RECOMMENDATION FOR SECOND READING on the Council position at first reading with a view to the adoption of a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing the European Solidarity Corps Programme and repealing Regulations (EU) 2018/1475 and (EU) No 375/2014

DRAFT EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT LEGISLATIVE RESOLUTION

on the Council position at first reading with a view to the adoption of a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing the European Solidarity Corps Programme and repealing Regulations (EU) 2018/1475 and (EU) No 375/2014

(14153/1/2020 – C9‑0143/2021 – 2018/0230(COD))

(Ordinary legislative procedure: second reading)

The European Parliament,

– having regard to the Council position at first reading (14153/1/2020 – C9‑0143/2021),

– having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee of 17 October 2018[1],

– having regard to the opinion of the Committee of the Regions of 6 December 2018[2],

– having regard to its position at first reading[3] on the Commission proposal to Parliament and the Council (COM(2018)0440),

– having regard to Article 294(7) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

– having regard to the provisional agreement approved by the committee responsible under Rule 74(4) of its Rules of Procedure,

– having regard to Rule 67 of its Rules of Procedure,

– having regard to the recommendation for second reading of the Committee on Culture and Education (A9-0156/2021),

1. Approves the Council position at first reading;

2. Takes note of the Commission statement annexed to this resolution;

3. Notes that the act is adopted in accordance with the Council position;

4. Instructs its President to sign the act with the President of the Council, in accordance with Article 297(1) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union;

5. Instructs its Secretary-General to sign the act, once it has been verified that all the procedures have been duly completed, and, in agreement with the Secretary-General of the Council, to arrange for its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union;

6. Instructs its President to forward its position to the Council, the Commission and the national parliaments.

ANNEX TO THE LEGISLATIVE RESOLUTION

Statement by the European Commission on the number of local actors that apply the knowledge, the principles and the approaches learnt through the humanitarian activities in which the volunteer and the experts have participated

 

The European Commission takes note of the proposal of the European Parliament to consider “the number of local actors that apply the knowledge, the principles and the approaches learnt through the humanitarian activities in which the volunteer and the experts have participated” when supplementing the Regulation with provisions on the establishment of a monitoring and evaluation framework.

 

SHORT JUSTIFICATION

1. European Solidarity Corps - the EU’s youth volunteering initiative

Launched in 2017, the European Solidarity Corps aims to strengthen the engagement of young people and organizations through accessible and high-quality solidarity activities, mainly volunteering. The overall objective of the European Solidarity Corps is to strengthen cohesion, solidarity and democracy in Europe and abroad by addressing societal needs and humanitarian challenges on the ground, with a particular focus on promoting social inclusion.

2. Inter-institutional negotiations and political agreement

Following the adoption of Parliament’s first reading position on 12 March 2019, inter-institutional negotiations took place from October 2019 to December 2020. After four rounds of trilogues, a provisional agreement was reached with the German Council Presidency on 11 December 2020.

The provisional agreement on the European Solidarity Corps was a success for the EP team, which managed to secure an ambitious and well-structured programme, which has the potential to mobilise a large number of young people during the 2021-2027 period in diverse and meaningful solidarity activities.

3. Summary of the main elements of the political agreement on the European Solidarity Corps:

• The ESC will be only proposing volunteering activities for young people aged 18 to 30 years;

• Indicative repartition of the budget per type of volunteering (volunteering and solidarity projects 94%, 6% volunteering in humanitarian aid field);

• 20% capping for in-country activities;

• Governance provisions – stronger link established between the European Commission’s Work programmes and the provisions of the Regulation ;

• Strengthened inclusion measure – a dedicated article on inclusion has been included;

• Enhanced safety and protection of participants and vulnerable groups - stronger insurance provisions and clearance requirements when working with vulnerable groups;

• Budgetary increase - 1009 million EUR in current prices (a 15% increase as compared to the predecessor ESC 2018-2020 programme);

• Dedicated humanitarian aid strand – higher age limit for participants in the humanitarian strand and possibility to engage experts and coaches with no upper age limit; specific character of the strand maintained and strong synergies with EU external actions have been established;

4. Recommendation for final adoption

The text of the provisional agreement was presented to and subsequently confirmed by the Committee on Culture and Education on 11 January 2021. On the basis of the Committee’s approval, the Chair of the CULT Committee, in a letter to the Council Presidency, indicated that she would recommend to the Plenary that the Council’s position should be approved without amendments, provided that it is in conformity with the provisional agreement reached between the two institutions. Following legal-linguistic verification, the Council formally adopted its position in accordance with the provisional agreement.

As Council’s position is in conformity with the provisional agreement reached during the inter-institutional negotiations, the Rapporteur recommends endorsing it without amendments.

 

PROCEDURE – COMMITTEE RESPONSIBLE