1998R1658 — EN — 20.11.2003 — 001.001 — 1
This document is meant purely as a documentation tool and the institutions do not assume any liability for its contents
►B COUNCILREGULATION(EC)No1658/98
of17July1998
on co-financing operations with European non-governmental development organisations (NGOs)
infieldsofinteresttothedevelopingcountries
(OJ L 213, 30.7.1998, p. 1)
Amended by:
Official Journal
No page date
►M1Regulation (EC) No 1882/2003 of the European Parliament and of the
Council of 29 September 2003L 284 1 31.10.2003
NB: This consolidated version contains references to the European unit of account and/or the ecu, which from 1 January 1999
should be understood as references to the euro — Council Regulation (EEC) No 3308/80 (OJ L 345, 20.12.1980, p. 1) andCouncil Regulation (EC) No 1103/97 (OJ L 162, 19.6.1997, p. 1).
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COUNCILREGULATION(EC)No1658/98
of17July1998
onco-financingoperationswithEuropeannon-governmentaldevel-
opmentorganisations(NGOs)infieldsofinteresttothedeveloping
countries
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, andinparticular Article 130w thereof,
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission (
1),
Acting in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 189c of
the Treaty (2),
Whereas the Commission, in its communication to the Council of 6
October 1975, put forward guidelines on relations with non-govern-mental development organisations (NGOs), together with general
conditions and procedures for the use of funds intended for develop-
ment operations by such organisations;
Whereas the budgetary authority introduced into the 1976 budget an
item for co-financing with NGOs and has since steadily increased the
volume of such funding (from ECU 2,5 million in 1976 to ECU 174million in 1995) on the basis of the Commission's annual reports onthe use of these resources;
Whereas at its meeting on 28 November 1977, the Council approved
the general conditions and procedures proposed by the Commission;
Whereas the EuropeanParliamen t, inits Resolutionof 14 May 1992 on
the role of NGOs indevelopmen t cooperation (
3), reaffirmed the
specific and irreplaceable role of NGOs and the usefulness and effec-tiveness of their development operations, emphasising in particular thekey role of NGOs' work onbehalf of margin al social groups indevel-oping countries, the need to preserve the NGO's freedom of action, and
the vital role of NGOs in promoting human rights and the development
of grassroots democracy;
Whereas, inits Resolutionof 27 May 1991 oncooperationwith the
NGOs, the Council underlined the importance of the autonomy and
independence of NGOs; whereas it recognised, moreover, that theCommunity system of cooperation with the NGOs was necessarilycomplementary to similar efforts at national level and recognised theneed for flexibility in procedures and their application;
Whereas, in its conclusions of 18 November 1992, the Council noted
with satisfactionthe criteria by the Commissionwhenselectin g devel-opment and education projects for co-financing, notably strengtheningthe fabric of democracy and respect for human rights in the developing
countries, and particularly welcomed the fact that the Commission had
made it clear that the maincriterionremain ed the quality of the project,anapproach which it backed un reservedly;
Whereas administrative procedures should be established for co-finan-
cing operations with European NGOs in fields of interest to thedeveloping countries,1998R1658 — EN — 20.11.2003 — 001.001 — 2
(1) OJ No C 251, 27.09.1995, p. 18.
(2) Opinion of the European Parliament of 15 December 1995 (OJ C 17,
22.1.1996, p. 455), commonpositionof the Coun cil of 7 July 1997 (OJ C
307, 8.10.1997, p. 1) and Decision of the European Parliament of 18
December 1997 (OJ C 14, 19.1.1998, p. 124).
(3) OJ C 150, 15.6.1992, p. 273.
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HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:
Article 1
1. The Community shall co-finance operations in the field with
European non-governmental development organisations (NGOs), asdefined in Article 3, to meet the basic needs of disadvantaged peoplein developing countries. Priority shall be assigned to proposals foroperations based on an initiative by partners in developing countries.
Such operations shall be proposed by European NGOs and conducted
in cooperation with their partners in the developing countries and shallbe aimed at poverty alleviation as well as at enhancing the targetgroup's quality of life and own development capacity.
2. The Community shall also co-finance with European NGOs, as
defined in Article 3, public awareness and information operations inEurope about development problems in the developing countries and
their relations with the industrialised world. Such operations shall be
proposed by European NGOs and shall be designed to mobilise publicsupport in Europe for development and for strategies and operationsbenefiting people in the developing countries.
3. The Community shall also co-finance operations designed to rein-
force cooperation and coordination between NGOs from the MemberStates, and between NGOs from the Member States and the Commu-
nity Institutions.
Article 2
1. The operations co-financed in the developing countries under
Article 1(1) shall in particular concern local social and economicdevelopment in rural and urban areas, the development of human
resources, particularly by means of training, and institutional support
for local partners in the developing countries.
Withinthose fields of activity, though the quality of the operationis
paramount, particular attention shall be given to operations connectedwith:
— the strengthening of civil society and participatory development,
and the promotion and defence of human rights and democracy,
— the role of womenindevelopmen t,
— sustainable development.
Particular attention shall also be paid to:
— the protection of threatened cultures, especially endangered indi-
genous cultures,
— the protection and improvement of the circumstances and of the
rights of children in the developing countries.
2. Public awareness and information operations in all Member
States, to be implemented under Article 1(2), shall be targeted atclearly-defined groups, deal with clearly defined issues, be founded ona balanced analysis and a sound knowledge of the issues and groups
targeted, and involve a European dimension.
Though the quality of operation is paramount, special attention shall be
given to public awareness operations which:
— highlight the interdependence of the Member States and the devel-
oping countries,
— seek to mobilise support for more equitable North-South relations,
— encourage cooperation between NGOs,
— enable partners in the developing countries to play an active part.
3. The operations designed to reinforce coordination between NGOs
from the Member States and with the Community Institutions, to beimplemented under Article 1(3), shall, inter alia, concern the develop-
ment of appropriate exchange and communication networks.
4. In determining whether a proposed operation is suitable for
Community co-financing the criterion shall be its expected develop-1998R1658 — EN — 20.11.2003 — 001.001 — 3
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mental impact in the developing country or countries concerned. Atten-
tionshall be paid to:
— the sustainable impact in project design,
— the clear definition and monitoring of objectives and indicators of
achievement for all projects,
— consistency with other development actions of decentralised agents,
while avoiding incompatibility with other instruments of Commu-
nity cooperation.
Article 3
1. The agents of cooperation eligible for co-financing under this
Regulation shall be NGOs satisfying the following conditions:
— they must be constituted as autonomous non-profit-making organi-
sations in a Member State in accordance with the laws of that State,
— they must have their headquarters ina Member State an d the head-
quarters must be the main centre for decisions relating to the co-financed operations,
— the majority of their funding must originate in Europe.
2. In determining whether an NGO is eligible for co-financing,
account shall also be taken of:
— its capacity to mobilise genuine solidarity on the part of the
Europeanpublic for its developmen t activities;
— the priority it accords to development and its experience in that
field,
— its administrative and financial management capacities,
— where possible, its knowledge of the sector and country concerned,
— its ability to support the development operations proposed by the
partners in the developing countries and the nature and scope of
its links with similar organisations in the developing countries.
Article 4
1. Community co-financing for the operations referred to in Article
1 may cover, inforeignor local curren cy:
— investment spending;
— operational spending linked with investment, while ensuring that
projects remain viable after external aid comes to an end;
— any spending necessary for the smooth implementation of the co-
financed operations, including the administrative costs of NGOs orNGO networks.
In the specific instance in which exchange rates alter by an exception-
ally large margin to the detriment of the final beneficiaries of theprojects indevelopin g coun tries, the Commissionmay, at the requestof the NGO concerned, take appropriate measures to neutralise the
effects of the alteration.
2. An NGO with which a co-financing contract is concluded shall
notify its partners of the Community's contribution to the operation.
3. The NGO shall systematically encourage the developing-country
agencies or partners ultimately benefiting from an operation to contri-bute in kind or financially, according to their means and the specific
nature of the operation concerned.
Article 5
Community co-financing under this Regulation shall take the form of
grants, including contributions to working capital for microcreditprojects.
In the case of microcredit projects co-financed with European NGOs
which provide that the local partner in developing countries fully orpartly constitute and administer working capital, the amount of mini-loans reimbursed by the final beneficiaries to the working capital maybe used again for further mini-loans to other final beneficiaries.1998R1658 — EN — 20.11.2003 — 001.001 — 4
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Article 6
1. The Commission shall appraise, decide and administer the co-
financing of operations covered by this Regulation according to the
budgetary and other procedures in force, and in particular those laid
down in the Financial Regulation applicable to the general budget ofthe European Communities, taking account of the nature and specificfeatures of NGOs, and particularly their financial contribution to theoperations in question.
As a rule, the decisionas to whether anoperationis to be supported
should be takenwithinsix mon ths of the date of receipt of the applica-
tion. If, in examining the file, it emerges that the application isincomplete, the six-month period shall run from the date of receipt ofthe information required. If the decision is negative, verifiable reasonsshall be given to the NGO concerned.
2. All co-financing contracts concluded under this Regulation shall
provide for the Commission and the Court of Auditors to conduct on-
the-spot checks according to the usual procedures laid down by theCommission under the rules in force, and in particular those of theFinancial Regulation applicable to the general budget of the EuropeanCommunities.
3. The Community contribution shall not, as a rule, exceed 50 % of
the total cost or 75 % of total contributions, except in exceptional
cases. Even in such cases, NGOs shall make a significant contributionto projects and the Community contribution shall not exceed 85 % ofthe total financial contributions.
4. Decisions on the Community co-financing of projects and
programmes (multiannual programmes, consortium operations, block
grants) exceeding ECU 2 million shall be adopted under the procedure
laid downin ►
M1Article 8 ◄.
5. Every three months, the Commission shall inform the Member
States of the co-financing projects and programmes approved, indi-cating their amounts, nature, the beneficiary country and partner. Thatinformation shall be accompanied by an Annex setting out clearly those
projects or programmes which exceed ECU 1 million.
Article 7
1. During the second six months following each budget year the
Commission shall report to the European Parliament and the Council,giving information on the NGOs benefiting from co-financing,summarising the operations financed in the course of the previousbudget year, evaluating the implementation of this Regulation in thatperiod and proposing general guidelines for the following year. Where
block grants are concerned, the annual report shall contain a list of the
recipient NGOs, while a list of the projects financed with these blockgrants shall appear in the report for the following year. The report shallset out the conclusions of any independent evaluations performed.
2. The Commission, acting in accordance with the procedure laid
downin ►
M1Article 8 ◄, shall adopt the decisions on the general
guidelines for the following year and the revision of the general condi-
tions.
Article 8
1. The Commissionshall be assisted by a committee.2. Where reference is made to this Article, Articles 4 and 7 of Deci-
sion1999/468/EC (
1) shall apply, having regard to the provisions of
Article 8 thereof.1998R1658 — EN — 20.11.2003 — 001.001 — 5
(1) Council Decision 1999/468/EC of 28 June 1999 laying down the procedures
for the exercise of implementing powers conferred on the Commission (OJ
L 184, 17.7.1999, p. 23).▼M1
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The period laid downinArticle 4(3) of Decision1999/468/EC shall be
set at one month.
3. The Committee shall adopt its rules of procedure.
Article 11
The Commission shall regularly evaluate operations co-financed by the
Community in order to establish whether their objectives have beenattained and with a view to providing guidelines for improving the effi-ciency of future operations. The Commission shall submit to theCommittee referred to inArticle 8 a summary of the evaluation s; if
necessary, the evaluations may be examined by the Committee. The
evaluationreports shall be available to the Member States onrequest.
Article 12
Three years after this Regulation enters into force, the Commission
shall submit to the European Parliament and the Council an overallevaluation of the operations financed by the Community under thisRegulation, together with suggestions regarding the future of this Regu-lation and, where necessary, proposals for amending it.
Article 13
This Regulation shall enter into force on the third day following that of
its publicationinthe Official Journal of the European Communities .
This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable
inall Member States.1998R1658 — EN — 20.11.2003 — 001.001 — 6
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