Proposal for a Decision of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Decision No 1719/2006/EC establishing the Youth in Action programme for the period 2007 to 2013
Date: 2008-02-07
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: EU programme, European citizenship, cooperation policy, youth policy

COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 

Brussels, 07.2.2008 
COM(2008) 56 final 

2008/0023(COD) 

Proposal for a 

DECISION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL 

amending Decision No 1719/2006/EC establishing the Youth in Action programme for 
the period 2007 to 2013  

(presented by the Commission) 

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EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM 

On  15  November  2006  the  European  Parliament  and  the  Council  adopted  Decision 
No 1719/2006/EC establishing the Youth in Action programme for the period 2007 
to  2013.  The  objective  of  this  programme  is  to  promote  active  citizenship  among 
young  people,  encourage  solidarity  and  tolerance,  foster  understanding  between 
young  people  from  different  countries  and  develop  European  cooperation  on  youth 
issues. The programme also helps to develop the quality of support systems for youth 
activities  and  the  capabilities  of  civil  society  organisations  which  are  active  in  the 
field of youth. 

To  achieve  its  objectives,  the  programme  proposes  five  actions  to  support  specific 
activities.  Project  promoters  wishing  to  receive  grants  are  required  to  follow  a 
procedure for calls for proposals which results in the Commission making selection 
decisions concerning proposals for the award of grants; as measures to implement the 
programme, these must follow a specific interinstitutional procedure. 

Under Article 202 of the Treaty establishing the European Community, the Council, 
in the acts which it adopts, confers on the Commission powers to implement the rules 
which the Council lays down and may impose certain requirements in respect of the 
exercise of these powers.  

These  requirements  come  under  the  heading  of  'comitology'.  This  means  that  it  is 
compulsory  to  consult  a  committee  on  the  implementing  measures  which  are 
determined by the basic instrument, and this must be done prior to their adoption by 
the  Commission.  This  committee  is  composed  exclusively  of  representatives  of  the 
Member States. It is chaired by the Commission.  

There  are  various  types  of  committee  procedure,  as  set  out  in  Council  Decision 
No 1999/468/EC  laying  down  the  procedures  for  the  exercise  of  implementing 
the  Commission,  as  amended  by  Council  Decision 
powers  conferred  on 
No 2006/512/EC. The basic instrument establishing the Commission's implementing 
powers may provide for the application of these various procedures in order to carry 
out the implementing measures.  

The 
'comitology'  Decision  also  gives  Parliament  the  right  to  monitor  the 
implementation  of  legislative  instruments  adopted  under  the  codecision  procedure. 
This  right  of  scrutiny  allows  Parliament  to  contest  any  measures  envisaged  by  the 
Commission which it thinks would exceed the implementing powers provided for in 
the basic instrument, as this could impinge on its powers of codecision. 

The European Parliament has one month in which to examine a draft measure before 
the  Commission  makes  the  formal  decision.  This  period  begins  to  run  when  the 
definitive  proposed  implementing  measure  is  transmitted  to  Parliament  after  the 
committee has delivered its formal opinion. 

Decision  No 1719/2006/EC  establishing  the  Youth  in  Action  programme  provides 
that a set of measures necessary to implement the programme shall be adopted by the 
Commission  in  accordance  with  the  procedures  provided  for  in  the  'comitology' 
Decision.  

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When  the  programme  was  being  negotiated,  the  legislator  had  clearly  defined  the 
grant award decisions to be submitted to the committee. The management procedure 
provided  for  in  Articles  4  and  7  of  Decision  No 1999/468/EC  was  intended  for 
support  for  the  European  Youth  Forum.  The  other  grant  award  decisions  were  not 
intended to be subject to a committee procedure. In such a case the Commission had 
undertaken  to  inform  the  programme  committee  and  the  European  Parliament 
immediately  of  any  selection  decisions  which  would  not  be  subject  to  the 
management  procedure.  This  agreement  was  set  out  in  a  declaration  by  the 
Commission to the Council and the European Parliament. 

The agreement was based on the nature of the programme's actions, which generally 
award small grants to a large number of beneficiaries, as in such cases the committee 
procedure can provide little added value and it places a disproportionate burden on 
the  programme's  administration.  This  agreement  was 
thus  based  on  an 
interinstitutional consensus with a view to simplifying procedures and reducing the 
time required for making decisions concerning potential beneficiaries. 

While  the  wording  of  Decision  No 1719/2006/EC  correctly  incorporates  the 
legislator's  wishes  concerning  the  selection  decisions  to  be  submitted  to  the 
management  committee,  the  legislator's  intentions  were  not  properly  transposed  in 
that Decision insofar as all other measures, including selection decisions, were made 
subject  to  the  consultative  procedure  referred  to  in  Articles  3  and  7  of  Decision 
No 1999/468/EC  rather  than  requiring  the  Commission  to  provide  immediate 
information to the programme committee and the European Parliament.  

The  programme  committee  is  thus  consulted  in  accordance  with  the  management 
procedure  for  grant  award  decisions  which  are  expressly  provided  for  in  Article 
10(1) of Decision No 1719/2006/EC, namely in relation to support for the European 
Youth  Forum.  A  contrario,  Article  10(2)  of  that  Decision  stipulates  that  all  other 
grant award decisions are made in accordance with the consultative procedure. 

This  wording  of  Decision  No 1719/2006/EC  causes  serious  problems  in  the 
implementation of the actions and measures provided for by the programme.  

Making selection decisions subject to the consultative procedure actually delays their 
adoption by two to three months; applicants must therefore wait longer before being 
informed  of  a  decision  concerning  their  proposals.  Yet  the  projects  concerned  are 
generally  planned  to  begin  within  a  short  timeframe.  Moreover,  the  programme 
guide,  which  for  potential  promoters  serves  as  an  ongoing  call  for  proposals, 
provides for a full five annual deadlines for the submission of grant applications, in 
order  to  reduce  as  much  as  possible  the  time  between  the  submission  of  an 
application  and  the  award  of  a  grant.  The  expectations  of  programme  beneficiaries 
would not be met if this period were extended because of the consultative procedure.  

Temporary  solutions  have  been  devised  in  order  to  reduce  the  time  required  for 
to  monitor 
systematic  committee  consultation  and 
implementation.  The  programme  committee  has  agreed  to  amend  its  rules  of 
procedure in order to reduce the time required for consultations concerning selection 
decisions which are subject to the consultative procedure. The committee now uses 
the  written  procedure  and  has  a  period  of  five  days  in  which  to  comment  on  the 
selection  decisions  submitted  for  its  opinion.  The  European  Parliament  has  also 

the  consequent 

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accepted  a  temporary  arrangement  which  reduced  the  time  required  for  its  right  of 
scrutiny from one month to five days during the previous summer period. 

While these ad hoc arrangements and temporary solutions have helped to solve the 
more immediate problems, experience has shown that it is important to put in place a 
long-term solution in order to be able to offer programme beneficiaries an assurance 
concerning the time required to award their grants. 

A definitive solution to the problem posed by making selection decisions subject to 
the  consultation  procedure  will  require  a  technical  amendment  to  Decision 
No 1719/2006/EC.  The  current  consultative  procedure  will  disappear  and  will  be 
replaced,  on  the  basis  of  a  Commission  declaration,  by  a  procedure  whereby  the 
Commission provides the programme committee and the European Parliament with 
immediate information on the selection decisions which it adopts. 

This draft amendment of Decision No 1719/2006/EC will mark a return to the system 
in  force  under  the  Youth  programme  from  2000  to  2006,  which  provided  for  the 
committee  and  the  European  Parliament  to  be  informed  immediately  of  the  same 
decisions as those currently under discussion.  

Moreover,  this  draft  amendment  of  Decision  No 1719/2006/EC  is  based  on  the 
legislator's original intention when that Decision was being negotiated.  

The  proposal  to  amend  Decision  No 1719/2006/EC  will  thus  make  it  possible  to 
reduce  by  two  to  three  months  the  time  required  for  grants  to  be  awarded  and  to 
ensure  effective  implementation  of  the  activities  and  measures  covered  by  the 
programme.  The  programme  committee  and 
the  European  Parliament  will 
immediately be informed of the selection decisions. This amendment will also help 
to strengthen the principles of simplification and proportionality of the procedures by 
making them faster and more efficient in the interests of grant recipients.  

Three  other  decisions  adopted  by  the  European  Parliament  and  the  Council,  which 
establish  programmes  in  the  areas  of  education,  citizenship  and  culture,  include 
similar  provisions  concerning  the  breakdown  of  selection  decisions  between  the 
management procedure and the consultative procedure and cause the same problems 
regarding the implementation of selection decisions. A similar revision of these basic 
instruments is planned in parallel with this proposal for an amendment. 

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2008/0023(COD) 

Proposal for a 

DECISION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL 

amending Decision No 1719/2006/EC establishing the Youth in Action programme for 
the period 2007 to 2013  

(Text with EEA relevance) 

THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, 

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Article 
149(4) thereof, 

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission1, 

Having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee2, 

Having regard to the opinion of the Committee of the Regions3, 

Acting in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 251 of the Treaty4, 

Whereas: 

(1) 

(2) 

Decision  No 1719/2006/EC  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council5 
established the Youth in Action programme for the period 2007 to 2013. 

Article  10(2)  of  Decision  No 1719/2006/EC  stipulates  that  other  measures  necessary 
for the implementation of the programme which are not listed in paragraph 1 shall be 
adopted in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 9(3) of that Decision, 
namely in accordance with the consultative procedure established by Council Decision 
No 1999/468/EC laying down the procedures for the exercise of implementing powers 
conferred on the Commission6. 

(3) 

This  wording  of  Decision  No 1719/2006/EC  results  in  particular  in  grant  award 
decisions other than those referred to in Article 10(1) of the Decision being subject to 
the consultative procedure and to the European Parliament's right of scrutiny.  

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6 

OJ C , , p. . 
OJ C , , p. . 
OJ C , , p. . 
OJ C , , p. . 
OJ L 327, 24.11.2006, p.30. 
OJ L 184, 17.07.1999, p.23. Decision as amended by Decision No 2006/512/EC (OJ L 200, 22.07.2006, 
p. 11). 

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(4) 

(5) 

Yet  these  selection  decisions  mainly  concern  small  grants  and  do  not  involve  any 
politically sensitive decision-making.  

These  procedural  requirements  add  two  to  three  months  to  the  process  of  awarding 
grants  to applicants. They cause many delays for recipients, place a disproportionate 
burden  on  the  programme's  administration  and  provide  no  added  value  given  the 
nature of the grants awarded.  

(6) 

It  is  therefore  necessary  to  amend  Decision  No 1719/2006/EC  in  order  to  allow 
selection decisions to be implemented more quickly and efficiently. 

HAVE DECIDED AS FOLLOWS: 

Article 1 

The  following  paragraph  1a  shall  be 
No 1719/2006/EC: 

incorporated 

into  Article  10  of  Decision 

"1a. Where the Commission adopts decisions, in accordance with the present Decision, on the 
award of grants other than those listed in paragraph 1, it shall adopt these decisions without 
the assistance of a committee." 

Article 2 

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

Done at Brussels, [… 

For the European Parliament 
The President 

For the Council 
The President 

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