CELEX: 51992PC0015(03)
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 TELECOMMUNICATIONS DOMAIN

No C 71 / 12                            Official Journal of the European Communities                                  20 . 3 . 92
             Proposal for a Council Regulation (EEC) introducing a declaration of European interest to
                facilitate the establishment of trans-European networks in the telecommunications domain
                                                         (92 / C 71 /07)
                                                       COM(92) 15 final
                                      (Submitted by the Commission on 24 February 1992)
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES ,                           Whereas such a declaration should not create a right to
                                                                    any financing at any stage of the project or in any form
                                                                    whatsoever, on the part of the Community or the
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European               Member States ;
Economic Community, and in particular Article 235
thereof,
                                                                    Whereas a declaration should permit the opening up to
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,                  competition of the realization of the projects while
                                                                    ensuring transparency in the implementation of the
                                                                    guidelines for trans-European telecommunications
Having regard to the opinion of the European                        networks ;
Parliament,
Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and                    Whereas a declaration should be attributed to a project
Social Committee ,                                                  on the basis of its profile and therefore should not set its
                                                                    sights on a particular promoter ;
Whereas the      realization of the free movement of
persons, goods, and services, and the reinforcement of              Whereas the Commission should report on declarations
the economic and social cohesion of the Community                   of European interest issued and their practical conse­
requires trans-European networks for telecommuni­                   quences, so that the effectiveness of the procedure
cations ;                                                           introduced may be assessed ;
Whereas the financing requirements for such trans­
                                                                    Whereas the Treaty, for the adoption of this Regulation,
European networks mean that all available resources,                does not provide powers other than those contained in
and in particular private capital , must be mobilized ;             Article 235 ,
Whereas , if such trans-European network projects are to
attract the necessary financial resources, the technical ,          HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION
legal , administrative and political conditions conducive
to their implementation must exist ;
                                                                                              Article 1
Whereas a determination by the Community institutions
to promote and facilitate the implementation of projects            In order to facilitate the emergence and establishment of
recognized as being of European interest and as being               the trans-European networks necessary to the proper
economically sound is likely to facilitate their financing          functioning of the area without internal frontiers and to
privately ;                                                         the reinforcement of the economic and social cohesion
                                                                    of the Community, a declaration of European interest
                                                                    may be granted to particular projects involving telecom­
Whereas such a commitment could be expressed in the                 munications .
form of a declaration of European interest ;
Whereas this declaration should allow the Member                                               Article 2
States to take the appropriate measures for the re­
alization of the guidelines established by the Council ;            A declaration of European interest is an acknowl­
                                                                    edgement that implementation of the project comes
                                                                    within the series of guidelines established by the Council
Whereas before such a declaration is issued all interested          covering the objectives, priorities and the broad lines of
parties should have the opportunity to make known their             measures in the sphere of trans-European telecommuni­
views ;                                                             cations networks .
 ---pagebreak--- 20 . 3 . 92                                Official Journal of the European Communities                                      No C 71 / 13
The grant of this declaration shall not, however, create                                             Article 5
any right to financing at whatever stage of the project
and in any form whatsoever from the Community or the                       The Commission shall carry out a detailed assessment of
Member States .                                                            the conformity to the conditions set out to ensure that
                                                                           the project corresponds with the objectives and priorities
                                                                           of the Member State or Member States concerned ,
                            Article 3                                      within the framework of the guidelines referred to in
                                                                           Article 2 .
In order to be eligible for a declaration of European                      The Commission grant shall the declaration of European
interest, projects shall satisfy the conditions set out in the             interest within six months of the date of invitation to the
Annex hereto .
                                                                           Member States to make known their views . In duly
                                                                           justified circumstances the Commission may extend this
                                                                           period .
                            Article 4
                                                                                                     Article 6
Projects shall be submitted to the Commission.
                                                                           The Commission shall see to it that the information
                                                                           obtained in the framework of this Regulation is used
The Commission shall carry out a preliminary assessment                    with due regard to the protection of the interests of all
of conformity with the conditions laid down.                               the parties concerned .
                                                                                                     Article 7
If, following this evaluation, the Commission considers
that the conditions have been satisfied , it shall invite                  The Commission shall, by 31 December 1996 , transmit
Member States to make known their observations within                      to the European Parliament and the Council a report
a specified period .                                                       assessing the effectiveness of the procedure introduced
                                                                           and accompanied, where necessary, by appropriate
                                                                           proposals .
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                   This Regulation shall enter into force on 1 January 1993 .
to allowing other interested parties to express their views .              It shall expire on 31 December 1997 .
Interested parties shall have three months from the date
of publication within which to make known their                            This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and
opinions to the Commission .                                               directly applicable in all Member States.
                                                                   ANNEX
                                               Eligibility conditions referred to in Article 3
              1 . The project must generate direct economic benefits 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 .
 ---pagebreak--- No C 71 / 14                               Official Journal of the European Communities                                        20 . 3 . 92
              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 .
              Amended proposal for a Council Regulation (EEC) on certificates of specific character for
                                                                   foodstuffs
                                                                (92 / C 71 /08 )
                                                             COM(92) 28 final
              (Submitted by the Commission pursuant to Article 149 (3) of the EEC Treaty on 3 March 1992)
In response to the opinion delivered by the European                        3 . In Article 8 ( 1 ) 'by the competent authority referred
Parliament at the part-session of 19 November 1991 on                           to in Article 7' is replaced by 'by the competent auth­
the proposal for a Regulation, presented by the                                 orities referred to in Article 7'.
Commission to the Council on 23 January 1991 , on
certificates of specific character for foodstuffs, and                      4. The text of Article 10 is replaced by the following :
pursuant to Article 149 (3) of the Treaty establishing the
European Economic Community, the Commission has                                 ' 1 . In order to take account in particular of devel­
decided to amend the abovementioned proposal as                                 opments on the market for foodstuffs and the
follows :                                                                       progress of scientific and technical knowledge, the
                                                                                group which made the original application may
                                                                                submit to the competent authority of the Member
                                                                                State in which it is established an application for the
1 . The title of the proposal is amended as follows :                           amendment of the product specification on the basis
    'Proposal for a Council Regulation on certificates of                       of which it obtained the Community certificate of
    specific character for agricultural products and food­                      specific character. In this case, Articles 6 to 9 shall
    stuffs '.
                                                                                apply.
                                                                                2 . The necessary measures shall be taken to ensure
2 . In Article 7 (2) 'The competent authority shall                             that any change in accordance with pragraph 1 in the
    forward the application to the Commission if it                             original specification , on the basis of which the
    considers' is replaced by 'The competent authorities                        Community certificate of specific character was
    shall forward the application to the Commission if                          obtained for a foodstuff, is indicated in the labelling
    they consider'.                                                             of that foodstuff.'