Consumers: general framework for Community activities 1999-2003

The Commission's amended proposal incorporated 29 of the 32 amendments adopted by the European Parliament. The Commission did not accept the amendment seeking to increase the budget from ECU 114 million to ECU 130 million for the period 1999-2003. Two other amendments were rejected for institutional and legal reasons, as they anticipated the entry into force of the Amsterdam Treaty. However, the Commission accepted all the amendments concerning the preamble and those seeking to: - permit actions to protect the legal interests of consumers and their access to justice; - permit legal action in the interests of consumers; - provide for administrative costs to be taken into account; - set a deadline for the publication of Commission information on the financing of certain activities (support for the activities of European consumer organisations and for projects to promote the interests of consumers submitted by consumer organisations); - specify that part of the Community funding may be provided after signature of the contract but before its execution; - alter the list of activities described in the annex. �