Appendix 1: reports on Council meetings
Replies concerning recent Council meetings are published
below.
Letter from the Minister for the Media and Heritage
at the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (Rt Hon The Lord
McIntosh of Haringey) to the Chairman of the Committee
CULTURE AND AUDIO-VISUAL COUNCIL, 27 MAY 2004
I represented the United Kingdom at the Culture and
Audio-Visual Council of 27 May 2004. The following is a record
of the main points and decisions.
1. EUROPEAN CAPITAL OF CULTURE
Designation
The Council designated Luxembourg and Sibiu as European
Capitals of Culture 2007, and Liverpool and Stavanger for 2008.
Appointment of Council's members of the selection
panel
Ireland and the Netherlands, as the holders of the
EU Presidency in 2004, are each entitled to nominate a candidate
for next year's selection panel, which will submit a report on
Austria's nomination(s) for 2009. Council took note of Ireland's
nomination (Dr Charles Hennessy) and that of the Netherlands (Bert
van Meggelan). Council will make a decision on these nominations
in Autumn 2004.
Amendment to Decision for 2005 to 2019
The purpose of the revision was to incorporate the
new Member States into the Decision and allow them to participate
in the action from 2009 onwards. Council endorsed the Commission's
approach to accept only one of the new Member States and agreed
to await the outcome of the Commission's evaluation of the impact
of this community action between 1999-2004 before considering
the need for further revision.
2. COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION: "MAKING
CITIZENSHIP WORK: FOSTERING EUROPEAN CULTURE AND DIVERSITY THROUGH
PROGRAMMES FOR YOUTH, CULTURE, AUDIO-VISUAL AND CIVIL PARTICIPATION"
The Commission presented the culture and audiovisual
aspects of its proposed programme of actions for 2007-13. It highlighted
that it would adopt legislative proposals later this year.
On culture, the Commission proposed three main objectives:
the transnational mobility of cultural workers; and of works of
art; and intercultural dialogue. I strongly emphasised the need
for caution when considering potential budget increases for this
programme. The Commission noted the difficulties that lay ahead
on funding.
In relation to the Media Programme, the Commissioner
explained that the European film
industry was in a weak position internationally
and only 11% of European films were distributed outside their
domestic markets. She explained that the new programme would be
much more ambitious and would need the funding to match.
Future Media Programme
Ministers voiced broad support for the Commission's
plans for the Media Programme 2007-13, as outlined in their recent
communication. I commented that it was important to support small
and medium sized film companies through the programme, and I welcomed
the inclusion of i2i initiative in the future programme as a useful
way of helping SMEs access capital.
3. COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION: "THE FUTURE
OF EUROPEAN REGULATORY AUDIOVISUAL POLICY"
Commissioner Reding confirmed that the Commission
is preparing to revise the Television without Frontiers Directive
(TVWF) in late 2005/early 2006. She made it clear that the country
of origin principle, i.e. that the applicable legislation is that
of the Member State where the broadcaster's head office is based,
is a principle enshrined in the treaty and that she would not
go against this in a piece of secondary legislation. I strongly
supported this position and emphasised that this is a key issue
for the UK. The Commissioner said that the difficulties some Member
States had with this issue would be considered, but she insisted
that the country of origin principle would not be questioned.
18 June 2004
Letter from the Minister of State for Lifelong
Learning, Further and Higher Education at the Department for Education
and Skills (Rt Hon Alan Johnson) to the Chairman of the Committee
EDUCATION AND YOUTH COUNCIL 28 MAY 2004
I am writing to inform the Committee of the outcome
of the Education and Youth Council, where I represented the UK
on education issues. Anne Lambert, the UK's Deputy Permanent Representative
to the EU, represented the UK on Youth matters. This was the first
Education Council to include the ten new Accession countries.
Jim Marshall, on behalf of the European Scrutiny
Committee wrote to me on 26 May about the use of Treaty Article
308 to amend the European Centre for the Development of Vocational
Training (Cedefop) Regulations. My response to this is included
in this letter.
The main item on the agenda during the Council's
Education session was the Council Conclusions on the new generation
of Community Education and Training Programmes after 2006, together
with discussion of the Commission's Communication on the new Programmes.
The Council Conclusions were adopted and plans to merge the Socrates
and Leonardo Programmes were welcomed. Many, particularly those
from the new Member States, called for increases in the budget.
I stated that inflated targets within the Commission's Communication
implied significant budgetary increases, but I warned that such
funds would not be available. I also suggested that the integrated
programme should focus on vocational training, improving employability,
encouraging social cohesion through the use of ICT and exchanging
best practice between policy makers and educational institutions.
Most Ministers supported proposals to extend the Tempus Programme
to schools and vocational training. I agreed with Malta that there
should be some coherence between Tempus and Erasmus Mundus, and
that the Programme should be complementary to national priorities
and other EU objectives, with focus on access to education for
disadvantaged groups. Commissioner Reding hoped the Commission's
legislative proposals would be presented by mid July.
On Europass, political agreement was reached unanimously
on a Common Position for a single framework for the transparency
of qualifications and competencies. This will now go to the European
Parliament for second reading in the Autumn. The Council also
adopted a Resolution on: "Strengthening Policies, Systems
and Practices in the field of Guidance throughout life in Europe",
together with two Council Conclusions: "Quality Assurance
in Vocational Education and Training" and "Identification
and Validation of Non-formal and Informal Learning". The
Resolution and Conclusions stemmed from the Working Groups set
up to take forward work on the Lisbon Objectives, and were in
response to the Interim Report adopted at the previous Education
Council on 26 February, which formed part of the Report to the
Spring European Council 2004.
The Council proposal to use Article 308 to amend
the Cedefop Regulations was adopted unanimously. As you are aware,
there was some concern about the use of Treaty Article 308 to
amend this Regulation, since our lawyers took the view that Treaty
Article 150 was the proper legal base, rather than Article 308.
However, following clearance by the Scrutiny Committees and along
with Germany, we agreed exceptionally to the use of Article 308,
providing this was not used as a precedent, either in the education
field or generally, in relation to future proposals in respect
of Cedefop. A joint UK and German Declaration was issued at the
Council meeting to this effect.
During the afternoon Youth Council, Commissioner
Reding outlined the Commission's plans for the new Youth Programme,
to run from 2007 to 2013. There was broad agreement on having
a Youth Programme separate from Education and Training Programmes.
The UK was concerned that any discussions on the new Programme
should not prejudice future negotiations on the financial perspective.
We supported a target group of 15 to 25, rather than 13 to 30
years, to ensure that resources were properly focussed, with the
Programme having more focus on socially excluded young people.
The Commission's Communication on volunteering was
welcomed, and several Ministers agreed with the UK that it was
useful for volunteers to have a record of their voluntary work,
as a means of helping employability. It was also recognised that
volunteering amongst young people helped to foster personal development
and promote European Citizenship.
The Council adopted a Resolution on Social Inclusion,
which emphasised the importance of considering the needs of young
people in the EU's Open Method of Co-ordination. It also adopted
a Declaration calling for the Commission, Member States, youth
organisations and other stakeholders to combat racism and intolerance
amongst and towards young people, which committed the Council
to report on progress during 2005.
On the margins of the meeting, I had a useful discussion
with Anne Brasseur, my counterpart from Luxembourg, to hear about
their plans for the EU Presidency and to consider possible links
to the UK's Presidency which follows Luxembourg's. In addition,
I had a brief introductory meeting with the new Spanish Education
Minister, Maria Jesus San Segundo. We briefly exchanged views
on our priorities for education.
Prior to the Education Council, I attended a breakfast
meeting with the British Chamber of Commerce in Belgium, where
we discussed the UK's policies on Skills and Higher Education
and the agenda for the Council meeting.
You will have seen a copy of Lord Grenfell's letter
to me of 4 March, asking for an update on progress on the Joint
Interim Report after its presentation to the Spring Council on
26 March. The Report recognised that considerable progress had
been made towards achieving the Lisbon Objectives and that the
process and goals remained valid. However, it noted that the pace
of reform needed to be increased in order to achieve the 2010
targets. The Report referred to the development of European common
references and principles, specifying a number of areas where
common references should be developed as a matter of priority,
and implemented at national level, reflecting national situations
and respecting Member States' competences. The Spring Council
welcomed the key messages of the Report, and will keep under close
review the actions proposed to progress implementation across
a range of sectors.
14 June 2004
Letter from the Paymaster General for HM Treasury
(Rt Hon Dawn Primarolo) to the Chairman of the Committee
ECOFIN MEETING 2 JUNE 2004
I attended the ECOFIN meeting on 2 June in place
of the Chancellor of the Exchequer.
The Council noted in respect of the Savings Directive
that agreement had now been reached in principle on all substantive
issues with third countries and dependent and associated territories.
It mandated the Commission to pursue the one outstanding issue
of timing with Switzerland and report back to Coreper in time
for a final decision in June on the implementation date.
The Council approved a report, on the basis of work
carried out by the Economic Policy Committee and Financial Committee,
on this year's update of the Broad Economic Policy Guidelines
(BEPGs) for the 2003-05 period. The report will be submitted
to the European Council at its meeting on 17 and 18 June in Brussels;
on the basis of the European Council's conclusions, ECOFIN will
be called on to adopt a Recommendation updating the BEPG at its
meeting on 5 July. The Council's report confirms the priorities
set already, namely promoting sustainable growth through investment,
innovation and competitiveness, increasing the flexibility of
labour markets and ensuring the sustainability of public finances.
The Council adopted a Decision on the existence of
an excessive deficit in the Netherlands, and a Recommendation
on action to be taken to correct it.
ECOFIN discussed statistics welcoming an EFC report
on an action plan for statistics. The Council noted that progress
has been made with the Action Plan, stimulating substantial improvements
to economic statistics, but further progress is needed. The Council
invited the EFC, with the assistance of Eurostat and the ECB,
to monitor closely progress .The Council invited the Commission
to make, by June 2005, a proposal for such standards, which reinforce
the independence, integrity and accountability of Member States'
national statistical institutes.
The Council noted a number of reports from the Financial
Services Committee and the Commission on financial integration
in the EU. The Council emphasised the importance it attaches to
an integrated, dynamic and competitive financial market place
in supporting growth and job creation. The Council welcomed the
report on financial integration prepared by the Financial Services
Committee and endorsed the conclusions the committee draws.
The Council was briefed by the Commission on work
on two revised International Accounting Standards (lAS 32 on the
disclosure and presentation of financial instruments and lAS 39
on the measurement and recognition of financial instruments) and
held a brief exchange of views. The Council was also briefed by
the Commission on developments within the EU-United States regulatory
dialogue on financial services, and took note of a report, 'Study
on the financial and macroeconomic consequences of the draft proposed
new capital requirements for banks and investment firms in the
EU', that the Commission will submit to the European Council in
view of its meeting of 17 and 18 June in Brussels.
16 June 2004
| 
