Amended proposal for a Decision of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Decision No 508/2000/EC of 14 February 2000 establishing the "Culture 2000" programme
Date: 2004-02-10
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: Community budget, EU programme, cultural cooperation, cultural policy, report

COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 

Brussels, 10.2.2004 
COM(2004) 79 final 

2003/0076 (COD) 

Amended proposal for a 

DECISION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL 

amending Decision No 508/2000/EC of 14 February 2000 establishing the 
“Culture 2000” programme 

(presented by the Commission pursuant to Article 250 (2) of the EC Treaty) 

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2003/0076 (COD) 

Amended proposal for a 

DECISION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL 

amending Decision No 508/2000/EC of 14 February 2000 establishing the 
“Culture 2000” programme 

1. 

BACKGROUND 

Proposal  forwarded  to  the  Council  and  European  Parliament  (COM  2003  (187)  - 
2003/0076 (COD)): 16 April 2003. 

Opinion delivered by the Committee of the Regions: 9 October 2003. 

Opinion delivered by the European Parliament at first reading: 16 December 2003. 

2. 

AIMS OF THE COMMISSION’S PROPOSAL 

The  “Culture  2000”  Programme,  adopted  by  the  European  Parliament  and  the  Council  in 
February  2000  for  a  five-year  period,  will  end  on  31 December  2004.  The  purpose  of  this 
proposal for a Decision is to extend the programme unchanged for a further two years (2005-
2006). A budget of EUR 69.5 million is proposed for this two-year extension, taking account 
of  a  Europe  of  25  Member  States.  This  amount  will  be  additional  to  the  present 
EUR 167 million. 

3. 

OPINION OF THE COMMISSION ON THE AMENDMENTS ADOPTED BY PARLIAMENT 

Two amendments were adopted in plenary session. 

Amendment 1 introduces a new recital 3A emphasising the fact that the revision of the financial 
perspective in view of enlargement provides for an increased ceiling for Heading 3 which has to 
be respected by the legislative authority when extending existing programmes. 

Amendment  2  introduces  a  new  recital  3B  stating  the  essential  need  for  the  Commission  to 
provide a full and detailed assessment report on the “Culture 2000” Programme not later than 
31 December 2005 in order to allow the European Parliament and the Council to consider the 
proposal  for  a  new  framework  programme  for  Community  action  on  culture,  announced  for 
2004 and planned to start in 2007. 

3.1 

Amendment accepted in full by the Commission 

In a spirit of compromise, the Commission has accepted amendment 1, a recital establishing the 
principle of respect for the financial perspective. 

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3.2 

Amendment accepted in principle by the Commission 

The  Commission  has  accepted  amendment  2  in  spirit.  The  report  referred  to  in  this 
amendment would in fact make sense, as it would look back over a four-year implementation 
period;  this  part  is  therefore  acceptable  from  the  point  of  view  of  sound  programme 
management. However, the Commission cannot agree that the presentation of this report should 
constitute a condition for the consideration by Parliament of the proposal for a new programme 
(meaning it would not be considered until the end of 2005, although it is due to be presented in 
the first quarter of 2004). 

The Commission therefore proposes that the new recital 3A be worded as follows:  

“The Commission should present a full and detailed assessment report on the “Culture 2000” 
Programme not later than 31 December 2005; this report may, where relevant, provide useful 
elements in the context of the consideration by the European Parliament and the Council of the 
future  proposal  for  a  new  framework  programme  for  Community  action  on  culture, 
announced for 2004 and planned to start in 2007.” 

3.3 

Amended proposal 

In accordance with Article 250(2) of the EC Treaty, the Commission is amending its proposal 
as indicated above. 

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