OPINION OF THE COMMISSION  pursuant to Article 294(7)(c) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, on the European Parliament's amendments to the Council's position regarding the  proposal for a REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT  AND OF THE COUNCIL  amending Regulation (EC) No 1905/2006 establishing a financing instrument for development cooperation
Date: 2011-04-01
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: EU aid, EU financial instrument, cooperation policy, democratisation, human rights

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EUROPEAN COMMISSION 

Brussels, 1.4.2011 
COM(2011) 178 final 

2009/0060/A (COD) 

OPINION OF THE COMMISSION 

pursuant to Article 294(7)(c) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, 
on the European Parliament's amendments 
to the Council's position regarding the  
proposal for a 

REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT  
AND OF THE COUNCIL 

amending Regulation (EC) No 1905/2006 establishing a financing instrument for 
development cooperation 

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   EN 

 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
2009/0060/A (COD) 

OPINION OF THE COMMISSION 

pursuant to Article 294(7)(c) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, 
on the European Parliament's amendments 
to the Council's position regarding the  
proposal for a 

REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT  
AND OF THE COUNCIL 

amending Regulation (EC) No 1905/2006 establishing a financing instrument for 
development cooperation 

1. 

INTRODUCTION 

Article 294(7) (c) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union provides 
that  the  Commission  is  to  deliver  an  opinion  on  the  amendments  proposed  by  the 
European Parliament at second reading. The Commission sets out its opinion below 
on the amendments proposed by the Parliament. 

2. 

BACKGROUND 

Date on which the proposal was sent to Parliament and Council: 21 April 2009 

Document  COM(2009)  194  final  –  2009/0060A  COD  (Corrigendum  of  30 
November 2009, amended 1 December 2009 (entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty)) 

Date of Parliament's opinion at first reading: 21 October 2010 

Date on which the amended proposal was sent to Parliament and Council: none 

Date of political agreement on the Council position: none  

Date of formal adoption of the Council position: 10 December 2010 

Date of Parliament's opinion at second reading: 3 February 2011 

3. 

PURPOSE OF THE PROPOSAL 

The  various  Union  financial  instruments  for  external  action  contain  a  slight 
inconsistency  regarding  exceptions  to  the  principle  of  non-eligibility  for  Union 
financing of costs related to taxes, duties and other charges. 

Regulation (EC) No 1905/2006 establishing a financing instrument for development 
cooperation (DCI) and Regulation 1889/2006 establishing a financing instrument for 
the  promotion  of  democracy  and  human  rights  worldwide  (EIDHR)  do  not  provide 

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for some flexibility as regards the non-eligibility of such costs for funding. The other 
instruments  lay  down  that  EU  support  may  not  be  used  to  finance  these  costs  “in 
principle”:  they  therefore  allow  for  flexibility  on  a  case-by-case  basis,  and  the 
Authorising Officer responsible may, where appropriate, decide to accept eligibility 
in  the  interests  of  sound  financial  management  and  proper  implementation  of 
programmes  and  projects.  Indeed,  it  is  essential  to  preserve  flexibility  where  a 
deadlock  risks  to  occur  because  exemption  mechanisms  are  absent  or  impractical 
(owing,  for  example,  to  the  extreme  complexity  of  procedures  in  the  beneficiary 
country, or in the case of regional projects). 

Therefore  the  Commission,  in  the  framework  of  the  Mid-Term  Review  of  the 
financial  instruments  for  external  action,  has  proposed  to  align  the  relevant 
provisions of the DCI and EIDHR instruments on the other instruments by adding the 
wording “in principle” 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. 

4. 

OPINION  OF  THE  COMMISSION  ON  THE  AMENDMENTS  BY  THE  EUROPEAN 
PARLIAMENT 

4.1. 

Amendments accepted by the Commission 

N/a 

4.2. 

Amendments rejected by the Commission 

The  Commission  cannot  accept  the  amendments  relating  to  delegated  acts  and 
Comitology issues (Recital 2a; Articles 17(2), 21, 22(3), 23, 33, 34(1), 35, 35a, 35b). 

5. 

CONCLUSION 

The  discussions  with  the  co-legislators  shall  continue  after  the  second  reading,  in 
order to work on a consensual solution preferably giving substantive scrutiny rights 
to  the  European  Parliament  for  the  remainder  of  the  current  Multiannual 
Programming  Period  and  leaving  options  open  for  the  next  one,  including  the 
possibility  of  having  recourse  to  delegated  acts  while  fully  respecting  the  criteria 
established in Article 290 TFEU. 

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