Commission Regulation (EC) No 1159/2000
of 30 May 2000
on information and publicity measures to be carried out by the Member States concerning assistance from the Structural Funds
THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,
Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 1260/1999 of 21 June 1999 laying down general provisions on the Structural Funds(1), and in particular Article 53(2) thereof,
Whereas:
(1) Article 46 of Regulation (EC) No 1260/1999 requires information and publicity measures about the activities of the Structural Funds to be carried out.
(2) Article 34(1)(h) of Regulation (EC) No 1260/1999 stipulates that the managing authority in charge of implementing a package of structural assistance is responsible for compliance with the requirements on information and publicity.
(3) Article 46(2) of Regulation (EC) No 1260/1999 states that the managing authority is responsible for ensuring publicity about an assistance package and in particular for informing potential final beneficiaries, trade and professional bodies, the economic and social partners, bodies promoting equality between men and women and non-governmental organisations about the opportunities afforded by the assistance and for informing the general public about the role played by the Community in the assistance concerned and its results.
(4) Article 46(3) requires the Member States to consult the Commission and inform it each year of the initiatives taken with regard to information and publicity measures.
(5) Under Articles 18(3) and 19(4) of Regulation (EC) No 1260/1999, the programme complement for each operational programme or single programming document is to include the measures intended to publicise the assistance in accordance with Article 46.
(6) Article 35(3)(e) of Regulation (EC) No 1260/1999 states that the Monitoring Committees are to consider and approve the annual and final reports on assistance before they are sent to the Commission and Article 37(2) of that Regulation requires those reports to include the steps taken by the managing authority and the Monitoring Committee to ensure the quality and effectiveness of the measures taken to ensure publicity for the assistance. Article 40(4) states in particular that the results of the evaluations are to be made available to the public on request, with the agreement of the Monitoring Committee in the case of the mid-term evaluation to be carried out no later than 31 December 2003.
(7) Commission Decision 94/342/EC of 31 May 1994 concerning information and publicity measures to be carried out by the Member States concerning assistance from the Structural Funds and the Financial Instrument for Fisheries Guidance (FIFG)(2) continues to apply to assistance granted under Council Regulation (EEC) No 2052/88 of 24 June 1988 on the tasks of the Structural Funds and their effectiveness and on coordination of their activities between themselves and with the operations of the European Investment Bank and the other existing financial instruments(3), as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 3193/94(4), as well as the regulations adopted to implement that Regulation.
(8) The Committee referred to in Article 147 of the Treaty, the Committee on Agricultural Structures and Rural Development and the Committee on Structures for Fisheries and Aquaculture have been consulted on this Regulation. The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Committee for the Development and Conversion of Regions,
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:
Article 1
The detailed provisions applicable to information and publicity concerning assistance from the Structural Funds under Regulation (EC) No 1260/1999 shall be as set out in the Annex hereto.
Article 2
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, 30 May 2000.