# Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 821/2014Show full title

Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 821/2014 of 28 July 2014 laying down rules for the application of Regulation (EU)            No 1303/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards detailed arrangements for the transfer and management            of programme contributions, the reporting on financial instruments, technical characteristics of information and communication            measures for operations and the system to record and store data         

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U.K.

# Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 821/2014                     

# of 28 July 2014

# laying down rules for the application of Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards                        detailed arrangements for the transfer and management of programme contributions, the reporting on financial instruments,                        technical characteristics of information and communication measures for operations and the system to record and store data                     

THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,

Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

Having regard to Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 December 2013 laying down                           common provisions on the European Regional Development Fund, the European Social Fund, the Cohesion Fund, the European Agricultural                           Fund for Rural Development and the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund and laying down general provisions on the European                           Regional Development Fund, the European Social Fund, the Cohesion Fund and the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund and repealing                           Council Regulation (EC) No 1083/2006(1), and in particular Articles 38(10), 46(3), 115(4) and the second subparagraph of Article 125(8) thereof,                        

Whereas:

(1)Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 215/2014(2) lays down provisions necessary for the preparation of programmes. In order to ensure implementation of the programmes financed                              by the European Structural and Investment Funds (the ‘ESI Funds’), it is necessary to lay down further provisions for the                              application of Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013. To facilitate a comprehensive view and the access to those provisions, those                              provisions should be set out in one implementing act.

(2)To increase flexibility in mobilising support for financial instruments from different sources managed by the managing authority                              in one of the ways set out in the first subparagraph of Article 38(4) of Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013, it is necessary to                              clarify how the programme contributions are transferred and managed. In particular it is necessary to clarify the circumstances                              under which a financial instrument may receive contributions from more than one programme or from more than one priority axis                              or measure of the same programme, and the conditions under which national public or private contributions to financial instruments                              made at the level of final recipients can be taken into consideration as national co-financing resources.

(3)It is necessary to establish a model for reporting on financial instruments to the Commission in order to ensure that the                              managing authorities provide the information required by Article 46(2) of Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013 in a consistent and                              comparable way. The model for reporting on financial instruments is also necessary to enable the Commission to provide summaries                              of the data on progress made in financing and implementing the financial instruments.

(4)In order to ensure a harmonised visual identity for information and communication measures for operations in the area of Union                              cohesion policy, the instructions for creating the Union emblem and a definition of the standard colours should be established,                              as well as technical characteristics for displaying the Union emblem and the reference to the Fund or Funds supporting the                              operation.

(5)In order to ensure a harmonised visual identity for information and communication measures for infrastructure and construction                              operations in the area of Union cohesion policy, it is necessary to establish the technical characteristics of billboards                              and permanent plaques for infrastructure and construction operations where the total public support for each operation exceeds                              EUR 500 000.

(6)For the purposes of Article 125(2)(d) of Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013, it is necessary to lay down technical specifications                              of the system to record and store in computerised form data on each operation necessary for the monitoring, evaluation, financial                              management, verification and audit.

(7)For the purposes of effective implementation of the second subparagraph of Article 122(3) of Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013,                              it is necessary to ensure that the technical specifications of the system to record and store data guarantee full interoperability                              with the system referred to in Article 122(3) of that Regulation, at architectural, technical and semantic level.

(8)The detailed technical specifications of the system to record and store data should be sufficiently documented to ensure audit                              trail of the compliance with the legal requirements.

(9)The system to record and store data should also include appropriate search tools and reporting functions in order to be able                              to easily retrieve and aggregate information stored in it for monitoring, evaluation, financial management, verification and                              audit purposes.

(10)The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Coordination Committee for the European                              Structural and Investment Funds,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

## CHAPTER IU.K.**DETAILED ARRANGEMENTS FOR THE TRANSFER AND MANAGEMENT OF PROGRAMME CONTRIBUTIONS AND REPORTING ON FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS**

### Article 1U.K.Transfer and management of programme contributions(Article 38(10) of Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013)

1.Where contributions from more than one programme or from more than one priority axis or measure of the same programme are                        made to a financial instrument, the body implementing that financial instrument shall keep a separate account or maintain                        an adequate accounting code for the contribution from each programme, from each priority axis or measure for reporting and                        audit purposes.                  

2.Where national public and private contributions to financial instruments are made at the level of final recipients, in accordance                        with the Fund-specific rules, the bodies implementing those financial instruments shall manage national public or private                        contributions constituting national co-financing and made at the level of final recipients in accordance with paragraphs 3                        to 6.                  

3.The bodies implementing financial instruments shall keep documentary evidence of the following:                  

(a)legal agreements concluded with the private or public entities concerning national public or private contributions constituting                        national co-financing to be provided by these entities at the level of final recipients;                  

(b)effective transfer of resources constituting national co-financing by private or public entities to final recipients;                  

(c)national public or private contributions constituting national co-financing and made by private or public entities, reported                        to the body implementing financial instrument.                  

4.The bodies implementing financial instruments shall retain overall responsibility for the investment in final recipients including                        subsequent monitoring of the contributions from programmes in accordance with funding agreements.                  

5.The bodies implementing financial instruments shall ensure that expenditure covered by the national public or private contributions                        constituting national co-financing is eligible before declaring it to the managing authority.                  

6.The bodies implementing financial instruments shall maintain the audit trail for the national public or private contributions                        constituting national co-financing down to the level of the final recipient.                  

### Article 2U.K.Model for reporting on financial instruments(Article 46(3) of Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013)

For the specific report referred to in Article 46(1) of Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013, the managing authorities shall use the                     model set out in Annex I to this Regulation.                  

## CHAPTER IIU.K.**TECHNICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION MEASURES FOR OPERATIONS AND INSTRUCTIONS FOR CREATING THE UNION                           EMBLEM AND A DEFINITION OF THE STANDARD COLOURS**(Article 115(4) of Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013)

### Article 3U.K.Instructions for creating the emblem and a definition of the standard colours

The Union emblem shall be created in accordance with the graphic standards set out in Annex II.

### Article 4U.K.Technical characteristics for displaying the Union emblem and the reference to the Fund or Funds supporting the operation

1.The Union emblem referred to in point 1(a) of Section 2.2 of Annex XII to Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013 shall be displayed                        in colour on websites. In all other media, colour shall be used whenever possible and a monochrome version may only be used                        in justified cases.                  

2.The Union emblem shall always be clearly visible and placed in a prominent position. Its position and size shall be appropriate                        to the scale of the material or document being used. For small promotional objects the obligation to make reference to the                        Fund shall not apply.                  

3.When the Union emblem, the reference to the Union and the relevant Fund are displayed on a website:                  

(a)the Union emblem and the reference to the Union shall be visible, when landing on the website, inside the viewing area of                        a digital device, without requiring a user to scroll down the page;                  

(b)the reference to the relevant Fund shall be made visible on the same website.                  

4.The name ‘European Union’ shall always be spelled out in full. The name of a financial instrument shall include a reference                        to the fact that it is supported by the ESI Funds. The typeface to be used in conjunction with the Union emblem may be any                        of the following fonts: Arial, Auto, Calibri, Garamond, Trebuchet, Tahoma, Verdana, Ubuntu. Italic, underlined variations                        or font effects shall not be used. The positioning of the text in relation to the Union emblem shall not interfere with the                        Union emblem in any way. The font size used shall be proportionate to the size of the emblem. The colour of the font shall                        be reflex blue, black or white depending on the background.                  

5.If other logos are displayed in addition to the Union emblem, the Union emblem shall have at least the same size, measured                        in height or width, as the biggest of the other logos.                  

### Article 5U.K.Technical characteristics of permanent plaques and temporary or permanent billboards

1.The name of the operation, the main objective of the operation, the Union emblem together with the reference to the Union                        and the reference to the Fund or Funds to be displayed on the temporary billboard referred to in point 4 of Section 2.2 of                        Annex XII to Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013 shall take up at least 25 % of that billboard.                  

2.The name of the operation and the main objective of the activity supported by the operation, the Union emblem together with                        the reference to the Union and the reference to the Fund or Funds to be displayed on the permanent plaque or permanent billboard                        referred to in point 5 of Section 2.2 of Annex XII to Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013 shall take up at least 25 % of that plaque                        or billboard.                  

## CHAPTER IIIU.K.**SYSTEM TO RECORD AND STORE DATA**(Article 125(8) of Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013)

### Article 6U.K.General provisions

The system to record and store data on operations referred to in point (d) of Article 125(2) of Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013                     shall comply with the technical specifications set out in Articles 7 to 11.                  

### Article 7U.K.Protection and preservation of data and documents and their integrity

1.Access to the system shall be based on predefined rights for different types of users and shall be suppressed where it is                        no longer needed.                  

2.The system shall keep the logs of any recording, modification and deletion of documents and data.                  

3.The system shall not allow modification of the content of documents bearing an electronic signature. A time stamp certifying                        the deposit of the document bearing an electronic signature, shall be generated and associated with the document and shall                        not be alterable. Deletion of such documents shall be logged in accordance with paragraph 2.                  

4.The data shall be subject to regular back-ups. The back-up with replica of the entire content of the electronic file repository                        shall be ready for use in case of emergency.                  

5.The electronic storage facility shall be protected against any danger of loss or alteration of its integrity. Such protection                        shall include physical protection against inappropriate temperature and levels of humidity, fire and theft detection systems,                        adequate protection systems against virus attacks, hackers and any other non-authorised access.                  

6.The system shall provide for the migration of data, format and computer environment at intervals sufficient to guarantee legibility                        and accessibility of documents and data until the end of the relevant period referred to in Article 140(1) of Regulation (EU)                        No 1303/2013.                  

### Article 8U.K.Interoperability

1.The system shall be interoperable with the systems for electronic data exchange with beneficiaries referred to in Article                        122(3) of Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013.                  

Where appropriate, the system shall facilitate the verification of the veracity and, completeness of the data provided by                     the beneficiaries before it is stored in a secured manner.                  

2.The system shall be interoperable with other relevant computerised systems under the National Interoperability Framework and                        the European Interoperability Framework (EIF) established under Decision No 922/2009/EC of the European Parliament and of                        the Council(3).                  

3.The system shall be interoperable at technical and semantic level. The specifications shall support standard formats for data                        exchange and shall ensure that those formats can be recognised and exchanged between heterogeneous systems.                  

### Article 9U.K.Search and reporting functions

The system shall include:

appropriate search tools enabling easy retrieval of documents, data and their metadata;

a reporting function enabling the generation of reports on the basis of predefined criteria, in particular for the data set                              out in Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) No 480/2014(4);                           

a possibility of saving, exporting or printing reports referred to in point (b), or a link to an external application providing                              for such possibility.                           

### Article 10U.K.Documentation of the system

The managing authority shall provide detailed and updated functional and technical documentation on the operation and characteristics                     of the system, accessible on request by relevant entities responsible for the management of the programme, by the Commission                     and the European Court of Auditors.                  

The documentation referred to in the first paragraph shall provide evidence of the implementation of Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013                     in the Member State concerned.                  

### Article 11U.K.Security of information exchange

The system used shall be protected by adequate security measures concerning document classification, protection of information                     systems and personal data protection. These measures shall comply with international standards and national legal requirements.                  

The security measures referred to in the first paragraph shall protect networks and transmission facilities where the system                     interacts with other modules and systems.                  

### Article 12U.K.Entry into force

This Regulation shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of its publication in the *Official Journal of the European Union*.                  

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.

Done at Brussels, 28 July2014.

*For the Commission*                            

*The President*                            

José Manuel Barroso                            

## ANNEX IU.K.Model for reporting on financial instruments

## ANNEX IIU.K.Graphic standards for creating the Union emblem and the definition of the standard colours

### SYMBOLIC DESCRIPTIONU.K.

Against a background of blue sky, twelve golden stars form a circle representing the union of the peoples of Europe. The number                     of stars is fixed, twelve being the symbol of perfection and unity.                  

### HERALDIC DESCRIPTIONU.K.

On an azure field a circle of twelve golden mullets, their points not touching.

### GEOMETRIC DESCRIPTIONU.K.

The emblem has the form of a blue rectangular flag of which the fly is one and a half times the length of the hoist. Twelve                     gold stars situated at equal intervals form an invisible circle whose center is the point of intersection of the diagonals                     of the rectangle. The radius of the circle is equal to one third of the height of the hoist. Each of the stars has five points                     which are situated on the circumference of an invisible circle whose radius is equal to one eighteenth of the height of the                     hoist. All the stars are upright, i.e. with one point vertical and two points in a straight line at right angles to the mast.                     The circle is arranged so that the stars appear in the position of the hours on the face of a clock. Their number is invariable.                  

### REGULATION COLOURSU.K.

The emblem is in the following colours:
          -  PANTONE REFLEX BLUE for the surface of the rectangle; 
          -  PANTONE YELLOW for the stars. 

### FOUR-COLOUR PROCESSU.K.

If the four-colour process is used, recreate the two standard colours by using the four colours of the four-colour process.

PANTONE YELLOW is obtained by using 100 % ‘Process Yellow’.

PANTONE REFLEX BLUE is obtained by mixing 100 % ‘Process Cyan’ and 80 % ‘Process Magenta’.

### INTERNETU.K.

PANTONE REFLEX BLUE corresponds in the web-palette colour RGB:0/51/153 (hexadecimal: 003399) and PANTONE YELLOW corresponds                     in the web-palette colour RGB: 255/204/0 (hexadecimal: FFCC00).                  

### MONOCHROME REPRODUCTION PROCESSU.K.

Using black, outline the rectangle in black and print the stars in black on white.

Using blue (Reflex Blue), use 100 % with the stars reproduced in negative white.

### REPRODUCTION ON A COLOURED BACKGROUNDU.K.

If there is no alternative to a coloured background, put a white border around the rectangle, the width of the border being                     1/25th of the height of the rectangle.                  

1

OJ L 347, 20.12.2013, p. 320.                           

2

Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 215/2014 of 7 March 2014 laying down rules for implementing Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013                              of the European Parliament and of the Council laying down common provisions on the European Regional Development Fund, the                              European Social Fund, the Cohesion Fund, the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development and the European Maritime and                              Fisheries Fund and laying down general provisions on the European Regional Development Fund, the European Social Fund, the                              Cohesion Fund and the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund with regard to methodologies for climate change support, the determination                              of milestones and targets in the performance framework and the nomenclature of categories of intervention for the European                              Structural and Investment Funds (OJ L 69, 8.3.2014, p. 65).                           

3

Decision No 922/2009/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 September 2009 on interoperability solutions for                              European public administrations (ISA) (OJ L 260, 3.10.2009, p. 20).                           

4

Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) No 480/2014 of 3 March 2014 supplementing Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013 of the European                              Parliament and of the Council laying down common provisions on the European Regional Development Fund, the European Social                              Fund, the Cohesion Fund, the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development and the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund                              and laying down general provisions on the European Regional Development Fund, the European Social Fund, the Cohesion Fund                              and the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (OJ L 138, 13.5.2014, p. 5).