The Commission is able to support the Council's common position. The common position contains all the proposed amendments which the Commission presented on 20.01.1999, following Parliament's first reading.
The Council's common position makes a number of minor changes to the amended proposal adding clarifications to the operative part of the instrument.
The Council has transformed the Advisory Committee on the Development and Conversion of Regions into a committee with a two-fold function, one advisory the other managerial. It assigns to this latter function the task of consultation on the detailed implementing rules for the ERDF Regulation. The Commission is able to accept this amendment provided that the 'type II A' management committee procedure is used to cover general rules of application while the 'type I' advisory committee advisory committee procedure is used for individual decisions on grants of Community aid.
The Commission fully endorses the Council's common position, as it is very close to the Commission's amended proposal and Parliament's corresponding amendments. It would be possible, in order to meet the requirements of Parliament's amendments nos. 8 and 37, to conclude a new code of conduct with Parliament on the implementation of the structural policies.