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Parliament also succeeded in retaining the URBAN programme as one of the Community initiatives. Despite the cost of the 2004 enlargement, the increased number of less-developed regions and the extra efforts that have to be made if the structural policies are to succeed, for the period 2007–13 the ERDF will have resources that are 0.04 % less than the amount proposed by the European Commission with the support of Parliament. Because of its spirit of cooperation, Parliament was successful in obtaining the changes required concerning environmental protection. Its voice has been heard in the areas of partnership where, under the general regulation, greater involvement of civil society and NGOs is foreseen. g Ivana Katsarova January 2007 Summary table 2000–06 2007–13 Objectives Financial instruments Objectives Financial instruments Cohesion Fund Cohesion Fund ‘Convergence’ ERDF Objective 1 ERDF — Cohesion Fund — ESF — — — EAGGF — Guarantee and EAGGF — Guidance — — — FIFG — — Objective 2 ERDF ‘Regional competitiveness ERDF — ESF and employment’ regional ESF level — national level: Objective 3 ESF European employment — strategy Interreg ERDF European territorial cooperation ERDF URBAN ERDF — — EQUAL ESF — — Leader+ EAGGF — Guidance — — Rural development and EAGGF — Guarantee — — restructuring of fisheries outside Objective 1 FIFG — — 9 objectives 6 instruments 3 objectives 3 instruments 4.5.3. The Cohesion Fund The Cohesion Fund was set up in 1994. It provides funding for environmental projects and trans-European network and transport infrastructure projects. It also finances preparatory studies associated with these projects and technical support measures. Legal basis Article 161 of the Treaty establishing the European Community (EC), introduced by the Maastricht Treaty. Objectives The Treaty states that the Fund ‘shall provide a financial contribution to projects’ in the fields of: — environment; — trans-European networks in the area of transport infrastructure. Achievements Initially the Council set up (1 April 1993) a ‘cohesion financial instrument’ (Regulation (EEC) No 792/93). The Cohesion Fund 206
4 Common policies 5 Regional and cohesion policy replaced it on 16 May 1994 (Regulation (EEC) No 1164/94, modified by Regulations (EC) No 1264/99 and (EC) No 1265/99). A. Field of application 1. Eligible countries The Fund is reserved for Member States whose per capita GNP is less than 90 % of the Community average and who have set up a programme aiming to meet the criteria set by Article 104c of the Treaty; this concerns excessive government deficits in the context of coordinating economic policies as part of economic and monetary union. Four Member States qualify: Ireland, Greece, Spain and Portugal. 2. Eligible projects In the two areas of action laid down by the Treaty, the Fund may assist: — environmental projects contributing to achieving the objectives of Article 174 (130r) of the Treaty in the following areas: quality of the environment, human health, utilisation of natural resources and regional or worldwide environmental problems; these projects include those resulting from measures taken under Article 175 (ex Article 130s) and are in line with the priorities given to Community environmental policy by the fifth programme of policy and action in relation to environment and sustainable development; — transport infrastructure projects of common interest financed by Member States, within the framework of the guidelines referred to in Article 155 (ex Article 129c) of the Treaty; however, other trans-European network projects contributing to achieving the objectives of Article 154 (ex Article 129b) of the Treaty may be financed until the Council adopts appropriate guidelines (4.7.2). — preparatory studies related to eligible projects; — technical support measures and related studies. B. Aid mechanism 1. Scale of funding The level of funding is between 80 % and 85 % of public expenditure on a project, depending on the type of operation. If a project receives other Community aid as well as assistance from the Fund, the total amount of assistance may not exceed 90 % of the total expenditure, except for preparatory studies, which may receive 100 % funding. 2. Procedure The Commission, in agreement with the beneficiary Member State, takes the decision to fund a project. Decisions must maintain a balance between the two areas (environment and transport infrastructure). The Commission presents an annual report on the activities of the Fund to Parliament, the Council, the Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions. C. Volume of aid 1. The Fund’s resources a. 1993–99 The total volume of resources that could be committed under the Fund was just over ECU 15 billion. Regulation (EC) No 1264/1999 allocated funds between the beneficiary Member States, on a purely indicative basis: — Spain: 61 to 63.5 %; — Greece: 16 to 18 %; — Portugal: 16 to 18 %; — Ireland: 2 to 6 % (Ireland has not been eligible since 1 January 2004). b. 2000–06: Regulation (EC) No 1264/1999 set the total resources available for commitments at EUR 18 billion at 1999 prices. Following the Union’s enlargement on 1 May 2004, the Cohesion Fund applied to the 10 new Member States until the end of 2006, as well as to the three Member States eligible at the end of the period 2000–06 (Greece, Spain and Portugal). Spain was no longer eligible after 1 January 2007. The act concerning the conditions of accession of the 10 new Member States granted a total of EUR 7.59 billion in commitment appropriations at 1999 prices for those countries between 1 May 2004 and 31 December 2006. How the overall resources of the Fund were allocated among the Member States depended on a number of criteria: each country’s population and area, its per capita GNP and socioeconomic factors such as its infrastructure. However, the total amount that these Member States received from the Cohesion Fund each year, together with the assistance they received from the Structural Funds, could not exceed 4 % of their GDP. c. Programming period 2007–13 The new regulation ((EC) No 1084/2006) sets out the general provisions for the operation of the Cohesion Fund and lays down that it contributes to the convergence objective (4.5.2) covering less developed Member States and regions through financial participation in the convergence objective’s operational programmes. The accession of new Member States on 1 May 2004, all of which are eligible for the Cohesion Fund and which face new and important financing needs, justifies an extension of both the Fund’s area of intervention and of the budget of EUR 18 billion (for the period 2000–06) to EUR 61 billion for the new programming period (EUR 58 billion plus EUR 3 billion for specific transitional support). The Fund can therefore also finance actions in support of sustainable development, where these have a clear environmental dimension, such as energy efficiency or renewable energy. Beyond the trans-European transport networks, this also allows for financing of rail, navigable maritime and river waterways, multi-modal transport actions 207
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2009 EDITION The European Union at
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2009 Edition Fact
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Note to readers This 2009 edition o
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Contents 1 1.1. Historical evolutio
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5 Economic and monetary union 5.1.
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1 How the European Union works 1 Hi
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1 How the European Union works 2 Ma
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1 How the European Union works 3 Eu
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1 How the European Union works 4 De
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1 How the European Union works 5 Fi
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2 6 1 How the European Union works
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— entitlement to effective legal
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2.2. The citizens of the Union and
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of the internal market, in which it
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the EU-25 Member States to introduc
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2.4. Voting rights and eligibility
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of the Member State concerned, as t
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3 How the European Union 1 works 4
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— the elimination of physical fro
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3.2. The main freedoms of the inter
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EEC. Under this approach the guidin
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Certain advantages specific to Unio
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— a proposal for a directive on t
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No 2157/2001 on the statute for a E
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— purchases of securities that ar
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3.3. Rules of competition 3.3.1. Ge
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ceilings for all the undertakings c
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— It is to enable more effective
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emergencies. For this reason the EC
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On 7 May 1998, horizontal aid becam
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The regimes based on special and ex
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In its resolution of 14 January 200
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and Decisions 93/676/EEC, 97/367/EC
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— The aim is also to guarantee le
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— a proposal for a directive on t
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The committee proposed a range of r
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Implementation of the directive is
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3.4.5. Intellectual, industrial and
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4. Efforts to combat counterfeiting
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4.7. Trans-European networks, 236 4
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— reform of State aid policy; —
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4.2. Common agricultural policy 4.2
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Page 160 and 161: policy and aid); EUR 14 billion ear
Page 162 and 163: — an external heading, with an ex
Page 164 and 165: 4.2.4. The first pillar of the CAP:
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Page 168 and 169: — support to improve the economic
Page 170 and 171: Guarantee Section and the Guidance
Page 172 and 173: increase its impact on compulsory e
Page 174 and 175: As far as tariff quotas are concern
Page 176 and 177: 2004, which set out the key princip
Page 178 and 179: 4.2.9. The CAP and the Treaty of Li
Page 180 and 181: Union’s activity. It should be re
Page 182 and 183: Table III — Basic agri-environmen
Page 184 and 185: Table V — Trade in agricultural a
Page 186 and 187: funds (EDF) and headings in the EU
Page 188 and 189: — the implementation of internati
Page 190 and 191: management measures based on total
Page 192 and 193: the baselines, where Member States
Page 194 and 195: 4.4.3. Fisheries structural assista
Page 196 and 197: d. Fisheries partnership agreements
Page 198 and 199: with Norway represents more than 60
Page 200 and 201: 1. Cooperation between Member State
Page 202 and 203: The enlargement of 2004 caused an 8
Page 204 and 205: It also reformed the decision-makin
Page 206 and 207: 4.5.2. The European Regional Develo
Page 210 and 211: and their interoperability, road an
Page 212 and 213: Community financial assistance is p
Page 214 and 215: (COM(95) 961) dealt with the extern
Page 216 and 217: previously, transport between two M
Page 218 and 219: decide to provide public passenger
Page 220 and 221: 1998 on the recognition of the dist
Page 222 and 223: 4.6.4. Road traffic and safety prov
Page 224 and 225: 4.6.5. Air transport: market access
Page 226 and 227: formation of global alliances. As w
Page 228 and 229: chances for new competitors, as wel
Page 230 and 231: components. Firstly, it proposes se
Page 232 and 233: country which call at Community por
Page 234 and 235: Memorandum of Understanding) if pre
Page 236 and 237: ecently focused on the promotion of
Page 238 and 239: In its resolution of 26 October 200
Page 240 and 241: European energy networks (TEN-E). T
Page 242 and 243: — demonstration that the project
Page 244 and 245: 4.8. Industrial policy 4.8.1. Gener
Page 246 and 247: — The resolution of 13 June 2002
Page 248 and 249: Czech Republic held meetings with t
Page 250 and 251: the country’s leadership in the i
Page 252 and 253: which employs more than 2 million p
Page 254 and 255: 4.8.5. The chemicals and pharmaceut
Page 256 and 257: completed by an ‘Inventory and co
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Following a broad consultation proc
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In October 2003 Parliament adopted
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provided that the scheduled duratio
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networks’ could provide an opport
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applications. By mid-2008 the Commi
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focus on the issues of information
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Directive 98/44/EC on the legal pro
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need to implement an EU strategy to
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(ex Articles 117 and 118) Member St
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With a view to enhancing the qualit
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4.9.2. The European Social Fund The
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The co-financing by the ESF may var
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— Recommendations: the Council ma
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4.9.4. Social security cover in oth
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— Expansion of the fields of soci
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health and safety. One of the corne
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the involvement of social partners
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Objectives The Community supports a
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protection of self-employed women d
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4.9.8. Anti-discrimination and soci
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social exclusion as an objective of
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4.10. Environment policy 4.10.1. En
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as LIFE, the ‘Urban’ programme,
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2. Public participation in decision
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problems. However, market forces ca
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defines the objectives for integrat
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achieved by disposing of waste at a
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incineration facility should be con
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C. Conservation and protection of t
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In November 2006, Parliament adopte
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2012, a reduction of around 25 % fr
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does not include any legal requirem
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(see below). In addition, halting t
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consequences of climate change, whi
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Environment and LIFE-Third countrie
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European Union’s ever increasing
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(COM(2006) 388) for a regulation to
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the Green Paper calls for the invol
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Furthermore, the EP felt that the s
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the scientific committees are now p
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warning or identified by a visual s
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4.11.3. Public health The Treaty of
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involve all Member States as well a
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c. Police and judicial cooperation
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4.12.2. Asylum and immigration poli
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concerning Member States’ measure
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The EP actively supports the introd
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action plans: one of general scope
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Operational Cooperation at the Exte
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in criminal matters, underlines the
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4.12.5. Police and customs cooperat
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organisation, a list of organisatio
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electricity and gas for all consume
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future of energy in the EU and part
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entered into force on 1 July 1987,
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detailed proposal. Projects are sel
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4.15. Small and medium-sized enterp
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considerable impact on the complian
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are needed to help organise and dev
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4.17. Culture and education 4.17.1.
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EC of 15 November 2006). The progra
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4.17.2. Youth policy Youth policy i
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c. Youth and media Youth protection
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multicultural communication through
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Article 151 makes it possible to su
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the Lisbon strategy. Promoting cult
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markets. A series of important merg
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Minors should be protected from the
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situation can only be improved by i
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final). The main significance of th
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administration, to facilitate impor
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Since the need for unanimity in Cou
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anomalies. Finally, Directive 2006/
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— a minimum standard rate of 15 %
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Commission then had not made any pr
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4.18.4. Taxation of energy Various
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discussions, which preceded the ado
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way of harmonisation would probably
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— During the transitional period
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5 Economic and monetary union 1 The
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5 Economic and monetary union 3 Eur
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5 Economic and monetary union 4 Coo
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5 Economic and monetary union 4 Coo
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5 Economic and monetary union 5 Fra
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5 Economic and monetary union 5 Fra
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6 1 How the European Union works 3
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B. The Maastricht Treaty (1992) The
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6.1.2. Defending human rights and d
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the EU-Africa strategic partnership
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— to strengthen the security of t
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confirmed the EU’s ability to con
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— 1.3 % to 11.2 % of exports; —
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Table 9 — Imports by economic are
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6.2.2. The European Union and the W
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4. 2002-03 Following the Doha Confe
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6.3. Framework for relations with c
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countries (the Czech Republic, Esto
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3. Other western Balkan countries T
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. The 10 new Member States that joi
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2. Monitoring the extension of Comm
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intended to be valid for three year
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Council meetings reiterated that th
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former Federal Republic of Yugoslav
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6.4.2. The Russian Federation A str
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etween the economies and societies
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Europe and central Asia in connecti
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Background A number of developments
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and dialogue on international issue
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— the Euro-Mediterranean Civil Fo
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individual State, i.e. not with the
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parallel with progress on political
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production and aircraft building (B
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2. Relations with the Rio Group and
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On 8 November 2006 the first of the
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and alternating between venues with
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Commission adopted a communication
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etween the EU and the countries of
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delivered through the UN and NGOs o
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(resolution of 23 October 2003). On
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c. A first-ever EU-ASEAN summit too
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3. Although not a participant of th
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6. Environment On the basis of the
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political framework has been redefi
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2007 GSP preferential imports (mill
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within 72 hours and up to EUR 10 mi
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As the institution for adopting the
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State is to accept the repatriation
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European Parliament Fact</s
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