European Development Agency Act
Written by Premier Commissioner Sofie Čikarová
Co-written and sponsored by Internal Affairs Commissioner Piane Daggott and Councillor Karinn Lallana
Presented by Premier Commissioner Sofie Čikarová and Councillor Václav Kohout
PREAMBLE
This Act shall create the European Development Agency, an agency of the European Union tasked with assisting the member states of the European Union in their development by providing subsidies for public projects, research and other related endeavours.
SECTION I. - COMPOSITION AND FUNDING
I. The European Development Agency is composed of the European Commission and the European Council.
II. The European Development Agency is funded from the budget of the European Union.
SECTION II. - TYPES OF SUBSIDIES
I. Grants
(i.) Funds provided by the European Development Agency to a member state that are not paid back.
II. Interest-free loans
(i.) Funds loaned by the European Development Agency to a member state that are paid back.
III. Low-interest loans
(i.) Funds loaned by the European Development Agency to a member state that are paid back with an interest up to 1,8% per annum.
SECTION III. - PROCESS OF GRANTING AND DENYING SUBSIDY REQUESTS
I. Any member state may issue a subsidy request to the European Commission.
II. Member States requesting for a subsidy must provide the information about the intended use of the subsidy, what form of subsidy is requested, the amount of money requested, justification for the request and in the case of requesting a subsidy in a form of a interest-free loan or a low-interest loan, the timeframe in which the loan will be paid back.
III. The European Commission will deliberate and vote on whether to grant or deny the subsidy request or propose a counter-offer to the subsidy request. An absolute majority is needed for granting the subsidy request or proposing a counter-offer to the subsidy request. The European Commission has 240 hours after the subsidy request was issued to make a decision.
IV. The European Commission may propose a counter-offer to the subsidy request. The member state that requested the subsidy may fully accept, partly accept or fully refuse the counter-offer.
V. In a case where the member state fully accepts the counter-offer, the amended subsidy request is granted by the European Commission.
VI. In a case where the member state partly accepts or fully refuses the counter-offer, the Commission will deliberate and vote on whether to grant or deny the subsidy request in its amended or original form without the right to make another counter-offer to the subsidy request. The European Commission has 168 hours after the member state partly accepted or fully refused the counter-offer to make a decision.
VII. After the European Commission has either granted or denied the subsidy request, the European Council has 120 hours to start a review process.
VIII. The European Council may either approve or overrule the decision of the European Commission. Overruling the decision of the European Commission requires a simple majority in the European Council.
IX. If the European Council has not started a review process in 120 hours after the European Commission has made a decision, the decision of the European Commission is approved by the European Council.
X. A subsidy request is granted by the European Development Agency if the European Council approves the decision of the European Commission to grant the subsidy request or if the European Council overrules the decision of the European Commission to deny the subsidy request.
XI. A subsidy request is denied by the European Development Agency if the European Council approves the decision of the European Commission to deny the subsidy request or if the European Council overrules the decision of the European Commission to grant the subsidy request.
SECTION IV. - INTENDED USE OF SUBSIDIES
I. The subsidies shall be used to develop industry, agriculture, fishing, infrastructure, research, education, healthcare, to reduce unemployment, hunger, homelessness and to transition towards an environmentally sustainable development.
II. The subsidies may not be used to develop the military-industrial complex or the armed forces.
SECTION V. - MONITORING
I. The proper use of the provided subsidies is monitored by the Internal Affairs Commissioner, who may request a report about the use of the provided subsidies from the member states which received subsidies from the European Development Agency.
SECTION VI. - PENALTIES FOR MISUSE OR MISMANAGEMENT
I. In a case of a member state misusing or mismanaging the subsidies that were provided or in a case of a member state continuingly requesting subsidies deemed as having a high risk of mismanagement by the European Commission, the European Council can put this state on the list of states with high risk of misuse or mismanagement of subsidies. The decision to put a state on the list of states with high risk of misuse or mismanagement of subsidies requires a simple majority in the European Council.
(i.) The power to submit a motion to put a member state on the list of states with high risk of misuse or mismanagement of subsidies belongs to the European Commission and all Councillors.
II. If a request for subsidies submitted by a state on the list of states with high risk of misuse or mismanagement of subsidies is denied by the European Commission, the request is denied without the possibility of a review process by the European Council.
III. If a request for subsidies submitted by a state on the list of states with high risk of misuse or mismanagement of subsidies is granted, the state is removed from the list of states with high risk of misuse or mismanagement of subsidies.
IV. The European Council may at any time remove a state from the list of states with high risk of misuse or mismanagement. The decision to remove a state from the list of states with high risk of misuse or mismanagement of subsidies requires a simple majority in the European Council.
(i.) The power to submit a motion to remove a member state from the list of states with high risk of misuse or mismanagement of subsidies belongs to the European Commission and all Councillors.
V. The European Commission decides by absolute majority to submit a motion to put a state on or remove a state from the list of states with high risk of misuse or mismanagement of subsidies. The European Commission has 72 hours to come to a decision after a proposition has been made by a member of the European Commission.
Dear Councillors, I present to you the European Development Agency Act. The member states of our Union face many issues which in turn affect the European Union as a whole. The most efficient and only way to fight against most of these problems is further development and increasing the quality of life of every citizen. This act aims to assist the member states in their development, helping all of us.
The recent crises show us the necessity to act, we must work to prevent preventable crises and to help with reconstruction to those states that need it. If we are idle while misery develops in countries affected by a catastrophe, like currently the Independent territorial collectivity of the Nofoaga Islands or Alkharya, then we are actively fueling the arising of new crises and the damage and, in the worst cases, deaths they could bring will be on our hands.
The proposed European Development Agency would prove effective at providing the member states with the assistance they require. It respects the separation of powers in the European Union and allows for easy and straightforward passing of unproblematic requests while having mechanism that ensure control over the European Commission and over the proper use of provided subsidies.
I will stay in the Chamber to answer any of your questions, but I am asking you to act, be constructive and accept this proposition. The Union is at a crossroad, will it go down a path of solidarity and prosperity or a path of misery and destruction? The future is in your hands.
Sofie Čikarová
Premier Commissioner
The Kingdom of Spain
