2001 discharge: ECSC budget

The committee adopted the report by Brigitte LANGENHAGEN (EPP-ED, D) recommending that Parliament grant discharge to the ECSC budget for the financial year 2001. The accompanying resolution pointed out that in the light of the imminent expiry of the ECSC Treaty, the ECSC had not granted any new loans (from borrowed funds) since 1997. The committee urged the Commission to publish, by the end of 2003, an overview of the work undertaken by the ECSC since it was established. It also called on the Commission to review all outstanding commitments systematically before the end of 2003 and to cancel any amounts in respect of which it was unlikely that there would be any movement in the future. MEPs welcomed the successful conclusion of the negotiations with the applicant countries on the conditions for their participation in the new Research Fund for Coal and Steel and wanted the Commission to report to Parliament regularly on the implementation of the decisions subsequently taken. Lastly, the committee stressed that it would continue to monitor the effective use of taxpayers' money, "especially for the purpose of research in the areas of coal and steel", even after the liquidation of the ECSC. �