Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament pursuant to the second subparagraph of Article 251 (2) of the EC Treaty concerning the common position of the Council on the adoption of a Decision of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing a Community action programme to promote bodies active at European level in the field of youth (2004-2006)
Date: 2004-01-09
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: EU action, EU aid, European citizenship, action programme, financial aid, young person, youth movement

COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES

Brussels, 9.1.2004
COM(2004) 5 final

2003/0113 (COD)

COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION
TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT

pursuant to the second subparagraph of Article 251 (2) of the EC Treaty

concerning the

common position of the Council on the adoption of a Decision of the European
Parliament and of the Council establishing a Community action programme to promote
bodies active at European level in the field of youth (2004-2006)

EN

  EN

2003/0113 (COD)

COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION
TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT

pursuant to the second subparagraph of Article 251 (2) of the EC Treaty

concerning the

common position of the Council on the adoption of a Decision of the European
Parliament and of the Council establishing a Community action programme to promote
bodies active at European level in the field of youth (2004-2006)

1.

BACKGROUND

Date of transmission of the proposal to the European Parliament and
the Council (document COM(2003) 272 final – 2003/0113 (COD)):

3.6.2003

Date of the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee:

24.9.2003

Date of the opinion of the European Parliament, first reading:

6.11.2003

Date of Council political agreement

Date of adoption of the common position:

24.11.2003

22.12.2003

2.

OBJECTIVE OF THE COMMISSION PROPOSAL

Based  on  article  149,  the  proposal  seeks  to  promote  participation  by  young  people  in  the
exercise of active European citizenship through civil society. The programme will support the
ongoing work programme activities of bodies active at European level in the field of  youth.
Their  activities  must  contribute  to  the  development  of  communities  actions  in  the  field  of
youth.  Likewise,  the  programme  will  support  the  ongoing  programme  activities  of  the
European  Youth  Forum,  in  so  far  as  it  represents  and  co-ordinates  non-governmental  youth
organisations and relays information on youth to the European institutions.

For several years, support has been provided for bodies active at European level in the field of
youth, under headings in part A of the budget (A-3023 co- finances the operating costs of the
European Union Youth Forum; A-3029 provides support for international non-governmental
youth  organisation).  The  adoption  of  a  New  Financial  Regulation  applicable  to  the  general
budget  of  the  European  Communities  (Council  Regulation  (EC,  Euratom)  N°  1605/2002  of
25 June 2002  and  the decision to base the  structure  of  the  Commission  budget  on  the  ABB
(Activity Based Budgeting) approach, require basic acts to be adopted for a number of grants
hitherto financed under appropriations entered in part A (administrative appropriations) of the
Commission section of the budget.

The purpose of this draft Decision is therefore to adopt an act providing a basis for operating
grants  to  bodies  active  at  European  level  in  the  field  of  youth,  for  a  period  of  three  years
(2004/2006), until the new Youth Programme comes into force at the beginning of 2007.  In

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the new programme, participation of young people will be a key priority and support to non-
governmental youth organisations is clearly an important part of this priority.

3.

3.1.

COMMENTS ON THE COMMON POSITION

Consideration  of  the  amendments  proposed  by  the  Parliament  in  the  first
reading:

3.1.1.

Amendments accepted in full or in substance by the Commission and incorporated in
the common position:

– 

– 

– 

– 

– 

– 

– 

– 

– 

– 

– 

– 

Amendment  1  to  recital  2,  explains  in  detail  how  non-governmental  youth
organisations  help  to  meet  the  challenges  to  which  the  Laeken  Declaration
refers.

Amendment 2 to recital 3, includes reference to the European Parliament report
on the White Paper "A new Impetus for European Youth".

Amendment  3  to  recital  4,  adds  a  reference  to  the  White  Paper  on  European
Governance.

Amendment  5  to  recital  6,  adds  reference  to  the  representative  role  of  the
European  Youth  Forum  vis-à-vis  international  institutions  and  introduces  the
idea  that  non-governmental  youth  organisations  provide  non-formal  and
informal training  and information to  young people and constitute networks of
non-profit bodies active at European level.

Amendment 7 to Article 1.2, completes the description of the expected goals of
the activities of the non-governmental youth organisations.

Amendment  9  to  Article  3.2,  replaces  the  sentence  "Participation  in  actions
under this programme...", by the sentence "Participation in this programme”.

Amendment 10 to Article 4, restricts applicants for an operating grant through
call  for  proposals  to  international  non-governmental  youth  organisations
pursuing an aim of general European interest in the field of youth.

Amendment 12 (annex), adds details about the activities of non-governmental
youth organisations.

Amendment 13 (annex), provides a more precise description of the work of the
European Youth Forum.

Amendment  16,  introduces  the  obligation  for  the  Commission  to  give  to
applicants  a  period  to  correct  errors  of  form  after  submitting  the  application
form.

Amendment 17, introduces the task for the Commission to regularly inform the
European Parliament on the implementation of the programme.

Amendment 20, introduces the obligation to beneficiaries of operating  grants,
to  make  references  to  EU  grants  in  a  prominent  place:  e.g.  website,  annual
report, etc.

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3.1.2.

Amendments  accepted  by  the  Commission  in  full,  in  part  or  in  spirit  and  not
incorporated in the common position: 5 part 3, 11, 14, 18 and 19.

As  an  agreement  was  reached  by  the  three  institutions  concerning  the  budget
(EUR 13 million) at the Conciliation meeting of 24 November 2003, and is already
included in the common position, amendment 11 is therefore no longer relevant.

Amendment  5  part  3  that  considers  the  actions  of  non-governmental  youth
organisations  as  matters  of  general  European  interest  and  thus  in  the  right  to  be
awarded without the application of the principle of gradual decrease.

Amendment 14 incrementing the budget of the European Youth Forum.

Amendment 18 and 19, as well as amendment 5 part 3, related to the derogation of
the  principle  of  gradual  decrease,  was  accepted  in  spirit.  The  Trilogue  of
13 November  2003  confirmed the  necessity  of  maintaining  the  principle  of  gradual
decrease in line with the Financial Regulation.

3.2.

Common position of the Council

The  text  of  the  common  position  is  acceptable  to  the  Commission  as  it  largely
respects the substance of the Commission's original proposal and takes account to a
great  extent  of  the  amendments  proposed  by  the  Parliament  and  accepted  by  the
Commission.

Additions  made  by  the  Council  to  the  text  which  are  integrated  in  the  common
position of the Council:

– 

– 

– 

in  Article  7  the  necessity  to  inform  the  Council  (besides  the  European
Parliament  as  per  amendment  17  of  the  EP)  on  the  implementation  of  the
programme;

a  reference  to  a  broadest  possible  representation  of  organisations  by  the
European Youth Forum in the annex point 2.1.1;

adds  the  possibility  that  co-financing  by  the  organisations  could  be  "wholly"
contributed in kind (points 2.1.3. and 2.2.3 in the Annex);

– 

some wording additions have been made that clarify the text.

The Commission accepts these modifications and additions to the common position
since they improve and clarify the initial proposal.

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4.

CONCLUSION

The  Commission  considers  that  the  text  of  the  common  position  is  a  good  basis  for  a
European Parliament and Council decision.

However,  in  line  with  the  agreement  reached  at  the  budget  conciliation  meeting  on
24 November,  transitional  clauses  covering  the  period  before  the  approval  of  the  legal  base
should be added to the basic act as follows:

"For  grants  awarded  in  2004,  it  will  be  possible  for  the  period  of  eligibility  of
expenditure  to  start  on  1  January  2004,  provided  that  the  expenditure  does  not
precede the date on which the grant application was lodged or the date on which the
beneficiary’s budget year starts.

During  2004,  in  the  case  of  beneficiaries  whose  budgetary  year  starts  before
1 March, an exception may be granted to the obligation to sign the grant agreement
within the first four months of the start of the beneficiary’s budget year, as referred
to in Article 112, paragraph 2 of Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002
on  the  Financial  Regulation  applicable  to  the  general  budget  of  the  European
Communities. In this case, the grant agreement should be signed by 30 June 2004 at
the latest".

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