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401
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As regards Iceland and Norway, this Framework Decision constitutes a development of the provisions of the Schengen acquis which falls within the area referred to in Article 1 of Council Decision 1999/437/EC of 17 May 1999 on certain arrangements for the application of the Agreement concluded by the Council of the European Union and the Republic of Iceland and the Kingdom of Norway concerning the association of those two States with the implementation, application and development of the Schengen acquis. The procedures set out in that Agreement have been followed in respect of this Framework Decision.
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402
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This Framework Decision does not imply any obligation on the part of the Member States to provide information and intelligence to be used before a judicial authority as evidence, nor does it give any right to use such information or intelligence for that purpose. Where a Member State has obtained information or intelligence in accordance with this Framework Decision, and wants to use it as evidence in a criminal proceeding, it has to obtain consent from the Member State that provided the information or intelligence, where necessary through use of instruments regarding judicial cooperation in force between the Member States.
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403
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Judgment of the Court (Second Chamber) of 30 September 2004 in Case C-319/03 (reference for a preliminary ruling from the Tribunal administratif de Paris): Serge Briheche v Ministre de l'Intérieur, Ministre de l'Éducation nationale and Ministre de la Justice (Social policy — Equal treatment of men and women — Article 141(4) EC — Directive 76/207/EEC — Conditions of access to public-sector employment — Provisions reserving to widows who have not remarried the benefit of the exemption from the age-limit for obtaining access to that employment)
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404
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Failure of a Member State to fulfil its obligations Directive 2001/18/ECDeliberate release into the environment of genetically modified organisms Failure to transpose within the prescribed period Language of the case: French In Case C-417/03: Commission of the European Communities (Agent: B. Stromsky) v Kingdom of Belgium (Agent: E. Dominkovits) — action brought on 3 October 2003 under Article 226 EC for failure to fulfil obligations — the Court (Fourth Chamber), composed of: J.N. Cunha Rodrigues, President of the Chamber, K. Schiemann (Rapporteur) and M. Ilešič, Judges; A. Tizzano, Advocate General; R.
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405
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Failure of Member State to fulfil obligations Directives 2001/12/EC and 2001/13/ECThe Community's railways Development Fair, uniform and non-discriminatory access to the infrastructure Licensing of railway undertakings Common scheme Failure to transpose within the period prescribed Language of the case: French In Case C-481/03: Commission of the European Communities (Agent: W. Wils) v Grand Duchy of Luxembourg (Agents: S. Schreiner and M. Thill) — action under Article 226 EC for failure to fulfil obligations, brought on 19 November 2003 — the Court (Sixth Chamber), composed of: J.-P. Puissochet, President of the Chamber, A. La Pergola and U.
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406
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Does the obligation of residence in the State competent to award unemployment benefits, justified in domestic law by the needs of monitoring compliance with the statutory requirements for the payment of benefits to unemployed persons, satisfy the requirement of proportionality which must be observed in the pursuit of that objective of general interest in that it constitutes a limitation on the freedom of movement and residence of all European citizens under Articles 17 and 18 of the Treaty establishing the European Community?
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407
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Application for annulment Regulation (EC) No 1774/2002Health rules concerning animal by-products not intended for human consumption Manifest inadmissibility Language of the case: German In Case T-391/02, Bundesverband der Nahrungsmittel- und Speiseresteverwertung e V, established in Bochum (Germany), Josef Kloh, resident in Eichenried (Germany), represented by R. Steiling and S. Wienhues, lawyers, against European Parliament (Agents: H. Duintjer Tebbens and U. Rösslein, with an address for service in Luxembourg) and Council of the European Union (Agents: J.-P. Hix and F.
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408
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The first five years are, therefore, financed under the 9th EDF. The 9th EDF was set at EUR 13800 million, including EUR 13500 million allocated to the ACP States in accordance with the first Financial Protocol included in the Cotonou Agreement, EUR 175 million allocated to the OCT (provided for by the EU Council Decision on the association of the OCT) and EUR 125 million reserved for the European Commission to cover expenses in connection with implementing the 9th EDF resources (provided for in the internal agreement for the 9th EDF).
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409
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In the first column of tables 3.1.1 and 3.1.2, the allocation for Regional cooperation (EUR 880.79 million) corresponds to the Commission’s regional cooperation target for ACP States only (EUR 912.23 million) minus the amount transferred during the years 2000, 2001 and 2002 to the general reserve according the transitional measures (i.e. EUR 1 million, EUR 1.36 million and EUR 0.16 million) and 28.9 million transferred to 9th EDF following the entry in force of Cotonou during 2003.
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410
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These are primarily projects for which contracts have not yet been awarded. This may be because the tender procedure had to be cancelled to comply with the rules of sound financial management (non-compliant bids, procedural failures by the beneficiary administration) or the start has been delayed (e.g. amendments had to be made to the financing agreement). In the case of budgetary support/structural adjustment projects, audits on previous instalments and/or those needed for payment of instalments have not been completed yet.
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411
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It is necessary to set up a procedure to carry out technical amendments to the Annexes to this recommendation in an effective manner, provided that such amendments neither change the underlying conceptual framework nor affect the reporting burden of reporting agents in Member States. Account will be taken of the views of the Statistics Committee of the ESCB (hereinafter the STC) when following this procedure. NCBs and other competent national authorities may propose such technical amendments to the Annexes to this recommendation through the Statistics Committee and its relevant working group.
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412
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In accordance with the provisions of the Treaties (Article 248(4) of the EC Treaty and Article 160c(4) of the EAEC treaty) and Articles 143 and 181(2) of the Financial Regulation of 25 June 2002 applicable to the general budget of the European Communities, and Articles 116 and 135(2) of the Financial Regulation of 27 March 2003 applicable to the European Development Funds, the Court of Auditors of the European Communities, at its meeting of 6 and 7 October 2004, adopted its
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413
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The audit of transactions was based on the documentation available at the Commission in Brussels and, where appropriate, in the Delegations in ACP States, and was also based on on-the-spot audits carried out in six ACP States in order to verify the reality of works, supplies and services. It should be noted that the Court's audit of the legality and regularity of budget support expenditure stopped at the stage where the aid was paid to the beneficiary countries' budgets (see paragraphs 7, 19 and 46). The audit did not bring any major problems to light.
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414
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The information sent in by the Member States does not allow the amounts recovered during the year to be assigned to the year in which the entitlements arose. Hence the column for amounts received against carryovers in the table Summary of the implementation of general budget revenue, 2003 includes amounts received during the year and the amount of entitlements cancelled and replaced by the new amount of entitlements declared by the Member States when making their new statement. A value reduction is applied to own resources entitlements (see explanatory note to asset item VII.B.2 in the balance sheet).
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415
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The Court found for the Sapard systems that key concepts were included, that procedures were well-documented, that the systems which existed on paper were generally working in practice and that for most files reviewed the checking procedures were followed. A difficulty was that other related systems, which provided input to the Sapard systems but which did not receive prior approval by the Commission, were not of the same quality. This was in particular the case for the national checks on compliance with quality, health and environmental standards, which were found to be insufficient (see paragraphs 61 to 80).
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416
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Key implementation problems were that potential beneficiaries lacked own resources, had difficulties in obtaining credit and were faced with heavy administrative procedures. The result of this was that Sapard favoured the financially strong and the better organised with sufficient capital or access to loans. For smaller farms and firms which have the greatest efforts to make in meeting standards to modernise and increase efficiency, this was a major handicap (see paragraphs 81 to 97).
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417
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The Commission could not make accurate estimates of the amounts included for payments in the budgets for the first three years. Up to the end of 2002, it made 850,8 million euro available for payments, of which only 154,4 million euro (18 %) were used, while the other part was cancelled. The Commission noted that the payment estimates were uncertain because they depended on factors which were out of its control and there was no previous experience in managing external aid in a decentralised manner. Thus, the amounts could not be based on sufficiently detailed documentation and calculations.
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418
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Since the Commission had not set out the methods for managing the programme either as part of its proposal for the Sapard Regulation in March 1998, or during the subsequent period, it needed to do this after the adoption of the Regulation in June 1999 by the Council. In January 2000, the Commission adopted a communication indicating that Sapard should be managed decentrally. The reasons given by the Commission as to why it decided upon decentralised implementation were:
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419
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The Commission's approach for managing the programme can be illustrated by the following. As part of the 2001 discharge, the European Parliament criticised the Commission for under-implementation of the Sapard budget, because payments to final beneficiaries were very low. The Commission replied that expenditure is essentially a function of how rapidly beneficiaries incur expenditure, which the Commission could not control. The Commission gave a commitment to speed up implementation, of which the main result was that letters were sent to beneficiary countries asking them what the Commission could do.
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420
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The Court's audit identified several areas where different practices are applied in the Sapard countries, some with good results but others which are counter-productive (see paragraphs 21, 39, 80, 90, 95, 103 and 109). The Commission has helped by the organisation of seminars and its daily contacts with the Sapard countries, but this does not guarantee that implementation problems are actively and systematically identified and that action is taken in order to ensure that the best practices are implemented in all 10 countries (see also paragraphs 85 and 86).
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421
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The Sapard Regulation stipulates in Article 4(3) that the countries concerned shall ensure that priority is given to improving market efficiency, quality and health standards and measures to create new employment in rural areas, in compliance with the provisions on the protection of the environment. The Court's audit found that 44 out of the 46 projects reviewed for the two measures investments in agricultural holdings and improving the processing and marketing of agricultural products increased or modernised production.
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422
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Even if Sapard mainly concerned the purchase of equipment, it could still have contributed to upgrading to EU standards if procedures had been strictly applied. This was not the case: requirements and checks for minimum standards are defined in the national legislation. They are the same for all agricultural producers and processing plants, whether they have a Sapard project or not. The Court's audit found that hygiene and environmental checks by the national authorities were insufficient. Further details are provided in paragraphs 70 to 76.
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423
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The Court's on-the-spot audits of the priority creation of employment in rural areas revealed several cases where due to modernisation of equipment using Sapard investments fewer jobs were needed. However, the monitoring of Sapard did not take into account any negative effects on rural employment from investments in the agri-food sector. For the few projects where the number of jobs to be created was quantified, it was found that these were based on general intentions, which depended on the expected market developments rather than on the direct effect of the Sapard project.
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424
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The programming exercise, which was entirely new for Sapard countries, required them, inter alia, to describe the strategy, select priorities, describe the measures and indicate the financial resources to be used. Nonetheless, all Sapard programmes for agriculture and rural development were ready and approved by the Commission in the autumn of 2000. It took no longer to establish Sapard programmes than it took for Member States to have their Structural Fund programmes approved. Monitoring structures were also set up within an acceptable time.
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425
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Project applicants are required to comply with health and environmental standards, both prior to and after project implementation. As part of its decisions to decentralise management of aid, the Commission accepted the national checks on compliance with quality, health and environmental standards without reviewing who checked what, how or when. The Commission did not require the Sapard countries to provide such information as part of the Sapard procedures. The only check required by the Commission and actually performed by Sapard Agencies was the presence of certificates issued by the responsible public body.
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426
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No information was available from the Commission or the national authorities on the extent of environmental checks performed in Sapard countries. In order to assess the sufficiency of what was checked and how, the Court requested meetings with representatives from the bodies which performed such inspections. In Poland, such details were not provided and consequently the Court can have no opinion on how Poland ensures compliance with the provisions on the protection of the environment as required by the Sapard Regulation.
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427
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Another example of this is that when the Sapard Agencies find that an application is incomplete, beneficiaries are given the opportunity to provide the missing documents. The time available for this is often insufficient. Consequently, the application is rejected. For instance, only one document was missing for the application for a project to upgrade a local road in Poland. This document, the budget for the following year, required a meeting of the municipality's Council, which could not be held within the time allowed. The project was rejected.
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428
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Thus, the Bulgarian Sapard Agency reported to the Monitoring Committee in 2003 thatthere were cases of beneficiaries presenting counterfeit invoices from contractors, especially for consultancy services. The Court believes that the 12 % limit is far too generous without further explanation by the beneficiary of why a fixed maximum amount for a business plan should be set, and that beneficiaries should be actively encouraged to use free or cheaper services provided by the agricultural advisory services in their own countries, which had been developed using Phare funding.
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429
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The Court identified problems in several of the projects reviewed. For instance, there were cases where beneficiaries applied for a second project, for which they again included the costs of a business plan, despite the fact that the second plan was almost identical to the first. There were even cases where the second project was a simple extension of the original project, and where the costs of the business plan exceeded those charged to the first project. In all cases the invoiced amount was paid without analysis by the Sapard Agencies.
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430
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The Court found that, despite the large amounts involved, insufficient checks were made. There were no checks on whether the offers were comparable, and whether the best offer was selected. Except in Bulgaria, where initial steps were being undertaken, there were no comparisons with reference prices, which would allow Sapard assistance to be limited if unjustified costs were claimed. The Commission's audits did not address this issue. That such checks are required is shown by the audit findings set out below.
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431
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The Sapard budgets for 2000-2004 were drawn up on the basis of the most reliable information available at that time. The sizeable challenges posed by the need to set up an entirely new system and the lack of experience of the Sapard countries in this area meant that implementation took time, but in most cases no longer than could be reasonably expected, given experience from similar exercises in the Member States. The Commission is well aware of the reasons why it took longer in some countries to set up the administrative system for implementing Sapard.
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432
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Up to 31 March 2004, the Commission examined 107 files in eight Sapard countries and visited 36 projects on the spot. In some cases the Commission has also identified that the documentation of checks needs to be improved and has made appropriate recommendations. However, extensive evidence has been found of completed checklists and handwritten reports giving sufficient detail of the work performed. These results indicate that the situation is improving since the Court's audit.
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433
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According to information from the Sapard countries, at this stage a sufficient number of support applications has been received by the Sapard agencies (including measures with a maximum aid rate of 50 %) to commit in at least seven out of the eight acceding countries all available money for the 2000-2003 period at the date of transition to the post-accession regime. In Bulgaria the most recent information indicates that the full amount available during the whole 2000-2007 period of the programme under the measures concerning investments in agricultural holdings and in processing and marketing will soon have been committed.
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434
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Following its conformity audit in Bulgaria, and in the light of the Court’s observations, the Commission recommended to the national authorities to implement a system allowing them to check that the amounts paid for this purpose are within reasonable limits in absolute value, and proportionate to the services effectively supplied in comparison to average costs charged for similar services in Bulgaria. The Commission notes that the Bulgarian authorities have identified various problems themselves and have taken action to prevent undue payments.
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435
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Zhucheng Huaxiang Chemical Co., Ltd, a Chinese company whose exports to the Community of furfuryl alcohol are subject to an individual duty rate of EUR 97/tonne by the aforementioned Regulation, has informed the Commission that on 17 December 2003 it changed its name to Zhucheng Taisheng Chemical Co., Ltd. The company has argued that the change of name does not affect the right of the company to benefit from the individual duty rate applied to the company under its previous name of Zhucheng Huaxiang Chemical Co., Ltd.
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436
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the budget of EUR 60 million indicated in Call FP6-2002-IST-C, which is expected to be committed for successful proposals submitted by the cut-off dates up to and including 14 September 2004, is supplemented with an additional EUR 39 million (to cover CA, SSA and STREP full proposals submitted by the cut-off/closure date of 5 January 2005 and STREP full proposals submitted by the cut-off date of 10 May 2005). Indicatively, the additional budget will be evenly spread among the two cut-off dates in 2005.
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437
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On 25 November 2004, the Commission received a notification of a proposed concentration pursuant to Article 4 of Council Regulation (EC) No 139/2004 by which the undertaking(s) Cassa Depositi e Prestiti Spa, Italy (CDP) acquires within the meaning of Article 3(1)(b) of the Council Regulation joint control of STM Microelectronics, Holland (STM) at present jointly controlled by Areva SA, France (Areva) and France Telecom, France (FT) on the one hand, Finmeccanica, Italia on the other hand, by way of purchase of shares from Finmeccanica.
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438
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Slots have been reserved at Paris (Orly) airport for the scheduled Paris (Orly) — Annecy service pursuant to Article 9 of Council Regulation (EEC) No 95/93 of 18 January 1993 on common rules for the allocation of slots at Community airports, as amended by Regulation (EC) No 793/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 April 2004. Air carriers interested in this route can obtain information about the allocation of these slots from the Paris airports coordinator.
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439
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The first indent of Article 18(1)(b)(i) of Directive 93/104 is to be construed as requiring consent to be expressly and freely given by each worker individually if the 48-hour maximum period of weekly working time, as laid down in Article 6 of the directive, is to be validly extended. In that connection, it is not sufficient that the relevant worker's employment contract refers to a collective agreement which permits such an extension.
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440
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Article 6, point 2, of Directive 93/104 must be interpreted, in circumstances such as those in the main proceedings, as precluding legislation in a Member State the effect of which, as regards periods of duty time (Arbeitsbereitschaft) completed by emergency workers in the framework of the emergency medical service of a body such as the Deutsches Rotes Kreuz, is to permit, including by means of a collective agreement or works agreement based on such an agreement, the 48-hour maximum period of weekly working time laid down by that provision to be exceeded;
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441
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Declares that, by restricting the concept of collective redundancies to redundancies for structural, technological or cyclical reasons, and by failing to extend that concept to dismissals for any reason not related to the individual workers concerned, the Portuguese Republic has failed to fulfil its obligations under Articles 1 and 6 of Council Directive 98/59/EC of 20 July 1998 on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to collective redundancies;
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442
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Failure of a Member State to fulfil obligations Directives 75/442/EEC and 91/689/EEC‘Quantity of waste’Exemption from permit requirement Language of the case: Italian Provisional translation; the definitive translation will be published in the European Court Reports In Case C-103/02: Commission of the European Communities (Agents: R. Wainwright and R. Amorosi) v Italian Republic (Agent: I.M. Braguglia, assisted by M. Fiorilli) — action under Article 226 EC for failure to fulfil obligations, brought on 20 March 2002 — the Court (First Chamber), composed of: P. Jann, President of the Chamber, A. Rosas, R.
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443
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If the compensation of depositors prescribed by Directive 94/19/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 May 1994 on deposit-guarantee schemes is ensured, Article 3(2) to (5) of that directive cannot be interpreted as precluding a national rule to the effect that the functions of the national authority responsible for supervising credit institutions are to be fulfilled only in the public interest, which under national law precludes individuals from claiming compensation for damage resulting from defective supervision on the part of that authority.
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444
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Maritime transport Freedom to provide services Maritime cabotage Language of the case: Greek Provisional translation; the definitive translation will be published in the European Court Reports In Case C-288/02: action under Article 226 EC for failure to fulfil obligations, brought on 9 August 2002, between Commission of the European Communities (Agents: K. Simonsson and M. Patakia) and Hellenic Republic (Agents: E.-M. Mamouna) — the Court (Second Chamber), composed of: C.W.A. Timmermans (Rapporteur), President of the Chamber, C. Gulmann and R. Schintgen, Judges; A.
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445
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in circumstances where all the contracts of employment of the other employees of an undertaking make provision for the length of weekly working time and for the organisation of working time, they do not preclude a contract of part-time employment of workers of the same undertaking, such as that in the main proceedings, under which the length of weekly working time and the organisation of working time are not fixed but are dependent on quantitative needs in terms of work to be performed determined on a case-by-case basis, such workers being entitled to accept or refuse that work.
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446
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Declares that, by failing to adopt all the measures necessary to comply with its obligations under Articles 1(4) and (5), 2(1), (2) and (4), 3(1) to (4), 4(1) to (3) and 5(2) of Council Directive 91/689/EEC of 12 December 1991 on hazardous waste (OJ 1991 L 377, p. 20), the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland has failed to fulfil its obligations under that Directive and under the EC Treaty;
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447
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Judgment of the Court (Second Chamber) of 7 October 2004 in Case C-239/03: Commission of the European Communities v French Republic (Failure of a Member State to fulfil obligations — Convention for the protection of the Mediterranean Sea against pollution — Articles 4(1) and (8) — Protocol for the protection of the Mediterranean Sea against pollution from land-based sources — Article 6(1) and (3) — Failure to adopt appropriate measures to prevent, abate and combat heavy and prolonged pollution of the Étang de Berre — Discharge authorisation)
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448
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Failure by a Member State to fulfil its obligations Directive 89/665/EECReview procedures for the award of public supply and public works contracts Incomplete transposition Language of the case: Portuguese In Case C-275/03: Commission of the European Communities (Agents: A. Caeiros and K. Wiedner) v Portuguese Republic (Agents: L. Fernandes and C. Gagliardi Graça ) — action under Article 226 EC for failure to fulfil obligations, brought on 25 June 2003 — the Court (Third Chamber), composed of: A. Rosas, President of the Chamber, A.
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449
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Failure to fulfil obligations Directive 1999/22/ECKeeping of wild animals in zoos Failure to transpose within the prescribed time-limit Language of the case: German In Case C-339/03: Commission of the European Communities (Agents: J. Schieferer and M. van Beek) v the Federal Republic of Germany (Agent: M. Lumma) — action under Article 226 EC for failure to fulfil obligations — the Court (Fourth Chamber), composed of J. N. Cunha Rodrigues (Rapporteur), Acting President of the Fourth Chamber, E.
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450
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Failure of a Member State to fulfil obligations Directives 2001/12/EC, 2001/13/EC and 2001/14/ECCommunity railways Development Licensing of railway undertakings Allocation of capacity, infrastructure charges and safety certification Failure to transpose within the prescribed period Language of the case: German In Case C-477/03: action under Article 226 EC for failure to fulfil obligations brought on 17 November 2003 by Commission of the European Communities (Agents: C. Schmidt and W. Wils) against Federal Republic of Germany (Agents: W.-D. Plessing and M. Lumma) — the Court (Sixth Chamber), composed of: A. Borg Barthet, President of the Chamber, J.-P.
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451
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in the alternative, annul Article 4 of the decision and substantially reduce the fine imposed, taking account of the grounds and facts put forward in the present notice of appeal, whether as a consequence of the errors of law committed by the Court of First Instance in assessing the appropriateness of the penalty, or as a consequence of the annulment, in whole or in part, of the judgment, with particular (but not exclusive) regard to the findings of the Court of First Instance in relation to the infringements found in Articles 1 and 2 of the decision;
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452
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The Commission notes that, by making those contracts in which the works component is prevalent from the economic point of view but is clearly ancillary to other services subject to the rules on public works contracts, Article 2(1) of Law No 109/94 and Article 3(3) of Legislative Decree No 157 of 17 March 1995 have the effect of removing numerous public service and supply contracts from the purview of the relevant Community legislation, specifically Directives 92/50/EEC and 93/36/EEC.
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453
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The French Republic is also in breach of its obligations by excluding from the scope of the French Code of Public Procurement contracts concerning loans or financial undertakings, whether intended to cover financing or liquidity requirements, not connected with real property transactions. Those contracts relate to the provision of services and thus fall within the scope of the directives. Nor may they be regarded as covered by the exception concerning securities and other financial instruments.
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454
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annul Articles 1 to 6 of Council Regulation (EC) No 1415/2004 of 19 July 2004 fixing the maximum annual fishing effort for certain fishing areas and fisheries, which implement Articles 3 and 6 of Council Regulation (EC) No 1954/2003 of 4 November 2003 on the management of the fishing effort relating to certain Community fishing areas and resources and modifying Regulation (EEC) No 2847/93 and repealing Regulations (EC) No 685/95 and (EC) No 2027/95; and
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455
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Interim measures Application for suspension of operation Admissibility of an application brought by an intervener Language of the case: German In Case T-310/03 R: Kreuzer Medien Gmb H, established in Leipzig (Germany), represented by M. Lenz, lawyer, supported by Falstaff Verlags Gmb H, established in Klosterneuburg (Austria), represented by W.-G. Schärf, lawyer, against the European Parliament (Agents: E. Waldherr and U. Rösslein, with an address for service in Luxembourg) and the Council of the European Union (Agent: E. Karlsson), supported by the Commission of the European Communities (Agents: M.-J.
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456
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In connexion with the same document, the applicant also claims that the Commission has violated Article 4 paragraph 4 of Regulation 1049/2001 and Articles 5 paragraphs 3 and 4 of Decision 2001/937 by failing to assess the justification advanced by the third party for refusing to consent to disclosure, and failing to reveal to the applicant elements of that assessment. The applicant also argues that the Commission violated Article 4 paragraph 6 of Regulation 1049/2001 by failing to consider the possibility of granting partial access and that, finally, it has violated its duty to state reasons for its decision.
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457
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Article 1(5) of Commission Regulation No 1429/2004 amending Commission Regulation No 753/2002 replaces Annex II to the amended Regulation No 753/2002 by a new annex (Annex I) which maintains, for wine derived from the grape type Tocai friulano (item no 103 in the new Annex I), on the basis of an added explanatory note, the limitation in time up to 31 March 2007 on the use of that name, as already contained in Annex II to Regulation No 753/2002. The present application seeks the annulment of the explanatory note that refers to the use of the name Tocai friulano.
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458
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Article 18(1), second paragraph, provides for a specific obligation of confidentiality versus persons or authorities other than those within the Community institutions and bodies or in the Member States whose functions require them to know the information referred to. It is assumed that this does not affect the rights of data subjects to have access to personal data relating to them, unless one of the relevant exceptions is found to apply, which should in principle only be determined on a case-by-case basis (Article 13 of Directive 95/46/EC and Article 20 of Regulation (EC) No 45/2001).
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459
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The Commission remained firmly opposed to an extension of the operating aid at the end of 2000. However, the Commission did agree to bring the case to the WTO in order to seek remedy against unfair Korean practices if a negotiated solution with Korea satisfactory to the EU could not be achieved by May 2001. In addition the Commission proposed in parallel a defensive temporary support mechanism specifically designed to counter unfair Korean practices for the period necessary for the conclusion of the WTO procedure.
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460
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For the European shipbuilders, the objective is to improve leadership in selected market segments by strengthening competitiveness through innovation and selective R&D, greater customer focus, production optimisation and the improvement of the industry structure. According to the industry, objectives in which the EU should be directly involved include the promotion of advanced financing and guarantee schemes, higher safety and environmental standards in relation to new high quality vessel orders and the maintenance and enhancement of the protection of European intellectual property.
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461
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on naval shipbuilding the Commission supports the recommendations which are in line with its Defence Communication of March 2003 on preparations for a European Defence Agency in 2004 in order to strengthen the defence and technological base and competitiveness of the defence industry. With respect to consolidation among naval shipyards, it is worthwhile to note that privately owned yards point to the structural differences between European yards, claiming that private ownership is a pre-requisite to succeed in any consolidation effort;
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462
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It will also be necessary to consider the possibility of re-introducing the JEV programme or a programme based on a similar principle, if and when after enlargement possibilities arise for creating transnational ventures within the EU and the EEA. Thus there should be a policy to support transnational ventures between SMEs so that it is possible to achieve this important goal, without the excessive red tape that puts a strain on the JEV programme and was a reason for its failure.
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463
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As a general rule a competitive market will provide for a natural drive towards more customer mobility. Banks must facilitate the transfer of accounts as far as possible by forwarding all relevant details to customers. The Committee fully encourages self-regulation aimed at increasing customer mobility. In addition the Committee is in favour of transparency on closing fees. Those fees should be reasonable and geared to the real administrative costs involved in closing and transferring accounts. In addition, they should be communicated before a customer opens an account with a bank.
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464
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The Committee in its opinion on the Commission Green Paper on Alternative dispute resolution in civil and commercial law supports FIN-NET since its inception by the Commission. It demonstrates that cross-border conciliation schemes can work efficiently and without bureaucracy using existing mechanisms. The efficiency of FIN-NET owes its success to the fact that it covered the then novel area of cross-border payment ADR, while building on existing non-cross-border schemes. In the payments area, procedure speed is of particular importance for the consumer.
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465
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Organised crime also stands behind fraudulent transactions. The 150 euro threshold has the potential of encouraging fraud. Therefore, the Committee believes that a risk-based threshold should be introduced. The cardholder's liability in the above mentioned case should be a percentage of the total credit limit of his card to which he agrees in his contract. Such a fair approach would reflect the true risk and cost, while at the same time more efficiently discouraging fraud, thus reducing the common cost.
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466
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The EESC supported EU action to ensure a reciprocal and collaborative arrangement with the US giving equal treatment for all cargoes (containers) originating from the EU and to transfer/integrate the bilateral arrangements in a multilateral agreement under the auspices of the World Customs Organisation (WCO). Similar reciprocal arrangements should be pursued with other regions/countries supported by a system of exchange of information. Where necessary, the agreements should provide for technical cooperation and financial aid to developing countries to upgrade their port security infrastructure.
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467
|
In its present form the Directive focuses on administrative aspects. The directive does not define harmonised procedures for the application of the details related to the Annexes. Instead, it provides the possibility for future adaptations. The EESC realises the urgency to enhance security beyond the ship/port interface but underlines that it would have been more prudent to take stock of the progress achieved thus far at international level in this regard, and in particular in IMO, ILO and World Customs Organisation (WCO) and to provide prompt and clear guidance for the realisation of its objective.
| |
468
|
Seaports are critical national assets. Measures aimed at securing the entire port area logically qualify as being of general public interest. Public funding of such measures would, therefore, not be subject to the State aid rules of the EU treaty. Given the fact that Member States, however, have the choice in granting public support for such measures or not, a harmonised approach should be developed at EU level to avoid distortion of competition. This approach, which also takes into account financing of port facility security measures, should be based on the following principles:
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469
|
In technical terms, however, none of the potential future energy supply options and technologies is perfect. None is wholly free of damaging environmental impacts. None is sufficient to cover all needs, and it is difficult to adequately gauge their long-term potential. Nor, therefore, can a forward-looking, responsible European energy policy bank on being able to secure an adequate energy supply along the lines of the objectives set out above by using only a small number of energy sources. This is also true given the need to save energy and use it rationally.
| |
470
|
Thus, no secure, long-term, environmentally sound and economically viable energy supply exists — either in Europe or elsewhere in the world. The key to potential solutions can lie only in further intensive research and development. Energy research is the strategic element and essential mainstay of any long-term, successful energy policy. In the opinion referred to, the Committee also recommended a consistent European energy research programme, key elements of which are admittedly already contained in the Sixth Framework Programme for research and development and the Euratom research and training programme, but with significantly increased R&D investment.
| |
471
|
The pioneering role in this process was played by the European JET project (Joint European Torus), the technical blueprint for which appeared twenty or so years later. During this project's experimental phase not only were the required plasma temperatures achieved for the first time, but in the 1990s, using the deuterium-tritium fusion process, it proved possible to release significant amounts of fusion energy (some 20 megajoules per experiment) in a controlled manner. Thus, for a short period, the plasma's fusion energy output almost equalled the heating energy fed into the plasma.
| |
472
|
Building on an initiative launched seventeen years ago by President Gorbachev and President Reagan — later joined by President Mitterrand — a plan emerged for a joint global project to develop, and, possibly also as a joint project, to build and operate ITER — the first test reactor to provide a net energy gain from the plasma (i.e. where the plasma's power output from fusion processes is considerably higher than the energy fed into the plasma). The purpose of ITER is to demonstrate the technological and scientific feasibility of producing useable fusion energy by means of a burning plasma.
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473
|
These relate mainly to the internal fuel cycle (the breeding and treatment of tritium); power extraction; the capacity of certain materials to withstand plasma load (plasma-wall interaction) and neutron load; repair technology; the optimisation of remote operations and technological solutions for extending the combustion time with a view, ultimately, to achieving a fully continuous burning process. Another particularly important task is to develop appropriate low-activation structural materials – or structural materials that are activated only for short periods. More work must be done on that front, given the need to test and verify such materials over long periods.
| |
474
|
As Kofi Annan, Secretary-General of the United Nations, said at the European Parliament on 29 January 2004, international cooperation is the best approach to managing the rising international migration of the coming years. Only through cooperation – bilateral, region, and global – can we build the partnerships between receiver and sender countries that are in the interests of both; explore innovations to make migration a driver of development; fight smugglers and traffickers effectively; and agree on common standards for the treatment of immigrants and the management of migration
| |
475
|
The EESC calls upon the President of the Commission and the current Presidency of the Council to undertake the necessary political initiatives to ensure that the Member States ratify this convention within the coming 24 months and that the EU also ratify the convention when the Constitutional Treaty authorises it to sign international agreements. To facilitate ratification, the Commission should carry out a study analysing national and Community legislation relating to the convention. Furthermore, the social partners and other civil society organisations will join with the EESC and the Commission in promoting ratification.
| |
476
|
The Committee would also stress that because of their permanent natural handicaps sparsely populated regions such as islands, Arctic areas and upland areas are still pursuing the goal of completing the single market. Regional policy and rural development policy must reflect this in the way in which they are implemented, not least by proposing a higher level of co-financing to take account of these constraints. The Committee is also currently working on an own-initiative opinion looking more specifically at how to better integrate regions suffering from natural handicaps into the regional economy.
| |
477
|
CAP reform has introduced the principle that direct aid to agriculture is conditional on compliance with European legislation (nineteen directives and regulations) on the environment, public health, animal and plant health and animal welfare. The Committee stresses that this new element of the first CAP pillar must not be confused with agri-environmental measures (AEM). AEM are not regulatory, but support farmers' voluntary, participatory activities aimed at using farming methods designed to protect the environment and conserve natural areas.
| |
478
|
The performance reserve for the Structural Funds introduced as part of Agenda 2000 is seen more as a measure used in frustration when the administrative implementation of programmes is not going according to plan. Moreover, allocations of this reserve based solely on appropriation take-up could be harmful by encouraging rapid planning followed by a strict monitoring of implementation. This is not consistent with multiannual rural development programming. The Committee therefore feels that the performance reserve principle should not be applied to future rural development policy.
| |
479
|
Enlargement will increase the disparity between the most and least prosperous Member States. Although the new Member States have recently grown faster than the EU15, the gap in GDP per capita remains quite pronounced. In 2002, only Malta, Cyprus, the Czech Republic and Slovenia had a GDP per capita in PPS above 60 % of the EU15 average. In Poland, Estonia and Lithuania it was around 40 %, in Latvia, almost 35 % and in Bulgaria and Romania, around 25 % of the average.
| |
480
|
This part of the report presents the results of cohesion policy intervention for the 1994-1999 period and the preliminary results on programme implementation during the 2000-2006 programming period. Various aspects of cohesion policy are examined, such as the contribution of structural policies to supporting sustained growth in lagging regions, the effects of these policies outside Objective 1 regions, the specific role of the European Social Fund (ESF) in promoting education, employment and training, the role of structural polices in encouraging cooperation and the contribution made by pre-accession support in the new Member States.
| |
481
|
Detailed analyses indicate that R&D expenditure on innovation and technology transfer seems to have been particularly effective in creating new jobs as well as in saving existing ones. Nevertheless, with a few exceptions, the capacity to maintain a steady flow of innovation in these regions is considerably lower than in the most developed regions of the EU. This contrasts with the extent to which they are endowed with infrastructure, in particular transport and telecommunication systems, and human capital. Substantial efforts have also been made to reconvert old industrial sites and improve the environment, especially in urban areas.
| |
482
|
A number of Community initiatives to promote cooperation and networking have done much to complement cohesion policy. INTERREG II helped to encourage networking between countries, the exchange of experience between regions and the dissemination of knowledge. Nonetheless, in terms of reducing isolation, results have been mixed, i.e. land-based links and port facilities have improved significantly in some border areas (e.g. in Greece, Germany and Finland), while in others (e.g. in Portugal and Spain) the effects have been more limited.
| |
483
|
The EESC believes that the data presented in the report clearly demonstrate the need to put an even greater effort into pursuing the cohesion objective in an enlarged EU. It therefore agrees that the convergence objective should focus first and foremost on those regions whose GDP per capita is less than 75 % of the Community average and welcomes the special treatment that will be given to regions affected by the statistical effect. Such regions will now benefit from more support than they would have received under the phasing out arrangements adopted in 1999.
| |
484
|
The structure and priorities of EU cohesion policy have changed in response to enlargement and the limited resources available, and not really because regional and social discrepancies no longer exist. Some Member States and regions that up until now have been major beneficiaries of EU cohesion policy will therefore gradually become ineligible for support under a considerable number of the instruments available. This obviously does not mean that they have already reached the desired level of development and cohesion; it is therefore essential that they are given due consideration under national budgetary policies.
| |
485
|
In order to provide detailed answers to the Commission's five questions, respondents not only need a thorough knowledge of the general Working Time Directive 93/104/EC, but also an analysis of the way it has been implemented in Member State legislation and of the impact this has had compared to previous national working time legislation and of national collective bargaining agreements. The Committee notes that the report published by the Commission and the content of the current Communication provide only a limited analysis of this impact. The Committee's comments will therefore necessarily be more wide-ranging.
| |
486
|
Through a Joint Consultative committee (JCC), established with organised civil society in Turkey and functioning well since 1995, the EESC is well informed of the aspirations of the social and economic interest groups in Turkey as regards membership of their country of the EU. It has always taken these aspirations into account and sincerely hopes that the European Summit of December 2004 will be able to conclude that Turkey has met the 1993 Copenhagen political criteria and therefore decide that negotiations on accession will be opened without delay.
| |
487
|
Turkey is a country with a secular state with an overwhelmingly Islamic population. It wishes to function as a modern, secular democracy. It is a highly important example for those countries which have a predominantly Islamic population and which want to strengthen their political structures in terms of secularism and democracy. Turkey's accession to the EU would demonstrate the high level the EU has achieved in terms of its pluralism, of its ability to manage dialogue between cultures and religions, and of its role in promoting peace and justice in the world.
| |
488
|
The EESC has carefully taken note of recent relevant information, in particular the European Commission's 2003 Regular Report on Turkey's progress towards accession, European Parliament's Report on Turkey of April 2004 and the Council of Europe's Report on Human Rights on Turkey of December 2003. It shares the general assessment of the reform process made in these reports. It considers the added value of this opinion to be in its views of the political criteria which are of particular importance for the economic and social interest groups. Therefore, it is on these aspects that this opinion will focus.
| |
489
|
As regards women's rights, the Committee notes several serious defects despite Turkey's ratification of the fundamental ILO Conventions on Equal Remuneration (No 100) and on Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) (No 111). The Conventions are implemented in law with some exceptions (e.g. legal barriers exist to women's access to certain jobs). Implementation in practice, however, shows many weaknesses, e.g. with respect to equal remuneration for the same job with equal qualifications and access to certain types of quality employment. Similar problems exist in many EU Member States.
| |
490
|
The consensus is that the European Union is late in achieving its ambitious goal, set at the Lisbon summit in 2000, of becoming the most competitive and dynamic knowledge-based economy in the world capable of sustainable economic growth with more and better jobs and greater social cohesion by 2010. They both acknowledge that while the Lisbon objectives are ambitious Europe cannot afford to miss them and that the key prerequisite for making the Lisbon objectives a reality is the compliance for Member States in stepping up their efforts.
| |
491
|
The Committee highlights the substantial scope for the contribution of private firms and employers in meeting European employment objectives. Effort should be made to identify feasible demand policies that target changing employer behaviour in ways that promote the achievement of Lisbon objectives of more quality, sustainable employment throughout Europe. The Commission should provide and disseminate evidence and experience on where good corporate behaviour has improved the quantity and quality of jobs and look for ways to replicate the successes.
| |
492
|
The European Union is the biggest world player in the textile and clothing sector. The suggestion that globalisation would inevitably sideline the textile industries of the industrialised countries has turned out to be false, and it is definitely not the case in Europe. The European continent is still the biggest exporter of textile products in the world and the second biggest clothing exporter in a global import-export market of over EUR 350 billion in 2002 (6 % of world trade).
| |
493
|
More than three quarters of Europe's population currently lives in urban or peri-urban areas. There is a direct link between the Lisbon Strategy and metropolitan areas. A large number of the factors underpinning future European competitiveness are to be found in these areas. Metropolitan areas transmit innovation and information to other European cities. The prosperity of metropolitan areas is essential to solving problems of social and territorial cohesion in their own areas and in other European cities and regions.
| |
494
|
In many cities and metropolitan areas, there is a concentration of immigrants who find it extremely difficult to find good jobs owing to their lack of professional qualifications, poor language knowledge, social discrimination and lack of a proper integration policy. This leads to inequalities in income and, consequently, in access to housing and public services, including schooling and health care. Particular attention should be given to poor areas that are seriously affected by this issue.
| |
495
|
Environmental protection and compliance with sustainable development objectives are another challenge facing metropolitan areas. They must respect international commitments: Kyoto Protocol, Agenda 21, Maastricht Treaty, and the 1993 and 1998 Community programmes for sustainable development. To do this, they need to reconcile economic development and environmental protection, which can be mutually reinforced by organising urban development (transport systems, establishment of centres of habitation, waste and waste water management, noise reduction, protection of city centres, and of the natural and agricultural heritage, etc.).
| |
496
|
Shortcomings in metropolitan areas are aggravated when the administrative management of these areas does not keep pace with economic development and the increase in population, housing and commuting. Often the administrative management within metropolitan areas still reflects bygone times. This in turn hampers effective government and, consequently, effective economic policy. Proper coordination between the administrative management and economic stakeholders and, in broader terms, between the public and private sectors is a prerequisite for good governance in metropolitan areas.
| |
497
|
The European statistical system is driven by European policies. Hence, we know the number of cows and pigs per region thanks to the CAP. But we do not know the employment statistics or added value per sector in big cities and their spheres of economic influence because there is no relevant policy and because Europe has until recently devoted to few resources to urban statistics. Eurostat's Cities and Regions unit consists of only 5 people. Eurostat's resources are not at all commensurate with its remit.
| |
498
|
The Commission guidelines define trans-European projects in terms of their implementation and impact: operations must be selected jointly and implemented, either in two or more countries or third countries, or in a single Member State, where it can be shown that the operation has a significant impact on other Member States or third countries. The guidelines also stipulate that all measures and projects must demonstrate the added value of a trans-European approach.
| |
499
|
maintain a certain degree of confusion as regards indicators: while advocating that the indicators be limited in number, they refer successively to indicators of context, impact, cooperation/integration, output and result, as well as to key indicators, and recommend the use of qualitative indicators. Examples are given of output, result and impact indicators. Moreover, the definition of these separate categories is somewhat unclear, in particular as regards output and result indicators: the number of project participants, for example, is seen at times as a result indicator;
| |
500
|
Where Strand C is concerned, the Commission's initial guidelines outline a single general objective, namely, to improve the effectiveness of policies and instruments for regional development and cohesion (see Table 3). A second communication published on 15 May 2001 delimitated the content of cooperation by identifying five themes for interregional cooperation, among them a heading of Other subjects. Since the implementation of Strand C CIPs began, this last theme has attracted the majority of aid applications and agreements, which underlines the fact that, as a whole, this Strand is too broad.
|
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