I (Acts whose publication is obligatory) COMMISSION REGULATION (EEC) No 1871/87 of 16 June 1987 laying down detailed rules for implementing Council Regulation (EEC) No 4028/86 as regards schemes to encourage exploratory fishing
THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community,
Having regard to Council Regulation (EEC) No 4028/86 of 18 December 1986 on Community measures to improve and adapt structures in the fisheries and aquaculture sector (1), and in particular Articles 15 (2) and 16 (2) thereof,
Whereas the nature of the eligible costs entailed by an exploratory fishing voyage within the meaning of Articles 13 and 14 of Regulation (EEC) No 4028/86 (hereinafter referred to as a 'voyage') should be defined;
Whereas only the costs directly related to undertaking a voyage and certain costs arising from the obligations placed on the beneficiary by the Community rules should be eligible for Community financial aid;
Whereas applications for Community financial assistance must contain data enabling the Commission to take a decision thereon and whereas such applications must be submitted in a standardized form;
Whereas the encouragement of exploratory fishing is intended to bring about a redeployment of Community fishing activities and Member States must therefore be informed of certain results obtained in the course of voyages;
Whereas the applications for reimbursement to be submitted by Member States to the Commission must contain certain data so that checks may be made on whether expenditure is in accordance with the provisions of Regulation (EEC) No 4028/86;.
Whereas, if effective checks are to be made, Member States must keep the supporting documents on the basis of which the aid has been calculated at the Commission's disposal for a period of three years after payment of the final reimbursement;
Whereas the measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Standing Committee for the Fishing Industry,
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:
TITLE I
Determination of eligible costs
Article 1
1. The costs of a voyage, as defined in Annex I, shall be eligible for the granting of an incentive premium within the meaning of Article 15 of Regulation (EEC) No 4028/86.
2. Eligible costs shall be expressed net of any reclaimable value added tax (VAT).
TITLE II
Application for incentive premiums
Article 2
1. Voyage projects submitted to the Commission through the Member State(s) concerned must contain the particulars specified in Annex II and must be presented in the form shown in the said Annex.
2. Applications as referred to in paragraph 1 shall be submitted to the Commission in duplicate. Only single copies of supporting documents or documents other than the forms shown in Annex II need be submitted.
3. Applications as referred to in paragraph 1 shall be recorded on the day when they are received by the Commission.
Article 3
1. For the purposes of this Regulation:
- the 'beginning of a voyage' shall mean the day of departure from the port of operations or the last port of fitting out immediately before fishing operations. In the case of voyages to be undertaken by several vessels, it shall mean the day on which the first of these vessels departs,
- 'port of operations' shall mean the port from which the vessel carries out most of its activities,
- the 'last port of fitting out' shall mean the port at which the vessel takes on the fishing gear, supplies and crew and, as appropriate, one or more qualified scientific observers,
- the 'end of the voyage' shall mean the day on which the vessel or the last of several vessels returns to the last port of landing, on the understanding that no activity extraneous to the voyage in question has taken place in the meantime,
- the 'duration of a voyage' shall mean the number of days spent at sea per year between the beginning and the end of the voyage in question.
2. To qualify for an incentive premium, voyages may not begin until after the date on which the application for aid is recorded as received by the Commission. In cases where the application is received after the departure of the vessel concerned from the port of operations but before the departure from the last port of fitting out before fishing operations, the application shall be admitted but expenditure incurred between that latter port and the port of operations shall not be eligible for Community aid.
Article 4
In respect of each project submitted to the Commission, the Member State(s) concerned must check and certify that the legal fishing authorization or authorizations have been issued by the competent authorities for the duration of the voyage(s) in question.
Article 5
Projects as referred to in Article 14 (4) of Regulation (EEC) No 4028/86 must be the subject of a written contract between the parties concerned.
TITLE III
Voyage reports
Article 6
1. The report referred to in Article 17 (1) of Regulation (EEC) No 4028/86, hereinafter referred to as the 'voyage report', must reach the Commission not later than five months after the end of the voyage in question.
2. The voyage report must contain the particulars specified in Annex III and must be submitted in the form shown in that Annex.
TITLE IV
Rules governing payment
Article 7
1. Applications for payment as referred to in Article 15 of Regulation (EEC) No 4028/86, which are submitted to the Commission by the Member State(s) concerned, must contain the particulars specified in Annex IV and must be presented in the form shown in that Annex.
2. In addition, the Member State(s) concerned shall certify that the information contained in applications for payment as referred to in paragraph 1 is accurate.
Article 8
Incentive premiums may not be paid until the Commission has received the voyage report.
TITLE V
General and final provisions
Article 9
In the case of a project which comprises several successive voyages to the same fishing zone with a view to establishing the basis for stable long-term fishing the incentive premium for each voyage shall be paid only when the Commission has examined the voyage report(s) submitted by the applicant(s) on completion of the preceding voyages. Should the Commission consider that the results of such voyages hold out no prospects of stable long-term fishing in the zone concerned, it may decide not to grant the premium for the next voyage(s).
Such decision shall be notified to the applicants and to the Member State(s) concerned. The other Member States shall be informed accordingly through the Standing Committee on the Fishing Industry.
Article 10
Member States shall inform the Commission, in accordance with Article 46 (1) of Regulation (EEC) No 4028/86, of the laws, regulations and administrative provisions governing their financial contribution towards schemes to encourage exploratory fishing voyages. They shall specify in particular the criteria which they apply for the selection of projects and for the granting of their financial contribution and, in addition, the means of control of applicants for an incentive premium.
Article 11
Member States shall keep at the Commission's disposal, for a period of three years after the final payment is made, all the supporting documents or certified true copies thereof on the basis of which the aids provided for in Regulation (EEC) No 4028/86 have been calculated, together with the complete files relating to applicants.
Article 12
This Regulation shall enter into force on the third day following its publication in the Official Journal of the European Communities.
This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.
Done at Brussels, 16 June 1987.