CELEX: 52001PC0251
Language: en
Date: 2001-05-29
Title: Proposal for a Council Decision on a second contribution of the European Community to the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development for the Chernobyl Shelter Fund

28.8.2001               EN                      Official Journal of the European Communities                                  C 240 E/157
               Proposal for a Council Decision on a second contribution of the European Community to the
                       European Bank for Reconstruction and Development for the Chernobyl Shelter Fund
                                                              (2001/C 240 E/23)
                                                 COM(2001) 251 final  2001/0113(CNS)
                                               (Submitted by the Commission on 29 May 2001)
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,                                         (5) EBRD procurement rules apply to grants made from the
                                                                                resources of the Chernobyl Shelter Fund, on the under-
                                                                                standing that procurement shall in principle be limited to
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European                           goods and services produced in or supplied from the
Community, and in particular Article 308 thereof,                               countries of the contributors or the countries of EBRD
                                                                                operations. Those rules are not identical to those applied
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Atomic                    to operations directly financed through the Tacis
Energy Community, and in particular Article 203 thereof,                        programme, which cannot consequently cover the
                                                                                contribution which is the subject of this Decision.
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,
                                                                           (6) It is, however, appropriate to ensure that, with regard to
Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament,                        procurement arrangements made pursuant to the EBRD’s
                                                                                Rules of the Chernobyl Shelter Fund, there is no discrimi-
Whereas:                                                                        nation between individual Member States of the European
                                                                                Community, irrespective of whether they have concluded
                                                                                individual Contribution Agreements with the EBRD or not.
(1) The Community, in pursuance of a clear policy of
     supporting Ukraine in its efforts to eliminate the conse-
     quences of the nuclear accident which occurred on
     26 April 1986 at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, has               (7) The Treaties do not provide, for the adoption of this
     already contributed to the Chernobyl Shelter Fund, estab-                  Decision, powers other than those of Article 308 of the
     lished at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Devel-                  EC Treaty and Article 203 of the Euratom Treaty,
     opment (EBRD) 90.5 million euro over the years
     1999-2000, in accordance with Council Decision
     98/381/EC, Euratom (1).                                               HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS:
(2) The EBRD, as administrator of the Chernobyl Shelter Fund,
     confirmed in anticipation of the pledging conference held                                         Article 1
     in Berlin on 5 July 2000 that the initial scheduled rate of
     disbursements was still valid and that a replenishment of             The Community shall make to the European Bank for Recon-
     the Fund was therefore needed by 2000/2001.                           struction and Development (EBRD) a contribution of 100
     Consequently, the Community pledged at that conference                million euro over the years 2001-2004 for the Chernobyl
     a further contribution of 100 million euro over the years             Shelter Fund.
     2001-2004.
(3) Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 99/2000 of                         The annual appropriations shall be authorised by the budgetary
     29 December 1999 concerning the provision of assistance               authority within the limits of the financial perspective.
     to partner States in Eastern Europe and Central Asia (2), in
     Article 2(5)(c), includes as a priority in the area of nuclear
     safety the contribution to relevant EU supported inter-
     national initiatives such as the G7/EU initiative on the                                          Article 2
     closure of Chernobyl.
                                                                           1.     The Commission shall administer the contribution to the
                                                                           Chernobyl Shelter Fund in accordance with the Financial Regu-
(4) In accordance with the Communication of 6 September                    lation applicable to the general budget of the European
     2000 from the Commission to the Council and the                       Communities, having particular regard to the principles of
     European Parliament, Community financial support for                  sound and efficient management.
     nuclear safety in the Newly Independent States and the
     countries of Central and Eastern Europe (3) should be
     taken from existing Tacis credits or from a separate
     budget line for assistance to those partner States.                   The Commission shall forward all relevant information to the
                                                                           Court of Auditors and shall request from the EBRD any
                                                                           supplementary information that the Court of Auditors may
(1) OJ L 171, 17.6.1998, p. 31.                                            wish to receive, as regards the aspects of the operation of
(2) OJ L 12, 18.1.2000, p. 1.                                              the Chernobyl Shelter Fund that relate to the Community’s
(3) COM(2000) 493 final.                                                   contribution.
 ---pagebreak--- C 240 E/158          EN                     Official Journal of the European Communities                                    28.8.2001
2.    The Commission shall ensure that, with respect to                an exchange of letters between the Commission and the
procurement arrangements relating to grants made from the              European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.
resources of the Fund, there is no discrimination between
Member States.                                                         Those letters shall follow the models set out in the Annex.
                           Article 3                                                               Article 4
In accordance with Article II, Section 2.02 of the Rules of the        The Commission shall present to the European Parliament and
Chernobyl Shelter Fund, the Community contribution shall be            to the Council, on a yearly basis, a progress report on the
the subject of a formal Contribution Agreement in the form of          implementation of the Chernobyl Shelter Fund.
 ---pagebreak--- 28.8.2001          EN                         Official Journal of the European Communities                                         C 240 E/159
                                                                   ANNEX
          MODEL EXCHANGE OF LETTERS CONSTITUTING THE CONTRIBUTION AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE
                                              EUROPEAN COMMISSION AND THE EBRD
                      Letter from the authorised Member of the European Commission to the EBRD President
          Dear President,
          I am pleased to confirm on behalf of the European Commission that the European Community will make a new
          contribution of 100 million euro to the Chernobyl Shelter Fund in accordance with Article II, Section 2.02 of the Rules
          of the Fund.
          The new contribution will, in principle, be made of four annual contributions of 25 million over the years 2001-2004,
          subject to the necessary authorisations of the Budgetary Authority.
          As was the case for the first contribution agreement, I would ask the Bank to confirm its agreement to the following
          provisions which will form an integral part of this Contribution Agreement:
          1. The Commission will forward all relevant information to the Court of Auditors and may request from the Bank
              supplementary information that the Court of Auditors may wish to obtain concerning those aspects of the operation
              of the Chernobyl Shelter Fund that relate to the Community’s contribution.
          2. The Court of Auditors may also be given the possibility of performing missions to the Bank with a view to verifying
              pertinent information that relates to the Community’s contribution and on the basis of practice established in the
              context of the Nuclear Safety Account.
          3. As concerns the procurement arrangements pursuant to the Rules of the Fund, the Commission and the Bank share
              the common understanding that, upon conclusion of the Contribution Agreement, there will be no discrimination
              between individual Member States of the European Community, irrespective of whether they have concluded
              individual Contribution Agreements with the Bank or not, as far as the award of procurement contracts for
              services or supplies concluded in the course of operation of the Chernobyl Shelter Fund is concerned.
          I confirm that the terms used herein have the meaning attributed to them in the Fund Rules. I understand the present
          letter and the Bank’s confirmation of its content to constitute the Contribution Agreement pursuant to the Fund Rules.
                                                                                             Member of the European Commission
                                                      Reply from the EBRD President
          Dear Commissioner,
          Thank you for your letter of . . . 2001 concerning the European Community’s contribution to the Chernobyl Shelter
          Fund in the amount of 100 million euro.
          This is to confirm that the European Bank will be pleased to accept this contribution for inclusion in the Fund pursuant
          to the rules governing the Fund.
          The European Bank also confirms that all the provisions set out in your letter are acceptable to the Bank and form part
          of this Contribution Agreement.
                                                                                                            President of the EBRD