EC/developing countries: aid for population policies and programmes in developing countries
While pointing out that 26 out of the 40 amendments tabled
at first reading had been taken over in the common position, the rapporteur
highlighted certain financial commitments which had been entered into on
behalf of the EU during the Cairo Conference in 1994 and the appropriateness
of replacing the regulatory committee, established by the Council, with an
advisory committee as desired by Parliament. Commissioner Marín stated that
he could accept Amendment No 2 on comitology but Amendment No 1,
which called for the Community’s financial support for the population
policies of developing countries to be increased to ECU 300 million by
the year 2000, could not be accepted for technical reasons relating to the
budget line in question. Other amendments could also not be accepted: this
was the case with Amendments Nos 3 and 4 for objective reasons and
Nos 5 and 8 because they were superfluous. Finally, the Commissioner
cited three bilateral cooperation projects which by themselves showed the
extent of the budgetary burden that the Commission was currently supporting
in the population field: these involved subsidies for family planning and
maternity in