European Parliament resolution on the Commission legislative and work programme for 2007
Date: 2006-12-13
Institutions: European Parliament
Subjects: European Commission, economic policy, interinstitutional relations (EU), legislative programme (EU), public safety, sustainable development, the EU's international role

23.12.2006

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

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Wednesday, 13 December 2006

P6_TA(2006)0564

VAT arrangements for radio and television broadcasting and other services *

European Parliament legislative resolution on the proposal for a Council directive amending Council
Directive 2002/38/EC as regards the period of application of the value added tax arrangements
applicable to radio and television broadcasting services and certain electronically supplied services
(COM(2006)0739 — C6-0437/2006 — 2006/0245(CNS))

(Consultation procedure)

The European Parliament,

— having regard to the Commission proposal to the Council (COM(2006)0739) (1),
— having regard to Article 93 of the EC Treaty, pursuant to which the Council consulted Parliament

(C6-0437/2006),

— having regard to Rule 51 of its Rules of Procedure,
— having regard to the report of the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs (A6-0440/2006);

1. Approves the Commission proposal as amended;

2. Calls on the Commission to alter its proposal accordingly, pursuant to Article 250(2) of the EC Treaty;

3. Calls on the Council to notify Parliament if it intends to depart from the text approved by Parliament;

4. Asks the Council
substantially;

to consult Parliament again if

it

intends to amend the Commission proposal

5.

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

TEXT PROPOSED
BY THE COMMISSION

AMENDMENTS
BY PARLIAMENT

Amendment 2

Article 1
Article 4 (Directive 2002/38/EC)

Article 1 shall apply until 31 December 2008.

(1) Not yet published in the OJ.

Article 1 shall apply until 31 December 2009.
The Commission shall adopt any proposal
for possible
prolongation of the regime in good time before its expiry in
order
time
to allow the European Parliament sufficient
within which to express its opinion in accordance with
Article 93 of the Treaty.

P6_TA(2006)0565

Legislative and work programme of the Commission for 2007

European Parliament resolution on the Commission legislative and work programme for 2007

The European Parliament,

— having regard to the Commission communication on its Legislative and Work Programme for 2007
(COM(2006)0629), adopted on 24 October 2006, and presented by the Commission and debated by
Parliament on 14 November 2006,

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— having regard to the Commission's strategic political orientations for 2004 to 2009, the Commission's
2007 Annual Policy Strategy and the contributions of Parliament's committees,
forwarded to the
Commission by the Conference of Presidents, as provided for in the Framework Agreement between
Parliament and the Commission,

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

A. whereas 2007 will be a crucial year for the European integration process, given that the European Union
will welcome two new Member States, Romania and Bulgaria, celebrate the 50th anniversary of the
Treaty of Rome, strive to achieve an institutional settlement, and launch an extensive series of new finan-
cing programmes,

B. whereas it is essential for the Union to be able to meet ambitious political, economic and social goals for
its citizens, and to serve the European common interest in making the Union a leading global player
promoting shared solutions for peace, security, global prosperity and sustainable economic and social
development,

C. having regard to the need to align expenditure closely with political priorities, given that the means

provided in the new financial framework are insufficient to meet all the challenges ahead,

D. reiterating the need for Europe to take action in order to meet the increased expectations of citizens and

to improve its role as a leading player on the world stage,

1. Welcomes the emphasis in the Commission's Legislative and Work Programme (LWP) for 2007 on
modernising the European economy and improving the well-being of citizens; agrees in this context with
the importance attributed to security, health, innovation, a cleaner environment, energy and climate change,
the internal market, migration and integration, Europe's global visibility and effectiveness, and improved
communication with European citizens; regrets, however, a certain lack of ambition in several fields; believes
that, in order to restore the momentum behind the European project, the Commission should play its full
role in strengthening and modernising Europe's social market economy, based on sustainable development;

2.
Believes that the distinction drawn between ‘strategic initiatives’ and ‘priority initiatives’ increases the
clarity and credibility of the LWP; requests, nevertheless, the Commission to be more coherent and precise
in explaining the distinction between those two categories, and in particular to clarify the timescale for the
presentation of ‘priority initiatives’;
invites the Commission to present after six months an update on
progress made in implementing the LWP;

3. Welcomes the fact that the Commission has endorsed a range of the contributions made by the
committees of Parliament in the framework of the new ‘structured dialogue’ and outlined in the summary
report of the Conference of Committee Chairmen;

4. Asks the Commission nevertheless to inform Parliament why it chose not to include the following legis-
lative initiatives in its 2007 work programme, as requested by its committees: mutual recognition in trade in
goods, proposals to improve the CE mark, revision of the European Company Statute, the development
of microcredits, reconciling work and family life, the protection of atypical workers, a new proposal on a
European mutual society, thresholds for seeds containing GMOs, and a proposal on the Transparency
Initiative;

5.
Believes that the operation of the Framework Agreement on relations between Parliament and the
Commission can and should be improved by involving the political groups more consistently and at an
early stage in the procedure;

6. Regrets the lack of interaction between the LWP and the budget procedure; in line with the Framework
Agreement between Parliament and the Commission, wishes to improve the linkage between the two proce-
dures, and looks forward to a discussion on how to do so;

7. Calls on the Commission to engage in an early dialogue with Parliament on the crucial revision of the
EU budgetary framework and the financial framework, the mid-term review of the CAP, and the discussion
on new mechanisms for own resources;

8 Welcomes the Commission's intention to better connect Europe with its citizens through an improved
communications strategy designed to improve awareness and understanding of the EU at national, regional
and local levels; supports all initiatives to build partnerships and to listen and respond more systematically
to the concerns of citizens;

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9. Underlines to this end, in particular, the need to coordinate communications policy more closely with
national governments and political parties, with the aim of launching an effective open dialogue with citi-
zens on European issues; believes that Members can contribute to this process and expects the Commission
to cooperate closely with Parliament when developing and implementing its communications policy;

10. Notes the Commission's determination to be involved in the drafting of the Berlin Declaration on the
50th anniversary of the Treaty of Rome; believes it important that this declaration should have a genuinely
interinstitutional character, with Parliament, the Council and the Commission jointly involved; believes that
such a declaration should contribute inter alia to reasserting the values and identity of the Union and
promoting institutional reform in Europe;

11. Welcomes the desire of the Commission to engage actively in the process of helping secure the adop-
tion of a European constitutional treaty; believes that the objectives and reforms enshrined in that treaty are
essential to the sound functioning and future development of the Union;
in
conjunction with Parliament, to take a leading role in finding a workable solution to the current institutional
impasse;

invites the Commission,

Priorities for 2007

Modernising the European economy

12. Welcomes the strong emphasis in the Commission's programme on the continuing need for moderni-
sation of the European economy, to render it more dynamic and competitive in the face of global challenges;
underlines the importance accorded to vigorous implementation of
the Lisbon strategy, emphasising
the interdependence of economic, social and environmental progress in creating a dynamic and innovative
European economy; reiterates its support for a European agenda in which prosperity and solidarity are
mutually supporting objectives, and calls on the Commission to take action to reflect that;

13. Calls on the Commission to improve the coordination of economic policies, in particular with a view
to promoting national and European initiatives aimed at fostering research, skills and new technologies, to
sharing best practices on ways to improve the effectiveness and quality of public spending, and to enhancing
the quality of statistical data;

Research and development

14. Reiterates the urgency of
the
European economy, in particular in the areas of advanced technologies; urges that enhanced coordinated
efforts be undertaken to promote the telecoms and information society technology sectors;

fostering cooperative research to improve the competitiveness of

Believes that the establishment of the proposed European Institute of Technology (EIT), if it is based
15.
on the right principles, could contribute to the competitiveness of the European economy by helping to
reverse the fragmentation of research, education and innovation efforts which has stunted progress so far;
insists that no funds previously earmarked for the Seventh Framework Programme should be used to
finance EIT activities;

16. Welcomes the Commission proposals for the Erasmus Mundus II programme, aimed at fostering coop-
eration with third countries in the field of higher education; stresses, however, the need to undertake further
initiatives to promote excellence in European universities, higher education and life-long learning, as well as
better knowledge of languages;

17. Underlines the strategic significance of the rapidly developing space sector, and thus fully supports the
Commission in its initiative to develop a coherent and comprehensive European space policy;

Internal market

18. Calls on the Commission to step up efforts to complete the internal market, so as to enable citizens to
reap its full benefits; believes, however, that the Single Market Strategy review should not provide a pretext
for failing to bring forward internal market initiatives as necessary; insists that the single market can only be
developed successfully in a context of promoting fair competition, cohesion, a high level of consumer
protection, and respect for the Göteborg principles;

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19. Reiterates its request to the Commission that it should explore all possible ways of improving the
patent and patent litigation systems;

20.
Stresses the importance of completing the internal market in the field of financial services and insur-
ance, and, in particular, of the Commission's commitment to proposing the modernisation of legislation on
solvency, investment funds (UCITS) and VAT treatment for financial services; nevertheless considers that a
key priority for 2007 in the field of financial services legislation should be the proper implementation and
timely application of legislation already adopted in recent years; in this respect, invites the Commission to
report on the possible impact of private equity funds and hedge funds on financial stability, economic
performance and employment;

Addressing the challenges of European society

21. Notes that the Commission is planning to undertake a ‘comprehensive stocktaking of European
society’, but calls on it to be more ambitious and, given that 2007 will be the European Year of Equal
Opportunities, to come forward with a number of initiatives in the areas of social exclusion, poverty, protec-
tion of atypical workers and better social protection in new forms of employment, as well as an evaluation
of the implementation of EU legislation on the fight against all forms of discrimination, and any necessary
initiative in this field;

22. Calls for a proper follow-up to the Commission communication concerning a consultation on action
at EU level to promote the inclusion of the people furthest from the labour market (COM(2006)0044);

23. Calls on the Commission to identify a clear legal basis for combating all forms of violence, in particu-
lar against women and children;

24. Welcomes in this context the Commission's objective of exploring possible pathways to enhance flexi-
curity and to help Member States to achieve both high productivity and high social protection;

Consumer protection

25. Asks the Commission for new impetus in the field of consumer protection, in particular with a view
to consolidating and reviewing the consumer acquis to reinforce the effectiveness of consumer protection
policy and consumer rights, ensuring protection of vulnerable consumers, strengthening information and
awareness for consumers on rights and redress — e.g. by means of a EU-wide information campaign — and
protecting the interests of consumers in related policy areas; points out in that context that legislation on
consumer protection should by no means constitute a channel for the creation of new barriers within the
internal market, but ensure instead that consumers in all the Member States benefit from the high-level
protection already achieved;

Therefore welcomes the Action Plan on Sustainable Production and Consumption, as it integrates both

26.
the social and economic dimensions;

Security for citizens, justice and migration

27. Demands the Member States' and the Commission's commitment to address the structural causes of
massive migration by adapting and updating their current policies, in order to enable developing countries
to protect and build their economies, and to allow decent incomes for their populations, which constitutes
the only long-term alternative in order to reduce illegal immigration;

28. Calls on the Member States to strengthen cooperation and mutual technical assistance between their
border control services and for increased financing for Frontex, in order to combat human trafficking;
requests that the conclusion of readmission agreements be fair and respect the fundamental rights of
migrants and take into consideration the shared needs of Member States and of the countries of origin and
transit;

29.
Believes that a common immigration, visa and asylum policy, as well as an effective economic and
social integration of immigrants on the basis of common principles, must be at the heart of EU action for
2007; welcomes the proposed Commission initiatives on labour immigration and on sanctions for
employers of illegally resident third country nationals; reiterates its call for a move to the codecision proce-
dure and qualified-majority voting in all areas related to immigration;

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30.
Stresses the need for a common EU visa policy, with the conclusion of the VIS (Visa Information
System) being a key element of this objective; stresses, however, its concern in relation to data protection,
access to data and the interoperability of databases and regrets that the framework decision on data protec-
tion under the third pillar remains blocked in the Council;

31.
Strongly supports the Commission in its intention to update the framework decision on the fight
against terrorism, in particular by addressing the problems of the spread of explosives and the transmission
of expertise, and by combating terrorism propaganda, yet stresses that increased security for citizens must
not compromise the protection of their fundamental rights;

Insists on the need to tackle cyber-crime, as well as to improve border controls and the management

32.
of visa requests, whilst emphasising the importance of the rapid entry into force of both SIS II and VIS;

33. Urges the Commission to put forward in 2007 a report on how the rights of seasonal workers in the
EU can be safeguarded in order to avoid abuses and violation of core labour standards, as is currently the
case;

34. Recalls that much remains to be done to secure fair and efficient access to justice for everyone; calls
for more initiatives in the field of civil justice in order to deliver the balanced legal framework that would
give security and access to justice;

Secure, competitive and sustainable energy

35. Welcomes the Commission's proposal to make the development of ‘European energy policy’ a strategic
objective for 2007, based on the principles of security and diversity of supply, sustainability, efficiency and
greater energy independence;

Stresses that an essential element of a common energy policy should be enhanced solidarity between
36.
Member States in order to deal with difficulties related to the physical security of infrastructures and security
of supply; considers, furthermore, that such enhanced solidarity would considerably strengthen the capacity
of the EU to defend its common interest on energy issues at international level;

37.
Strongly holds the view that an essential part of maintaining security of supply is the rapid transposi-
tion of current EU law by all Member States to achieve a fully functioning internal market in electricity and
gas so as to enhance competitiveness, transparency and energy efficiency;

38. Urges Member States to create an EU internal energy market by setting a balance between internal and
external sources of supply and ensuring interoperability of national energy grids;

39. Asks the Commission to better develop the synergies between economic development, on the one
hand, and development and use of clean and energy-saving technologies, on the other, as complementarities
are strong and constitute a potential source of increased competitiveness;

Making Europe a better place to live

Environment and sustainable development

40. Underlines the leading role of the European Union at international level in promoting environmental
issues, and agrees that, in the following years, efforts should be directed towards the protection of biodiver-
sity and towards climate change, especially by developing the concept of ‘green diplomacy’, as well as
towards seeking a specific energy policy focused on increasing the share of renewable energy, energy saving
and efficiency in Europe;

41. Calls on the Commission to support a strong role for the EU in devising post-Kyoto policies and new
targets; welcomes in this respect the proposed Green Paper on post-2012 climate change, which will help
identify areas in which action is needed;

Expects the proposal to review the EU emissions trading scheme to aim at improving the environ-

42.
mental effectiveness of the scheme, thereby also including aviation emissions in it;

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43. Urges the Commission to better coordinate transport and environment policy in the spirit of sustain-
able development, proposing concrete targets for CO2 reduction for the total vehicle fleet and integrating air
transport into the binding obligations of the Kyoto Protocol;

44. Regrets that the protection and conservation of biodiversity in the EU has not been highlighted as a
priority for 2007, and all the more warmly encourages the Commission to take the lead in facing the global
challenge of biodiversity loss, whilst ensuring the proper management of the NATURA 2000 network, espe-
cially in marine zones;

45. Calls on the Commission to take the necessary initiatives to enable the creation of a better environ-
ment for developing non-CO2 energy sources; underlines the fact that climate change has consequences not
only for the environment, but also for health and therefore asks the Commission to address new threats and
long-term effects;

Health

46. Welcomes the Commission's contribution to shaping health policy in Europe, and strongly believes
that the protection and promotion of health should constitute an underlying component of EU policies;

47. Underlines the fact that an effective European health strategy calls for improved collaboration between
health services, in particular as regards patient mobility and patient safety (e.g. drug counterfeiting), informa-
tion for patients on pharmaceuticals, and lifestyle changes, and in addressing the challenges of healthy
ageing;

Agriculture and fisheries

48. Notes the Commission's intention to bring forward a proposal on the simplification of the CAP as
well as on a single common market organisation (CMO), in line with the objectives of simplification and
transparency; stresses that in view of the revision of the budgetary framework the regional, social and envir-
onmental role of the CAP should be enhanced, together with the stabilisation of the Community agricultural
funds;

49. Welcomes the stepping up of simplification initiatives in the field of the CAP and attaches particular
importance to the Commission's commitment
the cross-compliance
system; expresses its support for the Commission's intention to recast and modernise existing feed labelling
requirements;

to report on the operation of

50. Welcomes the proposed regulation aimed at stepping up the fight against illegal, unreported and unre-
gulated fishing, given in particular the considerable losses which such fishing causes to coastal communities
and to legally operating fishermen; regrets, however, the general lack of initiative and political impulse in the
CFP field, which is necessary to confront new challenges both within the EU and internationally;

Europe as a world partner

Neighbourhood policy

51. Welcomes the commitment by the Commission to give priority to strengthening the European
Neighbourhood Policy, but believes that concrete proposals and steps are needed to give content to this
commitment; warns against the risk that the European Neighbourhood Policy may limit itself to bilateral
and administrative or ‘bureaucratic’ relations with the countries concerned; expresses the view that certain
features of the policy ought to be revised, in order to take account of the expectations of the various coun-
tries concerned and to tailor arrangements better to their needs; calls in this respect for the Parliament to be
involved in the process;

52. Calls on the Commission to draw up an annual report on compliance with the human rights and
democracy clause of the agreements with Neighbourhood Policy countries, accompanied by a detailed
evaluation and recommendations dealing with the effectiveness and coherence of the action taken;

Stability and democracy in South East Europe

the countries of South East Europe are coming closer to acquiring the accession
53. Notes that
momentum referred to in the ‘Thessaloniki Declaration’, and expects the Union to take a leading role in
consolidating stability and increasing prosperity in the Western Balkans, thus helping the countries of the
region on their way to EU membership;

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Russia

54. Reminds the Commission that the current Partnership and Cooperation Agreement with Russia will
expire in 2007; calls on the Commission to propose guiding principles for the strategic content of the EU's
relations with Russia, and in particular to emphasise the importance of placing democracy, human rights
and freedom of expression at the core of future relations, establishing a clear mechanism for monitoring the
implementation of all the clauses of such an agreement;

Development policy

55. Requests the Member States and the Commission to be more ambitious in respecting their commit-
ment to the Millennium Development Goals, and calls on the Commission to come forward with concrete
proposals for alternative financing of development programmes;

Believes that, in order to enable the ACP countries to meet their development goals, the regional
56.
development aspect should be properly respected in negotiations on the Economic Partnership Agreements;

Trade policy and WTO negotiations

57. At multilateral level, calls for a successful and ambitious outcome of the Doha Round; regrets that it
was necessary to suspend the negotiations on the Doha Development Agenda sine die and points out that a
failure of multilateral negotiations and a shift to bilateral/regional agreements could lead to an unequal
process of liberalisation and uneven development and would thus adversely affect the least developed coun-
tries in particular;

ESDP

58.
Stresses the need to strengthen the mechanisms for parliamentary oversight of the development of the
European Security and Defence Policy (ESDP) in general, and ESDP missions in particular, and highlights the
need to provide information proactively and to conduct debates before joint actions in the field of ESDP are
decided on, so that Parliament can voice its opinion and concerns;

Better lawmaking

59. Underlines the need to accelerate the simplification and consolidation of EU legislation and to put
more effort into better regulation, prompt transposition and correct implementation of EU legislation; calls
for a stronger monitoring and enforcement mechanism in respect of the implementation of EU legislation in
the Member States;

Insists that all simplification initiatives comply fully with all the principles and conditions outlined in

60.
its resolution of 16 May 2006 on the strategy for simplification of the regulatory environment (1);

Impact assessments

61. Welcomes the inclusion of impact assessments in the legislative process, and the fact that the LWP
highlights agreement on the need for high-quality legislation, with the Commission undertaking to carry out
impact assessments on all strategic and priority initiatives; insists on the need for independent impact assess-
ments, but emphasises that these should not lead to unjustified delays in Commissions proposals; recalls
that ‘better regulation’ does not necessarily mean deregulation or forms of minimal regulation;

Soft law

62. Regrets the increasing use by the Commission of soft law, such as recommendations and interpretative
communications, thereby circumventing the prerogatives of the legislative authority;

(1) Texts adopted, P6_TA(2006)0205.

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Monitoring of implementation and enforcement of the acquis

63. Regrets that the Commission has only offered a weak response to Parliament's request concerning
implementation of EU legislation in the Member States;

64. Requests the Commission to make the whole process of transposition and implementation more
transparent and to persuade Member States to produce the ‘correlation tables’ that show exactly which parts
of any piece of legislation derive from the EU and from national law respectively;

Budgetary responsibility

65.
Expects all new reforms set out in the new Interinstitutional Agreement of 17 May 2006 on budgetary
discipline and sound financial management to be fully implemented in the course of 2007, thus enabling a
swift result in terms of higher-quality implementation of the budget;

66. Asks the Commission to ensure, facilitate and encourage the total implementation of the EU budget,
in particular in the new Member States, given the fact that 2007 will be a crucial year for the implementa-
tion of the new structural policy; asks the Commission to apply all the necessary measures in order to
ensure that the operational programmes for the new financing period, in accordance with the strategic
guidelines for cohesion, are ready and implemented on time for all Member States;

67. Underlines the importance it attaches to the reform agenda, in particular in the field of the fight
against fraud and mismanagement, as any such cases help to increase EU scepticism; deplores the fact that
the Commission seems to have downgraded its original reform programme; in this context calls on the
Commission to continue its work on the Action Plan for an Integrated Internal Control Framework and the
Transparency Initiative;

*

*

*

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

68.
the Member States.

P6_TA(2006)0566

Russia-EU Summit

European Parliament resolution on the EU-Russia Summit in Helsinki on 24 November 2006

The European Parliament,

— having regard to the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement between the European Communities and
their Member States, of the one part, and the Russian Federation, of the other part (PCA) (1), which
entered into force in 1997 and expires in 2007,

— having regard to the EU-Russia human rights consultations,

— having regard to the current international and European responsibilities of Russia, in its capacity as

President-in-Office of the G8 and Chair of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe,

(1) OJ L 327, 28.11.1997, p. 1.