title: 2005/545/EC: Decision of the European Parliament of 12 April 2005 on the discharge to the Administrative Director of Eurojust in respect of the implementation of its budget for the financial year 2003

text:
               27.7.2005

               EN

               Official Journal of the European Union

               L 196/107

      DECISION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT

   of 12 April 2005
   on the discharge to the Administrative Director of Eurojust in respect of the implementation of its budget for the financial year 2003
   (2005/545/EC)
   THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT,
   having regard to the Court of Auditors' report on the annual accounts of Eurojust for the 2003 financial year together with Eurojust's replies (1),
   having regard to the Council's recommendation of 8 March 2005 (6856/2005 — C6-0063/2005),
   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 (2) and in particular Article 185 thereof, and to Council Decision 2003/659/JHA of 18 June 2003 amending Decision 2002/187/JHA setting up Eurojust with a view to reinforcing the fight against serious crime (3) and in particular Article 36 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 (4) and, in particular, Article 94 thereof,
   having regard to Rules 70 and 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 (A6-0074/2005),

               1.

               Gives discharge to the Administrative Director of Eurojust in respect of the implementation of its budget for the financial year 2003;

               2.

               Records its comments in the accompanying resolution;

               3.

               Instructs its President to forward this decision and the accompanying resolution to the Administrative Director of Eurojust, the Council, the Commission and the Court of Auditors, and to have them published in the Official Journal of the European Union (L series).

            The President

         Josep BORRELL FONTELLES

            The Secretary-General

         Julian PRIESTLEY

      (1)  OJ C 324, 30.12.2004, p. 61.

      (2)  OJ L 248, 16.9.2002, p. 1.

      (3)  OJ L 245, 29.9.2003, p. 44.

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

         RESOLUTION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT

      containing the comments accompanying the decision on the discharge to the Administrative Director of Eurojust in respect of the implementation of its budget for the financial year 2003
      THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT,
      having regard to the Court of Auditors' report on the annual accounts of Eurojust for the 2003 financial year together with Eurojust's replies (1),
      having regard to the Council's recommendation of 8 March 2005 (6856/2005 — C6-0063/2005),
      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 (2) and in particular Article 185 thereof, and to Council Decision 2003/659/JHA of 18 June 2003 amending Decision 2002/187/JHA setting up Eurojust with a view to reinforcing the fight against serious crime (3) and in particular Article 36 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 (4) and, in particular, Article 94 thereof,
      having regard to Rules 70 and 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 (A6-0074/2005),

                  A.

                  Whereas the European Court of Auditors (ECA) stated, in its abovementioned specific report, that it obtained reasonable assurance that the annual accounts for the financial year ended 31 December 2003 were reliable and that the underlying transactions, taken as a whole, were legal and regular.

                  B.

                  Whereas on 21 April 2004 the European Parliament gave discharge (5) to the Director of Eurojust in respect of the implementation of its budget for the 2002 financial year and in the resolution accompanying the discharge decision, the European Parliament, inter alia:

                              —

                              recognised that problems related to budget implementation were due to the fact that Eurojust was in its start-up phase and expected that these problems would be resolved as of the 2004 financial year,

                              —

                              welcomed Eurojust's willingness to draw on the experience of the existing institutions, to comply with the new rules on accounting, internal audit and control and to participate in interinstitutional cooperation,

            1.   Notes the following figures for the accounts of Eurojust for the financial years 2003 and 2002:
      Revenue and expenditure account for the financial years 2003 and 2002

                  (in EUR 1000)

                  2003

                  2002

                  Operating revenue

                  Community subsidies

                  7 125

                  1 478

                  Miscellaneous revenue

                  12

                  0

                  Total (a)

                  7 137

                  1 478

                  Operating expenditure

                  Purchases of goods and services

                  3 228

                  378

                  Staff costs

                  2 112

                  256

                  Depreciation

                  211

                  29

                  Total (b)

                  5 551

                  663

                  Outturn for the financial year (a – b)

                  1 586

                  815

                     Source: Eurojust data.

            2.   Notes the progress made by Eurojust in solving problems related to adoption of and compliance with the new Financial Regulation; also notes that the experience gained was used to overcome weaknesses in the control of budgetary transactions;
      3.   Expects Eurojust to report on further progress in this area in the Director's Annual Activity Report for the financial year 2004;
      4.   Notes the explanations provided by the Director as regards the way Eurojust treats the requests for information it receives;
      5.   Expects Eurojust to implement a strict application of the rules on data protection to protect citizens rights;
      6.   Regrets the absence of an equality plan and expects the Agency to develop a plan shortly in order to become an equal opportunities employer; expects the Agency not only to consider equality issues at the stage of recruitment but also to work proactively and on a long-term basis to promote gender equality;
      7.   Requests, in light of the serious difficulties in ensuring appropriate funding for the growing number of independent agencies, that the Dutch authorities as hosts of this prestigious institution considerably increase the logistical support for Eurojust;
      General points addressed to the Commission and the Agencies

                  8.

                  Recalls its position that while it supported the Commission's efforts to establish a limited number of models, at least for future ‘regulatory’ agencies, it took the view that the structure of current and future agencies merited in-depth consideration at interinstitutional level; also stresses that before the Commission defines the framework conditions for the use of regulatory agencies an Interinstitutional Agreement should spell out common guidelines; this should happen before setting up a harmonised framework for the structure of the agencies;

                  9.

                  Notes the Commission's position (6) with regard to delegating responsibility for the execution of tasks to bodies, including agencies, other than the Commission's core administration; takes the view that this does not answer Parliament's call for in-depth consideration at interinstitutional level of the structure of existing agencies; therefore invites the Commission to provide clarification on this point and on the future overall Interinstitutional Agreement related to the new arrangements to be set up within or in parallel with the Financial Perspective (7);

                  10.

                  Invites the Commission to organise and perform in the medium term, e.g. on a standard three-year cycle, a cross-cutting analysis of the evaluations carried out on individual Agencies in order to:

                              (a)

                              reach conclusions with regard to the coherence of Agency activity with EU policies in general and as regards the synergies existing or to be developed between the agencies and Commission departments and the avoidance of overlapping between them;

                              (b)

                              make an assessment of the broader European added value of the Agencies' outputs in their respective area of activity and of the relevance, efficiency and effectiveness of the Agency model in implementing or contributing to EU policies;

                              (c)

                              determine and enhance the impact of the Agencies' actions in terms of the proximity, accessibility and visibility of the EU to its citizens;

                  11.

                  Expects such an overall analysis to be available by the end of 2005 so as to cover the three-year period from the time of the introduction of the new Financial Regulation and the consequent new framework in the Agencies' system;

                  12.

                  Invites the Agencies to participate actively in such a process and to cooperate with the Commission, providing the necessary input on matters that they feel are of substance to their functioning, role, remit and needs, as well as on any matter which could help to improve the whole discharge procedure, with a view to contributing to the success of such a process and increasing the accountability and transparency of the Agencies; invites Agencies to present such input also to its competent committees;

                  13.

                  Calls on the Commission, in parallel with this exercise, to present by the end of 2005 at the latest, proposals for changes to be made in the existing Agencies' Constituent Acts with a view, inter alia, to optimising its relationship with the Agencies; such proposals should aim at:

                              (a)

                              increasing communication between the Commission and the Agencies;

                              (b)

                              establishing or expanding cooperation in defining needs to be covered and objectives, outputs to be produced and the strategy to achieve them, and in setting standards for monitoring and evaluation;

                              (c)

                              enhancing complementary action, better organising the necessary resources and their effective allocation to produce results, and devising a communication strategy for dissemination of those results;

                  14.

                  Emphasises that, before any decision is taken to propose the creation of a new agency, the Commission must undertake a strict evaluation of the need and added value of the function of this agency, bearing in mind existing structures, the principles of subsidiarity, budgetary austerity and the simplification of procedures;

                  15.

                  Expects the Commission to present swiftly the guidelines concerning staff policy of the Agencies that Parliament had requested the Commission to present before the end of the 2005 budgetary procedure;

            General points addressed to the Agencies

                  16.

                  Expects to receive from now on, from each of the Agencies, the report summarising information on the audits carried out by the Internal Auditor, the recommendations made and the action taken on these recommendations in accordance with Article 72(5) of Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 2343/2002;

                  17.

                  Invites the Agencies to make further efforts to apply correctly the staff regulations and rules applicable to other civil servants with regard to their staff (recruitment procedures and relevant decisions taken, personal files, calculation of remuneration and other entitlements, promotions policy, percentage of vacant posts, quotas for respecting gender equality, etc.);

                  18.

                  Notes that, in general, the respective percentage of male and female employees in the overall staff composition of the Agencies shows that an imbalance between men and women exists; regrets that men make up about one third of staff and are over-represented in high grade positions while women are generally over-represented in low grade positions; expects the Agencies to take immediate and effective measures to correct this situation;

                  19.

                  Calls on the Agencies to ensure that all the relevant provisions of Directive 2002/73/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 September 2002 amending Council Directive 76/207/EEC on the implementation of the principle of equal treatment for men and women as regards access to employment, vocational training and promotion, and working conditions (8) are introduced in their respective staff policies;

                  20.

                  Expects the Agencies, in response to the relevant observations of the ECA, to comply fully with the budgetary principles as set out in the Financial Regulation, in particular those of unity and budgetary accuracy; calls on the Agencies that have not yet done so to fulfil the Financial Regulation's requirements on accounting matters and to strengthen further their procedures as regards internal management and control with the aim of increasing accountability, transparency and European added value;

                  21.

                  Encourages the Agencies, especially those whose activities have points in common with the activities or missions of other Agencies, to strengthen their cooperation, thus opening up opportunities for developing synergies; invites them to formalise, where appropriate, such cooperation through specific agreements (joint declarations, memoranda of understanding, decisions on joint planning and actions/programmes presenting complementary characteristics) so as to ensure that there is no duplication of work, that each Agency's output is clearly identified and that the result of joint efforts maximises the added value and the impact of their work; expects to be informed regularly on this issue;

                  22.

                  Calls on the Agencies to pay special attention to procedures for the award and management of contracts; invites them to take all appropriate measures as regards their administrative structures in order to strengthen their internal control procedures, channels and management; takes the view that such measures may include, where necessary or feasible, the setting-up of specialised units entrusted with the task of advising, on the basis of risk analysis, on how best to prepare contract award procedures, to ensure monitoring and to carry out follow-up, as required; on this matter, calls on the Commission and the ECA to strengthen cooperation with the Agencies;

                  23.

                  Notes the difficulties to which some Directors, in particular of the ‘newly created’ Agencies, referred with regard to the Agencies' compliance with the calendar and deadlines for reporting as set in the Financial Regulation; invites the Agencies' Directors, in the perspective of the forthcoming review of the Financial Regulation to be held in 2005, to inform its Committees on Budgets and Budgetary Control of the difficulties encountered so far so that these may be considered in the framework of the review; expects the Directors to make specific proposals for alternative arrangements as to deadlines that may best suit their functioning requirements while respecting the reporting obligations of the Agencies as provided for in the Financial Regulation;

                  24.

                  Notes the positive response by the Agencies' Directors to the call by Parliament's committee responsible for preparing discharge for the establishment of a more precise system of communication, in particular as regards the transmission by the Agencies to that committee of documents relating to the Agencies' reporting obligations; takes the view that better organisation of such communication will strengthen its cooperation with the Agencies and enhance democratic control;

                  25.

                  Invites the Directors of the Agencies from now on to accompany their annual activity report, which is presented together with financial and management information, with a declaration of assurance concerning the legality and regularity of operations, similar to the declarations signed by the Directors-General of the Commission;

                  26.

                  Invites the Agencies to develop a comprehensive strategy of communication addressing the need to make available, in the appropriate form, the results of their work to the general public beyond the presentation of such results to the Institutions, Member States' competent services, specialists, partners or specific beneficiaries; calls on the Agencies, in view of the development of such a strategy, to intensify their cooperation and exchange information on best practice aimed at achieving this goal; expects its competent committees to be duly informed by the Agencies, before the next discharge exercise, on the progress made in devising such a strategy in order to ensure the effective and timely monitoring of their activities;

            General points addressed to the ECA and the Agencies

                  27.

                  Welcomes the ECA's initiative to add a table to its specific reports on the Agencies presenting summary information on the competences, governance, resources available and products/output of the particular agency; takes the view that this enhances the clarity and transparency of the work of these Community bodies, while providing a useful basis for comparison, where appropriate, with a view to helping set up the harmonised framework for the Agencies that Parliament has called for;

                  28.

                  Invites the ECA and the Agencies to strengthen their cooperation in order to enhance the procedures and technical tools to improve the sound management of all the budgetary and finance issues, with the view to establishing a methodology that prepares the ground for a positive budget discharge from the start of the process; expects to be informed regularly of the progress made and the implementation of best practices;

                  29.

                  Calls on the ECA and the Agencies to enhance transparency in the procédure contradictoire prior to the ECA's final report, so as to avoid any contradiction or ambiguity which could jeopardise the credibility of the whole exercise; in this respect, invites the ECA and the Commission to propose a feasible way of updating information on the improvements made and/or the problems found, from the time when the ECA's preparatory report is first discussed until the time of the decision as to whether to grant discharge, in order to offer the most accurate picture of the situation of the Agencies.

         (1)  OJ C 324, 30.12.2004, p. 61.

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

         (3)  OJ L 245, 29.9.2003, p. 44.

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

         (5)  OJ L 330, 4.11.2004, p. 40.

         (6)  As set out in Annex 1 to the Communication from the Commission to the Council and the European Parliament ‘Building our common future, policy challenges and budgetary means of the enlarged Union 2007-2013’, (COM(2004) 0101, p. 38).

         (7)  See Annex to the Commission's report on the follow-up to 2002 Discharges (COM(2004) 0648, p. 108).

         (8)  OJ L 269, 5.10.2002, p. 15.


Avis juridique important

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31988D0337

88/337/ECSC, EEC, Euratom: Decision of the European Parliament of 13 April 1988 granting a discharge to the Commission in respect of the implementation of the budget of the European Communities for the financial year 1986 concerning Sections I - Parliament, II - Council, III - Commission IV - Court of Justice and V - Court of Auditors

Official Journal L 156 , 23/06/1988 P. 0054 - 0059

*****DECISION  OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT  of 13 April 1988  granting a discharge to the Commission in respect of the implementation of the budget of the European Communities for the financial year 1986 concerning Sections I - Parliament, II - Council, III - Commission IV - Court of Justice and V - Court of Auditors  (88/337/ECSC, EEC, Euratom)  THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT,  - having regard to the Treaty establishing the ECSC and in particular Article 78g thereof,  - having regard to the Treaty establishing the EEC and in particular Article 206b thereof,  - having regard to the Treaty establishing the EAEC and in particular Article 180b thereof,  - having regard to the budget for the financial year 1986,  - having regard to the revenue and expenditure account and the balance sheet relating to the financial year 1986,  - having regard to the report of the Court of Auditors concerning the financial year 1986 accompanied by the replies of the Institutions (Doc. C 2-265/87) (1),  - having regard to the recommendation of the Council (Doc. C 2-11/88),  - having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control and to the opinions of the Committee on Social Affairs and Employment and the Committee on Youth, Culture, Education, Information and Sport (Doc. A 2-19/88),  1. Notes that authorized revenue and expenditure for the financial year 1986 totalled:  1.2.3 //  // (ECU)  // (ECU)  // - Revenue   //   // 35 177 256 722   // - Appropriations for commitments:   //   //   // - Appropriations authorized in the general budget   // 36 052 214 064   //   // - Appropriations remaining from the financial year 1985 or made available as a result of cancellations of commitments in the financial year 1986   // 2 244 565 171   //  // - Appropriations corresponding to revenue from services rendered to third parties   // 1 468 648  // 38 298 247 883  // - Appropriations for payments   //   // 35 177 256 722  2. Grants discharge to the Commission in respect of the implementation of the budget on the basis of the following amounts:  1.2.3 //  // (ECU)  // (ECU)  // (a) Revenue   //   //   // - Own resources   // 32 683 368 650   //   // - Financial contributions   // 210 064 551   //   // - Surpluses available  // 431 143 290   //   // - Other revenue   // 342 610 531  //   // - Carry-overs from the financial year 1985 which have lapsed   // 355 681 498   //   // - Exchange gains   // 20 468  (1) OJ No C 336, 15. 12. 1987, p. 1.   // (b) Expenditure   //   //   // - Payments made from the appropriations of the financial year   // 33 462 056 563   //  // - Appropriations carried over to the financial year 1987  // 1 401 197 021  // 34 863 253 584  The 693 million ECU overrun in EAGGF expenditure must be regarded as payment appropriations of the financial year 1986, within the meaning of the third paragraph of Article 5 of the Financial Regulation, in respect of which appropriations were neither earmarked in 1986 nor carried forward to 1987 (1).  1.2.3 // (c) Balance for the financial year 1986   //   // 819 916 654  // - Revenue for the financial year   //   // 33 667 187 022   // - Payments made against appropriations for the financial year   // 33 462 056 563   //   // - Appropriations carried over to 1987   // 1 401 197 021  // 34 863 253 584  // Difference   //   //  1 196 066 562   // - Appropriations carried over from 1985 which have lapsed   //   // + 355 681 498   // - Exchange difference in the financial year 1986   //  // + 20 468 410  // Balance for the financial year 1986   //  //  819 916 654   // (d) Utilization of appropriations for commitments   //   // 36 379 464 864  (e) Balance sheet at 31 December 1986  1,2.3,4 //  //  // ASSETS  // LIABILITIES  //  // 1.2.3.4 // Fixed assets   // 10 262 478 968   // Fixed capital   // 10 241 085 745   // Inventories   // 28 596 666  // Current liabilities   // 3 745 695 973   // Current assets  // 1 946 223 607   // Cash accounts   // 132 541 611   // Cash accounts   // 1 938 622 509   // Accrued expenses   // 317 443 572   // Prepaid expenses   // 260 845 151   //   //   //  //   //   //   // Total  // 14 436 766 901   // Total  // 14 436 766 901   //    //   //   //  3. Records its comments in the resolution which forms part of this Decision (2);  4. Instructs its President to forward this Decision and the resolution embodying its comments to the Commission, the Council, the Court of Justice, the Court of Auditors and the European Investment Bank and to have them published in the Official Journal of the European Communities (L series).  Done at Strasbourg, 13 April 1988.  1.2.3 // The Secretary-General   //   // The President  // Enrico VINCI   //   // PLUMB 410  // 34 043 336 930  (1) If this sum had not been carried over to the financial year 1987, the 1986 deficit of 819, 9 million ECU, set out in (c), would have been correspondingly higher.  (2) See page 56 of this Official Journal.  RESOLUTION  embodying the comments on the Decision granting a discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the European Communities for the financial year 1986  THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT,  - having regard to Article 206b of the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community,  - whereas, pursuant to Article 85 of the Financial Regulation of 21 December 1977, the institutions of the Community shall take all appropriate steps to take action on the comments appearing in the Decisions giving discharge,  - whereas, pursuant to the Financial Regulation Article referred to, the institutions shall report, at the request of the European Parliament, on the measures taken in the light of the comments and, in particular, on the instructions given to those of their departments which are responsible for the implementation of the budget,  - having regard to the recommendation of the Council (Doc. C 2-11/88),  - having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control and to the other documents referred to in the Decision granting discharge (Doc. A 2-19/88),  Undesirable trends up to the financial year 1986  1. Notes that owing to the inadequate decision-taking machinery available to the Community, and its inability to ensure that the Member States recognized where the Community's genuine interests lay, the position in 1986 was as follows:  - 14 053,4 million ECU in accumulated legally binding liabilities, at the end of 1986, to be honoured in the next few years, plus 8 501,7 million ECU of unavoidable expenditure on agricultural-stock disposal and some 13 400 million ECU of potential payment appropriations relating to policy-based programmes,  - compromised financial autonomy, a budget not in balance, makeshift solutions provided for in neither the Treaties of Rome nor the Financial Regulation, and the continued use of national financial contributions,  - agricultural spending spiralling out of control, a degree of inefficiency and irregularity in disbursements, and defrauding of the Community budget,  - structural expenditure not consistent with the principle of cost-efficiency;  2. Notes, however, that the Commission has put in hand the necessary process of reform and that the decision taken at the European Council meeting of 11/12 February 1988 will enable a fresh start to be made on a more solid basis, though they are not fully consonant with Parliament's position; cautions against any attempt to depart from these decisions or to implement a watered-down version thereof;  Improvements required as regards own resources  3. Recommends that the fact that revenue is likely to be secured should be exploited to eliminate the shortcomings of the own-resources system, which has been in operation since 1970;  4. Recommends that the Commission consolidate its proposals on the establishment, paying over and verification of own resources, which have been before the Council for years, into a single proposal taking into consideration the shortcomings in the system and the corrective action called for by Parliament, with a view to establishing a more coherent own-resources system and obtaining, at last, the powers which it requires to discharge its administrative and supervisory responsibilities;  5. Calls upon the Commission to exploit its powers extensively, until the new Regulation enters into force, and, where necessary, to take legal action to enforce Community law in all respects, particularly as regards the establishment and making available of own resources revenue;  Compliance with budgetary principles and implementation of the budget  6. Condemns the violation of budgetary principles in the financial year 1986 (concealed deficit, improper netting-out between revenue and expenditure, and carrying-over of expenditure relating to the financial year 1986 to the following financial year) as a result of the manner in which entries were made in the accounts and the accounts rendered; calls upon the Commission to give top priority at all times to ensuring that budgetary principles are complied with;  7. Notes that, in the revenue and expenditure account for 1986, the Commission described how 693 million ECU of EAGGF Guarantee Section expenditure was carried forward to the financial year 1987; insists that this be properly presented by the Commission when the accounts for the financial year 1987 are rendered;  8. Calls upon the Commission, with a veiw to rationalizing budgetary planning and implementation, to submit proposals to curb expenditure on the basis of realistic and compelling measures to match more closely the rate at which appropriations are committed and utilized; 9. Stresses again the Commission's mandate to implement the budget, once it has been adopted, and, in this regard, recalls the fact that Parliament has repeatedly called for progress reports on implementation;  10. Instructs its Committee on Budgetary Control to undertake on-going control of budget implementation in accordance with the decisions taken at the Brussels European Council of 11 to 13 February 1988 and on the basis of more precise and up-to-date information from the Commission;  Managaement of the EAGGF Guarantee Section  11. Calls upon the Commission to give priority to what is an important issue as regards the general budget and agricultural-market management - the utilization of surpluses - and to take Parliament's views into account in the process, particularly as regards marketing drives benefiting the consumer on the Community's internal market; considers that it is imperative to write down book values as early as possible in order to cut costs; criticizes the fact that the Commission has not acted in good time to curb the production and storage of agricultural products which cannot be marketed and disapproves in particular of the uneconomic distillation measures in the wine sector;  12. Recommends that the Commission give priority  to the clearance-of-accounts procedure by introducing  systematic controls along the lines suggested by the Court of Auditors, with a view to the uniform application of farming regulations in all Member States and to ensuring as far as possible that the financial management is sound and proper, while not neglecting physical inspections, which are necessary;  Management of the EAGGF Guidance Section  13. Notes with concern that the appropriations made available to the EAGGF Guidance Section in recent years have fallen alarmingly, even in nominal terms, that, contrary to expectations, the accession of Spain and Portugal had no impact on the fund's financial capacity during 1986, and that, as a result of the continual financial blockage of the fund, the accumulated deficit is now well in excess of the annual budget allocation;  14. Considers that restoring the fund to a sound financial footing is vital if the reform of its aims and operating procedures is to be successful;  15. Stresses that the establishment of a system to monitor results, which would make it possible to assess the economic impact and effectiveness of operations, is a vital aspect of the reform of the structural funds; calls therefore on the Commission to include in its annual financial report or in special reports an analysis of the economic impact and effectiveness of the operations;  Management of the structural funds  16. Notes that, because of the serious shortcomings accounting for the cancellation of Social Fund commitments on such a vast scale, a persuasive strategy on selection criteria, management, verification and assessment should be presented when the structural funds are expanded;  17. Takes the view that, in future, the organization and operation of the structural funds must be explicitly linked to a Community policy and that appropriate arrangements to select projects, verify cost-efficiency and perform ex post facto assessments will have to contribute to eliminating any undesirable trends;  18. Calls upon the Commission to include in its proposals for structural fund regulations a provision requiring the Member States to scrutinize the implementation of projects and programmes financed under these funds and to report to the Commission - as well as to Parliament and the Council - on the outcome of this process;  Joint Research Centre (JRC) activities at ISPRA  19. Insists that the inefficient working methods found at the JRC establishment at Ispra be rectified by rationalizing personnel management, improving budgetary management and evaluating research findings as early as possible, with due regard for the objectives set at the financial- and operational-planning stages;  20. Instructs the Commission to utilize the facilities at the JRC establishment at Ispra to analyse the samples taken to verify compliance with Community farming regulations;  Development and cooperation  21. Requests the Court of Auditors, in view of the poor management of what is a considerable volume of budget funding, to draw up a report on the utilization of appropriations relating to cooperation with the developing countries in Latin America and Asia;  22. Expects the Commission to fill the remaining five posts created in the 1986 budget for an in-house evaluation unit without further delay, bearing in mind the improvements in the quality of Community aid, which can be achieved by systematic evaluation of completed projects; Combating fraud and irregularities  23. Notes that the Commission's dereliction of duty as regards inspections - the failure to allocate properly the staff occupying the posts authorized by the budgetary authority, among other omissions - would itself justify refusal to grant discharge;  24. Notes that, a little more than 16 years after the entry into force of the own resources system, the Council has still not granted the Commission the powers it requires under that system to obtain accurate information on the practices followed in the Member States and to carry out on-the-spot checks when it deems them to be useful and necessary;  25. Notes, in the light of the decision taken by athe European Council on 12 February 1988 on the financing of the Community up until 1993, that it is now essential for the Council to provide the Commission with the means to obtain information and carry out checks in the Member States as regards own resources whenever the Commission deems it useful and necessary to do so;  26. Notes that several Member States are in breach of Council Regulation (EEC) No 2891/77 (1) insofar as they only pay over to the Community the own resources collected by their authorities rather than the total volume of own resources established;  27. Notes that several Member States are in breach of Community law insofar as they have waived, and hence not made available to the Community, considerable amounts in VAT resources;  28. Instructs the Commission to call on the Member States to apply Regulation (EEC) No 2891/77 properly and to claim retroactively the own resources which have been established by Member State authorities but not yet made available to the Community;  29. Notes that several Member States have violated Community law insofar as in 1986, they either did not inform the Commission of frauds committed in the EAGGF Guarantee Section or provided belated or incomplete information;  30. Notes that the information supplied by the Member States to the Commission since 1971 concerning frauds committed in the EAGGF Guarantee Section has frequently been vague and therefore useless for the purposes of further, detailed investigation;  31. Calls upon the Commission to bring proceedings, pursuant to Article 169 of the EEC Treaty, against a Member State which fails to supply by the specified time-limit, the information requested;  32. Notes that, pursuant to Article 5 of the EEC Treaty, the Member States are obliged to take interim protective measures in cases of fraud and irregularities;  33. Calls on the Commission to act as co-plaintiff in proceedings brought in the Member States, in respect of fraud and irregularities, where this is permissible under the criminal law of the Member State concerned;  34. Calls on the Commission to consider whether debtors found guilty by a court of last instance of fraud or irregularities can be obliged under Community law to offer additional bank guarantees;  35. Calls on the Commission to submit proposals for Community rules obliging the Member States to publish the names of natural or legal persons found guilty by a court of last instance of fraud or irregularities;  36. Regrets that the Council has hitherto refused to adopt the legislation necessary to enable fraud and irregularities to be combated effectively at Community level;  37. Calls upon the Commission to give priority to combating fraud and irregularities, since such activities are detrimental to the Community's reputation and are a constant and serious threat to sound financial management; calls upon the Commission to involve Parliament in the process of refining the relevant strategies and, in particular, of expanding the role of the recently established anti-fraud unit; insists that the Commission take account of the importance of controls and penalties in draft legislation;  38. Calls upon the Commission to discharge its duty to coordinate and monitor national controls more conscientiously and forcefully; recommends the Commission examine to what extent national administrations' readiness to bring proceeding in respect of fraud and irregularities can be heightened;  Management of the Community budget grant for the European Schools  39. Is unable to approve the financial management in respect of the European Schools, after noting the special report of the Court of Auditors for the financial years, 1985 and 1986 and, while not arrogating to itself the right to grant discharge, expresses the most serious reservations as to the manner in which the grant from the Community budget is managed;  How fraud should be approached in the accounts and in legislation  40. Calls on the Commission to add data on the following aspects to the revenue and expenditure account and balance sheet:  - own resources established but, contrary to Community law, not made available to the Community,  - recovery of advances on European Social Fund commitments subsequently cancelled,  - amounts to be recovered in connection with cases of EAGGF Guarantee Section fraud notified by the Member States;  41. Calls on the Commission to propose an amendment to Regulation (EEC) No 2892/77 (1) on own resources accruing from VAT so as to enable the amounts waived by the Member States to be incorporated into the basis of assessment;  42. Instructs the Commission to report annually to Parliament on the making available to the Community of own resources established but not paid over and on recovery of amounts paid in breach of Community law.  (1) OJ No L 336, 27. 12. 1977, p. 1.  (1) OJ No L 336, 27. 12. 1977, p. 8.


title: Council Decision 2005/784/CFSP of 7 November 2005 extending and amending Decision 1999/730/CFSP with a view to a European Union contribution to combating the destabilising accumulation and spread of small arms and light weapons in Cambodia

text:
               11.11.2005

               EN

               Official Journal of the European Union

               L 295/53

      COUNCIL DECISION 2005/784/CFSP
   of 7 November 2005
   extending and amending Decision 1999/730/CFSP with a view to a European Union contribution to combating the destabilising accumulation and spread of small arms and light weapons in Cambodia
   THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,
   Having regard to Council Joint Action 2002/589/CFSP of 12 July 2002 on the European Union’s contribution to combating the destabilising accumulation and spread of small arms and light weapons (1), and in particular Article 6 thereof, in conjunction with Article 23(2) of the Treaty on European Union,
   Whereas:

               (1)

               On 15 November 1999 the Council adopted Decision 1999/730/CFSP (2) concerning a European Union contribution to combating the destabilising accumulation and spread of small arms and light weapons in Cambodia.

               (2)

               Decision 1999/730/CFSP was last extended and amended by Decision 2004/792/CFSP.

               (3)

               Some final objectives could not be fulfilled by 15 November 2005, the date on which Decision 1999/730/CFSP is due to expire, and others should be consolidated after that date. The project in question is a multi-annual project.

               (4)

               Decision 1999/730/CFSP should therefore be extended and amended,

         HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS:
   Article 1
   Decision 1999/730/CFSP is hereby amended as follows:

               (a)

               in Article 3(1), the financial reference amount ‘EUR 1 375 565’ shall be replaced by ‘EUR 600 000’;

               (b)

               in Article 4 second subparagraph, ‘15 November 2005’ shall be replaced by ‘15 November 2006’;

               (c)

               Article 5 is hereby deleted;

               (d)

               the Annex shall be replaced by the text appearing in the Annex to this Decision.

         Article 2
   This Decision shall take effect on 16 November 2005.
   Article 3
   This Decision shall be published in the Official Journal of the European Union.

      Done at Brussels, 7 November 2005.

            For the Council

            The President

         J. STRAW

      (1)  OJ L 191, 19.7.2002, p. 1.

      (2)  OJ L 294, 16.11.1999, p. 5. Decision as last amended by Decision 2004/901/CFSP (OJ L 379, 24.12.2004, p. 111).

      ANNEX

            ‘ANNEX
            TERMS OF REFERENCE FOR THE PROJECT MANAGER (2006)

                        1.

                        The Project Manager, in cooperation with the Cambodian Armed Forces, will continue the work related to record-keeping and the management and security of weapons stocks and to developing policies, guidelines and practices in this area. To that end, the Project Manager will monitor the projects previously implemented in Military Region 1 (Stung Treng), Military Region 2 (Kampong Cham), Military Region 3 (Kampong Speu), Military Region 4 (Siem Reap), Military Region 5 (Battambang), the Special Military Region (Phnom Penh) and the Royal Gendarmerie. In close cooperation with the Ministry of National Defence, he will define and implement a further project on safe storage and registration of weapons of the Air Force and Navy. This will include the building of medium- and short-term storage facilities, training of the relevant personnel at all levels and the registration of all weapons in the centralised computer database of the Ministry of Defence. The implemented project is to include assistance, with the support of relevant experts, to the Government’s programme of public ceremonies for the destruction of surplus military weapons and, where appropriate, of collected weapons and of surplus weapons that may still be held by the army and police and security forces.

                        2.

                        When required the Project Manager will continue to advise, and where possible assist, the Government, international organisations and local NGO’s on issues relating to weapons security and to EU ASAC’s current and previous activities.

                        3.

                        The Project Manager will ensure that appropriate procedures are established for effective monitoring and evaluation of activities. To this end he will seek full cooperation from the Government of Cambodia and the police and security forces.

                        4.

                        Following the completion of the project on safe storage and registration of weapons of the Air Force and Navy, the Project Manager will implement the plans drawn up under the Project Manager’s 2005 Terms of Reference for a consolidation of the record-keeping and the management and security of weapons stocks and for the closing and winding-up of the project.’


title: Political and Security Committee Decision EUPOL AFGHANISTAN/1/2008 of 3 October 2008 concerning the appointment of the Head of Mission of the European Union Police Mission in Afghanistan (EUPOL AFGHANISTAN)

text:
               29.10.2008

               EN

               Official Journal of the European Union

               L 285/20

      POLITICAL AND SECURITY COMMITTEE DECISION EUPOL AFGHANISTAN/1/2008
   of 3 October 2008
   concerning the appointment of the Head of Mission of the European Union Police Mission in Afghanistan (EUPOL AFGHANISTAN)
   (2008/821/CFSP)
   THE POLITICAL AND SECURITY COMMITTEE,
   Having regard to the Treaty on European Union and in particular Article 25(3) thereof,
   Having regard to Council Joint Action 2007/369/CFSP of 30 May 2007 on establishment of the European Union Police Mission in Afghanistan (EUPOL AFGHANISTAN) (1), and in particular Article 10(1) thereof,
   Whereas:

               (1)

               Under Article 10(1) of Joint Action 2007/369/CFSP the Council authorised the Political and Security Committee (PSC), in accordance with Article 25 of the Treaty, to take appropriate decisions for the purpose of exercising political control and the strategic direction of the EUPOL AFGHANISTAN mission, and in particular to appoint a Head of Mission.

               (2)

               By letter dated 14 August 2008, the current Head of Mission informed the Commission of his decision to terminate his contract on 30 September 2008.

               (3)

               The Secretary-General/High Representative has proposed the appointment of Mr Kai VITTRUP as Head of Mission of the EUPOL AFGHANISTAN mission,

         HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS:
   Article 1
   Mr Kai VITTRUP is hereby appointed Head of Mission of the European Union Police Mission in Afghanistan (EUPOL AFGHANISTAN) from 16 October 2008.
   Article 2
   This Decision shall take effect on the day of its adoption.

      Done at Brussels, 3 October 2008.

            For the Political and Security Committee

            The Chairperson

         C. ROGER

      (1)  OJ L 139, 31.5.2007, p. 33.


title: Decision (EU) 2017/1602 of the European Parliament of 27 April 2017 on discharge in respect of the implementation of the general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2015, Section I — European Parliament

text:
               29.9.2017

               EN

               Official Journal of the European Union

               L 252/1

         DECISION (EU) 2017/1602 OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT
   of 27 April 2017
   on discharge in respect of the implementation of the general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2015, Section I — European Parliament
   THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT,

               —

               having regard to the general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2015 (1),

               —

               having regard to the consolidated annual accounts of the European Union for the financial year 2015 (COM(2016) 475 — C8-0270/2016) (2),

               —

               having regard to the report on budgetary and financial management for the financial year 2015, Section I — European Parliament (3),

               —

               having regard to the Internal Auditor's annual report for the financial year 2015,

               —

               having regard to the Court of Auditors' annual report on the implementation of the budget for the financial year 2015, together with the institutions' replies (4),

               —

               having regard to the statement of assurance (5) as to the reliability of the accounts and the legality and regularity of the underlying transactions provided by the Court of Auditors for the financial year 2015, pursuant to Article 287 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

               —

               having regard to Article 314(10) and Article 318 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

               —

               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 (6), and in particular Articles 164, 165 and 166 thereof,

               —

               having regard to the Bureau decision of 16 June 2014 on the Internal Rules on the implementation of the European Parliament's budget (7), and in particular Article 22 thereof,

               —

               having regard to Rule 94 and Rule 98(3) of, and Annex IV to, its Rules of Procedure,

               —

               having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control (A8-0153/2017),

               A.

               whereas the President adopted Parliament's accounts for the financial year 2015 on 4 July 2016;

               B.

               whereas the Secretary-General, as principal authorising officer by delegation, certified, on 24 June 2016, his reasonable assurance that the resources assigned for Parliament's budget have been used for their intended purpose, in accordance with the principles of sound financial management and that the control procedures established give the necessary guarantees concerning the legality and regularity of the underlying transactions;

               C.

               whereas the audit of the Court of Auditors stated that, in its specific assessment of administrative and other expenditure in 2015, it did not identify any serious weaknesses in the examined annual activity reports and internal control systems of the institutions and bodies required by Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012;

               D.

               whereas Article 166(1) of Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012 requires each Union institution to take all appropriate steps to act on the observations accompanying Parliament's discharge decision;

               1.

               Grants its President discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the European Parliament for the financial year 2015;

               2.

               Sets out its observations in the resolution below;

               3.

               Instructs its President to forward this decision and the resolution forming an integral part of it to the 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

         Antonio TAJANI

            The Secretary-General

         Klaus WELLE

      (1)  OJ L 69, 13.3.2015.

      (2)  OJ C 380, 14.10.2016, p. 1.

      (3)  OJ C 354, 27.9.2016, p. 1.

      (4)  OJ C 375, 13.10.2016, p. 1.

      (5)  OJ C 375, 13.10.2016, p. 10.

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

      (7)  PE 422.541/Bur.


title: Decision of the Bureau of the European Parliament of 1 July 2013 amending the Implementing Measures for the Statute for Members of the European Parliament

text:
               5.7.2013

               EN

               Official Journal of the European Union

               C 194/6

         DECISION OF THE BUREAU OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT
   of 1 July 2013
   amending the Implementing Measures for the Statute for Members of the European Parliament
   2013/C 194/02
   THE BUREAU OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT,
   Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, and in particular Article 223(2) thereof,
   Having regard to the Treaty concerning the accession of the Republic of Croatia to the European Union,
   Having regard to the Statute for Members of the European Parliament (1),
   Having regard to Rules 8 and 23 of the Rules of Procedure of the European Parliament,
   Whereas:

               (1)

               According to the Treaty concerning the accession of the Republic of Croatia to the European Union, the latter will be a Member State of the European Union as of 1 July 2013. From that date, the Croatian Members will sit in the European Parliament. It is thus necessary to modify point (b) of Article 23(1) of the Implementing Measures for the Statute for Members of the European Parliament (2) (‘the Implementing Measures’) on travel expenses incurred in the Member State of election to take account of the new Croatian Members joining the European Parliament.

               (2)

               Travel in the Member State of election by car is limited annually to a number of kilometres on a basis established according to the size of the Member State concerned. Considering that the area of Croatia is 56 542 km2, Croatian Members of the European Parliament should have an individual right to 8 000 km annually,

         HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:
   Article 1
   In point (b) of Article 23(1) of the Implementing Measures, the third indent is replaced by the following:

               ‘—

               8 000 km for Members elected in Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, Croatia, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands or Slovenia.’.

         Article 2
   1.   This Decision shall enter into force on the day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.
   2.   This Decision shall apply from 1 July 2013.

      (1)  Decision 2005/684/EC, Euratom of the European Parliament of 28 September 2005 adopting the Statute for Members of the European Parliament (OJ L 262, 7.10.2005, p. 1).

      (2)  Decision of the Bureau of the European Parliament of 19 May and 9 July 2008 concerning implementing measures for the Statute for Members of the European Parliament (OJ C 159, 13.7.2009, p. 1).


title: Council Decision of 25 May 2009 appointing Maltese members and a Maltese alternate member of the Advisory Committee on Freedom of Movement for Workers

text:
               3.6.2009

               EN

               Official Journal of the European Union

               C 123/11

      COUNCIL DECISION

   of 25 May 2009
   appointing Maltese members and a Maltese alternate member of the Advisory Committee on Freedom of Movement for Workers
   2009/C 123/05
   THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,
   Having regard to Council Regulation (EEC) No 1612/68 of 15 October 1968 on freedom of movement for workers within the Community (1), and in particular Articles 26 and 27 thereof,
   Having regard to the lists of candidates submitted to the Council by the Governments of the Member States,
   Whereas:

               (1)

               By its Decision of 25 September 2008 (2), the Council appointed the members and alternate members of the Advisory Committee on Freedom of Movement for Workers for the period from 25 September 2008 to 24 September 2010, with the exception of certain members including the Maltese members and alternate members in the category of government representatives.

               (2)

               The Maltese Government has submitted nominations for a number of posts to be filled,

         HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS:
   Sole Article
   The following are hereby appointed members and an alternate member of the Advisory Committee on Freedom of Movement for Workers for the period ending on 24 September 2010:

      REPRESENTATIVES OF GOVERNMENT

               Country

               Members

               Alternates

               Malta

               Mr Joseph MIZZI
               Ms Josephine FARRUGIA

               Mr Anthony BUTTIGIEG

      Done at Brussels, 25 May 2009.

            For the Council

            The President

         J. ŠEBESTA

      (1)  OJ L 257, 18.10.1968, p. 2.

      (2)  OJ C 253, 4.10.2008, p. 7.


title: Council Decision 2010/16/CFSP/JHA of 30 November 2009 on the signing, on behalf of the European Union, of the Agreement between the European Union and the United States of America on the processing and transfer of Financial Messaging Data from the European Union to the United States for purposes of the Terrorist Finance Tracking Program

text:
               13.1.2010

               EN

               Official Journal of the European Union

               L 8/9

         COUNCIL DECISION 2010/16/CFSP/JHA
   of 30 November 2009
   on the signing, on behalf of the European Union, of the Agreement between the European Union and the United States of America on the processing and transfer of Financial Messaging Data from the European Union to the United States for purposes of the Terrorist Finance Tracking Program
   THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,
   Having regard to the Treaty on European Union, and in particular Articles 24 and 38 thereof,
   Whereas:

               (1)

               On 27 July 2009, the Council decided to authorise the Presidency, assisted by the Commission, to open negotiations for an Agreement between the European Union and the United States of America on the processing and transfer of Financial Messaging Data from the European Union to the United States for the purposes of the Terrorist Finance Tracking Program. Those negotiations have been successful and a draft Agreement (hereinafter ‘the Agreement’) has been drawn up.

               (2)

               The Agreement is important in ensuring that designated providers of international financial payment messaging services make available to the United States Department of the Treasury financial payment messaging data stored in the territory of the European Union necessary for preventing and combating terrorism and its financing, subject to strict compliance with safeguards on privacy and the protection of personal data.

               (3)

               The Agreement should be signed, subject to its conclusion at a later date.

               (4)

               The Agreement provides for its provisional application as from 1 February 2010. Member States should therefore give effect to its provisions as from that date in conformity with existing domestic law. A declaration to that effect will be made at the time of signature of the Agreement,

         HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS:
   Article 1
   The signing of the Agreement between the European Union and the United States of America on the processing and transfer of Financial Messaging Data from the European Union to the United States for purposes of the Terrorist Finance Tracking Program, is hereby approved on behalf of the European Union, subject to the conclusion of the said Agreement.
   The text of the Agreement is attached to this Decision.
   Article 2
   The President of the Council is hereby authorised to designate the person(s) empowered to sign the Agreement on behalf of the European Union, subject to its conclusion.
   Article 3
   In accordance with Article 15 of the Agreement, the provisions of the Agreement shall be applied on a provisional basis in conformity with existing domestic law as from 1 February 2010, pending its entry into force. The annexed Declaration on provisional application is to be made at the time of signature.

      Done at Brussels, 30 November 2009.

            For the Council

            The President

         B. ASK

   ANNEX

      Declaration to be made on behalf of the European Union at the time of the signing of the Agreement between the European Union and the United States of America on the processing and transfer of Financial Messaging Data from the European Union to the United States for purposes of the Terrorist Finance Tracking Program

         ‘This Agreement, while not derogating from or amending the legislation of the European Union or its Member States, will, pending its entry into force, be implemented provisionally by the Member States in good faith, in the framework of their existing national laws.’

    ---documentbreak---

               13.1.2010

               EN

               Official Journal of the European Union

               L 8/9

         AGREEMENT
   between the European Union and the United States of America on the processing and transfer of Financial Messaging Data from the European Union to the United States for purposes of the Terrorist Finance Tracking Program
   THE EUROPEAN UNION,
   of the one part, and
   THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
   of the other part,
   Together hereinafter referred to as ‘the Parties’,
   DESIRING to prevent and combat terrorism and its financing, in particular by mutual sharing of information, as a means of protecting their respective democratic societies and common values, rights, and freedoms;
   SEEKING to enhance and encourage cooperation between the Parties in the spirit of transatlantic partnership;
   RECALLING the United Nations conventions for combating terrorism and its financing, and relevant resolutions of the United Nations Security Council in the field of fighting terrorism, in particular United Nations Security Council Resolution 1373 (2001);
   RECOGNISING that the United States Department of the Treasury’s (U.S. Treasury Department) Terrorist Finance Tracking Program (TFTP) has been instrumental in identifying and capturing terrorists and their financiers and has generated many leads that have been disseminated for counter terrorism purposes to competent authorities around the world, with particular value for European Union Member States (Member States);
   NOTING the importance of the TFTP in preventing and combating terrorism and its financing in the European Union and elsewhere, and the important role of the European Union in ensuring that designated providers of international financial payment messaging services make available financial payment messaging data stored in the territory of the European Union which are necessary for preventing and combating terrorism and its financing, subject to strict compliance with safeguards on privacy and the protection of personal data;
   MINDFUL of Article 6(2) of the Treaty on European Union on respect for fundamental rights, the principles of proportionality and necessity concerning the right to respect for privacy and the protection of personal data under Article 8(2) of the European Convention on the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, the Council of Europe Convention No 108 for the Protection of Individuals with regard to Automatic Processing of Personal Data, and Articles 7 and 8 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union;
   STRESSING the common values governing privacy and the protection of personal data in the European Union and the United States of America (United States), including the importance which both Parties assign to due process and the right to seek effective remedies for improper government action;
   NOTING the rigorous controls and safeguards utilised by the U.S. Treasury Department for the handling, use, and dissemination of financial payment messaging data pursuant to the TFTP, as described in the representations of the U.S. Treasury Department published in the Official Journal of the European Union on 20 July 2007 and the Federal Register of the United States on 23 October 2007, which reflect the ongoing cooperation between the United States and the European Union in the fight against global terrorism;
   RECALLING that, to guarantee effective exercise of their rights, any person irrespective of nationality is able to lodge a complaint before an independent data protection authority, other similar authority, independent and impartial court or tribunal, to seek effective remedies;
   MINDFUL that appropriate administrative or judicial redress is available under U.S. law for mishandling of personal data, including under the Administrative Procedure Act of 1946 (5 U.S.C. 701 et seq.), the Inspector General Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.), the Implementing Recommendations of the 9/11 Commission Act of 2007 (42 U.S.C. 2000ee et seq.), the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (18 U.S.C. 1030), and the Freedom of Information Act (5 U.S.C. 552), as amended, among others;
   RECALLING that by law within the European Union customers of financial institutions and of providers of financial payment messaging services are informed that personal data contained in financial transaction records may be transferred to Member States’ or third countries’ public authorities for law enforcement purposes;
   AFFIRMING that this Agreement does not constitute a precedent for any future arrangements between the United States and the European Union, or between either of the Parties and any State, regarding the processing and transfer of financial payment messaging data or any other form of data, or regarding data protection;
   RECOGNISING that this Agreement does not derogate from the existing powers of data protection authorities in Member States to protect individuals with regard to the processing of their personal data; and
   FURTHER AFFIRMING that this Agreement is without prejudice to other law enforcement or information sharing agreements or arrangements between the Parties or between the United States and Member States,
   HAVE AGREED AS FOLLOWS:
   Article 1
   Purpose of Agreement
   1.   The purpose of this Agreement is to ensure, with full respect for the privacy, protection of personal data, and other conditions set out in this Agreement, that:

               (a)

               financial payment messaging and related data stored in the territory of the European Union by providers of international financial payment messaging services, that are jointly designated pursuant to this Agreement, are made available upon request by the U.S. Treasury Department for the purpose of the prevention, investigation, detection, or prosecution of terrorism or terrorist financing; and

               (b)

               relevant information obtained through the TFTP is made available to law enforcement, public security, or counter terrorism authorities of Member States, or Europol or Eurojust, for the purpose of the prevention, investigation, detection, or prosecution of terrorism or terrorist financing.

         2.   The United States, the European Union, and its Member States shall take all necessary and appropriate measures within their authority to carry out the provisions and achieve the purpose of this Agreement.
   Article 2
   Scope of Application
   Conduct Pertaining to Terrorism or Terrorist Financing
   This Agreement applies to the obtaining and use of financial payment messaging and related data with a view to the prevention, investigation, detection, or prosecution of:

               (a)

               Acts of a person or entity that involve violence, or are otherwise dangerous to human life or create a risk of damage to property or infrastructure, and which, given their nature and context, are reasonably believed to be committed with the aim of:

                           (i)

                           intimidating or coercing a population;

                           (ii)

                           intimidating, compelling, or coercing a government or international organisation to act or abstain from acting; or

                           (iii)

                           seriously destabilising or destroying the fundamental political, constitutional, economic, or social structures of a country or an international organisation;

               (b)

               A person or entity assisting, sponsoring, or providing financial, material, or technological support for, or financial or other services to or in support of, acts described in subparagraph (a); or

               (c)

               A person or entity aiding, abetting, or attempting acts described in subparagraphs (a) or (b).

         Article 3
   Ensuring Provision of Data by Designated Providers
   The European Union shall ensure, in accordance with this Agreement, that entities jointly designated by the Parties under this Agreement as providers of international financial payment messaging services (Designated Providers) make available to the U.S. Treasury Department requested financial payment messaging and related data for the purpose of the prevention, investigation, detection, or prosecution of terrorism or terrorist financing (Provided Data).
   Article 4
   U.S. Requests to Obtain Data from Designated Providers
   1.   Pursuant to Article 8 of the Agreement on Mutual Legal Assistance between the European Union and the United States of America, signed at Washington on 25 June 2003, and the related bilateral mutual legal assistance instrument between the United States and the Member State in which the Designated Provider is either based or where it stores the requested data, the U.S. Treasury Department shall issue a request based on an ongoing investigation concerning a specific conduct referred to in Article 2 that has been committed or where there is, based on pre-existing information or evidence, a reason to believe that it could be committed. For this purpose, the U.S. Treasury Department shall be deemed to be an administrative authority to which assistance is available.
   2.   The request shall identify as clearly as possible data stored by a Designated Provider in the territory of the European Union that are necessary to this end. Data may include identifying information about the originator and/or recipient of the transaction, including name, account number, address, national identification number, and other personal data related to financial messages.
   The request shall substantiate the necessity for the data and shall be tailored as narrowly as possible in order to minimise the amount of data requested, taking due account of geographic, threat and vulnerability analyses.
   3.   The request shall be transmitted by the U.S. Department of Justice to the central authority of the Member State either in which the Designated Provider is based or where it stores the requested data.
   4.   The United States shall simultaneously transmit a copy of the request to the central authority of the other Member State. The United States shall also simultaneously transmit a copy of the request to the national members of Eurojust of those Member States.
   5.   On receipt of the substantiated request in accordance with paragraph 2, the central authority of the requested Member State shall verify that the request accords with this Agreement and the applicable requirements of the bilateral mutual legal assistance agreement. Where the central authority has so verified, the request shall be transmitted to the competent authority for its execution under the law of the requested Member State.
   If the request has been transmitted to the central authority of the Member State in which the Designated Provider is based, the Member State where the data are stored shall give assistance to the execution of the request.
   The requested measure shall be executed as a matter of urgency.
   6.   If the Designated Provider is not able to identify and produce the specific data that would respond to the request because of technical reasons, all potentially relevant data shall be transmitted in bulk, subject to Article 5(2), to the competent authority of the requested Member State.
   7.   The data shall be transferred between the designated authorities of the requested Member State and of the United States.
   8.   The European Union shall ensure that Designated Providers keep a detailed log of all data transmitted to the competent authority of the requested Member State for the purpose of this Agreement.
   9.   The data that have been transmitted lawfully on the basis of this provision may be searched for the purpose of other investigations concerning the types of conduct referred to in Article 2, with full respect for Article 5 of this Agreement.
   Article 5
   Safeguards Applicable to the Processing of Provided Data
   1.   The U.S. Treasury Department shall ensure that Provided Data are processed in accordance with the provisions of this Agreement.
   2.   The TFTP does not and shall not involve data mining or any other type of algorithmic or automated profiling or computer filtering. The U.S. Treasury Department shall ensure the protection of personal data by means of the following safeguards, which shall be applied without discrimination, in particular on the basis of nationality or country of residence:

               (a)

               Provided Data shall be processed exclusively for the prevention, investigation, detection, or prosecution of terrorism or its financing;

               (b)

               All searches of Provided Data shall be based upon pre-existing information or evidence which demonstrates a reason to believe that the subject of the search has a nexus to terrorism or its financing;

               (c)

               Each individual TFTP search of Provided Data shall be narrowly tailored, shall demonstrate a reason to believe that the subject of the search has a nexus to terrorism or its financing, and shall be logged, including such nexus to terrorism or its financing required to initiate the search;

               (d)

               Provided Data shall be maintained in a secure physical environment, stored separately from any other data, with high-level systems and physical intrusion controls to prevent unauthorised access to the data;

               (e)

               Access to Provided Data shall be limited to analysts investigating terrorism or its financing and to persons involved in the technical support, management, and oversight of the TFTP;

               (f)

               No copies of Provided Data shall be made, other than for disaster recovery back-up purposes;

               (g)

               Provided Data shall not be subject to any manipulation, alteration, or addition and shall not be interconnected with any other database;

               (h)

               Only terrorist leads obtained through the TFTP under this Agreement shall be shared with law enforcement, public security, or counter terrorism authorities in the United States, European Union, or third States to be used for the purpose of the investigation, detection, prevention, or prosecution of terrorism or its financing;

               (i)

               During the term of this Agreement, the U.S. Treasury Department shall undertake a review to identify all non-extracted data that are no longer necessary to combat terrorism or its financing. Where such data are identified, procedures to delete those data shall commence within two (2) months of the date that they are so identified and shall be completed as soon as possible thereafter but in any event not later than eight (8) months after identification, absent extraordinary technological circumstances;

               (j)

               If it transpires that financial payment messaging data were transmitted which were not requested, the U.S. Treasury Department shall promptly and permanently delete such data and shall inform the relevant Designated Provider and central authority of the requested Member State;

               (k)

               Subject to subparagraph (i), all non-extracted data received prior to 20 July 2007 shall be deleted not later than five (5) years after that date;

               (l)

               Subject to subparagraph (i), all non-extracted data received on or after 20 July 2007 shall be deleted not later than five (5) years from receipt; and

               (m)

               Information extracted from Provided Data, including information shared under subparagraph (h), shall be subject to the retention period applicable to the particular government authority according to its particular regulations and record retention schedules.

         Article 6
   Adequacy
   Subject to ongoing compliance with the commitments on privacy and protection of personal data set out in this Agreement, the U.S. Treasury Department is deemed to ensure an adequate level of data protection for the processing of financial payment messaging and related data transferred from the European Union to the United States for purposes of this Agreement.
   Article 7
   Spontaneous Provision of Information
   1.   The U.S. Treasury Department shall ensure the availability, as soon as practicable, to law enforcement, public security, or counter terrorism authorities of concerned Member States, and, as appropriate, to Europol within the remit of its mandate, of information obtained through the TFTP that may contribute to the investigation, prevention, detection, or prosecution in the European Union of terrorism or its financing. Any follow-on information that may contribute to the investigation, prevention, detection, or prosecution in the United States of terrorism or its financing shall be conveyed back to the United States on a reciprocal basis.
   2.   In order to facilitate the efficient exchange of information, Europol may designate a liaison officer to the U.S. Treasury Department. The modalities of the liaison officer’s status and tasks shall be decided jointly by the Parties.
   Article 8
   EU Requests for TFTP Searches
   Where a law enforcement, public security, or counter terrorism authority of a Member State, or Europol or Eurojust, determines that there is reason to believe that a person or entity has a nexus to terrorism as defined in Articles 1 to 4 of Council Framework Decision 2002/475/JHA as amended by Council Framework Decision 2008/919/JHA, such authority may request a search for relevant information obtained through the TFTP. The U.S. Treasury Department shall promptly conduct a search in accordance with Article 5 and provide relevant information in response to such requests.
   Article 9
   Cooperation with Future Equivalent EU System
   In the event that an EU system equivalent to the U.S. TFTP is implemented in the European Union or in one or more of its Member States that requires financial payment messaging data stored in the United States to be made available in the European Union, the U.S. Treasury Department shall actively pursue, on the basis of reciprocity and appropriate safeguards, the cooperation of any relevant international financial payment messaging service providers which are based in the territory of the United States.
   Article 10
   Joint Review
   1.   The Parties shall jointly review, at the request of one of the Parties and at any event after a period of six (6) months, the implementation of this Agreement with particular regard to verifying the privacy, protection of personal data, and reciprocity provisions set out in this Agreement. The review shall include a proportionality assessment of the Provided Data, based on the value of such data for the investigation, prevention, detection, or prosecution of terrorism or its financing.
   2.   In the review, the European Union shall be represented by the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, the European Commission, and two representatives of data protection authorities from Member States, at least one of which shall be from a Member State where a Designated Provider is based. The United States shall be represented by the U.S. Treasury Department.
   3.   For purposes of the review, the U.S. Treasury Department shall ensure access to relevant documentation, systems, and personnel, as well as precise data relating to the number of financial payment messages accessed and the number of occasions on which leads have been shared. The Parties shall jointly determine the modalities of the review.
   Article 11
   Redress
   1.   Any person has the right to obtain, following requests made at reasonable intervals, without constraint and without excessive delay or expense, confirmation from his or her data protection authority whether all necessary verifications have taken place within the European Union to ensure that his or her data protection rights have been respected in compliance with this Agreement, and, in particular, whether any processing of his or her personal data has taken place in breach of this Agreement. Such right may be subject to necessary and proportionate measures applicable under national law, including for the protection of public security or national security or to avoid prejudicing the prevention, detection, investigation, or prosecution of criminal offences, with due regard for the legitimate interest of the person concerned.
   2.   The Parties shall take all reasonable steps to ensure that the U.S. Treasury Department and any relevant Member State promptly inform one another, and consult with one another and the Parties, if necessary, where they consider that personal data have been processed in breach of this Agreement.
   3.   Any person who considers his or her personal data to have been processed in breach of this Agreement is entitled to seek effective administrative and judicial redress in accordance with the laws of the European Union, its Member States, and the United States, respectively.
   Article 12
   Consultation
   1.   The Parties shall, as appropriate, consult to enable the most effective use to be made of this Agreement, including to facilitate the resolution of any dispute regarding the interpretation or application of this Agreement.
   2.   The Parties shall take measures to avoid the imposition of extraordinary burdens on one another through application of this Agreement. Where extraordinary burdens nonetheless result, the Parties shall immediately consult with a view to facilitating the application of this Agreement, including the taking of such measures as may be required to reduce pending and future burdens.
   3.   The Parties shall immediately consult in the event that any third party, including an authority of another country, challenges or asserts a legal claim with respect to any aspect of the effect or implementation of this Agreement.
   Article 13
   Non-derogation
   This Agreement is not intended to derogate from or amend the laws of the United States or the European Union or its Member States. This Agreement does not create or confer any right or benefit on any other person or entity, private or public.
   Article 14
   Termination
   1.   Either party may suspend or terminate this Agreement at any time by notification through diplomatic channels. Suspension shall take effect 10 days from the date of receipt of such notification. Termination shall take effect 30 days from the date of receipt of such notification.
   2.   Notwithstanding the suspension or termination of this Agreement, all data held by the U.S. Treasury Department pursuant to this Agreement shall continue to be processed in accordance with this Agreement.
   Article 15
   Final Provisions
   1.   This Agreement shall enter into force on the first day of the month after the date on which the Parties have exchanged notifications indicating that they have completed their internal procedures for this purpose.
   2.   This Agreement shall apply provisionally from 1 February 2010, until its entry into force, subject to paragraph 3.
   3.   Unless previously terminated in accordance with Article 14 or by agreement of the Parties, this Agreement shall expire and cease to have effect on 31 October 2010.
   4.   As soon as the Treaty of Lisbon enters into force, the Parties shall endeavour to conclude a long-term agreement to succeed this Agreement.
   5.   Done at Brussels this day 30 of November 2009, in two originals, in the English language. This Agreement shall also be drawn up in the Bulgarian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Estonian, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hungarian, Italian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Maltese, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Slovak, Slovenian, Spanish, and Swedish languages. Upon approval by both Parties, these language versions shall be considered equally authentic.


title: Decision of the Standing Committee of the EFTA States No 5/2008/SC of 4 December 2008 amending the Decisions of the Standing Committee No 5/2004/SC and No 1/2007/SC establishing a principle of cost sharing for the EEA Financial Mechanism

text:
               12.3.2009

               EN

               Official Journal of the European Union

               L 67/93

      DECISION OF THE STANDING COMMITTEE OF THE EFTA STATES

   No 5/2008/SC
   of 4 December 2008
   amending the Decisions of the Standing Committee No 5/2004/SC and No 1/2007/SC establishing a principle of cost sharing for the EEA Financial Mechanism
   THE STANDING COMMITTEE OF THE EFTA STATES,
   Having regard to the Agreement on the European Economic Area as adjusted by the Protocol Adjusting the Agreement on the European Economic Area, hereinafter referred to as the EEA Agreement,
   Having regard to Protocol 38a on the EEA Financial Mechanism inserted into the EEA Agreement by the Agreement on the participation of the Czech Republic, the Republic of Estonia, the Republic of Cyprus, the Republic of Latvia, the Republic of Lithuania, the Republic of Hungary, the Republic of Malta, the Republic of Poland, the Republic of Slovenia, and the Slovak Republic in the European Economic Area, and amended by the Agreement on the participation of Bulgaria and Romania in the European Economic Area,
   Having regard to the Decision of the Standing Committee of the EFTA States No 5/2004/SC of 23 September 2004 establishing a principle of cost sharing for the EEA Financial Mechanism,
   Having regard to the fact that Liechtenstein now is in the position to produce its own official data on Gross Domestic Product (GDP), however with a delay of normally two years,
   Having regard to the Recommendations of the Heads of National Statistical Institutes of 24 April 2008,
   HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS:
   Article 1
   The text of Article 1 of the Decision of the Standing Committee No 1/2007/SC amending the Decision of the Standing Committee No 5/2004/SC establishing a principle of cost sharing for the EEA Financial Mechanism, shall be replaced by the following:

      ‘Paragraphs 6 and 7 of the Annex to the Decision of the Standing Committee No 5/2004/SC establishing a principle of cost sharing for the EEA Financial Mechanism shall be replaced by the following:

                     “6.

                     The GDP data on which the contributions for a specific year t are to be based, shall be delivered by 1 February of the same year and shall relate to the year t-2. When GDP data for the year t-2 is not available, for Liechtenstein a proxy based on the latest GDP data available (t-4) adjusted by the growth rate of the Swiss GDP for t-3 and t-2 shall be used. This method is subject to a review within three years.” ’

   Article 2
   This Decision shall take immediate effect and apply to the fifth/last tranche (2008/2009).
   Article 3
   This Decision shall be published in the EEA Section of, and in the EEA Supplement to, the Official Journal of the European Union.

      Done at Brussels, 4 December 2008.

            For the Standing Committee

            The Chairman

         H.S.H. Prinz Nikolaus von LIECHTENSTEIN

            The Secretary-General

         Kåre BRYN


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32003D0714

2003/714/EC: Council Decision of 2 October 2003 appointing a member of the Committee of the Regions

Official Journal L 260 , 11/10/2003 P. 0013 - 0013

Council Decisionof 2 October 2003appointing a member of the Committee of the Regions(2003/714/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 proposal from the Spanish Government,Whereas:(1) On 22 January 2002 the Council adopted a Decision appointing the members and alternate members of the Committee of the Regions(1).(2) The seat of a member of the Committee of the Regions has become vacant following the expiry of the term of office of Mr Francesc ANTICH I OLIVER, of which the Council was notified on 19 September 2003,HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS:Sole ArticleMr Jaume MATAS I PALOU, Presidente - Gobierno Balear, is hereby appointed a member of the Committee of the Regions in place of Mr Francesc ANTICH I OLIVER for the remainder of his term of office, which ends on 25 January 2006.Done at Brussels, 2 October 2003.For the CouncilThe PresidentG. Pisanu(1) OJ L 24, 26.1.2002, p. 38.


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31994D0745

94/745/EC: Council Decision of 10 November 1994 on the conclusion of the Agreement in the form of an Exchange of Letters concerning the provisional application of the Protocol establishing for the period 20 July 1994 to 19 July 1997 the fishing opportunities and financial consideration provided for in the Agreement between the European Economic Community and the Islamic Federal Republic of the Comoros on fishing off the Comoros

Official Journal L 297 , 18/11/1994 P. 0035 - 0035 Finnish special edition: Chapter 4 Volume 6 P. 0146  Swedish special edition: Chapter 4 Volume 6 P. 0146

COUNCIL DECISION of 10 November 1994 on the conclusion of the Agreement in the form of an exchange of letters concerning the provisional application of the Protocol establishing for the period 20 July 1994 to 19 July 1997 the fishing opportunities  and financial consideration provided for in the Agreement between the European Economic Community and the Islamic Federal Republic of the Comoros on fishing off the Comoros (94/745/EC)THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,  Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,  Having regard to the Agreement between the European Economic Community and the Islamic Federal Republic of the Comoros on fishing off the Comoros (1),  Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,  Whereas the Community and the Islamic Federal Republic of the Comoros have held negotiations with a view to determining amendments or additions to be made to the Agreement at the end of the period of application of the Protocol annexed thereto;  Whereas, as a result of those negotiations, a new Protocol was initialled on 18 July 1994;  Whereas, under that Protocol, Community fishermen enjoy fishing opportunities in the waters falling within the sovereignty or jurisdiction of the Islamic Federal Republic of the Comoros for the period 20 July 1994 to 19 July 1997;  Whereas, in order to avoid interruption of fishing activities by Community vessels, it is essential that the said Protocol be approved as quickly as possible; whereas both Contracting Parties have therefore initialled an Agreement in the form of an  exchange of letters providing for the provisional application of the initialled Protocol from the day following the date of expiry of the Protocol previously in force; whereas the Agreement in the form of an exchange of letters should be approved  subject to a definitive decision pursuant to Article 43 of the Treaty,  HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS:   Article 1  The Agreement in the form of an exchange of letters concerning the provisional application of the Protocol setting out for the period 20 July 1994 to 19 July 1997 the fishing opportunities and financial consideration provided for in the  Agreement between the European Economic Community and the Islamic Federal Republic of the Comoros on fishing off the Comoros is hereby approved on behalf of the Community.  The text of the Agreement is attached to this Decision.   Article 2  The President of the Council is hereby authorized to designate the persons empowered to sign the Agreement in order to bind the Community.  Done at Brussels, 10 November 1994.  For the Council The President U. SEILER-ALBRING  (1) OJ No L 137, 2. 6. 1988, p. 19.


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31960D1027(01)

EEC Council: Decision setting up a Policy Coordination Group or Credit Insurance, Credit Guarantees and Financial Credits

Official Journal 066 , 27/10/1960 P. 1339 - 1340 Danish special edition: Series I Chapter 1959-1962 P. 0063  English special edition: Series I Chapter 1959-1962 P. 0067  Greek special edition: Chapter 11 Volume 1 P. 0021  Spanish special edition: Chapter 11 Volume 1 P. 0005  Portuguese special edition Chapter 11 Volume 1 P. 0005  Finnish special edition: Chapter 11 Volume 1 P. 0007  Swedish special edition: Chapter 11 Volume 1 P. 0007

COUNCIL DECISION setting up a Policy Co-ordination Group for Credit Insurance, Credit Guarantees and Financial Credits  THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC COMMUNITY,  Having regard to the proposal from the Commission;  Whereas credit is of primary importance in international trade ; whereas credit facilities constitute one of the principal means by which developing countries may become equipped more rapidly and trade between those countries and Member States increased:  Whereas measures taken by Member States in matters of export-credit insurance and export credit may form part of systems of State aid or alternatively they may be connected with such systems, which in pursuance of Article 112 of the Treaty are to be progressively harmonised before the end of the transitional period to the extent necessary to ensure that competition between undertakings of the Community is not distorted;  Whereas it is therefore desirable to lay down, as regards problems relating to export-credit insurance and credit granted to developing countries, a procedure for consultation and co-operation between the Member States and the Commission, with a view to formulating common principles and to facilitating the preparation of concrete proposals or solutions;  HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:       1. In order to promote active co-operation within the European Economic Community and to prepare common solutions for the special problems of export-credit insurance and credit policy towards developing countries and in order to facilitate the economic developing of such countries, a Policy Co-ordination Group for Credit Insurance, Credit Guarantees and Financial Credits is hereby set up.       2. It shall be the task of the Group:      (a) to put forward suggestions for the harmonisation between Member States, where this is within their competence, of terms and conditions for export-credit insurance, financial credits and investment guarantees, having due regard in the case of export-credit insurance to the rules of the Berne Union and to the work carried out by bodies set up by Member States in this field;           (b) to seek appropriate means to further multilateral use of the financial resources made available to developing countries;           (c) to promote exchange of information and to encourage consultation on all concrete problems coming within its competence;           (d) to put forward suggestions within its competence with a view to co-ordinating the positions of the Member States or their specialised bodies within international organisations.                  3. The Committee shall consist of a very limited number of representatives from each Member State and from the Commission holding positions of responsibility relating specifically to the aforementioned matters. Each representative may be replaced by an alternate, whose appointment shall be subject to the same conditions.  Representatives may call on experts to join in the study of particular points.  Secretarial services shall be provided for the Group by the Secretariat of the Council.       4. The Group shall invite representatives of the European Investment Bank to take part in its work.       5. The Group may, as it seems necessary, invite to its meetings and hear the views of any expert or representative of any appropriate professional or trade organisation.       6. The Group shall periodically report to the competent authorities. It shall adopt its own rules of procedure.          Done at Brussels, 27 September 1960.  For the Council  The President  Dr. H.R. van HOUTEN