MEDA programme, Mediterranean countries. 1998 report

The European Parliament adopted the report by Yves PIETRASANTA (Greens/EFA, F) putting forward a draft resolution on the Commission's report on the implementation of the MEDA programme - 1998 annual report. In adopting this report however, the Parliament stressed the decisive role which decentralised cooperation can play in the Mediterranean in promoting democracy and in supporting the emergence of a civil society. The Parliament calls for the programme's implementing rules to be simplified and for a more equitable breakdown of funds between the three dimensions of the partnership and for more political dialogue in each or these areas. In addition to these requests, the Parliament also called for the following, amongst others, in its resolution: - that the Member States which have not yet ratified outstanding association agreements (notably that with Jordan) do so as a matter of urgency; - that MEDA have a more strategic and integrated approach aimed at sustainable development; -that interregional cooperation be stepped up, so that wide-ranging horizontal programmes can be put in place; - that the Commission speed up the process of negotiating the association agreements which are still outstanding; - that MEDA funds be substantially increased for regional programmes and projects with a south-south dimension; - that the reform provided for in the new MEDA II regulation and the simplification of the procedures become operational as soon as possible; - that the Commission make available to the Parliament and the public, an annual report on the use of the funds; - that the Commission draw up an annual report specifically on human rights in the Mediterranean; - that information on the process of programming, adoption, implementation and evaluaiton of the projects be made available in due course to permit genuine public consultation; - that democracy and sustainable development be integral features of the programming process; - that the MEDA be subject to the same social and environmental standards as those already in force under other Community policies and instruments; - that the Commission start, before the end of 2000, a participatory process of strategic evaluation of the social and environmental impact of the Euro-Mediterranean free trade area; - that specific measures be financed by MEDA aimed at strengthening cooperation in agriculture and rural development in order to improve the quality of life of the countryside and to reduce food dependency; - that the Commission, as a matter of urgency, relaunch the MEDA programmes under a more appropriate formula; - that the gender dimension be taken into account in all initiatives undertaken under the MEDA projects; - that MEDA funds for training actions in all areas of the partnership be increased substantially to be able to benefit all societies in the beneficiary countries; - that the eligibility criteria of projects be revised so that they are simplified and procedures for the allocation andpayment of funds are more flexible with the possibility of reducing the scope of projects, in particular by reintroducing MEDA micro-actions; - that the short and medium-term environment action programme (SMAP) be reinforced so that it can become a consolidated and operational structure before the end of 2000; - that a regional cooperation programme for the management of water, with annual appropriations of at least EUR 10 million, be established before the end of 2000; - that regional cooperation projects aimed at combatting marine pollution, be stepped up; - that action in the area of renewable energy be given priority in 2010, with annual energy savings of 2.5% for all sectors of energy consumption.�