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32001D0063

2001/63/EC: Council Decision of 19 January 2001 on Guidelines for Member States' employment policies for the year 2001

Official Journal L 022 , 24/01/2001 P. 0018 - 0026

Council Decisionof 19 January 2001on Guidelines for Member States' employment policies for the year 2001(2001/63/EC)THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Article 128(2) thereof,Having regard to the proposal from the Commission(1),Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament(2),Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social Committee(3),Having regard to the opinion of the Committee of the Regions(4),Having regard to the opinion of the Employment Committee,Whereas:(1) The Luxembourg process, based on the implementation of the coordinated European Employment Strategy, was launched by the extraordinary European Council meeting on Employment on 20 and 21 November 1997. The Council Resolution of 15 December 1997 on the 1998 Employment Guidelines(5) has launched a process with high visibility, strong political commitment and a wide-ranging acceptance by all parties concerned.(2) The Council Decision of 13 March 2000 on guidelines for Member States' employment policies for the year 2000(6) has allowed consolidation of the Luxembourg process through compliance with those guidelines.(3) The Lisbon European Council on 23 and 24 March 2000 set a new strategic goal for the European Union to become the most competitive and dynamic knowledge-based economy in the world capable of sustainable economic growth with more and better jobs and greater social cohesion. The attainment of this goal will enable the Union to regain the conditions of full employment.(4) The opinion of the Employment Committee was drafted jointly with the Economic Policy Committee.(5) Consistency and synergy between the Employment Guidelines and the Broad Economic Policy Guidelines should be ensured.(6) In implementing the employment guidelines, Member States should aim at a high degree of consistency with two other priorities highlighted by the Lisbon Summit, modernising social protection and the promotion of social inclusion, while ensuring that work pays, and the long-term sustainability of social protection systems is secured.(7) The Lisbon European Council stressed the need to adapt European education and training systems both to the demands of the knowledge society and to the need for an improved level and quality of employment, and called upon Member States, the Council and the Commission to pursue a substantial annual increase in per capita investment in human resources.(8) The Santa Maria da Feira European Council on 19 and 20 June 2000 invited the social partners to play a more prominent role in defining, implementing and evaluating the employment guidelines which depend on them, focusing particularly on modernising work organisation, lifelong learning and increasing the employment rate, particularly for women.(9) The 2000 Joint Employment Report, drawn up by the Council and the Commission, describes the employment situation in the Community and examines the action taken by the Member States in implementing their employment policy in line with the 2000 Employment Guidelines, and the Council Recommendation 2000/164/EC of 14 February 2000 on the implementation of Member States' employment policies(7).(10) On 19 January 2001 the Council adopted a further recommendation on the implementation of Member States' employment policies(8).(11) The mid-term Review of the Luxembourg process conducted in 2000 at the request of the Lisbon European Council should be taken into account in revising the Employment Guidelines 2001, without changing the basic four pillar structure, and in improving the efficiency of the Luxembourg process.(12) Member States should strengthen their efforts to include and make visible a gender perspective across all the pillars.(13) The implementation of the guidelines may vary according to their nature, the parties to whom they are addressed and the different situations in the Member States. They should respect the principle of subsidiarity and Member States' responsibilities with regard to employment.(14) In implementing the Employment Guidelines, Member States should be able to take regional situations into account, while fully respecting the attainment of national targets and the principle of equal treatment.(15) The effectiveness of the Luxembourg process requires that the implementation of the employment guidelines is also reflected inter alia in financial provision. To this end, the national reports should, where appropriate, include budget information in order to permit an effective assessment of the progress achieved by each Member State in implementing the guidelines, taking into account their impact and cost effectiveness.(16) Council Directive 1999/85/EC(9), which provides for the possibility of applying a reduced VAT rate on labour-intensive services on an experimental basis, should be followed up in order to examine, in particular, the impact of national initiatives in terms of job potential.(17) The contribution of the Structural Funds, and in particular the European Social Fund and the Community Initiative EQUAL to the European Employment Strategy in the new programming period should be highlighted, as well as the role of the European Investment Bank.(18) Partnership at all levels should be encouraged, including with the social partners, regional and local authorities and representatives of civil society so that they can contribute, in their respective fields of responsibility, to promoting a high level of employment.(19) There is a need further to consolidate and develop comparable indicators to make it possible to assess the implementation and impact of the annexed guidelines, and to refine the targets which they contain and facilitate the identification and exchange of best practice.(20) Sustainable development and the integration of environmental concerns into other Community policies are objectives of the Treaty. Member States are invited to give effect to such integration within their national employment strategies by promoting employment creation in the environmental field,HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS:Sole ArticleThe Guidelines for Member States' employment policies for the year 2001, annexed hereto, are hereby adopted. They shall be taken into account by the Member States in their employment policies.Done at Brussels, 19 January 2001.For the CouncilThe PresidentB. Ringholm(1) Proposal of 14 November 2000 (not yet published in the Official Journal)(2) Opinion delivered on 24 November 2000 (not yet published in the Official Journal).(3) OJ C 14, 16.1.2001, p. 75.(4) Opinion delivered on 13 October 2000 (not yet published in the Official Journal).(5) OJ C 30, 28.1.1998, p. 1.(6) OJ L 72, 21.3.2000, p. 15.(7) OJ L 52, 25.2.2000, p. 32.(8) See page 27 of this Official Journal.(9) OJ L 277, 28.10.1999, p. 34.ANNEXTHE EMPLOYMENT GUIDELINES FOR 2001Horizontal objectives - building conditions for full employment in a knowledge-based societyThe careful build-up, over the last decade, of a macroeconomic framework for stability and growth coupled with consistent efforts to reform labour, capital, goods and services markets, as well as favourable prospects in the world economy, has created a favourable economic outlook for the European Union which will bring the attainment of some of its key fundamental objectives within reach. Further progress, however, is not automatic: it requires leadership, commitment and concerted action.This is why the European Council embraced full employment as an overarching objective of the EU's employment and social policy. It committed the Member States to reach the strategic goal of making the Union the most competitive and dynamic knowledge-based economy in the world, capable of sustainable economic growth with more and better jobs and greater social cohesion. The achievement of these objectives requires simultaneous efforts by the Community and the Member States. It also requires a continued implementation of an effective and well balanced and mutually supportive policy mix, based on macroeconomic policy, structural reforms promoting adaptable and flexible labour markets, innovation and competitiveness, and an active welfare state promoting human resources development, participation, inclusion and solidarity.Preparing the transition to a knowledge-based economy, reaping the benefits of the information and communication technologies, modernising the European social model by investing in people and combating social exclusion and promoting equal opportunities are key challenges for the Luxembourg process. In order to achieve the goal of full employment set at Lisbon, the Member States should articulate their response to the guidelines under the four pillars in a coherent overall strategy which incorporates the following horizontal objectives:A. Enhancing job opportunities and providing adequate incentives for all those willing to take up gainful employment with the aim of moving towards full employment recognising Member States' different starting positions, and recognising the fact that full employment is a goal of overall national economic policy. To this end, Member States should consider setting national targets for raising the rate of employment, in order to contribute to the overall European objectives of reaching by 2010 an overall employment rate of 70 per cent and an employment rate of more than 60 per cent for women. In pursuing these targets, the aim of increasing the quality of jobs should also be taken into consideration.B. Member States shall develop comprehensive and coherent strategies for Lifelong Learning, in order to help people acquire and update the skills needed to cope with economic and social changes throughout the entire life cycle. In particular, the strategies should cover the development of systems for initial, secondary and tertiary education, further education and vocational training for young people and adults to improve their employability, adaptability and skills, as well as their participation in the knowledge-based society. Such strategies should articulate the shared responsibility of public authorities, enterprises, the social partners and individuals, with relevant contribution from civil society, to contribute to the realisation of a knowledge-based society. In this context, the social partners should negotiate and agree on measures to improve further education and training of adults to enhance the adaptability of workers and competitiveness of business. To this end, Member States should set national targets for an increase in investment in human resources as well as in participation in further education and training (whether formal or informal) and monitor regularly progress towards such targets.C. Member States shall develop a comprehensive partnership with the social partners for the implementation, monitoring and follow-up of the Employment Strategy. The social partners at all levels are invited to step up their action in support of the Luxembourg process. Within the overall framework and objectives set by these guidelines, the social partners are invited to develop, in accordance with their national traditions and practices, their own process of implementing the guidelines for which they have the key responsibility, identify the issues upon which they will negotiate and report regularly on progress, in the context of the National Action Plans if desired, as well as the impact of their actions on employment and labour market functioning. The social partners at European level are invited to define their own contribution and to monitor, encourage and support efforts undertaken at national level.D. In translating the Employment Guidelines into national policies, Member States will give due attention to all the four pillars and the horizontal objectives by setting their priorities in a balanced manner, so as to respect the integrated nature and equal value of the guidelines. The National Action Plans will develop the strategy for employment (adopting a gender mainstreaming approach), comprising an identification of the policy mix based on the four pillars and the horizontal objectives which should make explicit how policy initiatives under different guidelines are structured in order to reach long-term goals. In giving effect to the Strategy, the regional dimension and regional disparities will be taken into account in terms of differentiated policies or targets, while fully respecting the attainment of national targets and the principle of equal treatment. Likewise, it is appropriate for Member States, without prejudice to the overall framework, to focus, in particular, on certain dimensions of the strategy to meet the particular needs of their labour market situation.E. Member States and the Commission should strengthen the development of common indicators in order to evaluate adequately progress under all four pillars and to underpin the setting of benchmarks and the identification of good practice. The social partners are invited to develop appropriate indicators and benchmarks and supporting statistical databases to measure progress in the actions for which they are responsible.I. IMPROVING EMPLOYABILITYTackling youth unemployment and preventing long-term unemploymentIn order to influence the trend in youth and long-term unemployment, Member States will intensify their efforts to develop preventive and employability-oriented strategies, building on the early identification of individual needs. Within a period to be determined by each Member State, which may not exceed two years and which - without prejudice to the review of the Guidelines which will take place in two years' time - may be longer in Member States with particularly high unemployment, Member States will ensure that:1. Every unemployed person is offered a new start before reaching six months of unemployment in the case of young people, and twelve months of unemployment in the case of adults in the form of training, retraining, work practice, a job, or other employability measure, including, more generally, accompanying individual vocational guidance and counselling with a view to effective integration into the labour market.These preventive and employability measures should be combined with measures to reduce the stock of the long-term unemployed by promoting their reinsertion in the labour market.In this context, Member States should pursue the modernisation of their Public Employment Services, in particular by monitoring progress, setting clear deadlines and providing adequate retraining of their staff. Member States should encourage cooperation with other service providers so as to make the strategy of prevention and activation more effective.A more employment-friendly approach: benefits, taxes and training systemsBenefit, tax and training systems - where that proves necessary - must be reviewed and adapted to ensure that they actively support the employability of unemployed persons. Moreover, these systems should interact appropriately to encourage the return to the labour market of those inactive persons willing and able to take up a job. Particular attention should be given to promoting incentives for unemployed or inactive people to seek and take up work, as well as measures to upgrade their skills and enhance job opportunities in particular for those with greatest difficulties.2. Each Member State will:- review and, where appropriate, reform its benefit and tax system to reduce poverty traps, and provide incentives for unemployed or inactive people to seek and take up work or measures to enhance their employability and for employers to create new jobs;- endeavour to increase significantly the proportion of unemployed and inactive persons benefiting from active measures to improve their employability with a view to effective integration into the labour market, and will improve the outcomes, outputs and cost effectiveness of such measures;- promote measures for unemployed and inactive people to acquire or upgrade skills, including IT and communication skills, thereby facilitating their access to the labour market and reducing skills gaps. To this end, each Member State will fix a target for active measures involving education, training or similar measures offered to the unemployed thereby aiming at gradually achieving the average of the three most advanced Member States, and at least 20 per cent.Developing a policy for active ageingIn-depth changes in the prevailing social attitudes towards older workers, as well as a revision of tax-benefit systems are called for, in order to reach full employment, to help ensure the long-term fairness and sustainability of social security systems, and to make the best use of older workers' experience.3. Member States, if appropriate with the social partners, will therefore develop policies for active ageing with the aim of enhancing the capacity of, and incentives for, older workers to remain in the labour force as long as possible, in particular by:- adopting positive measures to maintain working capacity and skills of older workers, not least in a knowledge-based labour market, in particular through sufficient access to education and training, to introduce flexible working arrangements including, for example, part-time work if workers so choose, and to raise employers' awareness of the potential of older workers; and- reviewing tax and benefit systems in order to reduce disincentives and make it more attractive for older workers to continue participating in the labour market.Developing skills for the new labour market in the context of lifelong learningEffective and well functioning educational and training systems responsive to labour market needs are key to the development of the knowledge-based economy and to the improvement of the level and quality of employment. They are also crucial to the delivery of lifelong learning to allow for a smooth transition from school to work, lay the foundations for productive human resources equipped with core and specific skills and enable people to adapt positively to social and economic change. The development of an employable labour force involves providing people with the capacity to access and reap the benefits of the knowledge-based society, addressing skill gaps and preventing the erosion of skills resulting from unemployment, non-participation and exclusion throughout the lifecycle.4. Member States are therefore called upon to improve the quality of their education and training systems, as well as the relevant curricula, including the provision of appropriate guidance in the context of both initial training and lifelong learning, the modernisation and greater effectiveness of apprenticeship systems and of in-work training, and promote the development of multi-purpose local learning centres, in order to:- equip young people with the basic skills relevant to the labour market and needed to participate in lifelong learning;- reduce youth and adult illiteracy and reduce substantially the number of young people who drop out of the school system early. Particular attention should also be given to young people with learning difficulties and with educational problems. Member States will in this context develop measures aimed at halving by 2010 the number of 18 to 24 year olds with only lower-secondary level education who are not in further education and training;- promote conditions to facilitate better access of adults, including those with a-typical contracts, to lifelong learning, so as to increase the proportion of adult working-age population (25-64 year olds) participating at any given time in education and training. Member States should set targets for this purpose.In order to facilitate mobility and encourage lifelong learning, Member States should improve the recognition of qualifications, acquired knowledge and skills.5. Member States will aim at developing e-learning for all citizens. In particular, Member States will ensure that that all schools have access to the internet and multimedia resources by the end of 2001 and that all the teachers needed are skilled in the use of these technologies by the end of 2002 in order to provide all pupils with a broad digital literacy.Active policies to develop job matching and to prevent and combat emerging bottlenecksIn all Member States unemployment and exclusion from the labour market coexist with labour shortages in certain sectors, occupations and regions. With the improvement of the employment situation and accelerating pace of technological change, these bottlenecks are increasing. An insufficiency of active policies to prevent and combat emerging labour shortages will harm competitiveness, increase inflationary pressures and keep structural unemployment high.6. Member States will, as appropriate with the social partners, step up their efforts to identify and prevent emerging bottlenecks, in particular by:- developing the job-matching capacities of employment services;- developing policies to prevent skills shortages;- promoting occupational and geographical mobility;- enhancing the functioning of labour markets by improving databases on jobs and learning opportunities which should be interconnected at European level, making use of modern information technologies and experience already available at European level.Combating discrimination and promoting social inclusion by access to employmentMany groups and individuals experience particular difficulties in acquiring relevant skills and in gaining access to, and remaining in, the labour market. This may increase the risk of exclusion. A coherent set of policies which promote social inclusion by supporting the integration of disadvantaged groups and individuals into the world of work, and combat discrimination in access to, and on, the labour market is called for.7. Each Member State will:- identify and combat all forms of discrimination in access to the labour market and to education and training;- develop pathways consisting of effective preventive and active policy measures to promote the integration into the labour market of groups and individuals at risk or with a disadvantage, in order to avoid marginalisation, the emergence of "working poor" and a drift into exclusion;- implement appropriate measures to meet the needs of the disabled, ethnic minorities and migrant workers as regards their integration into the labour market and set national targets where appropriate for this purpose.II. DEVELOPING ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND JOB CREATIONMaking it easier to start up and run businessesThe development of new businesses in general, and the contribution to the growth of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in particular, is essential for job creation and for the expansion of training opportunities for young people. This process must be promoted by encouraging greater entrepreneurial awareness across society and in educational curricula, by providing a clear, stable and predictable set of rules and regulations by improving the conditions for the development of, and access to, risk capital markets. Member States should also reduce and simplify the administrative and tax burdens on SMEs. These policies should strengthen the prevention of undeclared work.8. Member States will give particular attention to reducing significantly the overhead costs and administrative burdens for businesses, in particular when an enterprise is being set up and when hiring additional workers. Also, Member States should, when drafting new regulations, assess their potential impact on such administrative burdens and overhead costs for businesses.9. Member States will encourage the taking up of entrepreneurial activities:- by examining, with the aim of reducing, any obstacles which may exist, especially those within tax and social security regimes, to moving to self-employment and the setting up of small businesses;- by promoting education for entrepreneurship and self-employment, targeted support services as well as training for entrepreneurs and would-be entrepreneurs;- by combating undeclared work and encouraging the transformation of such work into regular employment, making use of all relevant means of action including regulatory measures, incentives and tax and benefit reform, in partnership with the social partners.New opportunities for employment in the knowledge-based society and in servicesIf the European Union wants to deal successfully with the employment challenge, all possible sources of jobs and new technologies must be exploited effectively. Innovative enterprises must find a supportive environment because they can make an essential contribution to mobilising the job creation potential of the knowledge-based society. A considerable potential exists in particular in the services sector. To this end:10. Member States will remove barriers to the provision of services and develop framework conditions to exploit fully the employment potential of the full range of the services sector to create more and better jobs. In particular, the employment potential of the knowledge society and the environmental sector should be tapped.Regional and local action for employmentAll actors at the regional and local levels, including the social partners, must be mobilised to implement the European Employment Strategy by identifying the potential of job creation at local level and strengthening partnerships to this end.11. Member States will:- take into account, where appropriate, in their overall employment policy the regional development dimension;- encourage local and regional authorities to develop strategies for employment in order to exploit fully the possibilities offered by job creation at local level and promote partnerships to this end with all the actors concerned, including the representatives of civil society;- promote measures to enhance the competitive development and job creation capacity of the social economy, especially the provision of goods and services linked to needs not yet satisfied by the market, and examine, with the aim of reducing, any obstacles to such measures;- strengthen the role of the Public Employment Services at all levels in identifying local employment opportunities and improving the functioning of local labour markets.Tax reforms for employment and trainingIt is important to deepen the examination of the employment impact of the tax burden, and make the taxation system more employment friendly by reversing the long-term trend towards higher taxes and charges on labour. Tax reforms must also take into account the need to increase investment in people, by business, public authorities and individuals themselves, in view of the longer term impact on employment and competitiveness.12. Each Member State will:- set a target, if necessary and taking account of its present level, for gradually reducing the overall tax burden and, where appropriate, set a target for gradually reducing the fiscal pressure on labour and non-wage labour costs, in particular on relatively unskilled and low-paid labour. Such reforms should be undertaken without jeopardising the recovery of public finances or the long-term sustainability of social security systems;- provide incentives and remove tax obstacles to investment in human resources;- examine the desirability of using alternative sources of tax revenue, inter alia energy and pollutant emissions, taking into account current market trends, notably in oil markets.III. ENCOURAGING ADAPTABILITY OF BUSINESSES AND THEIR EMPLOYEESThe opportunities created by the knowledge-based economy and the prospect of an improved level and quality of employment require a consequent adaptation of work organisation and the contribution to the implementation of Life Long Learning strategies by all actors including enterprises, in order to meet the needs of workers and employers.Modernising work organisationIn order to promote the modernisation of work organisation and forms of work, a strong partnership should be developed at all appropriate levels (European, national, sectoral, local and enterprise levels).13. The social partners are invited:- to negotiate and implement at all appropriate levels agreements to modernise the organisation of work, including flexible working arrangements, with the aim of making undertakings productive and competitive, achieving the required balance between flexibility and security, and increasing the quality of jobs. Subjects to be covered may, for example, include the introduction of new technologies, new forms of work and working time issues such as the expression of working time as an annual figure, the reduction of working hours, the reduction of overtime, the development of part-time working, access to career breaks, and associated job security issues; and- within the context of the Luxembourg process, to report annually on which aspects of the modernisation of the organisation of work have been covered by the negotiations as well as the status of their implementation and impact on employment and labour market functioning.14. Member States will, where appropriate in partnership with the social partners or drawing upon agreements negotiated by the social partners,- review the existing regulatory framework, and examine proposals for new provisions and incentives to make sure they will contribute to reducing barriers to employment, to facilitate the introduction of modernised work organisation and to helping the labour market adapt to structural change in the economy;- at the same time, taking into account the fact that forms of employment are increasingly diverse, examine the possibility of incorporating in national law more flexible types of contract, and ensure that those working under new flexible contracts enjoy adequate security and higher occupational status, compatible with the needs of business and the aspirations of workers;- endeavour to ensure a better application at workplace level of existing health and safety legislation by stepping up and strengthening enforcement, by providing guidance to help enterprises, especially SMEs, to comply with existing legislation, by improving training on occupational health and safety, and by promoting measures for the reduction of occupational accidents and diseases in traditional high risk sectors.Supporting adaptability in enterprises as a component of lifelong learningIn order to renew skill levels within enterprises as a key component to lifelong learning:15. The social partners are invited, at all relevant levels, to conclude agreements, where appropriate, on lifelong learning to facilitate adaptability and innovation, particularly in the field of information and communication technologies. In this context, the conditions for giving every worker the opportunity to achieve information society literacy by 2003 should be established.IV. STRENGTHENING EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES POLICIES FOR WOMEN AND MENGender mainstreaming approachIn order to meet the objective of equal opportunity and reach the target of an increased employment rate for women in line with the conclusions of the Lisbon European Council, Member States' policies towards gender equality should be strengthened and should address all relevant conditions influencing women's decisions to take up employment.Women still face particular problems in gaining access to employment, in career advancement, in earnings and in reconciling professional and family life. It is therefore important, inter alia:- to ensure that active labour market policies are made available for women in proportion to their share of unemployment;- to pay particular attention to the gender impact of tax and benefit systems. Wherever tax-benefit structures are identified that impact negatively on women's participation in the labour force, they should be reviewed;- to pay particular attention to ensuring the application of the principle of equal pay for equal work or work of equivalent value;- to give particular attention to obstacles which hinder women who wish to set up new businesses or become self-employed;- to ensure that women are able to benefit positively from flexible forms of work organisation, on a voluntary basis and without loss of job quality;- to ensure the conditions for facilitating the access of women to lifelong learning and in particular to IT training.16. Therefore, the Member States will adopt a gender-mainstreaming approach in implementing the Guidelines across all four pillars:- developing and reinforcing consultative systems with gender equality bodies;- applying procedures for gender impact assessment under each guideline;- developing indicators to measure progress in gender equality in relation to each guideline.In order meaningfully to evaluate progress, Member States will need to provide for adequate data collection systems and procedures and ensure a gender breakdown of employment statistics.Tackling gender gapsMember States and the social partners should pay attention to the imbalance in the representation of women or men in certain economic sectors and occupations, as well as to the improvement of female career opportunities.17. Member States will, where appropriate with the social partners:- strengthen their efforts to reduce the gap in unemployment rates between women and men by actively supporting the increased employment of women, and consider setting national targets in accordance with the objectives set out in the conclusions of the Lisbon European Council;- take action to bring about a balanced representation of women and men in all sectors and occupations;- initiate positive steps to promote equal pay for equal work or work of equal value and to diminish differentials in incomes between women and men: actions to address gender pay gaps are necessary in the public and private sector, and the impact of the policies on gender pay gaps should be identified and addressed;- consider an increased use of measures for the advancement of women in order to reduce gender gaps.Reconciling work and family lifePolicies on career breaks, parental leave and part-time work, as well as flexible working arrangements which serve the interests of both employers and employees, are of particular importance to women and men. Implementation of the various Directives and social-partner agreements in this area should be accelerated and monitored regularly. There must be an adequate provision of good quality care for children and other dependants in order to support the entry of women and men into, and their continued participation in, the labour market. An equal sharing of family responsibilities is crucial in this respect. Those returning to the labour market after an absence may also have outmoded skills, and experience difficulty in gaining access to training. Reintegration of women and men into the labour market after an absence must be facilitated. In order to strengthen equal opportunities,18. Member States and the social partners will:- design, implement and promote family-friendly policies, including affordable, accessible and high-quality care services for children and other dependants, as well as parental and other leave schemes;- consider setting a national target, in accordance with their national situation, for increasing the availability of care services for children and other dependants;- give specific attention to women, and men, considering a return to the paid workforce after an absence and, to that end, they will examine the means of gradually eliminating the obstacles to such return.


title: Council Decision 2014/222/CFSP of 16 April 2014 amending Decision 2010/413/CFSP concerning restrictive measures against Iran

text:
               23.4.2014

               EN

               Official Journal of the European Union

               L 119/65

         COUNCIL DECISION 2014/222/CFSP
   of 16 April 2014
   amending Decision 2010/413/CFSP concerning restrictive measures against Iran
   THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,
   Having regard to the Treaty on European Union, and in particular Article 29 thereof,
   Having regard to Council Decision 2010/413/CFSP of 26 July 2010 concerning restrictive measures against Iran (1), and in particular Article 23 thereof,
   Whereas:

               (1)

               On 26 July 2010, the Council adopted Decision 2010/413/CFSP.

               (2)

               By its judgment of 12 November 2013 in Case T-552/12 (2), the General Court of the European Union annulled Council Decision 2012/635/CFSP (3) insofar as it included North Drilling Company (NDC) in the list of persons and entities subject to restrictive measures, as set out in Annex II to Decision 2010/413/CFSP.

               (3)

               North Drilling Company (NDC) should be included again in the list of persons and entities subject to restrictive measures, on the basis of a new statement of reasons.

               (4)

               One entity should be removed from the list of persons and entities subject to restrictive measures set out in Annex II to Decision 2010/413/CFSP.

               (5)

               Decision 2010/413/CFSP should be amended accordingly,

         HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:
   Article 1
   Annex II to Decision 2010/413/CFSP shall be amended as set out in the Annex to this Decision.
   Article 2
   This Decision shall enter into force on the day of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.

      Done at Brussels, 16 April 2014.

            For the Council

            The President

         D. KOURKOULAS

      (1)  OJ L 195, 27.7.2010, p. 39.

      (2)  Case T-552/12 North Drilling Co. v Council, judgment of 12 November 2013, not yet reported.

      (3)  Council Decision 2012/635/CFSP of 15 October 2012 amending Decision 2010/413/CFSP concerning restrictive measures against Iran (OJ L 282, 16.10.2012, p. 58).

      ANNEX

                  I.

                  The entity listed below shall be inserted in the list set out in Part I, Section B (Entities), of Annex II to Decision 2010/413/CFSP:

                              Name

                              Identifying information

                              Reasons

                              Date of listing

                              118.

                              North Drilling Company (NDC)

                                          No 8 35th St. Alvand St.

                                          Argentine Sq. Tehran

                                          Iran

                                          Tel. (+ 98) 2188785083-8

                              North Drilling provides financial support to the Government of Iran through being indirectly owned by the Mostazafan Foundation, a major Iranian parastatal entity controlled by the Government of Iran. North Drilling is an important entity in the energy sector which provides substantial revenues to the Government of Iran. Additionally, North Drilling has imported key equipment for the oil and gas industry, including prohibited goods. Therefore, North Drilling provides support for Iran's proliferation-sensitive nuclear activities.

                              23.4.2014

                  II.

                  The entity listed below, and the related entry, shall be deleted from the list set out in Annex II to Decision 2010/413/CFSP:
                  Safa Nicu a.k.a. ‘Safa Nicu Sepahan’, ‘Safanco Company’, ‘Safa Nicu Afghanistan Company’, ‘Safa Al Noor Company’ and ‘Safa Nicu Ltd Company’.


title: 2011/833/EU: Commission Decision of 12 December 2011 on the reuse of Commission documents

text:
               14.12.2011

               EN

               Official Journal of the European Union

               L 330/39

         COMMISSION DECISION
   of 12 December 2011
   on the reuse of Commission documents
   (2011/833/EU)
   THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,
   Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, and in particular Article 249 thereof,
   Whereas:

               (1)

               Europe 2020 sets out a vision of Europe’s social market economy for the 21st century. One of the priority themes in that context is ‘Smart growth: developing an economy based on knowledge and innovation’.

               (2)

               The new information and communication technologies have created unprecedented possibilities to aggregate and combine content from different sources.

               (3)

               Public sector information is an important source of potential growth of innovative online services through value-added products and services. Governments can stimulate content markets by making public sector information available on transparent, effective and non-discriminatory terms. For this reason, the Digital Agenda for Europe (1) singled out the reuse of public sector information as one of the key areas for action.

               (4)

               The Commission and the other Institutions are themselves holders of many documents of all kinds which could be reused in added-value information products and services and which could provide a useful content resource for companies and citizens alike.

               (5)

               The right to access Commission documents is regulated through Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 May 2001 regarding public access to European Parliament, Council and Commission documents (2).

               (6)

               Directive 2003/98/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council (3) sets minimum rules for the reuse of public sector information throughout the European Union. In its recitals it encourages Member States to go beyond these minimum rules and to adopt open data policies, allowing a broad use of documents held by public sector bodies.

               (7)

               The Commission has set an example to public administrations in making statistics, publications and the full corpus of Union law freely available online. This is a good basis to make further progress in ensuring the availability and reusability of data held by the institution.

               (8)

               Commission Decision 2006/291/EC, Euratom of 7 April 2006 on the reuse of Commission information (4) determines the conditions for the reuse of Commission documents.

               (9)

               In order to make the reuse regime of Commission documents more effective, the rules on the reuse of Commission documents should be adapted with a view to achieving a broader reuse of such documents.

               (10)

               A data portal as a single point of access to documents available for reuse should be set up. In addition, it is appropriate to include in the documents available for reuse the research information produced by the Joint Research Centre. A provision should be adopted to take into account the move towards machine-readable formats. An important improvement with respect to Decision 2006/291/EC, Euratom consists in making Commission documents generally available for reuse without the need for individual applications, through open reuse licences or simple disclaimers.

               (11)

               Decision 2006/291/EC, Euratom should therefore be replaced by this Decision.

               (12)

               An open reuse policy at the Commission will support new economic activity, lead to a wider use and spread of Union information, enhance the image of openness and transparency of the Institutions, and avoid unnecessary administrative burden for users and Commission services. In 2012, the Commission envisages exploring with other Union institutions and key Agencies to what extent they could adopt their own rules on reuse.

               (13)

               This Decision should be implemented and applied in full compliance with the principles relating to the protection of personal data in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 45/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 December 2000 on the protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data by the Community institutions and bodies and on the free movement of such data (5).

               (14)

               This Decision should not apply to documents for which the Commission is not in a position to allow reuse, e.g. in view of third party intellectual property rights or where the documents have been received from the other Institutions,

         HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:
   Article 1
   Subject matter
   This Decision determines the conditions for the reuse of documents held by the Commission or on its behalf by the Publications Office of the European Union (the Publications Office) with the aim of facilitating a wider reuse of information, enhancing the image of openness of the Commission, and avoiding unnecessary administrative burdens for reusers and the Commission services alike.
   Article 2
   Scope
   1.   This Decision applies to public documents produced by the Commission or by public and private entities on its behalf:

               (a)

               which have been published by the Commission or by the Publications Office on its behalf through publications, websites or dissemination tools; or

               (b)

               which have not been published for economic or other practical reasons, such as studies, reports and other data.

         2.   This Decision shall not apply:

               (a)

               to software or to documents covered by industrial property rights such as patents, trademarks, registered designs, logos and names;

               (b)

               to documents for which the Commission is not in a position to allow their reuse in view of intellectual property rights of third parties;

               (c)

               to documents which pursuant to the rules established in Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 are excluded from access or only made accessible to a party under specific rules governing privileged access;

               (d)

               to confidential data, as defined in Regulation (EC) No 223/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council (6);

               (e)

               to documents resulting from ongoing research projects conducted by the staff of the Commission which are not published or available in a published database, and whose reuse would interfere with the validation of provisional research results or where reuse would constitute a reason to refuse registration of industrial property rights in the Commission’s favour.

         3.   This Decision is without prejudice to and in no way affects Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001.
   4.   Nothing in this Decision authorises reuse of documents in a manner calculated to deceive or to defraud. The Commission shall take the appropriate measures to protect the interests and the public image of the EU in accordance to applicable rules.
   Article 3
   Definitions
   For the purposes of this Decision, the following definitions shall apply:

               (1)

               ‘document’ means:

                           (a)

                           any content whatever its medium (written on paper or stored in electronic form or as a sound, visual or audiovisual recording);

                           (b)

                           any part of such content;

               (2)

               ‘reuse’ means the use of documents by persons or legal entities of documents, for commercial or non-commercial purposes other than the initial purpose for which the documents were produced. The exchange of documents between the Commission and other public sector bodies which use these documents purely in the pursuit of their public tasks does not constitute reuse;

               (3)

               ‘personal data’ means data as defined in Article 2(a) of Regulation (EC) No 45/2001;

               (4)

               ‘licence’ means the granting of permission to reuse documents under specified conditions. ‘Open licence’ means a licence where reuse of documents is permitted for all specified uses in a unilateral declaration by the rightholder;

               (5)

               ‘machine-readable’ means that digital documents are sufficiently structured for software applications to identify reliably individual statements of fact and their internal structure;

               (6)

               ‘structured data’ is data organised in a way that allows reliable identification of individual statements of fact and all their components, as exemplified in databases and spreadsheets;

               (7)

               ‘portal’ refers to a single point of access to data from a variety of web sources. The sources generate both the data and the related metadata. The metadata needed for indexing are automatically harvested by the portal and integrated to the extent needed to support common functionalities such as search and linking. The portal may also cache data from the contributing sources in order to improve performance or provide additional functionalities.

         Article 4
   General principle
   All documents shall be available for reuse:

               (a)

               for commercial or non-commercial purposes under the conditions laid down in Article 6;

               (b)

               without charge, subject to the provisions laid down in Article 9; and

               (c)

               without the need to make an individual application, unless otherwise provided in Article 7.

         This Decision shall be implemented in full respect of the rules on the protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data, and in particular Regulation (EC) No 45/2001.
   Article 5
   Data portal
   The Commission shall set up a data portal as a single point of access to its structured data so as to facilitate linking and reuse for commercial and non-commercial purposes.
   Commission services will identify and progressively make available suitable data in their possession. The data portal may provide access to data of other Union institutions, bodies, offices and agencies at their request.
   Article 6
   Conditions for reuse of documents
   1.   Documents shall be made available for reuse without application unless otherwise specified and without restrictions or, where appropriate, an open licence or disclaimer setting out conditions explaining the rights of reusers.
   2.   Those conditions, which shall not unnecessarily restrict possibilities for reuse, may include the following:

               (a)

               the obligation for the reuser to acknowledge the source of the documents;

               (b)

               the obligation not to distort the original meaning or message of the documents;

               (c)

               the non-liability of the Commission for any consequence stemming from the reuse.

         Where it is necessary to apply other conditions to a particular class of documents, the inter-service group referred to in Article 12 will be consulted.
   Article 7
   Individual applications for reuse of documents
   1.   Where an individual application for reuse is necessary, the Commission services shall clearly indicate this in the relevant document or notice pointing to it and provide an address to which the application is to be submitted.
   2.   Individual applications for reuse shall be handled promptly by the relevant Commission service. An acknowledgement of receipt shall be submitted to the applicant. Within 15 working days from registration of the application, the Commission service or the Publications Office shall either allow reuse of the document requested and, where relevant, provide a copy of the document, or, in a written reply, indicate the total or partial refusal of the application, stating the reasons.
   3.   Where an application for reuse of a document concerns a very long document, a very large number of documents or the application needs to be translated, the time limit provided for in paragraph 2 may be extended by 15 working days, provided that the applicant is notified in advance and that detailed reasons for the extension are given.
   4.   Where an application for reuse of a document is refused, the Commission service or the Publications Office shall inform the applicant of the right to bring an action before the Court of Justice of the European Union or to lodge a complaint with the European Ombudsman, under the conditions laid down in Articles 263 and 228, respectively, of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union.
   5.   Where a refusal is based on point (b) of Article 2(2) of this Decision, the reply to the applicant shall include a reference to the natural or legal person who is the rightholder, where known, or alternatively to the licensor from which the Commission has obtained the relevant material, where known.
   Article 8
   Formats for documents available for reuse
   1.   Documents shall be made available in any existing format or language version, in machine-readable format where possible and appropriate.
   2.   This shall not imply an obligation to create, adapt or update documents in order to comply with the application, nor to provide extracts from documents where it would involve disproportionate effort, going beyond a simple operation.
   3.   This Decision does not create any obligation for the Commission to translate the requested documents into any other official language versions than those already available at the moment of the application.
   4.   The Commission or the Publications Office may not be required to continue the production of certain types of documents or to preserve them in a given format with a view to the reuse of such documents by a natural or legal person.
   Article 9
   Rules on charging
   1.   The reuse of documents shall in principle be free of charge.
   2.   In exceptional cases, marginal costs incurred for the reproduction and dissemination of documents may be recovered.
   3.   Where the Commission decides to adapt a document in order to satisfy a specific application, the costs involved in the adaptation may be recovered from the applicant. The assessment of the need to recover such costs shall take into account the effort necessary for the adaptation as well as the potential advantages the reuse may bring to the Union, for example in terms of spreading information on the functioning of the Union or in terms of enhancing the public image of the Institution.
   Article 10
   Transparency
   1.   Any applicable conditions and standard charges for the documents available for reuse shall be pre-established and published, through electronic means where possible and appropriate.
   2.   The search for documents shall be facilitated by practical arrangements, such as asset-lists of main documents available for reuse.
   Article 11
   Non-discrimination and exclusive rights
   1.   Any applicable conditions for the reuse of documents shall be non-discriminatory for comparable categories of reuse.
   2.   The reuse of documents shall be open to all potential actors in the market. No exclusive rights shall be granted.
   3.   However, where an exclusive right is necessary for the provision of a service in the public interest, the validity of the reason for granting such an exclusive right shall be subject to regular review, and shall, in any event, be reviewed after 3 years. Any exclusive arrangement shall be transparent and made public.
   4.   Exclusive rights may be granted to publishers of scientific and scholarly journals for articles based on the work of Commission officials for a limited period.
   Article 12
   Inter-service group
   1.   An inter-service group shall be set up, chaired by the Director-General responsible for this Decision, or his representative. It shall be composed of representatives of the Directorates-General and Services. It shall discuss issues of common concern and draw up a report on the implementation of the Decision every 12 months.
   2.   A steering committee chaired by the Publications Office and comprising the Secretariat-General, the Directorate-General for Communication, the Directorate-General for Information Society and Media, the Directorate-General for Informatics and several Directorates-General representing the data providers will oversee the project leading to the implementation of the data portal. Other institutions may be invited to join the committee at a later stage.
   3.   The terms of the open licence referred to in Article 6 shall be settled in agreement by the Directors-General responsible for this Decision and for the administrative execution of decisions related to intellectual property rights at the Commission, after consultation of the inter-service group referred to in paragraph 1.
   Article 13
   Review
   This Decision shall be reviewed 3 years after its entry into force.
   Article 14
   Repeal
   Decision 2006/291/EC, Euratom is repealed.

      Done at Brussels, 12 December 2011.

            For the Commission

            The President

         José Manuel BARROSO

      (1)  COM(2010) 245.

      (2)  OJ L 145, 31.5.2001, p. 43.

      (3)  OJ L 345, 31.12.2003, p. 90.

      (4)  OJ L 107, 20.4.2006, p. 38.

      (5)  OJ L 8, 12.1.2001, p. 1.

      (6)  OJ L 87, 31.3.2009, p. 164.


title: 2014/951/EU: Political and Security Committee Decision EUFOR RCA/6/2014 of 16 December 2014 on the appointment of the EU Force Commander for the European Union military operation in the Central African Republic (EUFOR RCA) and repealing Decision EUFOR RCA/1/2014

text:
               24.12.2014

               EN

               Official Journal of the European Union

               L 369/76

         POLITICAL AND SECURITY COMMITTEE DECISION EUFOR RCA/6/2014
   of 16 December 2014
   on the appointment of the EU Force Commander for the European Union military operation in the Central African Republic (EUFOR RCA) and repealing Decision EUFOR RCA/1/2014

      (2014/951/EU)

   THE POLITICAL AND SECURITY COMMITTEE,
   Having regard to the Treaty on European Union, and in particular Article 38 thereof,
   Having regard to Council Decision 2014/73/CFSP of 10 February 2014 on a European Union military operation in the Central African Republic (EUFOR RCA) (1), and in particular Article 5 thereof,
   Whereas:

               (1)

               Pursuant to Article 5 of Decision 2014/73/CFSP, the Council authorised the Political and Security Committee (PSC) to take decisions on the appointment of the EU Force Commander for the European Union military operation in the Central African Republic (EUFOR RCA).

               (2)

               On 19 February 2014, the PSC adopted Decision EUFOR RCA/1/2014 (2) appointing Brigadier General Thierry LION as EU Force Commander for EUFOR RCA.

               (3)

               On 7 November 2014, the Council adopted Decision 2014/775/CFSP (3) extending the duration of EUFOR RCA until 15 March 2015.

               (4)

               On 14 November 2014, France proposed the appointment of Brigadier General Jean-Marc BACQUET as the new EU Force Commander for EUFOR RCA to succeed Brigadier General Thierry LION.

               (5)

               On 25 November 2014 the EU Military Committee recommended that the PSC appoint Brigadier General Jean-Marc BACQUET as EU Force Commander for EUFOR RCA.

               (6)

               Decision EUFOR RCA/1/2014 should therefore be repealed.

               (7)

               In accordance with Article 5 of Protocol No 22 on the position of Denmark, annexed to the Treaty on European Union and to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, Denmark does not participate in the elaboration and the implementation of decisions and actions of the Union which have defence implications,

         HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:
   Article 1
   Brigadier General Jean-Marc BACQUET is hereby appointed EU Force Commander for the European Union military operation in the Central African Republic (EUFOR RCA) as from 15 December 2014.
   Article 2
   Decision EUFOR RCA/1/2014 is hereby repealed.
   Article 3
   This Decision shall enter into force on 15 December 2014.

      Done at Brussels, 16 December 2014.

            For the Political and Security Committee

            The Chairperson

         W. STEVENS

      (1)  OJ L 40, 11.2.2014, p. 59.

      (2)  Political and Security Committee Decision EUFOR RCA/1/2014 of 19 February 2014 on the appointment of the EU Force Commander for the European Union military operation in the Central African Republic (OJ L 54, 22.2.2014, p. 18).

      (3)  Council Decision 2014/775/CFSP of 7 November 2014 extending Decision 2014/73/CFSP on a European Union military operation in the Central African Republic (EUFOR RCA) (OJ L 325, 8.11.2014, p. 17).


title: 2008/515/EC: Decision of the European Parliament of 24 April 2007 on the discharge for the implementation of the budget of the European Environment Agency for the financial year 2005

text:
               15.7.2008

               EN

               Official Journal of the European Union

               L 187/106

         DECISION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT
   of 24 April 2007
   on the discharge for the implementation of the budget of the European Environment Agency for the financial year 2005
   (2008/515/EC)
   THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT,
   having regard to the final annual accounts of the European Environment Agency for the financial year 2005 (1),
   having regard to the Court of Auditors' report on the final annual accounts of the European Environment Agency for the financial year 2005, together with the Agency's replies (2),
   having regard to the Council's Recommendation of 27 February 2007 (5711/2007 — C6-0080/2007),
   having regard to the EC Treaty, and in particular Article 276 thereof,
   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), and in particular Article 185 thereof,
   having regard to Council Regulation (EEC) No 1210/90 of 7 May 1990 on the establishment of the European Environment Agency and the European Environment Information and Observation network (4), and in particular Article 13 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 (5), and in particular Article 94 thereof,
   having regard to Rule 71 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 the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (A6-0103/2007),

               1.

               Grants the executive director of the European Environment Agency discharge for the implementation of the Agency's budget for the financial year 2005;

               2.

               Sets out its observations in the Resolution below;

               3.

               Instructs its President to forward this Decision and the Resolution that forms an integral part of it to the executive director of the European Environment Agency, 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

         Hans-Gert PÖTTERING

            The Secretary-General

         Harald RØMER

      (1)  OJ C 266, 31.10.2006, p. 1.

      (2)  OJ C 312, 19.12.2006, p. 36.

      (3)  OJ L 248, 16.9.2002, p. 1. Regulation as amended by Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1995/2006 (OJ L 390, 30.12.2006, p. 1).

      (4)  OJ L 120, 11.5.1990, p. 1. Regulation as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 1641/2003 (OJ L 245, 29.9.2003, p. 1).

      (5)  OJ L 357, 31.12.2002, p. 72.
    ---documentbreak---

               15.7.2008

               EN

               Official Journal of the European Union

               L 187/107

         RESOLUTION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT
   of 24 April 2007
   with observations forming an integral part of the Decision on the discharge for the implementation of the budget of the European Environment Agency for the financial year 2005
   THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT,
   having regard to the final annual accounts of the European Environment Agency for the financial year 2005 (1),
   having regard to the Court of Auditors' report on the final annual accounts of the European Environment Agency for the financial year 2005, together with the Agency's replies (2),
   having regard to the Council's Recommendation of 27 February 2007 (5711/2007 — C6-0080/2007),
   having regard to the EC Treaty, and in particular Article 276 thereof,
   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), and in particular Article 185 thereof,
   having regard to Council Regulation (EEC) No 1210/90 of 7 May 1990 on the establishment of the European Environment Agency and the European Environment Information and Observation network (4), and in particular Article 13 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 (5), and in particular Article 94 thereof,
   having regard to Rule 71 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 the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (A6-0103/2007),

               A.

               whereas the Court of Auditors stated that it obtained reasonable assurance that the annual accounts for the financial year ended 31 December 2005 were reliable and that the underlying transactions, taken as a whole, were legal and regular;

               B.

               whereas on 27 April 2006 Parliament gave discharge to the director in respect of the implementation of the Agency's budget for the 2004 financial year (6) and in the resolution accompanying the discharge decision Parliament, inter alia,

                           —

                           noted that surplus appropriations in 2004 had been committed for operations to be carried out in 2005, and that appropriations relating to staff expenditure were carried over; insisted that the Agency respect the principle of budget annuality as defined in the Financial Regulation and the rule prohibiting carry over of appropriations relating to staff expenditure, in order to allow a correct and transparent implementation of the budgets as set by the Budgetary Authority,

                           —

                           noted the weaknesses in checking and omissions found by the Court of Auditors in its audit of the inventory;

         General points concerning the majority of EU Agencies requiring individual discharge

               1.

               Considers that the ever-growing number of Community Agencies and the activities of certain of them do not seem to form part of an overall policy framework, and that the remits of some Agencies do not always reflect the real needs of the Union or the expectations of its citizens, and notes that in general terms the Agencies do not always have a good image or a good press;

               2.

               Invites the Commission therefore to define an overall policy framework for the setting up of new Community Agencies and to present a cost-benefit study before the setting up of any new agency, while being careful to avoid any overlap of activities between Agencies or with the remits of other European organisations;

               3.

               Calls on the Court of Auditors to give its opinion on the cost-benefit study before Parliament takes its decision;

               4.

               Invites the Commission to present every five years a study on the added value of every existing Agency; invites all relevant institutions in the case of a negative evaluation of the added value of an Agency to take the necessary steps by reformulating the mandate of that Agency or by closing it;

               5.

               Considers it regrettable, given the growing number of regulatory Agencies, that the negotiations on the draft interinstitutional agreement on the operating framework for the European regulatory Agencies have not yet been concluded, and calls on the relevant departments of the Commission, in consultation with the Court of Auditors, to do their utmost to ensure that the agreement is brought to a rapid conclusion;

               6.

               Notes that the Commission's budgetary responsibility calls for closer linking of the Agencies to the Commission; calls on the Commission and the Council to take all necessary steps to give the Commission a blocking minority in the supervisory bodies of the regulatory Agencies by 31 December 2007 and to provide for such a minority from the outset when new Agencies are set up;

               7.

               Invites the Court of Auditors to create an additional chapter in its Annual Report, devoted to all Agencies to be discharged under the Commission's accounts in order to have a much clearer picture of the use of EU funds by Agencies;

               8.

               Recalls the principle according to which all Community Agencies, whether subsidised or not, are subject to discharge by the Parliament, even where a discharge authority exists by virtue of their constitutive texts;

               9.

               Calls on the Court of Auditors to perform performance audits for all Agencies and to report back to the relevant committees of Parliament, including the Committee on Budgetary Control;

               10.

               Notes that the number of Agencies is constantly increasing and that, in accordance with the Commission's political responsibility for the operation of the Agencies, which goes far beyond mere logistical support, there is an even higher need for the Directorates-General of the Commission charged with the setting up and monitoring of Agencies to develop a common approach to the Agencies; considers that a structure similar to the one created by the Agencies for coordination among the DGs concerned would be a pragmatic way forward towards a common approach by the Commission on all matters relating to the Agencies;

               11.

               Invites the Commission to improve administrative and technical support to the Agencies, taking into account the growing complexity of the Community's administrative rules and technical problems;

               12.

               Notes the lack of a disciplinary body in any of the Community Agencies, and calls on the Commission to take the necessary steps to ensure that such a mechanism is rapidly put in place;

               13.

               Welcomes the considerable improvements in the coordination among the Agencies, which allows them to tackle recurring problems and makes cooperation with the Commission and Parliament more efficient;

               14.

               Takes the view that the establishment by a number of Agencies of a shared support service aimed at making their computerised financial management systems consistent with those of the Commission is a measure that should be taken further and extended;

               15.

               Calls upon the Agencies to improve their cooperation and benchmarking with actors in the field; urges the Commission to adopt any measures it considers necessary to help the Agencies enhance their image and raise the profile of their activities;

               16.

               Calls upon the Commission to come up with a proposal to harmonise the format of the annual reporting by the Agencies and to develop performance indicators which would allow a comparison of their efficiency;

               17.

               Invites the Agencies to present at the beginning of every year performance indicators against which they could be measured;

               18.

               Invites all Agencies to increasingly use SMART objectives which should lead to more realistic planning and implementation of goals;

               19.

               Agrees with the Court of Auditors that the Commission also bears responsibility for the (financial) management of the Agencies; therefore, urges the Commission to monitor and where necessary direct and help the management of the different Agencies, especially in relation to the proper application of tender procedures, transparency of recruitment procedures, sound financial management (underspending and overbudgeting) and most importantly the proper application of the rules concerning the internal control framework;

               20.

               Considers that the Agencies' work programmes should express their contributions in operational and measurable terms and that due consideration should be given to the Commission's Internal Control Standards;

         Specific points

               21.

               Notes that the Agency committed nearly all the appropriations in its budget for the financial year 2005; notes nevertheless that the carry-over rate (over 30 %) for commitments for its operating activities (Title III) is high; invites the Agency to ensure a reduction in carry-overs, whose volume hampers the management of the following year's appropriations, which subsequently creates delays in implementation or even increases them;

               22.

               Notes that there is no description of the internal control systems and that the authorising officers have not provided a formal description of the systems that they use for supplying and substantiating accounts information and the accounting officer has therefore still not been able to validate them; invites the Agency to remedy this;

               23.

               Notes that there are still shortcomings in the authorising officer's annual activity report which does not supply adequate information on the results of the year's activities in relation to the objectives established, the associated risks, the use of resources and the functioning of the internal control systems; asks the Agency to solve this problem;

               24.

               Notes that during the audit of the procedures for the recruitment of temporary staff, it was observed that certain internal provisions concerning the joint nature of the selection committees and the inalterability of the selection criteria adopted beforehand did not comply with the provisions of the conditions of employment of other servants of the Communities; demands that in future the procedures for recruitment should be fully respected;

               25.

               Invites the Agency to respect evaluation criteria in procurement procedures;

               26.

               Considers the Agency to be a source of important environmental information for all EU institutions and policy-making; notes with satisfaction that the Agency has been able to transform some complicated data into clear conclusions and to communicate them to the public; acknowledges, in particular, the importance of the report The European environment — State and outlook 2005 in providing user-friendly information on the environment and pinpointing the key challenges facing the EU and Member States;

               27.

               Encourages the Agency to continue its efforts to further develop its communication methods in order to attract more media coverage for its findings and thus feed public debate on important environmental issues, such as climate change, biodiversity and the management of natural resources;

               28.

               Points out that the impact of environmental programmes is often hampered by the lack of assessment of environmental impacts of other Community policies; invites the Agency to further develop its work in the field of environmental impact assessment;

               29.

               Requests that, before 1 January 2010 and every five years thereafter, the Agency commission an independent external evaluation of its achievements on the basis of its founding Regulation and the work programmes decided by the Management Board; requests that the evaluation assess the working practices and the impact of the Agency and take into account the views of the stakeholders, at both Community and national level; requests further that the Management Board of the Agency examine the conclusions of the evaluation and draft such recommendations to the Commission and Parliament as may be necessary regarding changes in the Agency, its working practices and programmes, that the evaluation and the recommendations to the Commission and Parliament be made public, for example on their websites, and that the funds needed to carry out the external evaluation shall be allocated through the budget of the corresponding DG;

               30.

               Emphasises the role of the Agency in the evaluation of the implementation of EU environmental legislation.

      (1)  OJ C 266, 31.10.2006, p. 1.

      (2)  OJ C 312, 19.12.2006, p. 36.

      (3)  OJ L 248, 16.9.2002, p. 1. Regulation as amended by Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1995/2006 (OJ L 390, 30.12.2006, p. 1).

      (4)  OJ L 120, 11.5.1990, p. 1. Regulation as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 1641/2003 (OJ L 245, 29.9.2003, p. 1).

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

      (6)  OJ L 340, 6.12.2006, p. 90.


title: 2008/512/EC: Decision of the European Parliament of 24 April 2007 on closing the accounts of the European Monitoring Centre on Racism and Xenophobia for the financial year 2005

text:
               15.7.2008

               EN

               Official Journal of the European Union

               L 187/97

      DECISION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT

   of 24 April 2007
   on closing the accounts of the European Monitoring Centre on Racism and Xenophobia for the financial year 2005
   (2008/512/EC)
   THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT,
   having regard to the final annual accounts of the European Monitoring Centre on Racism and Xenophobia for the financial year 2005 (1),
   having regard to the Court of Auditors' report on the final annual accounts of the European Monitoring Centre on Racism and Xenophobia for the financial year 2005, together with the Centre's replies (2),
   having regard to the Council's Recommendation of 27 February 2007 (5711/2007 — C6-0080/2007),
   having regard to the EC Treaty, and in particular Article 276 thereof,
   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), and in particular Article 185 thereof,
   having regard to Council Regulation EC) No 1035/97 of 2 June 1997 establishing a European Monitoring Centre on Racism and Xenophobia (4), 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 (5), and in particular Article 94 thereof,
   having regard to Rule 71 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 Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (A6-0118/2007),

               1.

               Notes that the final annual accounts of the European Monitoring Centre on Racism and Xenophobia for the financial years 2004 and 2005 are as follows:
               Revenue and expenditure account for the financial years 2004 and 2005

                           (in EUR 1000)

                           2005

                           2004

                           Revenue

                           Community subsidies

                           8 189

                           5 675

                           Other revenue

                           151

                           455

                              Financial revenue

                           21

                           Phare subsidy

                           90

                           82

                              Total revenue (a)

                           8 430

                           6 233

                              Expenditure

                              Staff — Title I of the budget

                           Payments

                           3 008

                           2 645

                           Appropriations carried over

                           70

                           85

                              Administration — Title II of the budget

                           Payments

                           550

                           447

                           Appropriations carried over

                           582

                           37

                              Operating activities — Title III of the budget

                           Payments

                           2 731

                           2 352

                           Appropriations carried over

                           667

                           745

                              Assigned revenue (Phare and other)

                           Payments

                           0

                           7

                           Appropriations carried over

                           90

                           0

                              Total expenditure (b)

                           7 698

                           6 318

                              Outturn for the financial year (a-b)

                           732

                           - 85

                           Balance carried over from the previous financial year

                           231

                           98

                           Appropriations carried over, cancelled

                           210

                           241

                           Appropriations for re-use from the previous financial year, not used

                           0

                           Amounts due written off

                           - 23

                           Exchange-rate differences

                           - 2

                           0

                              Balance for the financial year

                              1 171

                              231

                              Source: Data compiled by the Centre. This table summarises the data supplied by the Centre in its own annual accounts;

               2.

               Approves closing the accounts of the European Monitoring Centre on Racism and Xenophobia for the financial year 2005;

               3.

               Instructs its President to forward this Decision to the director of the European Monitoring Centre on Racism and Xenophobia, the Council, the Commission and the Court of Auditors, and to arrange for its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union (L series).

            The President

         Hans-Gert PÖTTERING

            The Secretary-General

         Harald RØMER

      (1)  OJ C 266, 31.10.2006, p. 46.

      (2)  OJ C 312, 19.12.2006, p. 93.

      (3)  OJ L 248, 16.9.2002, p. 1. Regulation as amended by Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1995/2006 (OJ L 390, 30.12.2006, p. 1).

      (4)  OJ L 151, 10.6.1997, p. 1. Regulation as amended by Regulation (EC) No 1652/2003 (OJ L 245, 29.9.2003, p. 33).

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