Report on: Wider Europe - Neighbourhood: A New Framework for Relations with our Eastern and Southern Neighbours

By letter of 12 March 2003 the Commission forwarded to Parliament its communication on ’Wider Europe - Neighbourhood: A New Framework for Relations with our Eastern and Southern Neighbours’ (COM(2003) 104), which had been referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, Human Rights, Common Security and Defence Policy and Committee on Budgets for information.

At the sitting of 27 March 2003 the President of Parliament announced that the Committee on Foreign Affairs, Human Rights, Common Security and Defence Policy had been authorised to draw up an own-initiative report on the subject under Rules 47(2) and 163, on ’Wider Europe - Neighbourhood: A New Framework for Relations with our Eastern and Southern Neighbours’, and the Committee on Budgets had been asked for its opinion.

The Committee on Foreign Affairs, Human Rights, Common Security and Defence Policy had appointed Pasqualina Napoletano rapporteur at its meeting of 25 March 2003.

The committee considered the draft report at its meetings of 6-7 October and 3-4 November 2003.

At the latter meeting it adopted the draft resolution by 37 votes to 0, with 3 abstentions.

The following were present for the vote: Baroness Nicholson of Winterbourne (acting chairperson), Geoffrey Van Orden (vice-chairperson), Christos Zacharakis (vice-chairperson), Pasqualina Napoletano (rapporteur), Anne André-Léonard (for Ole Andreasen), Per-Arne Arvidsson, Alexandros Baltas, Cees Bremmer (for John Walls Cushnahan), Philip Claeys, Véronique De Keyser, Olivier Dupuis, Hélène Flautre, Glyn Ford, Michael Gahler, Gerardo Galeote Quecedo, Jas Gawronski, Vitaliano Gemelli (for Arie M. Oostlander), Alfred Gomolka, Richard Howitt, Ulpu Iivari (for Catherine Lalumière), Joost Lagendijk, Armin Laschet, Jo Leinen (for Jannis Sakellariou), Nelly Maes, Pedro Marset Campos, Miguel Angel Martínez Martínez (for Rosa M. Díez González), Raimon Obiols i Germà, Jacques F. Poos, Lennart Sacrédeus (for Philippe Morillon), José Ignacio Salafranca Sánchez-Neyra, Amalia Sartori, Elisabeth Schroedter, Ioannis Souladakis, Ursula Stenzel, Ilkka Suominen, Charles Tannock, Gary Titley (for Hannes Swoboda), Joan Vallvé, Karl von Wogau, Jan Marinus Wiersma, Matti Wuori.

The opinion of the Committee on Budgets is attached.

The report was tabled on 5 November 2003.

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