Common Position (EC) No 10/2001 of 12 February 2001 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 Decision of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing a programme of Community action to encourage cooperation between Member States to combat exclusion
Date: 2001-02-12
Institutions: Council of the European Union
Subjects: EU action, European social policy, intergovernmental cooperation (EU), marginalisation, poverty

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COMMON POSITION (EC) No 10/2001

adopted by the Council on 12 February 2001

with a view to adopting Decision No .../2001/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council
of ... establishing a programme of Community action to encourage cooperation between
Member States to combat social exclusion

(2001/C 93/02)

THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE
EUROPEAN UNION,

(3)

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Com-
munity, and in particular the second and third subparagraphs
of Article 137(2) thereof,

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

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

Having regard to the opinion of
Regions (3),

the Committee of

the

Acting in accordance with the procedure laid down in
Article 251 of the Treaty (4),

Whereas:

(1)

(2)

Pursuant to Article 2 of the Treaty, the Community shall
have as part of its tasks that of promoting a high level
of employment and of social protection and the raising
of the standard of living and quality of life throughout
the Community.

Pursuant to Article 136 of the Treaty, the Community
and the Member States, having in mind fundamental
social rights such as those set out in the European Social
Charter signed at Turin on 18 October 1961 and in the
1989 Community Charter of the Fundamental Social
Rights of Workers, shall have as an objective the
combating of exclusion.

(1) OJ C 337 E, 28.11.2000, p. 130.
(2) OJ C 14, 16.1.2001, p. 69.
(3) Opinion delivered on 13 December 2000 (not yet published in

the Official Journal).

(4) Opinion of the European Parliament of 16 November 2000 (not
yet published in the Official Journal), Council Common Position
of 12 February 2001 and decision of the European Parliament of
… (not yet published in the Official Journal).

In its Recommendation 92/441/EEC (5),
the Council
recommends that Member States should recognise the
basic right of a person to sufficient resources and social
assistance to live in a manner compatible with human
dignity. In Recommendation 92/442/EEC (6), the Council
recommends that Member States should guarantee a
level of resources in keeping with human dignity. In its
conclusions of 17 December 1999 (7),
the Council
commits itself to promoting social inclusion as one of
the objectives of the modernisation and improvement
of social protection systems.

The European Parliament, the Economic and Social
Committee and the Committee of the Regions have all
urged the Community to strengthen its contribution to
efforts in Member States to prevent and to combat social
exclusion.

The Commission communication of 1 March 2000,
‘Building an inclusive Europe’, described the challenge of
social exclusion and poverty and the existing policy
responses in Member States and at Community level,
and proposed on this basis to give a new impetus to
cooperation of the European Union in this field.

The Lisbon European Council of 23 and 24 March 2000
incorporated as intrinsic to the overall strategy of the
Union the promotion of social inclusion to achieve its
strategic goal for the next decade of becoming the most
competitive and dynamic knowledge-based economy in
the world, capable of sustainable economic growth, with
more and better jobs and greater social cohesion.

(4)

(5)

(6)

(5) OJ L 245, 26.8.1992, p. 46.
(6) OJ L 245, 26.8.1992, p. 49.
(7) OJ C 8, 12.1.2000, p. 7.

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(7)

(8)

That European Council, finding the number of people
living below the poverty line and in social exclusion in
the Union unacceptable, deemed it necessary to take
steps to make a decisive impact on the eradication of
poverty by setting adequate objectives. Such objectives
were agreed by the Nice European Council of 7, 8 and
9 December 2000.

further acknowledged that

The Lisbon Council
the
new knowledge-based society offers the potential for
reducing social exclusion, both by creating the economic
conditions for greater prosperity through higher levels
of growth and employment, and by opening up new
ways of participating in society. At the same time, it
brings a risk of an ever-widening gap between those
who have access to the new knowledge, and those who
It recognised that policies should be
are excluded.
directed towards avoiding this risk and maximising this
new potential and that the best safeguard against social
exclusion is a job.

(9)

The European Council further agreed that policies for
combating social exclusion should be based on an open
method of coordination combining national action plans
and a Commission initiative for cooperation.

(10) This Commission initiative which consists of a proposal
for a multiannual action programme designed to encour-
age cooperation between Member States should aim at
improving knowledge, developing exchanges of infor-
mation and best practices, and evaluating experiences in
order to enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of
policies to combat exclusion.

(11) The drawing-up of harmonised surveys and analyses,
and the study of commonly agreed qualitative and
quantitative indicators, will provide a basis for the
development of the open method of coordination.

(13) Measures to combat social exclusion should aim at
enabling everyone to support himself or herself, by
gainful employment or otherwise, and to integrate into
society.

to enhance

(14) The Social Protection Committee, set up by Council
Decision 2000/436/EC (1)
cooperation
between the Member States on social protection policies,
contributes to the development of and systematic follow-
up to action to modernise social protection and promote
social
integration in accordance with the Presidency
conclusions of the European Council meeting in Lisbon
on 23 and 24 March 2000 and in Feira on 19 and
20 June 2000.

(15) Many non-governmental organisations at various levels
(local, regional, national and European) have experience
of and expertise in fighting social exclusion, as well as
acting at European level as the advocates of people who
are exposed to social exclusion. Local and regional
authorities also have experience and knowledge in this
field. Non-governmental organisations, social partners
and local and regional authorities can therefore make an
important contribution at European level to understand-
ing the diverse forms and effects of social exclusion and
to ensuring that the design and implementation of
and follow-up to the programme take account of the
experience of people exposed to social exclusion.

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

(17)

It is necessary, in order to reinforce the added value of
Community action, that the Commission, in cooperation
with the Member States, should ensure, at all levels, the
coherence and complementarity of actions implemented
in the framework of this Decision and all other relevant
Community instruments, policies and actions, in particu-
lar those under the Structural Funds.

(18) Special attention should be paid to social exclusion in

view of the future enlargement of the Union.

(12) The fight against social exclusion and poverty requires
participation in quality employment and access for all
to resources, rights, goods and services, to be facilitated.

(1) OJ L 172, 12.7.2000, p. 26.
(2) OJ L 184, 17.7.1999, p. 23 (corrected in OJ L 269, 19.10.1999,

p. 45).

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(19) The Agreement on the European Economic Area (EEA
Agreement) provides for greater cooperation in the
social field between the European Community and its
Member States, on the one hand, and the countries of the
European Free Trade Association (EFTA) participating in
the European Economic Area (EFTA/EEA countries), on
the other. Provision should be made for opening up this
programme to participation by the applicant countries
of central and eastern Europe, in accordance with the
conditions laid down in the Europe Agreements,
in
their Additional Protocols and in the decisions of the
respective Association Councils, and by Cyprus, Malta
funded by additional appropriations in
and Turkey,
accordance with the procedures to be agreed with those
countries.

(20)

In implementing this programme, the work carried out
by other international organisations, in particular the
United Nations, the Organisation for Economic Cooper-
ation and Development, the International Labour Organ-
isation and the Council of Europe, will be of particular
interest.

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

(22) Gender is a crucial cross-cutting issue which has a large
impact on the effects and causes of exclusion. Moreover,
by virtue of Articles 2 and 3 of the Treaty, the elimination
of inequalities and the promotion of equality, between
men and women, are part of the task conferred on the
Community, which should feature as an aim in all its
activities.

(23)

It is essential to monitor and evaluate the implemen-
tation of the programme to ensure that it achieves its
objectives.

(24) Since the objectives of the proposed action concerning
the contribution of the Community to combating social
exclusion cannot be sufficiently achieved by the Member
States for reasons including the need for multilateral
partnerships, the transnational exchange of information
and the Community-wide dissemination of good practice
and can therefore, by reason of the scale and effects of
the proposed action, be better achieved at Community
level, the Community may adopt measures in accordance
with the principle of subsidiarity as set out in Article 5
In accordance with the principle of
of
proportionality, as set out in that Article, this Decision
does not go beyond what is necessary to achieve those
objectives,

the Treaty.

(1) OJ C 172, 18.6.1999, p. 1.

HAVE DECIDED AS FOLLOWS:

Article 1

Establishment of the programme

A programme of Community action to encourage cooperation
between Member States in order to combat social exclusion,
hereinafter referred to as ‘the programme’, shall be adopted for
the period 1 January 2001 to 31 December 2005.

Article 2

Principles

1.
The programme shall be part of an open method of
coordination between Member States to give a decisive impetus
to the elimination of social exclusion and poverty by setting
appropriate objectives at Community level and by the
implementation of national action plans.

2.
The programme and the national action plans shall
contribute to a better understanding of social exclusion, the
mainstreaming of the combating of exclusion in Member
States’ and Community policies and measures, and the develop-
ment of priority actions chosen by Member States in accord-
ance with their particular situation.

3.
In designing, implementing and following up the activi-
ties under the programme, account shall be taken of the
experience of Member States at all
levels involved and of
people exposed to social exclusion and poverty, as well as
social partners, non-governmental and voluntary organis-
ations, bodies providing social services and other actors
involved in the fight against social exclusion and poverty.

Article 3

Objectives

In the context of the open method of coordination referred to
in Article 2(1), the programme shall support cooperation
which enables the Community and the Member States to
enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of policies to combat
social exclusion by:

(a)

improving the understanding of social exclusion and
poverty;

(b) organising exchanges on policies which are implemented

and promote mutual learning;

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(c)

developing the capacity of actors to address social
exclusion and poverty effectively, in particular through
networking at European level, and by promoting dialogue
with all those involved.

(c)

promote active partnership and dialogue between all the
partners involved in the programme to encourage an
integrated and coordinated approach to the fight against
social exclusion and poverty.

Article 4

Community actions

1. With a view to achieving the objectives set out in
Article 3,
following Community actions may be
implemented within a transnational framework:

the

(a)

(b)

(c)

analysis of characteristics, causes, processes and trends in
social exclusion, including the collection of statistics on
the various forms of social exclusion in order to compare
these data,
the study of quantitative and qualitative
indicators, the development of common methodologies
and thematic studies;

exchange of information and best practices encouraging
the development of quantitative and qualitative indi-
cators, assessment criteria and benchmarks and monitor-
ing, evaluation and peer review;

promotion of dialogue involving the various actors
and support for relevant networking at European level
between organisations active in the fight against poverty
in particular non-governmental
and social exclusion,
organisations.

Arrangements for the implementation of the Community

2.
actions described in paragraph 1 are set out in the Annex.

Article 5

The Commission shall, in cooperation with the Member

2.
States, take the necessary steps to:

(a)

(b)

(c)

promote the involvement in the programme of all the
parties concerned;

ensure the dissemination of the results of the Community
actions undertaken within the framework of the pro-
gramme;

provide appropriate information, publicity and follow-up
with regard to Community actions supported by the
programme.

Article 6

Financing

1.
The financial framework for the implementation of the
programme for the period referred to in Article 1 is hereby set
at EUR 70 million.

The annual appropriations shall be authorised by the
2.
budgetary authority within the limits of the financial perspec-
tive.

Article 7

Implementing measures

Implementation and cooperation with the Member States

1.

The Commission shall:

(a)

ensure the implementation of the Community actions
covered by the programme;

(b) have a regular exchange of views with representatives of
non-governmental organisations and the social partners
at European level on the design and implementation of
and follow-up to the programme and on related policy
orientations. To this end, the Commission shall make
useful information available to non-governmental organ-
isations and social partners. The Commission shall inform
the committee established under Article 8 of these views;

1.
The measures necessary for the implementation of this
Decision relating to the matters referred to below shall be
adopted in accordance with the management procedure
referred to in Article 8(2):

(a)

(b)

the general guidelines for the implementation of the
programme;

the annual plan of work for the implementation of the
programme’s Community actions, including the possi-
bility of adapting or supplementing the programme
themes;

(c)

the financial support to be supplied by the Community;

(d)

the annual budget and the breakdown of the funds among
different Community actions of the programme;

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(e)

(f)

the arrangements for selecting activities and organisations
for Community support and the draft list of activities and
organisations submitted by the Commission for such
support;

the criteria for monitoring and evaluating the programme
and, in particular, its cost-effectiveness and the arrange-
ments for disseminating and transferring the results.

2.
The measures necessary for the implementation of this
Decision relating to all other matters shall be adopted in
accordance with the advisory procedure referred to in
Article 8(3).

Article 8

Committee

1.

The Commission shall be assisted by a committee.

2. Where reference is made to this paragraph, 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 two months.

3. Where reference is made to this paragraph, Articles 3
and 7 of Decision 1999/468/EC shall apply, having regard to
the provisions of Article 8 thereof.

4.

The committee shall adopt its rules of procedure.

Article 9

Cooperation with other committees and links with the
Social Protection Committee

1.
To ensure the consistency and complementarity of this
programme with other measures referred to in Article 10, the
Commission shall keep the committee regularly informed
about other Community action contributing to combating
social exclusion. Where appropriate, the Commission shall
establish regular and structured cooperation between this
committee and the monitoring committees established for
other relevant policies, instruments and actions.

Article 10

Consistency and complementarity

1.
The Commission shall, in cooperation with the Member
States, ensure overall consistency with other relevant Com-
in particular by
instruments and actions,
munity policies,
establishing appropriate mechanisms to coordinate the activi-
ties of this programme with relevant activities relating to
research, employment, economic,
industrial and enterprise
policies, non-discrimination, immigration, equality between
women and men, social protection, education, training and
youth policy, health and in the field of enlargement and the
Community’s external relations.

2.
The Member States shall make every possible effort to
ensure consistency and complementarity between activities
under this programme and those carried out at national,
regional and local levels.

3.
The Commission and the Member States shall ensure
consistency and complementarity between action undertaken
under this programme and action undertaken in the field of
employment and also with Community action under the
structural
the Community initiative
EQUAL.

in particular

funds,

Article 11

Participation of the EFTA/EEA countries, the associated
countries of central and eastern Europe, Cyprus, Malta
and Turkey

This programme shall be open to the participation of:

— the EFTA/EEA countries in accordance with the con-

ditions established in the EEA Agreement,

— the associated central and eastern European countries in
accordance with the conditions established in the Europe
in their Additional Protocols and in the
Agreements,
decisions of the respective Association Councils,

— Cyprus, Malta and Turkey, funded by additional appropri-
ations in accordance with procedures to be agreed with
each country.

Article 12

Monitoring and evaluation

The Commission shall regularly monitor this programme
1.
in cooperation with the Member States in accordance with the
procedure referred to in Article 8(2).

The Commission shall establish the necessary links with
2.
the Social Protection Committee within the framework of the
Community actions referred to in this Decision.

The Commission shall report on progress achieved under
2.
this programme in its annual summary report to the spring
European Council.

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3.
The programme shall be evaluated by the Commission
by the end of the third year and at the end of the programme
with the assistance of independent experts. This evaluation
will assess the relevance, effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of
activities implemented with regard to the objectives referred
to in Article 3.
the
programme as a whole. The evaluation will also examine the
complementarity between action under the programme and
that pursued under other relevant Community policies, instru-
ments and actions.

It will also examine the impact of

the Council,

The Commission shall submit to the European Parlia-
4.
ment,
the Economic and Social Committee
and the Committee of the Regions a final report on the
implementation of the programme by 31 December 2006.

Article 13

Entry into force

This Decision shall enter into force on the day of its publication
in the Official Journal of the European Communities.

Done at ...

For the European Parliament

For the Council

The President

The President

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ANNEX

INDICATIONS FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PROGRAMME

1.

Action strands

With a view to achieving the objectives set out in Article 3 and implementing the Community actions set out
in Article 4, the following measures may be implemented within a transnational framework:

Strand 1: Analysis of characteristics, processes, causes and trends in social exclusion

To improve understanding of the phenomenon of social exclusion, the following measures may be supported:

1.1.

studies and meetings on the development of common methodologies to measure and understand social
exclusion and poverty, their extent, characteristics, processes, causes and trends, and on technical work
on indicators;

1.2.

the collection, in Member States and at Community level, and dissemination of statistics on the various
types of social exclusion for the purposes of comparing such data effectively. This measure should support
cooperation between national statistical offices and the Commission and improve the statistical reference
sources at Community level and their contribution to the analysis of social exclusion and poverty;

1.3.

the development of thematic studies to contribute to the understanding of social exclusion, in order to
address common issues in connection with policy developments in Member States, including emerging
issues in relation to the knowledge-based society.

It is important to reflect the experience on the ground of persons confronted with social exclusion and poverty
and to make use of all relevant sources of information on social exclusion and poverty, including that coming
from non-governmental organisations.

In analysing social exclusion and poverty, special attention will be paid to their multiple dimensions and to the
diverse situations of the social groups concerned, including child poverty, and of the geographical areas which
are exposed to the risks of social exclusion.

Strand 2: Policy cooperation and exchange of information and best practices

In order to promote policy cooperation and mutual learning in the context of national action plans, the
following transnational activities may be supported:

2.1.

transnational exchanges aimed at transferring information and good practices and encouraging peer
review by means of meetings/workshops/seminars on benchmarks or on policies and practices, or other
forms of exchange such as joint development of strategies and common dissemination of information,
field visits and exchanges of personnel etc., organised at the initiative of either Member States and/or
other key actors with the active involvement of Member States, or European organisations. Transnational
exchanges between national observatories or similar recognised bodies may also be supported under this
strand;

2.2. expert work and technical studies in connection with the development of indicators and benchmarks,

including in relation to the knowledge-based society;

2.3. annual report on social exclusion, which would present the state of play on the action conducted,
especially national action plans, in the main policies and fields where the fight against poverty and social
exclusion is at stake.

Bearing in mind that social exclusion is a multidimensional phenomenon, particular attention should be paid
to relevant policy developments on social protection, employment, education and training, health and housing
policies.

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Strand 3: Participation of the various actors and support for networking at European level

To promote dialogue with all the operators concerned, the following measures may be supported:

3.1. core funding for key European networks involved in the fight against poverty and social exclusion; the

core funding is subject to an upper limit of 80 % of the expenditure eligible for support;

3.2. an annual European Union Round Table Conference on social exclusion. The conference would be
organised in close collaboration with the Presidency of the Council of the European Union and prepared
for in consultation with all the actors concerned.

2.

Access to the programme

Under the conditions and arrangements for implementation specified in this Annex, access to this programme
shall be open to all public and/or private bodies, actors and institutions involved in the fight against social
exclusion, in particular:

(a) Member States;

(b)

local and regional authorities;

(c)

bodies responsible for combating social exclusion;

(d)

social partners;

(e)

bodies providing social services;

(f)

non-governmental organisations;

(g)

universities and research institutes;

(h)

national statistical offices;

(i) media.

3.

General considerations

The programme shall take into account the results of preparatory actions and activities under other relevant
Community policies, instruments and actions.

In designing, implementing, following up and evaluating activities under the programme, account will be taken
of the experience of people exposed to poverty and social exclusion, as well as social partners, non-
governmental organisations and other bodies involved in the fight against social exclusion and poverty. In all
its activities, the programme will respect the principle of gender mainstreaming.

4. Method of presenting applications for support

(a)

(b)

Strand 1: Measures covered by this strand will be mainly implemented through calls for tenders. For

cooperation with national statistical offices, the Eurostat procedures will apply.

Strand 2: Measures covered by strand 2.1 will be mainly implemented in response to annual calls for
proposals (some policy meetings/seminars might be organised directly by the Commission).
Proposals will have to involve bodies, actors and institutions from at least three Member States
and may be submitted to the Commission either by Member States and/or other key actors
with the active involvement of Member States, or by European organisations. Strands 2.2 and
2.3 will require specific calls for tenders.

(c)

Strand 3: Under strand 3.1 support may be provided to European networks satisfying criteria established
by the Commission in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 8(2). Strand 3.2
may be supported in response to requests for subsidies from Member States.

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5.

Carrying out the activities

The activities to be taken may be funded by service contracts following calls for tender or by subsidies for joint
financing with other sources. In the latter case, the level of financial assistance by the Commission may not, as
a general rule, exceed 80 % of the expenditure actually incurred by the recipient.

In carrying out the programme, the Commission may require additional resources, including recourse to
experts. These requirements will be decided in the context of the Commission’s ongoing assessment of resource
allocation.

In implementing the programme, the Commission may make use of technical and/or administrative assistance
(definition, preparation, management, monitoring, audit and control), in the mutual interests of the Commission
and of the recipients.

The Commission may also undertake information, publication and dissemination activities. It may also
undertake evaluation studies and organise seminars, workshops or other meetings of experts.

Activities undertaken will fully respect the principles of data protection.

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STATEMENT OF THE COUNCIL’S REASONS

I.

INTRODUCTION

1. On 19 June 2000, the Commission submitted to the Council, on the basis of Article 137(2),
second and third subparagraphs of the Treaty establishing the European Community, a
proposal for a Decision of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing a
programme of Community action to encourage cooperation between Member States to combat
social exclusion.

2. Acting in accordance with Article 251 of the Treaty, the European Parliament delivered its first-

reading opinion on 16 November 2000.

The Economic and Social Committee delivered its opinion on 19 October 2000.

The Committee of the Regions delivered its opinion on 13 December 2000.

3.

4.

The Commission submitted to the Council, in a letter dated 24 November 2000, an amended
proposal incorporating certain European Parliament amendments.

The Council adopted its Common Position on 12 February 2001,
Article 251 of the EC Treaty.

in accordance with

II. OBJECTIVE

The purpose of this Decision is to establish a programme of Community action to support European
cooperation developed under the strategy adopted by the Lisbon European Council in the field of
social exclusion.

III. ANALYSIS OF THE COMMON POSITION

1. General remarks

Article 137 of the EC Treaty lays down that the Council of the European Union ‘may adopt
measures designed to encourage cooperation between Member States through initiatives aimed
at improving knowledge, developing exchanges of information and best practices, promoting
innovative approaches and evaluating experiences in order to combat social exclusion.’

The purpose of this programme is, therefore, to supplement Community efforts to take action
on social exclusion, in particular by contributing towards a better understanding of this
multidimensional problem so that the Member States may more effectively combat it in
accordance with their particular situation.

This programme is also part of an open method of coordination between Member States to
give a decisive impetus to the elimination of social exclusion and poverty by setting appropriate
objectives at Community level and by the implementation of national action plans.

Finally, this programme will take account of both the experience of Member States in this area
and the greatest possible number of persons or bodies involved, whether persons exposed to
social exclusion and poverty, social partners, non-governmental and voluntary organisations,
social service bodies or any others engaged in the fight against social exclusion and poverty.

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2.

European Parliament amendments

Parliament adopted 47 amendments.

2.1. European Parliament amendments not adopted by the Commission

The following 16 amendments were not incorporated by the Commission in its amended
proposal: 1, 12, 13, 30, 33, 34, 41, 43, 44, 47, 50, 52, 55, 56, 62 and 75.

2.2. European Parliament amendments agreed to by the Commission

21 of the 47 amendments proposed were incorporated in the amended Commission
proposal, either in letter or in spirit, namely 3, 4, 5, 6, 17, 18, 19, 23, 24, 25, 27, 37, 42,
46, 51, 59, 65, 67, 68, 69 and 74.

Some of the 10 remaining amendments (namely 2, 14, 36, 53, 64, 66, 70, 71, 72 and 73)
were also incorporated by the Commission.

3. Council amendments to the Commission’s amended proposal

(Unless otherwise stated, the numbering of recitals and paragraphs referred to is that used in the Common Position).

The Council adopted in full, in spirit if not in letter, 25 of the 31 amendments wholly or partly
incorporated by the Commission in its amended proposal. The amendments involved are the
following: 2, 4, 5, 6, 14, 17, 19, 23, 25, 27, 36, 42, 46, 51, 53, 59, 64, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71,
73 and 74.

However, the Council did not think it advisable to incorporate six amendments, namely 3, 18,
24, 37, 65 and 72.

3.1. New recital 2a (EP numbering)

In its amendment 3, the European Parliament wanted the revised Social Charter of the
Council of Europe to be taken into account. This amendment was adopted by the
Commission in a slightly different form, the words ‘account should be taken of’ being
replaced by ‘having in mind’.

The Council did not think it appropriate to adopt a specific reference to the revised Social
Charter since the text of the Common Position already contains a general provision which
states that ‘In implementing this programme, the work carried out by other international
organisations, in particular the United Nations, the Organisation for Economic Cooper-
ation and Development, the International Labour Organisation and the Council of Europe,
will be of particular interest.’ and which, therefore, covers all the texts adopted by the
Council of Europe in this area. Through this provision, the Council acknowledges that,
even if the European Union is not legally required to take them into account, these various
internationally operative texts, to which the Union Member States are parties, frequently
provide the basis for its action.

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3.2. New recital 13a (EP numbering)

The Council did not think it useful to adopt a recital referring to compatibility between
the reference amount and the current financial framework, as proposed by the European
Parliament in its amendment 24 and by the Commission in its amended proposal.

Such a wording is not used in the other Community action programmes since it is
redundant. The budgetary procedure has its own rules which must in any case be observed,
irrespective of the reference amount. Furthermore, it would be possible to infer from such
a provision, by a process of a contrario reasoning, that the reference amount contained in
a Community action programme may happen not to be compatible with the existing
financial framework.

3.3. Recital 16

European Parliament amendment 18 adopted by the Commission in its amended proposal
proposes a reference to Article 274 of the Treaty; the Council thought such an addition
inappropriate.

The Council actually employs a standard form of words referring to Council Decision
1999/468/EC of 28 June 1999 and makes no mention of Article 274 of the Treaty, since
it is apparent that any Council Decision is without prejudice to the powers conferred on
the various institutions by the Treaty. The addition of such a reference in this Decision
would also entail the risk that, by a process of a contrario reasoning, a derogation from
Article 274 of the Treaty would be assumed to be possible in the case of Decisions not
containing such a reference.

This point covers a further European Parliament amendment (72) on Article 7 of the
Decision (see point 3.5 of this statement of reasons).

3.4. Article 3 (Objectives)

The Council did not wish to base the quest for mutual learning on common parameters,
as advocated in European Parliament amendment 37 (adopted in the Commission’s
amended proposal), since it thought firstly that the term ‘parameters’ was imprecise and,
secondly, that mutual learning, which was a source of considerable enrichment in terms
of providing knowledge of the problem of social exclusion, could also be gained from a
comparison of different data.

The Council also deleted the reference to ‘context of the national action plans’, since
exchanges and mutual learning should not be confined to the context of the open
coordination method, in particular since the programme is open to a whole array of
stakeholders and bodies involved in action to combat social exclusion.

Finally, the Council preferred conciseness to an abundance of detail in an article on
programme objectives.

3.5. Committee (Article 7 )

This covers a further Parliament amendment (18) on recital 16 of the Decision (see
point 3.3 of this statement of reasons).

The Council did not think it appropriate to adopt a reference to Article 274 of the Treaty,
as advocated in European Parliament amendment 72 and as adopted in the Commission’s
amended proposal, for the reasons set out above.

23.3.2001

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 93/23

3.6. Annex, point 5 (Carrying out the activities)

In its amendment 65, adopted in the Commission’s amended proposal, Parliament wanted
to increase the level of NGO core funding by 10 %, thus bringing it up to 90 % of the
expenditure.

In the interests of consistency with other programmes, the Council wanted to adopt the
same rules of financing as for the Community action programme concerning the
Community strategy on gender equality (2001 to 2005), which lays down that ‘the level
of financial assistance by the Commission may not, as a general rule, exceed 80 % of the
expenditure actually incurred by the recipient.’