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Document 52012PC0219
COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT pursuant to Article 294(6) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union concerning the position of the Council at first reading on the adoption of a Decision of the European Parliament and of the Council providing further macro-financial assistance to Georgia
COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT pursuant to Article 294(6) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union concerning the position of the Council at first reading on the adoption of a Decision of the European Parliament and of the Council providing further macro-financial assistance to Georgia
COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT pursuant to Article 294(6) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union concerning the position of the Council at first reading on the adoption of a Decision of the European Parliament and of the Council providing further macro-financial assistance to Georgia
/* COM/2012/0219 final - 2010/0390 (COD) */
COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT pursuant to Article 294(6) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union concerning the position of the Council at first reading on the adoption of a Decision of the European Parliament and of the Council providing further macro-financial assistance to Georgia /* COM/2012/0219 final - 2010/0390 (COD) */
2010/0390 (COD) COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION
TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT
pursuant to Article 294(6) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European
Union
concerning the position of the Council at first reading
on the adoption of a Decision of the European Parliament and of the Council
providing further macro-financial assistance to Georgia 1. Background Date of transmission of the proposal to the European Parliament and to the Council (document COM(2010) 804 final – 2010/0390 COD): || 13 January 2011 Date of the opinion of the Committee of the Regions: || not applicable Date of the position of the European Parliament, first reading: || 10 May 2011 Date of transmission of the amended proposal: || not applicable Date of adoption of the common position of the Council || 10 May 2012 2. Objective
of the proposal from the Commission The proposal was part of the potential EU
deliverables announced at the donor conference in 2008. The objectives of the
proposed Macro-Financial Assistance (MFA) are to: ·
Contribute to covering the external financing
needs of Georgia and to alleviating budgetary financing needs. ·
Support the fiscal consolidation effort and
external stabilisation in the context of an International Monetary Fund
programme. ·
Support structural reform efforts aimed at
raising sustainable growth and increasing the transparency and efficiency of
public finance management. ·
Facilitate and encourage efforts by the
authorities of Georgia to implement measures identified under the EU-Georgia
ENP Action Plan and the Eastern Partnership so as to promote closer economic
and financial integration with the EU, also in line with the plan to conclude a
"Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area" between the two parties. 3. Comments
on the position of the Council 3.1. General comments on the
Council position at first reading The comprehensive EU package of up to EUR
500 million to support Georgia's economic recovery, pledged at the October 2008
International Donor Conference in Brussels, in the aftermath of the August 2008
conflict with Russia, included two potential Macro-Financial Assistance
operations, amounting to EUR 46 million each. The first part was successfully
implemented during 2009-10. For the second part, the Commission adopted a
proposal for further MFA to Georgia on 13 January 2011. The European Parliament's plenary voted on
the proposal on 10 May 2011 and adopted a legislative resolution with
amendments which were fully accepted by the Commission and incorporated in the
text. These amendments primarily aimed at reflecting the entry into force of
the new comitology regulation in March 2011[1]. The
Commission acknowledges that amendments to the initial proposal were needed due
to the new comitology regulation, and supports the European Parliament's view
that the adoption of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the MFA
programme should be governed by the advisory procedure, rather than the
examination procedure as suggested by the Council. On 15 December 2011, COREPER
reached a qualified majority agreement to adopt a common position, which
insists on the use of the examination procedure for the adoption of the MFA
Memorandum of Understanding. This was confirmed by the political agreement
adopted by the Council on 23 January 2012. During the previous discussions at the
Financial Counsellors Working Party, the Commission argued in favour of the use
of the advisory procedure for the adoption of the MoU, and supported the
Presidency's proposed compromise solution. This solution would have established
the examination procedure as a rule, but would have allowed for the advisory
procedure, in this case on the basis of Article 2.3, second sentence, of the
comitology regulation, which foresees that, under duly justified cases, the
advisory procedure may apply for the adoption of implementing acts in cases
where the examination procedure is in principle applicable. The proposed
compromise text argued that since the proposed MFA was (i) a follow-up to the
operation approved in 2009 and (ii) had only a modest maximum amount (of EUR 46
million), there was a case for applying the advisory procedure. However, the
Presidency could not build a consensus and its compromise solution was not
adopted. The Commission is concerned about the
delays that a second reading will imply for the proposed assistance: it is
important that the proposed MFA for Georgia is approved as quickly as possible.
Approximately a year elapsed since the Commission adopted the proposal in
January of 2011 and the Commission considers it regrettable that this delay is
taking place despite the fact that the two co-legislators agree on the
substance of the proposal, which, as noted, stems from a pledge made in 2008. The Commission believes that it is crucial
to find a quick solution on whether an advisory or examination procedure should
be applied for the MoU adoption. It should also be noted that if the case of
the proposal for Georgia is not solved, this issue would risk blocking any
forthcoming MFA proposal, a scenario that must be avoided, not least since the
worsening global financial environment and the economic and financial impact of
the Arab Spring in the EU's Southern Neighbourhood may result in new requests
for complementary MFA support from the EU. 3.2. Agreement at the stage of the
Council's position Since the adoption by the European
Parliament of its position at first reading, the inter-institutional
discussions between the Council and the Parliament have not been successful. The Parliament strongly prefers the use of the advisory procedure for the
adoption of the Memorandum of Understanding, while the Council believes that,
according to the new Comitology regulation, the examination procedure should be
used. Informal meetings have not resulted in a compromise on this
issue. 4. Conclusion The Commission favours the application of
the advisory procedure for the adoption of the MoU. It does therefore not agree
with the common position of the Council as adopted on 10 May 2012. However, as
indicated above, the Commission believes that it is crucial to find a quick
solution and stands ready to contribute to finding an early compromise on this
issue between the two co-legislators. [1] Regulation (EC) No 182/2011 of the European
Parliament and of the Council of 16 February 2011.