Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2003-06-02-Speech-1-148"
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"en.20030602.10.1-148"2
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".
Mr President, the nature and purpose of the instrument which is macro-financial assistance to third countries, are positive and useful. In respect of the policy impacts, it is worth noting that macro-financial assistance from the European Community contributes to economic reforms and structural changes in recipient countries. An instrument as worthwhile as this deserves a solid legal basis, therefore.
The first is that an independent quantitative assessment should be undertaken by the Commission. Next, there should be careful coordination with other Community instruments as part of a political dialogue with the recipient country. Thirdly, macro-financial assistance shall be supplementary to the resources provided by the IMF and other multilateral institutions.
This does not, of course, preclude the EU holding its own view. The ‘conditionality’ criterion is concerned with the interdependence of the recipient country's economy with that of the EU. In addition, measurable macro-economic criteria and reforms in the recipient country are crucial.
An indication that the European Parliament is serious about improving the instrument is the fact that Parliament will consider deferring approval of budgetary appropriations concerned with macro-financial assistance until a proper legislative proposal is submitted. We all hope, of course, that it does not come to the European Parliament withholding its aid to this instrument.
By way of conclusion, I should like to thank my fellow Members, in particular, for their constructive cooperation. I should like the Council and the Commissioner to indicate whether we can agree on the above-mentioned approach.
It does not currently have one, however. The current legal arrangement concerning the design, preparation conditions, implementation of decisions, monitoring, transparency and accountability of Community macro-financial assistance is inefficient and ineffective, as the procedure at Council level is very lengthy. The current arrangement is also ineffective in that disbursement of funds may take up to two years. Finally, a solid legal basis is lacking owing to the insistence of the Council on using Article 308.
Which legal basis constitutes the required solid legal basis? Article 181a would be the most logical option: economic, financial and technical cooperation with third countries. Here we have a difference of opinion with the Council, which does not like to see macro-financial assistance coming under 181a.
In any case, the Treaty of Nice will be replaced in due course by a new Treaty, which is currently being discussed in the Convention. Up to now, the development of Community macro-financial assistance has resembled budgetary support rather than balance of payments assistance, in terms of the modalities of preparation, implementation of decisions, monitoring of assistance, and accountability. Macro-financial assistance as granted by the European institutions under the terms of the Constitutional Treaty would fall under the provisions of Article 28 on economic, financial and technical cooperation measures intended to confront economic, financial or social crises.
In addition, Community macro-financial assistance should be subject to parliamentary scrutiny. It is necessary, therefore, that the European Parliament have codecision powers. Draft Article 28 provides for codecision within a normal legislative procedure, and so I do not have any further comments to make on this. This opinion on the legal basis is widely held in the European Parliament. I hope that the Council and the Commission share this opinion, and therefore provide this good instrument with the corresponding legal basis. We can then reach common agreement, as institutions, on transparency, effective criteria and the implementation of these criteria.
Secondly, it is important to recognise that a solution must be found to the current ad hoc arrangement for the period until the Member States ratify the new Constitutional Treaty. That is why the European Parliament considers it very important that the Commission submit a legislative proposal concerning the transitional period up to the ratification of the new Treaty. This would have to have a dual legal basis and would have to meet two criteria:
a) macro-financial assistance is to be considered as assistance to third countries confronted by a crisis originating in economic, financial or social situations;
b) decision-making procedure based on codecision.
The proposal will of course contain criteria for determining whether a country is eligible for aid. The Council's conclusions of 8 October 2002 on macro-financial assistance, the so-called Genval criteria, are useful and proper. They can serve as criteria in the forthcoming legal instrument if a number of modifications are observed; including the ‘exceptional character’ criterion, with regard to which the discontinuity clause should be retained. The ‘complementarity’ criterion invites three comments."@en1
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