Activities of Monika SMOLKOVÁ related to 2018/0198(COD)
Shadow reports (1)
REPORT on the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on a mechanism to resolve legal and administrative obstacles in a cross-border context PDF (765 KB) DOC (102 KB)
Amendments (23)
Amendment 31 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 5
Recital 5
(5) Since 1990, programmes under the European Territorial Cooperation goal, better known as 'Interreg’24 have supported cross-border cooperation programmes along Union border regions, including those with EFTA countries. It has financed thousands of projects and initiatives that have helped improve European integration. The main achievements of Interreg programmes include: increased trust, higher connectivity, improved environment, better health and economic growth. From people-to-people projects via infrastructure investments and support to institutional cooperation initiatives, Interreg has made a genuine difference to border regions and has contributed to their transformation. Interreg has also supported cooperation on certain maritime borders. However, legal obstacles are much less an issue for maritime border regions because of the physical impossibility to cross the border daily or several times per week for work, education and training, shopping, the use of facilities and services of general economic interest or a combination or for rapid emergency interventions in cases of natural disaster. _________________ 24 Five programming periods of Interreg have succeeded each other: Interreg I (1990-1993), Interreg II (1994-1999), Interreg III (2000-2006), Interreg IV (2007-2013) and Interreg V (2014-2020).
Amendment 33 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 8
Recital 8
(8) Even though a number of effective mechanisms for cross-border cooperation already exist at inter-governmental, regional and local level in certain regions of the Union, they do not cover all border regions in the Union. In order to complement the existing systems, it is therefore necessary to set up a voluntary mechanism to resolve legal and administrative obstacles in all border regions ('the Mechanism'), but this does not prevent the creation of similar mechanisms according to specific needs at national, regional or local level.
Amendment 34 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 9
Recital 9
(9) In full respect of the constitutional and institutional set-up of the Member States, the use of the Mechanism ishould be voluntary with regard to t. Those border regions of a given Member State where another effective mechanism exists or could be set up with the neighbouring Member State. It should consist of can choose two measures: the signature and the conclusion of a European Cross-Border Commituse an instrument (the 'Commitment') or the signature of a European Cross-Border Statement (the 'Statement')y consider to be more beneficial.
Amendment 35 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 9 a (new)
Recital 9 a (new)
(9a) The Mechanism will consist of two measures: the signature and the conclusion of a European Cross-Border Commitment (the 'Commitment') or the signature of a European Cross-Border Statement (the 'Statement'), the application of which is defined in this Regulation.
Amendment 37 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 10
Recital 10
(10) The Commitment should be self- executing, meaning that pursuant to the conclusion of the Commitment certain legal provisions of one Member State are to be applied on the territory of the neighbouring Member State in order to remove obstacles during the implementation of joint cross-border projects. It should also be acceptable that the Member States are to adopt a legislative act to allow for the conclusion of a Commitment, in order to prevent national legislation formally adopted by a legislative body from being derogated from by an authority other than that legislative body and in breach of legal clarity and transparency or both.
Amendment 38 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 11
Recital 11
(11) The Statement would still require a legislative procedure in the Member State. The authority concluding the Statement should make a formal statement that it will trigger by a certain deadline the legislative procedure necessary to amend the normally applicable national law and to apply, by way of an explicit derogation, the law of a neighbouring Member State, in order to remove obstacles to the implementation of joint cross-border projects.
Amendment 42 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 12
Recital 12
(12) Legal obstacles are predominantly felt by persons interacting on land borders, because people cross borders on a daily or weekly basis. In order to concentrate the effect of this Regulation to the regions closest to the border and with the highest degree of integration and interaction between neighbouring Member States, this Regulation should apply to cross-border regions within the meaning of the territory covered by neighbouring land or maritime border regions in two or more Member States at NUTS level 326 regions. This should not prevent Member States from applying the Mechanism also to maritime and external borders others than those with EFTA countries. _________________ 26 Regulation (EC) No 1059/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 May 2003 on the establishment of a common classification of territorial units for statistics (NUTS) (OJ L 154, 21.6.2003, p. 1).
Amendment 43 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 13
Recital 13
(13) In order to coordinate the tasks of different authorities which in some Member States will include national and regional legislative bodies, within a given Member States and between those of one or more neighbouring Member States, each Member State which voluntarily opts for the use of this Mechanism should be obliged to designate or set up a national and, where applicable, regional Cross- border Coordination Points and define their tasks and competencies during the different steps of the Mechanism covering initiation, conclusion, implementation and monitoring of Commitments and Statements.
Amendment 46 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 16
Recital 16
(16) More specifically, this Regulation should define who can be an initiator of a joint cross-border project. As the Mechanism should improve the implementation of joint cross- border projects, the first group should be bodies initiating or both initiating and implementing such joint project. The term project should be understood in a broad sense, covering for example both a specific item of infrastructure or a number of activities with regard to a certain territory or both. Secondly, a local or regional authority located in a given cross-border region or exercising public power in that cross- border region should be empowered to take the initiative to apply national law which constitutes an obstacle, but the amendment of or derogation from that law is outside their institutional competence. Thirdly, bodies set up for cross-border cooperation located in or covering at least partially a given cross-border region, including EGTCs, or similar bodies to organise cross-border development in a structured way should be initiator. Finally, bodies specialised in cross-border cooperation which may also be aware of effective resolutions found elsewhere in the Union for a comparable issue should also be enabled to start an initiative. In order to create synergy of bodies directly affected by the obstacle and those expert in cross- border cooperation in general, all groups may initiate the Mechanism jointly.
Amendment 50 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 19
Recital 19
(19) The implementation of a self- executing Commitment should consist in the application of national provisions of another Member State when implementing joint cross-border projects. This should mean either the amendment of legally binding administrative acts already adopted in accordance with the normally applicable national law or, where this has not yet been done, the adoption of new administrative acts based on the legislation of another Member State. Where several authorities are each competent for different aspects of a complex legal obstacle, the Commitment should be accompanied by a timetable for each of these aspects. Respecting the subsidiarity principle, the adoption and transmission of those amended or new administrative acts should follow the national law on administrative procedures.
Amendment 51 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 20
Recital 20
(20) The implementation of Statements should mainly consist in the preparation and submission of a legislative proposal to amend existing national law or to derogate from it, in order to enable the implementation of joint cross-border projects. After adoption, those amendments or derogations should be made public and then also implemented like the Commitments by the amendment and adoption of legally binding administrative acts.
Amendment 53 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 22
Recital 22
(22) The protection of persons resident in cross-border regions directly or indirectly affected by the application and monitoring of a Commitment and the amended legislation pursuant to a Statement, who consider themselves wronged by acts or omissions by the application should be clarified. Both for Commitment and Statement, the law of the neighbouring Member State would be applied in the committing Member State as incorporated into its own legislation and the legal protection should therefore be in the remit of the courts of the committing Member States even where persons have their legal residence in the transferring Member State. The same principle should apply for the legal redress against the Member State whose administrative act is challenged. However, a different approach should apply to legal redress against the monitoring of the application of the Commitment or Statement. Where an authority from the transferring Member State has accepted to monitor the application of the amended legal provisions of the committing Member State and can act with regard to persons resident in the cross-border area on behalf of the authorities of the committing Member State, butor in its own name, the competent courts should be those of the Member State where those persons have their legal residence. On the other hand, where the competent transferring authority cannot act in its own name, but in the name of the competent committing authority, the competent courts should be those of the committing Member State, regardless of the legal residence of the person.
Amendment 55 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 28
Recital 28
(28) In accordance with the principle of proportionality, as set out in Article 5(4) TEU, the content and form of Union action should not exceed what is necessary to achieve the objectives of the Treaties. The recourse to the specific Mechanism set up under this Regulation is voluntary and in no way prevents the use of other, similar instruments. Where a Member State decides, on a specific border with one or more neighbouring Member States, to continue to resolve legal obstacles in a specific cross-border region under the effective mechanisms it has set up at national level or which it has set up formally or informally, together with one or more neighbouring Member States, the Mechanism set up under this Regulation does not need to be selected. Likewise, where a Member State decides, on a specific border with one or more neighbouring Member States, to join an existing effective mechanism set up formally or informally by one or more neighbouring Member States, provided that mechanism allows for accession, again, the Mechanism set up under this Regulation does not need to be selected. This Regulation does therefore not go beyond what is necessary in order to achieve its objectives for those cross-border regions, for which Member States have no efficient mechanisms to resolve legal obstacles in place,
Amendment 58 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 1 – paragraph 1
Article 1 – paragraph 1
1. This Regulation sets up a voluntary mechanism to allow for the application in one Member State, with regard to a cross- border region, of the legal provisions from another Member State, where the application of the legal provisions of the former would constitute a legal obstacle hampering the implementation of a joint cross-border Project ('the Mechanism').
Amendment 63 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point 1
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point 1
1. 'cross-border region' means the territory covered by neighbouring land border regions or cross-border regions around maritime borders in two or more Member States at NUTS level 3 regions;
Amendment 68 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point 2
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point 2
2. '‘joint project' means any item of infrastructure with an impact in a given cross-border region or any service of general economic interest provided in a given cross-border region, regardless of whether the impact can be felt on one or both sides of the border;
Amendment 77 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 5 – paragraph 1 – introductory part
Article 5 – paragraph 1 – introductory part
1. Where a Member State opts for the Mechanism, it shall establish or designate one or more Cross-border Coordination Points in one of the following ways:
Amendment 82 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 6 – paragraph 1 – point c
Article 6 – paragraph 1 – point c
c) build up and maintain a database covering all Cross-border Coordination Points concerning the territory of its Member Statarea of competence;
Amendment 87 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 7 – paragraph 1 – point b
Article 7 – paragraph 1 – point b
b) create, publish and keep an up- dated listdatabase of all national and regional Cross-border Coordination Points;
Amendment 90 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 7 – paragraph 1 a (new)
Article 7 – paragraph 1 a (new)
1a. The Commission also proposes a communication strategy with the aim of: a) promoting the exchange of best practices; b) providing detailed practical information on the thematic focus of the Regulation; and c) clarifying the procedure for adopting a Commitment or Statement.
Amendment 101 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 10 – paragraph 2 – introductory part
Article 10 – paragraph 2 – introductory part
2. Within three months at most after receipt of the initiative document the competent Cross-border Coordination Point shall take, one or more of the following actions, to be transmitted to the initiator in writing:
Amendment 118 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 25 – paragraph 1
Article 25 – paragraph 1
By dd mm yyyy [i.e. the 1st of the month following the entry into force of this Regulation + fivthree years; to be filled in by the Publication Office], the Commission shall present a report to the European Parliament, the Council and the Committee of the Regions assessing the application of this Regulation based on indicators on its effectiveness, efficiency, relevance, European added value and scope for simplification.
Amendment 119 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 25 – paragraph 1 a (new)
Article 25 – paragraph 1 a (new)
The report will be prepared on the basis of a public consultation with various stakeholders, including local and regional authorities.