CELEX: 51989PC0677(01)
Language: en
Date: 1989-12-21
Title: AMENDMENT: DRAFT JOINT DECISION OF THE COUNCIL AND THE COMMISSION ESTABLISHING A PROGRAMME OF OPTIONS SPECIFIC TO THE REMOTE AND INSULAR NATURE OF THE FRENCH OVERSEAS DEPARTMENTS ( POSEIDOM )

30. 1. 90                           Official Journal of the European Communities                               No C 22/7
                                                            II
                                                    (Preparatory Acts)
                                              COMMISSION
          Amendment to the draft Joint Decision of the Council and the Commission setting up a
          programme of options specific to the remote and insular nature of the French overseas
                                               departments (Poseidom) (')
                                                  (COM(89) 677 final)
          (Submitted by the Commission pursuant to Article 149 (3) of the EEC Treaty on 21 December
                                                           1989)
                                                       (90/C 22/06)
          RECITALS
          The first, fifth and sixth recitals are amended as follows:
                'Whereas the French overseas departments, hereinafter referred to as the ' O D ' , which also
                constitute regions within the meaning of the French Law of 2 August 1984, suffer from a
                serious structural lack of development aggravated by a number of constraints (remoteness,
                isolation, small mise, difficult terrain and climate, and economic dependence on a small
                number of products) whose unchanging nature and combined impact have serious adverse
                effects on their economic and social development; whereas these constraints differentiate
                sharply the social and economic context of the O D from that of the other Community
                regions, particularly in the area of unemployment, the level of which is among the highest
                in the Community and primarily affects young people;
                •Whereas the O D form an integral part of the Community pursuant to Article 227 [three
                words deleted] as interpreted by decisions of the Court of Justice, which has ruled that the
                provisions of the Treaty and secondary legislation apply automatically to the O D , it being
                understood that it is always possible to adopt specific measures to assist them to the extent
                that, and for as long as, there remains an objective need for such measures with a view to
                the 'economic and social development of these areas','
                 'Whereas, however, while forming an integral part of the Community, the O D are located
                 in developing regions which lie in tropical etitudes; whereas any operation concerning the
                 O D must therefore be based on a clear understanding of this twofold dimension and be
                 aimed both at the objective of completing the internal market and at that of recognising
                 the regional reality; whereas the objective of completing the internal market should be
                 reflected in the maintenance, modification or abolition of rules in force in the O D in line
                 with those which will become the norm in the Community as a whole, while enabling the
                 departments to catch up with the average Community economic and social level;'
          After the seventh recital, the following new recital is added:
                 'Whereas Community rules must be adapted to the need to protect the environment and
                 natural resources, to take into account the fragility of the island environments, the vulner-
                 ability of their agriculture and these territories' special sensitivity to the increasing
                 pressures of tourism;'
           (') OJ No C 53, 2. 3. 1989, p. 12.
 ---pagebreak--- N o C 22/8                             Official Journal of the European Communities                           30. 1. 90
            The former 11th recital is amended as follows:
                  'Whereas some of the tropical products originating in the O D are not yet covered by
                  common measures, which means that the aims set out in Article 39 of the Treaty cannot
                  be attained in respect of the producers concerned; whereas it will therefore be necessary,
                  firstly to apply to the O D , subject to adjustments, the existing common organisations of
                  the market, and, secondly, to draw up or adjust certain common organisation
                  arrangements or to make provision for ad hoc solutions; whereas it will be necessary in
                  particular to adopt common measures for the banana market that take account, of the
                  economic and social importance of this product in certain of the O D so as to guarantee
                  producers a fair standard of living taking account of the advisability of guaranteeing a
                  certain form of Community preference;'
            The former 13th recital is amended as follows:
                  'Whereas the O D are suppliers on the Community market in Europe of tropical products
                  that are similar to and in competition with those produced in part at lower cost in neigh-
                  bouring developing countries which enjoy preferential terms of access to the Community
                  market, so that the principle of Community preference is difficult to apply in practice to
                  products obtained from the O D ; whereas for the O D the neighbouring countries also
                  represent a potential outlet for their [word deleted] products, as the important tourist
                  industry in the region is generally supplied with products from other sources at lower cost
                  and greater regional cooperation could provide the O D with a means of making better use
                  of this outlet; whereas this handicap too should be mitigated by means of appropriate
                  measures;'
            After the former 16th recital, the following two new recitals are added:
                 'Whereas it is important that regular means of transport should be available, at the lowest
                 cost, to overcome the obstacles of remoteness and insularity;
                 Whereas the question of transport which is of major importance to the economy of the
                 O D and the social and cultural development of their inhabitants, is not fully taken into
                 account at Community level; whereas, inter alia, Directive 87/601/EEC (') and Decision
                 87/602/EEC (2) of 14 December 1987, on fares for scheduled air services between
                 Member States, and on the sharing of passenger capacity and on access for air carriers to
                 scheduled air-service routes between Member States, respectively, should, when next
                 revised, be amended to apply to services to the O D ; whereas the Commission has already
                 presented proposals to the Council for a Directive and a Decision along these lines;
                 whereas air transport is a regional development tool and, as part of the partnership
                 arrangements involving local authorities, efforts should be made to identify the most
                 suitable forms for increased liberalization;'
           After the former 17th recital, the following two new recitals are added:
                 'Whereas a cohesive programme involving all the aid mechanisms of the Community and
                 the national and regional authorities may permit optimum and more effective use of the
                 resources of the Structural Funds;
                Whereas such programming must provide a guarantee of the active involvement of local,
                regional and national authorities and the complementarity of Community measures, in
                compliance with the principles of partnership and a joint contribution;'
           (*) OJ No L 374, 31. 12. 1987, p. 12.
           C) OJ No L 374, 31. 12. 1987, p. 19.
 ---pagebreak--- 30190                                       COfficial]oumaloftheEuropeanCommunities                                                                         l^oC22B9
      A^Ttoei^
      Articlel ^ i s amended as follows^
              ^2.        P o s e i d o m s h a l l b e b a s e d o n t h e t w o f o l d p r i n c i p l e t h a t t h e C O D f o r m |^two words
              deleted^ part of the Community and that the regional reality, characterized by the special
              features and constraints specific to the regions concerned as distinct from the Community
              asawhole,mustberecogni^edB
      In Article 3 , p o i n t s ^ a n d ^ a r e amended as follows^
              ^        making possible the realistic inclusion of the C^D in the Community by establishing an
                       appropriate framework for the application of common policies in those departments^
              ^        helping the COD catch up economically and socially,withaview to the completion of
                       the internal marketby 31 December 1992, through coordinated and concentrated
                       action involving the structural Runds, the European Investment Bank and other
                       Community instruments^ measures adopted by nationalorregionalauthoritiesmust
                      be integrated with such actions^
      A r t i c l e ^ i s amended as follows^
              ^Community measures already adopted for the COD ^ill be maintained, extended or
              adopted in accordance with this Decision in order toprovide a b e t t e r response to the
              specific characteristics of the COD and in order to ensure that they catchup economically
              andsociallyB
      The following newArticle^a is added^
              The Community and the relevant member ^tate must take all possible measures to enable
              different airline companies, particularly those locally based, to serve the COD in the interest
              of their development.
              T h e C o m m i s s i o n a n d t h e r e l e v a n t ^ l e m b e r ^ t a t e s h a l l t a k e a l l p o s s i b l e m e a s u r e s i n the
              field of maritime transport to guaranteeareduction on the cost of maritime transport, in
              particular t h r o u g h a p o l i c y of p r i c e d i f f e r e n t i a t i o n w i t h a v i e w t o p r o m o t i n g t h e d e v e P
              opment of local productionB
      Article D^
      — the second subparagraph of p a r a g r a p h l i s amended as follows^
            ^The Council or the Commission, as appropriate,will adopt the first measures necessary to
            this and within siz months of the date this Decision takes effectB
      — the following new first subparagraph is inserted in paragraph 2^
            ^n view of the economic and social importance of bananas for the RCOD and the objective
            of a f a i r s t a n d a r d o f living for producers, theCommissionshall, without waiting for the
            a d o p t i o n o f c o m m o n r u l e s i n particular under structural Rundrules,decideonactions to
            assist this s e c t o r . ^ i t h a v i e w to improving the conditions of production and competition,
            such actions shall take the form ^ ^ r ^ ^ of measures concerning research, harvesting,
            processing and treatment, transport, storage, marketing and commercial promotion.
      — the following new second subparagraph is added to paragraph3^
           ^The Council and the Commission, each to the eztent to which it is concerned, shall adopt
           as s o o n a s possible the structural measuresrequiredtosafeguardthe essential interests of
           Community rum producers in order to improve their competitiveness, restructure the chain
           and assist the marketing of their production withaview to the gradual abolition of national
           shares.L^he Commission shall submit the relevant proposals to the Council b y 3 0 ] u n e ! 9 9 0 .
           It shall report b y 3 l D e c e m b e r ! 9 9 2 on the situation of Community producers and on the
           implementation of the above measuresB
 ---pagebreak--- No C 22/10                           Official Journal of the European Communities                          30. 1. 90
           Article 10 (3) is amended as follows:
                '3.    Pursuant to Article 8 of Regulation (EEC) No 2052/88, the French authorities and
                the Commission shall ensure that measures to assist the FOD that are covered by
                Community support frameworks are carried out primarily through the implementation of
                operational programmes, paying due regard to the principles, of partnership and a joint
                contribution.'
           Article 11 (2) is replaced by the following new paragraph 2:
                '2.    Regional trade cooperation could take the form of regional trade agreements, in
                accordance with the provisions of the Treaty.
                Moreover, common commercial promotion measures by the FOD, the O C T anct neigh-
                bouring ACP States could be financed, in accordance with the methods indicated in
                paragraph 3, in a way that is coordinated and complies with the respective rules and
                responsibilities of each Fund.'
           Amendment to the proposal for a Council Decision concerning the dock dues arrangements in
                                           the French overseas departments (')
                                                   (COM(89) 677 final)
                                                      (90/C 22/07)
           RECITALS
           The third recital is amended as follows:
                'Whereas the Eleventh Council Directive 80/368/EEC of 26 March 1980 on the harmon-
                ization of the laws of the Member States relating to turnover taxes excluded the O D from
                the scope of the Sixth Directive 77/388/EEC on the common system of VAT;' [19 words
                deleted]
           After the third recital, the following new recital is added:
                'Whereas each O D imposes a special charge on all goods imported into its territory,
                known as dock dues and whereas these dock dues, which originated in the 19th century,
                apply to both finished products and intermediate products coming from elsewhere, and are
                therefore a cause of discrimination and constitute an obstacle to the free movement of
                goods;
           The former fourth recital is amended as follows:
                'Whereas the dock dues [6 words deleted] at present constitute a means of support for
                local production, which has to contend with the problems of remoteness and insularity;'
                [24 words deleted]
           After the former fourth recital, the following new recital is added:
                'Whereas they also constitute a vital instrument of self-reliance and local democracy, and
                provide resources which contribute to the economic and social development of the O D ; '
           (') OJ No C 39, 16. 2. 1989, p. 6.