The Committee on Foreign Affairs adopted the report by Elmar BROCK (EPP, DE) on the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing common rules and procedures for the implementation of the Union's instruments for external action.
The Committee on International Trade, exercising their prerogatives as associated committees under Rule 50 of Parliaments Rules of Procedure, was also consulted and gave an opinion on the report.
The committee recommended that the European Parliaments position at first reading, following the ordinary legislative procedure, should amend the Commission proposal.
The main amendments were as follows:
Respect for democratic principles: the Union seeks to promote, develop and consolidate the principles of democracy, the rule of law and respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms on which it is founded, on the basis of, where appropriate, dialogue and cooperation with partner countries and regions. The Union shall integrate these principles in the implementation of the Instruments covered by this Regulation. The Union's action on the international scene should be guided by the principles which have inspired its own creation, development and enlargement, namely democracy, the universality and indivisibility of human rights and fundamental freedoms.
Action programmes and special measures: the Commission should adopt annual action programmes specifying for each action the objectives pursued, the expected results and main activities, methods of implementation, budget and indicative timetable, any associated support measures and performance monitoring arrangements.
Technical provisions have also been added to decide on the procedures to be followed as regards the adoption of:
in line with the changes introduced in the various regulations.
When designing and implementing programmes and projects, account shall be taken of criteria regarding:
Monitoring of progress: the Commission should examine the progress made in implementing the measures of financial assistance taken in external action.
Visibility of the Union's financial support: measures have been introduced to enhance the visibility of European assistance.
Taking account of stakeholders views: when working with stakeholders of beneficiary countries, specific account should be taken of their needs and context, when defining the modalities of financing, the type of contribution, the award modalities, etc.
Optimising resources: the EU should seek the most efficient use of available resources in order to optimise the impact of its external action. This should be achieved through coherence and complementarity between Union's Instruments for external action, as well as the creation of synergies between the Union's external financial Instruments and other policies of the Union.
Other new provisions: new provisions have also been introduced on a technical level:
Implementing acts: provisions have been added to set the framework of the procedure applicable for the adoption of the Commission support measures. It is state that the examination procedure shall not apply to the adoption of support measures for which the Union's financial assistance does not exceed EUR 10 million. The European Parliament should be duly and promptly informed.