PRESS RELEASE

Subject :

The Governments of the Member States and the European Commission were represented as follows:

1. UNIVERSAL SERVICE AND USERS' RIGHTS

The Council reached a political agreement on a common position with a view to adopting a Directive on universal service and users' rights relating to electronic communications networks and services. After the finalisation of the text in all the Community languages, the common position will be forwarded to the European Parliament for its second reading, in accordance with the co-decision procedure of the Treaty.

This draft Directive seeks to:

– adapt and modernise existing measures on universal service so as to define the scope of this service, the rights of users and the measures for compensating providers of the service without distorting competition;

– create a process for reviewing the scope of universal service obligations;

– lay down specific users' and consumers' rights where necessary;

– carry forward current measures on and ensure the availability of leased lines in the EU until competition in these services develops;

– allow National Regulatory Authorities (NRAs) to take measures on behalf of users and consumers;

– underpin industry's efforts to ensure interoperability of consumer digital television equipment.

 

 

2. PROCESSING OF PERSONAL DATA AND PROTECTION OF PRIVACY

Pending the opinion of the European Parliament, the Council had a thorough debate on the proposal for a Directive concerning the processing of personal data and the protection of privacy in the electronic communications sector. Noting that an agreement had been reached on all issues but one (unsolicited communications), the Council instructed the Permanent Representatives Committee to continue to work on this last issue, with a view to enabling rapid adoption of this Directive at the next session of the Council under the Belgian Presidency.

This proposal for a Directive is merely a revision of Directive 97/66/EC with a view to adapting and updating its provisions to take account of new and foreseeable developments by creating rules which are technologically neutral and by maintaining a high level of personal data protection and privacy for citizens.

It specifies and complements Directive 95/46/EC in the context of the electronic communication sector whilst providing for protection of legitimate interests of subscribers who are legal persons.

Like the existing Directive, it shall not apply to activities which fall outside the scope of the EC Treaty.

The Council, while awaiting the Opinion of the European Parliament, reached a common orientation regarding the draft Decision on a regulatory framework for radio spectrum policy in the European Community. It invited the Permanent Representatives Committee to submit, with a view to its formal adoption, a draft common position taking account of the Opinion of the European Parliament.

The aim of this draft Decision is to establish a policy and legal framework in the European Community in order to ensure co-ordination of policy approaches and, where appropriate, harmonised conditions with regard to the availability and efficient use of radio spectrum necessary for the establishment and functioning of the internal market in Community policy areas such as electronic communications, transport and Research and Development (R&D).

In order to meet this aim, the draft Decision establishes procedures in order to:

The Council, while awaiting the Opinion of the European Parliament, reached a common orientation on this draft Regulation and instructed the Permanent Representatives Committee to finalise, in the light of the Opinion of the Parliament, the text of a common position, and submit it to the Council at its forthcoming session.

The objective of this Regulation is to implement the .EU country code Top Level Domain (ccTLD) within the Community. The Regulation sets out the conditions for such implementation, including the designation of a Registry, and establishes the general policy framework within which the Registry will function.

This Regulation applies without prejudice to arrangements in Member States regarding national Top Level Domains.

The Council took note of the information provided by the Presidency on this dossier. It requested the Permanent Representatives Committee to actively pursue its work on this file with a view to submitting a draft common position for adoption as soon as the political conditions permit.

This proposal for a Directive tends to amend existing Directive 97/67/EC on a number of points and provides for two further phases in the process of liberalising postal services.

The Commission proposal provides for a first phase, due to be implemented by 1 January 2003 at the latest, representing a further 20% liberalisation compared with the current Directive. Further measures, to be decided on in 2005, would take effect as of 1 January 2007. The main points of this proposal are, firstly, those applicable in 2003 – the introduction of new definitions, the limits of 50g and 2,5 times the basic tariff in the case of the weight and price limits for reserved services and the liberalisation of outgoing cross-border mail – and secondly the new phase proposed to apply from 2007.

The Commission, as a follow-up to the Communication it presented to the (Transport/Telecommunications) Council on 4/5 April 2001, provided further information on this subject, which was commented on by several delegations.

The President summed up the discussion by stating that

Over lunch, the Commission presented its Communication entitled as above. It is to be noted that the (Internal Market, Consumer Affairs and Tourism) Council on 31 May adopted a Resolution on this issue (see Press release of 31 May 2001 no. 9120 Presse 205).

• when entering into a port or offshore terminal under the jurisdiction of a Member State, irrespective of their flag, or
• flying the flag of a Member States.

• Negotiations on black boxes in the IMO framework

• Compensation fund for oil pollution damage

The Council, while awaiting the Opinion of the European Parliament at its first reading, reached a common orientation on a draft directive on reporting formalities for ships arriving in and departing from ports of the Member States of the Community, with a view to preliminary contacts with the European Parliament in the framework of the co-decision procedure.

Outlining the objectives of the forthcoming White Paper, Vice-President DE PALACIO stressed that, in the face of the anticipated strong growth in the overall demand for transport in the EU, the Commission is advocating a framework which would accommodate this demand on a sustainable basis. This would be achieved by aiming at a substantial increase of the share of transport by rail, sea and inland waterway at the horizon of 2010, implying among other things, the encouragement of intermodal transport.

The Council adopted the following conclusions:

1. Having regard to the Commission Communication of 22 November 2000 and the results published to date of the definition phase of GALILEO initiated by the Council Resolution of 19 July 1999( 1);
2. Following its Resolution of 5 April 2001( 2) establishing arrangements that contain the necessary components for launching the development phase of the GALILEO project as the next step, in particular its paragraph 4 which lays down that a preliminary definition of the services has to be endorsed by the Council in June 2001 as an important element of the initial tendering process;

 

3. Emphasising that GALILEO is a civil programme under civil control providing a framework within which its services can be developed;
4. Notes that the Commission, in close co-operation with ESA, is drawing up a clear statement of mission requirements in accordance with the Council Resolution of 5 April 2001, including performances at least equivalent to existing Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS), optimised interoperability and redundancy with other systems, no common failure modes, integrity at all latitudes, compatibility with existing navigation systems, a continuity of service in crisis situations, and compatibility with intellectual property rights mechanisms. Notes the Commission's intention to regularly inform the Council on the evolution of its High Level Definition Document drawn up in co-operation with ESA
5. Endorses that the initial tendering process be based on a system with capabilities that would open the following range of possible services for development, in order to carry out the consolidation and final selection of the services to be decided by the Council no later than the end of 2003, with a view to operational deployment in 2008.

Navigation services:

- open service

- safety-of-life service

- commercial service

- public regulated service

- GNSS-1 augmentation service

Navigation related services:

- search and rescue service

- navigation related communications service;

6. Underlines that the result of the initial tendering process will have to clarify the costs, feasibility and comprehensive market aspects of demand for all services, specifying the potential revenue flows and how these will be achieved.

 

7. Notes the report by the Commission containing the independent consolidation of the Cost-Benefit Analysis presented in June 2001. This report will be analysed further by the Council;
8. Takes note of the Commission proposal on the Joint Undertaking and will examine it;
9. Underlines that the future services from Galileo will be developed based on technical requirement, user needs, economic viability and economic and social benefits of different services, in close co-operation with private and other potential partners.

The Council took note of the information given by Vice-President DE PALACIO on the state of play concerning the ongoing work on aircraft noise at the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), and of the interventions by delegations.

This issue covers three aspects:

The Council welcomed the positive work which has been done over the last months and reached a broad preliminary agreement on a draft Regulation on common rules in the field of civil aviation safety and the setting up a European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA).. While awaiting the Opinion of the European Parliament, the Council instructed the Permanent Representatives Committee to continue to work on the refinement of the draft Regulation, taking into account the outcome of today's discussions concerning two issues:

On the first issue there was consensus to give the Commission one year to present adequate proposals; on the latter, most delegations agreed to have the Executive Director designated by a majority of 4/5 of the Management Board on the basis of a list of persons submitted by the Commission.

The Council reached a common position on a Regulation amending Regulation 2027/97 on air carrier liability, which is intended to align Community legislation with the Montreal Convention. After finalisation of the text in all Community languages, this common position will be formally adopted and forwarded to the European Parliament in accordance with the co-decision procedure.

The Council adopted the following conclusions on the development of the rights of air passengers:

"THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION

EMPHASISES the importance of fair and strong rights of air passengers in a modern and efficient air transport sector in order to give the development of the sector a good and balanced direction;

IS AWARE of the specific needs of persons with reduced mobility;

RECALLS its Resolution on the rights of air passengers of 2 October 2000, in which the Council concluded that priority actions in this field should seek to improve information, strengthen air passengers' rights, improve service and facilitate handling of disputes;

CONFIRMS its desire that the rights of air passengers – in areas were legislation is not required - primarily be improved by voluntary measures by those involved in air transport of passengers;

REAFFIRMS its position that legislative initiatives may prove necessary in areas not adequately addressed by such voluntary measures;

WELCOMES the Airline Passenger Service Commitment and the Airport Voluntary Commitment on Air Passenger Service presented at the EU-ECAC dialogue meeting in Lisbon in May 2001;

NOTES that the voluntary arrangement does not address the question of monitoring of the compliance with the arrangements,

CONSIDERS THAT – in so far as the voluntary agreements are effectively implemented within a reasonable period of time – the services to air passengers would be improved in so far as:

1. Airlines would help passengers to obtain

• a better deal when booking flights,
• better information on their flight,
• assistance and information in case of delays, cancellations and mishandled baggage,
• better response to complaints and prompt refunds.

2. Airports would provide

• passenger friendly and well-maintained infrastructure and equipment,
• assistance in case of major disturbances.

SPECIFICALLY WELCOMES that both airlines and airports undertake to improve services provided to meet the needs of passengers with reduced mobility and that such services will be free of charge, but emphasises that the cost of such services shall not be transferred to passengers with reduced mobility and notices that further work is required to address the question of financing such services;

CONSIDERS that persons with reduced mobility ought to have a right to travel by air at the same cost and level of convenience as other passengers irrespective of whether they require a higher level of service from those involved in air transport of passengers;

BELIEVES that passengers ought to be able to claim the fulfilment of contracts and of the service promised in the voluntary commitments through systems for out of court dispute settlements;

URGES all air carriers and all airports of the Community to sign up to the commitments;

ENCOURAGES all parties to work further on the implementation of the agreements, in particular on mechanisms to monitor the fulfilment of voluntary commitments and share information on such monitoring;

INVITES those involved in air transport of passengers and their baggage to continue the co-operation with the aim to cover areas not covered by the present commitments."

The Council took note of a progress report on the state of play of work on a proposal for a directive on the training of drivers for the carriage of passengers or goods by road. It also noted the incoming Presidency's intention to continue work on this proposal.

The Council noted the presentation by Vice-President DE PALACIO of the forthcoming proposals regarding the revision of Regulation 3820/85/EEC and of the proposal for a Directive on the use of speed limitation devices; this latter proposal has already been adopted by the Commission. The Council instructed the Permanent Representatives Committee to initiate work on these proposals, as soon as they have become available, so as to allow the Council to consider these proposals by the end of the year.

The Council took note of the presentation by the Commission of its Communication on this subject, which was also presented to the Industry/Energy Council on 14/15 May last. The Commission aims to relaunch the cooperation with the Mediterranean States within the framework of the Barcelona process in priority areas such as transport and energy.

• Ratification of international conventions

The Council took note of the joint initiative of the French and United Kingdom Ministers for Transport who make an appeal to Member States for a rapid ratification of certain international conventions in the area of liability and compensation in the case of pollution caused by shipping activities.

Over lunch, the Council welcomed the positive developments in the relations with Russia on this point.

• Agreements on aviation with CEECs and Cyprus
• The Council took note of the finalisation of negotiations on the agreements on aviation with CEECs and Cyprus, with the exception of Hungary.

• Allocation of slots

The Council took note of information given by the Commission on its proposal to revise the existing Regulation concerning the allocation of airport slots.

• Railway Package

The Council noted the Commission's information with respect to the implementation of the Directives constituting the Railway Package. The Commission underlined the good cooperation which has taken place so far between the Member States and the Commission as regards the implementation which is currently in progress.

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In the margins of the present meeting of the Council, an Agreement between the EU and Romania on road transit was signed, for the European Community by Mr Björn ROSENGREN, Minister for Industry, Employment and Communications of Sweden, President of the Council, and Ms Loyola DE PALACIO, Vice-President of the Commission, and for Romania by Mr Miron Tudor MITREA, Minister of Public Works, Transport and Housing.

This transit Agreement will enable transport operators from Romania and from the Member States of the European Union to benefit from the transparent and non-discriminatory treatment which is assured to them by the provisions of the Agreement. It has also an important environmental dimension. The corresponding provisions of the Agreement aim to promote the use of combined transport, whereby particular emphasis is laid upon the use of the most environmentally friendly mode of transport.

The Agreement forms an important improvement for the land transport connections between Greece and the other Member States of the European Union as well as Romania and this in view of the particular geographic situation of Greece as one of the Member States on the current periphery of the European Union.

The Agreement is also significant in the wider framework of the pre-accession strategy for Romania. Further harmonisation of the relevant legislation on both sides - which has been achieved through the negotiation of this Agreement - together with its economic benefits, are all elements which help to pave the way towards the accession of Romania to the European Union.

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(Decisions for which statements for the Council minutes have been made available to the public are indicated by asterisks; the statements in question may be obtained from the Press Office.)

The Council adopted its common position with a view to adopting a Directive concerning loading and unloading of bulk carriers.

The aim of this draft Directive is to improve protection for bulk carriers calling at Community terminals in order to load or unload solid bulk cargoes. It is intended to reduce the risks of excessive stresses and physical damage to the ship's structure during cargo handling operations, by defining the requirements applicable to such ships and terminals and by establishing harmonised procedures for cooperation and communication between those ships and terminals.

The Council formally endorsed a political agreement on the proposed regulation on food law and the creation of a European Food Authority. The text approved by the Council takes account of the majority of the Parliament's amendments in first reading which were accepted by the Commission. The Commission was however unable to support the agreement on account of the approach retained by the Council for the composition of the Authority's Management Board. The Council will adopt its common position at a forthcoming session after the finalisation of the text, and will forward it to the European Parliament for the second reading, in accordance with the co-decision procedure.

The creation of the European Food Authority is one of the main policy measures contained in the Commission's January 2000 White Paper on food safety and subsequently approved by the European Council.

Its mission will be to provide the Community with the independent scientific and technical advice that it requires to underpin policy and legislation in all areas of food safety. Its aim is to contribute to a high level of health protection, taking into account animal health and welfare, plant health and the environment. It will not be a regulatory body for rule-making, control or enforcement; responsibility for these will remain with the relevant Community institutions and the Member States.

The structures of the Authority are designed to ensure the realisation in practice of a number of important objectives - independence, transparency, scientific excellence - as well as close cooperation with the competent bodies in the Member States. It shall comprise a Management Board, and Executive Director and his/her staff, an Advisory Forum involving the competent bodies in the Member States, a Scientific Committee and Scientific Panels.

The Authority will also have an explicit duty to address and identify and resolve diverging scientific opinions at Community or Member State level. Key to the restoration of consumer confidence, the Authority will give clear and publicly accessible information on all matters on food safety. It will also be entrusted with the collection and analysis of data and with the identification of emerging risks. Central to its functioning is the promotion of networking among organisations operating in the field of food safety.

The draft regulation also aims to provide a comprehensive basis for food law in the Community, establishing general principles and requirements for food law, general obligations of food trade as well as common provisions on transparency.

The Council adopted by a qualified majority, with the Danish, Finnish and Swedish delegations voting against and the Austrian delegation abstaining, the Regulation supplementing the Annex to Commission Regulation (EC) No 1107/96 on the registration of geographical indications and designations of origin. It adds the name "Bayerisches Bier (PGI)" as a protected geographical indication under the heading beer from Germany to the Annex of Regulation 1107/96.

The Council decided to authorise the Commission to vote on behalf of the Community within the International Sugar Council (ISC) for a two-year roll-over of the International Sugar Agreement (ISA), 1992.

It is recalled that the International Sugar Agreement (ISA), 1992, was concluded by the Community by Council Decision 92/580/EEC ( 3), and entered into force on 1 January 1993 for a period of two years until 31 December 1995. Since then, it has three times been extended for a two-year period. The ISA will therefore expire on 31 December 2001 if not extended.

The Council, on the basis of a proposal from the Commission, decided to renew for another five years the terms of office of the President of the Community Plant Variety Office, Mr Bart KIEWIET, as of 31 July 2001, and of the Vice-President, Mr José ELENA ROSSELLO, as of 28 February 2002.

The Council adopted by qualified majority, the Belgian, Danish and the Netherlands' delegation voting against, its common position on the directive amending for the 20th time the Directive relating to restrictions on the marketing and use of certain dangerous substances and preparations.

The aim of the draft Directive is to harmonise differing national laws on the use of short-chain chlorinated paraffins (SCCPs) for two purposes: metalworking and leather finishing. Restriction of the use of these substances appears advisable in the light of the outcome of a risk assessment of SCCPs, which found there to be potential risks to the environment.

The Council authorised the Director of Europol - in accordance with Article 42(2), Article 10(4) and Article 18 of the Convention on the establishment of a European Police Office (Europol Convention) which allows Europol to have relations with third States and bodies- to conclude co-operation agreements between Europol and Norway, Iceland and Interpol.

These agreements regulate the exchange of data (including personal data), the coordination of activities, as well as the organisation of administrative and practical cooperation.

The Council adopted a Decision establishing a second phase of the Grotius II - Penal Programme for the encouragement of exchanges, training and co-operation aimed at practitioners in the field of justice.

The Council adopted a Decision establishing a second phase of the Oisin II Programme for the encouragement of exchanges, training and co-operation between law enforcement services.

The Council adopted a Decision establishing a second phase of the STOP II Programme for the encouragement of exchanges, training and co-operation aimed at persons responsible for the fight against human trafficking and the sexual exploitation of children.

The Council adopted a Decision establishing the Hippocrate Programme of encouragement, exchanges, training and co-operation in the area of crime prevention.

The Council - following the political agreement reached at the Mixed Committee on the 29 May 2001 - adopted a Directive supplementing the provisions of Article 26 of the Convention implementing the Schengen Agreement of 14 June 1985, concerning the harmonisation of penalties imposed on carriers transporting into the territory of the Member States third-country nationals lacking the documents necessary for admission.

The Directive provides that Member States shall take the necessary measures to ensure that the penalties applicable to carriers under the existing provisions of Article 26(2) and (3) of the Schengen Convention are dissuasive, effective and proportionate, and that, with a view to harmonising current practices by the Member States, the following financial penalties shall apply:

• either the maximum amount of the applicable financial penalties is not less than €  5 000 or equivalent national currency at the rate of exchange published in the Official Journal on the day on which this Directive enters into force for each person carried, or
• the minimum amount of these penalties is not less than €  3 000 or equivalent national currency at the rate of exchange published in the Official Journal on the day on which this Directive enters into force for each person carried, or
• the maximum amount of the penalty imposed as a lump sum for each infringement is not less that €  500 000 or equivalent national currency at the rate of exchange published in the Official Journal on the day on which this Directive enters into force, irrespective of the number of persons carried.

These penalties are without prejudice to Member States’ obligations in cases where a third country national seeks international protection.

The Council adopted a Decision on further exceptional financial aid to Kosovo.

In addition to the financial assistance already decided upon by the Council in its Decision 2000/140/EC on 14 February 2000, the Community shall make available to UNMIK, in conjunction with the contributions of the other donors, exceptional financial assistance in the form of straight grants of up to EUR 30 million to be released in at least two instalments, with a view to alleviating the financial situation in Kosovo, facilitating the establishment and continuation of essential administrative functions and supporting the development of a sound economic framework.

This assistance shall be managed by the Commission, which will agree in particular with UNMIK, after consultation of the EFC, the economic conditions attached to this assistance.

The Council adopted two parallel Regulations concerning the protection of the euro against counterfeiting. The first Regulation (based on article 123 (4) ECT) defines the measures necessary for the protection of the euro against counterfeiting in the euro-zone and the other (based on article 308 ECT) extends the effects of the Regulation to Member States that have not adopted the euro as a single currency

The first Regulation aims to ensure a high level of protection against counterfeiting and falsification. Its purpose is to strengthen the legal protection of Euro banknotes and coins in time for their introduction on the 1^st January 2002. The Regulation covers the processing of technical and statistical information relating to counterfeiting, the processing of operational and strategic data, and co-operation and mutual assistance.

Under the terms of the regulation, credit institutions, and any other institutions engaged in the sorting and distribution to the public of notes and coins as a professional activity, including establishments whose activity consists in exchanging notes and coins of different currencies, such as bureaux de change, shall be obliged to withdraw from circulation all Euro notes and coins received by them which they know or have sufficient reason to believe to be counterfeit. They shall immediately hand them over to the competent national authorities. Each Member State shall take the necessary measures to ensure that the establishments which fail to discharge their obligations shall be subject to effective, proportionate and deterrent sanctions.

The regulation also contains provisions dealing with:

• Gathering and access of technical and statistical data by the competent national authorities and the role of the ECB
• The obligation of the competent national authorities to transmit counterfeit notes and coins for identification to the National Analysis Centres (NAC) or National Coin Analysis Centres

• Co-operation amongst the competent national authorities to protect the Euro against counterfeiting
• Centralisation of information at national level
• Definition of competent national authorities (the remaining open question on this issue was resolved by the adoption of a Council declaration which takes note of the existing situation in two Member States concerning the competence of police and judicial authorities)
• Relations with third countries and relevant international organisations
• Unauthorised notes

The Council agreed to the EU-Hungary Association Council adopting by the written procedure a Decision concerning the terms and conditions for the participation of Hungary in the Community "Culture 2000" programme.

All the associated countries of Central and Eastern Europe have taken part in one or more Community programmes in the cultural sphere (Ariane, Kaleidoscope and Raphael) which have now expired: the conditions for their participation had been established by respective Association Council decisions. These countries also wish to participate in the new "Culture 2000" programme which has been implemented for the period 2000-2004. To permit such participation, a fresh Association Council decision is needed. This is the purpose of the proposed Decision concerning Hungary.

The Council adopted four regulations concerning structural and agricultural measures in relation to the outermost regions of the EU.

The regulations aim to:

• give greater emphasis in the Structural Fund regulations on the outermost regions' specific handicaps, and increase the rates of assistance;
• help the outermost regions cope with the permanent handicaps (climate, remoteness, small size of holdings) and the specific constraints experienced there (lack of economies of scale, economic dependence, very high production costs).

Following the Education and Youth Council meeting on 28 May 2001, the Council formally adopted the Declaration on combating racism and xenophobia on the Internet by intensifying work with young people. For the text of the Declaration, see Press release no 8536/01 Presse 179.

Following the Education and Youth Council meeting on 28 May 2001, the Council formally adopted the Resolution of the Council and the Representatives of the Governments of the Member States on promoting young people's initiative, enterprise and creativity: from exclusion to empowerment. For the text of the Resolution, see Press release no 8536/01 Presse 179.

The Council authorised the Presidency, assisted by the Commission as appropriate, to open negotiations with FYROM in order to conclude an agreement with FYROM on the activities of the EUMM in FYROM. This agreement should replace, as far as the EU and FYROM are concerned, the Memorandum of Understanding of 13 July 1991 with the Federal Authorities of Yugoslavia on the European Community Monitoring Mission and the Memorandum of Understanding of 1 September 1991 on the extension of monitoring activities of the ECMM and contain provision for the establishment of an EUMM office in Skopje.

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The Council adopted by written procedure on 29 June 2001 a Joint Action appointing an EU Special Representative in FYROM.

It is recalled that on 15 June 2001 the European Council agreed to appoint, for a limited period of time an EU representative, resident in Skopje, to act under the authority of the High Representative. The (General Affairs) Council, at its meeting on 25 June 2001, agreed to appoint Mr François LEOTARD to this post (see Press Release 10228/01 - Presse 250).

The Joint Action states that the mandate of the Representative shall be to act, under the authority of the High Representative, in the following areas:

• establish and maintain close contact with the government of FYROM and with the parties involved in the political process;
• offer EU’s advice and facilitation in the political process;
• liaise closely with the local Presidency, the Heads of Mission and the European Commission, as well as with EUMM;
• establish and maintain close contact with other relevant international and regional actors, including local representatives of NATO, OSCE and the UN with a view to ensure the required coordination;
• contribute, where requested, to the implementation of agreements reached;
• follow closely developments and initiatives in the field of security and liaise with all relevant bodies.

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