CELEX: 51992PC0015(01)
Language: en
Date: 1992-02-24
Title: PROPOSAL FOR A COUNCIL REGULATION ( EEC ) INTRODUCING A DECLARATION OF EUROPEAN INTEREST TO FACILITATE THE ESTABLISHMENT OF TRANS-EUROPEAN NETWORKS IN THE TRANSPORT DOMAIN

20 . 3 . 92                                 Official Journal of the European Communities                                   No C 71 / 7
             Proposal for a Council Regulation (EEC) introducing a declaration of European interest to
                      facilitate the establishment of trans-European networks in the transport domain
                                                             (92 / C 71 / 05)
                                                           COM(92) 15 final
                                          (Submitted by the Commission on 24 February 1992)
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES ,                                Whereas such a commitment could be expressed in the
                                                                         form of a declaration of European interest ;
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European
Economic Community, and in particular Articles 75 and                    Whereas this declaration should allow the Member
84 thereof,                                                              States to take the appropriate measures for the re­
                                                                         alization of the guidelines established by the Council ;
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,                       Whereas before such a declaration is issued all interested
                                                                         parties should have the opportunity to make known their
                                                                         views ;
Having regard to the opinion of the European
Parliament,
                                                                         Whereas such a declaration should not create a right to
                                                                         any financing at any stage of the project or in any form
Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and                         whatsoever, on the part of the Community or the
Social Committee ,                                                       Member States ; whereas financing will be allocated
                                                                         according to the procedures established for this purpose ;
Whereas Council Regulation (EEC) No 3359 / 90 (')
relates to an action programme in the field of transport                 Whereas a declaration should permit the opening up to
infrastructure with a view to the completion of the inte­                competition of the realization of the projects while
grated transport market in 1992 ;                                        ensuring transparency in the implementation of the
                                                                         guidelines for trans-European networks in transport ;
Whereas the realization of the free movement of
persons, goods, and services and the reinforcement of                    Whereas a declaration should be attributed to a project
the economic and social cohesion of the Community                        on the basis of its profile and therefore should not set its
requires trans-European networks for transport ;                         sights on a particular promoter ;
                                                                         Whereas the Commission should, for the grant of this
Whereas the financing requirements for such trans­                       declaration, be assisted by the Transport Infrastructure
European networks mean that all available resources,                     Committee,       established         by   Council   Decision
and in particular private capital, must be mobilized ;                   78 / 174/EEC O ;
Whereas, if such trans-European network projects are to                  Whereas the Commission should report on declarations
attract the necessary financial resources, the technical,                of European interest issued and their practical conse­
legal, administrative and political conditions conducive                 quences, so that the effectiveness of the procedure
to their implementation must exist ;                                     introduced may be assessed ,
Whereas a determination by the Community institutions                    HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION :
to promote and facilitate the implementation of projects,
recognized as being of European interest and as being
economically sound, is likely to facilitate their financing                                           Article 1
privately ;
                                                                         In order to facilitate the emergence and establishment of
                                                                         the trans-European networks necessary to the proper
(') OJ No L 326 , 14 . 11 . 1990 , p. 1 .                                 (') OJ No L 54 , 25 . 2 . 1978 , p. 16 .
 ---pagebreak---  No C 71 / 8                            Official Journal of the European Communities                                 20 . 3 . 92
 functioning of the area without internal frontiers, and           The grant of the declaration of European interest to a
 the reinforcement of the economic and social cohesion             project shall be decided by the Commission in
 of the Community, a declaration of European interest              accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 6,
 may be granted to a particular project involving                  within six months of the date of invitation to the
 transport.                                                        Member States to make known their views. In duly
                                                                   justified circumstances the Commission may extend this
                           Article 2                               period.
A declaration of European interest is an acknowl­                                           Article 6
edgement that implementation of the project comes
within the series of guidelines established by the Council
                                                                  The Commission shall be assisted by the Transport Infra­
covering the objectives, priorities, as well as the broad          structure Committee .
 lines of measures in the sphere of trans-European
transport networks .
                                                                  The representative of the Commission shall submit to the
The grant of this declaration shall not, however, create           committee a draft of the measures to be taken . The
any right to financing at whatever stage of the project            committee shall deliver its opinion on the draft, within a
and in any form whatsoever, from the Community or the             time limit which the chairman may lay down according
 Member States .                                                  to the urgency of the matter, if necessary by taking a
                                                                  vote .
                           Article 3
                                                                  The opinion shall be recorded in the minutes ; in
In order to be eligible for a declaration of European             addition, each Member State shall have the right to ask
interest, projects shall satisfy the conditions set out in the    to have its position recorded in the minutes .
Annex hereto .
                                                                  The Commission shall take the utmost account of the
                           Article 4
                                                                  opinion delivered by the committee . It shall inform the
Projects shall be submitted to the Commission .                   committee of the manner in which its opinion has been
                                                                  taken into account.
The Commission shall carry out a preliminary assessment
of conformity with the conditions laid down.                                                Article 7
If, following this evaluation, the Commission considers           The Commission shall see to it that the information
that the conditions have been satisfied, it shall invite the      obtained in the framework of this Regulation is used
Member States concerned to make known their obser­                with due regard to the protection of the interests of all
vations within a specified period .                               the parties concerned .
The Commission shall also publish a description of the
project, its main features and a statement as to its eligi­                                 Article 8
bility for a declaration of European interest in the
Official Journal ofthe European Communities, with a view          The Commission shall, by 31 December 1996, transmit
to allowing other interested parties to express their views .     to the European Parliament and the Council a report
Interested parties shall have three months from the date          assessing the effectiveness of the procedure introduced
of publication within which to make known their                   and accompanied, where necessary, by appropriate
opinions to the Commission .                                      proposals .
                           Article 5                                                        Article 9
The Commission shall carry out a detailed assessment of           This Regulation shall enter into force on 1 January 1993 .
the conformity to the conditions set out to ensure that           It shall expire on 31 December 1997 .
the project corresponds with the objectives and the
priorities of the Member State or Member States
concerned , within the framework of the guidelines                This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and
referred to in Article 2 .                                        directly applicable in all Member States .
 ---pagebreak--- 20 . 3 . 92                               Official Journal of the European Communities                                      No C 71 / 9
                                                                   ANNEX
                                              Eligibility conditions referred to in Article 3
             1 . The project presented must generate direct economic effects in the Community. A joint project
                 involving one or more Member States of the Community and one or more third countries may also be
                 submitted for consideration for a declaration of European interest.
             2 . The project must be clearly described and defined in all its aspects (nature and content of the project,
                 objectives and expected benefits, participants , future users, populations and local communities
                 concerned, location, timetable for implementation, technical specifications and other relevant infor­
                 mation).
             3 . The project must have been the subject of technical and economic feasibility studies, showing that it is
                 economically sound and viable, indicating the foreseeable obstacles to its completion. The results of such
                 studies must be attached to the application.
             4 . The studies presented must demonstrate the viability of the project and the profitability for private
                 investments participating significantly in its realization. The description of the mechanisms which should
                 be put in place to ensure the financing of the project will be communicated to the Commission in
                 confidence .
             5 . Where relevant, the project must have been the subject of an environmental impact study.
             6 . The procedure for implementation envisaged must be consistent with Community policies and legis­
                 lation, and particularly with the policies on competition, liberalization of public procurement, and
                 environment .
             Proposal for a Council Regulation (EEC) introducing a declaration of European interest to
             facilitate the establishment of trans-European networks in the electricity and natural gas domain
                                                               (92/C 71 /06)
                                                            COM(92) 15 final
                                       (Submitted by the Commission on 24 February 1992)
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES ,                                  Whereas the realization of the free movement of
                                                                           persons, goods, and services, and the reinforcement of
                                                                           the economic and social cohesion of the Community
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European                      requires trans-European networks for electricity and
Economic Community, and in particular Article 235                          natural gas ;
thereof,
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,                         Whereas the financing requirements for such trans­
                                                                           European networks mean that all available resources,
Having regard to the opinion of the European                               and in particular private capital, must be mobilized ;
Parliament ,
Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and                           Whereas, if such trans-European network projects are to
Social Committee ,                                                         attract the necessary financial resources , the technical ,