27. 2. 92 Official Journal of the Eur;)pean Communities No L .52/1 (Acts whose publication is obligatory) COUNCIL REGULATION (EEC) No 443/92 of 25 February 1992 " on financial and technical assistance to, and economic cooperation with, the developing countries in Asia and Latin America THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community, and in particular Article 235 thereof, Having regard to the proposals from the Commission (%), Having regard to the opinion of the European Par- liament (3), Whereas the Community has been pursuing a policy of financial and technical cooperation with the Asian and Latin American (ALA) developing countries since 1976 and has, more recently, also embarked on economic cooperation with those countries ; whereas these forms of cooperation are part of an overall policy of cooperation with the developing countries as a whole, which includes expansion of their trade by integration into the multila- teral trading system, by appropriate measures to be taken within the relevant international organizations and by specific measures such as the Community system of generalized preferences ; Whereas the current process of European construction and the growing influence of the Community in the developing countries worldwide justify the continuation, with due regard for the complementary nature of Community action, of mutually advantageous economic cooperation with, and Community development aid to, the Asian and Latin American developing countries, the extension of cooperation to other countries or sectors in the two regions, increased financing for such policies and efforts to ensure that they are better adapted to national and local needs within each region ; Whereas the European Council has on a number of occa- sions confirmed the Community’s political will to rein- force its cooperation with regions of the world where the () OJ No C 119, 4. 5. 1991, p. 6 and OJ No C 284, 31. 10. 1991, p. 4. () OJ No C 267, 14. 10. 1991, p. 3S. level of development is still inadequate and to do so via an increased, coordinated and multi-faceted effort on the part of the Community and its Member States ; Whereas the European Council, meeting in Luxembourg on 28 and 29 June 1991, asked the Community and its Member States, through Community cooperation policy and by including clauses on human rights in economic and cooperation agreements with third countries, actively to promote human rights and the participation, without " discrimination, of all individuals or groups in the life of society, bearing in mind particularly the role of women ; Whereas the European Parliament has examined the matter in detail on a number of occasions and has called for reinforced cooperation and for a revision of present legislation in order to ensure that aid is more efficient and more transparent ; Whereas, on 4 February 1991, the Council adopted final conclusions on guidelines for cooperation with the Asian and Latin American developing countries, covering in particular the priorities and sectors for consideration and the desirability of increasing the resources to be allocated to them and of enabling indicative medium-term programming for those resources to be undertaken ; Whereas both the European Parliament and the Council, while confirming traditional fields of action, have identi- fied new priorities relating, in particular, to the environ- ment, the human dimensio of development and the need for economic cooperation to take place in the mutual interest of the Community and its partner countries ; Whereas provision should be made for funding the aid referred to in this Regulation and other aid to the Asian and Latin American developing countries ; Whereas an amount of ECU 2750 million is deemed necessary for the implementation of the aid covered by this Regulation and of other aid to the Asian and Latin American developing countries for an initial five-year period (1991-1995);