Explanatory Memorandum to COM(2013)418 - Amendment of certain Directives on environment, agriculture, social policy and public health by reason of the change of status of Mayotte with regard to the Union - Main contents
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| dossier | COM(2013)418 - Amendment of certain Directives on environment, agriculture, social policy and public health by reason of the change of ... |
|---|---|
| source | COM(2013)418  |
| date | 13-06-2013 |
By Decision 2012/419/EUi, the European Council amended the status of Mayotte with regard to the Union with effect from 1 January 2014. Therefore, from that date Mayotte will cease to be an overseas territory to become an outermost region within the meaning of Articles 349 and 355(1) TFEU. Union law will apply to Mayotte from 1 January 2014.
The present proposal follows the examination of requests made by the French authorities to have the Union acquis amended through derogations and/or transitional periods applicable to Mayotte in different areas, such as environment, agriculture, social policy and public health.
The examination has revealed that France needs additional time to comply with the Union acquis with regard to Mayotte in the fields of environment, agriculture, social policy and public health. It is therefore appropriate to provide for corresponding measures, limited to reflecting the particular situation of Mayotte, without affecting Union law otherwise.
In the interest of simplicity and speediness, it has been considered expedient not to resort to individual proposals for each of the acts concerned but, where legally possible, to bundle the amendments to several acts in a single proposal. The amendments proposed in the present document relate all to Directives and fall under the ordinary legislative procedure (Articles 289(1) and 294 TFEU).
Contents
The Commission has not used an impact assessment. However, when examining the various issues and in particular the requests made by France, it had contacts with representatives of national and regional authorities in order to better evaluate the grounds of the specific measures.
In accordance with Article 153(2) TFUE, the European Parliament and the Council are empowered to adopt, by means of directives, minimum requirements for gradual implementation of working conditions having regard to the conditions and technical rules in each of the Member States. Under this legal basis, it is proposed to amend Directive 2006/25/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 5 April 2006 with a view to granting a derogation to France, until 31 December 2017, from certain provisions in the field of artificial optical radiation. The proposed derogation only applies insofar as the structures necessary to comply with these provisions are not available in Mayotte, and without prejudice to the general principles of protection and prevention in the area of health and safety of workers. It is also proposed that France must ensure proper consultation of the social partners and limit risks for workers to a minimum.
Pursuant to Article 192(1) TFUE, the European Parliament and the Council shall decide what action is to be taken by the Union in order to achieve the objectives on the environment referred to in Article 191. The current situation prevailing in Mayotte calls for considerable improvement in order to comply with environmental objectives set forth by Union law. It is therefore proposed to amend, on the basis of Article 192(1) TFEU, three Directives in the area of environment:
– Council Directive 91/271/EEC of 21 May 1991 in order to grant France the sufficient periods of time for meeting the requirements of the Directives concerning urban waste water treatment;
– Directive 2000/60/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2000 in order to grant France the sufficient periods of time for the adoption and proper implementation of river basin management plans;
– Directive 2006/7/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 February 2006 in order to define specific time limits to allow France to reach the Union standards as regards bathing water quality.
In accordance with Article 43(2) TFUE, the European Parliament and the Council are empowered to adopt, inter alia, provisions necessary for the pursuit of the objectives of the common agricultural policy. On the basis of this provision, it is proposed to amend Council Directive 1999/74/EC of 19 July 1999 laying down minimum standards for the protection of laying hens. Since laying hens are reared in Mayotte in unenriched cages and since it would be difficult to change this position in the short term, France should be granted sufficient time to adapt. Even though almost 100% of the egg production is sold in Mayotte, measures should be taken in order to prevent any distortion of competition.
Finally, pursuant to Article 114 TFEU, the European Parliament and the Council shall adopt the measures for the approximation of the provisions laid down by law, regulation or administrative action in Member States which have as their object the establishment and functioning of the internal market. On the other hand, in accordance with Article 168 TFEU the European Parliament and the Council may also adopt incentive measures designed to protect and improve human health. Under these legal bases, it is proposed to amend Directive 2011/24/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 9 March 2011 on the application of patients’ rights in cross-border healthcare, given the current situation in Mayotte and the number of adaptations required to be carried out to transpose the Directive in order to ensure continuity of care and information to patients.
The proposal has no impact on the budget of the European Union.
5. OPTIONAL ELEMENTS
It has been considered that no explanatory documents need to be requested for the following reasons:
This proposal for a Directive essentially contains:
(a) Amendments to introduce derogations and/or transitional periods related to the application in Mayotte of the Directives concerned, and
(b) A very limited number of obligations for France in this respect.
The derogations and/or transitional periods granted are based on requests submitted by France, in which it has motivated the need of such derogations and/or transitional periods and has indicated an implementation plan.
Therefore, the Commission does not need explanatory documents to carry out its task of overseeing the transposition of Directives. The individual transposition measures to be notified by France can be expected to be self-explanatory.