Opinion of the Committee of the Regions on the communication from the Commission to the Council, the European Parliament, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions on the activities of the European Monitoring Centre on Racism and Xenophobia, together with proposals to recast Council Regulation (EC) 1035/97 and the Proposal for a Council regulation on the European Monitoring Centre on Racism and Xenophobia (Recast version)
Date: 2004-02-12
Institutions: European Committee of the Regions
Subjects: European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights, anti-discriminatory measure, rules of procedure

C 109/50

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

30.4.2004

the European Parliament,

Opinion of the Committee of the Regions on the ‘communication from the Commission to the
Council,
the European Economic and Social Committee and the
Committee of the Regions on the activities of the European Monitoring Centre on Racism and
Xenophobia, together with proposals to recast Council Regulation (EC) 1035/97 and the Proposal
for a Council regulation on the European Monitoring Centre on Racism and Xenophobia (Recast
version)’

(2004/C 109/09)

THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS,

Having regard to the Communication from the Commission to the Council, the European Parliament, the
European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions on the activities of the Euro-
pean Monitoring Centre on Racism and Xenophobia, together with proposals to recast Council Regulation
(EC) 1035/97 and the Proposal for a Council regulation on the European Monitoring Centre on Racism
and Xenophobia (Recast version) (COM(2003) 483 final),

Having regard to the decision of the European Commission of 22 May 2003 to consult it on this subject,
under the first paragraph of Article 265 of the Treaty establishing the European Community,

Having regard to the decision of its President of 19 March 2003 to instruct its Commission for Economic
and Social Policy to draw up an opinion on this subject,

Having regard to its draft opinion (CdR 313/2003 rev. 1) adopted on 16 December 2003 by the Commis-
sion for Economic and Social Policy (rapporteur: Mr Peter Moore, Councillor, Sheffield City Council (UK/
ELDR)),

adopted unanimously the following opinion at its 53rd plenary session, held on 11 and 12 February 2004
(meeting of 12 February).

1. The Committee of the Regions' views

The Committee of the Regions:

6. With reference to the composition of the Management
Board, the CoR disagrees with the proposed mandatory desig-
nation of the heads of equal treatment bodies to the Manage-
ment Board;

1.
recognises and values the strategic role of the Monitoring
Centre in combating racism and xenophobia across the Euro-
pean union;

welcomes

2.
to add
management skills to the areas of expertise required for
Management Board members;

the Communication's commitment

3.
considers that as major employers and as providers of
goods and services to residents and citizens, regional and local
authorities are important in effecting, measuring and partici-
pating in anti-racism projects and in the development of good
practice. National strategies must gain the support of local and
regional authorities in order to maximise support and involve-
ment and so that information is disseminated as widely as
possible through local and regional media across the Member
State;

underscores the importance of mechanisms for consulta-

4.
tion and the maintenance of links with civil society;

is concerned that the deletion of national Roundtables
5.
from the EUMC's activities will diminish the EUMC's interac-
tions with civil society in the Member States. National Roundta-
bles have contributed to the building and sustaining of vital
links
information flow with minority ethnic
communities and key agencies in civil society.

in bilateral

7.
recognises the Commission's wish to optimise the effec-
tiveness of the decision-making structures of the Centre – with
particular reference to the fact that the composition of the
the Centre with
Board should maximize the influence of
policy-makers in the Member States, while retaining the ability
to guarantee its independence;

8.
agrees that RAXEN be given the highest priority. The
monitoring remit of the EUMC is a very salient one. Systematic
collection of data and information is crucial to address the
following issues with respect to racism and xenophobia: persis-
tent under-reporting or non-reporting of incidents due to a
number of reasons; identifying the development of discrimina-
tory trends and practices and the effectiveness of measures to
combat them; enhancement of the comparability of data from
disparate sources via use of common formats, indicators and
methodology. Monitoring by the EUMC through collection,
collation, analysis and dissemination of appropriate data will
provide the EU with a better overview of the location and
occurrence of racism and xenophobia, better formulation of
strategies and methods to improve the comparability, objec-
tivity, consistency and reliability of data at Community level,
and increased cooperation with the national university research
centres, NGOs and specialist advocacy groups/centres.

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Official Journal of the European Union

C 109/51

In this regard, recognizes that

9.
increased co-operation
to
with Member States and national authorities is crucial
improve monitoring and reporting mechanisms at the national
level. The CoR concurs with the Communication that ulti-
mately the Centre's remit is unachievable unless national autho-
rities adopt compatible if not common classification systems.
The CoR welcomes the willingness of national authorities to
play a more active role in this regard in their consultations
with the Commission and with the Centre. The CoR also
strongly endorses the Commission's proposal to sharpen the
focus of the Regulation on co-operation between the Centre
and national authorities to ensure that maximum value is
obtained from the Union's investment;

10.
considers that EUMC reports should be clearly linked to
its overall objectives thereby informing national and EU policy-
making;

11.
considers that the EUMC's work with monitoring and
strengthening the Charter of European political parties for a
non-racist society (February 1998) should continue to be
encouraged and supported. Current initiatives supported by the
EUMC via Round Tables, for instance work with the media,
work with sports organizations such as UEFA and FIFA, and
conferences, should be extended to cover the activities of poli-
tical parties at local and regional authority level;

12.
concerning enlargement of the EU, considers that the
EUMC should acquire a clear overview of the current reality in
candidate countries, and be prepared for the implications of
enlargement with respect to possible increases in fears about
migration, unemployment, etc. The EUMC should continue its
legitimate and important work for an inclusive society.

2. The Committee of the Regions' recommendations

The Committee of the Regions:

1.
with respect to co-operation with other organisations and
with respect to its remit under Article 2 (1) of the Regulation,
proposes that the EUMC further include regional and local
authorities within the scope of its activities, such that informa-
tion is both disseminated to, and collected from regional and
local authorities. This could be done by:

a) Agreements with National Focal Points being made specific

to incorporate this;

b) Annual

report of

the EUMC to be presented to the
Committee of the Regions to promote an ongoing dialogue
with regional and local authorities on activities, knowledge
and information sharing, participation in research and data
collection;

2.
calls for a clarification of Article 3.e. and Article 2.2 (the
article setting out the EUMC's objective). The role of social part-
ners and civil society in the structures, functions and actions of
the EUMC needs further clarification;

with reference to the Management Board and Executive

3.
Board of the EUMC, the CoR:

a) recommends that the required skills mix for Board members
needs to be further clarified, and certain threshold levels of
competency identified and established. Member States
in compliance with these
should nominate and appoint
skills profiles and competency thresholds;

b) recommends that members of the Management Board be
independent persons in a manner consistent with Article
8.l.a of the regulation;

c) strongly recommends that there be fixed terms of office for
members of the Board – a lack of term limits enhances the
risk of unaccountability and instability and is contrary to
established good practice;

d) questions the additional vote on both Boards for

the
Commission in order to avoid undue influence on the work-
ings of an independent agency such as the EUMC;

e) recommends a broadening of the mandate of the Executive
Board to include greater managerial control in designated
areas – this will increase both the effectiveness and the effi-
ciency of decision making in a manner consistent with both
operational and strategic imperatives;

f) recommends

representation of

the
Regions on the Management Board to reflect the key role
played by local and regional authorities in the remit of the
EUMC;

the Committee of

4.
recommends the further clarification of the nature of
‘involvement’ from the Member States vis-à-vis RAXEN (as indi-
cated in Article 3.2), while protecting the independence of the
Centre as intended in the original Regulation;

recognises the essential link between data collection and
5.
information analysis, and therefore recommends
the
EUMC's contribution to both policy making, as well as capacity
building in this regard should be supported. Data collection is
therefore a necessary but not a sufficient condition for the
Centre to fulfil its remit as intended by the Regulation;

that

6.
believes that the EUMC's awareness-raising activities have
been integral to its remit, and recommends that they should
therefore be outlined in the Regulation;

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30.4.2004

7.
recommends that the EUMC be adequately prepared to
meet the challenges and opportunities presented by candidate
countries in the context of EU enlargement and should collabo-
rate with the Commission in monitoring the Copenhagen
criteria, including anti racism;

8.
supports the proposal to enable the Management Board
of the EUMC to invite independent experts from candidate
countries to its meetings in order to facilitate future accession.

Brussels, 12 February 2004

The President
of the Committee of the Regions
Peter STRAUB

Resolution of

the Committee of

the Regions on the ‘outcome of

the Intergovernmental

Conference’

(2004/C 109/10)

THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS,

A. HAVING REGARD TO the Draft Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe of 18 July 2003 drawn
up by the European Convention;

B. HAVING REGARD TO the presidency conclusions of the European Council of 12 and 13 December
2003;

C. HAVING REGARD TO the presidency proposals to the IGC at the European Council of 12 and
13 December 2003 (CIG 60/03, CIG 60/03 Add. 1, CIG 60/03 Add. 2);

D. HAVING REGARD TO the Laeken Declaration on the Future of the European Union;

E. HAVING REGARD TO the European Parliament resolutions of 18 December 2003 on the outcome of
the Intergovernmental Conference (P5-TA-PROV (2003) 0593) and of 29 January 2004 on the programme
of the Irish Presidency-in-office of the Council and the European Constitution (P5-TA-PROV (2004) 0052);

F. HAVING REGARD TO the CoR's opinion of 9 October 2003 on its proposals for the Intergovernmental
Conference (CdR 169/2003 fin (1));

G. HAVING REGARD TO its Bureau's decision of 18 November 2003, under the fifth paragraph of Article
265 of the Treaty establishing the European Community, to draw up a resolution on the subject;

adopted the following resolution at its 53th plenary session of 11 and 12 February 2004 (meeting of 12
February).

The Committee of the Regions

3. STRESSES the historic progress made by the European
Convention, underpinned by a powerful democratic
mandate, from the citizens of Europe;

1. DEPLORES the failure of the IGC at the European Council
of 12 and 13 December 2003 and SUPPORTS the efforts
of the Irish presidency to relaunch the intergovernmental
negotiations in order to give the citizens of Europe a
constitution as quickly as possible, preferably before the
European elections;

2. CALLS for the talks to be held in public, with a view to

improving transparency and accountability;

(1) OJ C 23, 27.1.2004, p. 1

4. REGARDS the draft submitted by the European Conven-
tion to the heads of state or government, which it
endorses, as the foundation of the future Treaty estab-
lishing a Constitution for Europe and thus CONSIDERS it
to be the mainstay of the ultimate IGC agreement;