Proposal for a Council Regulation amending Council Regulation (EC) No 2667/2000 on the European Agency for Reconstruction
Date: 2004-06-28
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: EU aid, European Agency for Reconstruction, North Macedonia, Serbia and Montenegro

COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 

Brussels, 28.06.2004 
COM(2004) 451 final 

2004/0133 (CNS) 

Proposal for a 

COUNCIL REGULATION 

amending Council Regulation (EC) No 2667/2000 on the European Agency for 
Reconstruction 

(presented by the Commission) 

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EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM 

Council  Regulation  (EC)  N°  2666/20001  (hereafter  “the  CARDS  Regulation”),  entered  into 
force  on  7  December  2000  and,  according  to  its  Article  19,  shall  apply  until  31  December 
2006. 

Article 13 of the CARDS Regulation states: 

The Council shall review this Regulation before 31 December 2004. 

For that purpose, not later than 30 June 2004, the Commission shall submit to the 
Council  an  evaluation  report,  together  with  proposals  for  the  future  of  this 
Regulation and for any amendments needing to be made to it. 

Council  Regulation  (EC)  No  2667/20002  (hereafter  “the  Agency  Regulation”),  entered  into 
force  on  7  December  2000  and,  according  to  its  Article  16,  shall  apply  until  31  December 
2004. 

Article 14 of the Agency Regulation states: 

Once the Commission considers that the Agency has fulfilled the mandate described 
in  Article  1,  it  shall  submit  to  the  Council  a  proposal  for  the  winding  up  of  the 
Agency. In any event, on 30 June 2004 at the latest, the Commission shall submit to 
the Council an evaluation report on the application of the Regulation and a proposal 
on the status of the Agency.  

To that end, the Commission launched in 2003, within the framework of the evaluation of the 
Commission's  cooperation  and  development  programmes  in  third  countries,  an  evaluation 
aiming to provide the European Commission with an independent and reliable assessment of 
the assistance strategy under CARDS and its evolution within its political settings, as well as 
an  independent  assessment  of  the  application  of  the  European  Agency  for  Reconstruction 
(EAR)  Regulation  since  its  establishment  in  February  2000,  describing  the  evolution  in  the 
Agency’s role and responsibilities.  

These  evaluations,  which  took  place  in  the  period  May  2003-May  2004  (CARDS)  and 
October  2003-May  2004  (EAR),  were  conducted  by  an  international  team  which  included 
experts  from  CARDS  countries.  The  evaluations  were  followed  closely  by  the  Evaluation 
Unit  assisted  by  reference  groups  composed  of  the  Commission  services  and  the  EAR.  The 
reports are based upon a desk phase followed by field studies in all CARDS countries, taking 
into  account  all  the  operational  centres  of  the  EAR.  The  evaluations  included  structured 
interviews and workshops with representatives of government and civil society in the partner 
countries.  

The  final  reports  of  the  evaluations  have  been  available  in  full  since  4  June  2004  on  the 
EuropeAid web site and can be consulted and downloaded at the following link: 

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OJ  L  306, 7.12.2000,  p.1.  Regulation  last  amended by  Regulation  (EC)  No  2415/2001  of 10.12.2001 
(OJ L 327, 13.12.2001, p. 3) 
OJ L 36, 7.12.2000, p.7. Regulation last amended by Regulation (EC) No 2415/2001 of 10.12.2001 (OJ 
L 327, 13.12.2001,p.3) and Regulation (EC) No 1646/2003 of 18.6.2003 ( OJ L 245, 29.9.2003,p.16) 

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http://europa.eu.int/comm/europeaid/evaluation/program/cardsrep.htm 

With  this  Communication,  the  Commission  wishes  to  inform  the  Council  how  it  intends  to 
proceed further: 

In accordance with usual practice, there will be a contradictory procedure and this will 
a) 
be  the  occasion  for  the  Commission  to  make  detailed  comments  on  the  conclusions  and 
recommendations made in both of those reports.  

b) 

In parallel, the Commission proposes a two pronged approach. 

For the Agency Regulation  

The external evaluation concludes that the Agency is working efficiently in the countries and 
territories in which it operates, and that the model is administratively sound and managerially 
responsive.  

In  view  of  this  overall  positive  assessment  of  the  activities  of  the  Agency,  and  taking  into 
account  that  the  framework  of  the  Community  assistance,  in  line  with  the  Community’s 
financial perspectives, covers the period until 2006, it is important to ensure continuity in the 
implementation  of  Community  assistance  to  the  countries  and  territories  covered  by  the 
Agency’s  mandate.The  Agency  Regulation  should  accordingly  be  extended  until  31 
December 2006. 

The  Commission  draws  the  Council’s  attention  to  the  fact  that  to  ensure  that  the  Agency’s 
operations  continue  smoothly  and  its  administrative  and  contractual  engagements  (i.e.  staff, 
premises,  etc.)  are  respected,  a  decision  on  the  extension  of  the  lifespan  of  the  Agency 
regulation should be taken as soon as possible. 

This  proposal  is  without  prejudice  to  further  reflection  on  specific  actions  which  the 
Commission may deem appropriate at a later stage to address the recommendations made by 
the evaluators to improve the performance of the Agency. 

For the CARDS Regulation  

The Commission considers that the recommendations made by the evaluation do not require a 
modification of the current legislative framework, as the Regulation is still highly relevant as 
regards its contribution to the Stabilisation and Association Process. Moreover, any changes 
would in practice be operational only in 2005 and affect, at best, the preparation of the 2006 
annual action programme, before the Regulation expires on 31 December 2006. 

A number of conclusions and recommendations relate to the organisation of the Commission, 
to coordination with the Member States, IFIs and other stakeholders, or to the design of the 
programme  and  the  modalities  of  its  implementation;  none  of  these  point  to  any  need  to 
amend the content of the CARDS Regulation itself. The Commission will reflect on them and 
on possible means of enhancing the way the assistance is delivered and coordinated with other 
stakeholders. 

In any case the Commission will take due account of the Partnerships and the SAP reports in 
the programming of Community assistance for the period 2005-2006. This approach is fully 
in  line  with  recommendations  made  in  the  evaluation  report  suggesting  to  have  simplified 

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Indicative Programmes for the period 2005-2006, taking into account the new strategic tools 
in place, and to develop new assistance instruments as from 2007. 

The Commission therefore considers that the CARDS Regulation should not be modified and 
should apply as it stands until 31 December 2006, when it will expire in accordance with its 
Article 19. 

c) 
In both cases, the Commission will continue to keep Member States informed on any 
further action which might be appropriate once it has finished the contradictory phase above 
mentioned. 

In  conclusion,  the  Commission  invites  the  Council  to  adopt  the  attached  proposal  for  the 
amendment of Council Regulation (EC) No 2667/2000 of 5 December 2000 on the European 
Agency for Reconstruction. 

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2004/0133 (CNS) 

Proposal for a 

COUNCIL REGULATION 

amending Council Regulation (EC) No 2667/2000 on the European Agency for 
Reconstruction 

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, 

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Article 
181a, second paragraph, first sentence thereof,  

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission3, 

Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament4, 

Whereas: 

(1) 

(2) 

(3) 

The European Agency for Reconstruction implements Community assistance provided 
for  in  Article  1  of  Regulation  (EC)  2666/20005  in  Serbia  and  Montenegro  including 
Kosovo  as  defined  by  United  Nations  Security  Council  Resolution  1244  of  10  June 
1999 and in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. 

According to its Article 16, Regulation (EC) No 2667/2000 on the European Agency 
for Reconstruction6 applies until 31 December 2004. 

Article 14 of this Regulation provides that the Commission shall submit to the Council 
an evaluation report on the application of this Regulation and a proposal on the status 
of the Agency. 

(4) 

The Commission made that report public on 4 June 2004.  

(5) 

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Community  assistance  for  Serbia  and  Montenegro  including  Kosovo  as  defined  by 
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1244 of 10 June 1999 and in the Former 
Yugoslav  Republic  of  Macedonia  is  programmed  in  Country  Strategy  Papers  for  the 
period  2002  to  2006,  in  line  with  the  Community’s  financial  perspectives.  The 
Commission is in the process of proposing multi-annual indicative programmes for the 
period 2005-2006 for these countries and territories.  

OJ C […] […), p. […] 
OJ C […] […], p. […] 
Council  Regulation  (EC)  No  2666/2000  on  assistance  for  Albania,  Bosnia  and  Herzegovina,  Croatia, 
the  Federal  Republic  of  Yugoslavia  and  the  Former  Yugoslav  Republic  of  Macedonia,  L306, 
7.12.2000,p.7. Regulation as amended by Regulation (EC) No 2415/2001 (OJ L 327, 12.12.2001,p.3) 
OJ  L306,  7.12.2000,p.7  Regulation  as  amended  by  Regulation  (EC)  No  2415/2001  (OJ  L  327, 
12.12.2001,p.3) and Regulation (EC) No 1646/2003 (OJ L 245, 29.9.2003, p.16). 

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(6) 

In the light of the positive evaluation of the activities of the Agency and the fact that 
the framework of Community assistance covers the period until 2006, it is important to 
ensure continuity in the implementation of Community assistance. Consequently, the 
mandate  of  the  European  Agency  for  Reconstruction  should  be  prolonged  until  31 
December 2006. 

(7) 

A Constitutional Charter was adopted in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY) on 
4  February  2003,  renaming  the  country  “Serbia  and  Montenegro”7.  This  change  of 
name of the state should be taken into account. 

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION: 

Regulation (EC) No 2667/2000 is hereby amended as follows:  

Article 1 

1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

5. 

6. 

In Article 1 (1) (i), the term ‘Federal Republic of Yugoslavia’ shall be replaced by 
the term ‘Serbia and Montenegro’  

In Article 2(1)(b) the term ‘Federal Republic of Yugoslavia’ shall be replaced by the 
term ‘Serbia and Montenegro’ 

In Article 4(10) the term ‘Federal Republic of Yugoslavia’ shall be replaced by the 
term ‘Serbia and Montenegro’  

Article 14 is repealed. 

Article 15 is replaced by: 

‘The  Commission  may  delegate  to  the  Agency  the  execution  of  the  Community 
assistance  decided  upon  for  Serbia  and  Montenegro  and  for  the  Former  Yugoslav 
Republic of Macedonia under Regulation (EC) No 1628/96’. 

In  Article  16,  the  date  “31  December  2004”  shall  be  replaced  by  “31  December 
2006”. 

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

Article 2 

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including Kosovo as defined by United Nations Security Council Resolution 1244 of 10 June 1999  

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

Done at Brussels,  

For the Council 
The President 

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