RESOLUTIONS, DECISIONS AND OPINIONS adopted by the European Parliament at its part-session in Strasbourg, from 7 to 10 July 2008

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1.

Tekst

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    19 resolutions, - 5 other acts. 1.

Codecision procedure

First reading

(a) i) European Neighbourhood and Partnership Instrument: general provisions

Proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending

Regulation (EC) o 1638/2006 laying down general provisions establishing a

European eighbourhood and Partnership Instrument

  • ii) 
    Conservation of wild birds (adaptation to the regulatory procedure with scrutiny)

Proposal for a directive of the European Parliament and of the Council amending, as

regards the implementing powers conferred on the Commission, Council Directive

79/409/EEC on the conservation of wild birds

For each of these acts the European Parliament:

  • - 
    approved the Commission proposal;
  • - 
    called on the Commission to refer the matter to Parliament again if it intends to amend its proposal substantially or replace it with another text.

(b) Minimum safety and health requirements for the use of work equipment

Proposal for a directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on the minimum

safety and health requirements for the use of work equipment by workers at work

(second individual Directive within the meaning of Article 16(1) of Directive

89/391/EEC) (codified version)

The European Parliament approved the Commission proposal as adapted to the

recommendations of the Consultative Working Party of the legal services of the

European Parliament, the Council and the Commission.

(c) Programme for the Modernisation of European Enterprise and Trade Statistics

(MEETS)

Proposal for a decision of the European Parliament and of the Council on a

Programme for the Modernisation of European Enterprise and Trade Statistics

(MEETS)

The European Parliament:

  • - 
    voted amendments and approved the Commission proposal as amended;
  • - 
    considered that the financial envelope indicated in the legislative proposal must be compatible with the ceiling of subheading 1a of the 2007-2013 multiannual

financial framework as revised by Decision 2008/371/EC and pointed out that the

annual amount will be decided as part of the annual budgetary procedure in

accordance with point 37 of the Interinstitutional Agreement of 17 May 2006;

  • - 
    called on the Commission to refer the matter to Parliament again if it intends to amend the proposal substantially or replace it with another text.

(d) i) Batteries and accumulators and their waste

Proposal for a directive of the European Parliament and of the Council amending

Directive 2006/66/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council on batteries and

accumulators and waste batteries and accumulators as regards Article 6(2) on placing

batteries and accumulators on the market

  • ii) 
    Restrictions on the marketing and use of certain dangerous substances and

preparations

Proposal for a decision of the European Parliament and of the Council amending

Council Directive 76/769/EEC as regards restrictions on the marketing and use of

certain dangerous substances and preparations 2-(2-methoxyethoxy)ethanol, 2-(2-

butoxyethoxy)ethanol, methylenediphenyl diisocyanate, cyclohexane and ammonium

nitrate

  • iii) 
    Conditions for access to the natural gas transmission networks

Proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending

Regulation (EC) o 1775/2005 on conditions for access to the natural gas transmission

networks

  • iv) 
    Internal market in natural gas

Proposal for a directive of the European Parliament and of the Council amending

Directive 2003/55/EC concerning common rules for the internal market in natural gas

  • v) 
    Coordination of social security systems

Proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council laying down

the procedure for implementing Regulation (EC) o 883/2004 on the coordination of

social security systems

  • vi) 
    Common consular instructions: biometric identifiers and visa applications

Proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending the

Common Consular Instructions on visas for diplomatic missions and consular posts in

relation to the introduction of biometrics including provisions on the organisation of the

reception and processing of visa applications

For each of these acts the European Parliament:

  • - 
    voted amendments and approved the Commission proposal as amended;
  • - 
    called on the Commission to refer the matter to Parliament again if it intends to amend its proposal substantially or replace it with another text.

(e) Coordination of social security systems

Proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending

Regulation (EC) o 883/2004 on the coordination of social security systems, and

determining the content of Annex XI

The European Parliament:

  • - 
    voted amendments and approved the Commission proposal COM(2006)0007 as amended;
  • - 
    considered procedure 2007/0129(COD) to have lapsed as a result of the incorporation into procedure 2006/0008(COD) of the contents of the Commission

proposal COM(2007)0376;

  • - 
    called on the Commission to refer the matter to Parliament again if it intends to amend the proposals substantially or replace them with other texts.

Second reading

(a) i) Common authorisation procedure for food additives, food enzymes and food

flavourings

Council common position for adopting a regulation of the European Parliament and of

the Council establishing a common authorisation procedure for food additives, food

enzymes and food flavourings

  • ii) 
    Food additives

Council common position for adopting a regulation of the European Parliament and of

the Council on food additives

  • iii) 
    Flavourings and certain food ingredients with flavouring properties

Council common position for adopting a regulation of the European Parliament and of

the Council on flavourings and certain food ingredients with flavouring properties for

use in and on foods and amending Council Regulations (EEC) o 1576/89 and (EEC)

o 1601/91, Regulation (EC) o 2232/96 and Directive 2000/13/EC iv) Food enzymes

Council common position for adopting a regulation of the European Parliament and of

the Council on food enzymes and amending Council Directive 83/417/EEC, Council

Regulation (EC) o 1493/1999, Directive 2000/13/EC, Council Directive 2001/112/EC

and Regulation (EC) o 258/97

scheme for greenhouse gas emission allowance trading within the Community

Council common position for adopting a directive of the European Parliament and of

the Council amending Directive 2003/87/EC so as to include aviation activities in the

scheme for greenhouse gas emission allowance trading within the Community

  • vi) 
    Safety on the Community's railways

Council common position for adopting a directive of the European Parliament and of

the Council amending Directive 2004/49/EC on safety on the Community's railways

(Railway Safety Directive)

Agency

Council common position for adopting a regulation of the European Parliament and of

the Council amending Regulation (EC) o 881/2004 establishing a European Railway

Agency (Agency Regulation)

For each of these acts the European Parliament passed amendments and approved the

common position as amended.

(b) Rules for the operation of air services in the Community (recast)

Council common position for adopting a regulation of the European Parliament and of

the Council on common rules for the operation of air services in the Community

(recast)

The European Parliament:

  • - 
    approved the common position;
  • - 
    noted that the act was adopted in accordance with the common position;
  • - 
    instructed its President to sign the act with the President of the Council pursuant to Article 254(1) of the EC Treaty;
  • - 
    instructed its Secretary-General to sign the act, once it has been verified that all the procedures have been duly completed, and, in agreement with the Secretary-

General of the Council, to have it published in the Official Journal of the

European Union.

  • 2. 
    Consultation procedure

(a) i) Direct support schemes under the CAP

Proposal for a Council regulation amending Regulation (EC) o 1782/2003

establishing common rules for direct support schemes under the common agricultural

policy and establishing certain support schemes for farmers

  • ii) 
    Numbering of visas

Proposal for a Council regulation amending Regulation (EC) o 1683/95 laying down

a uniform format for visas as regards the numbering of visas

  • iii) 
    Restructuring of EU fishing fleets affected by the economic crisis

Proposal for a Council regulation instituting a temporary specific action aiming to

promote the restructuring of the European Union fishing fleets affected by the economic

crisis

For each of these acts the European Parliament:

  • - 
    approved the Commission proposal;
  • - 
    called on the Council to notify Parliament if it intends to depart from the text approved by Parliament;
  • - 
    asked the Council to consult Parliament again if it intends to amend the Commission proposal substantially.

(b) i) Common system of value added tax

Proposal for a Council Directive amending VAT Directive 2006/112/EC of 28

ovember 2006 on the common system of value added tax

excluded

Proposal for a Council regulation extending the provisions of Regulation (EC) o

883/2004 and Regulation (EC) o [...] to nationals of third countries who are not

already covered by these provisions solely on the ground of their nationality

For each of these acts the European Parliament:

  • - 
    voted amendments and approved the Commission proposal as amended;
  • - 
    called on the Commission to alter its proposal accordingly, pursuant to Article 250(2) of the EC Treaty;
  • - 
    called on the Council to notify Parliament if it intends to depart from the text approved by Parliament;
  • - 
    asked the Council to consult Parliament again if it intends to amend the Commission proposal substantially.

(c) Protocol on Strategic Environmental Assessment to the 1991 UN/ECE Espoo

Convention on Environmental Impact Assessment in a Transboundary Context

Proposal for a Council decision on the approval on behalf of the European Community

of the Protocol on Strategic Environmental Assessment to the 1991 U /ECE Espoo

Convention on Environmental Impact Assessment in a Transboundary Context

The European Parliament approved conclusion of the protocol.

(d) i) Protocol on the Accession of Liechtenstein to the EU/EC/Switzerland Agreement on

Switzerland's association with the Schengen acquis

Proposal for a Council decision on the conclusion, on behalf of the European

Community, of the Protocol between the European Union, the European Community,

the Swiss Confederation and the Principality of Liechtenstein on the accession of the

Principality of Liechtenstein to the Agreement between the European Union, the

European Community and the Swiss Confederation on the Swiss Confederation's

association with the implementation, application and development of the Schengen

acquis

  • ii) 
    Protocol on the Accession of Liechtenstein to the EC/Switzerland Agreement for

establishing the State responsible for examining asylum requests

Proposal for a Council decision on the conclusion of a Protocol between the European

Community, the Swiss Confederation and the Principality of Liechtenstein on the

accession of the Principality of Liechtenstein to the Agreement between the European

Community and the Swiss Confederation concerning the criteria and mechanisms for

establishing the State responsible for examining a request for asylum lodged in a

Member State or in Switzerland

  • iii) 
    Protocol to the EC/Switzerland Agreement for establishing the State responsible for

examining asylum requests

Proposal for a Council decision on the conclusion of a Protocol between the European

Community, Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the Agreement between the European

Community and the Swiss Confederation concerning the criteria and mechanisms for

establishing the State responsible for examining a request for asylum lodged in a

Member State, in Switzerland or Liechtenstein

For each of these acts the European Parliament:

  • - 
    voted amendments, approved the proposal for a Council decision as amended and approved the conclusion of the Protocol;
  • - 
    reserved the right to defend its prerogatives as conferred by the Treaty.

(e) Renewing the Agreement for scientific and technological cooperation between the

European Community and the Government of the Republic of India

Draft Council decision concerning the conclusion of an Agreement renewing the

Agreement for scientific and technological cooperation between the European

Community and the Government of the Republic of India

The European Parliament voted amendments, approved the draft Council decision as

amended and approved the conclusion of the agreement.

(f) EC/Mauritania Fisheries Partnership Agreement for the period 1 August 2008 to 31 July 2012

Proposal for a Council regulation on the conclusion of the Protocol setting out the

fishing opportunities and financial contribution provided for in the Fisheries

Partnership Agreement between the European Community and the Islamic Republic of

Mauritania for the period 1 August 2008 to 31 July 2012

The European Parliament voted amendments, approved the proposal for a Council

regulation as amended and approved the conclusion of the Protocol.

  • 3. 
    Other procedures

(a) 2009 budget: First reflections on the 2009 PDB and mandate for the conciliation

The European Parliament:

  • - 
    invited the Commission and the Council to cooperate with a view to taking the necessary decisions to reach a satisfactory level of appropriations for the 2009

budget (para. 14);

  • - 
    called on the Council to improve the quality of cooperation between the Member States and the Commission in the fight against EU fraud; called on the Council to

ensure a proper follow-up of the anti-fraud investigations by the Member States,

including the recovery procedure (para. 20);

  • - 
    strongly deplored the custom of the Council to make across-the-board cuts at its first reading of the EU budget without any precise reasons being provided; called

on the Council, when adopting its Draft Budget, to examine each element of the

budget in turn using the criteria of efficiency, economy and European added value

and looked to the Council to make arrangements for genuine political dialogue

with Parliament during this budgetary procedure (para. 95).

(b) Environmental impact of the planned gas pipeline in the Baltic Sea

The European Parliament:

  • - 
    called on the Commission and the Council to make a full commitment to analysing the environmental impact of the construction of the North European gas

pipeline, particularly in situations involving considerations which require a

Commission opinion, as specified in Article 6(4) of Directive 92/43/EEC

(para. 12);

  • - 
    called on the Council and the Commission to conduct a thorough assessment of the question whether the implementation of the project is in keeping with

Community and international law (para. 15);

  • - 
    reiterated its call for the proposal of a mandatory mechanism for negotiation between Member States and its insistence that the Council take action at

international level to develop mandatory environmental impact assessments in

relations between the EU and third countries (para. 35);

  • - 
    called on the Council, the Commission and the Member States to ensure that the construction of the Nord Stream gas pipeline fully complies with EU legislation

on environmental impact assessments and with all international conventions

(para. 37).

(c) Stabilisation of Afghanistan: challenges for the EU and the international community

The European Parliament:

  • - 
    called on the Council and the Commission to bring forward an initiative for an international council comprising the main donors and UN organisations, possibly

led by the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan and based on the

concept of the UN Peacebuilding Commission, in order to harmonise the different

reconstruction efforts in Afghanistan (para. 2);

  • - 
    drew attention to the fact that the EUPOL mandate provides for tasks to `support linkages between the police and the wider rule of law', and therefore called on the

Council and the Commission to continue to closely coordinate their respective

activities in order to ensure that the EU's policies are more coherent and efficient

(para. 23);

  • - 
    called on the Council and the Commission to commit themselves, in the context of the programme of assistance for Afghanistan, to reform the legal system, with the

aim of professionalising the Afghan judiciary through its main institutions,

concentrating on the Supreme Court, the Public Prosecutor's Office and the

Ministry of Justice, with the aim of safeguarding defendants' rights, providing the

necessary legal aid to vulnerable groups, and guaranteeing the rights of the

defence (para. 25);

  • - 
    stressed the urgent need for measures aimed at protecting the rights of women to be built into legal and political reform; called on the Council and the Commission

to lend active support to such an initiative and to earmark funds for measures such

as active steps to increase the enrolment of girls in schools and the recruitment of

female teachers, which will help build the country's capacity to protect the rights

of women, girls and children, since the latter are also victims of domestic

violence, sexual exploitation induced by cultural practices and exploitative labour

and trafficking (para. 33).

(d) EU priorities for the 63rd Session of the UN General Assembly

The European Parliament addressed the following recommendations to the Council:

  • - 
    called for the EU's political priorities for the next UN General Assembly session to be the subject of an in-depth, wide-ranging debate between Parliament, the

Council and the Commission (para 1a);

  • - 
    believed that the coordination of EU Member States' positions within the UN should generally begin in the relevant working groups of the Council, thus making

it easier for New York diplomats to achieve a common position on specific issues

in the UN bodies and allowing more time for consultations and negotiations with

other regional groupings or countries belonging to such other groupings (para 1c);

  • - 
    invited the Council and the Commission to consider a reorganisation and expansion of their offices in New York and Geneva in view of the increased

powers and responsibilities that the EU's representatives will be expected to

exercise once the Lisbon Treaty is ratified, guaranteeing optimal coordination and

synergy between Community policies, programmes and funds and the instruments

and missions comprised in the EU's Common Foreign and Security Policy

(para 1d);

  • - 
    urged the Council and the Commission to study in depth the implications which the Treaty of Lisbon has for the EU's future representation at the UN (para 1e);
  • - 
    encouraged the Council to negotiate and define, as soon as possible, the operational nature of the EU's observer status at the UN (para 1f);
  • - 
    invited the Council and the Commission to inform Parliament on a regular basis about the implications, including the budgetary ones, of any possible steps

towards reorganisation of the EU's presence within the various component parts of

the UN, including the Secretariat, as well as its funds and programmes (para 1h);

  • - 
    reminded EU Member States of the pledges made at the 2005 World Summit to strengthen the UN through a number of management and secretariat reforms;

called on the Council to support those reforms in order to increase accountability

and oversight, to improve management performance and transparency, and to

strengthen ethics, efficiency and organisational capacity by, first and foremost,

focusing on reforming the structure of the Secretariat (para 1k);

  • - 
    urged the Council to ensure that the UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations and the UN Department of Political Affairs are staffed to a level commensurate

with their tasks and responsibilities and to support efforts by the UN Secretary-

General in this respect (para 1l);

  • - 
    invited the Council to fully support the re-launch of negotiations aimed at implementing the recommendations of the High-Level Panel on System-wide

Coherence (para 1n);

  • - 
    called on EU Member States to support the Task Force on Security Council reform of the President of the UN General Assembly, Srgjan Kerim; welcomed in

this regard the momentum for reforming the Security Council created as a

consequence of the initiative referred to as the `Overarching Process'; encouraged

the Council to promote a discussion focusing on points of convergence with a

view to achieving tangible progress in this respect (para 1q);

  • - 
    called on the Council to sustain efforts aimed at increasing the accountability of UN member states in the field of human rights by increasing the efficiency of the

Universal Periodic Review, notably by tightening up procedures to avoid

deliberate obstruction or diversionary tactics (para 1t);

  • - 
    called on the Council to ensure that there is no recurrence of the negative events associated with the initial Durban conference (para 1w);
  • - 
    invited the Council and the EU Member States to encourage contributions to the UN Peacebuilding Fund in order to ensure that it is provided with sufficient

resources (para 1z);

  • - 
    urged the Council to support the calls by President Barroso and Commissioner Louis Michel for EU Member States to draw up clear, binding national timetables

and budgets to increase real aid in order to reach the promised collective target of

0.56% of gross national income in 2010 and 0.7% in 2015 (para 1ad);

  • - 
    recommended that the Council and the EU Member States encourage a UN-wide discussion on how to ensure that efforts and targets on climate change reinforce

the attainment of the MDGs (para 1ai);

  • - 
    recommended that the Council and EU Member States renew discussions about debt relief at the UN level, with a view to redefining debt sustainability criteria in

such a way as to promote the advancement of development goals rather than debt

reimbursement (para 1ak);

  • - 
    in the light of the current food crisis, urged the Council and EU Member States to take steps to reduce trade distortion (para 1am);
  • - 
    called on the Council, and particularly on those EU Member States which are permanent or non-permanent members of the UN Security Council, to advocate a

revision of the UN sanctions system (terrorists' blacklists) to bring it into line

with the obligations of the UN Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, in

particular via the establishment of appropriate notification and appeal procedures

(para 1ao);

  • - 
    called on the Council to continue to give high priority to building successful cross-regional partnerships, in particular working with partners in all regions of

the world to ensure effective implementation of UN General Assembly

Resolution 62/149 calling for a worldwide moratorium on executions with a view

to abolishing the death penalty (para 1as);

  • - 
    called on the Council to encourage all activities and appropriate financing aimed at the mainstreaming of gender issues into all aspects of the UN's activities

(para 1aw);

  • - 
    urged the Council to support all activities aimed at combating the extinction of species and protecting the environment as well as mobilising the necessary

financial resources (para 1ax).

(e) The role of the national judge in the European judicial system

The European Parliament regretted that, under Article 10 of the Protocol on transitional

provisions annexed to the Treaty of Lisbon, the powers of the Court of Justice with

respect to acts in the field of police cooperation and judicial cooperation in criminal

matters adopted before the entry into force of that Treaty are to remain the same as they

are under the present EU Treaty for a transitional period of five years; welcomed,

however, the declaration made by the Intergovernmental Conference concerning that

article of the Protocol and accordingly urged the Council and the Commission to join

with Parliament in re-adopting those acts in the field of police cooperation and judicial

cooperation in criminal matters which were adopted before the entry into force of the

Treaty of Lisbon (para. 28).

(f) Sovereign Wealth Funds

The European Parliament:

  • - 
    requested the Council and the Commission to assess the margin for manoeuvre left to EU institutions by the provisions of Articles 64 and 65 of the Treaty on the

Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), in order to verify the options for

coordinated action at EU level, which is essential to EU interests and the smooth

functioning of the internal market (para. 6);

  • - 
    requested the Council and the Commission to conduct an in-depth analysis of the functioning of the global financial markets and to define and promote a strong EU

vision, taking into account global initiatives, of what should be the principles and

rules guiding their functioning (para. 7).

(g) Towards a new culture of urban mobility

The European Parliament called on the Commission and the Council to invest in clean,

more efficient, consumer oriented and safe urban transport systems, and to take

measures to create a market for such systems (para. 11).

(h) Report on the ECB annual report for 2007

The European Parliament expected the Council to treat all euro area applicant Member

States equally and fully respect the assessment and recommendations of the ECB

concerning their readiness for joining the euro area (para. 14).

(i) Census of the Roma on the basis of ethnicity in Italy

The European Parliament:

  • - 
    called on the Council and the Commission to monitor the application by the Member States of the Treaties and of the directives on measures against

discrimination and on freedom of movement in order to ensure their consistent

and full implementation and to take the necessary measures if that is not the case

(para. 7);

  • - 
    called on the Council and the Commission to further strengthen EU policies on the Roma by launching an EU Roma Strategy to support and promote actions and

projects by Member States and NGOs linked to the integration and inclusion of

the Roma, particularly of Roma children (para. 11).

(j) On the situation in Zimbabwe

The European Parliament:

  • - 
    called on the Council to tighten and extend targeted sanctions against members of the Mugabe regime and others responsible for grave violations of human rights, if

mediation efforts are not accepted and the state-sponsored violence is not ended,

and to press for sanctions to be adopted at UN level, including an arms embargo

and a comprehensive freeze of assets of the entire government and ruling party

leadership (para. 16);

  • - 
    called on Member States, the Council and the Commission to step up the diplomatic engagement with African governments, the Southern African

Development Community (SADC) and the African Union (AU), as well as with

other important actors, including the Chinese Government, in order to identify

common positions on the crisis in Zimbabwe (para. 19);

  • - 
    called on the Council and the Commission to engage specifically with South Africa, as the key country of the region, in order to express deep concern at the

failure to produce any tangible mediation results over the last years with regard to

the crisis in Zimbabwe, to point out that the impact of this crisis on neighbouring

countries, including South Africa, should not be disregarded in the region and to

clarify that continued political and economic support for the Mugabe regime

might have negative effects on relations between the EU and South Africa

(para. 21);

  • - 
    called on the Council to push for effective and tangible international conflict prevention and mitigation measures, if necessary with the rapid deployment of

AU/UN peacekeeping troops (para. 22).

(k) Space and security

The European Parliament:

  • - 
    encouraged strong inter-pillar cooperation for space and security, involving all the relevant actors (i.e. the Commission, the Council, the European Defence Agency

and the European Union Satellite Centre), in order to safeguard the security policy

and data security linked with the European Security and Defence Policy (ESDP)

(para. 29);

  • - 
    called on the EU institutions to promote a conference to review the Outer Space Treaty, with the aim of strengthening it and expanding its scope to prohibit all

weapons in space (para. 45).

(l) Bangladesh

The European Parliament called on the Council and the Commission to play a more

proactive role and to impress on the Bangladesh Government the need for a speedy and

complete lifting of the state of emergency and of all regulations adopted under its

auspices (para. 8).

(m) Death penalty

The European Parliament called on the Presidency of the Council and the Delegation of

the Commission to the United States to raise the issue, particularly the case of Troy

Davis, as a matter of urgency with the US authorities (para. 4).

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