With this text, the Council proposes a revised draft of the decision establishing a new partnership with Greenland and Denmark (which ensures sovereignty).
The text replaces the proposal from the Commission of 07/12/2011 (please refer to the summary of the Commission proposal from this date).
Overall, the objectives and areas of cooperation remain the same. The financial reference amount is dependent on the overall negotiations on the financial framework: at this stage, the indicative amount shall be EUR 217.8 million from 2014-2020.
Only changes have been made to the provisions relating to the programming and implementation of the assistance.
The amended provisions may be summarised as follows:
Responsibility: within the framework of the partnership, the Government of Greenland shall assume the responsibility for the formulation and adoption of sector policies in the areas of cooperation as defined in the proposal.
Programming Document: the Government of Greenland shall prepare and submit an indicative Programming Document for the Sustainable Development of Greenland (the PDSD) which will aim at providing a coherent framework for cooperation between the Union and Greenland.
The preparation and implementation of the PDSD shall apply principles of aid effectiveness. It shall be based on consultations and dialogue with civil society, local authorities and other stakeholders and shall draw on lessons learned and best practices, to ensure sufficient ownership of the PDSD. It shall be adapted to the needs and respond to the specific circumstances of Greenland, including climate change impacts and socio-economic development.
The draft PDSD shall be the subject of an exchange of views between the Government of Greenland, the Government of Denmark and the Commission. The Government of Greenland shall be responsible for finalising the PDSD. Upon finalisation, the European Commission shall appraise the PDSD.
Procedure applicable to the approval of the PDSD: the PDSD shall be approved in accordance with the examination procedure. This procedure shall also apply to substantial reviews which have the effect of modifying significantly the strategy or its programming. It shall not apply to non-substantial modifications to the PDSD making technical adjustments, reassigning funds within the indicative allocations per priority area, or increasing or decreasing the size of the initial indicative allocation by less than 20%, provided that these modifications do not affect the priority areas and objectives set out in the PDSD. In such case, adjustments shall be communicated to the European Parliament and the Council within one month.
All provisions relating to the delegation of powers to the Commission to adopt delegated acts, provided in the former proposal, have been deleted from the new draft decision.
The revised draft shall include new rules are regards:
Mid-term Review of the PDSD and evaluation of the implementation of this Decision: by 31 December 2017, the European Commission, the Government of Greenland and the Government of Denmark shall undertake a mid-term review of the PDSD and its' impact on Greenland as a whole. The Commission shall associate all relevant stakeholders, including non-State actors and local authorities.
No later than mid-2018, a report shall be established by the Commission on the achievement of the objectives and the European added value of this Decision, by means of results and impact indicators on the efficiency of the use of resources. The report shall additionally address the scope for simplification, the internal and external coherence of the cooperation established by this Decision, the continued relevance of all objectives, as well as the contribution of the measures to the Union priorities of smart, sustainable and inclusive growth.