title: Council Decision (EU) 2015/1571 of 18 September 2015 appointing two Spanish members of the Committee of the Regions

text:
               22.9.2015

               EN

               Official Journal of the European Union

               L 245/8

         COUNCIL DECISION (EU) 2015/1571
   of 18 September 2015
   appointing two Spanish members of the Committee of the Regions
   THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,
   Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, and in particular Article 305 thereof,
   Having regard to the proposal of the Spanish Government,
   Whereas:

               (1)

               On 26 January, on 5 February and on 23 June 2015, the Council adopted Decisions (EU) 2015/116 (1), (EU) 2015/190 (2) and (EU) 2015/994 (3) appointing the members and alternate members of the Committee of the Regions for the period from 26 January 2015 to 25 January 2020.

               (2)

               Two members' seats on the Committee of the Regions have become vacant following the end of the term of office of Mr Alberto GARRE LÓPEZ and Mr Pedro SANZ ALONSO,

         HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:
   Article 1
   The following are hereby appointed as member to the Committee of the Regions for the remainder of the current term of office, which runs until 25 January 2020:

               —

               D. Pedro Antonio SÁNCHEZ LÓPEZ, Presidente de la Comunidad Autónoma de la Región de Murcia

               —

               D. José Ignacio CENICEROS GONZÁLEZ, Presidente de Gobierno de la Comunidad Autónoma de La Rioja

         Article 2
   This Decision shall enter into force on the day of its adoption.

      Done at Brussels, 18 September 2015.

            For the Council

            The President

         C. DIESCHBOURG

      (1)  OJ L 20, 27.1.2015, p. 42.

      (2)  OJ L 31, 7.2.2015, p. 25.

      (3)  OJ L 159, 25.6.2015, p. 70.


title: Decision (EU) 2015/1639 of the European Parliament of 29 April 2015 on discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training for the financial year 2013

text:
               30.9.2015

               EN

               Official Journal of the European Union

               L 255/176

      DECISION (EU) 2015/1639 OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT
      of 29 April 2015
      on discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training for the financial year 2013
      THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT,

                  —

                  having regard to the final annual accounts of the European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training for the financial year 2013,

                  —

                  having regard to the Court of Auditors' report on the annual accounts of the European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training for the financial year 2013, together with the Centre's replies (1),

                  —

                  having regard to the statement of assurance (2) as to the reliability of the accounts and the legality and regularity of the underlying transactions provided by the Court of Auditors for the financial year 2013, pursuant to Article 287 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

                  —

                  having regard to the Council's recommendation of 17 February 2015 on discharge to be given to the Centre in respect of the implementation of the budget for the financial year 2013 (05304/2015 — C8-0054/2015),

                  —

                  having regard to Article 319 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

                  —

                  having regard to Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002 of 25 June 2002 on the Financial Regulation applicable to the general budget of the European Communities (3),

                  —

                  having regard to Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 October 2012 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union and repealing Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002 (4), and in particular Article 208 thereof,

                  —

                  having regard to Regulation (EEC) No 337/75 of the Council of 10 February 1975 establishing a European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training (5), and in particular Article 12a thereof,

                  —

                  having regard to Commission Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 2343/2002 of 19 November 2002 on the framework Financial Regulation for the bodies referred to in Article 185 of Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002 on the Financial Regulation applicable to the general budget of the European Communities (6),

                  —

                  having regard to Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) No 1271/2013 of 30 September 2013 on the framework financial regulation for the bodies referred to in Article 208 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council (7), and in particular Article 108 thereof,

                  —

                  having regard to Rule 94 of and Annex V to its Rules of Procedure,

                  —

                  having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control and the opinion of the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs (A8-0079/2015),

         1.

            Grants the Director of the European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training discharge in respect of the implementation of the Centre's budget for the financial year 2013;

         2.

            Sets out its observations in the resolution below;

         3.

            Instructs its President to forward this decision, and the resolution forming an integral part of it, to the Director of the European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training, the Council, the Commission and the Court of Auditors, and to arrange for their publication in the Official Journal of the European Union (L series).

               The President

            Martin SCHULZ

               The Secretary-General

            Klaus WELLE

         (1)  OJ C 442, 10.12.2014, p. 42.

         (2)  See footnote 1.

         (3)  OJ L 248, 16.9.2002, p. 1.

         (4)  OJ L 298, 26.10.2012, p. 1.

         (5)  OJ L 39, 13.2.1975, p. 1.

         (6)  OJ L 357, 31.12.2002, p. 72.

         (7)  OJ L 328, 7.12.2013, p. 42.


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31991D0033

91/33/EEC: Commission Decision of 18 January 1991 terminating the anti-dumping proceeding concerning imports of certain cotton terry-towelling articles (bathrobes, toilet and kitchen linen) originating in Turkey

Official Journal L 017 , 23/01/1991 P. 0022 - 0022

COMMISSION DECISION  of 18 January 1991  terminating the anti-dumping proceeding concerning imports of certain cotton terry-towelling articles (bathrobes, toilet and kitchen linen) originating in Turkey  (91/33/EEC)  THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,  Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community,  Having regard to Council Regulation (EEC) No 2423/88 of 11 July 1988 on protection against dumped or subsidized imports from countries not members of the European Economic Community (1) and in particular Article 9 thereof,  After consultations within the Advisory Committee as provided for by the above Regulation,  Whereas:  (1) In December 1989 the Commission received a complaint against Turkish exporters lodged by Eurocoton, the Committee of the Cotton and Allied Textile Industries of the EEC on behalf of terry-towelling producers whose collective output was alleged to  constitute substantially all the Community production of the products in question. The complaint contained evidence of dumping and material injury resulting therefrom, which was considered sufficient to justify the initiation of a proceeding. The  Commission accordingly announced, by a notice published in the Official Journal of the European Communities (2) the initiation of an anti-dumping proceeding concerning imports into the Community of knitted or crocheted terry-towelling bathrobes of  cotton falling within CN codes ex 6107 91 00 and ex 6108 91 00, woven terry-towelling bathrobes of cotton falling within CN codes ex 6207 91 00 and ex 6208 91 00 and cotton toilet and kitchen linen of terry-towelling or similar terry fabrics falling  within CN code 6302 60 00.  (2) The Commission officially notified the exporters and importers known to be concerned, the representatives of the exporting country and the Community producers, and gave the parties directly concerned the opportunity to make their views known in  writing and to request a hearing.  (3) The Commission commenced the investigation including transmission of questionnaires to the parties involved seeking the information necessary for the assessment of dumping and injury. A high proportion of the Community producers failed to reply to  the questionnaires despite the fact that the original deadline for reply was extended by the Commission.  (4) In calculating the proportion of the Community industry which replied to the questionnaires, the Commission found that their combined production did not constitute a major proportion of the total Community production as set out in the complaint.  (5) In view of the circumstances set out above, the Commission does not have the information available to it to establish whether injury is being suffered by the producers accounting for a major proportion of the total Community production of the  products concerned, as required by Article 4 (5) of Regulation (EEC) No 2423/88. It therefore considers that the proceeding should be terminated forthwith,  HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS:    Sole Article  The anti-dumping proceeding concerning imports of certain cotton terry-towelling articles (bathrobes, toilet and kitchen linen) originating in Turkey is hereby terminated.   Done at Brussels, 18 January 1991. For the Commission  Frans ANDRIESSEN  Vice-President   (1) OJ No L 209, 2. 8. 1988, p. 1. (2) OJ No C 32, 10. 2. 1990, p. 8.


title: 2010/268/: Decision of the European Central Bank of 6 May 2010 on temporary measures relating to the eligibility of marketable debt instruments issued or guaranteed by the Greek Government (ECB/2010/3)

text:
               11.5.2010

               EN

               Official Journal of the European Union

               L 117/102

         DECISION OF THE EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK
   of 6 May 2010
   on temporary measures relating to the eligibility of marketable debt instruments issued or guaranteed by the Greek Government
   (ECB/2010/3)
   (2010/268/EU)
   THE GOVERNING COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK,
   Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, and in particular the first indent of Article 127(2) thereof,
   Having regard to the Statute of the European System of Central Banks and of the European Central Bank (hereinafter the ‘Statute of the ESCB’), and in particular Article 12.1 and the second indent of Article 34.1, in conjunction with the first indent of Article 3.1 and Article 18.2 thereof,
   Whereas:

               (1)

               Pursuant to Article 18.1 of the Statute of the ESCB, the European Central Bank (ECB) and the national central banks of Member States whose currency is the euro may conduct credit operations with credit institutions and other market participants, with lending being based on adequate collateral. The criteria determining the eligibility of collateral for the purposes of Eurosystem monetary policy operations are laid down in Annex I to Guideline ECB/2000/7 of 31 August 2000 on monetary policy instruments and procedures of the Eurosystem (1) (hereinafter referred to as the ‘General Documentation’).

               (2)

               Pursuant to Section 1.6 of the General Documentation, the Governing Council of the ECB may, at any time, change the instruments, conditions, criteria and procedures for the execution of Eurosystem monetary policy operations. Pursuant to Section 6.3.1 of the General Documentation, the Eurosystem reserves the right to determine whether an issue, issuer, debtor or guarantor fulfils its requirements for high credit standards on the basis of any information it may consider relevant.

               (3)

               There are exceptional circumstances prevailing in the financial market, arising from the fiscal position of the Greek Government and discussions for an adjustment plan supported by the euro area Member States and the International Monetary Fund, and there is a disruption of the normal assessment by the market of securities issued by the Greek Government, with negative effects on the stability of the financial system. This exceptional situation requires a swift and temporary adaptation of the Eurosystem monetary policy framework.

               (4)

               The Governing Council has assessed the fact that the Greek Government has approved an economic and financial adjustment programme which it has negotiated with the European Commission, the ECB and the International Monetary Fund, as well as the strong commitment of the Greek Government to fully implement such programme. The Governing Council has also assessed, from a Eurosystem credit risk management perspective, the effects of such a programme on the securities issued by the Greek Government. The Governing Council considers the programme to be appropriate, so that, from a credit risk management perspective, the marketable debt instruments issued by the Greek Government or guaranteed by the Greek Government retain a quality standard sufficient for their continued eligibility as collateral for Eurosystem monetary policy operations, irrespective of any external credit assessment. These positive assessments are the bases for this exceptional and temporary suspension, put in place with a view to contributing to the soundness of financial institutions, thereby strengthening the stability of the financial system as a whole and protecting the customers of those institutions. However, the ECB should closely monitor the continued strong commitment by the Greek Government to fully implement the economic and financial adjustment programme underlying these measures.

               (5)

               This exceptional measure was decided and publicly announced by the Governing Council on 3 May 2010. It will apply temporarily, until the Governing Council considers that the stability of the financial system allows the normal application of the Eurosystem framework for monetary policy operations,

         HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:
   Article 1
   Suspension of certain provisions of the General Documentation
   1.   The Eurosystem’s minimum requirements for credit quality thresholds, as specified in the Eurosystem credit assessment framework rules for marketable assets in Section 6.3.2 of the General Documentation, shall be suspended in accordance with Articles 2 and 3.
   2.   In the event of any discrepancy between this Decision and the General Documentation, the former shall prevail.
   Article 2
   Continued eligibility as collateral of marketable debt instruments issued by the Greek Government
   The Eurosystem’s credit quality threshold shall not apply to marketable debt instruments issued by the Greek Government. Such assets shall constitute eligible collateral for the purposes of Eurosystem monetary policy operations, irrespective of their external credit rating.
   Article 3
   Continued eligibility as collateral of marketable debt instruments guaranteed by the Greek Government
   The Eurosystem’s credit quality threshold shall not apply to marketable debt instruments issued by entities established in Greece and fully guaranteed by the Greek Government. A guarantee provided by the Greek Government shall continue to be subject to the requirements contained in Section 6.3.2 of the General Documentation. Such assets shall constitute eligible collateral for the purposes of Eurosystem monetary policy operations, irrespective of their external credit rating.
   Article 4
   Entry into force
   This Decision shall enter into force on 6 May 2010.

      Done at Lisbon, 6 May 2010.

            The President of the ECB

         Jean-Claude TRICHET

      (1)  OJ L 310, 11.12.2000, p. 1.


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31980D0336

80/336/EEC, Euratom: Council Decision of 17 March 1980 appointing a member of the Economic and Social Committee

Official Journal L 078 , 25/03/1980 P. 0011

****      COUNCIL DECISION   OF 17 MARCH 1980   APPOINTING A MEMBER OF THE ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE  ( 80/336/EEC/EURATOM )   THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES ,   HAVING REGARD TO THE TREATY ESTABLISHING THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC COMMUNITY , AND IN PARTICULAR ARTICLES 193 TO 195 THEREOF ,   HAVING REGARD TO THE TREATY ESTABLISHING THE EUROPEAN ATOMIC ENERGY COMMUNITY , AND IN PARTICULAR ARTICLES 165 TO 167 THEREOF ,   HAVING REGARD TO THE CONVENTION ON CERTAIN INSTITUTIONS COMMON TO THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES , AND IN PARTICULAR ARTICLE 5 THEREOF ,   HAVING REGARD TO THE COUNCIL DECISION OF 19 SEPTEMBER 1978 APPOINTING THE MEMBERS OF THE ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE FOR THE PERIOD ENDING 18 SEPTEMBER 1982 ,   WHEREAS A SEAT ON THE ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE HAS BECOME VACANT FOLLOWING THE RESIGNATION OF MR GUILLAUME , WHICH WAS NOTIFIED TO THE COUNCIL ON 15 NOVEMBER 1979 ;   HAVING REGARD TO THE NOMINATION SUBMITTED ON 22 FEBRUARY 1980 ,   HAVING OBTAINED THE OPINION OF THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES ,   HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS :   SOLE ARTICLE   MR L . LAUGA IS HEREBY APPOINTED A MEMBER OF THE ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE IN PLACE OF MR GUILLAUME FOR THE REMAINDER OF THE LATTER ' S TERM OF OFFICE , WHICH RUNS UNTIL 18 SEPTEMBER 1982 .   DONE AT BRUSSELS , 17 MARCH 1980 .   FOR THE COUNCIL   THE PRESIDENT   J . SANTER


title: 2005/524/EC: Council Decision of 2 June 2005 concerning the conclusion of a Framework Agreement between the European Community and the Republic of Albania on the general principles for the participation of the Republic of Albania in Community programmes

text:
               22.7.2005

               EN

               Official Journal of the European Union

               L 192/78

      COUNCIL DECISION

   of 2 June 2005
   concerning the conclusion of a Framework Agreement between the European Community and the Republic of Albania on the general principles for the participation of the Republic of Albania in Community programmes
   (2005/524/EC)
   THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,
   Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Articles 13, 71, 80, 95, 127, 137, 149, 150, 151, 152, 153, 157, 166, 175, 280 and 308 in conjunction with the second sentence of the first subparagraph of Article 300(2), the second subparagraph of Article 300(3), and Article 300(4) thereof,
   Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,
   Having regard to the assent of the European Parliament (1),
   Whereas:

               (1)(2)(3)(4)(5)(6)(7)(8)(9)

               The Thessaloniki European Council of June 2003 approved the ‘Thessaloniki Agenda for the Western Balkans: moving towards European integration’, which provided for Community programmes to be opened up to the Stabilisation and Association Process (SAP) countries along the lines established for the participation of candidate countries.In its communication on ‘Preparing for the participation of the Western Balkan countries in Community programmes and agencies’, the Commission advocated concluding with Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and Serbia and Montenegro framework agreements laying down the general principles governing each country’s participation in Community programmes.In accordance with the negotiating directives adopted by the Council on 29 April 2004, the Commission, on behalf of the Community, has negotiated a Framework Agreement with the Republic of Albania on the general principles for its participation in Community programmes.This Agreement was signed, on behalf of the Community, on 22 November 2004 in Brussels, subject to conclusion at a later date.With regard to some programmes covered by the Agreement, the Treaty does not provide for powers other than those under Article 308.The specific terms and conditions regarding the participation of the Republic of Albania in the Community programmes, including the financial contribution payable, should be determined by the Commission on behalf of the Community. For that purpose the Commission should be assisted by a special committee appointed by the Council.Albania may request financial assistance for participating in Community programmes under Council Regulation (EC) No 2666/2000 of 5 December 2000 on assistance for Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (2) or under any similar Regulation providing for Community external assistance for Albania that may be adopted in future.The application of the Agreement should be reviewed periodically.The Agreement should be approved,

         HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS:
   Article 1
   The Framework Agreement between the European Community and Albania on the general principles for the participation of Albania in Community programmes is hereby approved on behalf of the Community.
   The text of the Agreement is attached to this Decision (3).
   Article 2
   1.   The Commission is authorised to determine, on behalf of the Community, the specific terms and conditions applicable to the participation of Albania in any given programme, including the financial contribution payable. The Commission shall be assisted in this task by a special committee appointed by the Council.
   2.   Where Albania requests external assistance, the procedures provided for in Regulation (EC) No 2666/2000, and in similar Regulations providing for Community external assistance to Albania that may be adopted in the future, shall apply.
   Article 3
   No later than three years after the date of entry into force of the Agreement, and every three years thereafter, the Commission shall review the implementation of the Agreement and report thereon to the Council. The report shall be accompanied where necessary by appropriate proposals.
   Article 4
   The President of the Council shall, on behalf of the Community, give the notifications provided for in Article 10 of the Agreement.

      Done at Luxembourg, 2 June 2005.

            For the Council

            The President

         L. FRIEDEN

      (1)  Assent delivered on 10 May 2005 (not yet published in the Official Journal).

      (2)  OJ L 306, 7.12.2000, p. 1. Regulation as amended by Regulation (EC) No 2415/2001 (OJ L 327, 12.12.2001, p. 3).

      (3)  See page 2 of this Official Journal.


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31985D0557

85/557/EEC: Council Decision of 17 December 1985 on the conclusion of the Agreement between the European Economic Community and the Government of the Republic of Senegal amending, for the second time, the Agreement on fishing off the coast of Senegal, and the conclusion of the new Protocol thereto

Official Journal L 361 , 31/12/1985 P. 0086 - 0086 Finnish special edition: Chapter 4 Volume 2 P. 0099  Spanish special edition: Chapter 04 Volume 4 P. 0205  Swedish special edition: Chapter 4 Volume 2 P. 0099  Portuguese special edition Chapter 04 Volume 4 P. 0205

COUNCIL DECISION of 17 December 1985 on the conclusion of the  Agreement between the European Economic Community and the Government of the Republic of Senegal  amending, for the second time, the Agreement on fishing off the coast of Senegal, and the  conclusion of the new Protocol thereto (85/557/EEC)THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN  COMMUNITIES, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community, and in particular Article  43 thereof, Having regard to the proposals from the Commission, Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament(1), Whereas the Community and Senegal have conducted negotiations pursuant to the second paragraph of  Article 17 of the Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Senegal and the European  Economic Community on fishing off the coast of Senegal(2), as amended by the Agreement signed on 26  January 1982(3), to determine the amendments or additions to be made to the Annexes or the Protocol  referred to in Article 9 thereof at the end of the second two-year period of application of the  Agreement; Whereas, as a result of these negotiations, an Agreement amending Annex I to the abovementioned  fisheries Agreement and a new Protocol were signed on 20 N°vember 1985; Whereas it is in the Community's interest to approve the Agreement and the new Protocol relating  thereto with effect from 16 January 1984 in order to avoid any interruption in their application; Whereas the conclusion of the Agreement renders Decision 84/84/EEC(4) nugatory, HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS Article 1 The Agreement between the European Economic Community and the Government of the  Republic of Senegal, amending, for the second time, the Agreement on fishing off the coast of  Senegal, and the new Protocol thereto, are hereby approved on behalf of the Community. The texts referred to in the first paragraph are attached to this Decision. Article 2 The President of the Council shall give the notification provided for in Article 2 of  the Agreement and that provided for in Article 5 of the Protocol(1). Article 3 Decision 84/84/EEC is hereby repealed with effect from the date of application of the  Agreement. Article 4 The Agreement and the new Protocol thereto shall apply with effect from 16 January  1984. Done at Brussels, 17 December 1985. Por the CouncilThe PresidentJ. F. POOS (1)OJ N° C 127, 14. 5. 1984, p. 128.  (2)OJ N° L 226, 29. 8. 1980, p. 17.  (3)OJ N° L 234, 9. 8. 1982, p. 9.  (4)OJ N° L 37, 8. 2. 1984, p. 49.  (1)The dates of entry into force of the Agreement and of the Protocol will be published in the  Official Journal of the European Communities by the General Secretariat of the Council.


title: Council Decision (EU, Euratom) 2016/1763 of 29 September 2016 appointing three members of the Court of Auditors

text:
               4.10.2016

               EN

               Official Journal of the European Union

               L 269/13

         COUNCIL DECISION (EU, Euratom) 2016/1763
   of 29 September 2016
   appointing three members of the Court of Auditors
   THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,
   Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, and in particular Article 286(2) thereof,
   Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Atomic Energy Community, and in particular Article 106a thereof,
   Having regard to the proposals by the Republic of Cyprus, Malta and the Portuguese Republic,
   Having regard to the opinions of the European Parliament (1),
   Whereas:

               (1)

               The term of office of Mr Louis GALEA expired on 6 May 2016.

               (2)

               The term of office of Mr Lazaros S. LAZAROU is due to expire on 1 November 2016.

               (3)

               By letter dated 20 May 2016, Mr Vítor Manuel da SILVA CALDEIRA announced his resignation.

               (4)

               New appointments should therefore be made,

         HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:
   Article 1
   1.   Mr Leo BRINCAT is hereby appointed member of the Court of Auditors for the period from 1 October 2016 to 30 September 2022.
   2.   Mr Lazaros S. LAZAROU is hereby appointed member of the Court of Auditors for the period from 2 November 2016 to 1 November 2022.
   3.   Mr João Alexandre TAVARES GONÇALVES DE FIGUEIREDO is hereby appointed member of the Court of Auditors for the period from 1 October 2016 to 28 February 2018.
   Article 2
   This Decision shall enter into force on the date of its adoption.

      Done at Brussels, 29 September 2016.

            For the Council

            The President

         P. ŽIGA

      (1)  Opinions of 13 September 2016 (not yet published in the Official Journal).


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31997D0382

97/382/EC, ECSC, Euratom: European Parliament Decision of 10 April 1997 giving discharge to the Commission in respect of the implementation of the general budget of the European Union for the 1995 financial year as regards Sections I - Parliament, II - Council, III - Commission, IV - Court of Justice, V - Court of Auditors and VI - Economic and Social Committee/Committee of the Regions

Official Journal L 162 , 19/06/1997 P. 0029 - 0038

EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT DECISION of 10 April 1997 giving discharge to the Commission in respect of the implementation of the general budget of the European Union for the 1995 financial year as regards Sections I - Parliament, II - Council, III - Commission, IV - Court of Justice, V - Court of Auditors and VI - Economic and Social Committee/Committee of the Regions (97/382/ECSC, EC, Euratom) THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT,- Having regard to the ECSC Treaty and in particular Article 78g thereof,- Having regard to the EC Treaty, and in particular Article 206 thereof,- Having regard to the EAEC Treaty, and in particular Article 180b thereof,- Having regard to the budget for the 1995 financial year,- Having regard to the revenue and expenditure accounts and the financial statement of the European Union for the 1995 financial year (SEC(96) 0421 - C4-0280/96, SEC(96) 0422 - C4-0281/96, SEC(96) 0423 - C4-0282/96, SEC(96) 0424 - C4-0283/96),- Having regard to the report of the Court of Auditors for the 1995 financial year and the replies of the institutions (C4-0585/96) (1), and the Court of Auditors' special reports,- Having regard to the Statement of Assurance presented by the Court of Auditors concerning activities financed from the general budget for the 1995 financial year and the special report on this matter (C4-0110/97) (2), and the Council Statement thereto (C4-0137/97),- Having regard to the Council recommendation of 17 March 1997 (C4-0133/97),- Having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control and the opinions of the Committees on Economic and Monetary Affairs and Industrial Policy, on External Economic Relations, on Research, Technological Development and Energy, on Employment and Social Affairs, on Regional Policy, on Transport and Tourism, on the Environment, Public Health and Consumer Protection, on Development and Cooperation, on Civil Liberties and Internal Affairs, on Fisheries, on Women's Rights and on Culture, Youth, Education and the Media (A4-0120/97),1. Notes that the authorized revenue and expenditure for the 1995 financial year amounted to:>TABLE>2. Gives the Commission discharge in respect of the implementation of the following amounts:>TABLE>3. Accepts that final checks still have to be made of EAGGF expenditure reported by the Member States and that corrections to the figures may yet have to be made;4. Reserves, therefore, the right to re-examine the amounts above in so far as they relate to expenditure in the EAGGF Guarantee Section in the light of the clearance of accounts decision for the 1995 financial year, which shall be forwarded to the European Parliament for a decision complementary to this discharge decision;5. Records its comments in the resolution which forms an integral part of this decision;6. Instructs its President to forward this decision and the resolution containing its comments to the Commission, the Council, the Court of Justice, the Court of Auditors, the Economic and Social Committee, the Committee of the Regions and the European Investment Bank and to have them published in the Official Journal of the European Communities (L series).The Secretary-GeneralJulian PRIESTLEYThe PresidentJosé María GIL-ROBLES(1) OJ No C 340, 12. 11. 1996.(2) OJ No C 395, 31. 12. 1996.RESOLUTION containing the comments which form part of the Decision giving discharge to the Commission in respect of the implementation of the general budget of the European Union for the financial year 1995 THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT,- Having regard to Article 206 of the Treaty establishing the European Community,- Having regard to Article 89 of the Financial Regulation applicable to the general budget of the European Communities, under which the Commission and the other Institutions are required to take all appropriate steps to take account of the European Parliament's comments on the implementation of expenditure,- Whereas, under the same Article, the institutions are also required to report, at Parliament's request, on the measures taken in the light of these comments and, in particular, on the instructions given to those of their departments which are responsible for the implementation of the budget,- Having regard to the Council recommendation of 17 March 1997 (C4-0133/97),- Having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control and the other documents referred to in the discharge decision (A4-0120/97),General comments 1. Welcomes the spirit of constructive cooperation between the Commission and the Court of Auditors which has again been visible in the discharge procedure for 1995 and which can only have a beneficial effect on the implementation of the Union budget;2. Deplores the fact that the Council adopted its recommendation only on 17 March 1997, thus rendering impossible any constructive dialogue with Parliament and its competent committees on discharge-related matters;3. Reaffirms its support for the Commission's efforts under the SEM 2000 initiative to carry through a new finance and management culture; realizes that this process did not get underway until the financial year 1995 and the results can be evaluated only in the light of experience in subsequent financial years;4. Recalls that 80 % of Community funding (basically agricultural expenditure and Structural Funds) is managed on a decentralized basis in the Member States and that the latter therefore bear particular responsibility, in the light of Article 209 (a) of the Treaty, for ensuring that the funding is utilized as effectively and as prudently as possible;5. Points out, however, that this does not release the Commission from its obligation to take every possible step to make certain that the Member States spend funding properly and to ensure that errors are corrected;6. Calls on the Member States to inform the Commission of the measures they have taken in the light of the observations by the Court of Auditors so that the Commission can incorporate them in its report on the action taken following the discharge;7. Calls on the Commission in future to forward its report on the action taken following the discharge to Parliament at the latest six months following the latter's discharge decision;8. Stresses that the Council's recommendation on the discharge to be given to the Commission in respect of the implementation of the general budget of the European Union for the financial year 1995 does not form part of the discharge decision until such time as it has been approved by Parliament;Statement of Assurance (DAS) 9. Welcomes the fact that the Court could obtain a reasonable assurance that the operations underlying the commitments and the revenue entered in the accounts were legal and regular;10. Welcomes the fact that the Court's audit revealed that improvements had been made since the financial year 1994 to the consolidated revenue and expenditure account;11. Notes that the handling of payment appropriations again gave rise to too high a number of formal and substantial errors;12. Welcomes the fact that the Court has started to comment in greater detail on specific fields of expenditure thus providing important help to tackle the problems detected by the DAS audit;13. Points out that it would prefer the Court to make even more in-depth analyses of specific sectors and to give serious consideration to the possibility of drawing up statements of assurance on expenditure in individual Member States and of cooperating closely with the national audit institutions in connection with those analyses; recognizing the limitations of current resources, invites the Court to discuss with Parliament how best to achieve this;14. Expects the Court to continue, in consultation with the Commission, its efforts to develop the methodology and presentation of the DAS with a view to increasing its usefulness in the context of actions aimed at improving the management and control of Community expenditure;15. Calls on the Court of Auditors, with a view to achieving greater consistency and greater transparency, to present the results of its work in connection with the DAS in the form of an additional chapter in its annual report;Own resources 16. Calls on the Commission to propose regulatory and administrative measures aimed at strengthening accounting controls and checks on the national control and management systems with regard to traditional own resources;17. Requests the Commission to publish, in an annex to the annual balance sheet (revenue and expenditure account) the position, for each Member State, with regard to debts to the Community not recovered or written off, with explanations for each situation;18. Notes the complexity of customs arrangements described in the Court of Auditors' report and the report of the Temporary Committee of Inquiry into the Community Transit System; asks its relevant committees, in the light of the conclusions and recommendations drawn up by the Temporary Committee of Inquiry, to investigate how these arrangements can be simplified in order to be better monitored and controlled;19. Asks its relevant committees to consider the effects on own resources of future Customs Union agreements in the light of the Court of Auditors' findings with regard to the application of the EEC-Turkey agreement;20. Calls on the Court of Auditors to apply itself, as a matter of priority, to checking the reliability and exhaustiveness of the VAT own resource assessment base;21. Calls on the Commission to develop an appropriate statistical and mathematical tool with a view to contributing to measuring the reliability of the GNP aggregates of the Member States, whose data are the basis for the Community's finances; calls on Eurostat to clarify its role in that development process;22. Calls on the Commission to submit to Parliament and the Council a proposal for a Regulation with a view to establishing an action programme designed to improve, in a manner consistent with the powers of the Member States, the effectiveness of the administrations of the Member States in collecting or recovering sums of all kinds due to the Community budget; hopes that this programme will foster the reorganization measures which the Member States regard as essential to make their efforts more cohesive and will encourage the Member States to increase the number of staff responsible for recovery and to improve their professional training;Agricultural spending 23. Notes that the ECU 34,5 billion of the European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund (EAGGF) Guarantee Section spending in 1995 was appreciably below the financial perspective ceiling, but at 52 % still accounted for more than half of all payments;24. Notes that as part of the reform of the common agricultural policy in the cereals and arable crops sectors direct income support payments were progressively introduced during a transitional period from 1992 to 1996 in order to compensate for the fall in institutional prices in these sectors and that a temporary increase in expenditure was inevitable as a result of the adjustment of the system; notes further that in spite of the increase in expenditure in the 1995 financial year spending was well below the agricultural guideline and actual agricultural expenditure in the EAGGF Guarantee Section was 11 % below the amount budgeted; reaffirms that the commitments arising from the decisions of the Edinburgh European Council in 1992 must be discharged in full and that the agricultural guideline must also be complied with in future;25. Establishes that the Commission and the Member States have made scant progress in improving application of the rules governing the common organization of the market (COM) in olive oil; urges the Commission, therefore, to apply immediately all the controls made available by the legislation in force instead of deferring resolution of the problem to a future reform of the COM, the initial outline of which, moreover, does not afford sufficient guarantee that expenditure will be controlled;26. Recalls its resolution of 21 April 1993 containing the comments which form part of the decision giving discharge to the Commission in respect of the implementation of the general budget of the European Communities for the 1991 financial year (1), in which it called upon the Commission to suspend payments in respect of olive oil if satisfactory controls were not guaranteed by the Member States within a reasonable timescale;Integrated control system27. Notes that, even after the EP granted a one-year extension to the time limit, the integrated control system for the payment of premiums for livestock and land areas, which originally was to have been introduced in all Member States by the end of 1995, is still not fully operational in some Member States; calls therefore on the Commission to establish, in connection with the clearance of accounts process, the resulting loss risk for the Community budget and to make financial corrections at an appropriate level vis-à-vis the Member States concerned;28. Asks the Court of Auditors to investigate as soon as possible the effectiveness of the integrated control system; calls on the Commission, where appropriate, to make proposals for improvements;29. Points out that the Court of Auditors has found that there is currently no satisfactory system for the identification of sheep and goats, and, in the light of the volume of premiums disbursed (approximately ECU 2 billion), calls on the Commission to submit a proposal by the end of the year, modelled on the proposal for a Council Regulation for the identification of bovine animals, for a Council Regulation for the marking of sheep and goats too;Clearance of accounts30. Notes that the correction amounts to be set by the Commission in connection with the clearance of accounts should be geared exclusively to the level of actual losses to the Community budget or, as the case may be, to the level of the loss risk and must not be negotiable on the basis of other criteria;31. Believes that the fact that the EAGGF Guarantee Section still accounts for 36 % of the substantial errors detected by the Statement of Assurance, involving an amount in excess of ECU 1,5 billion, cannot be ignored and draws attention to the fact that, unlike in other sectors, this involves undue payments already made, and thus, recovery of these amounts for the EU budget is problematic;32. Asks the Commission to forward as soon as possible the results of the enquiry about the legality and regularity of refund claims on the export of feta cheese from Denmark in order to establish the amount which will be disallowed from Community financing;33. Calls on the Commission to check, in connection with the clearance of accounts procedure, that EAGGF appropriations directly or indirectly earmarked for the prevention and treatment of BSE over the last five years have been utilized correctly;Miscellaneous34. Asks the Commission to inform Parliament on action taken against those responsible for the widespread abuse of the aid system for cotton, on the amounts of unduly paid aid recovered and on the effectiveness of the new measures for monitoring and control of the common market organization for cotton;35. Believes that intensive pig producers should contribute in greater degree towards the measures to combat classical swine fever; therefore asks the Commission to bring forward a review of the Regulations in force;36. Notes that it must check whether it is still justifiable to maintain some ECU 40 million of EU grants for whisky makers each year; points out that there must be clarification in this connection as to whether abolition of the aids really would conflict with Protocol No 19 to the Treaty concerning the Accession of the United Kingdom to the European Communities;Common fisheries policy 37. Asks its relevant committees to examine whether the considerable funding which the Community has made available for stepping up the monitoring of fishing activities actually has led to enhanced effectiveness of controls;38. Disapproves of the fact that Community aids have been used to assist the construction or modernization of processing plants which subsequently have not been usable because provision had not been made for the requisite disposal infrastructure or because there was no guarantee of regular fish supplies; calls on the Commission not simply, in future, to accept all formally correct projects, but, rather, to try to obtain reasonable assurance that there will be a return on the assisted investment;Structural Funds 39. Is concerned at the degree of utilization of the available funding, which, in some respects, is most unsatisfactory; instructs its relevant committees to examine the extent and implications of the problem more closely and to draw up recommendations;40. Is concerned at the Court of Auditors' finding that the rate of substantial errors in respect of the Structural Funds is significantly higher than the average for budget payments as a whole;41. Asks the Commission to propose a solution for the programming problems, including the need for ex-ante and ex-post evaluation;42. Asks the Commission to present its accounting records in such a way that it will be possible for Parliament to:- identify the statutory framework to which commitments and payments relate,- determine whether payments have actually been effected,- be kept/stay informed on the backlog in commitments and payments and the amount of outstanding commitments;43. Asks the Commission, once again, to make a proposal for Article 24 of Council Regulation (EEC) No 4253/88 (2) to be changed in such a way that effective corrective action, leading to recovery where this is due, will be possible and compulsory:- when there is suspicion that any irregularity (ineligibility, breach of any Community provision, non-compliance with the reporting obligations, non-implementation of compensatory measures, etc.) occurred, money for that project/programme should be frozen for a certain period, during which the Commission should carry out an investigation,- after the investigation corrections by the final beneficiary and/or the Member State will take place within a fixed period, failing which the sums already paid out will be considered to have been unduly paid;44. Awaits the draft Regulation promised by the Commission on Article 23 of Regulation (EEC) No 4253/88; expects this proposal to contain amongst others obligations of the Member States with regard to communication of information at all stages and down to the level of individual projects;45. Calls on the Commission to introduce a system for the clearance of accounts which would enable flat-rate corrections to be made, where these appeared justified in the light of shortcomings in Member States' systems for selection, management, monitoring and control;Internal policy areas 46. Reiterates its request that the Court of Auditors incorporate in its annual report a chapter covering the Union's internal policies as a whole and also dealing with issues that are common to the various activities financed by heading 3 of the financial perspective;Research and technological development (RTD)47. Calls on the Commission to establish a coordinated audit system and to provide sufficient staff for checking the RTD contracts;48. Calls on the Commission to exclude participants in the RTD programmes who do not fulfil their financial obligations or who offend considerably against rules of an RTD contract from any further contract with Commission services;49. Asks the Court of Auditors to carry out for 1996 and subsequent years a precise evaluation of the administrative costs of specific research programmes under the fourth framework programme incurred not only by the Commission and its external consultants but also by those in receipt of appropriations;Pacte and Recite50. Notes that the decentralized structure in the management of the regional programmes Pacte and Recite has led to lack of control, mismanagement and substantial delays in payment from the Commission to the regional partners; calls on the Commission to introduce technical and legal instruments to ensure a better management structure;Advanced television services51. Notes the Court of Auditors' suggestion that permanent financing of advanced television services from the Community budget should be avoided; therefore instructs its relevant committees to discuss thoroughly the future of the action plan for advanced television services before the first reading of the 1998 budget;European Vocational Training Policy52. Supports the Court of Auditors, with regard to the Community Action Programme for a European Vocational Training Policy, in advocating the establishment of a single selection procedure under the direct responsibility of the Commission; calls on the latter to make proposals for a change in its forthcoming interim report on the implementation of the programme with the aim of simplifying the application procedures;Justice and home affairs53. Regrets the improvised and disparate nature of the projects accepted by the Council in the area of justice and home affairs;54. Regrets the manner in which the Council, by Council Decision 95/402/JAI (3), has reduced the role of the Commission to that of a mere budgetary agent in the management of appropriations intended for cooperation in the area of justice and home affairs;55. Regrets that of a total of 23 projects chargeable to budget Article B5-8 0 0, only five were submitted by the Commission; therefore calls on the Commission to make more use of its power of initiative in the areas covered by Article K.1 (1) to (6) of the Treaty;Lending and borrowing 56. Calls on the Commission, in its capacity as representative of the European Community shareholding in the European Investment Fund (EIF), to ensure the introduction of transparent public audit and control arrangements providing the taxpayer-investor with the necessary assurances as to the accountability of the EIF for its use of public funds;57. Asks the Court of Auditors and the Commission to report to Parliament at the soonest opportunity on the management and effectiveness of the Copenhagen facility, with particular reference to the functioning of the job creation criteria applied to interest rate subsidies;58. Calls on the Commission to submit proposals to the Intergovernmental Conference specifying that the audit rights of the Court of Auditors shall extend to include the financial management systems of all organizations managing Community funds;External policy areas 59. Is alarmed by the growing imbalance between the size and diversity of the programmes and the capacity to implement them with, as a result, a very rapid increase in outstanding commitments and considerable problems with the spending of the appropriations available;60. Instructs its relevant committees to consider against this background whether it might be worthwhile to separate political decision-making from the task of programme management and project implementation;61. Instructs its relevant committees to investigate how the independence and credibility of the evaluation of projects and programmes funded from the Community budget can be enhanced and how the results from the evaluation can be effectively fed back into the Community's decision-making process;62. Calls on the Commission to harmonize procedures for procurement within the different Directorates-General in charge of external policies;63. Asks the Court of Auditors to include in its work programme an enquiry on the adequacy and the effectiveness of the Commission's structure, procedures and allocation of human resources relating to development cooperation;Phare64. Deplores the lack of any clear political vision within the Commission either as to the achievements and effectiveness of Phare expenditure or as to its future role in contributing to the accession of applicant countries in central and eastern Europe to the EU; calls once again for an analysis of Phare's global impact on these countries over the last six years and a clear strategy for the next five years;Tacis65. Supports the Commission's intention to concentrate its activities under Tacis indicative programmes into no more than two sectors of intervention per beneficiary country: believes that, it effectively applied, this restriction should enable Tacis assistance to be used in a more focused and efficient manner; asks the Commission to report in detail on the outcome of this initiative in its follow-up report to this resolution;66. Continues to note with concern the chronic instability of staffing within the Commission's Directorate-General with responsibility for the management of Tacis and the difficulties this causes for the efficient management of the programme; calls on the Commission, in the absence of any serious prospect of new staff becoming available, to review the deployment of staff within DG 1A and, within the context of its efforts to concentrate Tacis interventions in fewer sectors, sharply to reduce the number of projects handled;67. Expresses its deep concern at the inordinate slowness of the commitment, contracting and disbursement process under the Tacis programme; believes that no more than a year should ever normally elapse between the commitment of Tacis funds and the signing of the relevant contract; to this end, asks the Commission to introduce automatic procedures whereby commitments lapse if not contracted within 18 months;68. Asks the Commission to maximize, within the scope of the Tacis Regulation, its contributions to public investment projects, especially those co-financed with other donors;69. Re-emphasizes the extreme importance it attaches to the nuclear safety programmes; feels therefore great disquiet at the inability of the Commission to implement this policy meaningfully in the context of the Phare and Tacis programmes; calls on the Commission to set up a task force with responsibility, on an inter-departmental basis, for pooling and employing more effectively Commission resources in this sphere and to give the removal of the administrative, procedural and legal obstacles to the implementation of the programme absolute political priority and to bring all appropriate pressure to bear on beneficiary countries to this end;Development cooperation70. Stresses the need for more expertise staff in the policy fields related to poverty eradication, including social development, gender, the environment and macro-economic policy;71. Calls on the Commission to clarify whether it has financed any part of the EDF from the EU budget;72. Calls on the Commission to clarify the objectives of budgetary aid to ensure both that it is used in social areas in ways that benefit people living in poverty, and that budgetary aid results in lager quantities of the budget of the recipient country being spent in basic social areas;73. Believes that the budgetary authority, with the assistance of the Commission, should simplify the procedures for releasing appropriations from the humanitarian aid reserve in order to speed up the mobilization thereof and thus avoid carrying over unused appropriations by ECHO to the following year;74. In the light of known information, directs its committees responsible to clearly investigate whether women are benefiting from the development programmes implemented by the Commission, in accordance with the Council's resolution of 20 December 1995 on gender and development;75. Calls on the Commission to ensure that ECU 2 million is spent on sports development projects in the townships in South Africa and requests a detailed report on how this is carried out;Common foreign and security policy76. Considers the special reports by the Court of Auditors on the European Union administration in Mostar and election observation in Palestine as confirming its view that the common foreign and security policy (CFSP) has brought about a dangerous blurring of responsibilities between the Council and the Commission which hinders Parliament in carrying out its task of calling the Commission to account in the context of the discharge procedure;77. Calls for the organization and supervision of all future joint actions to be placed, from the date of the initial decision onwards, under the untrammelled responsibility of the Commission so as to guarantee transparency, continuity and effectiveness;78. Calls on the Commission to join with the Member States in setting up a preparatory group to develop, on the basis of experience of joint actions hitherto, procedures under which the organizational and financial technicalities of joint actions can be made to operate as rapidly and smoothly as possible;Administrative expenditure 79. Calls on the Commission to report to it on the circumstances which led it, following the evacuation of the Berlaymont building, to enter into a commitment, contrary to the promises made by the Belgian Government throughout the negotiations, to pay various property taxes in respect of the rental of buildings which it does not own;Subsidy to CERI80. Following a delegation visit to CERI in Florence, recommends that the Committee on Budgets retain in the reserve its funding for the 1997 financial year, pending receipt of a further report from the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs;Decentralized community agencies 81. Thanks the Court of Auditors for the service of annual reports covering part of 1994 and the 1995 year;82. Supports the Committee on Budgets in its intention to bring the various statutes into a structure whereby the Commission exercises financial control, the European Parliament gives discharge, and income to agencies is classified as own resources;83. Insists, despite the low staff numbers, on separation of powers between authorizing officer and accounting officer because financial control is an essential prerequisite to receive Community funds;84. Recognizes to this end that the separation of powers is honoured as far as personnel are concerned, and looks forward to a new common accounting system which will exercise separation in the accounting function; welcomes the proposal of such an accounting system which could enable financial control to grant authorizations on an on-line basis from the Commission in Brussels;85. Calls upon the Commission, in the meanwhile, to implement Parliament's suggestion of part-time financial controllers to assist the agencies;SEM 2000 86. Invites the Commission to revise internal procedures for the selection, management and monitoring of measures funded directly by the Commission and for the payment of balances or recovery of incorrect payments;87. Is of the opinion that the question of interest earned on Community monies, already touched on in connection with SEM 2000, requires in-depth consideration across the board; calls upon the Commission to draw up Regulations concerning the use or, as the case may be, recovery of interest earned on Community monies; meanwhile, instructs its Committee on Budgetary Control to draw up a report in this connection;88. Urges the Commission to carry into effect its announcement to apply the rules on eligibility, as established in the framework of SEM 2000; asks for a review of these eligibility criteria before starting the next programming period;89. Requests the Court of Auditors to publish a special report covering mainstreaming and measures to promote equal opportunities;90. Reiterates its call to the Court of Auditors to publish, as part of its annual report, a list setting out all refusals of approval by the institutions' financial controllers and, where appropriate, the overrule decisions.(1) OJ No C 150, 31. 5. 1993, p. 104.(2) OJ No L 374, 31. 12. 1988, p. 1.(3) OJ No L 238, 6. 10. 1995, p. 2.


Avis juridique important

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31992D0250

92/250/ECSC: Decision of the European Parliament of 8 April 1992 granting a discharge to the Commission in respect of the European Coal and Steel Community accounts for the financial year 1990

Official Journal L 127 , 13/05/1992 P. 0017 - 0023

DECISION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT  of 8 April 1992  granting a discharge to the Commission in respect of the European Coal and Steel Community accounts for the financial year 1990  (92/250/ECSC)THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT,  - on the basis of the following figures (1) taken from the European Coal and Steel Community accounts as at 31 December 1990, in the light of the statement by the Court of Auditors of 28 June 1991 (2) that the accounts give a true and fair view of the  financial situation of the European Coal and Steel Community as at 31 December 1990, and in the light of the results of the ECSC's operations in the financial year ending on that date,  1. Grants the Commission discharge in respect of the accounts of the European Coal and Steel Community for the financial year 1990 (the figures for the out-turn of the operation budget for the financial year 1990 are also attached by way of  illustration);  2. Instructs the President to forward this decision and the resolution containing its observations to the Commission, the Council, the Court of Auditors and the ECSC Consultative Committee and to have them published in the Official Journal of the  European Communities (L Series). Done at Strasbourg, 8 April 1992.   The Secretary-General  The President  Enrico Vinci  Dr Egon KLEPSCH   Balance sheets at 31 December 1990 and 31 December 1989  (amounts expressed in ecus)  - Before allocation of profit -  ASSETS        31 December 1990  31 December 1989        Balances with central banks (note 3)   2 455 381   85 900  Loans and advances to credit institutions (note 4):      - repayable on demand  36 330 473   25 083 527   - with agreed maturity dates or  periods of notice  968 451 679   880 755 585   - loans  2 694 352 165    2 353 347 922    Total   3 699 134 317   3 259 187 034  Loans and advances to customers (note 5):      - loans  4 212 720 400   4 567 903 983   - levy  1 818 180   5 630 108   -  fines  1 702 087    18 745 917    Total   4 216 240 667   4 592 280 008  Debt securities including fixed-income securities (note 6):      - issued by public bodies  1 007 034 384   796 981 581   - issued by other borrowers  237 273 716   302 137 505    (including own-debt securities: 104 283 876 in 1990 and 97 100 176 in 1989)        Total   1 244 308 100   1 099 119 086  Tangible and intangible assets (note 7)   5 991 681   6 452 622  Other assets (note 8)   6 660 664   52 291 315  Prepayments and  accrued income (note 9)   294 513 076   270 025 870         TOTAL ASSETS   9 469 303 886   9 279 441 835        Off-balance-sheets commitments (note 24, p. 1)   2 475 819 034   1 173 114 513  - Before allocation of profit -  LIABILITIES        31 December 1990  31 December 1989        LIABILITIES VIS-A-VIS THIRD PARTIES      Amounts owed to credit institutions (note 10):      - repayable on demand  1 946 183   0   - with agreed maturity dates or periods of notice  90 177 871   64  750 534   - borrowings  3 210 329 694    3 639 907 617    Total   3 302 453 748   3 704 658 151  Debts evidenced by certificates (note 11)   3 462 281 500   3 023 747 481  Other liabilities (note 12)   145 747 865   85 289 620  Accruals and deferred  income (note 13)   257 939 731   275 459 841  Provisions for liabilities and charges (note 15)   5 437 682   4 741 757  Commitments for the ECSC Operating Budget (note 15)   1 176 182 496   1 120 320 224  TOTAL LIABILITIES VIS-A-VIS THIRD PARTIES   8  350 043 022   8 214 217 074  NET ASSETS      Provisions for financing the ECSC Operating Budget (note 16)   383 939 347   325 187 850  RESERVES (note 17):      - Guarantee fund  482 885 000   482 885 000   - Special reserve  188 980 000   188 980 000    - Former pension fund  54 887 556    53 698 379    Total   726 752 556   725 563 379  Revaluation reserve   7 139 997   12 799 169  Profit brought forward   485 186   893 213  Profit for the financial year   943 778    781 150   NET TOTAL   1 119 260  864    1 065 224 761   TOTAL LIABILITIES   9 469 303 886   9 279 441 835        Off-balance-sheet commitments (note 24, p. 2)   4 773 918 416   3 291 770 209  Profit-and-loss accounts for the years ending 31 December 1990 and 31 December 1989  (amounts expressed in ecus)  EXPENDITURE        31 December 1990  31 December 1989        Interest payable and similar charges:      - interest  706 897 548   660 357 516   - issuing costs and redemption premiums  14 853 731    12 194 039    Total   721 751 279   672 551 555  Commissions  payable   2 817 495   2 871 075  Net losses on financial operations:      - Foreign-exchange losses  81 272   0   - Losses on securities  4 236 067   0   - Value adjustments in respect of securities  0    21 657 319    Total   4 317 339   21 657 319   Administrative expenses (note 19)  5 000 000   5 000 000   Value adjustments in respect of tangible assets (note 7)  9 007 495   345 996   Other operating charges (note 20)  601 021   574 360   Value adjustments in respect of losses and advances and  provisions for contingent liabilities and for commitments:      - Value adjustment in respect of loans and advances  2 742 950     - Allocation to the provision for risks and charges  730 885    1 223 795    Total   18 082 351   7 144 151  TOTAL  OPERATING CHARGES   746 968 464   704 224 100  Extraordinary charges   32 272   683 369  Conversion difference   5 659 172   481 029  Legal commitments for the financial year (note 15)   445 277 280   407 310 119  Allocation to reserves for financing  the ECSC Operating Budget   311 851 569    286 887 850   TOTAL CHARGES   1 509 788 757   1 399 586 467  Profit for the financial year   943 778    781 150   TOTAL   1 510 732 535   1 400 367 617        REVENUE        31 December 1990  31 December 1989        Interest receivable and similar income (note 21):      - interest  (including interest on fixed-income securities: 106 346 129 in 1990 and 87 772 094 in 1989)  927 491 072   847 242 396   - issuing and redemption premiums  10 944 940    8 027 159    Total   938 436 012   855 269 555  Net profit on financial operations:       - foreign-exchange profits  0   0   - profits on securities  0   927 327   - value adjustments in respect of securities  2 770 868       Total   2 770 868   927 327  Value adjustments in respect of loans and advances and provisions:      - value  adjustments in respect of loans and advances  10 772 378   96 664 866   - transfer from the provisions for risks and charges  0       Total   10 772 378   96 664 866  Other operating income (note 22)   1 785 786   1 055 435  Extraordinary income (note  7)   9 640 148    0   TOTAL OPERATING INCOME   963 405 192   953 917 183  Conversion difference   0   460 741  Transfer from the value adjustment reserve   5 659 172   481 029  Income linked to the Operating Budget (note 23)   291 280 321   242 127 214   Transfer from the provision for financing the ECSC Operating Budget   250 387 850    203 381 450   TOTAL INCOME   1 510 732 535   1 400 367 617        Implementation of the ECSC operating budget for 1990  (ECU million)          Requirements  Forecast (1)  Outturn  Resources  Forecast (1)  Outturn         Operations to be financed from current resources (not reimbursable)      1. Administrative expenditure  5   5   2. Aid for redeployment (Article 56)  184   184    3. Aid for research (Article 55)  88   93,9   3.1. Steel   41   43,3  3.2. Coal   34   36,3  3.3. Social   13   14,3  4. Interest subsidies  68   82,2   4.1. Investment (Article 54)   10   13  4.2. Conversion (Article 56)   58   69,2  5. Social  measures in connection with the restructuring of the steel industry  50   45,2   6. Social measures in connection with the rationalization of the coal industry  40   40   Surplus     91,4        TOTAL  435   541,7   Resources for the financial year     1. Current resources    1.1. Yield from levy at 0,31 %  172  178,5  1.2. Net surplus from the preceeding financial year  139  206  1.3. Fines and surchanges for late payment (2)  14  6,9  1.4. Miscellaneous  t.e.  0,1  2. Cancellation of commitments  unlikely to be implemented  60  105,8 (3)  3. Unused resources carried over from 1989  t.e.  44,4  4. Extraordinary receipts    Social measures in connection with the restructuring of the steel industry  50  -  5. Utilization of the contigency reserve   t.e.  t.e.         TOTAL  435  541,7    Operations financed by loans from non-borrowed funds      Subsidized housing  12   12   Origin of non-borrowed funds    Special reserve and former ECSC pension fund  12  12  (1) In the light of the Commission's implementation forecast of 20 December 1989 (OJ No L 380, 29. 12. 1989).  (2) The amount of ECU 6,9 million represents the total received in 1990 but does not take into account the ECU 1,7 million due to the ECSC at 31 December 1990.  (3) Including the following amounts re-charged to the original lines:   technical steel research:  ECU 2,3 million  technical coal research:  ECU 2,3 million  social research:  ECU 1,3 million  interest subsidies on investment loans (Article 54):  ECU 3 million;  interest subsidies on conversion loans (Article 56):   ECU 11,2 million.  (1) The relevant tables are included after this proposal for a decision. (2) OJ No C 223, 28. 8. 1991, p. 29.   RESOLUTION  on the report of the Court of Auditors on the accounts of the European Coal and Steel Community at 31 December 1990 and on the report (annexed to the annual ECSC report for the 1990 financial year) of the Court of Auditors on the  management of the accounts and the financial management of the Economic Coal and Steel Community  THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT,  - having regard to the Economic Coal and Steel Community financial report for the 1990 financial year, submitted by the Commission (1), and in particular the balance sheet and profit and loss accounts of the ECSC at 31 December 1990,  - having regard to the report of the Court of Auditors on the accounts of the ECSC at 31 December 1990 (2) and the annex containing the report on the management of the accounts and the financial management of the European Coal and Steel Community  (C3-0068/92),  - having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control (A3-0089/92),  A. whereas the Court of Auditors has found that the financial statements of the ECSC at 31 December 1990 give a true and fair view of the results of its operations for the year then ended,  B. whereas there continues to be a need for the activities in the ECSC, and this need can not be expected to end within at least the next ten years,  C. whereas the ECSC Treaty is due to expire in 2002, and suitable provision must be made for the continuation, in some form, of its activities thereafter,  D. whereas the ECSC's instruments have enjoyed a high degree of success in confronting the problems they were designed to tackle,  1. Notes that the ratios calculated by the Commission for the reserves, and the ratios calculated by the Court of Auditors for the guarantee fund and own resources remain by and large static at a level at the upper end, or in excess, of the recommended  ranges, and that therefore, the gearing levels of the ECSC may be considered sound;  2. Calls on the Commission to review the policy of maintaining such high balance sheet ratios relative to the ranges recommended by the Court of Auditors, and to prepare, as a matter of urgency, proposals on interim arrangements to ensure the continuing  confidence of the financial markets in the ECSC's creditworthiness in the run-up to the expiry of the ECSC Treaty, and thereafter;  3. Requests a statement from the Commission explaining in detail its balance sheet management policies for the ECSC;  4. Calls again on the Commission to apply rigorous criteria when entering into new commitments or reviewing existing commitments, in order to ensure that funds are employed as effectively as possible;  5. Regrets the stagnation in the overall level of lending of the ECSC manifested over recent years, in spite of the availability of greater resources;  6. Calls on the Commission to increase the level of lending by the ECSC, particularly on social readaptation measures;  7. Underlines the necessity for improved coordination between ECSC instruments and the implementation of Community structural policies, with a view to the eventual integration of the former within the latter, upon expiry of the ECSC Treaty;  8. Reminds the Commission of the proven success of the various forms of ECSC intervention, of the importance of their retention, in suitably amended form, within the EEC Treaty, and of the absolute need that the budgetary authority be in a position to  exercise its full powers in their regard;  9. Urges the Commission to greater efforts in the promotion and publicising of ECSC instruments, in conjunction with its promotion of measures under Community structural policy, in order to increase public awareness of the opportunities available;  10. Calls on the Commission to take measures to improve the flow and quality of information from financial institutions administering ECSC global loans, with emphasis being placed on the importance of the financial institutions being represented on  monitoring committees;  11. Reaffirms its belief that the environmental impact of all Community expenditure, including that of the ECSC, is of the utmost importance, and that the mistakes of the past in this regard must serve as lessons for the future;  12. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Commission, the Council, the Court of Auditors and the ECSC Consultative Committee.   (1) OJ No C 223, 28. 8. 1991, p. 3. (2) OJ No C 223, 28. 8. 1991, p. 29.