CELEX: 51983PC0016
Language: en
Date: 1983-01-27
Title: PROPOSAL FOR A COUNCIL REGULATION (EEC) on the implementation of the spécial programme to combat hunger in the world (presented by the Commission to the Council)

ARCHIVES HISTORIQUES
DE LA COMMISSION
COLLECTION RELIEE DES
DOCUMENTS "COM"
COM (83) 016
Vol. 1983/0008
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 ---pagebreak--- COMMISSION OF THE E U R O P E A N COMMUNITIES
                                                      COM(83) 16 f i n a l
                                                      Brussels,    27    January 1983
                       PROPOSAL FOR A COUNCIL REGULATION (EEC)
            on t h e i m p l e m e n t a t i o n o f t h e spécial programme t o combat
            hunger i n t h e w o r l d
                    ( p r e s e n t e d by t h e Commission t o t h e C o u n c i l )
 COM(83) 16 f i n a l
 ---pagebreak--- EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM
I.    S p e c i a l measures to combat world hunger were approved i n p r i n c i p l e by
      the budgetary authority i n the course of the adoption of the 1983
      budget; a new heading ( A r t i c l e 958: Special programme to combat hunger
      i n the world) was inserted, with an appropriation of 50m ECU.
      This was the culmination of Parliament's great debate on the subject -
      the adoption o f the Ferrero r e s o l u t i o n , and the talks on two Commission
      Communications to the Council and Parliament, v i z . "Towards a plan of
      a c t i o n to combat world hunger" (COM(81)560 f i n a l , 2 October 1981)           and "A
      s p e c i a l programme to combat hunger i n the world" (COM(82)320 f i n a l , 3
      June 1982).
2.    When adopting t r a n s f e r proposal No. 30/82, the Council made the
      f o l l o w i n g statement        imposing c e r t a i n conditions on the use of the funds
      to be released f o r implementation of the planned measures:
       "The Council has not been able to agree to the transfer proposed by the
      Commission r e l a t i n g to hunger i n the world, i n the absence of a decision
      on the substance of the action plan which the Commission communicated to
       the C o u n c i l .
      As soon as such a d e c i s i o n i s taken, on the b a s i s of a formal proposal
      from the Commission on implementation of t h i s action plan, on which the
      Council undertakes to take a d e c i s i o n as soon as possible, the Council
      w i l l make any necessary budget provisions i n accordance with the
       appropriate procedures."
 3.    The Commission has accepted that the implementation of the new A r t i c l e
       958 i n the 1983 Budget would e n t a i l a p p l i c a t i o n of the provisions of the
       J o i n t D e c l a r a t i o n on various measures to improve the budgetary       procedure
       signed by the Council, Parliament and the Commission on 30 June
        (statement by Mr. Tugendhat at the plenary session o f Parliament on 26
       October 1982).
       Under the J o i n t Declaration, the Commission i s obliged to submit a
       proposal f o r a Council r e g u l a t i o n by the end of January, while the
       Council and Parliament must do a l l they can to get the regulation
        adopted by the end of May.
 ---pagebreak---                                                                                                                               2
   The text of the proposal i n question i s annexed to t h i s communication.
   OBJECTIVES: SCOPE OF OPERATIONS AND                         IMPLEMENTATION PROCEDURES
4. The b a s i c g u i d e l i n e s f o r the campaign, to t a c k l e world hunger have
   already been described i n the two e a r l i e r Commission communications, and
   w i l l here be summarized only b r i e f l y i n s o f a r as they come w i t h i n the
   scope of the proposed r e g u l a t i o n .
   S e c t o r a l breakdown
5. The Community operations would f a l l i n t o two main c a t e g o r i e s :
                                                                    1
               support f o r b e n e f i c i a r y countries food s t r a t e g i e s or p o l i c i e s ;
                                                                                                       1
               such operations, aimed at i n c r e a s i n g these c o u n t r i e s                     self-
               s u f f i c i e n c y i n food, would provide assistance i n the r u r a l s e c t o r
               and      i n p a r t i c u l a r with the production, marketing, storage and
                t r a n s p o r t a t i o n of food;
               operations with a s p e c i f i c "theme", i . e . s t r u c t u r a l p r o j e c t s
               designed          to protect n a t u r a l ressources i n the developing countries
               and improve the way                they are u t i l i z e d .  They would pave the                    way
               f o r work i n areas             of general i n t e r e s t such as the e f f i c i e n t use of
               fuelwood, r e a f f o r e s t a t i o n , c o n t r o l of d e s e r t i f i c a t i o n , v i l l a g e water
               supplies and improvement of the domestic                         and w i l d l i v e s t o c k population.
   T r a i n i n g operations could a l s o be financed i n the above f i e l d s .
   Geographical              spread
6. The l e a s t developed c o u n t r i e s should have a p r i o r i t y claim on a i d to
   improve the food p o s i t i o n .
   Nature of operations
7. Community a i d can be provided e i t h e r separately or i n combination                                        with
   external finance from other sources.                            I t can e i t h e r be supplied d i r e c t
 ---pagebreak---      or channelled v i a n a t i o n a l regional or i n t e r n a t i o n a l f i n a n c i a l bodies.
8.   Procedures            and conditions
     Given the objectives to be attained, the type of country concerned                                   and
     the s e c t o r a l g u i d e l i n e s put forward i n this communication, the
     Commission f e e l s that the only conceivable form of aid would be grant
     aid.
     In i t s view a l l n a t u r a l and l e g a l persons of Member States or of the
     b e n e f i c i a r y s t a t e should be e l i g i b l e    to p a r t i c i p a t e on equal terms i n
     i n v i t a t i o n s to tender and contracts.                The p o s s i b i l i t y of extending
     e l i g i b i l i t y to other developing countries which are r e c i p i e n t s of
     Community a i d should also be kept open.
9.   Implementation
     The appropriations the budget authority has entered i n the 1983                                  general
     budget are n o n - d i f f e r e n t i a t e d , which means they must be committed wi thin
     the year, otherwise they w i l l be c a n c e l l e d .
     The Commission w i l l be attempting to reconcile demands made by the
     administration of these appropriations with the implementation                                   of the
     planned measures.                The supply of inputs such as f e r t i l i z e r , seeds and
     t o o l s , f o r which n o n - d i f f e r e n t i a t e d appropriations can e a s i l y be used,
     w i l l generate counterpart funds which can be used i n turn to develop
      a g r i c u l t u r a l and food production over a number of years.
 10. Consultation and n o t i f i c a t i o n             procedures
     The f i n a n c i n g d e c i s i o n s r e l a t i n g to the various measures w i l l be adopted
     by the Commission, taking i n t o account the opinion of an advisory
      committee.
 ---pagebreak---                                                                                                   4
  The Commission proposes that a committee of Member S t a l e s '
representatives be s e t up, to be chaired by a Commission representative.
I t i s proposed that the new committee be consulted i n accordance with
the procedure l a i d down f o r the "food a i d " committee by Council
regulation EEC No. 3331/82 of 3 December 1982 on food a i d p o l i c y and
food a i d management.          This would enable the Commission to take
immediately-applicable            d e c i s i o n s , provided the committee returned a
favourable opinion.           Otherwise, the Commission would l a y the matter
before        the Council w i t h i n a month, and postpone a p p l i c a t i o n of the
d e c i s i o n s concerned f o r a maximum of two months.            The Council, a c t i n g by
a g u a l i f i e d majority, could take a d i f f e r e n t d e c i s i o n within the two
months .
The Commission w i l l report to the Council and Parliament on
implementation of the r e g u l a t i o n .
Conclusion
On the basis of the proposal i n this Commission communication, the
Council i s asked to adopt the r e g u l a t i o n at annex.
 ---pagebreak---                                                      Proposal f o ra                                                         r,
                                           COUNCIL REGULATION ( E E C )
               implementing            thespecial          worldwide famine relief          programme
 THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
 Having regard to the Treaty e s t a b l i s h i n g               the European Economic Community, and
 in p a r t i c u l a r  A r t i c l e 235  thereof,
 Having regard to the proposal from the Commission (1),
 Having regard to the Opinion of the European Parliament (2);
  Whereas the Community, as part of i t s development p o l i c y , i s to undertake a
  world    famine       relief        campaign     i n t h e form o f a " s p e c i a l programme" c o m p r i s i n g
  structural         measures to promote r u r a l development and food s e l f - s u f f i c i e n c y i n
  the short term and thus provide backing f o r food p o l i c i e s or strategies,                               plus
  longer-term operations i n s p e c i f i c f i e l d s v i t a l f o r the future and s u r v i v a l of
  many r u r a l communities,
   Whereas t h e i m p l e m e n t a t i o n o f t h i s     special  programme would be l i k e l y         t o c o n t r i b u t e to
  the attainment of the Community's o b j e c t i v e s ;
- Whereas t h e a c t i o n         t o be taken t o implement         t h e a i d p r o v i d e d f o r under t h e programme
  and t h e o b j e c t i v e s     t o be a t t a i n e d  should be laid     down;
  Whereas p r o v i s i o n should be made f o r a procedure f o r the management of such
  aid ;
 Whereas the Treaty does not provide s p e c i f i c powers f o r this purpose,
 HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION.
   (1)  OJ No C
   (2)  OJ No C
 ---pagebreak---                                                                                                                              6
Article    1
The Community         shall,      on an e x p e r i m e n t a l     b a s i s , implement            s p e c i a l famine    relief
measures t o combat w o r l d           hunger, i n accordance                   with      the criteria            and   procedures
provided     for in this           Regulation.
Article    2
The a i d granted         under t h i s     Regulation           shall      be d i r e c t e d t o a l l d e v e l o p i n g
countries,       especially the             least-developed.
Article     3
1.    Community          aid shall       take     t h e form       both      of measures t o support                  the
      implementation             of food      policies         or s t r a t e g i e s which           the beneficiary
      countries          have d e c i d e d   t o undertake            i n order        to increase their               level
      of    self-sufficiency             i n food,       and of s t r u c t u r a l measures designed                     to
      protect        the natural         resources         of developing              c o u n t r i e s and improve t h e
      way     i n which these           resources         are     utilized.
2.    Measures i n support               of food        strategies shall                 consist of operations               in
      the     rural      sector      relating       in particular to the production,                                marketing,
      storage        and t r a n s p o r t a t i o n of a g r i c u l t u r a l      products.
 3.   S t r u c t u r a l measures s h a l l        c o n s i s t of the f i n a n c i n g of operations                  to
      p a v e t h e way       f o r action i n areas              of general           i n t e r e s t such       as the
       efficient         u s e o f wood      fuel,      r e a f f o r e s t a t i o n and p r e v e n t i o n      of the
       extension         of desert, village               water       supplies or the efficient                       manage­
       ment     of domestic           and w i l d l i v e s t o c k .
 4.    Finance        shall     a l s o be p r o v i d e d    for training operations                        i n the   fields
       referred         t o i n paragraphs           2 a n d 3, v o c a t i o n a l and t e c h n i c a l t r a i n i n g
       in the f i e l d        of development, and elementary                          education           in rural      areas.
 ---pagebreak---                                                                                                        7
 Article 4
 Aid s h a l l be granted by the Community e i t h e r autonomously or by means of
 co-financing with Member States or with m u l t i l a t e r a l or regional bodies.
 The Community nature of the a i d s h a l l be maintained.
Article 5
 Community a i d s h a l l be in the form of non-reimbursable                   grants.
Article 6
 Aid may cover both expenditure on imports and local expenditure required to carry
out projects and programmes.
Taxes, d u t i e s and charges s h a l l be excluded from Community financing.
Article 7
P a r t i c i p a t i o n i n i n v i t a t i o n s to tender and contracts s h a l l be open on equal
terms to a l l natural or l e g a l persons of Member States and the r e c i p i e n t
s t a t e . Such p a r t i c i p a t i o n may be extended       to other developing countries which
are r e c i p i e n t s of Community a i d .
 ---pagebreak---                                                                                                                        8
Article     8
1.      A Management         Committee f o r the s p e c i a l worldwide famine                          relief    programme
         is hereby     e s t a b l i s h e d , c o n s i s t i n g o f r e p r e s e n t a t i v e s o f t h e Member    States
        and   with   a Commission              r e p r e s e n t a t i v e as Chairman.            The Commission     shall
        provide     the Secretariat of the                        Committee.
2.      The Committee s h a l l            d r a w u p i t s own          rules of        procedure.
Article     9
Decisions granting             aid shall           be taken          i n accordance        with     the procedure      laid
down    in Article       8 of Council              Regulation            No 3 3 3 1 / 8 2 (1) on f o o d     aid policy
and   food    a i d management.
Article     10
The   Commission       shall       r e p o r t t o t h e C o u n c i l and t h e European               Parliament    on t h e
implementation         of this          Regulation.
Article     11
This    Regulation       shall       enter       i n t o f o r c e on t h e day f o l l o w i n g i t s p u b l i c a t i o n i n
the   Official      Journal of the European                         Communities.
This    Regulation       shall       be b i n d i n g      i n i t s e n t i r e t y and d i r e c t l y   applicable in
all   Member      States.
Done a t B r u s s e l s ,                                                                   For the C o u n c i l
                                                                                                The   President
( 1 ) 0 J No L 3 5 2 , 1 4 . 1 2 . 1 9 8 2 , p . 1 .