RESOLUTION OF THE COUNCIL AND OF THE REPRESENTATIVES OF THE GOVERNMENTS OF THE MEMBER STATES, MEETING WITHIN THE COUNCIL

of 21 June 1999

concerning the expiry of the Treaty establishing the European Coal and Steel Community

(1999/C 190/01)

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION AND THE REPRESENTATIVES OF THE GOVERNMENTS OF THE MEMBER STATES OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES MEETING WITHIN THE COUNCIL,

RECALLING:

- the resolution of the European Council on growth and employment adopted in Amsterdam on 16 and 17 June 1997, according to which the Commission is invited to make the appropriate proposals in order to ensure that, on expiry in 2002 of the Treaty establishing the European Coal and Steel Community (hereafter referred to as "the ECSC"), the revenues of outstanding reserves are used for a research fund for sectors related to the coal and steel industries (hereafter referred to as the "fund,"

- the Commission's communication on the expiry of the ECSC Treaty - Financial Activities of 10 October 1997,

- The resolution of the Council and of the Representatives of the Governments of the Member States, meeting within the Council of 20 July 1998 concerning the expiry of the Treaty establishing the European Coal and Steel Community(1), and in particular points 3(d) and 4(c) thereof,

- The Commission's contributiong of 17 November 1998 to the study referred to at points 2(c), 5 and 6 of the said resolution of 20 July 1998,

1. CONSIDER THAT, in relation to the ownership of the ECSC assets and liabilities:

(a) these assets and liabilities should revert to the Communities remaining;

(b) in order to ensure separation of the assets and liabilities from other Community funds a balance sheet of the "ECSC in liquidation" should be made out, as an Annex of the Communities' general assets and liabilities while consolidating the sum of the balance sheet in the Communities' assets and liabilities and that the profit and loss account shall be dealt with in a similiar way;

(c) after the end of the liquidation of the ECSC, the assets generating the fund revenue shall be called the "Coal and Steel Research Assets";

(d) the cost of the Commission's management of the assets or of the fund respectively, will be borne by the Commission from the general budget of the European Communities;

(e) all contributions to the assets or the fund respectively, shall accrue to it.

2. FURTHERMORE, CONSIDER THAT:

(a) the question of the contributions of future Member States to the assets or fund respectively should be clarified during the accession negotiations, taking into account the decisions reached on previous similar occasions;

(b) the breakdown of research allocations between the sectors of coal and steel and their related sectors should be confirmed in the final Decision of the Council and of the Representatives of the Governments of the Member States, meeting within the Council on the expiry of the ECSC Treaty on the basis of the Commision's contribution of 17 November 1998.

3. INVITE THE COMMISSION:

to submit in good time a proposal for a Decision containing measures necessary for implementing the contents of this resolution.

(1) OJ C 247, 7.8.1998, p. 5.