Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council On aid for policies and actions on reproductive and sexual health and rights in developing countries
Date: 2002-03-07
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: EU aid, births, developing countries, development aid, family planning, health care, health policy

C 151 E/260

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Official Journal of the European Communities

25.6.2002

Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on aid for policies and
actions on reproductive and sexual health and rights in developing countries

(2002/C 151 E/16)

COM(2002) 120 final — 2002/0052(COD)

(Submitted by the Commission on 7 March 2002)

THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE
EUROPEAN UNION,

programmes on reproductive and sexual health and rights
in developing countries and should continue to play a
leading role in this area.

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European
Community, and in particular Article 179 thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,

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

Whereas:

(1) The European Community is deeply concerned by the
reproductive and sexual health conditions of women
and men aged 15 to 49 in developing countries. High
maternal mortality and morbidity rates and the lack of a
full range of safe and reliable reproductive and sexual
increase
health
economic
and
safeguard livelihoods in developing countries.

all
expand

development,

opportunities

undermine

services

efforts

to

(2) Individual

freedom of choice for women, men and
adolescents through adequate access to information and
services in matters concerning their reproductive and
sexual health and rights
is a significant element of
progress and development.

(3) The right to good health is a fundamental human right
recognised by Article 25 of the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights. This right is being denied to over a fifth of
the world's population.

(4) Article 35 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the
European Union calls for a high level of human health
protection in the definition and implementation of all
Union policies and activities.

(5) The Community is determined to make a full contribution
towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals of
reducing by three-quarters the rate of maternal mortality
and attaining access to reproductive health world-wide.

(7) Both the European Parliament and the Council have called
for greater efforts by the Community in the area of repro-
ductive and sexual health and rights
in developing
countries.

(8) The International Conference on Population and Devel-
opment (ICPD) held in Cairo in 1994, followed by the
ICPD + 5 in 1999, set out an ambitious agenda for
tackling population, reproductive and sexual health and
rights issues.

(9) Since the ICPD, progress has been made, yet there is still
much to be done to ensure that every woman has the
chance of a healthy pregnancy and of giving birth in safe
conditions, that the needs of young people are met and
that the violence and abuse suffered by women is stopped.

(10) The Community upholds the right of individuals to decide
freely on the number and spacing of their children;
it
condemns any violation of human rights in the form of
compulsory abortion, compulsory sterilisation, infanticide,
or the rejection, abandonment or abuse of unwanted
children as a means of curbing population growth.

(11) No support

is to be given under this Regulation to
incentives to encourage sterilisation or abortion as a
means of family planning nor to the improper testing
of contraception methods in developing countries.

(12) Council Regulation (EC) No 1484/97 of 22 July 1997 on
aid for population policies and programmes in developing
countries (1), which is applicable until 31 December 2002,
is rendered obsolete by the present Regulation and should
therefore be repealed.

(13) The present 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 (2), for the budgetary authority
during the annual budgetary procedure.

(6) The Community and its Member States have contributed
to support policies and

greatly to the wider effort

(1) OJ L 202, 30.7.1997.
(2) OJ C 172, 18.6.1999, p. 1.

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(14) Since the measures necessary for the implementation of
this Regulation are management measures within the
meaning of Article 2 of Council Decision 1999/468/EC
of 28 June 1999 laying down the procedures for the
conferred on the
exercise of
Commission (1), they should be adopted by use of the
management procedure provided for in Article 4 of that
Decision.

implementing powers

(a) Secure the right of women, men and adolescents to good

reproductive and sexual health;

(b) Enable women, men and adolescents to have access to a
comprehensive range of safe and reliable reproductive and
sexual health care services and products;

(15) In accordance with the principles of subsidiarity and
proportionality set out in Article 5 of the Treaty, the
objective of
the proposed action, namely to improve
sexual and reproductive health and to secure respect for
the rights related thereto, with particular reference to
developing countries, cannot be attained by the Member
States acting alone and, by reason of the scale and effects
of the proposed action, can therefore only be achieved by
the Community. This Regulation confines itself to the
minimum required to achieve that objective and does
not go beyond what is necessary for that purpose,

HAVE ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

(c) Reduce maternal mortality rates, with particular reference
to the countries and populations where these are highest.

Article 3

1.
Community financial support shall be given to specific
operations designed to attain the objectives described in Article
2(1), and, in particular to those which aim to:

(a) support and promote policy and operational frameworks
and action,
the
progressive realisation of people's rights to adequate basic
health services and accountable service providers;

tailored to meet

specific targets

for

CHAPTER I

PURPOSE AND SCOPE

Article 1

(b) ensure that poor people have better access to quality repro-
in
ductive and sexual health services, offering them,
particular, contraceptive choice and the prevention and
diagnosis of sexually transmitted infection;

The Community shall support actions to improve repro-
1.
ductive and sexual health in developing countries and to secure
respect for the rights related hereto.

The Community shall provide financial assistance and
2.
appropriate expertise with a view to promoting the recognition
safe motherhood and
of
universal access
safe and
reliable reproductive and sexual health services.

rights,
to a comprehensive range of

reproductive and sexual

In the allocation of such funding and expertise, priority

3.
shall be given to:

(a) the poorest and least developed countries and the most
the population of developing

disadvantaged sections of
countries;

(b) action that complements and reinforces both the policies
and capacities of developing countries and the assistance
provided through other instruments of development coop-
eration.

Article 2

The purpose of activities carried out under this Regulation shall
be:

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

(c) provide

adolescents with the necessary

information,
services and skills to protect their reproductive and sexual
health and avoid unwanted pregnancies;

(d) fight against harmful practises such as female genital muti-

lation;

(e) ensure the availability of more effective, affordable and
acceptable methods of contraception and protection from
sexually transmitted infection;

(f) promote comprehensive maternal health programmes, for
the provision of ante-natal care and the establishment of a
professional body of skilled birth attendants;

(g) provide emergency obstetric care and post-partum care,
with particular attention to the prevention and treatment
of haemorrhage, hypertension and infection.

2.
In order to implement the above, particular attention
shall be given to the need to improve the health systems of
developing countries. In addition, with a view to ensuring that
improvements in health and well-being are sustainable, all
operations shall be conducted in tandem with broad-based
investments
education,
community action, equity and gender awareness, environ-
mental improvement, economic well-being, food-security and
nutrition.

covering

sector,

social

the

in

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Article 4

In the context of the operations referred to in Article 3,

1.
Community support may take the form of:

(c)

local communities, NGOs, community-based organisations
and other not-for-profit natural and legal persons from the
private sector;

(a)

funding of research and programmes for action (which
shall, as far as possible be carried out by or in collaboration
with experts or institutions of the partner country);

(b) technical assistance, training or other services;

(d) regional organisations;

(e)

international organisations, such as the United Nations and
its agencies, as well as development banks, financial insti-
tutions, global initiatives, international public/private part-
nerships;

(c) supplies, such as medical supplies, commodities and works;

(f)

research institutes and universities.

(d) audits, evaluation and monitoring missions.

Priority shall be given to enhancing national capacity with a
view to long-term viability.

2.
Community financing may cover both investment expen-
diture, excluding the purchase of real estate, and, in exceptional
and duly substantiated cases, taking into account the fact that
the operation must, as far as possible, aim at medium-term
viability, recurring expenditure as well (including administrative
expenditure, maintenance and running costs), the operation of
which temporarily represents a burden for the partner, so that
the maximum use is made of
the support referred to in
paragraph 1.

CHAPTER II

IMPLEMENTATION OF AID

Article 5

Community financing under this Regulation shall take the

1.
form of grants.

2.
A financial contribution from the partners defined in
Article 6 shall be sought for each cooperation operation. In
specifying the amount of the contribution requested, regard
shall be had to the capacity of the partners concerned and
the nature of the operation in question.
In certain circum-
stances, the contribution may be in kind if the partner is
either
a
non-governmental
community-based organisation.

organisation

(NGO)

or

a

The provision of financial assistance under this Regu-
3.
lation may entail co-financing with other donors, in particular
with Member States, the United Nations, and international or
regional development banks or financial institutions.

Article 6

The partners eligible for financial assistance under this

1.
Regulation include:

(a) administrative authorities and agencies at national, regional

and local government levels;

(b) local authorities and other decentralised bodies;

2. Without prejudice
to paragraph 1(e), Community
financial assistance shall be available to partners whose head
office is located in a Member State or in a third country that is
a beneficiary or potential beneficiary of Community assistance
under this Regulation, provided that this office is the actual
centre directing business operations. In exceptional cases, this
office may be located in another third country.

Article 7

1. Where operations are the subject of financing agreements
between the Community and countries, which benefit from
the agreements
operations financed under this Regulation,
shall stipulate that the payment of taxes, duties and charges
shall not be financed by the Community.

2.
Any financing agreement or contract concluded under
this Regulation shall stipulate that it is subject to the super-
vision and financial control of the Commission which may
carry out spot-checks and inspections, and to audits by the
Court of Auditors, in accordance with the usual arrangements
laid down by the Commission under the provisions in force,
particularly those in the Financial Regulation applicable to the
general budget of the European Communities.

3.
The necessary measures shall be taken to emphasise the
Community character of aid provided under this Regulation.

Article 8

Participation in invitations to tender for the award of
1.
contracts shall be open on equal
terms to all natural and
legal persons in the Member States and in all developing
countries. It may be extended, in exceptional cases, to other
third countries.

Supplies shall originate in the beneficiary country, other
In exceptional

2.
developing countries or the Member States.
cases, supplies may originate from other third countries.

Article 9

1.
In order to secure the objectives of consistency and
complementarity referred to in the Treaty and to ensure
maximum effectiveness of these operations as a whole, the
Commission may take all necessary coordination measures,
including:

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(a) establishing a system for the systematic exchange and
analysis of
information on the operations financed and
those which the Community and the Member States
propose to finance;

For decisions and changes to these operations amounting
inform the

3.
to 5 million euro or less, the Commission will
Member States.

(b) on-the-spot

coordination of

implementation of
operations through regular meetings and exchanges of
information between the representatives of the Commission
and the Member States in the recipient country.

the

2.
The Commission, in liaison with the Member States, may
take any initiative necessary for ensuring proper coordination
with the other donors concerned, in particular those forming
part of the United Nations system.

CHAPTER III

DECISION-MAKING PROCEDURES

Article 10

1.
The financial framework for the implementation of this
Regulation for the period from 2003 to 2006 is hereby set at
. . . million euro [to be decided APS 2003].

The annual appropriation shall be authorised by the
financial

authority within the

limits of

the

2.
budgetary
perspective.

Article 11

The Commission shall be

1.
for drafting
strategic programming guidelines, defining the Community's
cooperation in terms of measurable objectives, priorities,
deadlines
assumptions and
expected outcomes. Programming is annual and indicative.

areas of action,

responsible

specific

for

An annual exchange of views with the Member States
2.
shall take place on the basis of a presentation by the represen-
tative of
the strategic programming
guidelines for the operations to be carried out, within the
Committee referred to in Article 13 paragraph 1.

the Commission of

Article 13

The Commission shall be assisted by the geographically

1.
determined committee competent for development.

reference

the
2. Where
management procedure laid down in Article 4 of Decision
1999/468/EC shall apply,
in compliance with Article 7 and
Article 8 thereof.

to this paragraph,

is made

The period provided for in Article 4, paragraph 3, of

3.
Decision 1999/468/EC shall be set at 45 days.

CHAPTER IV

REPORTING AND FINANCIAL PROVISIONS

Article 14

1.
After each budget year, the Commission shall submit in
its annual report on EC development policy to the European
Parliament and to the Council, information on the operations
financed in the course of
that year and the Commission's
conclusions on the implementation of this Regulation over
the previous budget year. The summary shall
in particular
provide information about the strengths and weaknesses of
operations, those with whom contracts have been concluded
as well as the results of any independent evaluations of specific
operations.

this Regulation,

One year before the expiry of

the
2.
Commission shall submit an independent appraisal report on
the implementation of
this Regulation to the European
Parliament and the Council with a view to establishing
whether
its objectives have been achieved and providing
guidelines for improving the effectiveness of future operations.
On the basis of this appraisal report the Commission may
make proposals for the future of
if
necessary, proposals for its amendment.

this Regulation and,

Article 12

Article 15

1.
The Commission shall be responsible for appraising,
deciding and administering the operations covered by this
Regulation in accordance with the budgetary and other
procedures in force,
in particular those laid down in the
Financial Regulation applicable to the general budget of the
European Communities.

Decisions concerning operations for which financing
2.
under
this Regulation exceeds 5 million euro and any
changes to these operations that entail a cost overrun of
more than 20 % of
the
the amount
operation concerned, shall be adopted in accordance with the
procedure referred to in Article 13, paragraph 2.

initially fixed for

Regulation (EC) No 1484/97 is hereby repealed. Operations
that have been decided under Regulation (EC) No 1484/97
shall continue to be implemented under that Regulation.

Article 16

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

2.

It shall apply until 31 December 2006.

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