CELEX: 51993EC3605
Language: en
Date: 2006-12-08
Title: Proposal for a Council Regulation (EC) No …/… of […] on the application of the Protocol on the excessive deficit procedure annexed to the Treaty establishing the European Community (Codified version)

EN

|[pic]                     |COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES                                                                           |

                                        Brussels,
                                        COM

                                                                  Proposal for a

                                                          COUNCIL REGULATION (EC) No …/…

                                                                      of […]

         on the application of the Protocol on the excessive deficit procedure annexed to the Treaty establishing the European Community

                                                                (Codified version)

                                                              EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM

1.    In the context of a people’s Europe, the Commission attaches great importance to simplifying and clarifying Community law so as to make  it
       clearer and more accessible to the ordinary citizen, thus giving him new opportunities and the chance to make use of the  specific  rights
       it gives him.

       This aim cannot be achieved so long as numerous provisions that have  been  amended  several  times,  often  quite  substantially,  remain
       scattered, so that they must be sought partly in the original instrument and partly in later amending ones.  Considerable  research  work,
       comparing many different instruments, is thus needed to identify the current rules.

       For this reason a codification of rules that have frequently been amended  is  also  essential  if  Community  law  is  to  be  clear  and
       transparent.

2.    On 1 April 1987 the Commission therefore decided[1] to instruct its staff that all legislative acts should be codified after no  more  than
       ten amendments, stressing that this is a minimum requirement and that departments should endeavour to codify at even shorter intervals the
       texts for which they are responsible, to ensure that the Community rules are clear and readily understandable.

3.    The Conclusions of the Presidency of the  Edinburgh  European  Council  (December 1992)  confirmed  this[2]  stressing  the  importance  of
       codification as it offers certainty as to the law applicable to a given matter at a given time.

       Codification must be undertaken in full compliance with the normal Community legislative procedure.

       Given that no changes of substance may be made to the instruments affected by codification, the European Parliament, the Council  and  the
       Commission have agreed, by an interinstitutional agreement dated 20 December 1994, that an accelerated procedure may be used for the fast-
       track adoption of codification instruments.

4.    The purpose of this proposal is to undertake a codification of Council Regulation (EC) No 3605/93 of 22 November 1993  on  the  application
       of the Protocol on the excessive deficit procedure annexed to the Treaty establishing the European Community[3]. The new  Regulation  will
       supersede the various acts incorporated in it[4]; this proposal fully preserves the content of the acts being codified and hence  does  no
       more than bring them together with only such formal amendments as are required by the codification exercise itself.

5.    The codification proposal was drawn up on the basis of a preliminary consolidation, in  all  official  languages,  of  Regulation  (EC)  No
       3605/93 and the instruments amending it, carried out by the Office for Official Publications of the European Communities, by  means  of  a
       data-processing system. Where the Articles have been given new numbers, the correlation between the old and the new numbers is shown in  a
       table set out in Annex II to the codified Regulation.

                                            ê 3605/93 (adapted)

                                                                  Proposal for a

                                                         COUNCIL REGULATION (EC) No …/...

                                                                      of […]

         on the application of the Protocol on the excessive deficit procedure annexed to the Treaty establishing the European Community

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular the third subparagraph of Article Ö 104(14) Õ thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,

Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament[5],

Having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee[6],

Having regard to the opinion of the European Central Bank[7],

Whereas:

                                            ê .

   1) Council Regulation (EC) No 3605/93 of 22 November 1993 on the application of the Protocol on the excessive deficit procedure annexed to the
      Treaty establishing the European Community[8] has been substantially amended several times[9]. In the interests of clarity and  rationality
      the said Regulation should be codified.

                                            ê 3605/93 recital 1 (adapted)

   2) The definitions of ‘government’, ‘deficit’ and ‘investment’ are laid down in the Protocol on the excessive deficit procedure  by  reference
      to the European System of Integrated Economic Accounts (ESA) Ö , replaced by the European System of national and regional accounts  in  the
      Community (adopted by [Council] Regulation (EC) N° [2223/96] of [25 June 1996] and hereinafter referred to as ‘ESA  95’)  Õ[10]  .  Precise
      definitions referring to the classification codes of ESA Ö 95 Õ are required. These definitions may be subject to revision in  the  context
      of the necessary harmonization of national statistics or for other reasons.

                                            ê 3605/93 recital 2 and 475/2000 recital 2 (adapted)

   3) The definition of ‘debt’ laid down in the Protocol on the excessive deficit  procedure  needs  to  be  amplified  by  a  reference  to  the
      classification codes of ESA Ö 95. In the case of financial derivatives, as defined in ESA 95, there is no nominal value identical  to  that
      for other debt instruments. Therefore, financial derivatives should not be included with the liabilities making up government debt for  the
      purposes of the Protocol on the excessive deficit procedure Õ .

                                            ê 351/2002 recital 3 (adapted)

   4) Ö Under ESA 95, Õ interest flows under swap contracts and forward rate agreements (FRAs) Ö are to be classified in the Õ financial  account
      Ö and require Õ specific treatment Ö as regards Õ the data transmitted under the excessive deficit procedure.

                                            ê 475/2000 recital 3 (adapted)

   5) ESA Ö 95 Õ provides a detailed definition of gross domestic product at current market prices, which is appropriate for the  calculation  of
      the ratios of government deficit to gross domestic product and of government debt to gross domestic product referred to in Article  104  of
      the Treaty.

                                            ê 475/2000 recital 4 (adapted)

   6) Consolidated government interest expenditure is an important indicator for  monitoring  the  budgetary  situation  in  the  Member  States;
      interest expenditure is intrinsically linked to government debt; government debt to be reported to the Commission by the Member States  has
      to be consolidated within the government sector; the levels of government  debt  and  of  interest  expenditure  should  be  made  mutually
      consistent; the methodology of ESA 95 (point [1.58]) recognises that, for certain kinds  of  analysis,  consolidated  aggregates  are  more
      significant than overall gross figures.

                                            ê 3605/93 recital 4

   7) Pursuant to the terms of the Protocol on the excessive deficit procedure, the Commission is required to provide the statistical data to  be
      used in that procedure.

                                            ê 2103/2005 recital 2

   8) The role of the Commission, as statistical authority, in that context is specifically exercised by Eurostat, on behalf of  the  Commission.
      As the Commission department responsible for carrying out the tasks devolving on the Commission as  regards  the  production  of  Community
      statistics, Eurostat is required to execute its tasks in accordance with the principles  of  impartiality,  reliability,  relevance,  cost-
      effectiveness, statistical confidentiality and transparency, as laid down in Commission Decision 97/281/EC of 21 April 1997 on the role  of
      Eurostat as regards the production of Community statistics[11]. The implementation by the national and Community statistical authorities of
      the Recommendation of the Commission of 25 May 2005 on the independence,  integrity  and  accountability  of  the  national  and  Community
      authorities should enhance the principle of professional independence, adequacy of resources and quality of statistical data.

                                            ê 3605/93 recital 5 (adapted)

   9) Detailed rules are required to organize the prompt and regular reporting by the Member States to the  Commission  Ö (Eurostat) Õ  of  their
      planned and actual deficits and of the levels of their debt,

                                            ê 3605/93

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

                                                                    CHAPTER I

                                                                   DEFINITIONS

                                            Ê 475/2000 ART. 1 PT. 1 (ADAPTED)

                                                                    Article 1

1. For the purposes of the Protocol on the excessive deficit procedure and of this Regulation, the terms given  in  paragraphs  Ö 2  to  6 Õ  are
defined according to the European system of national and regional accounts in the Community (hereinafter referred to as  ‘ESA  95’),  adopted  by
Regulation (EC) No [2223/96]. The codes in brackets refer to ESA 95.

                                            ê 475/2000 Art. 1 pt.1
                                            è1 351/2002 Art. 1 pt. 1
                                            è2 351/2002 Art. 1 pt. 2

2. ‘Government’ means the sector of general government (S.13), that is central government (S.1311), state government (S.1312),  local  government
(S.1313) and social security funds (S.1314), to the exclusion of commercial operations, as defined in ESA 95.

The exclusion of commercial operations means that the sector of general government (S.13)  comprises  only  institutional  units  producing  non-
market services as their main activity.

3. ‘Government deficit (surplus)’ means the net borrowing (net lending) (è1 EDP B.9 ç) of the sector of general government (S.13), as defined  in
ESA 95. The interest comprised in the government deficit is the interest (è2 EDP D.41 ç), as defined in ESA 95.

4. ‘Government investment’ means the gross fixed capital formation (P.51) of the sector of ‘general government’ (S.13), as defined in ESA 95.

5. ‘Government debt’ means the total gross debt at nominal value outstanding at the end of the year of the sector of general  government  (S.13),
with the exception of those liabilities the corresponding financial assets of which are held by the sector of ‘general government’ (S.13).

Government debt is constituted by the liabilities of general government in the following categories: currency  and  deposits  (AF.2);  securities
other than shares, excluding financial derivatives (AF.33) and loans (AF.4), as defined in ESA 95.

The nominal value of a liability outstanding at the end of the year is the face value.

The nominal value of an index-linked liability corresponds to its face value adjusted by the index-related change in the value of  the  principal
accrued to the end of the year.

Liabilities denominated in a foreign currency, or exchanged from one foreign currency  through  contractual  agreements  to  one  or  more  other
foreign currencies shall be converted into the other foreign currencies at the rate agreed on in those contracts and shall be converted into  the
national currency on the basis of the representative market exchange rate prevailing on the last working day of each year.

Liabilities denominated in the national currency and exchanged through contractual agreements to a foreign currency shall be converted  into  the
foreign currency at the rate agreed on in those contracts and shall be converted into the national currency on the basis  of  the  representative
market exchange rate prevailing on the last working day of each year.

Liabilities denominated in a foreign currency and exchanged through contractual agreements to the national currency shall be converted  into  the
national currency at the rate agreed on in those contracts.

                                            ê 475/2000 Art. 1 pt.1 (adapted)

6. Ö ‘ Õ Gross domestic product Ö ’ Õ means gross domestic product at current market prices (GDP mp) (B.1*g), as defined in ESA 95.

                                            ê 2103/2005 Art. 1 pt.1

                                                                    Article 2

1. Planned government deficit and government debt level figures mean the figures established for the current year  by  the  Member  States.  They
shall be the most recent official forecasts, taking into account the most recent budgetary decisions and  economic  developments  and  prospects.
They should be produced in as short a time as possible before the reporting deadline.

                                            ê 2103/2005 Art. 1 pt. 1 (adapted)

2. Actual government deficit and government debt level figures mean estimated, provisional, half-finalised or final results for a past year.  The
planned data together with the actual data Ö shall Õ form a consistent time series as far as the definitions and concepts are concerned

                                            ê 3605/93

                                                                    CHAPTER II

                                                         RULES AND COVERAGE OF REPORTING

                                                                    ARTICLE 3

                                            ê 2103/2005 Art. 1 pt. 2 (adapted)

1. Member States shall report to the Commission Ö (Eurostat) Õ their planned and actual government deficits and levels of government  debt  twice
a year, the first time before 1 April of the current year (year n) and the second time before 1 October of year n.

                                            ê 2103/2005 Art. 1 pt. 2 (adapted)

Member States shall inform the Commission Ö (Eurostat) Õ  which  national  authorities  are  responsible  for  the  excessive  deficit  procedure
reporting.

2. Before 1 April of year n, Member States:

(a)   shall report to the Commission Ö (Eurostat) Õ their planned government  deficit  for  year  n,  an  up-to-date  estimate  of  their  actual
       government deficit for year n-1 and their actual government deficits for years n-2, n-3 and n-4;

(b)   shall simultaneously provide the Commission Ö (Eurostat) Õ with their planned data for year n and the actual data for years n-1,  n-2,  n-3
       and n-4 of their corresponding public accounts budget deficits in accordance with the definition which is given most prominence nationally
       and with the figures which explain the transition between the public accounts budget deficit and their government  deficit  for  the  sub-
       sector S.1311;

(c)   shall simultaneously provide the Commission Ö (Eurostat) Õ with their actual data for years n-1, n-2, n-3 and n-4  of  their  corresponding
       working balances and with the figures which explain the transition between the working balances of each government  sub-sector  and  their
       government deficit for the sub-sectors S.1312, S.1313 and S.1314;

(d)   shall report to the Commission Ö (Eurostat) Õ their planned level of government debt at the end of  year  n  and  their  levels  of  actual
       government debt at the end of years n-1, n-2, n-3 and n-4;

(e)   shall simultaneously provide the Commission Ö (Eurostat) Õ , for years  n-1,  n-2,  n-3  and  n-4,  with  the  figures  which  explain  the
       contribution of the government deficit and other factors relevant to the variation in the level of their government debt by sub-sector.

3. Before 1 October of year n, Member States shall report to the Commission Ö (Eurostat) Õ :

(a)   their updated planned government deficit for year n and their actual government deficits for years n-1, n-2, n-3 and n-4 and  shall  comply
       with the requirements ofpoints (b) and (c) of paragraph 2;

(b)   their updated planned level of government debt at the end of year n and their levels of actual government debt at the end of years n-1,  n-
       2, n-3 and n-4, and shall comply with the requirements of point (e) of paragraph 2.

                                            ê 3605/93 (adapted)

4. The figures for the planned government deficit reported to the Commission Ö (Eurostat) Õ in accordance  with  paragraphs  2  and  3  shall  be
expressed in national currency and in budget years.

The figures for actual government deficit and actual government  debt  level  reported  to  the  Commission  Ö (Eurostat) Õ  in  accordance  with
paragraphs 2 and 3 shall be expressed in national currency and in calendar years, with the exception of the up-to-date estimates  for  year  n-1,
which may be expressed in budget years.

Where the budget year differs from the calendar year, Member States shall also report to the Commission Ö (Eurostat) Õ their figures  for  actual
government deficit and actual government debt level in budget years for the two budget years preceding the current budget year.

                                            ê 3605/93 (adapted)
                                            è1 475/2000 Art. 1 pt. 3

                                                                    Article 4

Member States shall, in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 3(1), (2) and (3), provide  the  Commission  Ö (Eurostat) Õ  with  the
figures for their government investment expenditure è1 and interest expenditure (consolidated) ç.

                                            ê 3605/93 (adapted)

                                                                    Article 5

Member States shall provide the Commission Ö (Eurostat) Õ with a forecast of their gross domestic product for year n and  the  actual  amount  of
their gross domestic product for years n-1, n-2, n-3 and n-4, under the same timing conditions as those indicated in Article 3(1).

                                            ê 2103/2005 Art. 1 pt. 3 (adapted)

                                                                    Article 6

1. Member States shall inform the Commission Ö (Eurostat) Õ , as soon as it becomes available, of any major revision in their actual and  planned
government deficit and debt figures already reported.

2. Major revisions in the actual deficit and debt figures already reported shall be properly documented. In any case, revisions which  result  in
the reference values as specified in the Protocol Ö on the excessive deficit procedure Õ being exceeded, or revisions which mean  that  a  Member
State’s data no longer exceed the reference values, Ö shall Õ be reported and properly documented.

                                            ê 2103/2005 Art. 1 pt. 3 (adapted)

                                                                    Article 7

Member States shall make public the actual deficit and debt data and other data for past years  reported  to  the  Commission  Ö (Eurostat) Õ  in
accordance with Articles 3 to 6.

                                            ê 2103/2005 Art. 1 pt. 4

                                                                   CHAPTER III

                                                                 QUALITY OF DATA

                                                                    ARTICLE 8

1. The Commission (Eurostat) shall regularly assess the quality both of actual data reported by Member States and of  the  underlying  government
sector accounts compiled according to ESA 95 (hereinafter referred to as government accounts). Quality  of  actual  data  means  compliance  with
accounting rules, completeness, reliability, timeliness, and consistency of the statistical data. The assessment will focus  on  areas  specified
in the inventories of Member States such as the delimitation of  the  government  sector,  the  classification  of  government  transactions  and
liabilities, and the time of recording.

                                            ê 2103/2005 Art. 1 pt. 4 (adapted)

2. Member States shall provide the Commission (Eurostat), as promptly as possible, with the relevant statistical information  requested  for  the
needs of the data quality assessment, without prejudice to the provisions relating to statistical confidentiality of Ö Council Õ Regulation  (EC)
No 322/97.

                                            ê 2103/2005 Art. 1 pt. 4

‘Statistical information’ referred to in the first subparagraph should be limited to the information strictly necessary to check  the  compliance
to ESA rules. In particular, statistical information means:

(a)   data from national accounts;

(b)   inventories;

(c)   EDP notification tables;

(d)   additional questionnaires and clarification related to the notifications.

                                            ê 2103/2005 Art. 1 pt. 4 (adapted)

The questionnaires’ format shall be defined by the Commission (Eurostat) after consultation of the Committee on Monetary, Financial  and  Balance
of Payments Statistics (hereinafter referred to as Ö ‘ Õ CMFB Ö ’ Õ ) .

                                            ê 2103/2005 Art. 1 pt. 4

3. The Commission (Eurostat) shall report regularly to the European Parliament and to the Council on the quality of the actual data  reported  by
Member States. The report shall address the overall assessment of the actual data reported by Member States as regards  to  the  compliance  with
accounting rules, completeness, reliability, timeliness, and consistency of the data.

                                                                    Article 9

1. Member States shall provide the Commission (Eurostat) with a detailed inventory of the methods, procedures and sources used to compile  actual
deficit and debt data and the underlying government accounts.

2. The inventories shall be prepared in accordance with guidelines adopted by the Commission (Eurostat) after consultation of CMFB.

3. The inventories shall be updated following revisions in the methods, procedures  and  sources  adopted  by  Member  States  to  compile  their
statistical data.

4. Member States shall make their inventories public.

5. The issues referred to in paragraphs 1, 2 and 3 may be addressed in the visits mentioned in Article 11.

                                                                    Article 10

1. In the event of a doubt regarding the correct implementation of the ESA  95  accounting  rules,  the  Member  State  concerned  shall  request
clarification from the Commission (Eurostat). The Commission (Eurostat) shall promptly examine the issue and  communicate  its  clarification  to
the Member State concerned and, when appropriate, to the CMFB.

2. For cases which are either complex or of general interest in the view of  the  Commission  or  the  Member  State  concerned,  the  Commission
(Eurostat) shall take a decision after consultation of the CMFB. The Commission  (Eurostat)  shall  make  decisions  public,  together  with  the
opinion of the CMFB, without prejudice to the provisions relating to statistical confidentiality of Regulation (EC) No 322/97.

                                            ê 2103/2005 Art. 1 pt. 4 (adapted)

                                                                    Article 11

1. The Commission (Eurostat) shall ensure a permanent dialogue  with  Member  States’  statistical  authorities.  To  this  end,  the  Commission
(Eurostat) Ö shall Õ carry out in all Member States regular dialogue visits, as well as possible methodological visits.

2. The dialogue visits are designed to review reported data, to examine methodological issues,  to  discuss  statistical  processes  and  sources
described in the inventories, and to assess compliance with the accounting rules. The dialogue visits Ö shall Õ be  used  to  identify  risks  or
potential problems about the quality of the reported data.

3. The methodological visits should Ö shall Õ not go beyond the purely statistical domain. This Ö shall Õ be reflected in the composition of  the
delegations referred to in Article 12.

                                            ê 2103/2005 Art. 1 pt. 4

The methodological visits are designed to monitor the processes and the government accounts which justify the reported actual data  and  to  draw
detailed conclusions as to the quality of reported data, as defined in Article 8(1).

                                            ê 2103/2005 Art. 1 pt. 4 (adapted)

The methodological visits Ö shall Õ only be undertaken in cases where substantial risks or potential problems with the quality of  the  data  are
identified, especially as they relate to the methods, concepts and classification applied to  the  data,  which  Member  States  are  obliged  to
report.

                                            ê 2103/2005 Art. 1 pt. 4

4. When organising dialogue and methodological visits, the Commission (Eurostat) shall transmit its provisional findings  to  the  Member  States
concerned for comments.

                                                                    Article 12

1. When carrying out methodological visits in Member States, the Commission (Eurostat) may request the assistance of national  accounts  experts,
proposed by other Member States on a voluntary basis, and of officials from other Commission departments.

                                            ê 2103/2005 Art. 1 pt. 4 (adapted)

The list of national accounts’ experts from which the Commission Ö (Eurostat) Õ may request assistance, will  be  constituted  on  the  basis  of
proposals sent to the Commission Ö (Eurostat) Õ by the national authorities responsible for the excessive deficit reporting.

                                            ê 2103/2005 Art. 1 pt. 4

2. Member States shall take all necessary measures to facilitate the methodological visits. These visits  should  be  confined  to  the  national
authorities involved in the excessive deficit procedure reporting. Member States shall, however, ensure that their services  which  are  directly
or indirectly involved in the production of government accounts and debt, and where necessary their national authorities which have a  functional
responsibility for the control of the public accounts, provide the Commission officials or other experts referred to  in  paragraph  1  with  the
assistance necessary to carry out their duties, including making documents available to justify the reported actual deficit  and  debt  data  and
the underlying government accounts. Confidential records  of  the  national  statistical  system  should  only  be  provided  to  the  Commission
(Eurostat).

                                            ê 2103/2005 Art. 1 pt. 4 (adapted)

Without prejudice to the general obligation of the Member States to take all measures required  to  facilitate  the  methodological  visits,  the
interlocutors of Ö the Commission ( Õ Eurostat Ö ) Õ for the methodological visits referred to in the first  subparagraph  are,  in  each  Member
State, the services responsible for the excessive deficit procedure reporting.

                                            ê 2103/2005 Art. 1 pt. 4

3. The Commission (Eurostat) shall ensure that officials and experts participating in these visits meet  every  guarantee  as  regards  technical
competence, professional independence and observance of confidentiality.

                                                                    Article 13

The Commission (Eurostat) shall report to the Economic and Financial Committee on the findings of dialogue and methodological  visits,  including
any comments on these findings made by the Member State concerned. These reports, along with any comments made by  the  Member  State  concerned,
after having been transmitted to the Economic and Financial, shall be made public, without prejudice to  the  provisions  concerning  statistical
confidentiality in Regulation (EC) No 322/97.

                                            ê 2103/2005 Art. 1 pt. 4 (adapted)

                                                                    CHAPTER IV

                                                PROVISION OF DATA BY THE COMMISSION Ö (EUROSTAT) Õ

                                            Ê 2103/2005 ART. 1 PT. 4

                                                                    Article 14

1. The Commission (Eurostat) shall provide the actual government deficit and debt data for the application  of  the  Protocol  on  the  excessive
deficit procedure, within three weeks after the reporting deadlines referred to in Article 3(1) or after revisions  as  referred  to  in  Article
6(1). This provision of data shall be effected through publication.

2. The Commission (Eurostat) shall not delay the provision of the actual government deficit and debt data of Member States where a  Member  State
has not reported its own data.

                                                                    Article 15

1. The Commission (Eurostat) may express a reservation on the quality of the actual data reported by the  Member  States.  No  later  than  three
working days before the planned publication date, the Commission (Eurostat) shall communicate to the Member State concerned and to the  President
of the Economic and Financial Committee the reservation it intends to express and make public. Where the issue is resolved after  publication  of
the data and the reservation, withdrawal of the reservation shall be made public immediately thereafter.

2. The Commission (Eurostat) may amend actual data reported by Member States and provide the amended data and a justification  of  the  amendment
where there is evidence that actual data reported by Member States do not comply with the requirements of  Article  8(1).  No  later  than  three
working days before the planned publication date, the Commission (Eurostat) shall communicate to the Member State concerned and to the  President
of the Economic and Financial Committee the amended data and the justification for the amendment.

                                                                    CHAPTER V

                                                                GENERAL PROVISIONS

                                            Ê 2103/2005 ART. 1 PT. 4 (ADAPTED)

                                                                    Article 16

1. Member States shall ensure that the actual data reported to the Commission Ö (Eurostat) Õ are  provided  in  accordance  with  the  principles
established by Article 10 of Regulation (EC) No 322/97. In this regard, the responsibility of the national statistical authorities is  to  ensure
the compliance of reported data with Ö Article Õ 1 Ö of this Regulation Õ and the underlying ESA 95 accounting rules.

2. Member States shall take all appropriate measures to ensure that officials responsible for the reporting of the actual data to the  Commission
Ö (Eurostat) Õ and of the underlying government accounts act in accordance with the principles established by Article 10 of  Regulation  (EC)  No
322/97.

                                                                    Article 17

In the event of a revision of ESA 95 or of an amendment to its methodology decided  on  by  the  European  Parliament  and  the  Council  or  the
Commission in accordance with the rules of competence and procedure laid down in the Treaty and in Regulation (EC) No [2223/96],  the  Commission
shall introduce the new references to ESA 95 into Articles 1 and 3 Ö of this Regulation Õ .

                                            ê .

                                                                    Article 18

Regulation (EC) No 3605/93 is repealed.

References to the repealed Regulation shall be construed as references to this Regulation and shall be read in accordance  with  the  correlation
table in Annex II.

                                                                    Article 19

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

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.

Done at Brussels, […]

      For the Council
      The President
      […]

                                            é

                                                                     ANNEX I

                                                Repealed Regulation with its successive amendments

|Council Regulation (EC) No 3605/93                                                    |(OJ L 332, 31.12.1993, p. 7)                |
|Council Regulation (EC) No 475/2000                                                     |(OJ L 58, 3.3.2000, p. 1)                   |
|Commission Regulation (EC) No 351/2002                                                  |(OJ L 55, 26.2.2002, p. 23)                 |
|Council Regulation (EC) No 2103/2005                                                    |(OJ L 337, 22.12.2005, p. 1)                |

                                                                  _____________

                                                                     ANNEX II

                                                                Correlation Table

|Regulation (EC) No 3605/93                                           |This Regulation                                                      |
|Section 1                                                            |Chapter I                                                            |
|Article 1(1) to (5)                                                  |Article 1(1) to (5)                                                  |
|Article 2                                                            |Article 1(6)                                                         |
|Article 3                                                            |Article 2                                                            |
|Section 2                                                            |Chapter II                                                           |
|Article 4(1)                                                         |Article 3(1)                                                         |
|Article 4(2), first to fifth indents                                 |Article 3(2)(a) to (e)                                               |
|Article 4(3), first and second indents                               |Article 3(3)(a) and (b)                                              |
|Article 4(4)                                                         |Article 3(4)                                                         |
|Articles 5 to 8                                                      |Articles 4 to 7                                                      |
|Section 2a                                                           |Chapter III                                                          |
|Article 8a(1)                                                        |Article 8(1)                                                         |
|Article 8a(2), first subparagraph                                    |Article 8(2), first subparagraph                                     |
|Article 8a(2), second subparagraph, first to fourth indents          |Article 8(2), second subparagraph, (a) to (d)                        |
|Article 8(a)(2), third subparagraph                                  |Article 8(2), third subparagraph                                     |
|Article 8(a)(3)                                                      |Article 8(3)                                                         |
|Article 8b                                                           |Article 9                                                            |
|Article 8c                                                           |Article 10                                                           |
|Article 8d, first paragraph, first and second sentences              |Article 11(1)                                                        |
|Article 8d, first paragraph, third sentence                          |Article 11(3), third subparagraph                                    |
|Article 8d, second paragraph, first and second sentences             |Article 11(2)                                                        |
|Article 8d, second paragraph, third sentence                         |Article 11(3), second subparagraph                                   |
|Article 8d, second paragraph, fourth sentence                        |Article 11(3), first subparagraph                                    |
|Article 8d, third paragraph                                          |Article 11(4)                                                        |
|Article 8e                                                           |Article 12                                                           |
|Article 8f                                                           |Article 13                                                           |
|Section 2b                                                           |Chapter IV                                                           |
|Article 8g                                                           |Article 14                                                           |
|Article 8h                                                           |Article 15                                                           |
|Section 2c                                                           |Chapter V                                                            |
|Article 8i                                                           |Article 16                                                           |
|Article 8j                                                           |Article 17                                                           |
|________                                                             |Article 18                                                           |
|________                                                             |Article 19                                                           |
|________                                                             |Annex I                                                              |
|________                                                             |Annex II                                                             |

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[1]   COM(87) 868 PV.
[2]   See Annex 3 to Part A of the Conclusions.
[3]   Carried out pursuant to the Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament and the  Council  –  Codification  of  the  Acquis
      communautaire, COM(2001) 645 final.
[4]   See Annex I to this proposal.
[5]   OJ C
[6]   OJ C
[7]   OJ C
[8]   OJ L 332, 31.12.1993, p. 7. Regulation as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 2103/2005 (OJ L 337, 22.12.2005, p. 1).
[9]   See Annex I
[10]   Ö OJ L[310], [30.11.1996], p. [1. Regulation as last amended by Regulation (EC) No  1267/2003  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the
      Council, OJ L 180, 18.7.2003, p. 1] Õ
[11]  OJ L 112, 29.4.1997, p. 56.