No. 11 - November 2003
REJECTION OF THE PORT SERVICES DIRECTIVE
At the November plenary Parliament rejected the agreement reached in conciliation on the port services directive
with 209 votes in favour, 229 against and 16 abstentions. As a result the draft act falls and the legislative
procedure will have to start afresh if such a directive is to enter into force.
This rejection was the third of its kind since the introduction of codecision in 1993. Parliament had previously
failed to support the agreement negotiated by its conciliation delegation in March 1995 on the patenting of
biotechnological inventions (188 in favour, 240 against and 23 abstentions) and in July 2001 on takeover bids
(273 for, 273 against and 22 abstentions). During the same period Parliament and Council have reached
agreement on more than 450 codecision procedures, with 133 being successfully concluded after conciliation.
CONCLUDED CONCILIATIONS
Regulation establishing common rules on compensation and
assistance to passengers in the event of denied boarding and of
cancellation or long delay of flights (2001/0305 (COD)) - Committee
on Regional Policy, Transport and Tourism, Rapporteur: Mr
Giorgio Lisi - Delegation Chair: Mrs Charlotte Cederschiöld
The Commission presented its proposal for a new regulation on 21
December 2001 with the objective of reinforcing the protection of and
assistance offered to passengers in the case of denied boarding as a
result of overbooking, cancellation or long delays of flights.
Following Council's common position of 27 May 2003, Parliament
concluded its second reading on 3 July adopting a total of 15
amendments. These dealt in particular with the scope of the regulation
and the various definitions, the aligning of the distance bands with
regard to delays, compensation and down-grading, the assistance to be
offered to passengers in the case of long delays, re-routing, the right of
redress and the date of entry into force of the regulation.
Parliament constituted its delegation on 23 September in Strasbourg and
a first trialogue was held on the same day. Following a second trialogue
on 7 October, the conciliation procedure was formally opened on the
evening of Tuesday, 14 October. After more than five hours of
deliberations the Conciliation Committee reached an overall agreement
in the early hours of Wednesday, which was confirmed unanimously by
the Parliament delegation.
The main elements of the agreement reached in conciliation can be
summarised as follows:
CODECISION SECOND READINGS
AT THE DECEMBER 2003 PLENARY
IN STRASBOURG
Committee on the Environment, Public
Healt and Consumer Policy:
 Human tissues and cells - LIESE
 Medicinal products: European Agency
for Evaluation - MÜLLER
 Medicinal products for human use GROSSETÊTE
 Veterinary medicinal products GROSSETÊTE
 Free movement of detergents:
NOBILIA
 Herbal medicinal products - NISTICO'
 Air pollution: CO2 emissions GOODWILL
Committee on Industry, External Trade,
Research and Energy:
 Measuring instruments CHICHESTER
 Energy: cogeneration - GLANTE
Committee on Legal Affairs and the
Internal Market :
 Prevention and remedying of
environmental damage - MANDERS
Committee on Citizens' Freedoms and
Rights, Justice and Home Affairs:
 Narcotic drugs and psychotropic
substances - PIRKER
 the time limit for check-in for passengers to be able to benefit from
the regulation is set at 45 minutes before departure;
 a three-distance band system will specify passengers' rights in relation to delays, compensation in general, rerouting and downgrading;
 in the event of delays, passengers shall be offered in all cases meals and refreshments corresponding to the
waiting time as well as two telephone calls, fax or emails, free of charge; when the expected time of departure
is not until the next day, they shall also be offered hotel accommodation and transport to and from the place of
accommodation; when the delay is at least five hours, passengers shall have the option to choose between
reimbursement of the full price of the ticket or a return flight to the initial point of departure;
 the issue of the equal treatment of all modes of transport is addressed in a declaration by the Commission;
For further information, contact the Conciliations Secretariat: Brussels ATR 883 (42734), Strasbourg SDM 149 (72405)
 helicopters are excluded from the scope of the regulation; and
 the Regulation will enter into force 12 months after its publication in the Official Journal
Following legal linguistic verification, the text of the agreement will be submitted for approval to Parliament and
Council. The vote in the European Parliament will take place at the December II session in Strasbourg.
Regulation establishing a transitional transit system applicable to heavy goods vehicles travelling through
Austria for 2004 (2001/0310(COD) - Committee on Regional Policy, Transport and Tourism - Rapporteur:
Mr Paolo Costa - Delegation Chair: Mr Renzo Imbeni
On 21 December 2001, the Commission submitted a proposal for a regulation establishing an ecopoints system
applicable to heavy goods vehicles travelling through Austria. The aim of this proposal is to extend the main
elements of the present ecopoint system (which expires on 31 December 2003) as an interim solution pending the
adoption of the framework proposal on infrastructure charging. The ecopoint system aims to reduce the negative
environmental consequences resulting from the transit of lorries through Austria.
On 3 July 2003, Parliament adopted 17 amendments to the Common Position at second reading. A first meeting of
the Conciliation Committee was held on 11 November 2003. At the second Conciliation Committee of 25
November 2003 an overall agreement was reached which covers, in particular, the following issues:
 the introduction of a transitional system to apply to the whole territory of Austria
 a ban on the most polluting lorries using more than 8 points (with an exemption for lorries from Greece and for
specialised vehicles)
 free transit for environment-friendly lorries using 5 points or less
 a quota system for lorries using 6,7 or 8 points, the annual quota to be set at 6.593.479 points for 2004 with
reductions of 5 % successively in 2005 and 2006
 an Interinstitutional Declaration specifying the number of tranist points to be attributed to each of the acceding
countries,
 expiry of the regulation at the latest on 31 December 2006 and in any case when the "Eurovignette" system
comes into force.
The third reading in the Parliament is scheduled for the December plenary session in Strasbourg, so as to enable the
new regulation to come into force on 1 January 2004.
CONCILIATIONS IN PROGRESS
Proposal for a directive amending Directive 94/62/EC on packaging and packaging waste -(2001/0291 COD)
- Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Consumer Protection - Rapporteur: Mrs Dorette
Corbey - Delegation Chair: Mr Renzo Imbeni
The proposed directive amends the existing directive 94/62/EC on packaging and packaging waste, notably with
regard to the setting of recovering and recycling targets for the next five-year phase and the clarification of the
definitions used for this purpose. On 2 July 2003, Parliament adopted 12 amendments at second reading.
The main issues at stake are:
 The establishment of the latest dates by which certain targets must be attained by those countries granted a
postponement, and the way in which arrangements should be made for accession countries;
 The definition of "packaging" and the accompanying illustrative examples;
 The requirement for the Commission to present further proposals with regard to minimising the environmental
impact of packaging;
 The evaluation and future definition of different recycling methods and the encouragement of pilot projects on
waste prevention;
 The possibility for Member States to transpose certain provisions by means of agreements between the
competent authorities and the economic sectors concerned;
 The implications of recent Court judgements for the directive's recovery targets.
Parliament held the constituent meeting of its delegation to the Conciliation Committee on 4 September 2003. A
first trialogue with the Italian Presidency and the Commission took place on 23 September. A second trialogue was
held on 21 October in Strasbourg, followed by a meeting of Parliament's delegation on 22 October. A further
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For further information, contact the Conciliations Secretariat: Brussels ATR 883 (42734), Strasbourg SDM 149 (72405)
trialogue and delegation meeting should take place in the first week of December. The formal conciliation
procedure was opened without debate on 4 November. According to the deadlines laid down by the Treaties, the
two institutions therefore have until 31 December 2003 to reach an agreement.
Public procurement package: Directive on the coordination of procedures for the award of public works
contracts, public supply contracts and public service contracts (2000/0115 (COD)) and Directive
coordinating the procurement procedures of entities operating in the water, energy, transport and postal
services sectors (2000/0117 (COD)) - Committee on Legal Affairs and the Internal Market, Rapporteur: Mr
Stefano Zappalà - Delegation Chair: Mrs Charlotte Cederschiöld
On 2 July the Parliament adopted 27 amendments to the Council common position relating to the general directive
and 19 amendments on the one relating to the sectoral directive. These directives aim at harmonising, simplifying
and modernising Community rules on awarding public contracts for supply, works and services as well as
contracts in the sectors of water, energy, transport and postal services. Public procurement currently represents a
market of € 1.4 billion within the EU-15, equivalent to some 14% of the Union's GDP.
The amendments adopted to the general directive deal inter alia with the use of electronic auctioning,
confidentiality of tendering, respect of the general procurement principles below the required thresholds, contract
award criteria, use of electronic signature, rules relating to the purchase of school books, contracts awarded to
entities formed by contracting authorities, qualification systems and monitoring mechanisms. In addition,
amendments relating to the sectoral directive deal with postal services and measures against social dumping in
third countries.
The Parliament constituted its delegation on 2 September and the conciliation procedure was formally opened as
an item without discussion on 15 October obliging Council and Parliament to reach an agreement by 11 December.
The first meeting of the Conciliation Committee on this issue took place on of 4 November and the second
meeting will be held on 2 December. The discussions will concentrate on the issue of contract award criteria, with
agreement having been reached on most other issues.
Regulation for the creation of the Single European Sky - (2001/0060 (COD)) - Committee on Regional
Policy, Transport and Tourism - Rapporteur: Mr Giovanni Claudio Fava - Delegation Chair: Mr Giorgos
Dimitrakopoulos
Regulations on the provision of air navigation services and the organisation and use of the airspace in the
Single European Sky and on the interoperability of the European Air Traffic Management Network (2001/0235, 2001/0236, 2001/0237 (COD)) - Committee on Regional Policy, Transport and Tourism Rapporteur: Mrs Marieke Sanders-ten Holte - Delegation Chair: Mr Giorgos Dimitrakopoulos
The creation of the Single European Sky, and the clarification of the roles and responsibilities of the various actors
involved in air traffic management, is intended to lead to an improvement in efficiency and safety and to facilitate
security management and closer coordination between air navigation service providers and other operators,
including the military.
On 3 July 2003, the European Parliament adopted a total of 50 amendments at second reading to a set of four
Commission proposals (one framework regulation and three "vertical" regulations) known collectively as the
"Single European Sky" package. The main issues at stake following Parliament's second reading are:
 The balance of civil and military interests and cooperation between civil and military users;
 Airspace structuring and categorisation; the conditions under which airspace blocks are to be created;
arbitration procedure in case of disputes on definition of cross-border blocks;
 Preparations for the creation of a European Lower Flight Information Region;
 Relationships with third countries;
 The role of Eurocontrol;
 The creation of an industry consultation body to advise the Commission on technical issues;
 The sanctions system to be set up for breaches of provisions of the framework regulation;
 Selection, training and licensing of controllers;
 Common requirements for the provision of services; certification and charging schemes;
 The timetable concerning certain provisions of the "vertical" regulations.
Parliament held the constituent meeting of its delegation to the Conciliation Committee on 4 September 2003. Five
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For further information, contact the Conciliation's Secretariat: Brussels ATR 883 (42734), Strasbourg SDM 149 (72405)
trialogue meetings have taken place since then with the Italian Presidency and the Commission. The entire package
will be discussed in a meeting of the Conciliation Committee on 9 December with a view to reaching an agreement
on the outstanding issues. Conciliation was formally opened without debate on 15 October. According to the
deadlines laid down by the Treaties, the two institutions therefore have until 11 December to reach an agreement.
CONCILIATIONS IN PROSPECT
Second railway package (2002/0022-023-024-025 (COD)) - Committee on Regional Policy, Transport and
Tourism, Rapporteurs: Mr Dirk Streckx, Mrs Sylviane Ainardi, Mr Gilles Savary and Mr Georg
Jarzembowski - Delegation Chair: Mrs Charlotte Cederschiöld
On 23 October 2003 Parliament adopted at second reading a total of 73 amendments to the four proposals on the
table:
 Directive on the development of the Community's railways (rapporteur Georg Jarzembowski): 9 amendments.
 Directive on safety of the Community's railways (rapporteur Dirk Streckx): 28 amendments;
 Directive on the interoperability of the trans-European rail system (rapporteur Sylviane Ainardi): 5
amendments;
 Regulation establishing a European Railway Agency (rapporteur Gilles Savary): 31 amendments;
The Council has not formally concluded its second reading but has indicated that it will not be in a position to
accept the amendments as they stand.
The Parliament constituted its delegation on 19 November. It is envisaged that negotiations with the Council will
start in January under the Irish Presidency. The next EP delegation meeting will be held following the first
trialogue meeting.
Directive on the safety of third countries' aircraft using Community airports (2002/014 (COD)) - Committee
on Regional Policy, Transport and Tourism - Rapporteur: Ms Nelly Maes
Parliament adopted five amendments at second reading on 9 October 2003. The issues at stake concern the
availability of standard and ramp inspection reports, requirements for the Commission's annual aggregated report
and the extension of the Commission's prerogative to impose a ban or conditions on operations as well as
implementation and monitoring provisions.
The official Council position is not yet known but since it has informally indicated that it would not be in a
position to accept all the amendments, the conciliation procedure will have to be opened. Parliament constituted its
delegation at a meeting on 19 November in Strasbourg and will meet again after the first trialogue meeting which
is likely to take place in the first weeks of the Irish Presidency.
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For further information, contact the Conciliations Secretariat: Brussels ATR 883 (42734), Strasbourg SDM 149 (72405)