§ Mr. BercowTo ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will list(a) the names, titles and grades of the officials who sit on the EU committee on co-financing operations with European non-governmental development organisations in fields of interest to developing countries, (b) the number of times and the dates on which it has met since January 2002, (c) the agenda items it has considered since January 2002, (d) the decisions it has made since January 2002 and (e) the means used to communicate the decisions to the house. [110536]
§ Hilary BennThe EC NGO co-financing committee does not have a fixed membership, but consists of delegates drawn from each of the 15 European Union member states. Since 17 April 2003, delegates from the 10 EU accession states have also been invited to attend most EU committees, including the NGO co-financing committee, as participating observers. The UK is usually represented on the EC NGO co-financing committee by one or two members of staff from the Information and Civil Society Department of DFID.
The committee has met three times since January 2002, on 19 September 2002, 21 January 2003 and 3 June 2003.
5WAgenda items considered on 19 September 2002 were:
- Information on 2001/2002 activities, and call for proposals for 2002
- Exchange of views on various co-financing instruments
- For opinion: framework agreements (in respect of 2000 call for proposals)
Agenda items considered on 21 January 2003 were:
- Approval of co-financing instruments and envelopes for 2003
- Exchange of views on
- Activities in 2002
- New call for proposals 2003
- Co-financing instruments and envelopes for 2003
- Call for proposals for Framework Agreements in 2003
- Principle of an information exchange mechanism and setup
- Proposal of rules of procedure for the NGO co-financing committee
Agenda items considered on 3 June 2003 were:
- Policy orientations 2004–05 for budget line B7-6000
- Exchange of views on
- Proposals assessment based on concept notes
- Role of the Committee and implications of the new financial regulation
- Exchange mechanism with member states
- Guidelines on principles and best practices for participation of non-state actors
Together with member states, the Commission has been conducting a review to bring existing legislation on the conduct of Comitology Committees into line with Council Decision 1999/468/EC, to "simplify the requirements for the exercise of implementing powers conferred on the Commission". The Working Group on the Friends of Comitology is meeting later this month to discuss proposals for interim reform.
As an obligation to this Decision, the Commission undertook to publish an annual report on the working of the Committee. The second report was deposited in the Libraries of both Houses on 10 January 2002 ref. 5060/03, COM(03)733.
As part of the review process, the UK Government has encouraged the Commission to produce and maintain an electronic database of every Comitology Committee, its agendas and recent actions, to be accessible through its website.