title: 2013/584/EU: Decision of the European Parliament of 17 April 2013 on discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the European Medicines Agency for the financial year 2011

text:
               16.11.2013

               EN

               Official Journal of the European Union

               L 308/254

      DECISION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT

   of 17 April 2013
   on discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the European Medicines Agency for the financial year 2011
   (2013/584/EU)
   THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT,

               —

               having regard to the final annual accounts of the European Medicines Agency for the financial year 2011,

               —

               having regard to the Court of Auditors’ report on the annual accounts of the European Medicines Agency for the financial year 2011, together with the Agency’s replies (1),

               —

               having regard to the Council’s recommendation of 12 February 2013 (05753/2013 – C7-0041/2013),

               —

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

               —

               having regard to Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002 of 25 June 2002 on the Financial Regulation applicable to the general budget of the European Communities (2), and in particular Article 185 thereof,

               —

               having regard to Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 October 2012 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union and repealing Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002 (3), and in particular Article 208 thereof,

               —

               having regard to Regulation (EC) No 726/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council (4) establishing a European Medicines Agency, and in particular Article 68 thereof,

               —

               having regard to Commission Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 2343/2002 of 19 November 2002 on the framework Financial Regulation for the bodies referred to in Article 185 of Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002 on the Financial Regulation applicable to the general budget of the European Communities (5), and in particular Article 94 thereof,

               —

               having regard to Rule 77 of, and Annex VI to, its Rules of Procedure,

               —

               having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control and the opinion of the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (A7-0098/2013),

               1.

               Grants the Executive Director of the European Medicines Agency discharge in respect of the implementation of the Agency’s budget for the financial year 2011;

               2.

               Sets out its observations in the resolution below;

               3.

               Instructs its President to forward this Decision and the resolution that forms an integral part of it to the Executive Director of the European Medicines Agency, the Council, the Commission and the Court of Auditors, and to arrange for their publication in the Official Journal of the European Union (L series).

            The President

         Martin SCHULZ

            The Secretary-General

         Klaus WELLE

      (1)  OJ C 388, 15.12.2012, p. 116.

      (2)  OJ L 248, 16.9.2002, p. 1.

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

      (4)  OJ L 136, 30.4.2004, p. 1.

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

         RESOLUTION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT

      of 17 April 2013
      with observations forming an integral part of its Decision on discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the European Medicines Agency for the financial year 2011
      THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT,

                  —

                  having regard to the final annual accounts of the European Medicines Agency for the financial year 2011,

                  —

                  having regard to the Court of Auditors’ report on the annual accounts of the European Medicines Agency for the financial year 2011, together with the Agency’s replies (1),

                  —

                  having regard to the Council’s recommendation of 12 February 2013 (05753/2013 – C7-0041/2013),

                  —

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

                  —

                  having regard to Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002 of 25 June 2002 on the Financial Regulation applicable to the general budget of the European Communities (2), and in particular Article 185 thereof,

                  —

                  having regard to Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 October 2012 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union and repealing Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002 (3), and in particular Article 208 thereof,

                  —

                  having regard to Regulation (EC) No 726/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council (4) establishing a European Medicines Agency, and in particular Article 68 thereof,

                  —

                  having regard to Commission Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 2343/2002 of 19 November 2002 on the framework Financial Regulation for the bodies referred to in Article 185 of Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002 on the Financial Regulation applicable to the general budget of the European Communities (5), and in particular Article 94 thereof,

                  —

                  having regard to Rule 77 of, and Annex VI to, its Rules of Procedure,

                  —

                  having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control and the opinion of the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (A7-0098/2013),

                  A.

                  whereas the Court of Auditors stated that it has obtained reasonable assurances that the annual accounts of the European Medicines Agency (‘the Agency’) for the financial year 2011 are reliable and that the underlying transactions are legal and regular,

                  B.

                  whereas on 23 October 2012, Parliament granted the Executive Director of the Agency discharge for the implementation of its budget for the financial year 2010 (6), and in its resolution accompanying the discharge, inter alia:

                              —

                              called on the Agency to inform the discharge authority about the timeframe and outcomes for the remaining 46 % of the screening process concerning declarations of interest of its experts and committee members who have been actively involved in the Agency’s activities between 1 January and 31 May 2012 against their curriculum vitae by the start of the next discharge procedure,

                              —

                              asked the Agency to provide the discharge authority with a precise timetable for the implementation of a new ex ante and ex post system for declarations of interest, notably by means of random comparison with curriculum vitae and information furnished by experts at national level,

                              —

                              called on the Agency to introduce a special section describing the actions taken to prevent and manage conflict of interest in each of its future annual activity reports (AARs), which should include, inter alia:

                                          —

                                          the number of alleged conflict of interest cases verified,

                                          —

                                          the number of revolving door cases,

                                          —

                                          the measures taken in each category of cases,

                                          —

                                          the number of breach of trust procedures launched and their outcomes,

                                          —

                                          the sanctions applied,

                              —

                              requested the Agency to inform the discharge authority of the detailed measures taken,

                  C.

                  whereas the Agency’s budget for 2011 was EUR 208 863 000, which represents a nominal increase of 0,22 % over the financial year 2010,

                  D.

                  whereas the overall contribution of the Union to the Agency’s budget for 2011 was EUR 39 765 191,39, compared to EUR 36 755 652,07 in 2010,

         Follow-up of 2010 discharge

                  1.

                  Acknowledges from the Agency that as regards an ex post check of the declarations of interest of its experts and committee members, a representative sample of the remaining 46 % of the experts will be included in the ex post check currently being performed; notes that a new, more thorough check is being developed as a result of lessons learned from the ex post control check performed in the context of the 2010 discharge; takes note of the timetable as communicated by the Agency and awaits to be duly informed on the outcome of the check;

                  2.

                  Notes with satisfaction that a special section describing the actions taken to prevent and manage conflicts of interest is to be introduced in each of the Agency’s AARs, starting with the 2012 AAR;

         Budgetary and financial management

                  3.

                  Recalls that the total Union contributions amounted to EUR 39 765 191,39 for 2011, which represents an 8,65 % increase compared to the previous year;

                  4.

                  Acknowledges that the Agency’s budget is financed by both the Union budget and fees paid by the pharmaceutical industry when applying for, obtaining or maintaining Union marketing authorisations; finds from the annual accounts that in 2011, 77,7 % of the Agency’s revenue is estimated to have derived from the fee revenue, which continues to increase year on year, the relative percentage income from the Union contribution 18,3 % in 2011 (18,8 % in 2010, or 14 % if the recovery of surplus was deduced from the total Union contribution);

                  5.

                  Observes that in terms of committed and paid appropriations, the Agency’s execution rate stands at 95,21 % and 81,97 % respectively, compared with 95,65 % and 79,10 % in 2010; calls on the Agency to continue its efforts to improve its execution rate of payment;

                  6.

                  Notes with concern that as in its previous reports, the Court of Auditors has noted the need to introduce a system of remuneration for services provided by Member States authorities, based on their real costs; regrets that no progress has been made on this issue since 2009, when a proposal for a new payment system was presented to the Management Board but no agreement was reached; notes that the Agency will present a new proposal for a new payment system to the Management Board in March 2013; acknowledges the efforts made by the Agency’s executives to encourage a decision by the Management Board to revise the system of remuneration of Member States services based on real costs; is fully aware of the fact that the little progress made is due to the lack of decision taken by the Management Board; welcomes, therefore, the approach by the Agency’s administration to call upon the Commission for further assistance in this matter; urges the Agency to inform the discharge authority about the developments on this issue, inter alia, on the state of play as regards the new action plan and the Management Board’s position on it;

         Carry-over appropriations

                  7.

                  Is concerned that once again, the Court of Auditors reported that payment appropriations for Title II (‘Administrative expenditure’) amounting to EUR 9 600 000 have been carried over to 2012, representing 29 % of the Title II budget, as well as payment appropriations amounting to EUR 10 300 000 for Title III (‘Operational expenditure’), representing 34 % of the Title III budget; believes the level of carry-over to be excessive and at odds with the principle of annuality;

                  8.

                  Notes with concern the difference between the Court of Auditors’ conclusion and the Agency’s reply as regards the framework contract for Information Technology (IT) services concluded in 2009, for which the Court had qualified its opinion on the legality and regularity of the transactions underlying the Agency’s 2009 accounts; notes that the Court of Auditors considers the increase of the original contract ceiling to be irregular, while the Agency considers that the IT framework contract was not irregular, and therefore does not consider its extension as irregular either; urges the Agency to provide further information on the matter and to take steps in order to resolve the contradiction;

         Procurement procedures

                  9.

                  Acknowledges from the Court of Auditors that there is scope for improving the transparency of procurement procedures as regards the justification of the estimated contract volumes and the definition, publication and application of selection criteria; notes with satisfaction that the Agency has taken note of the Court of Auditors’ comments and updated its procedures with a view to transparency and documentation;

         Recruitment procedures

                  10.

                  Notes that in 2011, the Agency advertised 15 vacancies for temporary agent positions and that at year-end, the total number of staff at the Agency increased from 656 to 689;

                  11.

                  Acknowledges from the Court of Auditors the need to improve the transparency of staff selection procedures; notes with concern that Selection Board members did not always complete their conflict of interest declarations or did not do so in a timely manner and there was no evidence of any action taken to address the issues raised by those declarations; regrets that the documentation of the Selection Board’s proceedings was not always adequate and that there is no evidence as to how the method for the short-listing of candidates was established and that the questions for the written tests or interviews were set before the examinations;

                  12.

                  Notes from the Agency that it has taken note of the Court of Auditors’ comments and updated its procedures with a view to transparency and timely documentation; considers that some of the provisions of the Staff Regulations may present a considerable administrative burden; therefore encourages the Commission to allow for a certain degree of simplification under Article 110 of the Staff Regulations in regard to the agencies;

         Conflict of interest

                  13.

                  Welcomes the fact that the Court of Auditors carried out an audit to evaluate the policies and procedures for the management of conflict of interest situations for four European agencies, including the European Medicines Agency, and presented its results in its Special Report 15/2012;

                  14.

                  Notes that according to the findings of the Court of Auditors, at the time of completion of the field work (October 2011), the Agency did not adequately manage conflict of interest situations but has developed one of the most advanced policies and procedure for declaring, assessing and managing conflicts of interest;

                  15.

                  Welcomes the fact that the Agency has taken a number of steps following the discharge authority’s recommendations for 2010, the Court of Auditors’ audit and the publication of Special Report 15/2012, in particular:

                              —

                              the policy on the handling of conflicts of interests of members and experts of scientific committees, an already revised system which came into effect on 29 September 2011, was further revised in 2012 (mainly to give clearer guidance) and became effective on 3 April 2012,

                              —

                              compulsory screening of the declared conflicts of interests of scientific committees’ members was introduced on 29 September 2011; the possibility, moreover, of pre-screening any expert prior to the formal Agency’s evaluation for involvement in its activities is offered to all nominating authorities,

                              —

                              a revised policy on the handling of conflicts of interests of the Management Board (in line with the policy for scientific committees’ members/experts) came into effect on 3 April 2012,

                              —

                              breach of trust procedures were developed for both scientific committees’ members/experts (which came into effect on 3 April 2012) and Management Board members (which came into effect on 7 June 2012),

                              —

                              as regards transparency, the recording of declared interests has been further fine-tuned in so far as all restricted involvements put in place vis-à-vis the agenda points of the meeting are now recorded (undertaken before December 2012);

                  16.

                  Urges the Agency to continue implementing the Court of Auditors’ recommendations in order to avoid any conflict of interest in its various structures of governance and operation, and to report to the discharge authority on a six months basis on the implementation of the abovementioned policies and procedures, as well as on any further developments regarding management of conflict of interest;

                  17.

                  Calls on the agency to start a structured dialogue with civil society on matters relating to conflicts of interest, to invite the organisations concerned at least twice a year to discuss matters of common interest based on an agreed agenda and to inform the discharge authority on the outcome of those deliberations;

                  18.

                  Welcomes the Agency’s commitment to undertake in the first half of 2013 a review of the implementation of its revised policy on the handling of conflicts of interests and that an ex ante and ex post check on the handling of conflicts of interests is currently being developed for implementation in the second quarter of 2013; calls on the Agency to keep the discharge authority informed on their respective outcomes;

                  19.

                  Welcomes the fact that after the former Head of the Legal Service left the Agency in June 2012 to join a US-based law firm having a number of pharmaceutical industry companies as clients as senior counsel, the Executive Director of the Agency launched a review of his work as Head of the Legal Service, Chair of the Joint Committee, Chair of the Disciplinary Committee and as a member of the Advisory Committee on Procurement and Contracts; acknowledges that no evidence of conflicts of interest nor breach of obligations provided in Articles 11 and 11a of the Staff Regulations could be identified; welcomes the fact that in accordance with Article 16 of the Staff Regulations, the Executive Director imposed some restrictions to the activities of the former Head of Legal Service for a period of two years following his leaving the Agency; calls on the Agency to provide the discharge authority with detailed information on those restrictions;

         Internal audit

                  20.

                  Takes note that an in-depth risk assessment was conducted to determine the audit priorities and as a result, the audit topic agreed for 2012 was ‘Planning and Budgeting’, and the Internal Audit Service (IAS) carried out an audit entitled ‘Operational Business Continuity in the European Medicines Agency’;

                  21.

                  Notes that, based on the results of that audit, the IAS raised 13 recommendations, seven of which were rated as ‘very important’, five as ‘important’ and one as ‘desirable’; notes with satisfaction that all the recommendations were accepted by the Management Board and that the action plan prepared by the Agency to rectify those recommendations was considered to be adequate by the IAS;

                  22.

                  Notes that the IAS also carried out an IT risk assessment exercise in a form of a risk self-assessment, providing an overview of IT risk exposures;

                  23.

                  Acknowledges that as regards earlier recommendations issued by the IAS and their implementation by the Agency by 31 December 2011, there are nine ‘very important’ recommendations open from previous audits, eight of which have been implemented by the Agency and are under review by IAS, and that no critical recommendations remained open on 31 December 2011;

                  24.

                  Refers, in respect of the other observations accompanying its Decision on discharge, which are of a horizontal nature, to its Resolution of 17 April 2013 (7) on the performance, financial management and control of the agencies.

         (1)  OJ C 388, 15.12.2012, p. 116.

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

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

         (4)  OJ L 136, 30.4.2004, p. 1.

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

         (6)  OJ L 350, 20.12.2012, p. 82.

         (7)  Texts adopted, P7_TA(2013)0134 (see page 374 of this Official Journal).


title: Decision of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 December 2009 amending the Interinstitutional Agreement of 17 May 2006 on budgetary discipline and sound financial management as regards the multiannual financial framework — Financing projects in the field of energy in the context of the European Economic Recovery Plan

text:
               24.12.2009

               EN

               Official Journal of the European Union

               L 347/26

      DECISION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL

   of 17 December 2009
   amending the Interinstitutional Agreement of 17 May 2006 on budgetary discipline and sound financial management as regards the multiannual financial framework — Financing projects in the field of energy in the context of the European Economic Recovery Plan
   (2009/1005/EU)
   THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,
   Having regard to the Interinstitutional Agreement between the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission of 17 May 2006 on budgetary discipline and sound financial management (1), and in particular to points 21, 22, first and second paragraphs, and 23 thereof,
   Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,
   Whereas:

               (1)

               At the budgetary conciliation meeting of 18 November 2009 the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission agreed on the modalities for providing additional financing, in the framework of the European Economic Recovery Plan, to projects in the field of energy and broadband Internet as well as investments for strengthening operations related to the ‘new challenges’ defined in the context of the assessment of the 2003 mid-term reform of the common agricultural policy (‘Health Check’) (2). The financing requires a revision of the multiannual financial framework 2007-2013 in accordance with points 21, 22, and 23 of the Interinstitutional Agreement, so as to raise the ceiling for the year 2010 for commitment appropriations under subheading 1a by an amount of EUR 1 779 million in current prices.

               (2)

               The increase of the ceiling for subheading 1a for the year 2010 will be fully offset by decreasing the ceilings for commitment appropriations under headings 1a, 1b, 2, 3a and 5 for the year 2009 as well as the ceilings for commitment appropriations under headings 1a, 2 and 5 for 2010.

               (3)

               In order to keep an appropriate relationship between commitments and payments, the annual ceilings for payment appropriations will be adjusted. The adjustment will be neutral.

               (4)

               Annex I of the Interinstitutional Agreement on budgetary discipline and sound financial management should therefore be amended accordingly (3),

         HAVE DECIDED AS FOLLOWS:
   Sole Article
   Annex I to the Interinstitutional Agreement on budgetary discipline and sound financial management is replaced by the Annex to this Decision.

      Done at Strasbourg, 17 December 2009.

            For the European Parliament

            The President

         J. BUZEK

            For the Council

            The President

         H. LINDBLAD

      (1)  OJ C 139, 14.6.2006, p. 1.

      (2)  COM(2008) 800, COM(2008) 859, COM(2009) 171 and OJ L 132, 29.5.2009, p. 8.

      (3)  For that purpose, the figures resulting from the above agreement are converted into 2004 prices.

      ANNEX

         FINANCIAL FRAMEWORK 2007-2013

                  (EUR million — constant 2004 prices)

                  Commitment appropriations

                  2007

                  2008

                  2009

                  2010

                  2011

                  2012

                  2013

                  Total
                  2007-2013

                                 1.

                              Sustainable growth

                     50 865

                     53 262

                     55 879

                     56 435

                     55 400

                     56 866

                     58 256

                     386 963

                              1a

                              Competitiveness for growth and employment

                  8 404

                  9 595

                  12 018

                  12 580

                  11 306

                  12 122

                  12 914

                  78 939

                              1b

                              Cohesion for growth and employment

                  42 461

                  43 667

                  43 861

                  43 855

                  44 094

                  44 744

                  45 342

                  308 024

                                 2.

                              Preservation and management of natural resources

                     51 962

                     54 685

                     51 023

                     53 238

                     52 528

                     51 901

                     51 284

                     366 621

                  of which market-related expenditure and direct payments

                  43 120

                  42 697

                  42 279

                  41 864

                  41 453

                  41 047

                  40 645

                  293 105

                                 3.

                              Citizenship, freedom, security and justice

                     1 199

                     1 258

                     1 375

                     1 503

                     1 645

                     1 797

                     1 988

                     10 765

                              3a

                              Freedom, security and justice

                  600

                  690

                  785

                  910

                  1 050

                  1 200

                  1 390

                  6 625

                              3b

                              Citizenship

                  599

                  568

                  590

                  593

                  595

                  597

                  598

                  4 140

                                 4.

                              EU as a global player

                     6 199

                     6 469

                     6 739

                     7 009

                     7 339

                     7 679

                     8 029

                     49 463

                                 5.

                              Administration
                               (1)

                     6 633

                     6 818

                     6 816

                     6 999

                     7 255

                     7 400

                     7 610

                     49 531

                                 6.

                              Compensations

                     419

                     191

                     190

                     800

                     TOTAL COMMITMENT APPROPRIATIONS

                     117 277

                     122 683

                     122 022

                     125 184

                     124 167

                     125 643

                     127 167

                     864 143

                  as a percentage of GNI

                  1,08 %

                  1,09 %

                  1,06 %

                  1,06 %

                  1,03 %

                  1,02 %

                  1,01 %

                  1,048 %

                     TOTAL PAYMENT APPROPRIATIONS

                     115 142

                     119 805

                     109 091

                     119 245

                     116 884

                     120 575

                     119 784

                     820 526

                  as a percentage of GNI

                  1,06 %

                  1,06 %

                  0,95 %

                  1,01 %

                  0,97 %

                  0,98 %

                  0,95 %

                  1,00 %

                  Margin available

                  0,18 %

                  0,18 %

                  0,29 %

                  0,23 %

                  0,27 %

                  0,26 %

                  0,29 %

                  0,24 %

                  Own resources ceiling as a percentage of GNI

                  1,24 %

                  1,24 %

                  1,24 %

                  1,24 %

                  1,24 %

                  1,24 %

                  1,24 %

                  1,24 %

         (1)  The expenditure on pensions included under the ceiling for this heading is calculated net of the staff contributions to the relevant scheme, within the limit of EUR 500 million at 2004 prices for the period 2007-2013.


Avis juridique important

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31988D0651

88/651/EEC: Commission Decision of 23 December 1988 terminating the anti-dumping proceeding concerning imports of certain cellular mobile radio telephones originating in Canada, Hong Kong and Japan

Official Journal L 362 , 30/12/1988 P. 0059 - 0061

COMMISSION DECISION  of 23 December 1988  terminating the anti-dumping proceeding concerning imports of certain cellular mobile radio telephones originating in Canada, Hong Kong and Japan  (88/651/EEC)  (88/651/EEC) THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,  Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community,  Having regard to Council Regulation (EEC) No 2423/88 on protection against dumped or subsidized imports from countries not members of the European Community (1), and in particular Article 9 thereof,  After consultations within the Advisory Committee as provided for by that Regulation,  Whereas:  A. PROCEDURE  (1) In June 1987 the Commission received a complaint lodged by the sole producer of complete TACS mobile telephones in the Community. The complaint contained evidence of dumping of the product concerned originating in Japan and Canada and of material  injury resulting therefrom, which was considered sufficient to warrant the opening of an investigation.  The Commission accordingly announced, by notice published in the Official Journal of the European Communities (2), the initiation of an anti-dumping proceeding concerning imports into the Community of certain cellular mobile radio telephones falling  within CN code ex 8525 20 90 originating in Japan and Canada, and commenced an investigation.  (2) In December 1987 the Commission received a complementary complaint from the same Community producer requesting an extension of the proceeding to include imports of the product concerned originating in Hong Kong. The complementary complaint contained  evidence that the transceivers for cellular mobile radio telephones sold in the Community were produced in Hong Kong.  The Commission accordingly announced, in a notice published in the Official Journal of the European Communities (3) the extension of the anti-dumping proceeding to include imports of certain cellular mobile telephones originating in Hong Kong.  (3) The Commission officially notified the exporters and importers known to be concerned, the representatives of the exporting countries and the complainant and gave the parties directly concerned the opportunity to make known their views in writing and  to request a hearing.  (4) Most of the producers/exporters and importers known to be concerned made known their views in writing. Some of them requested and were granted hearings.  (5) The Commission sought and verified all the information it considered necessary for a determination of injury. On-the-spot investigations were carried out at the premises of the following companies:  (a) Community producer:  Motorola Limited UK, Basingstoke and Stotfold  (b) Importers/distributors:  Mitsubishi Electric UK Ltd, Rickmansworth  Panasonic Industrial UK Ltd, Slough  NEC Business Systems (Europe) Ltd, London  Novatel Communications Limited, Melksham  Carphone Group, Frome  Racal Vodac Ltd, Newbury  (6) The investigation period set pursuant to Article 7 (1) (c) of Regulation (EEC) No 2423/88 covered the period 1 January to 30 June 1987.  B. INJURY  (7) In order to determine whether or not the allegedly dumped imports caused material injury to the Community industry, the Commission took into consideration the following facts:  (a) Volume, market share and price of imports  (i) Volume  (8) Imports into the Community of cellular mobile radio telephones originating in Canada, Hong Kong and Japan increased from 37 376 units in 1985 to 46 069 in 1986. During the first half of 1987, 36 337 units were imported. Extrapolated over the whole  of 1987 the latter development would have represented a substantial increase. However, this trend should be assessed in the light of the development of the consumption of the product concerned during this period.  (ii) Consumption and market shares  (9) It was found that the consumption of the product concerned, the sales of which - for technical reasons - are limited to the United Kingdom and Irish markets, increased from approximately 112 000 units at the end of 1986 to approximately 175 000  units in June 1987, i.e. an increase of 56 %.  As far as the market share is concerned, it was found that during the same period the share held by the exporters concerned in this proceeding increased by 0,5 %.  (iii) Prices  (10) The evidence available to the Commission shows that during the reference period the prices of the imports were not lower than those charged by the Community producer.  (b) Effect on Community industry  (11) The Commission also examined whether the increase in allegedly dumped imports had a significant effect on the Community industry:  (i) Community production  (12) With regard to the production of the Community producer concerned, it was found that there was a sharp increase between 1985 (when Community production started) and 1986, and again during the first half of 1987.  (ii) Sales  (13) It was also found that sales of the product manufactured in the Community increased significantly between 1985 and 1986 and further increased during the first six months of 1987.  (iii) Consumption and market share  (14) The development of the production and sales of the Community producer concerned must be assessed in the light of the development of the consumption and market share of the Community industry as described above. The market share held by the  Community producer increased by 4 %. From a comparison of this increase in market shares of the Community industry and that of the allegedly dumped imports, it results that, in the period between December 1986 and June 1987, the share held by the  Community industry increased more than that held by the imports concerned in this investigation.  (iv) Capacity and capacity utilization  (15) With regard to the production capacity and capacity utilization of the Community producers it was found that, whereas the former increased by 52 % between 1986 and the investigation period, the latter more than doubled during the same period.  (v) Prices  (16) As far as the sales prices of the Community producer are concerned, it was found that they declined significantly during the major part of 1986 but more or less stabilized towards the end of 1986 and continued doing so during the first half of  1987.  (vi) Profits  (17) With regard to profitability it was found that after substantial losses in 1986, the Community producer's situation improved significantly during the investigation period. Although sales through a major sales channel continued to be made at a loss,  a considerable overall profit was realised on sales of cellular mobile radio telephones.  (c) Conclusion  (18) The above data indicates that, despite the significant growth in imports into the Community, the European producer was able to increase both production and market share as well as, given the abovementioned price stabilization, improve the company's  financial results.  (19) In the light of these findings it is considered that the Community producer concerned did not suffer material injury during the investigation period.  C. DUMPING  (20) In view of the above findings with respect to injury the Commission considered it unnecessary - notwithstanding the importance of the dumping margins alleged - to further investigate the question of dumping with regard to the imports concerned.  D. WITHDRAWAL OF THE COMPLAINT AND TERMINATION OF THE PROCEEDING  (21) After having been informed by the Commission of the above findings, the complainant decided to withdraw the complaint due to the change in circumstances since the end of 1986.  In these circumstances, protective measures are unnecessary and the proceeding should be terminated,  HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS:    Sole Article   The anti-dumping proceeding concerning imports of certain cellular mobile radio telephones originating in Canada, Hong Kong and Japan is hereby terminated.   Done at Brussels, 23 December 1988.  For the Commission  Willy DE CLERCQ  Member of the Commission   (1) OJ No L 209, 2. 8. 1988, p. 1.  (2) OJ No C 185, 15. 7. 1987, p. 2.  (3) OJ No C 71, 17. 3. 1988, p. 12.


title: 2006/286/EC: Commission Decision of  12 April 2006  appointing members of the Committee for Orphan Medicinal Products   (Text with EEA relevance)

text:
               13.4.2006

               EN

               Official Journal of the European Union

               L 104/54

      COMMISSION DECISION

   of 12 April 2006
   appointing members of the Committee for Orphan Medicinal Products
   (Text with EEA relevance)
   (2006/286/EC)
   THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,
   Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,
   Having regard to Regulation (EC) No 141/2000 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 December 1999 on orphan medicinal products (1), and in particular Article 4(3) thereof,
   Whereas:

               (1)

               The term of office of the members of the Committee for Orphan Medicinal Products, hereinafter the Committee, set up in accordance with Article 4 of Regulation (EC) No 141/2000 expires on 15 April 2006. It is necessary, therefore, to appoint two new members and to renew the terms of office of certain existing members.

               (2)

               The European Medicines Agency has recommended three persons for nomination.

               (3)

               The members of the Committee should be appointed for a period of three years starting on 16 April 2006,

         HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS:
   Article 1
   1.   The following is hereby appointed member of the Committee for Orphan Medicinal Products, hereinafter referred to as the Committee, to represent patients’ organisations for a term of three years, from 16 April 2006:

               Dr Marie Pauline EVERS.

         2.   The following are hereby reappointed members of the Committee to represent patients’ organisations for a term of three years, from 16 April 2006:

               Ms Birthe HOLM;

               Mr Yann LE CAM.

         Article 2
   1.   On the recommendation of the European Medicines Agency, the following is hereby appointed member of the Committee for a term of three years, from 16 April 2006:

               Dr Julia DUNNE.

         2.   On the recommendation of the European Medicines Agency, the following are hereby reappointed members of the Committee for a term of three years, from 16 April 2006:

               Prof. Gianmartino BENZI;

               Dr David LYONS.

      Done at Brussels, 12 April 2006.

            For the Commission

         Günter VERHEUGEN

            Vice-President

      (1)  OJ L 18, 22.1.2000, p. 1.


title: 2011/728/: Decision of the European Central Bank of 31 October 2011 amending Decision ECB/2010/15 concerning the administration of EFSF loans to Member States whose currency is the euro, and amending Decision ECB/2010/31 concerning the opening of accounts for the processing of payments in connection with EFSF loans to Member States whose currency is the euro (ECB/2011/16)

text:
               8.11.2011

               EN

               Official Journal of the European Union

               L 289/35

         DECISION OF THE EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK
   of 31 October 2011
   amending Decision ECB/2010/15 concerning the administration of EFSF loans to Member States whose currency is the euro, and amending Decision ECB/2010/31 concerning the opening of accounts for the processing of payments in connection with EFSF loans to Member States whose currency is the euro
   (ECB/2011/16)
   (2011/728/EU)
   THE EXECUTIVE BOARD OF THE EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK,
   Having regard to the Statute of the European System of Central Banks and of the European Central Bank, and in particular Articles 17 and 21 thereof,
   Whereas:

               (1)

               Decision ECB/2010/15 of 21 September 2010 concerning the administration of EFSF loans to Member States whose currency is the euro (1) lays down provisions concerning the opening of a cash account with the European Central Bank (ECB) in the name of the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF) for the operation of the loan facility agreements (hereinafter the ‘Loan Facility Agreements’) under the EFSF Framework Agreement, which entered into force on 4 August 2010 (hereinafter the ‘EFSF Framework Agreement’).

               (2)

               Decision ECB/2010/31 of 20 December 2010 concerning the opening of accounts for the processing of payments in connection with EFSF loans to Member States whose currency is the euro (2) lays down provisions concerning the opening of cash accounts with the ECB in the name of the national central bank of the relevant borrower Member State for the operation of the Loan Facility Agreements under the EFSF Framework Agreement.

               (3)

               The EFSF Framework Agreement has been amended by the Supplemental Amendment Agreement, which entered into force on 18 October 2011. The amended EFSF Framework Agreement has created additional instruments that the EFSF may use to provide financial support. In accordance with paragraph 2 of the Preamble and Article 2(1) of the amended EFSF Framework Agreement, the EFSF may grant loan disbursements, precautionary facilities, facilities to finance the recapitalisation of financial institutions in a euro area Member State (through loans to the governments of such Member States including non-programme countries), facilities for the purchase of bonds in the secondary markets or facilities for the purchase of bonds in the primary market (all such instruments representing ‘Financial Assistance’), to be provided through financial assistance facility agreements (hereinafter the ‘Financial Assistance Facility Agreements’). The Loan Facility Agreements may continue to remain in place following the entry into force of the amended EFSF Framework Agreement.

               (4)

               Therefore, Decisions ECB/2010/15 and ECB/2010/31 should be amended accordingly,

         HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:
   Article 1
   Decision ECB/2010/15 is amended as follows:

               (1)

               Article 2 is replaced by the following:
               ‘Article 2
               Acceptance of payments on the cash account
               The ECB shall only accept payments to be made to or from the cash account opened in the name of EFSF, if those payments arise in connection with the Loan Facility Agreements or the Financial Assistance Facility Agreements.’;

               (2)

               Article 4 is replaced by the following:
               ‘Article 4
               Balance of the cash account
               No amount shall be standing to the credit of the cash account opened in the name of EFSF after payments have been made in relation to any Loan Facility Agreement or Financial Assistance Facility Agreement, nor shall amounts be transferred to such cash account before the day on which payments need to be made in relation to any Loan Facility Agreement or Financial Assistance Facility Agreement. No amount shall be standing to the debit of the cash account opened in the name of EFSF at any time. Therefore, no payments shall be effected from the cash account opened in the name of EFSF beyond the amounts standing to the credit of that account.’.

         Article 2
   Decision ECB/2010/31 is amended as follows:

               (1)

               Article 1 is replaced by the following:
               ‘Article 1
               Opening of cash accounts
               The ECB may, upon request of the NCB of a borrower Member State, open cash accounts in the name of such NCB for the processing of payments in connection with a Loan Facility Agreement or Financial Assistance Facility Agreement (hereinafter an ‘NCB cash account’).’;

               (2)

               Article 2 is replaced by the following:
               ‘Article 2
               Acceptance of payments on the cash accounts
               An NCB cash account shall only be used to process payments in connection with a Loan Facility Agreement or Financial Assistance Facility Agreement.’.

         Article 3
   Entry into force
   This Decision shall enter into force on 2 November 2011.

      Done at Frankfurt am Main, 31 October 2011.

            The President of the ECB

         Jean-Claude TRICHET

      (1)  OJ L 253, 28.9.2010, p. 58.

      (2)  OJ L 10, 14.1.2011, p. 7.


title: 2009/698/EC: Commission Decision of 4 September 2009 terminating the anti-dumping proceeding concerning imports of welded tubes, pipes and hollow profiles of square or rectangular cross-section, of iron other than cast iron or steel other than stainless originating in Belarus, Turkey and Ukraine

text:
               9.9.2009

               EN

               Official Journal of the European Union

               L 237/34

      COMMISSION DECISION

   of 4 September 2009
   terminating the anti-dumping proceeding concerning imports of welded tubes, pipes and hollow profiles of square or rectangular cross-section, of iron other than cast iron or steel other than stainless originating in Belarus, Turkey and Ukraine
   (2009/698/EC)
   THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,
   Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,
   Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 384/96 of 22 December 1995 on protection against dumped imports from countries not members of the European Community (1) (the ‘basic Regulation’), and in particular Article 9 thereof,
   After consulting the Advisory Committee,
   Whereas:
   1.   PROCEDURE

   1.1.   Initiation of the proceeding

               (1)

               On 13 November 2008, pursuant to Article 5 of the basic Regulation, the Commission initiated by a notice published in the Official Journal of the European Union
                   (2) (‘notice of initiation’), the anti-dumping proceeding with regard to imports into the Community of welded tubes, pipes and hollow profiles of square or rectangular cross-section, of iron other than cast iron or steel other than stainless (‘hollow section’), originating in Belarus, Turkey and Ukraine (‘the countries concerned’).

               (2)

               The proceeding was initiated following a complaint lodged on 29 September 2008 by the Defence Committee of the Welded Steel Tubes Industry of the European Union (‘the complainant’) on behalf of producers representing a major proportion, in this case more than 25 %, of the total Community production of hollow section. The complaint contained prima facie evidence of dumping of hollow section originating in the countries concerned and of material injury resulting therefrom, which was considered sufficient to justify the initiation of a proceeding.

         1.2.   Parties concerned and verification visits

               (3)

               The Commission officially advised the complainant, all known Community producers, importer/traders and users known to be concerned, the exporting producers, their associations and the authorities of the countries concerned and known producers of the like product in the envisaged analogue country (the USA) of the initiation of the proceeding. Interested parties were given the opportunity to make their views known in writing and to request a hearing within the time limit set in the notice of initiation. All interested parties, who so requested and showed that there were particular reasons why they should be heard, were granted a hearing.

               (4)

               In order to allow exporting producers in Belarus to submit a claim for individual treatment (‘IT’), if they so wished, the Commission sent claim forms to the exporting producers known to be concerned as well as to the authorities of Belarus. Two groups of companies in Belarus claimed IT pursuant to Article 9(5) of the basic Regulation.

               (5)

               In view of the apparent large number of exporting producers in Turkey and Ukraine, Community producers and importers involved in this investigation, sampling was envisaged in the notice of initiation, in accordance with Article 17 of the basic Regulation. In order to enable the Commission to decide whether sampling would be necessary and, if so, to select a sample, exporting producers in Turkey and Ukraine, Community producers, and importers and representatives acting on their behalf were requested to make themselves known and to provide, as specified in the notice of initiation, basic information on their activities related to the product concerned within 15 days of the date of publication of the notice of initiation.

               (6)

               For Turkey, out of the 13 companies or company groups which had replied to the sampling questions, a sample of four companies or company groups was selected. However, one of the sampled companies did not provide information concerning the existence of two related Turkish producers within the sampling exercise but came forward with this information at a very late stage. Nevertheless, the two related companies were given an additional opportunity to submit a full questionnaire response. However, the information submitted by the related companies was incomplete to an extent that made it impossible to perform a dumping calculation. Consequently, the company was excluded from the sample. Another Turkish producer had not been included in the original sample but had requested individual examination in accordance with Article 17(3) of the basic Regulation and submitted a full questionnaire within the time limits. It was then included in the sample. In terms of export volume the four sampled companies represent 63 % of the total exports of hollow section from Turkey to the Community during the investigation period. In accordance with Article 17(2) of the basic Regulation, the parties concerned were consulted and raised no objection.

               (7)

               As concerns Ukraine, two Ukrainian groups of companies and a third company replied to the sampling questions and indicated their willingness to cooperate in the investigation. These companies' exports to the Community accounted, during the investigation period, for approximately 30 % of the imports of hollow section from Ukraine as reported in the Eurostat database. In view of the limited number of cooperating companies, it was decided that the three cooperating exporting producers would be fully investigated and that, consequently, sampling would not be applied.

               (8)

               As concerns the importers of hollow section, the Commission requested all known importers to provide information concerning imports and sales of the product concerned. As eight importers offered to cooperate, sampling was not applied.

               (9)

               With regard to the Community producers, in accordance with Article 17 of the basic Regulation, a sample was selected based on the largest representative volume of production and EC sales of hollow section in the Community, which could reasonably be investigated within the time available. On the basis of the information received from the producers in the Community, the Commission selected four company groups having the largest volume of production and sales in the Community. In terms of Community production, the sampled company groups represented 52 % of the estimated total production of hollow section in the Community. In accordance with Article 17(2) of the basic Regulation, the parties concerned were consulted and raised no objection. In addition, the remaining Community producers were requested to provide certain general data for the injury analysis. However, one sampled Community producer did not submit a questionnaire reply and decided not to cooperate further with the investigation. As inclusion of some of the other Community producers which had offered cooperation would only slightly affect the representativity of the sample, it was decided not to replace this company which ceased its cooperation with the investigation.

               (10)

               The Commission sent questionnaires to the sampled exporting producers in Turkey, to the cooperating exporting producers in Belarus and Ukraine, to the sole producer located in the USA which offered cooperation for the purpose of establishing normal value for Belarus, to the sampled Community producers, to all importers which had offered to cooperate and to all known users. Questionnaire replies were received from the three sampled company groups representing fourteen Community producers, four Turkish groups of companies, one individual Turkish exporting producer belonging to a group of companies, the two Ukrainian groups of companies and the third cooperating Ukrainian producer, the two Belarusian exporting producers, which also submitted IT claim forms, and their four importers/owners of exports in case of sales per tolling agreement, the cooperating USA producer, three unrelated Community importers, and one user in the Community. In addition, five further Community producers provided the requested general data.

               (11)

               The Commission sought and verified all the information it deemed necessary for a determination of dumping, resulting injury and Community interest. Verification visits were carried out at the premises of the following companies:

                           (a)

                           Community producers

                                       —

                                       Condesa Fabril; Legutiano, Alava, Spain

                                       —

                                       Corus Tubes BV; Oosterhout, the Netherlands

                                       —

                                       Corus Tubes UK; Corby, the United Kingdom

                                       —

                                       Lorraine Tubes, Lexy, France

                                       —

                                       Marcegaglia SPA; Gazoldo degli Ippoliti, Mantova, Italy

                           (b)

                           Exporting producers Turkey

                                       —

                                       Erbosan Erciyas Boru Sanayii ve Ticaret A.Ș., Kayseri

                                       —

                                       Noksel Çelik Boru Sanayi A.Ș., Ankara

                                       —

                                       MMZ Ohnur Boru Profil Üretim San. ve Tic. A.Ș., Istanbul

                                       —

                                       Yücel Boru ve Profil Endüstrisi A.Ș. and the related trader Yücel Boru Ihracat Ithalat ve Pazarlama A.Ș., Istanbul

                           (c)

                           Exporting producers in Ukraine

                                       —

                                       Lugansk Tube Works and related companies, Lugansk and Dniepropetrovsk

                           (d)

                           Unrelated importers in the Community

                                       —

                                       Kromat Trading Ltd.; London, the United Kingdom

                                       —

                                       JSC Azovlitas; Kaunas, Lithuania.

         1.3.   Investigation period

               (12)

               The investigation of dumping and injury covered the period from 1 October 2007 to 30 September 2008 (‘the investigation period’ or ‘IP’). The examination of trends relevant for the assessment of injury covered the period from 1 January 2005 to the end of the investigation period (‘period considered’).

         1.4.   Product concerned

               (13)

               The product allegedly being dumped is welded tubes, pipes and hollow profiles of square or rectangular cross-section, of iron other than cast iron or steel other than stainless, but excluding line pipe of a kind used for oil or gas pipelines and casing and tubing of a kind used in drilling for oil or gas, originating in Belarus, Turkey and Ukraine (‘the product concerned’), normally declared within CN codes 7306 61 92 and 7306 61 99. The product is also often referred to as ‘hollow section’.

               (14)

               Hollow section is mostly used for structural and load bearing purposes by the construction industry, as well as for structural parts in ships, cranes, handling equipment, trailers, trucks, farm equipment, etc. Hollow section may also be used as parts of metal furniture, sport and leisure equipment, toys, metal doors and windows, shelving, storage and bundling, etc.

         2.   WITHDRAWAL OF THE COMPLAINT AND TERMINATION OF THE PROCEEDING

               (15)

               By a letter dated 3 June 2009 addressed to the Commission, the complainant formally withdrew its complaint. According to the complainant, this withdrawal was prompted by the fact that the current market situation for the Community industry differs significantly from the market situation in which the complaint was filed, given that the real and apparent demand has recently collapsed in the EU and this has also led to a decline in imports. In view of these changes in the market situation, the complainant does not want to pursue its current case which was based on an analysis of historic data that no longer fully reflect the current market conditions. According to the complainant, it is preferable to respond in these circumstances to any unfair injurious trade practices by way of a new case — in case a future situation would warrant such action — which could fully address the totality of the issues.

               (16)

               The complainant also argued that should the import volumes surge again, these imports could in the prevailing circumstances cast the viability of the Community industry into doubt.

               (17)

               It should be noted that the current situation with respect to the product concerned both in the EU and in the countries concerned is characterised by an unprecedented change of the fundamental economic parameters. While in these circumstances it is difficult to make reasoned assumptions as to the development of the market in the short to medium-term, it would also seem that the economic situation is volatile and that the appearance of injurious dumping could not be excluded. Given the uncertain general market conditions, it is deemed appropriate to monitor imports into the EU of the product concerned. The information obtained in the framework of such monitoring would enable the Commission to react quickly, if necessary. For instance, it could be used for the purposes of the initiation of a new proceeding provided that the conditions as set out in Article 5 of the basic Regulation are met, i.e. if there is sufficient prima facie evidence of injurious dumping.

               (18)

               The Commission also notes that, should there be a new proceeding concerning this product and the circumstances warrant, an expeditious investigation may be appropriate. The basic Regulation in Article 7(1) indeed caters for such a possibility as it allows a rather fast imposition of provisional measures after initiation.

               (19)

               The monitoring period should apply for up to 24 months from the publication of the termination of the present proceeding.

               (20)

               In accordance with Article 9(1) of the basic Regulation, the proceeding may be terminated where the complaint is withdrawn unless such termination would not be in the Community interest.

               (21)

               In this respect it is noted that the above analysis of the current situation with respect to the product concerned and any possible new investigation in the future do not put into question the complainant’s action to withdraw. Therefore, the Commission considered that the present proceeding should be terminated since the investigation had not brought to light any consideration showing that such termination would not be in the Community interest. Interested parties were informed accordingly and were given the opportunity to comment. However, no comments which could alter this decision were received.

               (22)

               The Commission therefore concludes that the anti-dumping proceeding concerning imports into the Community of welded tubes, pipes and hollow profiles of square or rectangular cross-section, of iron other than cast iron or steel other than stainless originating in Belarus, Turkey and Ukraine should be terminated without the imposition of anti-dumping measures,

         HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS:
   Article 1
   The anti-dumping proceeding concerning imports of welded tubes, pipes and hollow profiles of square or rectangular cross-section, of iron other than cast iron or steel other than stainless, but excluding line pipe of a kind used for oil or gas pipelines and casing and tubing of a kind used in drilling for oil or gas, originating in Belarus, Turkey and Ukraine, normally declared within CN codes 7306 61 92 and 7306 61 99, is hereby terminated.
   Article 2
   This Decision shall enter into force on the day following its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.

      Done at Brussels, 4 September 2009.

            For the Commission

         Catherine ASHTON

            Member of the Commission

      (1)  OJ L 56, 6.3.1996, p. 1.

      (2)  OJ C 290, 13.11.2008, p. 13.


title: Decision of the European Parliament of 5 May 2010 on discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the European Railway Agency for the financial year 2008

text:
               25.9.2010

               EN

               Official Journal of the European Union

               L 252/178

         DECISION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT
   of 5 May 2010
   on discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the European Railway Agency for the financial year 2008
   (2010/534/EU)
   THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT,
   having regard to the final annual accounts of the European Railway Agency for the financial year 2008,
   having regard to the Court of Auditors’ report on the annual accounts of the European Railway Agency for the financial year 2008, together with the Agency’s replies (1),
   having regard to the Council’s recommendation of 16 February 2010 (5827/2010 — C7-0061/2010),
   having regard to Article 276 of the EC Treaty and Article 319 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,
   having regard to Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002 of 25 June 2002 on the Financial Regulation applicable to the general budget of the European Communities (2), and in particular Article 185 thereof,
   having regard to Regulation (EC) No 881/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2004 establishing a European Railway Agency (3), and in particular Article 39 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 Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002 (4), and in particular Article 94 thereof,
   having regard to Rule 77 of, and Annex VI to, its Rules of Procedure,
   having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control and the opinion of the Committee on Transport and Tourism (A7-0084/2010),

               1.

               Grants the Executive Director of the European Railway Agency discharge in respect of the implementation of the Agency’s budget for the financial year 2008;

               2.

               Sets out its observations in the resolution below;

               3.

               Instructs its President to forward this Decision and the resolution that forms an integral part of it to the Executive Director of the European Railway Agency, the Council, the Commission and the Court of Auditors, and to arrange for their publication in the Official Journal of the European Union (L series).

            The President

         Jerzy BUZEK

            The Secretary-General

         Klaus WELLE

      (1)  OJ C 304, 15.12.2009, p. 89.

      (2)  OJ L 248, 16.9.2002, p. 1.

      (3)  OJ L 164, 30.4.2004, p. 1.

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

               25.9.2010

               EN

               Official Journal of the European Union

               L 252/179

         RESOLUTION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT
   of 5 May 2010
   with observations forming an integral part of its Decision on discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the European Railway Agency for the financial year 2008
   THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT,
   having regard to the final annual accounts of the European Railway Agency for the financial year 2008,
   having regard to the Court of Auditors’ report on the annual accounts of the European Railway Agency for the financial year 2008, together with the Agency’s replies (1),
   having regard to the Council’s recommendation of 16 February 2010 (5827/2010 — C7-0061/2010),
   having regard to Article 276 of the EC Treaty and Article 319 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,
   having regard to Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002 of 25 June 2002 on the Financial Regulation applicable to the general budget of the European Communities (2), and in particular Article 185 thereof,
   having regard to Regulation (EC) No 881/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2004 establishing a European Railway Agency (3), and in particular Article 39 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 Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002 (4), and in particular Article 94 thereof,
   having regard to Rule 77 of, and Annex VI to, its Rules of Procedure,
   having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control and the opinion of the Committee on Transport and Tourism (A7-0084/2010),

               A.

               whereas the Court of Auditors states that it has obtained reasonable assurances that the annual accounts for the financial year 2008 are reliable and that the underlying transactions are legal and regular,

               B.

               whereas on 23 April 2009 Parliament granted the Executive Director of the European Railway Agency discharge for implementation of the Agency’s budget for the financial year 2008 (5), and in its resolution accompanying the discharge decision, inter alia:

                           —

                           observed from the Court of Auditors’ annual report for 2006 that the Agency’s final budget for the 2007 financial year was EUR 16 600 000, including a reserve of EUR 1 900 000; observed further that at the end of 2007 EUR 3 400 000 had to be cancelled, including the reserve, and that, in addition, EUR 2 700 000 was carried over to 2008,

                           —

                           voiced concern at the Court of Auditors’ conclusion that more than 35 % of final appropriations had not been used, which, according to the Court of Auditors, showed that the Agency’s programming and budgeting procedures were affected by serious weaknesses,

                           —

                           called on the Agency, on the basis of Article 15(5) of Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 2343/2002, to implement rigorous cash management in order to ensure that cash balances are limited to duly justified requirements, and to pay particular attention to improving its cash management,

               1.

               Welcomes the fact that the Court of Auditors found the Agency’s accounts for 2008 to be reliable and regarded the transactions underlying them, taken as a whole, as legal and regular;

               2.

               Notes that the Agency received EUR 18 000 000 in commitment and payment appropriations from the 2008 Union budget;

      Performance

               3.

               Calls on the Agency to set out, in a table to be annexed to the Court of Auditors’ next report, a comparison of operations carried out during the year for which discharge is to be granted and in the previous financial year so as to enable the discharge authority to assess more effectively its performance from one year to the next;

               4.

               Stresses how important it is for the Agency to set SMART objectives and RACER indicators in its programming so as to assess its achievements; notes, however, the assertion by the Agency that it has taken those observations into consideration in its 2009 programme; calls also on the Agency to consider making a Gantt diagram part of the programming for each of its operational activities, with a view to indicating in a concise form the amount of time spent by each staff member on a project and encouraging an approach geared towards achieving results;

               5.

               Notes the Court of Auditors’ finding that the Agency carries out its operations in two locations (Lille and Valenciennes), exposing it to additional costs;

      Carry-over of appropriations

               6.

               Notes that the Court of Auditors found that more than EUR 4 100 000 was carried forward to 2009, about EUR 3 900 000 of which concern administrative and operational expenditure (this being 57 % of the annual Title II and Title III appropriations); emphasises that this state of affairs reveals that the Agency had difficulties in the programming and the budgeting of its activities;

      Procurement procedures

               7.

               Expresses concern at the weaknesses in procurement procedures revealed by the Court of Auditors’ audit;

               8.

               Congratulates the Agency on having drawn up an action plan to address the weaknesses in procurement procedures identified by the Court of Auditors, which were hampering the transparency of those procedures;

      Internal audit

               9.

               Acknowledges that 32 out of the 36 recommendations made by the Internal Audit Service (IAS) have been implemented since 2006; amongst the 4 recommendations which are still in progress, 1 is considered to be ‘critical’ and 3 ‘very important’; urges the Agency, therefore, to implement certain internal control standards related to bank signatures, segregation of duties, sensitive posts and maintenance of delegation powers;

               10.

               Refers, for other observations accompanying its Decision on discharge, which are of a horizontal nature, to its resolution of 5 May 2010 (6) on the performance, financial management and control of the agencies.

      (1)  OJ C 304, 15.12.2009, p. 89.

      (2)  OJ L 248, 16.9.2002, p. 1.

      (3)  OJ L 164, 30.4.2004, p. 1.

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

      (5)  OJ L 255, 26.9.2009, p. 167.

      (6)  Texts adopted, P7_TA(2010)0139. See page 241 of this Official Journal.


title: 2014/143/EU: Council Decision of 11 March 2014 on the position to be taken on behalf of the European Union within the Joint Committee on Agriculture set up by the Agreement between the European Community and the Swiss Confederation on trade in agricultural products, as regards the amendment of Decision No 2/2003 of that Committee

text:
               17.3.2014

               EN

               Official Journal of the European Union

               L 78/1

      COUNCIL DECISION

   of 11 March 2014
   on the position to be taken on behalf of the European Union within the Joint Committee on Agriculture set up by the Agreement between the European Community and the Swiss Confederation on trade in agricultural products, as regards the amendment of Decision No 2/2003 of that Committee
   (2014/143/EU)
   THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,
   Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, and in particular Article 207(4) in conjunction with Article 218(9) thereof,
   Having regard to the proposal from the European Commission,
   Whereas:

               (1)

               The Agreement between the European Community and the Swiss Confederation on trade in agricultural products (1) (hereinafter referred to as the "Agreement") entered into force on 1 June 2002.

               (2)

               Article 6 of the Agreement sets up a Joint Committee on Agriculture (hereinafter referred to as the "Committee"), which is responsible for the administration of the Agreement and ensures its good functioning.

               (3)

               In accordance with Article 6(4) of the Agreement, by its Decision No 1/2003, the Committee adopted its own Rules of Procedure (2).

               (4)

               In accordance with Article 6(7) of the Agreement, several working groups needed to administer the Annexes to the Agreement were set up, including a working group on protection of designations of origin (PDOs) and on protection of geographical indications (PGIs) (Working Group on PDOs and PGIs), and their terms of reference were adopted by Decision No 2/2003 of the Committee (3). In accordance with the Annex to that Decision, the main task of the Working Group on PDOs and PGIs is to consider the mutual protection of PDOs and PGIs.

               (5)

               In 2011, the Union and Switzerland concluded an Agreement on the protection of designations of origin and geographical indications (4), amending the Agreement by adding Annex 12 on the protection of designations of origin and geographical indications for agricultural products and foodstuffs.

               (6)

               The Working Group on PDOs and PGIs met in order to consider, in particular, amending Decision No 2/2003 as regards the terms of reference of the working group in order to take into account that amendment to the Agreement.

               (7)

               It is appropriate to establish the position to be taken on the Union's behalf in the Committee as regards amending Decision No 2/2003.

               (8)

               The position of the Union within the Committee should therefore be based on the attached draft Decision,

         HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:
   Article 1
   The position to be taken on the Union's behalf within the Joint Committee on Agriculture shall be based on the draft Decision of the Committee attached to this Decision.
   Technical amendments to the draft Decision may be agreed to by the representatives of the Union within the Committee without the need for a further Council Decision.
   Article 2
   The Decision of the Committee shall be published in the Official Journal of the European Union.
   Article 3
   This Decision shall enter into force on the day of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.

      Done at Brussels, 11 March 2014.

            For the Council

            The President

         G. STOURNARAS

      (1)  OJ L 114, 30.4.2002, p. 132.

      (2)  Decision No 1/2003 of the Joint Committee on Agriculture set up by the Agreement between the European Community and the Swiss Confederation on trade in agricultural products of 21 October 2003 concerning the adoption of its Rules of Procedure (OJ L 303, 21.11.2003, p. 24).

      (3)  Decision No 2/2003 of the Joint Committee on Agriculture set up by the Agreement between the European Community and the Swiss Confederation on trade in agricultural Products of 21 October 2003 concerning the setting-up of the working groups and the adoption of the terms of reference of those groups (OJ L 303, 21.11.2003, p. 27).

      (4)  Agreement between the European Union and the Swiss Confederation on the protection of designations of origin and geographical indications for agricultural products and foodstuffs, amending the Agreement between the European Community and the Swiss Confederation on trade in agricultural products (OJ L 297, 16.11.2011, p. 3).

      DRAFT
      DECISION No …/2014 OF THE JOINT COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE
      of
      concerning the amendment of Decision No 2/2003 of the Joint Committee on Agriculture set up by the Agreement between the European Community and the Swiss Confederation on trade in agricultural products of 21 October 2003 concerning the setting-up of the working groups and the adoption of the terms of reference of those groups
      THE JOINT COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE,
      Having regard to the Agreement between the European Community and the Swiss Confederation on trade in agricultural products, and in particular Article 6(7) thereof,
      Whereas:

                  (1)

                  The Agreement between the European Community and the Swiss Confederation on trade in agricultural products (hereinafter referred to as 'the Agreement') entered into force on 1 June 2002.

                  (2)

                  Annex 12 to the Agreement concerns the protection of designations of origin and geographical indications for agricultural products and foodstuffs.

                  (3)

                  Pursuant to Article 15(6) of Annex 12 to the Agreement, the Working Group on PDOs and PGIs assists the Joint Committee on Agriculture (hereinafter referred to as 'the Committee') at the latter's request.

                  (4)

                  Decision No 2/2003 of the Committee set up the working groups and adopted the terms of reference of those groups.

                  (5)

                  Following the adoption of the Agreement on the protection of designations of origin and geographical indications for agricultural products and foodstuffs of 1 December 2011, adding Annex 12 to the Agreement, Decision No 2/2003 of the Committee should be amended, in particular as regards the basis in the Agreement and the terms of reference of the Working Group on PDOs and PGIs,

            HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS:
      Article 1
      The Annex to Decision No 2/2003 of the Joint Committee on Agriculture of 21 October 2003 concerning the setting-up of the working groups and the adoption of the terms of reference of those groups shall, as regards the Working Group on PDOs and PGIs, be amended as follows:

                  (1)

                  The section 'Working Group on PDOs and PGIs' is replaced by:
                  'Working Group on PDOs and PGIs

                     Basis in the Agreement (Annex 12)

                  Article 15(6) of Annex 12 on the protection of designations of origin and geographical indications for agricultural products and foodstuffs.
                  Terms of reference of the working group under Article 15

                              1.

                              To examine any issue relating to Annex 12 and its implementation.

                              2.

                              To examine periodically the development of the Parties' internal legislative and regulatory provisions in the areas covered by Annex 12.

                              3.

                              To draw up, in particular, proposals to be submitted to the Joint Committee with a view to adapting and updating the Appendices to Annex 12.'

            Article 2
      This Decision shall enter into force on … 2014.

         Done at …,

               For the Joint Committee on Agriculture

               The Head of the European Union Delegation

               The Head of the Swiss Delegation

               The Committee Secretary


Important legal notice

|

32004D0443

2004/443/EC: Council Decision of 26 April 2004 appointing a new Member of the Commission of the European Communities

Official Journal L 127 , 29/04/2004 P. 0111 - 0111

Council Decisionof 26 April 2004appointing a new Member of the Commission of the European Communities(2004/443/EC)THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular the second paragraph of Article 215 thereof,Whereas:On 1 April 2004 Mr Michel BARNIER resigned from his post as a Member of the Commission. He should be replaced for the remainder of his term of office,HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS:Article 1Mr Jacques BARROT is hereby appointed a Member of the Commission for the period from 26 April 2004 to 31 October 2004.Article 2This Decision shall take effect on 26 April 2004.Article 3This Decision shall be published in the Official Journal of the European Union.Done at Luxembourg, 26 April 2004.For the CouncilThe PresidentB. Cowen


title: Political and Security Committee Decision EUPT/1/2007 of 15 May 2007 extending the mandate of the Head of the EU Planning Team (EUPT Kosovo) regarding a possible EU crisis management operation in the field of rule of law and possible other areas in Kosovo

text:
               25.5.2007

               EN

               Official Journal of the European Union

               L 133/49

      POLITICAL AND SECURITY COMMITTEE DECISION EUPT/1/2007
   of 15 May 2007
   extending the mandate of the Head of the EU Planning Team (EUPT Kosovo) regarding a possible EU crisis management operation in the field of rule of law and possible other areas in Kosovo
   (2007/358/CFSP)
   THE POLITICAL AND SECURITY COMMITTEE,
   Having regard to the Treaty on European Union, and in particular Article 25 thereof,
   Having regard to Council Joint Action 2006/304/CFSP of 10 April 2006 on the establishment of an EU Planning Team (EUPT Kosovo) regarding a possible EU crisis management operation in the field of rule of law and possible other areas in Kosovo (1), and in particular Article 6(2) thereof,
   Whereas:

               (1)

               Article 6 of Joint Action 2006/304/CFSP provides for the Council to authorise the Political and Security Committee (PSC) to take the relevant decisions in accordance with Article 25 of the Treaty, including the decision to appoint, upon a proposal by the Secretary-General/High Representative (SG/HR), a Head of the EU Planning Team (EUPT Kosovo).

               (2)

               On 2 May 2006, the PSC adopted Decision EUPT/1/2006 (2) appointing Mr Casper Klynge as Head of the EU Planning Team (EUPT Kosovo).

               (3)

               On 11 December 2006, the Council adopted Joint Action 2006/918/CFSP (3) amending and extending Joint Action 2006/304/CFSP until 31 May 2007.

               (4)

               On 12 December 2006, the PSC adopted Decision EUPT/2/2006 (4) extending the mandate of Mr Casper Klynge as Head of the EU Planning Team (EUPT Kosovo) until 31 May 2007.

               (5)

               On 14 May 2007, the Council adopted Joint Action 2007/334/CFSP amending and extending Joint Action 2006/304/CFSP until 1 September 2007.

               (6)

               The SG/HR has proposed the extension of the mandate of Mr Casper Klynge as Head of the EU Planning Team (EUPT Kosovo) until the end of the mandate of EUPT Kosovo.

               (7)

               The mandate of the Head of the EU Planning Team (EUPT Kosovo) should therefore be extended until the end of the mandate of EUPT Kosovo,

         HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS:
   Article 1
   The mandate of Mr Casper Klynge as Head of the EU Planning Team (EUPT Kosovo) regarding a possible EU crisis management operation in the field of rule of law and possible other areas in Kosovo is hereby extended until the end of the mandate of EUPT Kosovo.
   Article 2
   This Decision shall take effect on the day of its adoption.
   It shall apply until the end of the mandate of EUPT Kosovo.

      Done at Brussels, 15 May 2007.

            For the Political and Security Committee

            The President

         C. von GOETZE

      (1)  OJ L 112, 26.4.2006, p. 19. Joint Action as last amended by Joint Action 2007/334/CFSP (OJ L 125, 15.5.2007, p. 29).

      (2)  OJ L 130, 18.5.2006, p. 42.

      (3)  OJ L 349, 12.12.2006, p. 57.

      (4)  OJ L 365, 21.12.2006, p. 88.


title: Decision (EU) 2017/344 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 December 2016 on the mobilisation of the Contingency Margin in 2017

text:
               28.2.2017

               EN

               Official Journal of the European Union

               L 50/57

         DECISION (EU) 2017/344 OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL
   of 14 December 2016
   on the mobilisation of the Contingency Margin in 2017
   THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,
   Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,
   Having regard to the Interinstitutional Agreement of 2 December 2013 between the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission on budgetary discipline, on cooperation in budgetary matters and on sound financial management (1), and in particular the second paragraph of point 14 thereof,
   Having regard to the proposal from the European Commission,
   Whereas,

               (1)

               Article 13 of Council Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 1311/2013 (2) has established a Contingency Margin of up to 0,03 % of the Gross National Income of the Union.

               (2)

               In accordance with Article 6 of that Regulation, the Commission has calculated the absolute amount of the Contingency Margin for 2017 (3).

               (3)

               After having examined all other financial possibilities to react to unforeseen circumstances within the 2017 commitment ceilings for headings 3 (Security and citizenship) and 4 (Global Europe) of the multiannual financial framework, and having regard to the mobilisation of the Flexibility Instrument for the full amount of EUR 530 million available in 2017, it appears necessary to mobilise the Contingency Margin to address the needs stemming from the migration, refugee and security crisis, by increasing the commitment appropriations in the general budget of the Union for the financial year 2017, over and above the ceilings of headings 3 and 4 of the multiannual financial framework.

               (4)

               Having regard to this very particular situation, the last-resort condition in Article 13(1) of Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 1311/2013 is fulfilled.

               (5)

               In order to minimise the time taken to mobilise the Contingency Margin, this Decision should apply from the beginning of the financial year 2017,

         HAVE ADOPTED THIS DECISION:
   Article 1
   For the general budget of the Union for the financial year 2017, the Contingency Margin shall be mobilised to provide the amount of EUR 1 176 030 960 in commitment appropriations over and above the commitment ceiling of heading 3 (Security and citizenship) and of EUR 730 120 000 in commitment appropriations over and above the commitment ceiling of heading 4 (Global Europe) of the multiannual financial framework.
   Article 2
   The total amount of EUR 1 906 150 960 in commitment appropriations resulting from Article 1 shall be offset against the margins under the commitment ceilings for the years 2017 to 2019 of the following headings of the multiannual financial framework:

               (a)

               2017:

                           (i)

                           heading 2 (Sustainable Growth — Natural Resources): EUR 575 000 000;

                           (ii)

                           heading 5 (Administration): EUR 507 268 804;

               (b)

               2018: heading 5 (Administration): EUR 570 000 000;

               (c)

               2019: heading 5 (Administration): EUR 253 882 156.

         Article 3
   This decision shall enter into force on the day of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.
   It shall apply from 1 January 2017.

      Done at Strasbourg, 14 December 2016.

            For the European Parliament

            The President

         M. SCHULZ

            For the Council

            The President

         I. KORČOK

      (1)  OJ C 373, 20.12.2013, p. 1.

      (2)  Council Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 1311/2013 of 2 December 2013 laying down the multiannual financial framework for the years 2014-2020 (OJ L 347, 20.12.2013, p. 884).

      (3)  Communication from the Commission to the Council and the European Parliament of 30 June 2016 on the technical adjustment of the financial framework for 2017 in line with movements in GNI (COM(2016) 311).