Regulation (EC) No 2110/2005 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 December 2005 on access to Community external assistance
Modified by
Regulation (EC) No 1905/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Councilof 18 December 2006establishing a financing instrument for development cooperation, 32006R1905, December 27, 2006
Corrected by
Corrigendum to Regulation (EC) No 2110/2005 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 December 2005 on access to Community external assistance, 32005R2110R(01), February 4, 2006
Regulation (EC) No 2110/2005 of the European Parliament and of the Councilof 14 December 2005on access to Community external assistanceTHE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Article 179 thereof,Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,Having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social CommitteeOJ C 157, 28.6.2005, p. 99.,After consulting the Committee of the Regions,Acting in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 251 of the TreatyOpinion of the European Parliament of 23 June 2005 (not yet published in the Official Journal) and Council Decision of 21 November 2005.,Whereas:(1)The practice of tying the granting of aid, directly or indirectly, to the purchase of goods and services procured by means of that aid in the donor country reduces its effectiveness and is not coherent with a pro-poor development policy. The untying of aid is not an aim in itself, but should be used as a tool to cross-fertilise other elements in the fight against poverty, such as ownership, regional integration and capacity building, with a focus on empowering local and regional suppliers of goods and services in developing countries.(2)In March 2001, the Development Assistance Committee (DAC) of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) adopted a "Recommendation on Untying Official Development Assistance to the Least Developed Countries"OECD/DAC 2001 Report, 2002, Volume 3, No 1, p. 46.. The Member States adopted that recommendation and the Commission recognised the spirit of this Recommendation as a guidance for Community aid.(3)On 14 March 2002, the General Affairs Council held in parallel with the European Council in Barcelona in preparation for the International Conference on Financing for Development, convened in Monterrey on 18 to 22 March 2002, concluded that the European Union would "implement the DAC Recommendation on untying of aid to Least Developed Countries and continue discussions in view of further untying bilateral aid. The EU will also consider steps towards further untying of Community aid while maintaining the existing system of price preferences of the EU-ACP framework".(4)On 18 November 2002, the Commission adopted a communication to the Council and to the European Parliament entitled "Untying: Enhancing the effectiveness of aid". It presented the Commission’s views on the issue and possible options for the implementation of the abovementioned Barcelona commitment within the EU Aid Assistance system.(5)In its Conclusions on the Untying of Aid of 20 May 2003 the Council underlined the need to further untie Community aid. It agreed to the modalities detailed on the abovementioned Communication and decided on the options proposed.(6)On 4 September 2003, the European Parliament adopted a resolution on the abovementioned Commission communicationOJ C 76 E, 25.3.2004, p. 474., in which it noted the need to further untie Community aid. It supported the modalities detailed in that Communication and agreed to the options proposed. It highlighted the need for further debate geared towards more untying on the basis of further studies and documented proposals, and called explicitly for "a clear preference for local and regional cooperation, prioritising – in ranking order – suppliers from the recipient country, neighbouring developing countries, and other developing countries", in order to strengthen the efforts of the recipient countries to improve their own production at national, regional, local and family level, as well as actions aimed at improving the availability and accessibility to the public of foodstuffs and basic services, consistent with local habits and production and trading systems.(7)Several elements need to be addressed in order to define access to Community external assistance. The rules of eligibility governing access by persons are laid down in Article 3. The rules governing the engagement of experts and the origin of supplies and materials purchased by eligible persons are laid down in Articles 4 and 5 respectively. The definition and modalities of implementation of reciprocity are set out in Article 6. Derogations and their implementation are provided for in Article 7. Specific provisions concerning operations financed through an international organisation or a regional organisation, or co-financed with a third country, are laid down in Article 8. Specific provisions concerning humanitarian aid are laid down in Article 9.(8)Access to Community external assistance is defined in the basic acts regulating such assistance, in conjunction with Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002 of 25 June 2002 on the Financial Regulation applicable to the general budget of the European CommunitiesOJ L 248, 16.9.2002, p. 1. (hereinafter the Financial Regulation). The changes made by this Regulation to access to Community aid entail amendments to all those instruments. All the modifications to the basic acts concerned are listed in Annex I to this Regulation.(9)When awarding tenders under a Community instrument, special consideration will be given to respect for internationally agreed core labour standards of the International Labour Organisation (ILO), e.g. the conventions on freedom of association and collective bargaining, elimination of forced and compulsory labour, elimination of discrimination in respect of employment and occupation, and the abolition of child labour.(10)When awarding tenders under a Community instrument, special consideration will be given to respect for the following internationally agreed environmental conventions: the Convention on Biological Diversity of 1992, the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety of 2000 and the Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change of 1997,HAVE ADOPTED THIS REGULATION: