Avis juridique important

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31999D0128

Decision No 128/1999/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 December 1998 on the coordinated introduction of a third-generation mobile and wireless communications system (UMTS) in the Community

Official Journal L 017 , 22/01/1999 P. 0001 - 0007

DECISION No 128/1999/EC OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 14 December 1998 on the coordinated introduction of a third-generation mobile and wireless communications system (UMTS) in the CommunityTHE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community and in particular Articles 57, 66 and 100a thereof,Having regard to the proposal from the Commission (1),Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social Committee (2),Having regard to the opinion of the Committee of the Regions (3),Acting in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 189b of the Treaty (4),(1) Whereas on 29 May 1997 the Commission presented to the European Parliament, the Council, the Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions a communication on the further development of mobile and wireless communications;(2) Whereas on 15 October 1997 the Commission presented a communication on strategy and policy orientations with regard to the further development of mobile and wireless communications (UMTS);(3) Whereas on 1 December 1997 the Council invited the Commission to submit, by early 1998, a proposal for a European Parliament and Council Decision which would enable orientations to be established on the substance of the issue and facilitate, within the existing Community legal framework, the early licensing of UMTS services and, if appropriate and on the basis of the existing allocation of competences, in respect of coordinated allocation of frequencies in the Community and pan-European roaming; whereas on 29 January 1998 the European Parliament adopted a resolution expressing its strong support for the Commission's communication of 15 October 1997;(4) Whereas a new generation of innovative systems needs to be developed for the provision of wireless wideband multimedia services, including Internet and other Internet Protocol (I/P) based services, for the provision of flexible and personalised services and for the support of high volume data rates, each combining the use of terrestrial fixed and mobile as well as satellite components; whereas this Decision will apply to satellite components without prejudice to European Parliament and Council Decision 710/97/EC of 24 March 1997 on a coordinated authorisation approach in the field of satellite personal-communication services in the Community (5); whereas there is a need to ensure rapid market access for seamless, global coverage and low cost and innovative service offering through a sufficient level of competition;(5) Whereas in 1992 the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) World Administrative Radio Conference (WARC 92) identified the frequency spectrum for the development of both the satellite and terrestrial parts of the Future Public Land Mobile Telecommunications System (FPLMTS), later renamed IMT-2000; whereas, according to ITU Resolution 212 and to the World Radiocommunications Conference in 1995 (WRC 95), the initial implementation of the terrestrial element should take place around the year 2000;(6) Whereas the concept of Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) in the Community needs to be compatible with the third-generation mobile system concept called International Mobile Telecommunications-2000 (IMT 2000) developed by the ITU at world level on the basis of ITU Resolution 212;(7) Whereas mobile and wireless communications are of strategic importance both for the development of the Community telecommunications industry and the information society as well as for the economy and employment in the Community as a whole; whereas on 3 December 1997 the Commission adopted a Green Paper on the convergence of the telecommunications, media and information technology sectors, and the implications for regulation; whereas on the basis of the consultations resulting from that Green Paper, the Commission will take into consideration the impact of convergence on UMTS considering, in particular, the review of Community telecommunications regulation by 1999;(8) Whereas in order to create a favourable climate for investment and deployment of UMTS and to allow the development of Community-wide as well as pan-European and global services with the widest possible territorial coverage, early and specific action at Community level is necessary; whereas Member States should allow the rapid and coordinated introduction of compatible UMTS networks and services in the Community on the basis of internal market principles and pursuant to European standards for UMTS approved or developed by the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI), where available, including in particular a common, open and internationally competitive air-interface standard; whereas diverging national laws, regulations and administrative action would hinder or prevent the provision of Community-wide and global UMTS services and the free movement of related equipment;(9) Whereas Community legislation, including the competition rules, apply to this sector, in particular: Commission Directive 96/2/EC of 16 January 1996 amending Directive 90/388/EEC with regard to mobile and personal communications (6), Commission Directive 96/19/EC of 13 March 1996 amending Directive 90/388/EEC with regard to the implementation of full competition in telecommunications markets (7), European Parliament and Council Directive 97/13/EC of 10 April 1997 on a common framework for general authorisations and individual licences in the field of telecommunications services (8), European Parliament and Council Directive 97/33/EC of 30 June 1997 on interconnection in telecommunications with regard to ensuring universal service and interoperability through application of the principles of Open Network Provision (ONP) (9) and European Parliament and Council Directive 97/66/EC of 15 December 1997 concerning the processing of personal data and the protection of privacy in the telecommunications sector (10); whereas the list of conditions which may be attached to authorisations for UMTS pursuant to Directive 97/13/EC is without prejudice to measures taken by Member States in accordance with public interest requirements recognised by the Treaty, in particular Articles 36 and 56, especially in relation to public security including the investigation of criminal activities;(10) Whereas organisations providing UMTS networks or services over those networks should be able to enter the market without unnecessary constraints or excessive fees to allow for a dynamic market and a broad competitive service offering;(11) Whereas pursuant to Community law, in particular European Parliament and Council Directive 97/13/EC and Commission Directive 96/2/EC: firstly, individual licences should be limited to the establishment and/or the operation of UMTS networks, secondly, the number of UMTS licences may be limited only for reasons of demonstrated lack of frequency spectrum capacity and thirdly, licences should be granted on the basis of objective, non-discriminatory, detailed and proportionate criteria, regardless of whether or not individual applicants for licences are existing operators of other systems;(12) Whereas licences should allow, and Member States should encourage, transnational roaming in order to secure Community-wide and pan-European services; whereas there should be cooperation with the European Conference of Postal and Telecommunications Administrations (CEPT) through the European Committee for Telecommunications Regulatory Affairs (ECTRA) for UMTS; whereas in particular mandates may be issued when necessary, to establish a one-stop shopping procedure for services;(13) Whereas the amount of spectrum made available will have a direct impact on how competitive the market will be; whereas estimated demand should therefore be taken into account when determining the amount of spectrum to be allocated; whereas sufficient spectrum must be allocated and cleared sufficiently in advance to foster a broad competitive offering of mobile multimedia services;(14) Whereas spectrum allocation is most efficiently pursued in the context of the CEPT by the European Radiocommunications Committee (ERC); whereas it should be ensured that appropriate and timely regulatory measures are taken to achieve the implementation in the Community of ERC decisions if necessary; whereas Member States should be encouraged to provide the Commission with regular information as to the implementation of ERC measures; whereas complementary Community action may be required to ensure the timely implementation of CEPT decisions within Member States;(15) Whereas sufficient spectrum will be necessary to foster the development of a market with a broad competitive offering of mobile multimedia services; whereas on 30 June 1997 the ERC adopted Decision ERC/DEC/(97)07 on the frequency bands for the introduction of UMTS which entered into force on 1 October 1997;(16) Whereas this ERC decision has designated the frequency bands 1900-1980 MHz, 2010-2025 MHz and 2110-2170 MHz to terrestrial UMTS applications, and accommodates UMTS satellite component applications within the bands 1980-2010 MHz and 2170-2200 MHz; whereas sufficient spectrum must be allocated within the bands identified by WARC 92 according to the increasing needs for this spectrum before UMTS services are commercially deployed; whereas additional frequency spectrum may become necessary within a few years;(17) Whereas at ITU level the review of spectrum and regulatory issues relating to UMTS and the facilitation of multimode terminal operation and worldwide roaming of IMT-2000 have been included in the next WRC agenda in order to identify additional frequency spectrum to satisfy market demand by 2005 to 2010; whereas therefore European common positions need to be developed and promoted at global level with the participation of all parties interested;(18) Whereas spectrum availability and appropriate pricing, coverage and quality will be essential aspects to the success of UMTS development; whereas any spectrum pricing method should not adversely impact on the competitive structure of the market, and respect the public interest, while ensuring efficient use of the spectrum as a valuable resource;(19) Whereas specific cooperation among operators may be necessary to provide coverage of less-populated areas; whereas this Decision does not prevent Member States from imposing appropriate forms of national roaming between authorised operators on their territory to the extent needed to ensure balanced and non-discriminatory competition;(20) Whereas a proposal was presented by the Commission for a Council and European Parliament Directive on connected telecommunications equipment and the mutual recognition of the conformity of equipment to replace European Parliament and Council Directive 98/13/EC of 12 February 1998 relating to telecommunications terminal equipment and satellite earth station equipment, including the mutual recognition of their conformity (11); whereas appropriate harmonised standards developed by ETSI and recognised under Directive 98/13/EC will ensure free movement of terminal equipment including for UMTS;(21) Whereas the second generation cellular digital mobile communications systems were originally defined in Council Directive 87/372/EEC of 25 June 1987 on the frequency bands to be reserved for the coordinated introduction of public pan-European cellular digital land-based mobile communications in the Community (12) as operating in the 900 MHz bands; whereas DCS-1800 has to be considered as part of the GSM family and of such second generation; whereas the Community should build on the success of the current generation of mobile digital technology including GSM both in Europe and in the world, taking into consideration interworking between UMTS and second-generation systems; whereas there should be, pursuant to Community law, no discrimination between GSM operators and new entrants in UMTS markets; whereas UMTS should develop in one seamless environment including full roaming with GSM as well as between the terrestrial and satellite components of UMTS networks, which is likely to make hybrid terminals such as dual mode/band GSM/UMTS terminals and terrestrial/satellite terminals necessary;(22) Whereas it is important for UMTS networks to provide secure and reliable communications and ensure high level security, including protection against fraudulent use, at least commensurate with that of second-generation mobile communications;(23) Whereas UMTS aims at a global market; whereas a common European UMTS standard should be adopted and proposed as a member of the 'IMT 2000 family concept` developed by the ITU in order to increase the chances of UMTS being adopted in markets outside Europe; whereas the deadlines set by the ITU therefore need to be met within the Community and the final ITU technical requirements to be taken into account;(24) Whereas while voluntary application of standards remains the general rule, recourse to mandatory standards may be required for interfaces and situations where necessary to ensure interoperability and facilitate roaming of mobile networks and services; whereas harmonised standards are adopted by standardisation bodies such as ETSI, which facilitates regulatory action;(25) Whereas in 1995 the Commission granted to ETSI a general standardisation mandate related to UMTS pursuant to Council Directive 83/189/EEC of 28 March 1983 laying down a procedure for the provision of information in the field of technical standards and regulations (13) and Council Decision 87/95/EEC of 22 December 1986 on standardisation in the field of information technology and telecommunications (14), and may issue further mandates in the future;(26) Whereas social and societal effects should be taken into account in the transition towards the wireless information society; whereas development of UMTS and relevant standards should be coordinated with related efforts, such as the development of a Community-wide information society, support of training on UMTS related technologies, access for elderly and disabled persons and research into the possible health hazards of mobile communications;(27) Whereas Community undertakings should benefit fully from international trade agreements such as agreements signed within the World Trade Organisation (WTO), including those relating to tariffs, such as in the Information Technology Agreement, and from the Istanbul Convention on the elimination of customs duties on personal effects and professional equipment and have effective market access under the specific terms and conditions, including national treatment, binding on the member countries of the WTO; whereas the Commission may take all necessary actions to implement international agreements; whereas these may need to be supplemented by specific bilateral or multilateral agreements and negotiations which the Commission may start on the basis of mandates from the Council;(28) Whereas in implementing this Decision, the Commission should be assisted by the Licensing Committee established by Directive 97/13/EC; whereas in implementing this Decision the Commission, assisted by the committee, should cooperate closely with relevant outside bodies,HAVE ADOPTED THIS DECISION:Article 1 Purpose The aim of this Decision shall be to facilitate the rapid and coordinated introduction of compatible UMTS networks and services in the Community on the basis of internal market principles and in accordance with commercial demand.Article 2 Definition For the purpose of this Decision, 'Universal mobile telecommunications system (UMTS)` shall mean a third-generation mobile and wireless communications system capable of supporting in particular innovative multimedia services, beyond the capability of second generation systems such as GSM, and capable of combining the use of terrestrial and satellite components. This system shall at least be capable of supporting the characteristics referred to in Annex I.Article 3 Coordinated authorisation approach 1. Member States shall take all actions necessary in order to allow, in accordance with Article 1 of Directive 97/13/EC, the coordinated and progressive introduction of the UMTS services on their territory by 1 January 2002 at the latest and in particular shall establish an authorisation system for UMTS no later than 1 January 2000.2. Member States shall be granted on request an additional implementation period of up to 12 months beyond the dates referred to in paragraph 1 for establishing an authorisation system and the introduction of UMTS services, to the extent justifiable by exceptional technical difficulties in achieving the necessary adjustments in their frequency plan. Such a request must be filed before 1 January 2000. The Commission shall assess such requests and take a reasoned decision within a period of three months. Any information provided shall be made available to any interested party on demand having regard to legitimate interests in the protection of business and security secrets.3. When preparing and applying their authorisation systems, Member States shall ensure, in compliance with Community legislation, that the provision of UMTS is organised:- in frequency bands which are harmonised by CEPT in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 5,- pursuant to European standards for UMTS approved or developed by ETSI, where available, including in particular a common, open and internationally competitive air-interface standard. Member States shall ensure that licences allow transnational roaming in the Community.4. Given that, in line with efficient use of radio frequencies, it may be necessary to limit the number of UMTS systems authorised in Member States, if it is established in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 17 of Directive 97/13/EC and in conjunction with CEPT, that potential types of systems are incompatible, Member States shall coordinate their approach with a view to authorising compatible types of UMTS systems in the Community.Article 4 Roaming rights and obligations 1. Member States shall encourage organisations providing UMTS networks to negotiate among themselves cross-border roaming agreements to ensure seamless Community-wide service coverage.2. Member States may where necessary take action, in accordance with Community law, to ensure the coverage of less-populated areas.Article 5 Cooperation with CEPT 1. The Commission shall, in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 16 of Directive 97/13/EC give CEPT/ERC and CEPT/ECTRA mandates, inter alia, to harmonise frequency use. Those mandates shall define the tasks to be performed and lay down a timetable.2. The timetable for the first mandates is that set out in Annex II.3. On the completion of the mandates, it shall be decided in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 17 of Directive 97/13/EC whether the result of the work done pursuant to the mandates shall be made applicable in the Community.4. Notwithstanding paragraph 3, if the Commission or any Member State considers that work done pursuant to the mandate given to the CEPT/ECTRA or CEPT/ERC is not progressing satisfactorily having regard to the timetable laid down, it may refer the matter to the Licensing Committee, which shall act in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 17 of Directive 97/13/EC.Article 6 Cooperation with ETSI The Commission shall take all necessary measures, where appropriate in cooperation with ETSI, to promote a common and open standard for the provision of compatible UMTS services throughout Europe, in accordance with market requirements, taking into account the need to present a common standard to the ITU as an option for the worldwide ITU IMT 2000 recommendation.Article 7 The committee In the implementation of this Decision the Commission shall be assisted by the Licensing Committee set up by Article 14 of Directive 97/13/EC.Article 8 Exchange of information 1. The Commission shall regularly inform the committee of the outcome of consultations with the representatives of organisations providing telecommunications services or networks, users, consumers, manufacturers and trade unions.2. The committee shall, taking into account the Community's telecommunications policy, encourage the exchange of information between the Member States and the Commission on the situation and the development of regulatory activities regarding the authorisation of UMTS services.Article 9 International aspects 1. The Commission shall take all necessary measures to facilitate the introduction of UMTS services and the free circulation of UMTS equipment in third countries.2. For this purpose, the Commission shall seek the implementation of international agreements applicable to UMTS, and shall, in particular and where necessary, submit proposals to the Council for appropriate mandates for the negotiation of bilateral and multilateral agreements with third countries and international organisations. The Council shall decide by qualified majority.3. Measures taken pursuant to this Article shall be without prejudice to the Community's and Member States' obligations pursuant to relevant international agreements.Article 10 Notification Member States shall give the Commission such information as it may require for the purpose of verifying the implementation of this Decision.Article 11 Confidentiality The provisions of Article 20 of Directive 97/13/EC shall apply to information pursuant to this Decision.Article 12 Report The Commission shall keep developments in the field of UMTS under review and report to the European Parliament and to the Council within two years on the effectiveness of action taken pursuant to this Decision.Article 13 Implementation Member States shall take all measures necessary, by law or administrative action, for the measures provided for in, or agreed on pursuant to, this Decision to be implemented.Article 14 Duration This Decision shall enter into force on the day of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Communities and shall remain in force for four years after that date.Article 15 Addressees This Decision is addressed to the Member States.Done at Brussels, 14 December 1998.For the European ParliamentThe PresidentJ. M. GIL-ROBLESFor the CouncilThe PresidentW. MOLTERER(1) OJ C 131, 29. 4. 1998, p. 9 and OJ C 276, 4. 9. 1998, p. 4.(2) OJ C 214, 10. 7. 1998, p. 92.(3) Opinion delivered on 16 September 1998 (OJ C 373, 2. 12. 1998).(4) Opinion of the European Parliament of 18 June 1998 (OJ C 210, 6. 7. 1998), Council Common Position of 24 September 1998 (OJ C 333, 30. 10. 1998, p. 56) and European Parliament Decision of 18 November 1998 (OJ C 379, 7. 12. 1998). Council Decision of 30 November 1998.(5) OJ L 105, 23. 4. 1997, p. 4.(6) OJ L 20, 26. 1. 1996, p. 59.(7) OJ L 74, 22. 3. 1996, p. 13.(8) OJ L 117, 7. 5. 1997, p. 15.(9) OJ L 199, 26. 7. 1997, p. 32.(10) OJ L 24, 30. 1. 1998, p. 1.(11) OJ L 74, 12. 3. 1998, p. 1.(12) OJ L 196, 17. 7. 1987, p. 85.(13) OJ L 109, 26. 4. 1983, p. 8. Directive replaced by Directive 98/34/EC (OJ L 204, 21. 7. 1998, p. 37).(14) OJ L 36, 7. 2. 1987, p. 31.ANNEX I CHARACTERISTICS WHICH UMTS IS TO BE CAPABLE OF SUPPORTING System capabilities needed to accommodate service features 1. Multimedia capability; full mobility and low mobility applications in different geographical environments beyond the capability of the second-generation systems such as GSM.2. Efficient access to the Internet, Intranets and other Internet Protocol (I/P) based services.3. High-quality speech transmission commensurate with that of fixed networks.4. Service portability across distinct UMTS environments where appropriate (e.g. public/private/business; fixed/mobile).5. Operation in one seamless environment including full roaming with GSM as well as between the terrestrial and satellite components of UMTS networks.Radio access networks - new terrestrial air interface for access to all services including to packet data based services, supporting asymmetric traffic and allowing for band width/data rate on demand in harmonised frequency bands,- good overall spectral efficiency including the use of paired and unpaired frequency.Core network - call handling, service control and location and mobility management including full roaming functionality based on an evolution of existing core network systems, for example on an evolved GSM core network, taking the convergence between mobile/fixed networks into account.ANNEX II TIMETABLE From February 1999 issue mandates to CEPT on further spectrum allocation including availability of additional spectrum beyond WARC-92 FPLMTS bands for UMTS.From February 1999 issue mandates to CEPT to establish one-stop-shopping procedure for services where necessary.


title: 2006/829/EC: Decision of the European Parliament of 27 April 2006 on the closure of the accounts of the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction for the financial year 2004

text:
               6.12.2006

               EN

               Official Journal of the European Union

               L 340/86

         DECISION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT
   of 27 April 2006
   on the closure of the accounts of the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction for the financial year 2004
   (2006/829/EC)
   THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT,

               —

               having regard to the final annual accounts of the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction for the financial year 2004 (1),

               —

               having regard to the Court of Auditors' report on the annual accounts of the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction for the financial year 2004, together with the Centre's replies (2),

               —

               having regard to the Council's recommendation of 14 March 2006 (5972/2006 — C6-0093/2006),

               —

               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 302/93 of 8 February 1993 on the establishment of a European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (4), and in particular Article 11a 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 (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 (A6-0097/2006),

               1.

               Notes the following figures for the accounts of the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction for the financial years 2004 and 2003:
               Revenue and expenditure account for the financial years 2004 and 2003

                           (1000 EUR)

                           2004

                           2003

                           Revenue

                           Subsidies from the Commission

                           11 730

                           9 300

                           Subsidies from Norway

                           514

                           421

                           Assigned revenue

                           211

                           335

                           Miscellaneous revenue

                           33

                           67

                              Total revenue (a)

                              12 488

                              10 122

                           Budgetary expenditure for the financial year

                           Staff — Title I of the budget

                           Payments

                           5 832

                           5 189

                           Appropriations carried over

                           122

                           80

                           Administration — Title II of the budget

                           Payments

                           1 088

                           555

                           Appropriations carried over

                           355

                           267

                           Operating activities — Title III of the budget (except assigned revenue)

                           Payments against payment appropriations for the financial year

                           2 342

                           2 057

                           Appropriations carried over

                           1 260

                           1 469

                              Assigned revenue (Phare and third countries)

                           201

                           500

                              Total expenditure (b)

                              11 200

                              10 117

                              Outturn for the financial year (a — b)

                              1 288

                              5

                           Balance carried over from the previous financial year

                           295

                           1 626

                           Appropriations carried over and cancelled

                           245

                           221

                           Sums for reuse from the previous financial year not used

                           15

                           21

                           Refunds to the Commission

                           - 3

                           - 1 584

                           Refunds to Norway

                           81

                           Exchange-rate differences

                           - 1

                           6

                              Balance for the financial year

                              1 920

                              295

               2.

               Approves the closure of the accounts of the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction for the financial year 2004;

               3.

               Instructs its President to forward this decision to the Director of the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction, the Council, the Commission and the Court of Auditors and to have it published in the Official Journal of the European Union (L series).

            The President

         Josep BORRELL FONTELLES

            The Secretary-General

         Julian PRIESTLEY

      (1)  OJ C 269, 28.10.2005, p. 44.

      (2)  OJ C 332, 28.12.2005, p. 89.

      (3)  OJ L 248, 16.9.2002, p. 1.

      (4)  OJ L 36, 12.2.1993, p. 1. Regulation as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 1651/2003 (OJ L 245, 29.9.2003, p. 30).

      (5)  OJ L 357, 31.12.2002, p. 72. Regulation as amended by Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1261/2005 (OJ L 201, 2.8.2005, p. 3).
    ---documentbreak---

               6.12.2006

               EN

               Official Journal of the European Union

               L 340/88

         RESOLUTION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT
   with comments forming an integral part of the decision on the discharge for the implementation of the budget of the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction for the financial year 2004
   THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT,

               —

               having regard to the final annual accounts of the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction for the financial year 2004 (1),

               —

               having regard to the Court of Auditors' report on the annual accounts of the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction for the financial year 2004, together with the Centre's replies (2),

               —

               having regard to the Council's recommendation of 14 March 2006 (5972/2006 — C6-0093/2006),

               —

               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 302/93 of 8 February 1993 on the establishment of a European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (4), and in particular Article 11a 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 (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 (A6-0097/2006),

               A.

               whereas the Court of Auditors stated that it had obtained reasonable assurance that the annual accounts for the financial year ended 31 December 2004 were reliable and that the underlying transactions, taken as a whole, were legal and regular,

               B.

               whereas the Court of Auditors states that it has obtained reasonable assurance from all the agencies, excepting the express reservations in respect of the 2004 financial year concerning the European Agency for Reconstruction, the European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training, the European Training Foundation, the European Monitoring Centre on Racism and Xenophobia and the European Food Safety Authority,

               1.

               Recalls that, under Article 185 of the Financial Regulation, Parliament shall give discharge for the implementation of the budgets of the bodies set up by the Communities and having legal personality which actually receive grants charged to the budget; points out, however, that not all of these bodies are fully, or even partially, funded via grants charged to the budget; emphasises that the discharge decision therefore covers both the budget and the non-budget funding of these bodies; considers it unacceptable that some of the bodies set up by the Union are accountable for the expenditure of income received from sources other than the budget whilst others, which do not receive a subsidy from the budget, are not; affirms the principle that all Community agencies, whether or not they are subsidised, are subject to discharge by Parliament, even when another discharge authority intervenes in accordance with their basic texts; takes the view that there is a need to review all texts that go against this principle;

               2.

               Finds table 1 of the Court of Auditors' report, introduced for the first time during the 2003 discharge exercise, which summarises the Centre's powers and responsibilities, governance, resources, activities and services provided, of great value; notes that the information contained in table 1 is supplied by the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction; asks the Court of Auditors to verify the contents of table 1;

               3.

               Insists that as well as spending money properly, agencies should also strive to spend money as efficiently and effectively as possible; invites the Court of Auditors to consider the possibility of extending its specific annual reports on the agencies to include an examination of performance and achievement of objectives; in this context and in line with its resolutions on the 2003 discharge, insists that the following aspects be taken into account: that duplication of work among the agencies must be avoided as much as possible and that measures designed to improve transparency and communication with the public must be clarified, along with Community affirmative action measures at all levels of recruitment, training and the assignment of responsibilities;

               4.

               Notes that Community agencies do not always have a good image or good press and that many of them do not deserve such a negative image; points out that EU citizens should be made aware of this, with appropriate means being used to explain as often as is necessary the raisons d'être and achievements of the agencies; calls on the Commission to act accordingly using whatever means it considers necessary;

               5.

               Notes that the enlargement of the European Union in 2004 has affected the structures and operating arrangements of the Community agencies in many ways, and that several of the agencies draw attention to these effects in their activity reports, focusing in particular on the increase in the number of administrators; calls on the Commission to assess the real or supposed problems encountered and to recommend the regulatory changes required;

               6.

               Notes that the Commission has made a commitment to harmonising the way in which activity reports concerning its directorates-general are presented; calls for a similar approach to be taken in respect of the activity reports of the Communities' agencies, which differ significantly in terms of content; calls on the Commission to point out to the Communities' agencies the information and activity indicators that they must provide;

               7.

               Is pleased to note that the Court of Auditors has been able to obtain reasonable assurance that the annual accounts for the financial year ended 31 December 2004 are reliable and that the underlying transactions, taken as a whole, are legal and regular;

               8.

               Regrets the very high level of transfers made; urges the Centre to respect more closely the budget originally set by the budgetary authority;

               9.

               Notes the Court of Auditors' finding of a number of anomalies in the management of contracts; welcomes the steps taken by the Centre to improve the management of contracts;

               10.

               Agrees with the Court of Auditors that bank balance and accounts should be reconciled to allow detection of errors in the amounts to be paid and that instructions to the bank should be countersigned; welcomes the measures taken by the Centre to implement the Court of Auditors' recommendations; is pleased to note the Centre's assurance that a countersigning system will be implemented;

               11.

               Encourages the Centre to avoid in future the use of electronic calculation sheets in order to guarantee the integrity of the data recorded, as recommended by the Court of Auditors; welcomes the Centre's introduction of a new, more effective inventory system;

               12.

               Calls on the Commission to help the agencies follow as closely as possible the work plan agreed for the year ahead, allowing activities to be properly planned and implemented, and particularly to avoid major, last-minute changes to the work load;

               13.

               Asks the Commission to improve synergies between agencies by making cooperation more effective, avoiding duplication of work and addressing shortcomings, in particular as regards common areas such as training, the implementation of Community policies across the board, the use of the latest management systems and solving problems relating to sound management of the budget.

      (1)  OJ C 269, 28.10.2005, p. 44.

      (2)  OJ C 332, 28.12.2005, p. 89.

      (3)  OJ L 248, 16.9.2002, p. 1.

      (4)  OJ L 36, 12.2.1993, p. 1. Regulation as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 1651/2003 (OJ L 245, 29.9.2003, p. 30).

      (5)  OJ L 357, 31.12.2002, p. 72. Regulation as amended by Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1261/2005 (OJ L 201, 2.8.2005, p. 3).


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32003D0917

2003/917/EC: Council Decision of 22 December 2003 on the conclusion of an Agreement in the form of an Exchange of Letters between the European Community and the State of Israel concerning reciprocal liberalisation measures and the replacement of Protocols 1 and 2 to the EC-Israel Association Agreement

Official Journal L 346 , 31/12/2003 P. 0065 - 0066

Council Decisionof 22 December 2003on the conclusion of an Agreement in the form of an Exchange of Letters between the European Community and the State of Israel concerning reciprocal liberalisation measures and the replacement of Protocols 1 and 2 to the EC-Israel Association Agreement(2003/917/EC)THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Article 133, in conjunction with the first sentence of Article 300(2), thereof,Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,Whereas:(1) Article 11 of the Euro-Mediterranean Agreement establishing an association between the European Communities and their Member States, of the one part, and the State of Israel, of the other part(1) (Association Agreement) in force since 1 June 2000, states that the Community and Israel shall progressively establish a greater liberalisation of their trade in agricultural products of interest to both Parties. It provides that, from 1 January 2000, the Community and Israel are to examine the situation in order to determine the measures to be applied by the Community and Israel from 1 January 2001, in accordance with this objective.(2) The Commission has, on behalf of the Community, negotiated an Agreement in the form of an Exchange of Letters with a view to replacing Protocols 1 and 2 to the Association Agreement.(3) The Agreement, initialled on 4 July 2003, should be approved.(4) The measures necessary for the implementation of this Decision should be adopted in accordance with Council Decision 1999/468/EC of 28 June 1999 laying down the procedures for the exercise of implementing powers conferred on the Commission(2),HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS:Article 1The Agreement in the form of an Exchange of Letters between the European Community and the State of Israel concerning reciprocal liberalisation measures and the replacement of Protocols 1 and 2 to the Association Agreement between the European Communities and their Member States, of the one part, and the State of Israel, of the other part, is hereby approved on behalf of the Community.The text of the Agreement is attached to this Decision.Article 2The Commission shall adopt the necessary implementation measures for Protocols 1 and 2 in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 3.Article 31. The Commission shall be assisted by the Management Committee for Sugar (hereinafter referred to as the Committee) established by Article 42 of Council Regulation (EC) No 1260/2001 of 19 June 2001 on the common organisation of the markets in the sugar sector(3) or, where appropriate, by the committees established by the corresponding provisions of other regulations on the common organisation of markets or by the Customs Code Committee established by Article 248a of Council Regulation (EEC) No 2913/92 of 12 October 1992 establishing the Community Customs Code(4).2. Where reference is made to this paragraph, Articles 4 and 7 of Decision 1999/468/EC shall apply.The period laid down in Article 4(3) of Decision 1999/468/EC shall be set at one month.3. The Committee shall adopt its Rules of Procedure.Article 4The President of the Council is hereby authorised to designate the person empowered to sign the Agreement so as to bind the Community.Article 5This Decision shall be published in the Official Journal of the European Union.Done at Brussels, 22 December 2003.For the CouncilThe PresidentA. Matteoli(1) OJ L 147, 21.6.2000, p. 3.(2) OJ L 184, 17.7.1999, p. 23.(3) OJ L 178, 30.6.2001, p. 1. Regulation as amended by Commission Regulation (EC) No 680/2002 (OJ L 104, 20.4.2002, p. 26).(4) OJ L 302, 19.10.1992, p. 1. Regulation as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 2700/2000 of the European Parliament and of the Council (OJ L 311, 12.12.2000, p. 17).


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32000D0107

2000/107/EC: Council Decision of 31 January 2000 appointing a German alternate member of the Committee of the Regions

Official Journal L 033 , 08/02/2000 P. 0015 - 0015

COUNCIL DECISIONof 31 January 2000appointing a German alternate member of the Committee of the Regions(2000/107/EC)THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Article 263 thereof,Having regard to the Council Decision of 26 January 1998(1) appointing members and alternate members of the Committee of the Regions,Whereas a seat for a member of the Committee of the Regions has become vacant following the resignation of Mr Klaus Wedemeier, alternate member, as notified to the Council on 2 December 1999;Having regard to the proposal from the German Government,HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS:Sole ArticleMr Ronald-Mike Neumeyer is hereby appointed an alternate member of the Committee of the Regions to replace Mr Klaus Wedemeier for the remainder of the latter's term of office, which runs until 25 January 2002.Done at Brussels, 31 January 2000.For the CouncilThe PresidentJ. PINA MOURA(1) OJ L 28, 4.2.1998, p. 19.


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32003D0193(01)

2004/325/EC: Decision No 193 of 29 October 2003 on the processing of pension claims (Text with relevance for the EEA and for the EU/Switzerland Agreement)

Official Journal L 104 , 08/04/2004 P. 0123 - 0124

Decision No 193of 29 October 2003on the processing of pension claims(Text with relevance for the EEA and for the EU/Switzerland Agreement)(2004/325/EC)THE ADMINISTRATIVE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES ON SOCIAL SECURITY FOR MIGRANT WORKERS,Having regard to Article 81(a) of Council Regulation (EEC) No 1408/71 of 14 June 1971 on the application of social security schemes to employed persons, to self-employed persons and to members of their families moving within the Community(1), pursuant to which it is the duty of the Administrative Commission on Social Security for Migrant Workers to deal with all administrative matters arising from Regulation (EEC) No 1408/71 and subsequent regulations,Having regard to Article 81(c), pursuant to which it is the duty of the Administrative Commission to foster and develop cooperation between the Member States in social security matters,Having regard to Articles 35 to 39 and 41 to 43 of Council Regulation (EEC) No 574/72 of 21 March 1972 laying down the procedure for implementing Regulation (EEC) No 1408/71(2), containing provisions on submission and investigation of pension claims,Whereas:(1) In the interest of the persons concerned, pension claims should be processed expediently without any unnecessary delay; it is the responsibility of the Administrative Commission to take all requisite action to accelerate the settlement of pension claims.(2) By its Decision No 182 of 13 December 2000, the Administrative Commission established a common framework for the collection of data on the settlement of pension claims.(3) Within this framework, the Technical Commission initiated discussion between the Member States in order to examine the use of good practice to reduce processing times for pension applications.(4) This discussion identified a number of obstacles to the rapid processing of pension claims and also various measures falling under an Administrative Commission decision which could be implemented to overcome these obstacles.(5) Pursuant to Article 44 of Regulation (EEC) No 1408/71, the processing of a pension claim shall have regard to all the legislations to which the employed or self-employed person has been subject, save as otherwise provided for in Article 49 of the Regulation.(6) According to Article 37 of Regulation (EEC) No 574/72, claims for invalidity, survivor's and old-age pensions must be made on the form provided for by the legislation of the Member State designated as the investigating institution.(7) According to Article 41(2) of Regulation (EEC) No 574/72, the investigating institution shall forthwith notify claims for benefits to all the institutions concerned on a special form, so that the claim may be investigated simultaneously and without delay by all these institutions.(8) To process a pension claim in accordance with the requirements of Article 44 of Regulation (EEC) No 1408/71, the institutions concerned must have all relevant information and the Member States' national application forms must be designed to meet this need,HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS:1. The Member States shall include in their national pension application forms or in an attached document specific sections enabling the applicants to state the periods during which they worked and/or lived in another Member State and also details of the institution by which they were insured in that Member State (name and code, address, registration number).2. The institutions receiving these forms must make sure that these sections are completed either in the affirmative or in the negative. Where the applicant has not filled in these sections, they must be asked about this matter again and informed about the importance of stating clearly whether they did actually work and/or live in that Member State.3. The forms in the 200 series shall be completed by the institutions and must, in so far as possible, be filled out by automatic means, so that in the light of their national plans the staff completing them can do so on screen at their workstation, whether or not there is any integrated computerised processing of the data to be transferred and subsequent computerised exchange of information between the institutions concerned.4. To promote the simultaneous processing of pension claims and accelerate settlement, the investigating institution must ensure that it draws up and sends the other institutions concerned the application form (E 202, E 203 or E 204) as soon as possible, even where the applicant's insurance history in the Member State of the investigating institution has not yet been reconstructed or reconstructed only partially or provisionally.In the latter case, the investigating institution may either postpone sending the E 205 form (and/or the E 206 form where appropriate) until the insurance history had been definitively and fully reconstructed, or send a provisional E 205 form and subsequently send a definitive E 205 form once the insurance history of the person concerned had been reconstructed. Agreements between the liaison bodies or the institutions, due to the national situation, may lay down in this area which of the two procedures is to be used by joint agreement. Otherwise, as alternative, agreements between the liaison bodies or the institutions, due to the national situation, can establish the forwarding, within a defined period of time, of forms E 202, E 203, E 204 and E 207, as well as form E 205 in its final version.At all events, the pension application form (E 202, E 203 or E 204) must always be supplemented by the E 207 form which contains the information enabling the partner institution promptly to begin reconstructing the insurance history of the applicant in the Member State of that institution.5. This Decision shall enter into force on the first day of the month following publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.The Chairman of the Administrative CommissionGiuseppe Miccio(1) OJ L 149, 5.7.1971, p. 2.(2) OJ L 74, 27.3.1972, p. 1.


title: 2014/822/EU: Decision of the European Parliament of 23 October 2014 on discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the Office of the Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications for the financial year 2012

text:
               21.11.2014

               EN

               Official Journal of the European Union

               L 334/88

         DECISION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT
   of 23 October 2014
   on discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the Office of the Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications for the financial year 2012

      (2014/822/EU)

   THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT,

               —

               having regard to the final annual accounts of the Office of the Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications for the financial year 2012,

               —

               having regard to the Court of Auditors' report on the annual accounts of the Office of the Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications for the financial year 2012, together with the Office's replies (1),

               —

               having regard to the Council's recommendation of 18 February 2014 (05849/2014 — C7-0054/2014),

               —

               having regard to its decision of 3 April 2014 (2) postponing its decision on granting discharge for the financial year 2012, and the accompanying resolution,

               —

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

               —

               having regard to the 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 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 (EC) No 1211/2009 of the European Parliament and the Council of 25 November 2009 establishing the Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications (BEREC) and the Office (5), 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 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 second report of the Committee on Budgetary Control (A8-0011/2014),

               1.

               Grants the Management Committee of the Office of the Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications discharge for implementation of the Office's budget for the financial year 2012;

               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 Management Committee of the Office of the Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications, 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 365, 13.12.2013, p. 9.

      (2)  OJ L 266, 5.9.2014, p. 353.

      (3)  OJ L 248, 16.9.2002, p. 1.

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

      (5)  OJ L 337, 18.12.2009, p. 1.

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

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


title: 2011/28/EU: Council Decision of 12 July 2010 on the conclusion of a Protocol to the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement establishing a partnership between the European Communities and their Member States, of the one part, and the Republic of Moldova, of the other part, on a Framework Agreement between the European Union and the Republic of Moldova on the general principles for the participation of the Republic of Moldova in Union programmes

text:
               19.1.2011

               EN

               Official Journal of the European Union

               L 14/5

         COUNCIL DECISION
   of 12 July 2010
   on the conclusion of a Protocol to the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement establishing a partnership between the European Communities and their Member States, of the one part, and the Republic of Moldova, of the other part, on a Framework Agreement between the European Union and the Republic of Moldova on the general principles for the participation of the Republic of Moldova in Union programmes
   (2011/28/EU)
   THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,
   Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, and in particular Articles 114, 168, 169, 172, 173(3), 188 and 192, in conjunction with point (a) of Article 218(6), Article 218(7) and the second subparagraph of Article 218(8), thereof,
   Having regard to the proposal from the European Commission,
   Having regard to the consent of the European Parliament,
   Whereas:

               (1)

               The Protocol to the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement establishing a partnership between the European Communities and their Member States, of the one part, and the Republic of Moldova, of the other part, on a Framework Agreement between the European Union and the Republic of Moldova on the general principles for the participation of the Republic of Moldova in Union programmes (1) (hereinafter referred to as ‘the Protocol’) was signed on behalf of the Union on 30 September 2010.

               (2)

               The Protocol should be concluded,

         HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:
   Article 1
   The Protocol to the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement establishing a partnership between the European Communities and their Member States, of the one part, and the Republic of Moldova, of the other part, on a Framework Agreement between the European Union and the Republic of Moldova on the general principles for the participation of the Republic of Moldova in Union programmes is hereby approved on behalf of the Union.
   Article 2
   The President of the Council shall give on behalf of the Union the notification provided for in Article 10 of the Protocol.
   Article 3
   This Decision shall enter into force on the day of its adoption.

      Done at Brussels, 12 July 2010.

            For the Council

            The President

         S. LARUELLE

      (1)  See page 2 of this Official Journal.