Council Regulation (EC) No 1264/1999 of 21 June 1999 amending Regulation (EC) No 1164/94 establishing a Cohesion Fund
Council Regulation (EC) No 1264/1999of 21 June 1999amending Regulation (EC) No 1164/94 establishing a Cohesion FundTHE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular the second paragraph of Article 161 thereof,Having regard to the proposal from the CommissionOJ C 159, 26.5.1998, p. 7.,Having regard to the assent of the European ParliamentAssent delivered on 6 May 1999 (not yet published in the Official Journal).,Having regard of the opinion of the Economic and Social CommitteeOJ C 407, 28.12.1998, p. 74.,Having regard to the opinion of the Committee of the RegionsOJ C 51, 22.2.1999, p. 10.,(1)Whereas, pursuant to Article 16(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1164/94OJ L 130, 25.5.1994, p. 1., the Council is to reexamine that Regulation before 31 December 1999;(2)Whereas the basic principles of the Cohesion Fund laid down in 1994 should continue to govern the Fund's activities until 2006 although experience has shown the need for improvements;(3)Whereas, while the single currency, the euro, will affect the macroeconomic situation of the Community, it will not remove the need for eligibility of the beneficiary countries to be based on gross national product;(4)Whereas all the Member States participating in the euro are to submit to the Council a stability programme setting out in particular their medium-term objective for achieving a budget that is nearly in balance or is in surplus;(5)Whereas, by Decision No 1692/96/ECOJ L 228, 9.9.1996, p. 1., the European Parliament and the Council adopted Community guidelines for the development of the trans-European transport network;(6)Whereas, during the transitional period (1 January 1999 to 31 December 2001), all references to the euro should normally also be read as references to the euro as a monetary unit, as provided for in the second sentence of Article 2 of Council Regulation (EC) No 974/98 of 3 May 1998 on the introduction of the euroOJ L 139, 11.5.1998, p. 1.;(7)Whereas, in view of the continuing progress achieved towards real convergence and taking account of the new macroeconomic context in which the Cohesion Fund now operates, the overall allocation of assistance of Member States participating in the euro will be adjusted so as to take account of the improvement in national prosperity attained over the previous period;(8)Whereas the procedures for the strengthening of the surveillance of budgetary positions and the surveillance and coordination of economic policies were set out in Regulation (EC) No 1466/97OJ L 209, 2.8.1997, p. 1.;(9)Whereas the preliminary and final figures for the public-sector borrowing requirement, gross domestic product and gross national product must be compiled in accordance with the rules of the European system of integrated economic accounts established by Regulation (EC) No 2223/96OJ L 310, 30.11.1996, p. 1. Regulation as amended by Regulation (EC) No 448/98 (OJ L 58, 27.2.1998, p. 1).;(10)Whereas the Resolution on the Stability and Growth PactOJ C 236, 2.8.1997, p. 1. adopted at the Amsterdam European Council meeting on 17 June 1997 sets out the roles of the Member States, the Commission and the Council;(11)Whereas, while the principle of a high level of assistance is retained, the search for other sources of finance, in particular the beneficiary Member States effort to maximise the leverage of Fund resources by encouraging greater use of private sources of funding should be supported by the Commission; whereas the rates of assistance should be varied to improve the leverage of Fund resources and to take better account of the rate of return on projects; whereas application of the polluter-pays principle laid down in Article 174 of the Treaty must be complied with in operations financed by the Fund;(12)Wheras the responsibility of the Member State for financial control work should be clearly laid down;(13)Whereas there should be provision to ensure continuity of finance for operations in progress and their adjustments to the new regulatory requirements;(14)Whereas Regulation (EC) No 1164/94 should be amended accordingly,HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION: