European Parliament resolution on the Commission legislative and work programme for 2006
Date: 2005-12-15
Institutions: European Parliament
Subjects: citizens' Europe, legislative programme (EU), public safety, quality of life, the EU's international role, transparency in decision-making

23.11.2006

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 286 E/487

Thursday 15 December 2005

P6_TA(2005)0524

Commission legislative and work programme for 2006

European Parliament resolution on the Commission legislative and work programme for 2006

The European Parliament,

— having regard to the Communication of the Commission on its legislative and work programme 2006

— ‘Unlocking Europe's full potential’ (COM(2005)0531),

— having regard to Rules 33 and 103(4) of its Rules of Procedure,

A. whereas the annual legislative and work programme is an indispensable tool allowing the European
Union to focus on achieving its key strategic objectives of fostering prosperity, solidarity and security
within Europe and of reinforcing its role on the international stage,

B. whereas closer coordination and cooperation between the institutions of the Union and the strengthen-
ing of the European Council's ability to provide more credible political leadership of the affairs of the
Union are prerequisites for the EU successfully to fulfil its strategic objectives and to be closer to its
citizens,

C.

considering the critical importance of 2006 for the institutional future of the European project and also
for achieving the Lisbon objectives,

D. having regard to the need to improve the quality of the EU's legislative, regulatory and administrative
work and to this end to consider effectively the compatibility of all the Commission's existing or
planned legislative proposals in the light of the cost of the planned measures, their impact on competi-
tiveness and the need to respect the principle of subsidiarity and to reduce bureaucracy,

Political priorities

1.
Approves the Commission's general orientations for its legislative and work programme for 2006, as it
firmly agrees that the best way for Europe to respond to the challenge of globalisation and to achieve its
strategic objectives is by unlocking its full potential and by promoting its common values at home and
worldwide; calls on the EU institutions and the Member States' authorities, according to their competencies
and responsibilities, to fully contribute to the fulfilment of this programme;

Growth, employment and competitiveness

2. Welcomes the crucial importance accorded to stimulating growth and employment among the Com-
mission's priorities and the emphasis on modernising the European economy; emphasises the central
importance of implementing the revised Lisbon strategy both at national and at Community level, as well
as the necessary development of human resources, knowledge, innovation and research;

Reconnecting Europe with its citizens: debate on the future of Europe

3.
Insists on the urgent need to communicate Europe more effectively to its citizens and calls on the
Commission to be more active in addressing the existing ‘communication gap’ and to increase citizens'
confidence in the European project, particularly by showing them Europe's added value in their everyday
lives;

4. Welcomes the Commission's Plan ‘D’ for democracy, dialogue and debate (COM(2005)0494), but calls
for a properly coordinated interinstitutional campaign and strategy facilitating the rapid adoption of the
European Constitution based on the existing draft Constitutional Treaty, which has already been ratified by
more than half of the Member States, representing more than 50 % of the EU's population;

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Financial perspective

5.
Insists that the financial perspective 2007-2013 should provide the basis for the further development
of a strong European Union and expects the Commission to defend its position, namely that the financial
perspective must be set at a level sufficient to finance the EU's political priorities;

6.
Emphasises that 2006 will be a year when more than 40 multiannual programmes will be concluded,
and these must be able to start by the beginning of 2007 so that the new political priorities that are linked
to the new generation of multiannual programmes can be implemented; calls on the Commission, indepen-
dently of an agreement on the financial perspective, to be more resolute in its cooperation with Parliament
(particularly in the area of external policy programmes) and to do everything possible to enable the necess-
ary legislative procedures to be concluded;

For a visible, coherent and interinstitutional Annual Programme

7. Welcomes its own involvement in the preparation of the legislative and work programme; requests,
nevertheless, that the Commission improve the coherence of the presentation and content of the Annual
Programme, in particular by including the legal basis for every proposal, as well as improve the visibility of
the Union's action; hopes that in the very near future the Annual Programme will become a real inter-
institutional action programme through which interested citizens can be informed and can follow how the
EU plans to address their problems;

A more competitive Europe, enjoying greater cohesion

Research, knowledge and qualifications

8.
Urges the Member States, as well the European Union, to intensify their respective efforts in the field
of knowledge and research in accordance with the Lisbon strategy and, in this respect, urgently calls for the
new framework programmes on research and competitiveness and innovation, and the i2010 initiative, to
be given sufficient resources and for the Council fully to reflect their importance in budgetary terms as well;

9. Welcomes the planned proposals for the creation of a European Institute of Technology and for the
establishment, on a voluntary basis, of a European Qualifications Framework, but regrets the lack of more
ambitious proposals to address the shortcomings in EU education systems; reiterates the call from both
Parliament and the Council to promote excellence in European universities and higher education, and also
better knowledge of languages;

Single market

Reaffirms the need, in order to improve the competitiveness of the European economy, to give a pre-

10.
eminent position to completing the internal market, in the interests of both consumers and businesses;

11.
Urgently calls for measures to reduce bureaucracy for small and medium-sized enterprises, which
generate two-thirds of jobs, and for simple, clear legislation which does not place obstacles in the path of
business growth and innovation;

12.
Requests that the Commission not withdraw its proposals on a European mutual society and on a
European association, and calls on the Commission to submit as soon as possible a proposal for a 14th
directive on cross-border transfer of registered offices and to complete the feasibility study on assessing the
specific need for a European private company and the problems that its creation would pose;

13.
Calls on the Commission to ensure proper protection of intellectual property rights and to present as
soon as possible a proposal for a single Community patent, which would offer more legal certainty and
would promote innovation;

14.
Reiterates that the successful integration of financial services markets will certainly depend on timely
transposition and effective implementation of existing legislation and on further convergence of supervisory
practices;

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Urgently calls on the Commission to ensure that the Lamfalussy process functions effectively at all

15.
levels and in particular that Parliament's competences as co-legislator are preserved;

Applauds the Commission's commitment to improving the proper functioning of the taxation sys-

16.
tem, as well as its intention to launch a debate on an EU anti-tax fraud strategy;

17. Welcomes the civil justice proposals, which will directly benefit citizens, in particular children, in
cross-border issues such as divorce and matrimonial property regimes, but points out the need for more
action in the area of civil justice as the only way to guarantee security and access to justice for citizens
throughout Europe;

Transport and Trans-European Networks

18.
Underlines the need to plan very rapid implementation of the major trans-European transport net-
work projects, which should be financed both by the EU budget and, as far as possible, by public-private
partnerships;

19.
Calls on the Commission to present a legislative proposal establishing minimum environmental and
health requirements for the recycling of end-of-life vessels; requests the Commission to present legislative
proposals on transport logistics to facilitate inter-modal transport and on the protection of critical transport
and energy infrastructure;

20. Welcomes the new maritime strategy, aimed at building a more cohesive Europe in terms of integrat-
ing the development of different public policies in this area;

Cohesion policy

21.
Notes that the Lisbon strategy and cohesion policy are fundamentally linked, and considers that more
effort to coordinate these two policies would result in greater coherence and better results for disadvantaged
regions;

Calls on the Commission to do everything possible to ensure that the regulations on the Structural

22.
Funds for the period 2007 to 2013 and the strategic orientations are adopted in 2006;

Enlarging the euro zone

23.
Considers that the euro helps to maintain a stable macroeconomic climate; suggests that preparations
be made with a view to introducing the euro in countries moving most rapidly towards fulfilling the con-
vergence criteria for accession to the euro zone, but urges the Commission to be rigorous in its evaluation
of progress made by these countries;

Improving the quality of life

Environment

24.
Requests the Commission to maintain a leading role in the fight against climate change and to
develop strategies aimed at the inclusion of aviation in the EU emissions trading schemes; calls on the
Commission to establish a framework paving the way for further commitments on emission reductions in
the post-Kyoto period after 2012, thereby providing further incentives for the use of market-driven instru-
ments to meet these goals;

25.
Is in favour of pursuing a coordinated approach to tackle the continent's environmental challenges
(such as floods, droughts and urban air quality); appreciates the reference to the importance of safeguarding
biodiversity at European and international level;

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Sustainable and innovative energy sources

26. Welcomes the impetus given to energy policy, and particularly the envisaged Green Paper aimed at
ensuring secure, competitive and sustainable energy sources, which will be of major importance in defining
a global strategy to respond to the challenges in the energy sector (such as energy efficiency, development of
an integrated network and promoting sources of renewable energy); considers that a legislative proposal on
heating and cooling by renewable energy sources should be an integral part of the strategy;

Agriculture, rural development, fisheries and tourism

Stresses the importance of the reform of the Common Agriculture Policy and of fully implementing

27.
the reforms already agreed, as well as investing more in research and technology in these sectors;

28.
Notes that reforms in the area of agriculture and fisheries have already signposted the way towards
sustainability and increased competitiveness, and in this context welcomes the sectoral reforms (wine, fruit
and vegetables, and bananas) envisaged for 2006;

29. Welcomes the launch of work to simplify the Common Agricultural Policy and awaits with great
interest the relevant action plan, so that the administrative constraints currently imposed on farmers can be
drastically and rapidly reduced;

30.
Notes with regret the absence of initiatives in the field of fisheries and calls therefore on the Com-
mission to, in particular, set up specific programmes to promote applied and fundamental research and to
ensure that those programmes are allocated sufficient budgetary resources;

31.
Calls on the Commission to make a contribution additional to the action of the Member States in the
field of tourism, an area which plays an important role in the European economy and helps to create jobs;

Social policy

32. Welcomes the follow-up to the 2005 Green Paper on demographic trends in the EU and expects the
Commission's proposals for concrete actions to contribute to tackling Europe's demographic ageing prob-
lem, given that the working population will fall by nearly 21 million within the next 20 years; attaches
particular importance to increasing active participation in the job market by people of working age, with a
view to achieving the Lisbon objective of a participation rate of 70 % in 2010;

33.
Underlines the need for a family support policy and for the promotion of a suitable environment for
children, in order to make it easier to combine work and family life; proposes, in particular, revising Council
Directive 96/34/EC (1) on parental leave with a view to making it more relevant and effective;

34. Welcomes the plans for a communication on the rights of the child which would offer an important
opportunity for the Commission to address the so-called ‘invisibility’ of children's rights at EU level;

35. Welcomes the fact that 2006 has been declared European Year of Mobility for Workers and calls on
the Commission to be more active in safeguarding and promoting the right of free movement for workers
from all Member States;

36.
Calls on the Commission to propose and commit itself to more long-term solutions to the challenges
of globalisation; stresses the importance of education and training as the best way to enhance opportunities
for people to find jobs in new areas of employment;

Stresses the need to adjust and modernise the European social model in order for it to remain a core

37.
element of our European society;

(1) OJ L 145, 19.6.1996, p. 4.

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Gender equality

38.
Notes the forthcoming presentation of a communication setting out a road map for gender equality
and underlines the fact that the principle of equal pay for work of equal value was introduced thirty years
ago by Council Directive 75/117/EEC (1); recalls the Lisbon objective of achieving a female employment rate
of 60 % by 2010;

Calls on the Commission, in cooperation with Eurostat, the Fundamental Rights Agency and the
39.
future Gender Institute, to establish harmonised methodologies, definitions and criteria in order to gather
comparable and compatible data throughout the European Union on violence against women, especially
comprehensive studies of its prevalence;

Culture

Regrets the absence of a reference to Europe's cultural dimension, and calls on the Commission to
40.
work with the governments of the new Member States and with the candidate countries of Central and
Eastern Europe to promote cultural diversity and increase public awareness across the EU;

41.
Urges ratification of the Unesco Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of
Cultural Expressions by the EU and its Member States and requests the Commission, by the end of 2006,
to submit the proposals and undertake the initiatives needed to implement the Convention at EU level;

Health

Stresses that the Commission must ensure a proper follow-up to its communications on the fight

42.
against obesity, heart diseases, diabetes, cancer, mental disorders and HIV/AIDS;

Calls on the Commission to increase its commitment to developing a coherent policy on health

43.
emergencies, disability, patient mobility and patient information;

A Europe with greater security and freedom

Area of freedom, security and justice

44.
Reaffirms, in the context of the deadly terrorist attacks in London and Madrid, the importance of
implementing the Hague Programme; eagerly awaits the interim progress report on implementing the Hague
Action Plan, and calls for this evaluation to highlight the major shortcomings in applying EU law in the area
of justice and home affairs; stresses that the reasons for the lack of progress in implementing the Hague
Action Plan lie with the Council, which has regularly blocked the objectives set by the European Council;

Stresses that increased security for citizens must never compromise the protection of their funda-

45.
mental rights;

46.
Calls on the Commission to continue prioritising measures to combat terrorism and organised crime,
particularly measures relating to the financing of terrorism, while also tackling the problem of radicalisation;

47.
Calls on the Commission to continue, as a matter of urgency, its work on legally clear and better
drafted common definitions of certain serious crimes with a cross-border dimension, notably terrorism,
trafficking in drugs and human beings, money laundering and cyber crime;

Deems it essential to fight against terrorism with improved intelligence exchange, effective oper-

48.
ational cooperation and reinforced counteraction against terrorist financing;

(1) OJ L 45, 19.2.1975, p. 19.

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Calls on the Commission to propose a proper EU legal basis for Europol, which would strengthen its

49.
future role and ensure its effectiveness;

Notes with regret that only a few initiatives concern issues of freedom or easier access to justice for
50.
citizens in matters concerning their daily lives; calls on the Commission to take into account Parliament's
opinions and proposals in this area and to be more active in promoting the protection and exercise of
fundamental rights;

Borders and immigration

Is aware that the management of immigration flows constitutes a key issue for the immediate and
51.
long-term future of our peoples; considers that the fight against illegal immigration, conducted in accord-
ance with the humanitarian traditions of our continent, and the integration of legal immigrants should be
two linked aspects of the same issue; calls, therefore, on the Commission to take all appropriate measures
which could contribute to a sound management of this crucial issue;

Believes in the need for a common EU visa policy, and considers that the Visa Information System

52.
(VIS) and Schengen Information System (SIS II) are two key elements of this policy;

53.
Stresses the need for a joint effort to reduce illegal immigration, particularly by strengthening border
control capacities, improving computer systems and increasing use of biometric data, through systems such
as VIS and SIS II;

54. Welcomes the establishment and official start of the activities of the European External Borders
Agency (the Frontex Agency) and believes that it will substantially contribute to strengthening the security
of external borders and help successfully to combat international organised crime;

Calls on the Commission to draw up a comprehensive action plan to combat people trafficking and

55.
to strengthen measures against drugs;

Europe as a world partner

Believes that the process of enlargement should proceed in accordance with the commitments
56.
already made, but calls on the Commission to launch a process of reflection and analysis on the external
limits of the EU, bearing in mind the Union's capacity for absorption, and to present its conclusions to
Parliament;

Stability and democracy in south-east Europe

Reiterates its call for the Commission to give a more political orientation to the pre-accession road
57.
map for the Western Balkans by focusing on the incentive aspect and on the specific needs of each of the
countries in question, while emphasising the prospect of accession for countries pursuing reforms and
fulfilling the Copenhagen criteria, including cooperation with the ICTY and regional cooperation; stresses
that the EU must also fulfil the Copenhagen criterion relating to its own absorption capacity;

58.
Strongly supports the Neighbourhood Policy launched some years ago as a key priority in the exter-
nal relations of the European Union; stresses its importance in developing and strengthening the sphere of
democracy, stability and prosperity in the countries bordering the Union, and therefore calls for adequate
financial resources for this policy;

59.
Fully supports the new impetus given to the Barcelona Process, ten years after the 1995 conference,
with a view to the creation of a free trade and security area in the Mediterranean region, as well as of more
prosperity for all countries involved in the process;

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Bilateral relations

60.
Recalls its other priorities as regards foreign policy, in particular the strengthening of transatlantic
relations by an updating of the existing New Transatlantic Agenda and its replacement with a genuine
partnership, the intensification of relations with Latin America and the Caribbean with a view to establish-
ing a biregional association, in which Parliament should be fully involved, the strengthening of the Union's
role in the Middle East peace process and a continued economic, military and political commitment on the
part of the EU towards Iraq and Afghanistan;

61.
Calls on the Commission constantly and carefully to monitor the trend and flow of its trade relations
with China in order to ensure that China respects the principle of fair competition and social and environ-
mental obligations, as well as WTO property right principles;

Human rights protection

62.
Urges the Commission to take into account Parliament's political will with regard to the details of the
policy programme for the promotion of democracy and human rights and to ensure that policy objectives
and the financing and management of projects in this field are coherent;

Development policy

63. Welcomes the New Strategy for Africa, in particular the principle of African ownership, and the
identification of priority issues linked to governance, which is a key element in achieving sustainable devel-
opment, and investment in infrastructure,
including water, energy and information and communication
technologies; considers that all investments in these areas should be preceded by an assessment of their
contribution to economic development and poverty reduction;

64.
Calls for a dual approach to Africa targeted on the one hand at better-performing states, by giving
them the means to maximise their efforts to achieve the Millennium Development Goals, and on the other
hand at vulnerable states, by making use of various policy instruments adapted to a more difficult context;

Trade policy and negotiations in the WTO

65.
Considers international trade policy to be a key element in promoting competitiveness and growth,
both in the Union and in developing countries, and underlines the importance of a multilateral approach
and, in particular, of concluding the WTO negotiations in Hong Kong in December 2005;

66.
Emphasises the importance, with regard to market access for industrial products, of reducing and
eliminating high tariffs; considers, moreover, that trade in services is also a key element in the Doha negoti-
ations and that there is substantial potential in opening up services markets;

Emphasises the paramount need for global sustainable development; calls for urgent European action

67.
on deforestation, including further measures against illegal logging;

Security and defence

68. Welcomes the inclusion of a communication on defence industries and markets in the list of prior-
ities for 2006, and encourages the Commission to bring forward corresponding legislative proposals which
will make it possible to boost the competitiveness of the European defence sector;

69.
Eagerly awaits the communication on the interpretation of Article 296 of the EC Treaty concerning
defence procurement contracts, which will clarify the criteria for applying the derogation from competition
rules for the procurement of military equipment;

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A Europe that works better — closer to the citizen

Better, simpler legislation

70.
Stresses the need to accelerate the simplification and consolidation of EU legislation and to put more
efforts into better regulation, prompt transposition and correct implementation of EU legislation; calls on
the Commission to consider the effective implementation of the Interinstitutional agreement on better law-
making (1),
including the development of appropriate mechanisms for stakeholder consultation, to be a
matter of priority;

71.
Calls on the Commission to work with Parliament in monitoring and improving existing legislation,
including by choosing priorities for simplification, in order to maintain Parliament's own prerogatives as co-
legislator, and calls for improved ex post evaluation of adopted and implemented measures;

72.
Calls on the Commission to make more consistent use of impact assessments, which must take into
account the cost of an absence of measures and the possible alternatives to public regulation; to this end,
calls for an independent European agency to be set up to carry out impact assessments;

73.
Urges the Commission, in the context of the comitology procedure, to stand by its commitments to
transmit all the measures concerned in due course and not to exceed the competences vested in it by virtue
of the basic instruments; is convinced, moreover, of the need for the Commission and Parliament to exam-
ine ways of revising the current framework for applying comitology measures and ensuring the effective
protection of Parliament's prerogatives;

Transparency, the budget and budgetary accountability

Calls, with a view to increasing transparency in the decision-making of the EU institutions, for

74.
Council legislative meetings to be public;

Urgently calls on the Commission to come forward with a revised proposal for an Interinstitutional
75.
agreement on budgetary discipline and improvement of the budgetary procedure, incorporating Parliament's
proposals concerning the reserves and flexibility as well as other qualitative elements as set out in its
resolution of 8 June 2005 (2);

Calls on the Member States fully to support the Commission's efforts to develop a secure and com-
76.
prehensive internal control framework for the EU budget, which could finally lead to the creation of a long-
overdue mechanism for accountability, particularly on the question of shared management;

Stresses the importance of pursuing the idea, as proposed in its resolution of 12 April 2005 (3), that a
77.
declaration of assurance as regards the legality and regularity of the underlying transactions be provided
from each Member State's highest political and managing authority;

Reiterates its request for Regulation (EC) No 1073/1999 (4) on OLAF to be revised in such a way as to

78.
guarantee its independence, especially in relation to the recruitment procedure for the post of its director;

79.
Underlines the need for the Commission to continue the ongoing internal reform process to achieve
full transparency and accountability in the use of public money; recalls Parliament's resolution of 6 Sept-
ember 2001 (5) urging the Commission to begin drawing up a Code of Good Administrative Behaviour for
all Community bodies and organisations;

*

*

*

Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission and the parliaments

80.
of the Member States.

(1) OJ C 321, 31.12.2003, p. 1.
(2) Texts Adopted, P6_TA(2005)0224.
(3) Texts Adopted, P6_TA(2005)0092.
(4) OJ L 136, 31.5.1999, p. 1.
(5) OJ C 72 E, 21.3.2002, p. 331.