CELEX: 31964D0247
Language: en
Date: 1964-04-15 00:00:00
Title: 64/247/EEC: Council Decision of 15 April 1964 setting up a Medium-term Economic Policy Committee

Official Journal of the European Communities                                     133
22.4.64                       OFFICIAL JOURNAL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES                                        1031 /64
                                                  COUNCIL DECISION
                                                     of 15 April 1964
                                 setting up a Medium-term Economic Policy Committee
                                                      (64/247/EEC)
THE COUNCIL OF THE             EUROPEAN ECONOMIC                "Whereas it is especially desirable to ensure close
COMMUNITY,                                                       co-ordination of the policies of Member States and
                                                                Community institutions in fields which are of decisive
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the Euro­              importance for the economic and social development
pean Economic Community, and in particular                      of the Community ;
Articles 105 and 145 thereof;
                                                                Whereas it is desirable to integrate into a single econ­
                                                                 omic programme covering a period of several years
Having regard to the Recommendation of the Com­                 the common policies to be implemented in 'various
mission ;                                                       fields ;
Having regard to the Opinion of the European Par­               Whereas to this end it is appropriate to lay down a
liament1 ;                                                      procedure for the preparation and adoption of a
                                                                medium-term economic policy programme which will
Having regard to the Opinion of the Economic and                provide guidelines for the action of Community insti­
Social Committee2 ;                                             tutions and Member States ;
Whereas in accordance with Article 2 of the Treaty              HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS :
the Community has as its task, by establishing a com­
mon market and progressively approximating the                  1 . A Medium-term Economic Policy Committee is
economic policies of Member States, to promote                  hereby set up to promote co-ordination of the eco­
throughout the Community a harmonious develop­                  nomic policies of Member States .
ment of economic activities, a continuous and bal­
anced expansion, an increase in stability, an acceler­
ated raising of the standard of living and closer re­            2.     The Committee shall in particular be respon­
lations between the States belonging to it;                     sible for preparing, in the light of all available infor­
                                                                mation and in particular of the forecasts of a group of
Whereas under Articles 6 and 105 of the Treaty,                 experts attached to the Commission, a preliminary
Member States have undertaken to co-ordinate their              draft of a medium-term economic policy programme
economic policies and under Article 145 thereof the             outlining in broad terms the economic policies which
                                                                the Member States and the institutions of the Com­
Council must ensure co-ordination of the general
economic policies of the Member States ;                        munity intend to follow during the period under
                                                                consideration, and designed to ensure the co­
                                                                ordination of such policies.
Whereas medium-term forecasts will provide infor­
mation regarding future economic and social trends              That programme shall cover a period of about five
and will thereby facilitate the taking of national and          years .
Community decisions, the effects of which do not be­
come apparent until some time later;                            The Commission shall draw up a draft programme
                                                                 on the basis of the work of the Medium-term Eco­
                                                                nomic Policy Committee. This draft shall indicate the
1 OJ No 24, 8.2.1964, p. 408/64.                                points in respect of which it differs from the prelimi­
2 OJ No 38, 5.3.1964, p. 643 /64.                               nary draft of the Committee.
 ---pagebreak---  134                              Official Journal of the European Communities
The Commission shall forward the draft programme            Committee and the alternates appointed by the Mem­
to the Council, which shall forthwith place it before       ber States shall be selected from among senior of­
the European Parliament and the Economic and                ficials responsible for economic policy in their own
Social Committee for their Opinions.                        countries .
The Council and the governments of Member States            The term of office of the members of the Committee
must give their approval before the programme can           and the alternates shall be two years. It shall be re­
be adopted.                                                 newable.
The adoption of the Programme by the Council and
the Governments of the Member States shall be evi­          5.     The Committee shall elect its officers for a
dence of their intention to follow the guidelines           period of two years. It shall adopt its own rules of
therein in the fields to which the programme relates.       procedure and shall submit them for the approval of
                                                            the Council ; the Council shall act after obtaining
                                                            the Opinion of the Commission.
The Committee shall undertake an annual review of
the programme in order to adapt it if necessary.            Secretarial, services shall be provided for the Commit­
                                                            tee by the Commission. The Commission shall deal
3 . The Committee shall keep under review the               with preparation of the work and establish all necess­
medium-term economic policies of the Member States          ary contacts with existing Committees and working
and shall consider, whether they are compatible with        parties.
the programme adopted pursuant to the procedure
provided for in paragraph 2 of this Decision.               6. The Committee may entrust the study of specific
                                                            questions to working parties consisting of certain
It shall analyse the development of the economy in          of its members or alternates or of experts.
order to discover the reasons for any divergence from
the forecasts referred to in paragraph 2 .
                                                            7. The Committee shall address its reports and
It shall, at the request of the Council or of the Com­      Opinions to the Council and to the Commission.
mission or on its own initiative, deliver Opinions to
assist and inform the competent institutions of the
Community and of Member States in pursuing the              Done at Brussels, 15 April 1964.
economic policy envisaged.
                                                                                             For the Council
4.    The Member States and the Commission shall
                                                                                              The President
each appoint two members of the Committee. They,
may also appoint two alternates. The members of the                                             H. FAYAT