title: RECOMMENDATION FOR A COUNCIL DECISION on the conlcusion of an Agreement between the European Economic Community and the Republic of Niger for the supply of skimmed milk powder as food aid.

text:
ARCHIVES HISTORIQUES
DE LA COMMISSION
COLLECTION RELIEE DES
DOCUMENTS "COM"
COM (75) 284
Vol. 1975/0102
 ---pagebreak--- Disclaimer
Conformément au règlement (CEE, Euratom) n° 354/83 du Conseil du 1er février 1983
concernant l'ouverture au public des archives historiques de la Communauté économique
européenne et de la Communauté européenne de l'énergie atomique (JO L 43 du 15.2.1983,
p. 1), tel que modifié par le règlement (CE, Euratom) n° 1700/2003 du 22 septembre 2003
(JO L 243 du 27.9.2003, p. 1), ce dossier est ouvert au public. Le cas échéant, les documents
classifiés présents dans ce dossier ont été déclassifiés conformément à l'article 5 dudit
règlement.
In accordance with Council Regulation (EEC, Euratom) No 354/83 of 1 February 1983
concerning the opening to the public of the historical archives of the European Economic
Community and the European Atomic Energy Community (OJ L 43, 15.2.1983, p. 1), as
amended by Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1700/2003 of 22 September 2003 (OJ L 243,
27.9.2003, p. 1), this file is open to the public. Where necessary, classified documents in this
file have been declassified in conformity with Article 5 of the aforementioned regulation.
In Übereinstimmung mit der Verordnung (EWG, Euratom) Nr. 354/83 des Rates vom 1.
Februar 1983 über die Freigabe der historischen Archive der Europäischen
Wirtschaftsgemeinschaft und der Europäischen Atomgemeinschaft (ABI. L 43 vom 15.2.1983,
S. 1), geändert durch die Verordnung (EG, Euratom) Nr. 1700/2003 vom 22. September 2003
(ABI. L 243 vom 27.9.2003, S. 1), ist diese Datei der Öffentlichkeit zugänglich. Soweit
erforderlich, wurden die Verschlusssachen in dieser Datei in Übereinstimmung mit Artikel 5
der genannten Verordnung freigegeben.
 ---pagebreak---     COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
                                                        COM(75)284 final
                                                        Brussels . 13 June 1975
                       RECOMMENDATION FOR A COUNCIL DECISION"
                  on the conlcusion of an Agreement between the
         European Economic Community and the Republic of Niger for the
                    supply of skimmed milk powder as food aid .
COM(75) 284 final
 ---pagebreak---  THE COUNCIL OF . THE EUROPE/ J COMMUNITIES ,
                                                   \
 Having regard to the Tre xty establishing the European Economic Community , and. - n
 particular Articles 113 , 114 and 22H thereof ^
 Having regard to the proposal from the Commission }
^herea? the Council in Reflation (KTJC) no. 3?34/74 of 17 . 1?. 1974^^3Jid in Re'-ulat ion
(vyr,) n° 3?3V74 of .17 - 1?. 197/1 ^ 1 ^ on the supply of skimmed milk powder as food aid
d^oided to m^ke 1,^00 mptric tons of skimmed milk powder available to the Republic
1 f Ni ror .
КАЯ ПКИТП^П :
                                                  Article    1
An Agreement be tween the European Economic Community and the Republic of wi "or fVv- +.v
p.,pnly n * cVir*n-.r>^   Ik powder              as food aid is hereby concluded on behalf of
the European Economic Community . The text of the Agreement in annexed to this
Decision .
                                                  Arti c.J c 2
The President of the Council it. authorized to designate the persons empowered to
oi(7i the Agreement and to confer on them the powers required in order to bind the
Community .
Bono at Brussels ,
                                                                      For the Council
                                                                       The President
        <T . no T.      of ? 4 . 19 . 1974 , n . 2 and 4
 ---pagebreak---              AGREEMENT
BETWEEN THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC COMMUNITY
AND THE REPUBLIC OP NIGER FOR THE SUPPLY 0
SKIMMED MILK POWDER AS FOOD AID ,
 ---pagebreak--- •i'Jlji CO'JKCIL 0? 'ME LUKOPi'WJ COlSRiiiTTIES ,
                                                                            on "tho orc liand ,
THE GOVTiRKi 1.r.0iJT 0ir TJTi'i              REPUBLIC OF NIGER
                                                                            on th'j oilier hvtcl ,
J'.'Vv*     T'l'G'iOj       i'o co'-jrlp.t'c- ilne l\?rr e^Oivt t &?">/! for ill in purpo :"^ have
                                                                         <
( '.'•ripr-ivou i ,::, 'tlicxr )>' f;vå pot .•\'ii.' v i.cf. r
'j -Mi -; c ou: r.is, < e r; ir : v.jv-r-          7 co:-'.f -;n!-?Vf.\.
'Ai' -; cr-; I,,:,'   *. .■ v: cr .- V;;.' : PKPTIBT.TO OP NTOER
 ---pagebreak---                                              - Article I
The European Economic Community shall supply as a ftift to the Republic
of Nifier hereinafter referred to as the "recipient country**, 1,500 metric
tons skimmed milk powder of which 750 metric tons are attributable to the
1974 skimmed milk powder programme and 750 metric tons to that of 1975 » and
which satisfy, as to quality and packing, the requirements laid down in
Annex I which forms an integral part of this Agreement *
                        •        •                                    .
                                                              Ь
                                               ArKclo 77.
                                               Ml ' «)       m.
           *
'.me del i'.'fì'.'.'icii siic i X bo melo io ilio plac* of di ctribution io Isa f:b:o;ì. l:ty
      rcc:i jvi.fc ri; oovhtry • W<A ibt: .Wiropocai Economic Ctjrr.*ia«■? "t*ty" "by isobiwl o.rvoi
                                               Ariictc I.ÏI
tf/io oVLigaiituie and ruu'xuiuiMljliieo' tf th« ,?}.u*fj}»Rnn Kcenor.vLo                            f;
o :. ihc re-' :       eiii            . .in pw «icmï ar as Ï ' H ^PXV." rlolit-y.'V/ P'a
ex e                jn ñmuox II , uhich íorm.s r.v» ' xiñir&bl p:o''i             iaJ               <. ' •
                                                       r,l 0 7. Y
l'ho rnci pioni c.oiurlry uno arip.hoo io irpJ:o ali ih 3                                       -n : :Cc
i3:c tivvnoj/jj-t «rn* insauTvv.ce of tiio deliveries from ihs place of «st
+ o the places of dr>f?tinf>+ i f»n .                                     , ,           ' '
                                            ' / rite 1.0 ' V                     . • .
      rfccJ.pieni oouniry \»iftert sicca io use ilio pro'uci rcoeivcu a» Lid :?ov ji*.>
co/i^uippiion and io rttnirn/buio it free io tho Jioony ij&jtulalio-is ,                           , ;
                                               Arlo r:lo VT
                                              0ttru.-         *r»vk««
      ""Juronean ""Jconomio (Jowmmity shall ftrp.nt the country of denti nation r>.
lump-sum contribution towards the transport costn incurred by thit. count t»-'
                                                                                ■ !
within the African continent from the places of distribution referred to in
Article IT .        '
 ---pagebreak---                   ■                        •                 '                        ■    ■    ■■■■' 4
                                                                                -•           i
Th « amount of thfi contribution fixed on the basis of an allooation sohemp
                                                                       rf ." f:\-
proposed by tho recipient country shall not exceed 43,300 uta, /•
The European Economic Community undertakes to pay this amount into a special
account to he opener' fo^ this purpose in the name of the authority responsible
■f*o^ the operation an follows :
- $0 % after the /roods have bee'-' loaded and at the reouest of the recipient,
    country to enable the operation to commence }
- 40 $ as soon as 3/5 of the first instalment has been used up, provided
    documents proving that the /roods have been transported to thi « s+a<*e have
    been submitted by the competent authority to the resident of the Commission
    who after having checked such documents shall forward to the Commission the
    nmrfopriat *4 call for funds ,
- the balance calculated in proportion to the Quantities actually transnorted
    and by reference to the places" of destination , to be paid on completion of
    the operation after receipt by the Commission of a report to,«*«?+ her vith
    documents duly endorsed by the resident of the Commission proving that the
    /foods have been transported .
                                  • Article VII
   Tho contracting parties undertake to implement this Agreement . in sucn a.v;r.y •.
   u;i to avoid any (Js:nr»ge to the normal wtructuve of national production ar/.V
   international trado » For this purpose , tlicy shall tako the necfrr.sarj'- ntens
   to ensure that the Huppliod of aid are additional to and are not in lion'
   of trading o iteration b which could reanonnlOy be exacted in the ahucney of
   euch supplies .                       ,                       -                             •.
                               •  '        ...          :  :       ' '     ' ' ' ■/ :   '■                        ' ' ■ ■!•
        ».                                                                                }                         "•   r
                                               Article VTTi    ,                \        ^       v
    Tiho recipient ' country shall tako the appropriate steps to prevent : . ■
    «• reexport of the product received as aid and any products dorivod . thnrcfifwir.}                                   .
  • - tho c'.vpr;rt for tr&do or otherwise , within six- rcontks frow the (3at'3 of                                :■?
       laivl delivery , hot)', of locaXiy-producod i^rckvidiso <\f■ tlui v'* 1 -. '
       ac th'.«.t received ?•. a aid and of processed itroduo/i/?r dyu-ivod . thevvtirern . ■ ~               . .V
                      - ' ' ;                    ' ·■·■                      ..                V ■ -, ·■,·     . · :        I1
 ---pagebreak---                                                           .Arti cle Ia                          ;
 'J:he vccj-piemt . country vntiort&koo "to inform - the 'Europbrio ' litoori.y!r;i.6                                 T
 cf ' -the* '^ircWhctivtiooc '-Surrounding thft implementation of this                             ooho:;-i.MW          :■ '•
 thic piirporse , it chall eoiiwinioote to the Conmi.firion of the Kivvo pfsivi ' U6ri«r.u'ii t :i. oh
 cvo.-y three iiion ths until . the quKpti'tict? received hs piti huve 'Icjgh -ureJ v.y> lb--?
                                               qitivrti'tiea dixstritvilod , nuir'tur ' M?t5 bator-t cf         ;i .'
  bo nisl'i <5- ic.i- ic.fi, .- pl.r.,crfc j '.rate and manner of diotritutioiv               -                    . • ■
                       • ■• '. ;                       ; wicin                                         .     • ; • • ;r
The recipient countly nhr.ll take ell appx-opriat c steps' to . cavirO o thoso X ^ TK
dr.ly fut'iorizcd "by the ?3i.u\->ptsan Econotoio Coi-Munity to make 'on the np:>t o"b:j !•.'.»•*» . -
vations of the oporatS wis cojinecied with tho iKtplomoni at ion of the S^reci ur, I .                                    '
                                                         Article XT
At the request of cither .party , the eontrp.oting parties ehc-d! . coiinult one
another on all questions concerning the application of this Acrcor.icnt . .
                                                         Article XT T                                    ■ .          TV
Miin Agreement in drain* up in two copies in tho Danish , Dutch , Kngliflh , French,'
German and Italian languages , these text a "being equally authentic .
    Xll.OJi  CU1U      ,1, VCUL.I.WX                   VUC/ O ^   VV/^
                    "! T
    \                  !                                        ■     :
 ---pagebreak---                                              встгаз» кгос тажп                 ■
X ». CVy                    reyvygçg^t 8.               , » •.
         (a ) fat oo.rbont                                         not exceeding 1,5 y>
         (b ) írioiabursj contcnt                                  uot exceodin^j 4»0                         v •>. •!;. . -
         (c ) total acidity (lectio fioid )                        not exceeding 0,15' $ (18 .'IhmScy .
         (o ) test for neutraliidng agentc                         negative                            • v               /
         ( e ) parlili tt ed additive#                           . none                                        ;
     ..( f ) tur.t for phonpftainsio                               negative                         ; 'v< ■
   , (g) nolubility                                                not exceeding 0,5 »1 (i*if»f ^ 3 &kk~ ibvA .
      .(h ) di-gi'ec of purity                       ;     ;   ;   not J ©<33 thwi dine ,       (?.;:1,6 rvj ^
        (i ) bcoteria content                             v;       >io*b exceeding 50 00."> t
        (':) utve;j£.th of colon . baci llus                       lio'-wfcive in 0,5. g :
        ( 3.) flf-vovï» j-r-d eme-ll                               fr-otîh
        (;u) o.i»j>ai«vr,v>oo                                      VjJ.'itcs or £; lightly
                                                                   ab&onco . of i:*«i»iiritieo            oc.- lcv.' -C;.;.
                                                                   parl-iolcu               "               ■          1
       f. Jt * ( « I »     • x
        (;!.) co)itaiti3ng 25 ki logranrø&s net voight'' -.
    . 00 oonpacition of jr.ckingt                                                                                ' \ •
                                                                                , 9
                     m.) 4 Kraft paper ba^s of a stren /rth representing at leant 70 f?/n •
                           1 interposed tar-lined paper bag, of a strength representing
                           at least 140 pjm~ \
                           1 polyethylene inner ba/* at least. 0.06 mm thick , welded or douMe
                           bound $
     '*'''               "                                                                               JD                  'i
                     bb ) 1 Kraft paper bag of a strength representing at least 70'gArj
                           1 Kraft paper baft with a polyethylene 'layer of a strength represent in/*
                           at least 80 g + 15 g/m^J
                           3 Kraft paper ha,?*?? of a strength representing at least JO r/m ;
                           1 polyethylene inner hag at least 0.0*) mm thick , welded or double-
                           bound :    '                                              -
                     cc ) 1 Kraft paper outer ba^r of a strength representing at le-">n+-                        Win ;
                           1 Kraft paoer ha,» with a polyethylene laver of a st^enrth ren^erpit^n.'*
                           at least 70 r + 15 gAi^f                                    • *•                       ;•
                           1 polyethylene inner bar: at least 0.12 mm think , welded or double ■ ;
                           bound .                        1 •                    •                               V-' .    •' .
        (c ) markin/r on the packaging in Prenoh
                     SKTMMH) MTTK pwnrçi?                                .  ;
                     cm 01? THK ETTROmif FX70WOMIO OOlWJNTTY TO THE REPUBLIC OP NIGER
                     TO BTRTRT'RTrrT! FRTCF! 01? CHAPOK                                       .
 ---pagebreak---                                AflKEX TO ARTICLE ITI 0? TFTE ACRBIg'îlSST
 *         t                 *                                                      ' '
                                         •     Article 1                                r.                            >
         Delivery shall "be "pomjbleted and the riska shall pass from tho European
         Economic Community ; to the recipient country as soon as the goods actually ' , ' :
         roach the place of distribution , and have been unloaded*
         The recipient country shall bear all costs incurred in taking delivery of the
        goods , 'any transshipment costs and all other costs subsequent to delivery .
        Any costs resulting from delay in taking delivery of the ,goods , which, are :
   •    attributable to the recipient coturfcry, shall be borne by that country .
                                               Article 2                                                            ' ' V
        Whe European Economic Community shall , at the earliest opportunity , givo to v
        the recipient country the information relating to the consignment . of tb.3                                         i' •
        goods to the place of destination , the means of transport "Used ) . iho details' "
        of the route to be followed over the intermediate stages , the date of .                                          ,        .
        loading , and the quantity and quality of the goods on their departure from , •
        the Community.                                  '                     ■ '
                                               Arti cle 3,
        The European Economic Community shall inform the recipient country in. pood                                           /"
        tine of the goods' presumed date of arrival at the place of distribution . The ■'
        European Economic Community shall be under an obligation to inforw the .                                               .
        recipient country at least two days in advance (of the date ) of tho goods'
        arrival at the place of distribution .                                                          '       ! \
                                              Article 4.          ■         '
        The European Economic Community shall appoint an agent to implement the                                                  1
* x     provisions of this Annex , and shall in good iiraoi fonward the lattOr 's newo-' - ^
        and address to the recipient country .                 ;y   ;/ 'v 'V.. ' ]■        •' ; :•         \            /           :
        The recipient country shall appoint an agent in each plac6 of distribution and
        shall forward the latter' s name and address to the European Economic' Community' -.
     ..          ■    ..            »      . - - 1        ■   ■^                                >      ■ *.■*, . ; \
        prior to implementation of the; Agreement •         ..• :        y-                       \ : 'v '■/>'>
 ---pagebreak---                                    Article  S
On delivery of the ^ooas the country of destination Khali hand to the aui v"- ri:',rd
agent of tho liuropoan Economic. Community a taking-over certificate , stat.ir.g t-Ls
place and date of taking over , the nature and the quantity an v.'ell ars con ti    t
observation o about the quality of theue good.s and shall wend. a copy thereof to
the CoraniRir.ion of the European Communities .          ,


title: RECOMMENDATION FOR A COUNCIL DECISION ON THE CONCLUSION OF A PROTOCOL LAYING DOWN THE CONDITIONS AND PROCEDURES FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE SECOND STAGE OF THE AGREEMENT ESTABLISHING AN ASSOCIATION BETWEEN THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC COMMUNITY AND THE REPUBLIC OF CYPRUS AND ADAPTING CERTAIN PROVISIONS OF THE AGREEMENT

text:
21. 12. 87                              Official Journal of the European Communities                                        No C 343/1
                                                                II
                                                        (Preparatory Acts)
                                                   COMMISSION
              Recommendation for a Council Decision on the conclusion of a Protocol laying down the conditions
              and procedures for the implementation of the second stage of the Agreement establishing an
              Association between the European Economic Community and the Republic of Cyprus and adapting
                                              certain provisions of that Agreement
                                                       COM(87) 419 final
                             (Submitted by the Commission to the Council on 3 September 1987)
                                                         (87/C 343/01)
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,                            establishing an Association between the European Economic
                                                                    Community and the Republic of Cyprus and adapting certain
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European
                                                                    provisions of that Agreement, the Annexes and the Final Act
Economic Community, and in particular Article 238
                                                                     and declarations and exchange of letters annexed thereto, are
thereof,
                                                                    hereby approved on behalf of the Community. The texts of
Having regard       to   the   recommendation      from    the      the Protocol and of the Final Act are annexed to this
Commission,                                                          Decision.
In cooperation with the European Parliament,
Whereas it is necessary to approve the Protocol laying down
the conditions and procedures for the implementation of the                                        Article 2
second stage of the Agreement establishing an Association
between the European Economic Community and the                      The President of the Council shall give the notification
Republic of Cyprus, and adapting certain provisions of that          provided for in Article 36 of the Protocol (2).
Agreement, signed in Brussels on 19 December 1972 ( J ),
HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS:
                                                                                Article 3
                           Article 1
                                                                     This Decision shall enter into force on the day following its
The Protocol laying down the conditions and procedures for           publication in the Official Journal of the European
the implementation of the second stage of the Agreement              Communities.
                                                                     (2) The date of entry into force of the Protocol shall be published in
                                                                         the Official Journal of the European Communities by the
(J) OJ N o L 133, 21. 5. 1973, p. 2.                                     General Secretariat of the Council.


               EUROPEAN COMMISSION
            Brussels, 13.5.2015
            COM(2015) 243 final
            EMPTY
            Recommendation for a
            COUNCIL DECISION
            abrogating Decision 2009/589/EC on the existence of an excessive deficit in Poland

               Recommendation for a

               COUNCIL DECISION

               abrogating Decision 2009/589/EC on the existence of an excessive deficit in Poland

               THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

               Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, and in particular Article 126(12) thereof,

               Having regard to the recommendation from the Commission,

               Whereas:

               (1)On 7 July 2009, following a recommendation from the Commission, the Council decided, in accordance with Article 104(6) of the Treaty establishing the European Community (TEC), that an excessive deficit existed in Poland.

               (2)On the same date, in accordance with Article 104(7) of the TEC and Article 3(4) of Council Regulation (EC) No 1467/97 of 7 July 1997 on speeding up and clarifying the implementation of the excessive deficit procedure
                  1
               , the Council, based on a recommendation from the Commission, addressed a recommendation to Poland with a view to bringing the excessive deficit situation to an end by 2012.

               (3)On 21 June 2013, the Council concluded that Poland had taken effective action but adverse economic events with major implications on public finances had occurred after the adoption of the original recommendation. Therefore, the Council, following a recommendation from the Commission, considered that the conditions foreseen in Article 3(5) of Regulation (EC) No 1467/97 were fulfilled and issued a new Recommendation to Poland under Article 126(7) of the Treaty, with a view to bringing the excessive deficit situation to an end by 2014
                  2
               .

               (4)On 10 December 2013, the Council decided under Article 126(8) of the Treaty that Poland had not taken effective action in response to the Council Recommendation of 21 June 2013 to correct its excessive deficit by 2014
                  3
               , and under Article 126(7) of the Treaty recommended Poland to put an end to the excessive deficit situation by 2015
                  4
               . Poland was recommended to reach a headline deficit of 4.8% of GDP in 2013, 3.9% of GDP in 2014 and of 2.8% of GDP in 2015 (excluding the impact of the asset transfers from the second pillar pension system). Based on the macroeconomic forecast underlying the Council recommendation, this was consistent with an improvement of the structural balance of 1% of GDP in 2014 and 1.2% of GDP for 2015. Poland was also recommended to implement rigorously the measures it had already announced and adopted, while complementing them with additional measures to achieve a sustainable correction of the excessive deficit by 2015. Poland was given a deadline of 15 April 2014 to report on the measures taken to comply with this recommendation.

               (5)On 2 June 2014, the Commission concluded that no further steps in the excessive deficit procedure were needed at that moment.

               (6)In accordance with Article 4 of the Protocol on the excessive deficit procedure annexed to the Treaties, the Commission provides the data for the implementation of the procedure. As part of the application of this Protocol, Member States are to notify data on government deficits and debt and other associated variables twice a year, namely before 1 April and before 1 October, in accordance with Article 3 of Council Regulation (EC) No 479/2009 of 25 May 2009 on the application of the Protocol on the excessive deficit procedure annexed to the Treaty establishing the European Community
                  5
               .

               (7)The Council should take a decision to abrogate a decision on the existence of an excessive deficit on the basis of notified data. Moreover, a decision on the existence of an excessive deficit should be abrogated only if (i) the Commission forecasts indicate that the deficit will not exceed the 3% of GDP threshold over the forecast horizon
                  6
               ; and (ii) the debt ratio fulfils the forward-looking element of the debt benchmark.

               (8)Moreover, in accordance with the Stability and Growth Pact, due consideration should be given to systemic pension reforms introducing a multi-pillar system that includes a mandatory, fully-funded pillar.

               (9)Based on data provided by the Commission (Eurostat) in accordance with Article 14 of Regulation (EC) No 479/2009, following the April 2015 notification by Poland, the 2015 Convergence Programme and the Commission 2015 spring forecast, the following conclusions are justified:

               –In 2014, the general government deficit amounted to 3.2% of GDP. Since this number can be considered to be close to the reference value and Poland's debt-to-GDP ratio is below the 60% of GDP reference value in a sustained manner, Poland is eligible to the provisions regarding systemic pension reforms of Article 2(7) of Regulation (EC) 1467/97. The Polish systemic pension reform from 1999 has been reversed by a law adopted in December 2013. Based on this reversal, part of the assets accumulated in the private, fully-funded pension funds (forming the second pillar of the Polish pension system) were transferred to the public social security scheme (first pillar of the Polish pension system). Moreover, the second pillar of the pension system lost its universal coverage, in the sense that participation stopped being compulsory. As a result, the 2013 reversal put to an end the systemic nature of the 1999 reform. However, until end-July 2014 social contributions of all participants still went to the second pillar. These contributions are net costs of the systemic pension reform of 1999 and are to be taken into account when assessing the correction of the excessive deficit. Total direct net costs for the period January – July 2014 are estimated at 0.4% of GDP, and are thus sufficient to explain the excess of the general government deficit over the 3% of GDP Treaty reference value in 2014.

               –The convergence programme, submitted by the Polish government on 30 April 2015, targets at deficit of 2.7% of GDP in 2015 and of 2.3% of GDP in 2016. The Commission 2015 spring forecast projects a deficit of 2.8% of GDP in 2015, and, based on a no-policy change assumption, of 2.6% of GDP in 2016. Thus, the deficit is set to remain below the Treaty reference value of 3% of GDP over the forecast horizon.

               –The Commission estimates the structural balance, that is the general government balance adjusted for the economic cycle and net of one-off and other temporary measures, to have improved by 0.9% of GDP in 2014.

               –The general government gross debt amounted to 50.1% in 2014. The Commission 2015 spring forecast projects the general government gross debt to amount to 50.9% of GDP in 2015 and 50.8% of GDP in 2016, i.e. below the 60% of GDP reference value.

               (10)As from 2015, which is the year following the correction of the excessive deficit, Poland is subject to the preventive arm of the Stability and Growth Pact and should progress towards its medium-term objective at an appropriate pace, including respecting the expenditure benchmark. The Commission 2015 spring forecast projects the structural balance to improve by 0.2% of GDP both in 2015 and 2016, based on the no-policy change assumption. On the basis of an overall assessment, Poland is projected to be compliant with the required adjustment towards the medium-term objective in 2015 based on a net expenditure growth below the benchmark, whereas there is a risk of some deviation from the required adjustment in 2016 as the structural adjustment falls short of the requirement in 2016 so that further measures will be needed in that year.

               (11)In accordance with Article 126(12) of the Treaty, a Council Decision on the existence of an excessive deficit is to be abrogated when the excessive deficit in the Member State concerned has, in the view of the Council, been corrected.

               (12)In the view of the Council, the excessive deficit in Poland has been corrected and Decision 2009/589/EC should therefore be abrogated.

               (13)The Council recalls that the systemic pension reform of 1999 replaced a defined-benefit public pension scheme, with a three-pillar system based on defined contributions. The main objective of the reform was to improve the sustainability of the Polish pension system especially in light of the very challenging demographic outlook Poland is facing. The reversal of the systemic reform at the end of 2013, increased again the role of the first, public pillar, which, contrary to the second pillar, is not fully funded, but a notional defined-contribution system. While producing some budgetary relief in the short term, the reversal of the systemic reform of 1999 does not improve the long-term sustainability of public finances, as the short-term benefits from higher social contributions and lower interest payments will be offset by higher future pension payments from the public pension pillar. Overall, the reversal of the systemic pension reform of 1999 carries some risks for Polish public finances in the long run,

               HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:

               Article 1

               From an overall assessment it follows that the excessive deficit situation in Poland has been corrected.

               Article 2

               Decision 2009/589/EC is hereby abrogated.

               Article 3

               This Decision is addressed to the Republic of Poland.

               Done at Brussels,

                     For the Council

                     The President

                     (1)
                  OJ L 209, 2.8.1997, p. 6.

                     (2)
                  Council Recommendation of 21 June 2013 with a view to bringing an end to the situation of an excessive government deficit in Poland.

                     (3)
                  Council Decision 2013/758/EU of 10 December 2013 establishing that no effective action has been taken by Poland in response to the Council Recommendation of 21 June 2013.

                     (4)
                  Council Recommendation of 2 December 2013 with a view to bringing an end to the situation of an excessive government deficit in Poland.

                     (5)
                  OJ L 145, 10.6.2009, p. 1.

                     (6)
                  In line with the “Specifications on the implementation of the Stability and Growth Pact and Guidelines on the format and content of Stability and Convergence Programmes” of 3 September 2012. See:

                     http://ec.europa.eu/economy_finance/economic_governance/sgp/pdf/coc/code_of_conduct_en.pdf