OPINION OF THE COMMISSION  pursuant to Article 251(2), third subparagraph, point (c), of the EC Treaty on the European Parliament’s amendments to the Council’s common position  regarding the proposal for a Decision establishing for the period 2007-2013 the programme “Europe for citizens” (COM(2005) 116 final)
Date: 2006-11-15
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: EU programme, European citizenship

COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 

Brussels, 15.11.2006 
COM(2006) 707 final 

2005/0041 (COD) 

OPINION OF THE COMMISSION 

pursuant to Article 251(2), third subparagraph, point (c), of the EC Treaty on the 
European Parliament’s amendments to the Council’s common position 

regarding the 

proposal for a Decision establishing for the period 2007-2013 the programme “Europe 
for citizens” (COM(2005) 116 final) 

AMENDING THE PROPOSAL OF THE COMMISSION  
pursuant to Article 250 (2) of the EC Treaty 

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2005/0041 (COD) 

OPINION OF THE COMMISSION 

pursuant to Article 251(2), third subparagraph, point (c), of the EC Treaty on the 
European Parliament’s amendments to the Council’s common position 

regarding the 

proposal for a Decision establishing for the period 2007-2013 the programme “Europe 
for citizens” (COM(2005) 116 final) 

1. 

INTRODUCTION 

Article  251(2),  third  subparagraph,  point  (c),  of  the  EC  Treaty  requires  the  Commission  to 
deliver  an opinion on amendments proposed  by  the European Parliament at second reading. 
The Commission’s position on the amendments adopted by the European Parliament is set out 
below. 

2. 

BACKGROUND 

Date of transmission of the proposal to the European Parliament and the 
Council  
(document COM(2005) 116 final – 2005/0041(COD)): 

14 April 2005 

Date of the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee: 

26 October 2005 

Date of the opinion of the Committee of the Regions: 

17 November 2005 

Date of the opinion of the European Parliament at first reading: 

5 April 2006 

Date of Council political agreement:  

Date of adoption of the common position: 

Date of opinion at second reading: 

18 May 2006 

25 September 2006 

25 October 2006 

3. 

PURPOSE OF THE COMMISSION’S PROPOSAL 

The  purpose  of  the  proposal  is  to  establish  a  programme  to  promote  active  European 
citizenship,  entitled  “Europe  for  citizens”,  which  will  take  over  from  the  present  civic 
participation programme (2004-2006) as from 1 January 2007. The programme is intended to 
help  meet  a  major  challenge  facing  the  European  Union,  namely  to  bridge  the  gap  between 
citizens and the European institutions by giving citizens the opportunity to participate actively 
in the building of Europe. The proposed programme, while ensuring the continuation of the 
civic participation programme now coming to a close, opens the way for new activities with a 
view  to  encouraging  cooperation  among  citizens  and  civil  society  organisations  from  the 
various participating countries. 

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It  includes  four  actions  addressing  the  issue  of  active  European  citizenship  in  a 
complementary  manner:  “Active  citizens  for  Europe”  (I),  “Active  civil  society  in  Europe” 
(II), “Together for Europe” (III) and “Active European Remembrance” (IV). 

4. 

OPINION OF THE COMMISSION ON THE AMENDMENTS ADOPTED BY THE EUROPEAN 
PARLIAMENT 

The  Commission  accepts  the  four  amendments  adopted  by  the  European  Parliament.  These 
amendments  are  the  result  of  an  overall  compromise  between  the  European  Parliament  and 
the  Council  with  a  view  to  the  second  reading.  They  are  in  line  with  the  objectives  of  the 
Commission’s initial proposal and the Communication from the Commission on the common 
position. 

The first amendment adds the promotion of tolerance to the aims of the programme. 

The  second  amendment  is  a  technical  one,  changing  the  period  between  publication  of  the 
Decision  and  its  entry  into  force  from  20  days  to  one  day,  which  will  speed  up  the 
implementation of the programme. 

The third and fourth amendments relate to the percentages of the budget allocated to Actions I 
and  II.  At  least  45%  of  the  budget  will  be  allocated  to  Action  I  and  approximately  31%  to 
Action II. 

5. 

CONCLUSION 

Pursuant  to  Article  250(2)  of  the  EC  Treaty,  the  Commission  is  amending  its  proposal  as 
described above. 

6. 

STATEMENT BY THE COMMISSION 

The Commission made a unilateral statement on the occasion of the adoption of the common 
position (see Annex I). 

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ANNEX 

Statement by the Commission on the budgetary envelope 

The Commission would draw the legislative authority’s attention to the need, by the time of 
final publication in the OJ, for the financial envelope referred to in the basic act to be quoted 
at current prices. That is the usual budgetary practice and serves to make compliance with the 
legislative  authority’s  decision  quite  clear.  For  the  programme  in  question,  the  figure  at 
current prices amounts to €215 million. 

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