COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 2278/1999
of 21 October 1999
laying down certain detailed rules for the application of Council Regulation (EEC) No 3528/86 on the protection of the Community's forests against atmospheric pollution
THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,
Having regard to Council Regulation (EEC) No 3528/86 of 17 November 1986 on the protection of the Community's forests against atmospheric pollution(1), as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 307/97(2), and in particular Articles 2 and 4 thereof,
Whereas:
(1) Regulation (EEC) No 3528/86 provides for a financial contribution from the Community to measures under the Community scheme for the protection of forests against atmospheric pollution.
(2) Article 12 of that Regulation stipulates that the Community's contribution is to cover the periodic inventory of damage caused to forests, in particular by atmospheric pollution, the network of observation points for intensive and continuous monitoring of the forest ecosystems, experiments, and pilot and demonstration projects to improve the protection of forests against atmospheric pollution.
(3) In the interests of effectiveness and in order to simplify and rationalise procedures at national and Community level, the various measures for which Community financial assistance is requested should be brought together in an annual national programme for each Member State.
(4) Detailed rules should be adopted on how aid applications under the national programmes should be presented and the information they must contain in order to expedite examination thereof.
(5) A system of advance payments of Community assistance should be introduced to assist Member States in the proper financial management of their national programmes.
(6) The applications submitted to the Commission by the competent authority for the payment of advances and balances under the national programme must contain certain information to help establish the regularity of expenditure.
(7) The Commission must be informed that the measures are being implemented in accordance with the conditions and within the time limit laid down in the decision granting aid.
(8) The Member States must adopt the provisions necessary to ensure that effective checks are carried out on the implementation of measures under the national programmes.
(9) Article 14 of Regulation (EEC) No 3528/86 and Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 2988/95 of 18 December 1995 on the protection of the European Communities' financial interests(3) require the Member States to ascertain the effective and regular nature of the operations financed by the Community and to recover sums lost as a result of irregularities or negligence. Such sums represent unjustified expenditure from the Community budget and must therefore be reimbursed to the Community.
(10) If the checks provided for in Article 14 of Regulation (EEC) No 3528/86 carried out by the Commission reveal an irregularity, the Member State must be able to express its opinion on the situation noted. Where the irregularity is confirmed and the sums concerned represent unjustified expenditure from the Community budget, they should be reimbursed to the Community.
(11) Commission Regulation (EEC) No 526/87(4), Article 2 of Commission Regulation (EEC) No 1696/87(5) as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 1398/95(6) and Article 2 of Commission Regulation (EC) No 1091/94(7), as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 1545/1999(8) should be repealed.
(12) The Commission Regulation (EEC) No 1697/87(9) of 10 June 1987 should also be repealed. That Regulation remains applicable to the payment of Community financial contributions under Regulation (EEC) No 3528/86 decided before 1 November 1999.
(13) The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Standing Forestry Committee,
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:
Article 1
1. The measures provided for in Articles 2 and 4 of Regulation (EEC) No 3528/86 shall be implemented under programmes to be drawn up each year by the Member States. National programmes must cover all the applications for assistance submitted under those Articles. They must contain the information and supporting documents indicated in Annex I to this Regulation and relate to the information specified in Article 2. Each year, before 1 November, the Member States shall send the Commission their programmes for the next year in duplicate.
2. National programmes as referred to in paragraph 1 must be completed not later than three years after the date of notification of the Commission Decision on financing and may not be extended.
Article 2
Programmes as referred to in Article 1 must also comprise:
- a schedule of the supporting documents to be provided by beneficiaries; "supporting documents" means any document drawn up in accordance either with the laws or regulations of the Member State concerned, or with measures adopted by the competent authority, which afford evidence that the conditions attached to each individual application have been met. The schedule shall give the description of each document and the provisions or measures under which it is drawn up and a brief description of the content of such documents;
- specimens of the forms on which beneficiaries are to submit their applications for payment. Such forms must include at least a summary of the expenditure incurred and a comparative table giving a qualitative and quantitative description of the measures provided for and those implemented;
- a description of the checking and management methods put in place to ensure the effective implementation of measures under the programme, pursuant to Article 14 of Regulation (EEC) No 3528/86.
Member States shall also notify the Commission of subsequent updates of the documentation referred to in this Article.
Article 3
1. In accordance with Article 13 of Regulation (EEC) No 3528/86, the Member State shall designate the competent authority empowered to carry out the programme.
2. The competent authorities may apply for an advance of up to 50 % of the Community assistance to the national programme not earlier than 1 January of the year following the date of notification of the Commission Decision on the financing of the programme.
3. Competent authorities may apply for a second advance of not more than 30 % once they have furnished proof that 60 % of the first advance for the same programme has been utilised.
4. The balance shall be paid after the Commission has received and approved the final report, a definitive financial statement and the application for the final payment for the national programme.
Article 4
1. From 1 July of the year following the date of notification of the Commission Decision on the financing of the programme, the competent authorities shall forward six-monthly statements of the payments made to beneficiaries, in accordance with Annex II and accompanied by a statement describing the state of progress of the work.
2. The competent authorities must submit applications for the payment of advances and balances for the national programme to the Commission, in duplicate, in accordance with Annex III hereto.
Article 5
1. Any amounts lost through irregularities or negligence and recovered by a Member State shall be reimbursed to the Community.
2. Should the Commission, within four years following payment of the balance, note any irregularity in an operation financed by the Community where the amount concerned has not been reimbursed to the Community under paragraph 1, it shall inform the Member State thereof and give it an opportunity to comment.
3. If analysis of the situation and any comments by the Member State result in the Commission confirming the irregularity, the Member State shall reimburse the amounts concerned.
Article 6
Regulation (EEC) No 526/87, Article 2 of Regulation (EEC) No 1696/87 and Article 2 of Regulation (EC) No 1091/94 are repealed.
Article 7
Regulation (EEC) No 1697/87 is repealed. However, it shall continue to apply to the payment of Community financial contributions under Regulation (EEC) No 3528/86 decided before 1 November 1999.
Article 8
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, 21 October 1999.