After lengthly discussions the Council reached unanimous political
agreement, on the basis of a Presidency compromise proposal, on a draft
single Regulation based on Article 43 of the Treaty.
It will be remembered that, further to the Opinion of the European
Parliament, the Commission decided to combine the two original proposals
based on Article 43 of the Treaty, which provides for a codecision
procedure. The Council did not concur with the Commission on the issue of
the legal basis for its proposal. The Commission said it deeply regretted
the Council's choice.