External actions: financing instrument for cooperation with industrialised and other high-income countries and territories
The European Parliament adopted by 590 votes to 26, with 16 abstentions, at third reading of the ordinary legislative procedure, a legislative resolution on the joint text approved by the Conciliation Committee for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Council Regulation (EC) No 1934/2006 establishing a financing instrument for cooperation with industrialised and other high-income countries and territories.
The European Parliament approves the joint text.
It should be noted that two statements are annexed to the resolution which were accepted by Parliament in plenary:
Statement by the European Parliament and the Council on the use of Delegated Acts in the future Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) 2014-2020: the two institutions take note of the Commission Communication “A Budget for Europe 2020” , in particular in relation to the proposed use of delegated acts in the future external financing instruments and await legislative proposals, which will be duly considered. The document states that the future legal bases for the different instruments will propose the extensive use of delegated acts to allow for more flexibility in the management of the policies during the financing period, while respecting the prerogatives of the two branches of legislator. It is considered that democratic scrutiny of external aid must be improved. This could be achieved by the use of delegated acts in accordance with Article 290 of the Treaty for certain aspects of programmes, not only placing the co-legislators on an equal footing but also ensuring more flexibility in programming.
Commission declaration concerning Article 16: the Regulation addresses the issue of support for a number of specific non-Official Development Assistance (ODA) activities in countries covered by the Development Cooperation Instrument (DCI Regulation n°1905/2006). The Regulation is intended to be a one-off solution to this issue. The Commission reaffirms that the eradication of poverty, including the pursuit of the Millennium Development Goals, is the primary objective of its development cooperation and remains a priority. It recalls that the financial reference amount fixed in Article 16 for countries listed in Annex II will be implemented using dedicated budget lines which are intended for activities other than Official Development Assistance. Furthermore, the Commission confirms its intention to respect the financial reference amount fixed in Article 38 of the Development Cooperation Instrument (Regulation n° 1905/2006) for the period 2007-2013 as well as the provisions in the same Regulation regarding the fulfilment of the criteria for ODA. It recalls that on the basis of its current financial planning, this reference amount will be exceeded in 2013. In this context, the Commission intends to propose draft budgets which ensure a progression in development assistance for Asia and Latin America under the DCI Regulation n°1905/2006 over the period until 2013 so that the currently projected ODA amounts under the DCI and the EU budget generally are not affected.