COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT  pursuant to Article 294(6) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union  concerning the Council position on the adoption of a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Regulation (EC) No 1905/2006 establishing a financing instrument for development cooperation (original Commission proposal 'BAM amendments', COM(2010)102)
Date: 2010-12-13
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: ACP countries, EU aid, EU financing, aid system, development aid, import, tropical fruit

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EUROPEAN COMMISSION 

Brussels, 13.12.2010 
COM(2010) 787 final 

2010/0059 (COD) 

COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN 
PARLIAMENT 

pursuant to Article 294(6) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union 

concerning the 

Council position on the adoption of a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the 
Council amending Regulation (EC) No 1905/2006 establishing a financing instrument 
for development cooperation (original Commission proposal 'BAM amendments', 
COM(2010)102) 

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2010/0059 (COD) 

COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN 
PARLIAMENT 

pursuant to Article 294(6) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union 

concerning the 

Council position on the adoption of a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the 
Council amending Regulation (EC) No 1905/2006 establishing a financing instrument 
for development cooperation (original Commission proposal 'BAM amendments', 
COM(2010)102) 

1. 

BACKGROUND 

Date of transmission of the proposal to the European Parliament and 
to the Council 
(document COM(2010) 102 final – 2010/0059 COD) 

17 March 2010 

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

[21 October 2010]. 

Date of transmission of the amended proposal: 

. 

Date of adoption of the position of the Council: 

10 December 2010. 

2. 

OBJECTIVE OF THE PROPOSAL FROM THE COMMISSION 

African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries have traditionally had preferential access to 
the  European  Union  (EU)  market.  Further  to  rulings  by  the  WTO’s  Dispute  Settlement  and 
Appellate  Bodies,  the  Union’s  banana  trade  regime  had  to  be  brought  into  conformity  with 
WTO  law.  Thus,  the  Geneva  Agreement  on  Trade  in  Bananas  (GATB),  initialled  on  15 
December 2009, settles all banana-related trade disputes and achieves WTO-compliance. 

In the framework of the GATB, the European Commission agreed to propose a development 
programme  to  help  the  main  ACP  banana-exporting  countries  adapt  to  the  changes  in  the 
EU’s import regime. This ACP Banana Accompanying Measures (BAM) programme, the aim 
of  which  is  to  assist  the  restructuring  of  the  banana  sectors  in  the  ten  main  ACP  banana-
exporting countries, requires an amendment of Regulation (EC) No 1905/2006 establishing a 
financing instrument for development cooperation (DCI). 

The proposal is limited in time to the period 2010-2013 and is limited in scope in terms of its 
policy content and budgetary implications. It does not prejudge any future proposals for the 
new generation of external relations financial instruments under the next financial framework. 

3. 

COMMENTS ON THE COUNCIL POSITION 

3.1. 

General comments on the Council position 

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The  European  Commission  can  accept  the  Council  position  at  first  reading,  which  is  the 
outcome  of  constructive  negotiations  between  the  three  institutions.  It  is  in  line  with  the 
essential  objectives  and  the  underlying  approach  of  the  Commission’s  initial  proposal  and 
incorporates the European Parliament’s amendments on the substance of the BAM provisions. 

3.2. 

Main characteristics of the Council position 

The  position  reflects  the  following  key  elements  in  line  with  the  European  Parliament’s 
amendments: 

•  Recitals: A number of recitals have been expanded and others have been added to provide 

further explanations in relation to the context, content and objectives of the BAM.  

•  Specific focus on poverty, livelihoods, small farmers and specification on the viability 
of  strategies  (Article  17a  –  Paragraph  1):  The  Union’s  assistance  has  now  been 
explicitly  established  as  focusing  on  poverty  eradication  and  improvement  of  living  and 
working conditions of small farmers and other persons concerned. 

•  Outermost  regions  of  the  EU  and  overseas  countries  and  territories  (Article  17a  – 
Paragraph  1):  The  Regulation  now  refers  to  the  regional  environment  of  eligible  BAM 
countries, specifically the proximity to outermost regions of the EU and OCTs.  

•  Bilateral trade agreements with Latin American countries (Article 17a – Paragraph 
2):  Both  multilateral  and  bilateral  agreements  relating  to  bananas  concluded  or  in  the 
process of being concluded are mentioned.  

•  Distribution  of  funds  (Article  17a  –  Paragraph  2):  The  proposed  criteria  have  been 
arranged by order of importance. Moreover, the allocation criteria will use data of a period 
not longer than five years before 2010, as well as a Commission study assessing the impact 
of the trade agreements on ACP countries.  

•  Requirements  in  Multiannual  Support  Strategies  (Article  17a  –  Paragraph  3):  A 
number of requirements (e.g. environmental profiles and ILO standards) to be included in 
the support strategies in each country have been specified.  

•  Programme  assessment  (Article  17a  –  Paragraph  3):  The  progress  of  the  BAM 
its  end  and  appropriate 

programme  will  be  assessed  eighteen  months  before 
recommendations are to be made.  

In  addition,  an  amendment  originally  tabled  by  the  Commission  (COM(2009)194)  was 
introduced: 

•  Taxes and duties (Article 25 – Paragraph 2): The wording ‘in principle’ is added to the 
non-eligibility  of  taxes,  duties  and  other  charges  thus  signalling  the  possibility  of 
exceptions,  these  being  regulated  internally  by  the  instructions  given  to  Authorising 
Officers.  

3.3. 

Specific issues (amendments by Parliament not acceptable to Council) 

•  Delegated acts (Article 290 TFEU): Parliament seeks by its first reading amendments to 
apply  this  procedure  to  the  adoption  of  multiannual  strategy  papers  by  the  Commission. 
Despite  long  and  intensive  negotiations  (notably  trilogues  held  on  2  February,  23  March 

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and 20 October) it was not possible to reach agreement on this issue. The Council has not 
accepted  these  amendments  in  its  positions  at  first  reading.  The  Commission  is  ready  to 
continue efforts to reconcile the positions of the institutions and to find ways to meet the 
substantive  concerns  behind  Parliament’s  amendments,  in  particular  in  ensuring  that 
Parliament can exercise appropriate oversight over the formulation of external cooperation 
strategies and the proper implementation of external financial instruments.  

4. 

CONCLUSION 

The European Commission can accept the Council position at first reading. 

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