Bulletin of the EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
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ISSN 0378-3693 Bulletin OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES Commission ' u~p -~ .·. ··.· ·,-·- ·~' ·'"' No 5 1980 Volume 13 The Bulletin of the European Communities reports on the activities of the Commission and the other Community institutions. It is edited by the Secretariat-General of the Commission (rue de Ia Loi 200, B-1 049 Brussels) and published eleven times a year (one issue covers July and August) in the official Community languages and Spanish. Reproduction is .authorized provided the source is acknowledged The following reference system is used: the first digit indicates the part number, the second digit the chapter number and the subsequent digit or digits the point number Citations should therefore read as follows: Bull. EC 1-1979, point 1 1 3 or 2 2.36. Supplements to the Bulletin are published in a separate series at irregular intervals They contam official Commission material (e.g. communications to the Council, programmes, reports and proposals). The Supplements do not appear m Spanish. Printed in Belgium BULLETIN OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES European Coal and Steel Community European Economic Community European Atomic Energy Community Commission of the European Communities Secretariat-General Brussels No 5 1980 Sent to press in June 1980. Volume 13 contents SPECIAL PART ONE FEATURES 1. Comprehensive agreement between the Nine 7 2. Thirty years ago: the Schuman Declaration 14 3. First ministerial meeting between the EEC and the Andean Group 20 4. Energy: Long-term objectives and strategy 23 5. The Community, the Member States and Iran 26 ACTIVITIES PART TWO IN MAY 1980 1 . Building the Community . 30 - Economic and monetary policy 30 - Internal market and industrial affairs 32 - Customs union 33 - Competition 34 - Financial institutions and taxation 38 - Employment and social pdlicy 38 - Regional policy . 42 - Environment and consumers 44 - Agriculture 47 -Fisheries 51 -Transport 52 -Energy 53 - Research and development, science and education 55 20 Enlargement and external relations 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 58 - Enlargement and bilateral relations with applicant countries 58 - Commercial policy 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 59 - Development 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 61 - International organizations and conferences 67 - Industrialized countries 70 - Mediterranean countries 72 - Developing countries 73 - Diplomatic relations 0 0 76 - European political cooperation 76 30 Institutional and political matters 77 - Institutional developments and European policy 77 - Institutions and organs of the Communities 77 • Parliament 77 • Council 0 0 0 82 • Commission 0 84 • Court of Justice 85 • Court of Auditors 89 • Economic and Social Committee 89 • ECSC Consultative Committee 90 • European Investment Bank 91 - Financing Community activities 92 PART THREE DOCUMENTATION 1 0 Units of account 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 96 20 Additional references in the Official Journal 99 30 Infringement procedures 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 100 40 Joint Statement by the Community and the Andean Group 101 Publications of the European Communities Supplements 1980 • 1/80 Report on · the scope for convergence of tax systems in the Community • In preparation. PART ONE SPECIAL FEATURES Standardized abbreviations for the designation of certain monetary units in the different languages of the Community: BFA Belgische frank/Franc beige LFR Franc luxembourgeois DKR Dansk krone FF Franc frallQBis OM Deutsche Mark LIT Lira italians HFL Nederlandse gulden (Hollandse florijn) UKL Pound sterling IRL Irish pound USD United States dollar 1. Comprehensive agreement between the Nine Comprehensive agreement between the Nine British contribution throughout the month, and the Commission to the Community budget; was able to present a paper at the beginning farm prices; sheepmeat; of the Council meeting (Foreign Affairs) on declaration on fisheries 29 and 30 May. As the European Council had no desire to carry on discussing these matters in the same 1.1.1. Five weeks after what is commonly atmosphere as at Luxembourg, the Council regarded as the failure of the Luxembourg worked to find solutions on them, attended European Council on 27 and 28 April, politi by the ministers for whichever item was on cal agreement was at last reached on all the the agenda. The Council (Foreign Affairs) questions that remained to be settled, which met for a general exchange of views on 5 and as it happens were also the most important 6 May. The Council (Agriculture) reached questions-the British contribution to the broad agreement on most of the questiops Community budget, farm prices for 1980/81, before it and adopted the outline of a the organization of the sheepmeat market response to the rest. The Council (Energy) 2 and the declaration on a common fisheries achieved considerable success on 13 May. policy. And on 27 May the Council (Economic and Financial Affairs) examined the new tables of figures presented by the Commission setting out Community revenue and expenditure for From the European Council the three years from 1980 to 1982. to the end-of-May meetings Mr Colombo, President of the Council, vis ited the capitals of the Member States, and 1.1.2. This important result, achieved in on 29 May, before the Council meeting of what must be record time considering the Foreign Ministers, met Mr Jenkins to har attitudes taken at Luxembourg, was made monize his and the Commission's approaches possible by the combined efforts of the Presi to the search for a solution. dent of the Council, the Commission and the governments of the Member States at the var Parliament had already expressed concern at ious ministerial and other meetings held in the failure of the European Council, and on May. 21 May held a wide-ranging debate3 follow ing statements by Mr Colombo and Mr Jenk For five weeks the Community institutions ins. On 28 and 29 May the Economic and had devoted virtually their full attention to Social Committee urgently appealed to the the problems left over from Luxembourg. European Council, the Community institu Taking stock of the situation on 30 April the tions and the governments of the Member Commission decided to stand by the com States to take immediate action to put an end promise solution it had presented and declare to the crisis situation confronting the Com that it was 'resolved to assume its full respon munity. sibilities for helping rapidly to find the neces sary solutions'.' A small group of Members was immediately set up to monitor progress ' Bull. EC 4-1980, point 1.1.22. on convergence and budgetary questions and 2 Points 1.4.1 to 1.4.5. to prepare Commission initiatives. It did this ' Point 2.3.4. Bull. EC 5-1980 7 Comprehensive agreement between the Nine Comprehensive agreement between the Nine 1.1.3. This, then, was the story so far when (i) provisional agreement was reached on the ministers met in Brussels at the end of the overall agricultural package, to be con May. The Council (Agriculture) was the first firmed once all reservations on the budgetary to get down to work; it met for three days matters being discussed by the Council (Fore from 28 to 30 May. In point of fact, follow ign Affairs) were lifted; ing a series of adjournments so that bilateral (ii) a series of written procedures were set in contracts could be held to work out com hand for the adoption of 17 market regula promise solutions on some of the more deli tions to enter into force at the beginning of cate points, the discussions came to an end June; on the evening of 29 May when the President noted that all the delegations had withdrawn (iii) the Council signified its agreement on all their reservations on specific aspects of the the introduction of a common organization agricultural package. It was recognized that of the market in sheepmeat1 and forthwith the British Delegation could only give its final fixed the basic prices, reference prices and agreement after being apprised of the results intervention prices for the 1980/81 market of the Council meeting of Foreign Ministers ing year. dealing with convergence and budgetary problems. So the meeting was adjourned until 1.1.6. Certain governments were only able the next day, pending the final results of the to give their final approval after lengthy and Council (General Matters), since the UK sometimes difficult discussions. The British regarded convergence, agricultural prices and Cabinet announced its approval on 2 June, sheepmeat simply as three interconnected followed by the Federal German Government facets of a whole complex problem. in the evening of 4 June. The French Govern ment followed suit on 5 June. Both the Fed 1.1.4. The Council meeting (Foreign eral Republic of Germany and France pub lished official statements, which are repro Affairs) began in the afternoon of 29 May. 2 After some tough negotiations in which the duced below. President, backed up by the Commission, had On 6 June the President of the Council made a superhuman effort, a compromise recorded the final approval of the 'conclu agreement was eventually reached on the sions' of 30 May and of all the other arrange basis of a Commission paper that had been ments, including the agricultural regulations, reworked and amended both at the meeting which appeared in the Official Journal on 5 and outside. By the morning of 30 May a Junel (the Commission had put the situation provisional agreement on the British con on ice on 1 June). The Regulation on the tribution and fisheries policy was finally common organization of the market in sheep reached after a debate lasting something like meat (and goat's meat) will enter into force 20 hours.