CELEX: 51975PC0666
Language: en
Date: 1975-12-19
Title: Draft RULES OF PROCEDURE OF THE EDF COMMITTEE

ARCHIVES HISTORIQUES
DE LA COMMISSION
COLLECTION RELIEE DES
DOCUMENTS "COM"
COM (75) 666
Vol. 1975/0245
 ---pagebreak--- Disclaimer
Conformément au règlement (CEE, Euratom) n° 354/83 du Conseil du 1er février 1983
concernant l'ouverture au public des archives historiques de la Communauté économique
européenne et de la Communauté européenne de l'énergie atomique (JO L 43 du 15.2.1983,
p. 1), tel que modifié par le règlement (CE, Euratom) n° 1700/2003 du 22 septembre 2003
(JO L 243 du 27.9.2003, p. 1), ce dossier est ouvert au public. Le cas échéant, les documents
classifiés présents dans ce dossier ont été déclassifiés conformément à l'article 5 dudit
règlement.
In accordance with Council Regulation (EEC, Euratom) No 354/83 of 1 February 1983
concerning the opening to the public of the historical archives of the European Economic
Community and the European Atomic Energy Community (OJ L 43, 15.2.1983, p. 1), as
amended by Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1700/2003 of 22 September 2003 (OJ L 243,
27.9.2003, p. 1), this file is open to the public. Where necessary, classified documents in this
file have been declassified in conformity with Article 5 of the aforementioned regulation.
In Übereinstimmung mit der Verordnung (EWG, Euratom) Nr. 354/83 des Rates vom 1.
Februar 1983 über die Freigabe der historischen Archive der Europäischen
Wirtschaftsgemeinschaft und der Europäischen Atomgemeinschaft (ABI. L 43 vom 15.2.1983,
S. 1), geändert durch die Verordnung (EG, Euratom) Nr. 1700/2003 vom 22. September 2003
(ABI. L 243 vom 27.9.2003, S. 1), ist diese Datei der Öffentlichkeit zugänglich. Soweit
erforderlich, wurden die Verschlusssachen in dieser Datei in Übereinstimmung mit Artikel 5
der genannten Verordnung freigegeben.
 ---pagebreak--- COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
                                                COM (75) 666 final
                                                Brussels . 19 December 1975
                              Draft
               RULES OP PROCEDURE OP THE EDP COMMITTEE
        ■ "         '• '   \                          i ,,
                 !
                               i
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 COM (75) 666 final.
 ---pagebreak---                                  - 2 -                          Vlll/ on / J5-js
THE COUNCIL OP THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES ,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community ;
Having regard to the ACP-EEC Convention of LomS "between the African ,
Caribbean and Pacific States and the European Economic Community , signed
at Lom5 on 28 February 1975 (hereinafter called the "Convention"), and
in particular Titles I ( Chapter 2 ), III and IV thereof , concerned
respectively with trade promotion , industrial cooperation and financial
and technical cooperation ;
Having regard to Council Regulation /~Decision_7 of        on the
association of the Overseas Countries and Territories with the European
Economic Community (hereinafter called the "Regulation" /"Decision^/) »
Having regard to the Internal Agreement on the Financing and Administration
of Community Aid , signed on 11 July 1975 (hereinafter called the "Internal
Agreement"), and in particular Article 18(1 ) thereof, setting up a
European Development Fund Committee (hereinafter called the "Committee");
Whereas on 1 6 July 1974 the Council adopted resolutions on Community
development cooperation ;
Whereas it is for the Council to adopt the rules of procedure of the
Committee ;
HAS ADOPTED THESE RULES OF PROCEDURE :
 ---pagebreak---                                       - 3 -                        vxix/ o I 1 / fp-Ja
                                     Article 1
1 * The Committee shall be chaired by the Commission and shall comprise nine
     delegations , each representing the Government of a Member State .
     A representative of the European Investment Bank (hereinafter called the
     ••Bank") shall take part in the work of the Committee#
     A representative of the General Secretariat of the Council shall be
     present as an observer at meetings of the Committee *
2 . Each Government shall inform the Council and the Commission of the names
     of the persons authorized to exercise the right to vote and the address
     vihere communications intended for the delegations must be sent *
3 * The Commission and the Bank shall designate their respective
    .representatives , who may call upon officials of their institutions to
     assist them .
4« The Committee may , by a unanimous decision , hear non-governmental experts .
 ---pagebreak---                                - 4 -                          vin/61 1 /75-E
                                   i
                                   i
                               Article 2|!
                                                    i
                                        i
The Committee shall meet when convened by its Chairman either on his
own initiative or at the request of a delegation*
The meetings of the Committee shall take place at the seat of the
                     1
                     1
Commission*  Exceptionally they may be held elsewhere *
 ---pagebreak---                                       - 5 -                          VIII/ 611 /75-li'
                                      Article 3
1 . The Committee shall deliver an opinion :
    ( a) on financing proposals concerning the projects or programmes
          referred to in Articles 46 and 59 of the Convention and
          Article £          "^e Regulation /~Decision_7 which appear to "be
          eligible for financing "by grant or "by special loan ;
    (b) on financing proposals for a supplementary commitment exceeding
          15$ of the total financing for a project which has been the
          subject of an earlier commitment by the Community ;
    ( 0) on proposals for substantial modifications regarding the
          execution of a project on which work has already started ,
         whether or not such modifications are likely to entail
          overspending.
2 * The financing proposals referred to above shall be drawn up by the
    Commission in conjunction with the State or States concerned .
    Apart from the data referred to in Article 19(2 ) of the Internal
    Agreement the financing proposals shall also give brief details of :
       the project 's place in the Community indicative aid programme ;
       the development objective which it is intended to achieve ;
       its general organization and the economio and social grounds ;
       its cost and method of financing , having regard to the expected
       benefits or effects ;
       its local , national and regional impact *
 ---pagebreak---                                            - b -
                                                                     V XXX / V I 1 / J £i
   An annex shall summarize the provisions regarding the technical
   execution and the timetable for carrying out the project#
   For projects or programmes which appear to be eligible for financing
                                              '         '  • '    r\
   by special loan the financing proposal shall also comprise a
   financing plan and draft instructions to the Bank on the recovery
   of the principal of the loan and the interest on it *
3. The opinion of the Committee shall be based on the financing proposal
                                                  i ■           ,
   and any discussion arising from examination of it .
 ---pagebreak---                                   7                        viIl/611 /75-a
                              Article 4                         f\ -j       ■' , •
1•   The Committee shall be kept informed of delays or difficulties in the
execution of a project which might entail the consultation provided for
in Article 3(l)(c ) above .                   >                       .   3
                                   '~' r                          ,
2.   The Committee shall also he kept informed : -
(a) in accordance with Article 21 (1 ) of the Internal Agreement , of
     requests for financing officially submitted to the Commission and
     set out in a list which is periodically updated ;
(b ) in accordance with Article 21(2 ) of the Internal Agreement , of the
     conclusions of work periodically done by the Commission , for the
     purpose of drawing up its annual report to the Council referred to
     in Article 41 of the Convention and Article       J of the Regulation
     ^~Decision_7 on the evaluation of projects being carried out or
     completed and on the study of the implementation and utilization of
     Community aid .  Such information shall be transmitted to the Committee
     before the final drafting of the annual report *
(c ) in accordance with the fourth paragraph of Article 16 of the Internal
     Agreement , of information available on external aid , granted or
     envisaged , for the States concerned .
                                  /
                                         ι
 ---pagebreak---                                                            VIII/611/75-B
3.   Die information supplied in accordance with paragraphs 1 and 2
above may , should one or more delegations .so request , be entered as
an item under "Any other business" on the agenda referred to in
Artiole 50 ) below and discussed by the Committee *
 ---pagebreak---                                    -9-                          VIIl/61 1 /75-8
                                Article 5
      –>                                       »
  1 . At least three weeks before the date fixed for the meeting the
  Chairman shall send to the delegations , the Offices of the Permanent
  Representatives of the Member States , the Bank and the General Secretariat
  of the Council a draft agenda in the official languages of the Communities
  together with the financing proposals and th'e proposals for modifying
  projects referred to in Article 3 above .
  2.  Any information memos drawn up to meet the requirements of Article 4
  above shall be sent , in the official languages of the Communities , to
  the delegations , the Offices , of the Permanent Representatives of the
  Member States , the Bank and the General Secretariat of the Council as
  soon as possible before the meeting of the Committee *
, 3*  Three working days before the date of the meeting each delegation
  shall state which proposals it is already able to agree to and shall
  briefly formulate in respect of the others the objections or requests for
  further information which it considers must be answered at the meeting
  before it adopts its position *
 On the basis of these particulars the Chairman shall draw up the final
  agenda for the meeting, grouping under item A the proposals on which ,
  since there are no objections , the Committee is able to deliver
 ---pagebreak---                               - 10 -                          VIII/611/75-E
a favourable opinion without discussion , and , under item B , the
other proposals ; it shall make this final agenda available to the
delegations at the beginning of the meeting .
                                                    \
                                                   i   .
 ---pagebreak---                              - 11 -                        VIII/61 1 /75-E
                            Article 6
The Chairman may refer to the Committee by accelerated procedure
proposals prepared by the Commission on the 'granting of exceptional
aid as provided for in Article 59 of the Convention .  The Chairman
may also use this procedure for the projeots or programmes referred
to in Article 3 above where they are urgent .  In that event the
period of three weeks specified in Article 50 ) of these rales of
procedure may be reduced to a minimum of five working days from
the date on which the dossier is sent off .
Proposals to which this procedure is applied shall be entered
under item B.
If the need to examine this proposal is not recognized as urgent
the Committee shall decide either to examine the proposal at a meeting
convened as soon as possible or to give its opinion by the written
procedure within a maximum period of two weeks .
                                i
 ---pagebreak---                                  - 12 -                         VII
                                Article 7        '
1 • Where the Committee is called upon to give an opinion it shall do
    so in the manner laid down in Articles 18 and 19 of the Internal
    Agreement •
    However , for the project-linked technical cooperation schemes ,
    general technical cooperation schemes and trade or industrial
    promotion schemes referred to in Artiole 46 of the Convention
    and Article         of the Regulation 2f"Decision_7, the Commission
    may obtain the opinion of the Committee on proposals , generally drawn
    up "by type of scheme or group of types of scheme , for an overall
    commitment authorization ; it shall keep the Committee informed of
    operations oovered by commitments under this heading .
2 * The Commission may seek the opinion of the Committee by a written
    procedure with a three-week time-limit in the following cases :
      proposals which require only a Community financing of less than
      1 million u.a»,
      a proposal for a supplementary commitment of more than 15$ but
      less than 25$ of the total, financing for a project which has
      been the subject of an earlier commitment by the Community .
 ---pagebreak---                                  - 13 -                          VIIl/61 1/75-E
                                        i
     The project in question shall automatically "be placed- on the agenda
    for the Committee meeting following the /date of expiry of the
    written procedure if a request to this effect is made "by the
    qualified majority referred to in Article 18 of the Internal
    Agreement «
                          «
                          I
3 * Hie Committee may deliver a favourable opinion on a financing
    proposal subject to amendments which do not require further
    discussion .  Account shall be taken of these amendments when the
    opinion is placed before the Commission in accordance with
                                                     I
    paragraph y below *
4 * Hie Committee may request that certain points in the appraisal of
    a project or programme be re-examined .  In such a case for instance
    the financing proposal may be presented to the Committee a second
    time f whether or not it has been amended in the light of the results
    of the further appraisal .
5 . If , after a favourable opinion has been delivered by the Committee
    but before the Financing Agreement is signed , substantive amendments
    to the financing proposal submitted to the Committee prove necessary ,
    the Commission shall defer its signature and inform the Committee .
    If the Committee considers that the basic data have changed since
    its deliberations or no longer hold good it may request a fresh
    vote on the financing proposal /"and any changes made to it/.
 ---pagebreak---                            - 14 -                      VIIl/61 1/75-E
                                     i
Any delegation may at any time request that an item be placed on
                                          i
the agenda for a Committee meeting .   Any relevant particulars may
be given orally . They shall then be included in the record
referred to in Article 9 below which is drawn up of each meeting.
The opinions delivered by the Committee shall be transmitted by
the Chairman to the Commission .
 ---pagebreak---                                      13                     VTÏI/611/75-B
                                 Article 8
1 • In the context of Article 54(3 ) of the Convention and Article 19(3)
    of the Internal Agreement the Committee ahall meet as an Ad hoc
    Committee to hear the representatives of the ACP State or States
    concerned .
    After this hearing the Ad hoc Committee shall immediately meet as
    the EDF Committee in order to continue the discussions .
2 . The Committee may meet as an Ad hoc Committee in order to :
    (a) examine the programming of the Community aid provided for
         Tinder the Convention ,
    (b ) deliver an opinion on any other Community aid for
         developing countries under financial and technical
         cooperation agreements other than the Convention or
         resulting from unilateral Community decisions .
3 . (a) The members and Chairman of the Ad hoc Committees shall be
         the same as those of the EDF Committee .
    (b ) Communications to the Ad hoc Committee shall be made within
         time-limits and in forms similar to those specified for the
         EDF Committee , subject to any special arrangements to be made
         later .
 ---pagebreak---                                    - 16 -                          Vlil / O I 1 / fp-£,
                                 Article 9
1 . The Commission shall provide the Committee 's secretariat and the
    Ad hoc Committees referred to in Article 8 above .
2 . A summary record of each meeting of the Committee shall "be drawn up
    by the secretariat on the responsibility of the Chairman.   It shall
    be considered final when it has been approved by the Committee either
    by written procedure or at a subsequent meeting.   It shell be
    transmitted by the Chairman to the Commission.
3. The final record of each meeting shall be sent to the delegations ,
    to the Offices of the Permanent Representatives of the Member States ,
    to the Bank and to the Ceneral Secretariat of the Council .
4 . whenever an Ad hoc Committee meets a special record shall bo drawn up ,
                                            in
    approved and distributed in the same manner as the records of
    meetings of the EDF Committee .  If States other than those referred
    to in Article 1(1 ) of these rules of procedure or any of the bodies
    referred to in Article 49 of the Convention have been present c.t the
    meeting of an Ad hoc Committee they shall also receive the special
    record#
5 « correspondence concerning the Committee shall be addressed to the
    Commission , for the attention of the Chairman of the Committee .
    Correspondence addressed to a delegation which js a member of the
    Committee shall be sent to the Office of the Permanent Reprecentative
    of the country in question .
 ---pagebreak---                                     - 17 -                            Vlll / on / 75-js;
6 . Those attending meetings of the Committee are required, to observe
    the secrecy    of the Comraittee , s work and deliberations . Documents
    relating to such work and deliberations may be communicated only
    to the relevant departments of the Member States and the Community
    institutions *   To this end , the Chairman shall , on his own
    initiative or at the request of a delegation or a representative of
    an institution , propose to the Committee any appropriate measure .
7. However , as required under Article 54 (0 of the Convention , the
    final version of each financing proposal shall be transmitted by the
    Committee * s secretariat simultaneously to the State concerned and to
    the Member States .
 ---pagebreak---                                     – IO
                                   Article 10
1 * ( a) The operating expenses of the Committee and of the Ad hoc Committee
         set up under Article 54(3) of the Convention shall he covered in
         accordance with Article 34 of Protocol No 2 to the Convention and
         in accordance with Article £"        of Annex /~V_7 to the Regulation
         /"Decision^/.
     (b) The operating expenses of Ad hoc Committees other than that referred
         to in paragraph, ( a) will covered in accordance with special
         arrangements to be made later *
                                               ν
2 * For meetings of the Committee the Commission shall be authorized to
    reimburse the travel expenses for a maximum of four persons per
    delegation or institution*
   'The Commission shall also be authorized to reimburse the travel expenses
    incurred by the representative of the ACP State or States heard in accordance
    with Article 54(3) of the Convention and the travel and subsistence
    expenses of non-governmental experts heard under Article 1(4) of these
    rules of procedure *
3* The Commission shall make available to the Committee the premises and
    equipment required by the Committee for its work *
    Done at Brussels .                                       For the Council
                                                             The President
 ---pagebreak---                                   - 19-'                          VIII/611 /73-E
                                                                . ANNEX
        STATEMENTS TO BE WRITTEN INTO THE MINUTES OF THE MEETING AT
   WHICH THE COUNCIL ADOPTS THE RULES OF PROCEDURE OF THE EPF COMMITTEE
  Statement concerning Article 6
  Whenever a natural disaster or comparable exceptional circumstances
  provide grounds , under Article 59 of "the Convention , for immediate ■
  aid the Commission shall be authorized to commit and mobilize in
  accordance with the most appropriate procedures and within a ceiling of
  300 000 u.a . the amounts necessary for covering operations of immediate
 urgency .
 The Chairman shall inform the Committee forthwith of such commitments
 without prejudice to supplementary financing proposals to be presented
  subsequently in accordance with the procedure provided for in Article 6
 of the rules of procedure of the EDF Committee .
 Statement concerning Article 8(2a.)
 The provision of information, exchanges of views and opinions provided
 for in the first paragraph of Article 1 6 and in Article 17(2-5 ) of the
 Internal Agreement on the Financing and Administration of Community Aid
 shall take place within the framework of an Ad hoc Committee constituted
 in accordance with Article 8(2) and ( 3) of the rules of procedure of the
EDF Committee .
The operating expenses of this      hoc Committee shall be charged against
the Community* s budget .