CELEX: 51983PC0428
Language: en
Date: 1983-06-01
Title: Proposal for a COUNCIL DECISION CONCLUDING A CONVENTION SUPPLEMENTING THE CONVENTION BETWEEN THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC COMMUNITY AND THE UNITED NATIONS RELIEF AND WORKS AGENCY FOR PALESTINE REFUGEES (UNRWA) CONCERNING AID TO REFUGEES IN THE COUNCTRIES OF THE NEAR EAST (submitted to the Council by the Commission)

ARCHIVES HISTORIQUES
DE LA COMMISSION
COLLECTION RELIEE DES
DOCUMENTS "COM"
COM (83) 428
Vol. 1983/0162
 ---pagebreak--- Disclaimer
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In accordance with Council Regulation (EEC, Euratom) No 354/83 of 1 February 1983
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 ---pagebreak---  COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
                                        COM(83) 4 28 final
                                        Brussels, 1 July 1983
                       Proposal for a
                      COUNCIL DECISION
  CONCLUDING A CONVENTION SUPPLEMENTING THE CONVENTION BETWEEN
  THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC COMMUNITY AND THE UNITED NATIONS RELIEF
  AND WORKS AGENCY FOR PALESTINE REFUGEES (UNRWA) CONCERNING AID
  TO REFUGEES IN THE COUNCTRIES OF THE NEAR EAST
             (submitted to the Council by the Commission)
COM (83) 428 final
 ---pagebreak---                                          - 2 -
   Explana to ry memorandum
   As in 1982, the aid to be given to UNRWA for the period 1 January -
   31 December 1983 pursuant to the Convention concluded with that body consists
   of three main components :
1. Education programme
    At its meeting of 27 July 1982, the Council agreed in principle on the
    Commission's proposal for a "favourable response to the UNRWA's request that
    the Community provide the Agency with less food aid while broadening the
    range of products supplied and participate up to an amount of 16 MECU in the
    financing of the education programme implemented by UNRWA in both 1982 and
    1983 under the UNRWA-EEC three-year Convention."
     In order to implement this, on 21 December 1982 the Council decided, acting
    on a proposal from the Commission, to amend the EEC-UNRWA Convention for 1982.
     The 16 MECU financing had been supplied by cancelling the food aid already
     allocated to UNRWA under the 1982 programmes (namely 42.000 t of cereals,
     3.328 t of butteroil and 5.349 t of sugar), and by paying the Agency the
     equivalent of the value of these products, i . e . 16 MECU.
     For 1983, although a specific article from which the UNRWA education
     programme (Article 959) could be financed has been included in the 1983
     budget, there is a token entry under this article.
      For this year again, 16 MECU will have to be released from the food aid
      appropriations (Chap. 92) and transferred to Article 959.
      The Commission is considering proposing to the Council that this transfer be
      made from the following articles and items :
      9201 - "Food aid in cereals - Current programme for cereals other than rice" :
      an amount equivalent to the cost of 42.000 t (corresponding to the same
      quantities as those cancelled in 1982), i .e. 6.455 .000 ECU.
            1
      9211    - "Food aid in milk products - Current programme for milk powder" :
       an amount equivalent to the cost of 3.900 t of milk powder, i . e . 4 MECU.
       1 The quantities of butteroil cannot be cancelled in 1983 as they were in
         1982, since the programme for this product has been reduced by 8.500 t
         compared with 1982.
 ---pagebreak---                                          - 3 -
   9222 - "Food aid in sugar - Food aid in the form of sugar for UNRWA" -
   1,4 MECU, since the UNRWA does not want any sugar for 1983.
   924   - "Food aid (other commodities)" - 4.145.000 MECU, the balance required
   to make up the 16 MECU financing.
2. Supplementary feeding programme
   An appropriation of 4 MECU was entered in Article 926 of the 1983 Budget
   for this purpose.
3. Supplies in kind - supplementary feeding programme, feeding programme in
   training centres and programme for particularly needy cases
   Under the various programmes, 1.418 t of milk powder, 939 t of butteroil and
    1.549 t of various other products (tomato concentrates, burghol, preserved
   meat, olive oil, legumes) are to be supplied to UNRWA.
    In the case of milk products, these quantities will be allocated to UNRWA
    as part of the 1983 food aid.
    As for the range of other products (estimated cost 1.850.000 ECU), their
    supply will be financed from Article 924 "Food aid (other commodities)",
    which in 1983 amounted to 23 MECU.
    In order to enable the Community to meet its commitments under these
    programmes, the Commission proposes that the Council adopt :
 ---pagebreak---                                    - 4 -
- a Convention supplementing the Convention between the European Economic
  Community and the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine
  Refugees (UNRWA), annexed hereto, and covering the period 1 January -
  31 December 1983.
 ---pagebreak---                                        - 5 -
                                                                            ANNEX
                 PROGRESS MADE IN MEETING THE COMMITMENTS UNDER
                       THE EEC/UNRWA CONVENTION FOR 1982
I - Food aid in milk products
    A . Basic rations programme
        a. Skimmed milk powder (582 t)
            M.V. BADRE            246 t   AQABA     3.12.1982
             M.V. CONCORDIA       336 t   ASHDOD    21 .12.1982
        b. Butteroil (437 t)
             M.V. EL COMMODORE    185 t    AQABA    29.11.1982
             M.V. CAP ITEA       252 t     ASHDOD   29.12.1982
     B. Supplementary feeding programme
         a. Skimmed milk powder (1165 t)
             M.V. YMIR             285 t    ASHDOD     5.12.1982
              M.V. THUNAR          193 t    ASHDOD   21 .01 .1983
              M.V. SEDGE           280 t    AQABA     27.02.1983
                                   107 t    ASHDOD)   shipment scheduled
                                   300 t    AQABA )   for May 1983
         b. Butteroil (185 t)
              M.V. EL COMMODORE     80 t    AQABA     29.11 .1982
                                   105 t    ASHDOD    arrived       end 1982
      C. Feeding programme in training centres
          a. Skimmed milk powder (48 t)
               M.V. THUNAR           20 t    ASHDOD    21 .01 .1983
                                     28 t    AQABA     shipment scheduled May 1983
          b . Butteroil (40 t)
               M.V. EL COMMODORE     23 t   AQABA     29.11 .1982
                                     17 t   ASHDOD    arrived       end 1982
 ---pagebreak---                                             - 6 -
II - Food aid in sugar and a range of other products
     Food aid in cash for the supplementary feeding programme
     Education programme
     Since the decision to amend the Convention between the EEC and UNRWA for
     1982 was not taken until 21 December 1982, no products were supplied or
     payments made for either the supplementary feeding programme (4 MECU) or
     the education programme (16 MECU) until April 1983.       The Commission has
      not yet received a report from UNRWA concerning the use of these funds.
      In any event, the education programme, which in 1982 cost UNRWA a total of
      US 2 1 0 9 y480.000, included the financing of :
      - primary schools, the breakdown being as follows :
                                                     Schools          Number of
                                                                       Chi Idren
         Jordan                                         213            131 .359
         West Bank                                        98             39.568
         Gaza                                           141              77.354
         Lebanon                                          82             32.181
          Syria                                         113              49 .478
                                                         647            329 .940
          vocational and training centres, the breakdown being as follows :
                                                  Number of students
          Jordan                                       1 .593
           West Bank                                    1 .431
           Gaza                                            594
           Lebanon                                         219
           Syri a                                          711
                                                        4.548
        The Community's 16 MECU contribution was used under this programme.
 ---pagebreak---                                            - 7 -
                                                                   Annex 1
                                    P r o po sal for a
                                  COUNCIL DECISION
              CONCLUDING A CONVENTION SUPPLEMENTING THE CONVENTION
                 BETWEEN THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC COMMUNITY AND THE
                    UNITED NATIONS RELIEF AND WORKS AGENCY FOR
                    PALESTINE REFUGEES (UNRWA) CONCERNING AID TO
                     REFUGEES IN THE COUNTRIES OF THE NEAR EAST.
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
Having regard to the Treaty establi sh ing the European Economic Community,
and in particular Articles 43 and 235 thereof,
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,
Having regard to the Opinion of the European Parliament,
Whereas a Convention concerning aid to refugees in the countries of the
Near East was concluded between the European Economic Community and the
                                                                           1
 United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA)
                                                            2
 Whereas this Convention was amended on 21 December 1982       in order to take
 account of the changing needs of refugees in receipt of assistance from
 UNRWA;
 Whereas this Convention should be supplemented for the period 1 January “
 31 December 1983,
 HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS :
                                        Article 1
 The Convention supplementing the Convention between the European Economic
  U
    OJ No L 392, 31 .12.1981, p. 4
  2
    OJ No L 3 7 i, 30.12.1982, p. 42
 ---pagebreak---                                       - 8 -
Community and the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine
Refugees (UNRWA) concerning aid to refugees in the countries of the Near
East is hereby approved on behalf of the Community.
The text of the Convention is attached to this Decision.
                                  Article 2
The President of the Council is hereby authorised to designate the persons
empowered to sign the Convention in order to bind the Community.
Done at Brussels,
                                                  For the Council
                                                  The President
 ---pagebreak---                                                                 - 9      -
                                  CONVENTION           S U P P L E M E N T I N G THE C O N V E N T I O N   BETWEEN
                                  THE E U R O P E A N ECONOMIC               COMMUNITY AND THE U N I T E D
                                  N A T I O N S R E L I E F AND WORKS A G E N C Y FOR                PALESTINE
                                  R E F U G E E S (UNRWA) C O N C E R N I N G        A I D TO R E F U G E E S I N
                                  THE C O U N T R I E S OF THE NEAR               EAST
Article 1
Annex  I I Iattached hereto                  s h a l l be added t o t h e C o n v e n t i o n           and forms an
integral part         thereof.
Article   2
This  Convention        i s drawn          up i n t w o c o p i e s         i n the Danish,         Dutch, E n g l i s h ,
French,   German, Greek and I t a l i a n                  languages,           each v e r s i o n being      equally
authentic.
Done a t B r u s s e l s ,
For t h e C o u n c i l o f t h e European               Communities,
For t h e U n i t e d N a t i o n s    R e l i e f and Works Agency                f o r P a l e s t i n e Refugees     (UNRWA)
 ---pagebreak---                                                          - 10 -
                                                                                               ANNEX I I I
                             P e r i o d from 1 January  t o 31 D e c e m b e r   1983
1. C o n t r i b u t i o n s i n k i n d
    - Proqramme             for distribution of rations to            p a r t i c u L a r l y needy   cases
         • 258 t o f skimmed m i l k powder e n r i c h e d w i t h           vitamins
         • 630 t o f           butteroil
         • 420 t o f tomato p a s t e
         • 420 t o f burghoL
         • 571 t o f p r e s e r v e d       meat
    - Supplementary feeding                   proqramme
         • 1.135 t o f skimmed m i l k p o w d e r e n r i c h e d w i t h       vitamins
         •        257 t o f b u t t e r o i L
     - Feeding           programme       in training   centres
             25 t o f skimmed m i l k p o w d e r e n r i c h e d with      vitamins
             52 t o f b u t t e r o i l
             82 t o f        Legumes
             42 t o f b u r g h o L
             30 t o f o l i v e o i L
             23 t of tomato paste
               3 t of tea
 ---pagebreak---                                                                - 11 -
2. C o n t r i b u t i o n s  i n cash
   - Programme              for distribution      of rations t o particularly  needy      cases and
       feeding         programme     m   training         centres
       •    Sum p a i d p e r t o n n e o f p r o d u c t s  received  :            US    £ 40
   - Supplementary               feeding   programme
       •    Cash      contribution t o operating             costs o f        Equivalent o f
                                                                              4 m i l l i o n E C U i n US È
           supplementary           feeding   programme        :
   - Education               programme
       •    Contribution t o financing of                   education         Equivalent t o
                                                                              16 m i l l i o n E C U i n U S 2
           programme           :
3. F o o d s t u f f s    t o be bought    on t h e Community       market
   - Corned           beef     :                                                   495,420 t
    - Tomato            paste                                                        29,669 t
 ---pagebreak---                                                      - 12  -
Done a t   Brussels,
For t h e C o u n c i l o f t h e European       Communities,
 For t h e U n i t e d  Nations   R e l i e f and Works Agency f o r P a l e s t i n e Refugees