For the purpose of this Regulation, ‘industrialised and other high-income countries and territories’ shall comprise countries and territories listed in Annex I to this Regulation and ‘developing countries’ shall comprise countries falling under Regulation (EC) No 1905/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 December 2006 establishing a financing instrument for development cooperation(3) and listed in Annex II to this Regulation. They are together hereinafter referred to as ‘partner countries’.
Council Regulation (EC) No 1934/2006 of 21 December 2006 establishing a financing instrument for cooperation with industrialised and other high-income countries and territories, and with developing countries falling under Regulation (EC) No 1905/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council, for activities other than official development assistance
Council Regulation (EC) No 1934/2006 of 21 December 2006 establishing a financing instrument for cooperation with industrialised and other high-income countries and territories, and with developing countries falling under Regulation (EC) No 1905/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council, for activities other than official development assistance
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Article 181a thereof,
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,
Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament,
Whereas:
Over the past decade, the Community has consistently strengthened its bilateral relations with a broad range of industrialised and other high-income countries and territories across different regions of the world, primarily in North America, East Asia and Australasia, but also in South-East Asia and the Gulf region. Furthermore, these relations have developed to embrace a widening array of subjects and areas in the economic sphere and beyond.
It is in the Community's interest to further deepen its relations with industrialised countries and territories with which it often shares similar political, economic and institutional structures and values and which are important bilateral political and trading partners as well as players in multilateral fora and in global governance. This will be an important factor in strengthening the European Union's role and place in the world, consolidating multilateral institutions and in contributing to balance and in developing the world economy and the international system.
The European Union and industrialised and other high-income countries and territories have agreed to strengthen their relationship and to cooperate across the areas in which they have shared interests through a variety of bilateral instruments such as agreements, declarations, action plans and other similar documents.
In accordance with the principles laid down in those bilateral instruments, the Community implements a cooperation policy aimed at creating an environment conducive to pursuing and developing its relations with those countries and territories. Cooperation activities will help to strengthen the European presence and visibility in these countries and encourage economic, commercial, academic, cultural and other exchanges and interaction between a diversified range of actors on each side.
The European Union is founded on the principles of democracy, the rule of law, good governance, respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. Community action under this Regulation should contribute to the general objective of developing and consolidating these principles in partner countries and regions through dialogue and cooperation.
The promotion of diversified bilateral cooperation initiatives with industrialised and other high-income countries and territories within a single instrument will allow economies of scale, synergy effects, greater effectiveness and visibility for the Community action.
In order to achieve the objectives of this Regulation it is necessary to pursue a differentiated approach and to design cooperation with partner countries taking account of their economic, social and political contexts as well as of the Community's specific interests, strategies and priorities.
This Regulation makes it necessary to repeal Council Regulation (EC) No 382/2001 of 26 February 2001 concerning the implementation of projects promoting cooperation and commercial relations between the European Union and the industrialised countries of North America, the Far East and Australasia and repealing Regulation (EC) No 1035/1999(1).
Since the objectives of this Regulation, namely to promote enhanced cooperation between the Community and industrialised and other high-income countries and territories, cannot be sufficiently achieved by the Member States and can therefore, by reason of the scale of the action, be better achieved at Community level, the Community may adopt measures, in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity as set out in Article 5 of the Treaty. In accordance with the principle of proportionality, as set out in that Article, this Regulation does not go beyond what is necessary in order to achieve those objectives.
The measures necessary for the implementation of this Regulation should be adopted in accordance with Council Decision 1999/468/EC of 28 June 1999 laying down the procedures for the exercise of implementing powers conferred on the Commission(2),
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:
Article 1 Objective
1.
Union financing under this Regulation shall support economic, financial, technical, cultural and academic cooperation with partner countries in the areas set out in Article 4, falling within its spheres of competence. This Regulation shall serve to finance measures which, in principle, do not fulfil the criteria for Official Development Assistance (‘ODA criteria’) established by the Development Assistance Committee of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (‘OECD/DAC’).
2.
The primary objective of cooperation with partner countries shall be to provide a specific response to the need to strengthen links and to engage further with them on a bilateral, regional or multilateral basis in order to create a more favourable and transparent environment for the development of relations between the Union and partner countries in accordance with the principles guiding the Union’s external action as laid down in the Treaties. This refers amongst others to the promotion of democracy, respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, the rule of law, as well as the promotion of decent work and good governance, and the preservation of the environment, in order to contribute to progress and sustainable development processes in partner countries.
Article 2 Scope
1.
Cooperation shall be aimed at engaging with partner countries in order to enhance dialogue and rapprochement and to share and promote similar political, economic and institutional structures and values. The Union shall also aim at increasing cooperation and exchanges with established or increasingly important bilateral partners and players in multilateral forums and in global governance. The cooperation also covers partners with which the Union has a strategic interest in promoting links and its values as laid down in the Treaties.
2.
In duly justified circumstances and in order to ensure the coherence and effectiveness of Union financing and to foster regional cooperation, the Commission may decide when adopting annual action programmes referred to in Article 6 that countries not listed in the Annexes are eligible for measures financed under this Regulation, where the project or programme to be implemented is of a regional or cross-border nature. Provisions shall be made for this in the multiannual cooperation programmes referred to in Article 5.
3.
The Commission shall amend the lists in Annexes I and II following the regular OECD/DAC reviews of its list of developing countries, and shall inform the European Parliament and the Council thereof.
4.
For Union financing under this Regulation, particular attention shall be paid where appropriate to the compliance of partner countries with the core labour standards of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and to their efforts to pursue reductions of greenhouse gas emissions.
5.
In relation to countries listed in Annex II to this Regulation, policy coherence with measures financed under Regulation (EC) No 1905/2006 and Regulation (EC) No 1337/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 December 2008 establishing a facility for rapid response to soaring food prices in developing countries(4) shall be strictly observed.
Article 3 General principles
1.
The Union is founded on the principles of liberty, democracy, respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms and the rule of law and seeks to promote, develop and consolidate commitment to those principles in partner countries through dialogue and cooperation.
2.
In the implementation of this Regulation a differentiated approach in designing cooperation with partner countries shall be pursued, where appropriate, to take account of their economic, social and political contexts as well as of the Union’s specific interests, strategies and priorities.
3.
Measures financed under this Regulation shall be consistent with and cover areas of cooperation set out notably in the instruments, agreements, declarations and action plans between the Union and partner countries, as well as areas pertaining to the Union’s specific interests and priorities.
4.
For measures financed under this Regulation, the Union shall aim to ensure coherence with other areas of its external action as well as with other relevant Union policies, in particular development cooperation. This shall be ensured by formulating policy, strategic planning and the programming and implementation of measures.
5.
Measures financed under this Regulation shall complement and bring added value to the efforts undertaken by Member States and Union public bodies in the area of commercial relations and cultural, academic and scientific exchanges.
6.
The Commission shall inform and have regular exchanges of views with the European Parliament.
Article 4 Areas of cooperation
Union financing shall support cooperation actions in accordance with Article 1 and shall be consistent with the overall purpose, scope, objectives and general principles of this Regulation. Union financing shall cover actions that, in principle, do not fulfil the ODA criteria, and which may include a regional dimension, in the following areas of cooperation:
-
the promotion of cooperation, partnerships and joint undertakings between economic, social, cultural, academic and scientific actors in the Union and partner countries;
-
the stimulation of bilateral trade, investment flows and economic partnerships, including a focus on small and medium-sized enterprises;
-
the promotion of dialogue between political, economic, social and cultural actors and other non-governmental organisations in relevant sectors in the Union and partner countries;
-
the promotion of people-to-people links, education and training programmes and intellectual exchanges and the enhancement of mutual understanding between cultures, particularly at the family level, including measures to ensure and increase Union participation in Erasmus Mundus and participation in European education fairs;
-
the promotion of cooperative projects in areas such as research, science and technology, sports and culture, energy (in particular renewable energy), transport, environmental matters (including climate change), customs, financial, legal and human rights issues, and any other matter of mutual interest between the Union and partner countries;
-
the enhancement of awareness about and understanding of the Union and of its visibility in partner countries;
-
support for specific initiatives, including research work, studies, pilot schemes or joint projects destined to respond in an effective and flexible manner to cooperation objectives arising from developments in the Union’s bilateral relationships with partner countries or aiming to provide impetus to the further deepening and broadening of bilateral relationships with them.