2004D9020 — EN — 31.05.2007 — 001.001

This document is meant purely as a documentation tool and the institutions do not assume any liability for its contents

Amended by:

Official Journal No page date ►M1 Commission Decision of 31 May 2007 L 140 52 1.6.2007

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COMMISSION DECISION

of 23 December 2003

setting up an executive agency, the ‘Intelligent Energy Executive Agency’, to manage Community action in the field of energy in application of Council Regulation (EC) No 58/2003

(2004/20/EC)

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 58/2003 of 19 December 2002 laying down the statute for executive agencies to be entrusted with certain tasks in the management of Community programmes ( 1 ), and in particular Article 3(1) thereof, Whereas: (1) In the framework of the sustainable development strategy, the European Union has taken measures aimed at promoting and developing renewable energy and energy efficiency in order to contribute in a balanced way to achieving the following general objectives: security of energy supply, competitiveness and environmental protection. (2) These measures include Decision No 1230/2003/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 June 2003 adopting a multiannual programme for action in the field of energy: ‘Intelligent Energy — Europe’ (2003-2006) ( 2 ), the areas of action of which are the development of renewable energy and energy efficiency, including in the transport sector, and their promotion in developing countries. (3) Regulation (EC) No 58/2003 empowers the Commission to set up executive agencies in accordance with the general statute laid down by that Regulation and to entrust them with certain management tasks relating to one or more Community programmes. (4) The purpose of empowering the Commission to set up executive agencies is to allow it to focus on core activities and functions which cannot be outsourced, without relinquishing control over, or ultimate responsibility for, activities managed by those executive agencies. (5) Management of the Intelligent Energy — Europe programme involves implementation of technical projects which do not entail political decision-making and requires a high level of technical and financial expertise throughout the project cycle. (6) The delegation to an executive agency of tasks related to programme implementation is possible with a clear separation between programming, establishing priorities and evaluating the programme, which would be carried out by the Commission, and project implementation, which would be entrusted to the executive agency. (7) A cost-benefit analysis carried out for that purpose has showed that certain management tasks, such as budget implementation, technical and financial monitoring of projects and the dissemination and use of results could be carried out by an executive agency more efficiently whilst ensuring the implementation by the Commission of the Intelligent Energy — Europe programme in accordance with the Decision adopting the programme, as well as the programme's work programme and the guidelines adopted by the Commission with the assistance of the Management Committee provided for in Article 8 of the Decision. (8) The use of an executive agency would mean that the new programme, which is significantly larger than its predecessor, could be managed more efficiently. (9) The performance of the identified tasks by an executive agency would allow the Commission to focus on strategic and regulatory questions, whilst increasing Community aid to multinational actions in the Member States. This is the best way to achieve the energy objectives set in the various legislative texts and other measures in the areas of renewable energy and energy efficiency, including in the transport sector. (10) The implementation of the Commission's priorities and, in particular, the sustainable development strategy may result in measures being adopted as part of the Community policy in the areas cited entailing Commission action which could be implemented by the agency. Provision should be made for the possibility of assigning additional management and implementation tasks to the agency. (11) The measures provided for by this Decision are in accordance with the opinion of the Committee of the Executive Agencies, Whereas: HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS:

Article 1

Establishment of the Agency

1. An executive agency (hereinafter referred to as ‘the Agency’) for the management of Community action in the field of energy, the statute of which is laid down in Council Regulation (EC) No 58/2003, is hereby established.

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2. The name of the Agency shall be the ‘Executive Agency for Competitiveness and Innovation.’

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Article 2

Location

The agency shall be located in Brussels.

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Article 3

Duration

The Agency shall carry out its tasks from 1 January 2004 until 31 December 2015.

Article 4

Objectives and tasks

1. The Agency shall be responsible for carrying out the following implementation tasks for the management of Community actions in the fields of energy, entrepreneurship and innovation, including eco-innovation, and sustainable freight transport, under the Competitiveness and Innovation Framework Programme 2007-2013 established by Decision No 1639/2006/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council ( 3 ) (hereinafter referred to as the CIP), and the second Marco Polo Programme 2007-2013 established by Regulation (EC) No 1692/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council ( 4 ):

(a) managing all the phases in the lifetime of specific projects in the context of the Entrepreneurship and Innovation Programme and the Intelligent Energy — Europe Programme established by Decision No 1639/2006/EC and the second Marco Polo Programme, as well as the necessary checks to that end, by adopting the relevant decisions where the Commission has empowered it to do so;

(b) adopting the instruments of budget implementation for revenue and expenditure and carrying out, where the Commission has empowered it to do so, all the operations necessary to manage the implementing measures and, in particular, those linked to the award of contracts and grants under the CIP and the second Marco Polo Programme;

(c) gathering, analysing and passing on to the Commission all the information needed to guide and evaluate the implementation of the CIP and the second Marco Polo Programme.

2. The Agency shall also manage all the phases in the lifetime of the implementing measures delegated to it in the framework of the following programmes:

(a) Intelligent Energy — Europe (2003 to 2006) established by Decision No 1230/2003/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council ( 5 );

(b) Marco Polo (2003 to 2006) established by Regulation (EC) No 1382/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council ( 6 ).

The Commission’s rights and obligations in respect of the implementing measures referred to in point (b) of the first subparagraph are assigned to the Agency.

3. The Agency may be charged by the Commission, following the opinion of the committee established by Article 24 of Regulation (EC) No 58/2003, to carry out tasks of the same type under the CIP or other Community programmes, within the meaning of Article 2 of that Regulation, in the fields referred to in paragraph 1.

4. The Commission Decision delegating authority to the Agency shall set out in detail all the tasks entrusted to it and shall be adapted in the light of any additional tasks which may be entrusted to the Agency. The Commission decision will be transmitted, for information, to the committee established by Article 24 of Regulation (EC) No 58/2003.

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Article 5

Organisational structure

1. The Agency shall be managed by a Steering Committee and a Director appointed by the Commission.

2. The members of the Steering Committee shall be appointed for three years.

3. The Director shall be appointed for five years.

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Article 6

Grants

The Agency shall receive grants which shall be entered in the general budget of the European Communities from the funds allocated to the CIP and the second Marco Polo Programme and, where appropriate, other Community programmes or actions entrusted to the Agency for implementation pursuant to Article 4(3).

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Article 7

Supervision and reporting requirement

The Agency shall be subject to supervision by the Commission and shall report regularly on progress in implementing the programmes for which it is responsible in accordance with the arrangements and at the intervals stipulated in the instrument of delegation.

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Article 8

Implementation of the administrative budget

The Agency shall implement its administrative budget in accordance with the provisions of Commission Regulation (EC) No 1653/2004 ( 7 ).

( 1 ) OJ L 11, 16.1.2003, p. 1.

( 2 ) OJ L 176, 15.7.2003, p. 29.

( 3 ) OJ L 310, 9.11.2006, p. 15.

( 4 ) OJ L 328, 24.11.2006, p. 1.

( 5 ) OJ L 176, 15.7.2003, p. 29.

( 6 ) OJ L 196, 2.8.2003, p. 1.

( 7 ) OJ L 297, 22.9.2004, p. 6.