COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 2278/96 of 28 November 1996 modifying Regulation (EEC) No 1863/90 laying down detailed rules for the application of Council Regulation (EEC) No 4045/89 on scrutiny by Member States of transactions forming part of the system of financing by the Guarantee Section of the European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund and repealing Directive 77/435/EEC
THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,
Having regard to Council Regulation (EEC) No 4045/89 of 21 December 1989 on scrutiny by Member States of transactions forming part of the system of financing by the Guarantee Section of the European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund and repealing Directive 77/435/EEC (1), as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 3235/94 (2), and in particular Article 19 thereof,
Whereas Article 7 of Regulation (EEC) No 4045/89 establishes a system of mutual assistance between Member States for the purpose of carrying out the scrutinies provided for in Articles 2 and 3 of that Regulation and requires that the Commission establish the provisions for the coordination of joint actions involving mutual assistance between two or more Member States; whereas it is appropriate, therefore, that these provisions should be introduced into Commission Regulation (EEC) No 1863/90 (3), as amended by Regulation (EC) No 2992/95 (4);
Whereas Annex II of Regulation (EEC) No 1863/90 sets out the information to be included in the annual reports submitted by Member States under Article 9 (1) of Regulation (EEC) No 4045/89; whereas this should be amended to provide expressly for the inclusion of the results of the scrutinies carried out;
Whereas errors have been discovered in certain language versions of Annexes III and IV of Regulation (EEC) No 1863/90 which should be corrected; whereas for the sake of clarity it is desirable to replace the whole of the annexes with the corrected versions; whereas the corrected annexes should have effect from the date of entry into force of Regulation (EC) No 2992/95 by which the original annexes were introduced;
Whereas the measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Fund Committee,
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:
Article 1
Regulation (EEC) No 1863/90 is amended as follows:
1. The following Articles shall be renumbered as follows:
- Article 4a shall become Article 5,
- Article 4b shall become Article 6,
- Article 5 shall become Article 8,
2. The following title, subtitle and Article are added after Article 6:
'TITLE III
Joint actions
Article 7
1. The Commission, on its own initiative, or on the basis of a proposal by a Member State, and with the agreement of the Member States concerned, may decide to coordinate joint actions involving mutual assistance between two or more Member States, as foreseen in Article 7 (1) of Regulation (EEC) No 4045/89, having regard, in particular, to,
- the degree of risk presented,
- the extent of operations, in particular the frequency of intra- and extra-Community trade, and their financial importance,
- the need to achieve a uniform approach.
2. In agreement with the Member States involved, a Member State shall be designated responsible for the management of the joint action. However, each Member State shall remain responsible for carrying out the scrutinies required by Regulation (EEC) No 4045/89, as well as for the resulting consequences.
3. Each Member State involved shall:
- designate those persons or services responsible for carrying out the joint action on its behalf,
- ensure that a sufficient number of adequately experienced officials is made available for the conduct of the joint action,
- ensure that within set time limits the scrutiny is carried out and the report finalised and made available to all participating Member States and to the Commission.`
3. Annex II is replaced by Annex A to this Regulation.
4. Annexes III and IV are replaced by Annexes B and C, respectively, to this Regulation.
Article 2
This Regulation shall enter into force on the seventh day following its publication in the Official Journal of the European Communities.
The provisions of Article 1 point 4 are applicable with effect from 30. 12. 1995.
This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.
Done at Brussels, 28 November 1996.