COMMISSION PRESENTATION OF ITS WORK PROGRAMME IN THE ECOFIN FIELD

The Council heard a presentation by Mr SANTER of the salient points in the Commission's work programme in the ECOFIN field.

The Council held an open discussion on the subject in which Ministers were able to express their views on this programme and highlight the points and priorities to which they attach especial importance.

EFFORT TO COMBAT FRAUD

The Council heard a detailed presentation by Ms GRADIN of the Commission's work programme for 1995 in the area of the effort to combat fraud.

The Council took note with satisfaction of the Commission's intention to ensure that in future the annual programme could be submitted to the ECOFIN Council at the end of January, and that therefore it would be drawn up by the end of the previous financial year.

The President stressed the importance of all elements of this work programme and noted that a feature of it was its high degree of continuity with the previous programme. Such continuity and the cooperation between the Commission and the Member States were witness to the effectiveness of action in this field. Scrutiny of this work programme and of the 1994 annual report would result in draft conclusions on the combating of fraud which would be submitted to the ECOFIN Council in June 1995.

Concerning Member States' efforts in combating fraud, the Essen European Council had asked Member States to submit reports on the measures which they had introduced at national level to combat waste and misappropriation of Community funds.

To draw up these reports the Commission suggested a draft layout. The Council took note of the Commission's suggested method and recommended that the Member States follow the draft layout as a reference for drafting their own reports; the reports should be forwarded to the Commission by 30 April 1995. Initially, it would be the task of the Advisory Committee for the Coordination of Fraud Prevention to scrutinize these reports with a view to their examination by the ECOFIN Council on 19 June 1995.

MEETING WITH THE MINISTERS FOR ECONOMIC AND FINANCIAL AFFAIRS OF THE ASSOCIATED COUNTRIES OF CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPE

The Council began preparations for the meeting with the Ministers for Finance of the CEEC. This meeting forms part of the structured dialogue the arrangements for which were defined at the European Council in Essen. It should give rise to a debate focused on structural matters of major importance in preparing these countries for accession.

The Council took note of Commission proposals concerning the organization of further meetings with the representatives of those countries. It decided to continue the discussion in order to reach guidelines enabling a framework to be established for continuing the structured dialogue in the economic and financial sectors. The Council asked the Monetary Committee and the Permanent Representatives Committee to begin considering the matter.

The Council envisages holding this meeting on the occasion of its own meeting on 22 May 1995.

GATT - NEGOTIATIONS ON FINANCIAL SERVICES

The Council heard a report by Sir Leon BRITTAN on the progress of negotiations under way on the subject of financial services as part of the follow-up to the Uruguay Round. It was agreed that the ECOFIN Council should be kept informed of developments in these negotiations and of their possible effects on Community legislation in the area of financial services.

OTHER DECISIONS

(Adopted without discussion. For acts of a legislative character, votes against or abstentions are indicated.)

Inter-institutional relations

The Council gave its agreement on the Declaration by the three Institutions on the incorporation of financial provisions into legislative acts, and authorized the President of the Council to sign the Declaration with the European Parliament and the Commission. The text of this Declaration is annexed.

Textiles

The Council adopted the Decision on the provisional application of certain Agreements between the European Community and certain third countries on trade in textile products.

This Decision provides for bilateral Agreements in the form of exchanges of letters which amend existing bilateral Agreements, Arrangements and Protocols on trade in textile products with certain third countries in order to take account of the accession of the Republic of Austria, the Republic of Finland and the Kingdom of Sweden to the European Union and were negotiated between the European Community and the following third countries: Bulgaria, Hong Kong, Hungary, Poland, Romania, the Slovak Republic and the Czech Republic ⁽⁾. The Agreements will be applied provisionally with effect from 1 January 1995, pending their formal conclusion subject to reciprocal application by the partner countries.

Anti-dumping/Commercial policy

The Council adopted Regulations:

- amending Regulation (EC) No 3283/94 on protection against dumped imports from countries not members of the European Community. This Regulation states that Regulation (EC) No 2423/88 continues to apply to anti-dumping procedures in progress on 1 September 1994;

- amending Regulation (EC) No 3286/94 laying down Community procedures in the field of the common commercial policy in order to ensure the exercise of the Community's rights under international trade rules, in particular those established under the auspices of the World Trade Organization. This Regulation states that Regulation (EC) No 3286/94 is also applicable to commercial defence procedures which are still in progress on 1 January 1995, but for which the Community examination procedures have been concluded.

CEDEFOP

Following enlargement of the European Union, the Council adopted a Regulation amending Regulation (EEC) 337/75 establishing a European Centre for the development of vocational training (CEDEFOP), in order to adjust the composition of the Management Board of the Centre to take account of the accession of Austria, Finland and Sweden.

ECSC

The Council gave its assent under Article 56(2)(a) of the ECSC Treaty to the draft Commission Decision concerning the grant of a reconversion loan of PTA 2390 million (around ECU 14,7m) to Industria de Turbo Propulsores S.A. (Zamudio, Spanish Basque region).

This is a second ECSC reconversion loan granted for the construction of a factory producing gas turbine components, which will create 170 jobs. The first loan, which was granted in 1991, was for PTA 2000m.

Protection of individuals with regard to data processing

Following the agreement reached during its meeting on 6 February 1995 (see Press Release 4551/95 - Presse 32), the Council voted the final adoption, with the abstention of the United Kingdom delegation, of its common position on the Directive on the protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data.

Cooperation between the EAEC and Canada

The Council approved the conclusion by the Commission, on behalf and in the name of the Community, of the Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation between the European Atomic Energy Community (EAEC) and the Government of Canada in the field of controlled nuclear fusion. The Memorandum will be applicable for a period of ten years; it falls within the framework agreement on commercial and economic cooperation concluded between Canada and the European Communities in 1976.

This cooperation concerns the Tokamak facilities, plasma physics, fusion technology and fuel for fusion, as well as reactors other than the Tokamaks. It may be extended to other fields mutually decided on.

Groundwater protection

At its meeting on 4 October 1994, the Council (Environment) approved the text of the Resolution on groundwater protection (see Press Release, 9744/94 - Presse 204). After finalization by the Legal/Linguistic Experts, the Council has now formally adopted this Resolution.

Noise emitted by earthmoving machinery

The Council noted that it was not in a position to approve the two amendments of the European Parliament in relation to the Council's common position of 8 June 1994 on the proposal for a directive amending Directive 86/662/EEC on the limitation of noise emitted by earthmoving machinery. The conciliation procedure is therefore applicable. As the amendments concern the Committee procedure, the Inter-institutional Agreement on this matter which has since been signed should enable a solution to be reached soon.

Appointments

Court of Auditors

The Council adopted the Decision appointing members of the Court of Auditors following the accession of the Republic of Austria, the Republic of Finland and the Kingdom of Sweden to the European Union.

- Mr Hubert WEBER (Austria) is appointed member of the Court of Auditors for the period from 1 March 1995 to 20 December 1995 inclusive.

- Mr Jan O. KARLSSON (Sweden) and Mr Aunus Olavi SALMI (Finland) are appointed members of the Court of Auditors for the period from 1 March 1995 to 9 February 2000 inclusive.

ANNEX

DECLARATION BY THE THREE INSTITUTIONS

ON THE INCORPORATION OF FINANCIAL PROVISIONS

INTO LEGISLATIVE ACTS

THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL AND THE COMMISSION,

Having regard to the Joint Declaration of 30 June 1982 which states that: "in order that the full importance of the budget procedure may be preserved, the fixing of maximum amounts by regulation must be avoided, as must the entry in the budget of amounts in excess of what can actually be expended" ⁽⁾,

Whereas, according to a statement annexed to the Inter­institutional Agreement of 29 October 1993 ⁽⁾, the budgetary procedure provisions should be reviewed "at the Intergovernmental Conference scheduled for 1996 in order to achieve inter­institutional cooperation on a partnership basis",

HEREBY DECLARE:

1. Legislative acts concerning multiannual programmes adopted under the co-decision procedure

These acts shall contain a provision in which the legislator shall set out the funding for the total period of the programme.

This amount shall constitute the principal point of reference for the budget authority in the context of the annual budgetary procedure.

The budget authority, and the Commission in drawing up its PDB, undertake not to depart from this amount unless there are new, objective, long-term circumstances for which explicit and precise justification is given.

2. Legislative acts concerning multiannual programmes not subject to the co-decision procedure

These acts shall not contain an "amount deemed necessary".

Should the Council intend to include in these acts a financial reference, the latter shall be regarded as indicative of the will of the legislator and shall not affect the powers of the budget authority as defined by the Treaty. Mention of this provision shall be made in all acts which include a financial reference.

If the amount arises from an agreement concluded according to the conciliation procedure pursuant to the Joint Declaration of 4 March 1975, it shall be considered as a principal point of reference within the meaning of paragraph 1 of this Joint Declaration.

3. The financial statement pursuant to Article 3 of the Financial Regulation shall translate into financial terms the objectives of the proposed programme, and shall include a timetable for the whole period of the programme. It shall be revised, where necessary, when the PDB is drafted, taking account of the extent of implementation of the programme. This revised statement shall be forwarded to the budgetary authority together with the PDB.