Development cooperation with South Africa

The Council and the Commission were both able to incorporate a number of the amendments proposed by the European Parliament, those not included being of less significance in relation to the destination of the Regulation. From this, it can be gauged there is a reasonable common viewpoint on the proposed Regulation. While the Commission considers that in many aspects of the text of the common position improves the initial proposal, and further responds to some of Parliament's concerns, there remain three major points with which the Commission is unable to agree, and on which its position is maintained - programming under Article 6, comitology under Article 8, and the financial reference amount under Article 10. In conclusion, the Commission is unable to to support the draft Council common position even though it is otherwise favourable towards other changes made by the Council to the text of its proposal.�