CELEX: 31973D0243
Language: en
Date: 1973-07-24 00:00:00
Title: Council Decision of 24 July 1973 giving a discharge to the Commission in respect of the implementation of transactions of the European Development Fund (1963) (Second EDF) for the financial year 1970

No L 228 /38                              Official Journal of the European Communities                              16. 8. 73
                                                      COUNCIL DECISION
                                                          of 24 July 1973
                giving a discharge to the Commission in respect of the implementation of transactions
                of the European Development Fund ( 1963 ) (Second EDF) for the financial year 1970
                                                           (73 /243/EEC )
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES ,                            Having examined the remarks of the European
                                                                     Parliament on the transactions of the Development
                                                                     Funds on the occasion of its Decision of 9 May 1973
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the                         on ' the discharge to be given to the Commission in
European Economic Community ;                                        respect of the implementation of the budget of the
                                                                     European Communities for the financial year 1970
Having regard to the Convention of Association (*)                   and on the report of the Audit Board ', hereinafter
between the European Economic Community and the                      referred to as the ' Discharge Decision';
African and Malagasy States associated with that
Community, signed at Yaoundé on 20 July 1963 ;
                                                                     Recalling that, in accordance with the provisions
                                                                     applicable to the implementation of the European
Having regard to the Council Decision (2 ) of 25                     Development Fund ( 1963 ) (2nd EDF), only the
February 1964 relating to the Association of Overseas                Council, acting by a qualified majority, shall give a
Countries and Territories with the European                          discharge to the Commission in respect of the
Economic Community;                                                  financial administration of the Fund ;
Having regard to the Internal Agreement (3)                          Adopting the other remarks of the European
concerning the financing and administration of                       Parliament, and in particular those in points 25 — 27
Communities' aid, signed at Yaoundé on 20 July                       of Section III of its Discharge Decision for the
 1963 , hereinafter referred to as the 'Internal                     financial year 1970 ;
Agreement',, and' in particular Article 17 thereof;
                                                                     Whereas revenue for the financial year 1970 consisted
Having regard to the Financial Regulation (4) of the                 mainly of the contributions of the Member States ,
European Development Fund set up under the                           amounting to 370 million units of account, and of the
Internal Agreement, and in particular Articles 7 and 8               Fund 's own revenue ; whereas , moreover, a loan of
thereof;                                                             57 743 933 units of account was granted from the
                                                                     treasury of the Development Fund for Overseas
                                                                     Countries and Territories ( 1st Fund );
Having regard to the revenue and expenditure
accounts, the statement and the summary of the
transactions of the European Development Fund
                                                                     Whereas the overall implementation by the
 ( 1963 ) ( 2nd EDF), adopted on 31 December 1970 ;                  Commission of the transactions of the European
                                                                     Development Fund during the financial year 1970
Having regard to the report of the Audit Board on                    was such as to entitle it to be given a discharge in
the accounts for the financial year 1970, to which                   respect of the implementation of these transactions ;
report are annexed the Commission 's replies to
comments made by the Audit Board (5 );
                                                                     HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS :
(!) OJ No 93, 11 . 6. 1964, p. 1431 /64.
(2 ) OJ No 93, 11 . 6. 1964, p. 1472/64.                                                      Article 1
(3 ) OJ No 93 , 11 . 6 . 1964, p . 1493 /64 .
( 4) OJ No 93 , 11 . 6 . 1964, p . 1498/64 .
                                                                     The views of the Council on Comments 229 and 233
(5) This report is available from the institutions of the
     Communities .                                                   of the Audit Board are as set out in the Annex .
 ---pagebreak--- 16 . 8 . 73                      Official Journal of the European Communities                        No L 228 /39
                      Article 2                                                     Article 3
The Council closes the expenditure and revenue              The Council gives a discharge to the Commission in
accounts of the European Development Fund ( 1963 )          respect of the implementation of the transactions of
on 31 December 1970 as follows :                            the European Development ' Fund ( 1963 ) (2nd EDF)
                                                            for the financial year 1970.
Revenue
                                                            Done at Brussels, 24 July 1973 .
at the sum of    371 496 409·93 u.a.
                                                                                              For the Council
Expenditure (payments )                                                                        The President
at the sum of    383 124 529·41 u.a .                                                         I. NØRGAARD
 ---pagebreak--- No L 228 / 40                          Official Journal of the European Communities                              16 . 8 . 73
                                                           ANNEX
             1 . Comment No 229 by the Audit Board on delays in implementing investment projects and
                 the consequent exceeding of appropriations.
                  The Council points out that, at its 237th meeting on 2 and 3 April 1973 , it adopted a
                 ' Resolution on the exceeding of appropriations during implementation of projects financed
                 by the European Development Fund'. The Council, concerned not only by the financial but
                 also the political effects of exceeding appropriations, resulting in an appreciable increase in
                 the final cost of these projects, and anxious, moreover, to retain for the European
                  Development Fund the widest possible powers of intervention for the benefit of the
                 Associated States, countries and territories, accordingly approved in the Resolution the
                 Commission's policy in this matter and found, in agreement with the Commission , that the
                 administrative rules currently in force should be supplemented by certain new measures, set
                 forth in the abovementioned Resolution, to provide more effective safeguards against
                 exceeding appropriations.
             2. Comment No 233 by the Audit Board on the programme to train junior and senior
                 management and administrative staff for the Congo Transport Office ( OTRACO ).
                 The Council, noting the Audit Board's intention to comment in detail on the implementation
                 of this training programme after it has checked that the files on this subject are closed,
                 agrees to postpone its discussion on the Audit Board's remarks until the latter has adopted
                 its final position.