belgiquelex.be - Carrefour Bank of Legislation

4 AVRIL 2003. - Act enacting the Financial Protocol of 4 October 2002 to the cooperation agreement of 5 April 1995 between the Federal State, the Flemish Region, the Walloon Region and the Brussels-Capital Region relating to international environmental policy

ALBERT II, King of the Belgians,
To all, present and to come, Hi.
The Chambers adopted and We sanction the following:
Article 1^er. This Act regulates a matter referred to in Article 77 of the Constitution.
Art. 2. It is assented to the Financial Protocol of 4 October 2002 to the cooperation agreement of 5 April 1995 between the Federal State, the Flemish Region, the Walloon Region and the Brussels Capital Region on international environmental policy.
Promulgate this law, order that it be clothed with the seal of the State and published by the Belgian Monitor.
Given in Brussels on 5 December 2002.
ALBERT
By the King:
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs,
L. MICHEL
Minister of Consumer Protection, Public Health and the Environment,
J. TAVERNIER
The Secretary of State for Development Cooperation,
E. BOUTMANS
Seen and sealed the state seal:
Minister of Justice,
Mr. VERWILGHEN

FINANCIAL PROTOCOL FROM 4 OCTOBER 2002 TO THE COOPERATION COOPERATION CASE OF 5 APRIL 1995 BETWEEN THE FEDERAL ETATE, THE FLAMANDE REGION, THE WALLONNE REGION AND THE BRUXELLES-CAPITALE REGION RELATING TO THE INTERNATIONAL ENVIRONMENT POLICY
Considering the Agreement of Cooperation of 5 April 1995 between the Federal State, the Flemish Region, the Walloon Region and the Brussels-Capital Region;
Having regard to the Agreement of Cooperation of 8 March 1994 between the Federal State, the Communities and the Regions on the modalities for the conclusion of Mixed Treaties;
Having regard to the decisions of the Inter-Ministerial Conference of the Environment of 25 March 1997, 25 November 1997, 14 July 1998 and 25 August 1999, in charge of an ad hoc group of the Inter-ministerial Conference of Foreign Policy and the Coordinating Committee of the International Environment Policy to prepare an ad hoc draft solution setting a key to horizontal distribution regarding Belgium's mandatory contributions to environmental multilateral agreements, and in view of the results of this ad hoc group;
Considering the decisions taken by the Joint Treaties Working Group established by the cooperation agreement of 8 March 1994 referred to above;
Considering the decision of the Inter-Ministerial Conference of Foreign Policy of 8 December 1999;
Considering the opinion of the State Council of 31 October 2000;
Considering the decision of the Inter-Ministerial Conference of the Environment of 24 July 2001;
Considering that among multilateral environmental agreements, some of them are of mixed competence, and that the implementation of the measures decided under these multilateral environmental agreements Mixed environments are devolved at the various levels of authority parties to the cooperation agreement of 5 April 1995 referred to above;
Considering that the missions provided for in Article 1^er, 1°, of the cooperation agreement of 5 April 1995 referred to above, inter alia, to the issue of payment of mandatory annual contributions from Belgium to the Mixed Environmental Multilateral Agreements whose funding is not provided as part of the existing mandatory contributions to international organizations;
Considering that the mission provided for in Article 1^er, 2°, of the cooperation agreement of 5 April 1995 referred to above includes the composition of the Belgian delegation for the international meetings held in the framework of the mixed environmental multilateral agreements, and that Article 13 states that the Belgian delegations at these meetings may be composed of representatives of all the authorities concerned and, where appropriate, of the only representatives of the Regions, and that the CCPIE may designate these representatives as the spokesperson.
The Parties agree that:
Article 1^er. This Protocol applies to multilateral environmental agreements to which Belgium is a Contracting Party and which do not deal exclusively with matters that fall within the jurisdiction of the federal State.
Art. 2. List of multilateral environmental agreements referred to in Article 1^er to which Belgium is a Contracting Party on the date of signature of the Protocol is contained in annex I^er.
Other agreements to which Belgium is already a contracting party on the date of the signing of the Protocol and that the Joint Treaties Working Group may also be subject to the application of the Protocol by decision of the Inter-Ministerial Conference of the Environment.
Art. 3. The multilateral environmental treaties to which the Belgian State becomes a Contracting Party after the signing of this Protocol and which have been declared mixed by the Joint Treaty Working Group will be governed by the Protocol in full.
Art. 4. There is a horizontal distribution key between the Federal State and the Regions set at 30% for the Federal and 70% for the Regions in order to ensure the financing of Belgium's mandatory contributions to the mixed multilateral environmental agreements as summarized in annex I.^er.
The distribution between the Regions with a maximum of 70 per cent in charge of the Regions is as follows: 58 per cent for the Flemish Region, 33 per cent for the Walloon Region and 9 per cent for the Brussels Capital Region.
The revision of the distribution key between the Regions may be reviewed, at the request of one of the parts of this protocol, if the distribution key applied in accordance with the method of calculating section 34 of the Special Law on the Financing of the Communities and Regions of 16 January 1989 is too large from the distribution key defined in this Protocol.
Art. 5. Belgium's contributions to the Multilateral Environmental Agreements are made on the basis of the key determined according to Article 4 through an open-order account with the Federal Treasury powered by the Regions and the Federal Authority and managed by a federal ordering officer of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Trade and International Cooperation. The terms and conditions for the management of the order account are described in annex II.
Art. 6. This Protocol shall be established without prejudice to a comprehensive regulation concerning the mandatory contributions of Belgium to the Inter-Ministerial Conference of Foreign Policy.
Art. 7. The financial protocol of 28 April 2000 and its annexes are repealed, this protocol comes into force on 1^er January following the year of last approval.
Thus made in Brussels in four copies, on 4 October 2002.
For the Federal Government:
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs,
L. MICHEL
Minister of Consumer Protection, Public Health and the Environment,
J. TAVERNIER
The Secretary of State for Development Cooperation,
E. BOUTMANS
For the Government of the Flemish Region:
The Minister-President of the Flemish Government,
P. DEWAEL
Flemish Minister of Environment and Agriculture,
Ms. V. DUA
The Flemish Minister of Interior Affairs, Public Service and External Policy,
P. VAN GREMBERGEN
For the Government of the Walloon Region:
Minister-President of the Walloon Government,
J-Cl. VAN CAUWENBERGHE
The Walloon Minister of Land Planning, Urbanism and the Environment,
Mr. FORET
The Walloon Minister of Agriculture and Rural Affairs,
J. HAPPART
For the Government of the Brussels-Capital Region:
The Minister-President of the Government of the Brussels-Capital Region, responsible for the Local Authorities, the Land Planning, Monuments and Sites, Urban Renovation and Scientific Research,
F.-X. DONNEA
The Brussels Minister for Finance, Budget, Public Service and External Relations,
G. VANHENGEL
The Brussels Minister responsible for the Environment and Water Policy, the Conservation of Nature and Public Cleanliness and External Trade,
D. GOSUIN
____
Notes
(1) House of Representatives documents: 50-2177 - 2002/2003:
Number 1: Bill.
No. 2: Opinion of the State Council.
Number three: Report.
No. 4: Text adopted in plenary and transmitted to the Senate.
Full report: 19-20 February 2003.
Documents of the Senate: 2-1497 - 2002-2003:
No. 1: Project transmitted by the House of Representatives.
Number two: Report.
No. 3: Text adopted in plenary and subject to Royal Assent.
Annales of the Senate: March 27, 2003.

Annex I^re.
List of multilateral environmental agreements referred to in Article 1^er
1° 1984 Geneva Protocol to the 1979 Convention on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution on the Long-term Financing of the Cooperative Programme for Monitoring and Evaluation of the Long-range Transmission of Air Pollutants in Europe (EMEP);
2° 1971 Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of International Importance Especially as Waterbird Habitats;
3° 1985 Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer;
4° Montreal Protocol, 1987 on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer (1);
5° United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, 1992 (2);
6° 1989 Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal;
7° 1992 Paris Convention on the Protection of the Marine Environment of the Northeast Atlantic (OSPAR);
8° 1992 Rio Convention on Biological Diversity (3);^;
These contributions are fully supported by the federal state as part of its development cooperation skills.
Thus made in Brussels in four copies, on 4 October 2002.
For the Federal Government:
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs,
L. MICHEL
Minister of Consumer Protection, Public Health and the Environment,
J. TAVERNIER
The Secretary of State for Development Cooperation,
E. BOUTMANS
For the Government of the Flemish Region:
The Minister-President of the Flemish Government,
P. DEWAEL
Flemish Minister of Environment and Agriculture,
Ms. V. DUA
The Flemish Minister of Internal Affairs, Public Service and External Policy,
P. VAN GREMBERGEN
For the Government of the Walloon Region:
Minister-President of the Walloon Government,
J-Cl. VAN CAUWENBERGHE
The Walloon Minister of Land Planning, Urbanism and the Environment,
Mr. FORET
The Walloon Minister of Agriculture and Rural Affairs,
J. HAPPART
For the Government of the Brussels-Capital Region:
The Minister-President of the Government of the Brussels-Capital Region, responsible for the Local Authorities, the Land Planning, Monuments and Sites, Urban Renovation and Scientific Research,
F.-X. DONNEA
The Brussels Minister for Finance, Budget, Public Service and External Relations,
G. VANHENGEL
The Brussels Minister responsible for the Environment and Water Policy, the Conservation of Nature and Public Cleanliness and External Trade,
D. GOSUIN
____
Notes
(1) The distribution key set out in section 4 does not apply to the mandatory contribution to the Montreal Protocol Multilateral Fund.
(2) The repartition key set out in Article 4 does not apply to the mandatory contribution to the Global Environmental Facility of the Convention.
(3) The repartition key set out in Article 4 does not apply to the mandatory contribution to the Global Environmental Facility of the Convention.

Appendix II on the terms and conditions of management applicable to the Order Account opened by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Trade and International Cooperation with the Federal Public Treasury
1. In order to facilitate and consolidate payments from Belgium's contributions to the mixed environmental multilateral agreements, an order account is opened by the Department of Budget and Accounting of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Trade and International Cooperation with the Treasury Administration of the Ministry of Finance under the mention "bijdragen multilaterale milieuverdragen/contributions multilateral environmental agreements". The item number of this account is 83.05.09.00
2. In order to execute international financial transfers, the order account is linked to a financial account, open to the National Bank of Belgium, with the same name as the first item.
3. Both accounts are managed by a designated accountant within the Directorate mentioned in the first point.
4. The effective payment of overall contributions to multilateral environmental agreements will be made by the accountant referred to in item 3 at the request of the Coordinator of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Trade and International Cooperation (Federal Coordinator) after the receipt of invitations for payment prepared by the international secretariats.
5. The acquittal in question is made by multilateral environmental agreement and provided that the order account has been credited by the relevant federal and federated entities according to the distribution keys agreed in the financial protocol, and that no later than April 30 of the current fiscal year. If the invoices of the convention secretariats reach the Belgian authorities only after 1^er March of the current year, this period is extended until two months after the date of receipt of invoices by Belgium.
6. The supply of the order account by the parties, contributing proportionally to the said key, is made at the request of the Federal Coordinator after receipt of the payment invitations written by the international secretariats. A copy of these invitations will be attached to the payment request.
7. Contributions from the federal public authority and regions are increased by an advance for the payment of foreign exchange fees and bank charges as well as for the establishment of a limited reserve to deal with late fluctuations. This advance includes 5% of the contribution of each party.
8. In order to limit the number of payment orders sent to the participating parties, the Federal Coordinator shall ensure to the extent possible that the payment invitations are consolidated.
9. Each claim includes the name and number of the account to be credited, the overall contribution to FB, the calculation method, its division into contributions to multilateral environmental agreements.
10. The Federal Coordinator invites the B.N.B. to make the payment to the relevant multilateral environmental organization and makes the necessary arrangements for each payment to be accompanied by a statement expressly stating that it is a payment of the federal public authority and the Flemish, Walloon and Brussels Capital Region.
11. If the contributing parties do not provide sufficient funds for the payment of mandatory contributions, the Federal Coordinator does not make the payment.
12. The remaining balance will be taken into account by the Federal Coordinator on the order account at the end of each fiscal year as part of the next payment invitation, based on the contribution allocation keys.
13. The accountant managing the order account will report every three months on this management to the Treasury Board. A copy of the management status will be sent to all contributing parties.
Thus made in Brussels in four copies, on 4 October 2002.
For the Federal Government:
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs,
L. MICHEL
Minister of Consumer Protection, Public Health and the Environment,
J. TAVERNIER
The Secretary of State for Development Cooperation,
E. BOUTMANS
For the Government of the Flemish Region:
The Minister-President of the Flemish Government,
P. DEWAEL
Flemish Minister of Environment and Agriculture,
Ms. V. DUA
The Flemish Minister of Internal Affairs, Public Service and External Policy,
P. VAN GREMBERGEN
For the Government of the Walloon Region:
Minister-President of the Walloon Government,
J-Cl. VAN CAUWENBERGHE
The Walloon Minister of Land Planning, Urbanism and the Environment,
Mr. FORET
The Walloon Minister of Agriculture and Rural Affairs,
J. HAPPART
For the Government of the Brussels-Capital Region:
The Minister-President of the Government of the Brussels-Capital Region, responsible for the Local Authorities, the Land Planning, Monuments and Sites, Urban Renovation and Scientific Research,
F.-X. DONNEA
The Brussels Minister for Finance, Budget, Public Service and External Relations,
G. VANHENGEL
The Brussels Minister responsible for the Environment and Water Policy, the Conservation of Nature and Public Cleanliness and External Trade,
D. GOSUIN