Decision No 792/2004/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council
of 21 April 2004
establishing a Community action programme to promote bodies active at European level in the field of culture
THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Article 151(5) thereof,
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,
Having consulted the Committee of the Regions,
Acting in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 251 of the Treaty [1],
Whereas:
(1) The Treaty confers responsibility on the Community for creating an ever-closer union among the peoples of Europe and for contributing to the flowering of the cultures of the Member States, while respecting their national and regional diversity and at the same time bringing the common cultural heritage to the fore.
(2) The Laeken Declaration annexed to the conclusions of the European Council of 14 and 15 December 2001 asserts that one of the basic challenges to be resolved by the European Union is to bring citizens closer to the European design and the European institutions.
(3) The Council and the Ministers of Culture meeting within the Council, in the Resolution of 14 November 1991 on European cultural networks [2], stressed the important role of networks of cultural organisations in cultural cooperation in Europe, and agreed to encourage the cultural organisations in their countries to participate actively in non-governmental cooperation on a European scale.
(4) The Council Resolution of 19 December 2002 [3] expressed how the European added value of cultural actions can be identified and evaluated.
(5) Heading A-3042 of the general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2003 and previous financial years provides support for organisations of European cultural interest.
(6) Further to the resolutions of the European Parliament on regional languages and cultures, the European Union has engaged in action to promote and safeguard the linguistic diversity in the Union, in order to preserve languages as an element in Europe's living cultural heritage.
(7) At the request of the European Parliament, the Commission has provided support since 1982 for a non-profit-making body, the European Bureau for Lesser-Used Languages (EBLUL), which is organised as a network of national committees working in the Member States, and since 1987 for the Mercator information and documentation network. These pursue an aim of general European interest: EBLUL represents all regional or minority language communities in the European Union and disseminates European information in these communities; the Mercator information and documentation network collects and disseminates at European level information on three aspects which are essential to the promotion of regional and minority languages: education, legislation and the media.
(8) Heading A-3015 of the general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2003 and previous financial years provides support for these two bodies.
(9) On 11 February 1993, the European Parliament adopted a resolution on European and international preservation of the sites of Nazi concentration camps as historical memorials [4].
(10) Heading A-3035 of the general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2003 and previous financial years provides support for the preservation of the sites of Nazi concentration camps as historical memorials.
(11) Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002 of 25 June 2002 on the Financial Regulation applicable to the general budget of the European Communities [5], hereinafter "the Financial Regulation", requires a basic act to be provided to cover these existing support actions. The Commission undertook to take into account the remarks entered in the budget in the context of implementation.
(12) The European Parliament, the Council and the Commission, when adopting the Financial Regulation, undertook to achieve the objective of ensuring that this basic act comes into force as from the financial year 2004.
(13) It is necessary to ensure appropriate funding stability and continuity, within the framework of the Financial Regulation, for institutions to which the European Community has granted financial support over previous years.
(14) Transitional arrangements are deemed necessary for the years 2004 and 2005 to allow grants to be awarded under part 2 of this Community programme. It is deemed appropriate to make use of the exception mentioned in Article 168(1)(d) of Commission Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 2342/2002 [6] which allow grants to be awarded without a call for proposals to bodies identified by a basic act as recipients of a grant.
(15) Any non-Community financing from State resources should comply with Articles 87 and 88 of the Treaty.
(16) This Decision lays down, for the entire duration of the programme, a financial framework constituting the prime reference, within the meaning of point 33 of the Interinstitutional Agreement of 6 May 1999 between the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission on budgetary discipline and improvement of the budgetary procedure [7], for the budgetary authority during the annual budgetary procedure.
(17) The measures necessary for the implementation of this Decision should be adopted in accordance with Council Decision 1999/468/EC of 28 June 1999 laying down the procedures for the exercise of implementing powers conferred on the Commission [8].
(18) It is necessary to evaluate the content of actions and, in particular, the European added value of the activities planned by the beneficiaries eligible for a grant; such an evaluation may be best carried out by using a management committee.
(19) Any support granted under this Decision should comply strictly with the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality,
HAVE DECIDED AS FOLLOWS:
Article 1
Programme objective and activities
1. This Decision establishes a Community action programme to promote bodies active at European level in the field of culture (hereinafter referred to as "the programme").
2. The general objective of the programme is to support the activities of these bodies.
The programme covers the following activities:
(a) the ongoing work programme of a body which pursues an aim of general European interest in the field of culture or an objective forming part of the European Union's policy in this area;
(b) a specific action in this area.
These activities must contribute, or be capable of contributing, to the development and implementation of Community cooperation policy and actions in the field of culture.
3. The programme shall start on 1 January 2004 and shall end on 31 December 2006.
Article 2
Access to the programme
To be eligible for a grant, a body must satisfy the requirements of Annex I and have the following characteristics:
(a) it must be an independent and non-profit-making legal person primarily active in the field of culture, with an objective aimed at the public good;
(b) it must have been legally established for more than two years and have had its annual statement of accounts for the two preceding years certified by a registered auditor;
(c) its activities must be in accordance with the principles underlying Community action in the field of culture and take account of the priorities set out in Annex I.
Article 3
Selection of beneficiaries
1. Operating grants for the ongoing work programme of a body pursuing an aim of general European interest in the field of culture or an objective forming part of the European Union's policy in this area shall be awarded in accordance with the overall criteria laid down in Annex I.
2. Grants for actions specified in the programme shall be awarded in accordance with the overall criteria laid down in Annex I. Actions shall be selected by means of a call for proposals.
Article 4
Award of the grant
Grants under the different actions of the programme shall be awarded in compliance with the provisions set out in the relevant part of Annex I.
Article 5
Financial provisions
1. The financial framework for the implementation of the programme for the period specified in Article 1(3) is hereby set at EUR 19 million.
2. The annual appropriations shall be authorised by the budgetary authority within the limits of the financial perspective.
Article 6
Implementing measures
1. The measures necessary for the implementation of this Decision relating to the matters referred to below shall be adopted in accordance with the management procedure referred to in Article 7(2):
(a) the annual plan of work, including objectives, priorities, the selection criteria and procedures;
(b) the financial support to be supplied by the Community (amounts, duration and recipients) in the areas covered by actions under part 2 and 3 of Annex I, and the general guidelines for implementing the programme;
(c) the annual budget and the breakdown of funds among the different actions of the programme;
(d) the arrangements for monitoring and evaluating the programme and for the dissemination and transfer of results;
2. The measures necessary for the implementation of this Decision relating to all other matters shall be adopted in accordance with the advisory procedure referred to in Article 7(3).
Article 7
Committee procedures
1. The Commission shall be assisted by the Committee provided for in Decision No 508/2000/EC [9].
2. Where reference is made to this paragraph, Articles 4 and 7 of Decision 1999/468/EC shall apply, having regard to the provisions of Article 8 thereof.
The period laid down in Article 4(3) of Decision 1999/468/EC shall be set at two months.
3. Where reference is made to this paragraph, Articles 3 and 7 of Decision 1999/468/EC shall apply, having regard to the provisions of Article 8 thereof.
4. The Committee shall adopt its rules of procedure.
Article 8
Monitoring and evaluation
The Commission shall present to the European Parliament and the Council:
(a) not later than 31 December 2005, a report on the implementation of the programme, on the achievement of its objectives and on a possible future programme to replace the present programme.
The Commission shall moreover report to the European Parliament and Council on an annual basis on the implementation of the programme.
(b) not later than 31 December 2007 a report on the achievement of the programme's objectives. This report shall be based, inter alia, on the outcome of the external evaluation and shall assess the results obtained by the beneficiaries of the programme, in particular as regards the effectiveness, efficiency and content of their actions, considered overall and individually, in achieving the objectives set out in Article 1 and in Annex I.
Article 9
Entry into force
This Decision shall enter into force on the day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.
Done at Strasbourg, 21 April 2004.