Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Regulation (EC) No 1210/90 as regards the budgetary and financial rules applicable to the European Environment Agency and the European Environment Information and Observation Network and access to the Agency's documents
Date: 2002-07-17
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: European Environment Agency, access to information, administrative transparency, appointment of staff, approximation of laws, financial regulation, general budget (EU)

31.12.2002

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 331 E/59

Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Regulation
(EEC) No 1210/90 as regards the budgetary and financial rules applicable to the European
Environment Agency and the European Environment Information and Observation Network
and access to the Agency's documents

(2002/C 331 E/08)

COM(2002) 406 final — 2002/0169(COD)

(Submitted by the Commission on 17 July 2002)

THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE
EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European
Community, and in particular Article 175 thereof,

(5) It would be useful to clarify the rules for the conditions and
procedures applying to the renewal of the term of office of
the Executive Director and to harmonise the rules for all
is
the Community bodies
possible,

for which re-appointment

(6) Regulation (EEC) No 1210/90 should therefore be amended

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,

accordingly.

Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social
Committee,

HAVE ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

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

Regulation (EEC) No 1210/90 is amended as follows:

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

1. Article 6 is replaced by the following:

Whereas:

(1) The provisions of Council Regulation (EEC) No 1210/90 of
7 May 1990 on the establishment of
the European
Environment Agency and the European Environment
Information and Observation Network (1)
should be
harmonised with Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No . . .
of . . . on the Financial Regulation applicable to the general
budget of the European Communities, and in particular
Article 185 thereof.

(2) The general principles and limits governing right of access
to documents provided for in Article 255 of the Treaty
have been laid down by Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001
of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 May
2001 regarding public access to European Parliament,
Council and Commission documents (2).

(3) When Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 was adopted, the
three institutions agreed in a joint declaration that
the
agencies and similar bodies should implement rules in
line with that Regulation.

(4) Appropriate provisions should therefore be included in
Regulation (EEC) No 1210/90 to make Regulation (EC)
No 1049/2001 applicable to the European Environment
Agency, as should a clause guaranteeing a right of appeal
against a refusal of access to documents.

(1) OJ L 120, 11.5.1990, p. 1. Regulation as amended by Regulation

(EC) No 933/1999 (OJ L 117, 5.5.1999, p. 1).

(2) OJ L 145, 31.5.2001, p. 43.

‘Article 6

Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 of the European Parliament
and of the Council (*) shall apply to documents held by the
Agency.

practical
adopt
Board
The Management
arrangements
implementing Regulation (EC) No
for
1049/2001 within six months of entry into force of this
Regulation.

shall

the

Decisions taken by the Agency under Article 8 of Regu-
lation (EC) No 1049/2001 may be appealed by means of
a complaint to the Ombudsman or an action before the
Court of
the European Communities, under
Articles 195 and 230 of the EC Treaty respectively.
___________
(*) OJ L 145, 31.5.2001, p. 43.’

Justice of

2. Article 8(6) is replaced by the following:

‘6.
The Management Board shall adopt the annual report
on the Agency's activities and transmit it by 15 June at the
the
latest
Commission, the Court of Auditors and the Member States.’

to the European Parliament,

the Council,

3. Article 9(1) is replaced by the following:

‘The Agency shall be under the authority of an Executive
Director appointed by the Management Board, on a
proposal from the Commission, for a period of five years,
which, on a proposal
from the Commission, may be
extended for one further period not exceeding five years.’

C 331 E/60

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

31.12.2002

4. Article 12(1) and (2) are replaced by the following:

‘1.
Each year the Management Board, on the basis of a
draft drawn up by the Executive Director, shall produce a
statement of estimates of revenue and expenditure for the
Agency for the following financial year. This statement of
estimates, which shall
include a draft establishment plan,
shall be transmitted by the Management Board to the
Commission by 31 March at the latest.

The statement of estimates shall be transmitted by the
Commission to the European Parliament and the Council
“budgetary authority”)
(hereinafter
together with the preliminary draft budget of
the
Communities.

referred to as

the

The budgetary authority shall determine the appro-

2.
priations available for the subsidy to the Agency.

The budgetary authority shall adopt the establishment plan
for the Agency.’

5. Article 13(2), (3) and (4) are replaced by the following:

The Commission's internal auditor shall exercise the
the Agency as over Commission

‘2.
same powers over
departments.

accounts

to the Commission's

By 1 March at the latest following each financial year,
3.
the Agency's accounting officer shall communicate the
provisional
accounting
together with a report on the budgetary and
officer
year. The
that
financial management
Commission's accounting officer
the
provisional accounts of the institutions and decentralised
bodies within the meaning of Article 128 of Council Regu-
lation (EC) No . . . on the Financial Regulation applicable to
the general budget of the European Communities (*) (here-
inafter “the general Financial Regulation”).

financial
shall

consolidate

for

By 31 March at the latest following each financial
4.
transmit
the Commission's accounting officer shall
year,
to the Court of
the Agency's provisional
Auditors,
together with a report on the budgetary and
financial management for that financial year. The report
on the budgetary and financial management
the
financial year shall also be transmitted to the European
Parliament and the Council.

accounts

for

On receipt of the Court of Auditors' observations on
5.
the Agency's provisional accounts, pursuant to Article 129
of the general Financial Regulation, the Executive Director
shall draw up the Agency's final accounts under his own
responsibility and transmit them to the Management Board
for an opinion.

The Management Board of the Agency shall deliver an

6.
opinion on the Agency's final accounts.

7.
The Executive Director of the Agency shall, by 1 July
at the latest following each financial year, transmit these
final accounts to the European Parliament,
the Council,
the Commission and the Court of Auditors, together with
the Management Board's opinion.

8.

The final accounts shall be published.

The Agency's Executive Director shall send the Court
9.
of Auditors a reply to its observations by 30 September at
the latest. He shall also send this reply to the Management
Board.

10.
The European Parliament, on a recommendation
from the Council acting by a qualified majority, shall,
before 30 April of year N+2, give a discharge to the
Executive Director in respect of the implementation of the
budget for year N.
___________
(*) OJ L . . .’

6. Article 14 is replaced by the following:

‘Article 14

The financial
rules applicable to the Agency shall be
adopted by the Management Board after the Commission
has been consulted. They may not depart
from the
framework Financial Regulation adopted by the Commission
under Article 185 of the Financial Regulation applicable to
the general budget of the European Communities unless
specifically required for the Agency's operation and with
the Commission's prior consent.’

Article 2

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

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