Considerations on COM(2000)519 - Draft Decision of the representatives of the governments of the Member States of the ECSC, meeting within the Council concerning the financial consequences of the expiry of the Treaty establishing the ECSC

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dossier COM(2000)519 - Draft Decision of the representatives of the governments of the Member States of the ECSC, meeting within the Council ...
document COM(2000)519 EN
date February  1, 2003
 
(1) Under Article 97 of the Treaty establishing the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC), the Treaty expired on 23 July 2002.

(2) The Protocol annexed to the Treaty establishing the European Community, (hereinafter referred to as 'the Protocol') transfers the assets and liabilities of the ECSC to the European Community and allocates the net worth of these assets, as they appear in the balance sheet of the ECSC of 23 July 2002, to research in the sectors related to the coal and steel industry. This use of the assets is consistent with the resolution on growth and employment adopted by the European Council at its meeting in Amsterdam on 16 and 17 June 1997(3), and with the resolutions of the Council and the Representatives of the Governments of the Member States, meeting within the Council, of 20 July 1998(4) and 21 June 1999(5).

(3) It is necessary to determine the distribution of the research appropriations between the two sectors concerned.

(4) It is necessary to establish the rules for implementing the Protocol, and in particular the decision-making procedures for adopting the multiannual financial guidelines for managing the assets of the Research Fund for Coal and Steel and the multiannual technical guidelines for the research programme of the Research Fund for Coal and Steel (hereinafter referred to as 'the programme'), bearing in mind that unless otherwise provided in this Decision, the Commission is responsible for the management of the assets in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Treaty establishing the European Community and secondary legislation adopted on the basis thereof.

(5) When the ECSC Treaty expires, certain financial operations, involving both revenue and expenditure, will still be outstanding, resulting from the implementation of ECSC operating budgets for earlier years and ECSC borrowing and lending activities.

(6) It is necessary to designate the institution responsible for winding-up these operations and establishing the procedures needed to do so. It would be appropriate to entrust the Commission with the winding-up and to decide that the procedures to be followed will be those in force at 23 July 2002, in accordance with the ECSC Treaty and secondary legislation.

(7) At its meeting of 11 September 1996, the Commission concluded that reserves should be kept to cover, after 2002, 100 % of the outstanding loans not covered by a Member State guarantee. The ECSC funds administered totalled approximately EUR 1,6 billion on 23 July 2002. The amount will vary depending on the financial activities still to be carried out before and after the expiry of the ECSC Treaty.

(8) Where debtors default during the liquidation period after 23 July 2002 and in order to guarantee the annual stability of the coal and steel research Instrument, any default by an ECSC debtor should first be charged to the capital and then to the revenues funding research.