTER III

FINANZIAL PROVISIONS

Article 11

Financing structure

For any given measure, the contribution from the Fund shall
not exceed 50 % of the total cost of the measure.

That proportion may be increased to 75 % in Member States
covered by the Cohesion Fund.

Article 12

Eligibility

1.
Expenditure may not be considered eligible for support
from the Fund if it has actually been paid before the date on
which the Member State’s request for co-financing is approved
by the Commission. That date shall constitute the starting
point for the eligibility of expenditure.

The Commission shall adopt the rules governing eligi-
in accordance with the procedure

2.
bility of expenditure
referred to in Article 19(2).

Article 13

Decision on co-financing from the Fund

After examining the request for co-financing, the Commission
shall, in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article
19(2), adopt the decision on co-financing by the Fund. The
decision shall state the amount allocated to the Member State.

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INITIAL PROPOSAL

AMENDED PROPOSAL

Article 14

Budget commitments

Community budget commitments shall be made on the basis of
the Commission decision on co-financing.

Article 15

Payments

1.
Payment by the Commission of the contribution from the
Fund shall be made to the responsible authority in accordance
with the corresponding budget commitments.

2.
As soon as the Commission decision on the contribution
from the Fund is adopted, an initial payment, representing
50 % of the amount, shall be made to the Member State for
the year in question.

An interim payment of up to 30 % shall be made when the
Member State states that it has actually spent half of the initial
payment.

The balance shall be paid within three months of approval of
the accounts submitted by the Member State and the annual
report on implementation of the programme.

CHAPTER IV

CHECKS AND EVALUATION

Article 16

Checks

1. Without prejudice to the Commission’s responsibility for
implementing
European
Communities, Member States shall take responsibility in the
first instance for the financial control of the actions. To that
end, the measures they shall take shall include:

general

budget

the

the

of

(a) verifying that management and control arrangements have
been set up and are being implemented in such a way as to
ensure that Community funds are being used efficiently and
correctly;

(b) providing the Commission with a description of

these

arrangements;

(c) ensuring that the actions are managed in accordance with
the applicable Community rules and that the funds placed
at their disposal are used in accordance with the principles
of sound financial management;

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INITIAL PROPOSAL

AMENDED PROPOSAL

(d) certifying that the declarations of expenditure presented to
the Commission are accurate and ensuring that they result
from accounting systems based on verifiable supporting
documents;

(e) preventing, detecting and correcting irregularities, notifying
these to the Commission in accordance with the rules and
the progress of
keeping the Commission informed of
administrative and legal proceedings;

(f) cooperating with

that
the Commission
Community funds are used in accordance with the
principle of sound financial management;

ensure

to

(g) recovering any amounts lost as a result of an irregularity
detected and, where appropriate, charging interest on late
payments.

2.
The Commission, in its responsibility for the implemen-
tation of the general budget of the European Communities,
shall ensure that Member States have smoothly functioning
management and control systems so that Community funds
are efficiently and correctly used.

or

servants may,

To that end, without prejudice to the powers of the Court of
Auditors or the checks carried out by the Member States in
accordance with national laws, regulations and administrative
provisions, Commission
in
officials
accordance with arrangements agreed with the Member
the cooperation described in
States in the framework of
including
paragraph (1)(f), carry out on-the-spot checks,
sample checks, on the operations financed by the Fund and
on management and control systems with a minimum of one
working day’s notice. The Commission shall give notice to the
Member State concerned with a view to obtaining all
the
the Member
servants of
assistance necessary. Officials or
State concerned may take part in such checks.

The Commission may require the Member State concerned to
carry out an on-the-spot check to verify the correctness of one
or more transactions. Commission officials or servants may
take part in such checks.

completing

3.
After
Commission shall
following situations:

the

necessary
suspend the interim payments

verifications,

the
in the

(a) a Member State is not implementing the actions as agreed

in the co-financing decision;

or

(b) all or part of an action justifies neither part nor the whole

of the co-financing from the Fund.

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AMENDED PROPOSAL

In those cases,
request
where
specified period of time.

that
appropriate,

the Commission shall, stating its reasons,
its comments and,
any corrections within a

the Member State submit
carry out

At the end of the period set by the Commission, the
4.
Commission may, if no agreement has been reached and the
Member State has not made the corrections and taking account
of any comments made by the Member State, decide within
three months to:

(a) reduce the interim payment referred to in Article 15(2);

or

(b) make the financial corrections required by cancelling all or
the Fund to the action in

the contribution of

part of
question.

In the absence of a decision to do either (a) or (b) the interim
payments shall immediately cease to be suspended.

Article 17

Financial corrections

The Member States shall, in the first instance, bear the
acting upon
investigating irregularities,
change affecting the nature or
supervision of an

1.
responsibility for
evidence of any major
conditions
for
action and making the financial corrections required.

the implementation or

The Member State shall make the financial corrections required
in connection with the individual or systemic irregularity. The
corrections made by the Member State shall consist
in
the Community contribution. The
cancelling all or part of
Community funds released in this way may be re-used by the
Member State for actions in the same field of action referred to
in Article 3,
in compliance with the arrangements to be
defined in accordance with the procedure referred to in
Article 19.

If, after completing the necessary verifications,

2.
Commission concludes
that
complied with its obligations under paragraph 1 of
Article, Article 16(3) and (4) shall apply.

the
State has not
this

a Member

3.
Any sum received unduly and to be recovered shall be
repaid to the Commission, together with interest on account of
late payment.

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AMENDED PROPOSAL

INITIAL PROPOSAL

Article 18

Monitoring and evaluation

1.
In each Member State the responsible authority shall take
whatever measures are necessary to monitor and evaluate
actions.

To that end, the agreements and contracts it enters into with
organisations charged with implementing the actions shall
contain clauses requiring them to present at least one report
a year detailing progress made with regard to implementation
of the action and achievement of the objectives attributed to it.

The responsible authority shall send the Commission
2.
each year
financial accounts and a detailed report on
implementation of the actions in accordance with the rules
adopted by the Commission by the procedure referred to in
Article 19(2).

Furthermore, the responsible authority shall arrange for:

(a) an independent mid-term evaluation to be carried out of
the actions, with a view to the

the implementation of
revision provided for in Article 10,

(b) an independent evaluation of

the implementation and
impact of the actions, after completion of the programme.

A sum not exceeding 1 % of the Member State’s total allocation
may be set aside for this purpose.

The evaluation report shall be attached to the final report.

The Commission shall submit a mid-term report to the
3.
European Parliament and the Council by 31 December 2002 at
the latest and a final report by 1 June 2005 at the latest.

CHAPTER V

THE COMMITTEE

Article 19

The Committee

The Commission shall be assisted by a committee
the Member States and

1.
composed of
representatives of
chaired by the representative of the Commission.

reference is made to this paragraph,

the
2. Wherever
advisory procedure
in Article 3 of Decision
1999/468/EC shall apply, in compliance with Article 7(3) of
that Decision.

set out

3.
The Committee may consider any question relating to this
Decision, raised by the chairman or by a representative of a
Member State.

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AMENDED PROPOSAL

INITIAL PROPOSAL

CHAPTER VI

SPECIAL PROVISIONS CONCERNING EMERGENCY MEASURES

Article 20

Special provisions concerning emergency measures

1. Without prejudice to Articles 6 to 19, the provisions of
paragraphs 2 to 5 of this Article shall apply to the implemen-
tation of the emergency measures provided for in Article 5.

2.
Financial assistance from the Fund shall be limited to a
period of six months and shall not exceed 80 % of the cost of
each measure.

referred to in Article 5(1)

The Member State or Member States affected by a mass
3.
influx as
shall provide the
Commission with a statement of requirements and a plan for
the implementation of the emergency measures,
including a
description of the planned measures and the bodies responsible
for their implementation.

The Commission shall examine and select the projects
taking

4.
submitted by the Member State or Member States,
account of the criteria laid down in Article 8.

5. Where
resources
distributed between the Member States as follows:

appropriate,

available

shall

be

(a) 80 % shall be distributed on the basis of the number of
persons having entered each Member State as part of the
mass influx referred to in Article 5(1); and

(b) 20 % shall be distributed on the basis of the quality of the

projects put forward.

CHAPTER VII

TRANSITIONAL PROVISIONS

Article 21

Transitional provisions

this Decision in the first year,

the
For implementation of
Commission shall inform the Member States of the estimated
amounts allocated to them within two weeks of the date on
which this Decision takes effect. If the Statistical Office of the
European Communities does not yet have the statistics required
by Article 9, the figures used shall be those supplied by the
Member States;
in that case the Commission shall adopt, in
accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 19(2),
the rules
supplied by the
for
Member States.

interpreting the statistics

By way of derogation from Article 12,
for the year 2000,
expenditure actually paid between 1 January 2000 and
approval of the request for co-financing may be eligible for
support from the Fund.

C 29 E/238

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

30.1.2001

INITIAL PROPOSAL

AMENDED PROPOSAL

CHAPTER VIII

FINAL PROVISIONS

Article 22

Implementation

The Commission shall be in charge of the implementation

1.
of this Decision.

2. Where necessary, the Commission shall adopt any other
provisions required for the implementation of this Decision in
accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 19(2).

Article 23

Review clause

The Council shall review this Decision on the basis of a
proposal from the Commission by 31 December 2004 at the
latest.

Article 24

Addressees

This Decision is addressed to the Member States.