European Parliament resolution on the proposal for a Council Regulation establishing a Cohesion Fund (COM(2004)0494 - 2004/0166(AVC))
Date: 2005-07-06
Institutions: Committee on Regional Development, European Parliament
Subjects: Cohesion Fund, economic and social cohesion, enlargement of the Union, environmental policy, trans-European network, transport network

6.7.2006

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 157 E/289

Wednesday 6 July 2005

47.
Calls for the spirit of the proposed limits in respect of proportional control arrangements (33 % co-
financing and EUR 250 million cost) below which no systematic controls are undertaken by the Commis-
sion to be maintained; calls nevertheless for the specific characteristics of the different funds to be taken
into account (Article 73);

48.

Rejects any change to the proposed pre-financing amounts (Article 81);

49.
Rejects any further weakening of the N+2 rule for the Structural Funds beyond the flexibility already
proposed for major projects, since the benefits of this rule have been demonstrated through its effectiveness
in improving the efficient implementation of Funds over the current programming period (Article 93); calls,
however, for greater flexibility to be allowed for the Cohesion Fund;

50.
Calls for greater flexibility to be introduced so as to extend the proposed two-month deadline for
Member States to challenge financial corrections by the Commission; calls for this time-limit to be varied in
accordance with the seriousness of the problem at issue (Article 100);

51.
Asks the Commission to find, in cooperation with the cohesion countries, a solution with regard to
the issue of the eligibility of non-reimbursable VAT, ensuring straightforward accessibility for municipalities
to Funds;

52.
Rejects any attempt to introduce expenses which do not relate to investment, such as housing costs,
as eligible expenditure for the purposes of calculating Community co-financing; considers, however, that
expenses which relate to renovation of social housing with a view to saving energy and protecting the
environment should be included within eligible expenditure;

53.
Rejects any reduction in the ceilings for State aids to convergence regions, including those subject to
the statistical effect; calls, therefore, for all regions covered by the ‘Convergence’ objective also to be given
equal treatment in terms of aid rules and to come under Article 87(3)(a) of the EC Treaty; calls moreover for
a gradual transition in aid ceilings for the natural effect regions; stresses the need for the maintenance of
territorial differentiation, with particular regard to natural or geographical handicaps, in the application of
State aids to regions outside of the ‘Convergence’ objective;

Instructs its President to request further discussion with the Council pursuant to Rule 75(3) of its

54.
Rules of Procedure;

55.

Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council and the Commission.

P6_TA(2005)0278

Cohesion Fund

European Parliament resolution on the proposal for a Council Regulation establishing a Cohesion
Fund (COM(2004)0494 — 2004/0166(AVC))

The European Parliament,

— having regard to the proposal for a Council Regulation (COM(2004)0494 — 2004/0166(AVC)) (1),

— having regard to Article 161 of the EC Treaty,

— having regard to its resolution of 22 April 2004 on the third report on economic and social cohe-

sion (2),

— having regard to its resolution of 8 June 2005 on Policy Challenges and Budgetary Means of the
enlarged Union 2007-2013 (3) and in particular the opinion of the Committee on Regional Devel-
opment on this subject, and to the Communication from the Commission to the Council and the
European Parliament on the Financial Perspectives 2007-2013 (COM(2004)0487),

(1) Not yet published in OJ.
(2) OJ C 104 E, 30.4.2004, p. 1000.
(3) Texts Adopted, P6_TA(2005)0224.

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6.7.2006

Wednesday 6 July 2005

— having regard to the proposal for a Council Regulation laying down general provisions on the European
Regional Development Fund, the European Social Fund and the Cohesion Fund (COM(2004)0492 —
2004/0163(AVC)) (1),

— having regard to Rule 75(3) of its Rules of Procedure,

— having regard to the interim report of the Committee on Regional Development and the opinions of
the Committee on Budgets, the Committee on Budgetary Control and the Committee on Transport and
Tourism (A6-0178/2005),

1.

(i)

(ii)

(iii)

(iv)

(v)

(vi)

Requests the Council and the Commission to take into account the following recommendations:

considers that economic, social and territorial cohesion must remain a key basic component in
defining European integration; considers therefore that the Cohesion Fund must continue to serve
the Union's objective of promoting cohesion and solidarity between Member States;

requests that, during the new period, wherever there is a reference to economic and social cohesion,
reference also be made to the concept of territorial cohesion and that special attention be paid to
developing this new concept;

considers that a political solution should be sought for the territories of the Union that will be
excluded in future as a result of enlargement;

supports the objectives of the Cohesion Fund and the principal means deployed for attaining them
as proposed by the Commission;

for

the increase in the financial allocation for

the Cohesion Fund from
asks for support
EUR 18 000 million (for the period 2000-2006) to EUR 62 990 million and for a balanced distribu-
tion between the eligible sectors of the environment and transport infrastructure coupled with some
flexibility in intervention by the Fund;

points out that the appropriations set out in the proposal for a regulation on the Cohesion Fund
(COM(2004)0494) cover only the period starting with the 2007 financial year and are for guidance
only until such time as an agreement is reached on the Financial Perspectives covering 2007 and
subsequent years;

(vii)

takes the view that, once the next Financial Perspectives have been adopted, the Commission will
either confirm the figures set out in the proposal for a regulation or submit adjusted figures to the
European Parliament and the Council for their approval, thus ensuring compatibility with the ceil-
ings;

(viii)

stresses the strategic dimension and priority nature of the programming designed to increase the
relevance effect of cohesion policy;

(ix)

(x)

(xi)

(xii)

(xiii)

reiterates and stresses Parliament's role as a budget decision-making authority in this area;

calls on the Council and the Commission to transfer to the financial documents (in accordance with
Article 3 of the Financial Regulation) the annual breakdown of commitment appropriations as pro-
posed by the Commission,

calls for the presentation of the Cohesion Fund budget to be improved and made clearer by separ-
ating the budget headings for each of the three budget areas referred to in Article 2 of the proposal
for a regulation;

points out that the Cohesion Fund is subject to the provisions of the Financial Regulation and there-
fore insists on compliance with that Regulation;

asks the Commission to add the following words at the end of Article 2(1) of the proposal for a
regulation:

as amended by Decision No 884/2004/EC;

(xiv) maintains that, in addition to the trans-European transport networks, projects to improve regional
networks and make them safe and operational should likewise be eligible under the Cohesion Fund;

(1) Not yet published in OJ.

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(xv)

requests the inclusion, in the different transport sectors belonging to the area of intervention of the
Cohesion Fund, of coastal shipping, sea links and cross-connections with the outermost regions and
smaller islands;

(xvi) Article 2(3) of the proposal for a regulation should read as follows:

areas that can be developed on a sustainable basis and clearly present environmental benefits, namely
energy efficiency and renewable energy and, in the transport sector outside the trans-European net-
works, sections equivalent to motorways or trunk roads connecting the trans-European networks,
rail (including rolling stock), river and sea transport, intermodal transport systems and their inter-
operability, management of road and air traffic, clean urban transport and public transport (includ-
ing rolling stock and road infrastructure for coach and bus transport).

(xvii)

calls for the inclusion in Article 2 of the proposal for a regulation of an explicit reference in favour
of people with disabilities and asks that the projects financed by the Cohesion Fund provide also for
the possibility of removing barriers and obstacles of every kind;

(xviii) considers that the final financial agreement must ensure that the EU is able to meet the political
challenges of our age, chief among which is the reform of the cohesion policy; to that end 0,41 % of
the EU's Gross National Product (GNP) is the appropriate level;

(xix)

considers that the suspension of all or part of financial aid from the Fund in the event of the
decision provided for in Article 104, paragraph 8, of the EC Treaty, must be the subject of a special
decision by the Council and not occur automatically, as provided for by the proposal for a regu-
lation;

(xx)

calls for consistency to be ensured between projects financed by the Cohesion Fund and those
financed under other Community programmes, especially where Natura 2000 is concerned;

(xxi) welcomes the extension of the scope of assistance to energy efficiency and renewable energy, as their
application potential is great in the countries involved and consequent benefits, including improved
air quality, the creation of new jobs and enhanced social justice, are of common European interest;

(xxii)

considers that the rules relating to the major projects governed by Articles 38 to 40 of the proposal
for a general regulation (COM(2004)0492) should be explicitly incorporated in the proposal for a
regulation on the Cohesion Fund so as to make for greater transparency;

(xxiii) calls also for the explicit inclusion in the proposal for a regulation of the financing of technical
assistance (studies, assessments, expert opinions, statistics, etc.) governed by Article 43 of the pro-
posal for a general regulation;

(xxiv) underlines the need to introduce a flexibility clause, combined with a stringent monitoring pro-
cedure, concerning the ineligibility of expenditure on the purchase of land for an amount exceeding
10 % of the total eligible expenditure for the operation concerned in Article 3(3) of this proposal for
a regulation in order to allow a project to be carried out in cases where this amount is inadequate
and may pose implementation problems; considers, however, that expenditure on the renovation of
social housing with a view to achieving energy savings, protecting the environment and achieving
the objective of social cohesion, should be made eligible;

(xxv)

calls for the suspension of funding for projects developed in breach of EU environmental legislation;

(xxvi) asks the Commission to draw up a list of indicative priorities in the programming phase for the
assessment of project outcomes in terms of quality and of the effectiveness of Community funding
and its contribution to sustainability in all the areas financed by the Cohesion Fund;

(xxvii) requests the Commission to introduce the principle of a ‘premium system’ so that the progress
achieved by the best performing Member States can be rewarded, especially in terms of better evalu-
innovation and contribution to sustainable
ation of funded projects, better cost-benefit analysis,
development;

(xxviii)

considers that it would be helpful to enhance intervention by national, regional and local adminis-
trations in implementing the Cohesion Fund through specific support measures and application of
‘best practice’;

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(xxix)

supports the application of the automatic decommitment rule (the N+2 rule) to the Cohesion Fund;
however, calls for flexibility in its application during the first three years of the new programming
period;

(xxx)

calls on the Commission to take into account the specific characteristics of peripheral Member States
and island Member States eligible under the Cohesion Fund in view of the fact that they suffer from
natural and demographic handicaps, resulting in difficulties and a disparity in the level of devel-
opment;

2.
Instructs its President to request further discussion with the Council in conformity with Rule 75(3) of
its Rules of Procedure and, where appropriate, to open the conciliation procedure with the Council under
the 1975 Joint Declaration pursuant to Rule 56 of its Rules of Procedure;

3.

Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council and Commission.

P6_TA(2005)0279

European Regional Development Fund ***I

European Parliament legislative resolution on the proposal for a regulation of the European Parlia-
ment and of the Council on the European Regional Development Fund (COM(2004)0495 —
C6-0089/2004 — 2004/0167(COD))

(Codecision procedure: first reading)

The European Parliament,

— having regard to the Commission proposal to the European Parliament and the Council (COM(2004)

0495) (1),

— having regard to Article 251(2) and Articles 162 and 299(2) of the EC Treaty, pursuant to which the

Commission submitted the proposal to Parliament (C6-0089/2004),

— having regard to Article 160 of the EC Treaty,

— having regard to Rule 51 of its Rules of Procedure,

— having regard to the report of the Committee on Regional Development and the opinions of the Com-
mittee on Budgets, the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs, the Committee on the Environ-
ment, Public Health and Food Safety, the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy, the Committee
on Transport and Tourism, the Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development, the Committee on
Fisheries and the Committee on Women's Rights and Gender Equality (A6-0184/2005),

1.

Approves the Commission proposal as amended;

Calls on the Commission to refer the matter to Parliament again if it intends to amend the proposal

2.
substantially or replace it with another text;

3.

Instructs its President to forward its position to the Council and the Commission.

(1) Not yet published in OJ.