2002R2343 — EN — 01.01.2003 — 000.001 — 1
This document is meant purely as a documentation tool and the institutions do not assume any liability for its contents
►B COMMISSIONREGULATION(EC,Euratom)No2343/2002
of►C1 19November2002 ◄
ontheframeworkFinancialRegulationforthebodiesreferredtoinArticle185ofCouncilRegu-
lation (EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002 on the Financial Regulation applicable to the general budget
oftheEuropeanCommunities
(OJ L 357, 31.12.2002, p. 72)
Corrected by:
►C1Corrigendum, OJ L 2, 7.1.2003, p. 39 (2343/2002)
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COMMISSIONREGULATION(EC,Euratom)No2343/2002
of►C1 19November2002 ◄
on the framework Financial Regulation for the bodies referred to
in Article 185 of Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002ontheFinancialRegulationapplicabletothegeneralbudgetofthe
EuropeanCommunities
TITLE I SUBJECT MATTER
TITLE II BUDGETARY PRINCIPLESChapter 1 Principles of unity and of budget accuracyChapter 2 Principle of annualityChapter 3 Principle of equilibrium
Chapter 4 Principle of unit of account
Chapter 5 Principle of universalityChapter 6 Principle of specificationChapter 7 Principle of sound financial managementChapter 8 Principle of transparencyTITLE III ESTABLISHMENT AND STRUCTURE OF THE BUDGETChapter 1 ESTABLISHMENT OF THE BUDGETChapter 2 Structure and presentation of the budgetTITLE IV IMPLEMENTATION OF THE BUDGETChapter 1 General provisionsChapter 2 Financial actorsSection 1 Principle of segregation of dutiesSection 2 Authorising officer
Section 3 Accounting officer
Section 4 Imprest administratorChapter 3 Liability of the financial actorsSection 1 General rulesSection 2 Rules applicable to authorising officers by delegation and
subdelegation
Section 3 Rules applicable to accounting officers and imprest adminis-
trators
Chapter 4 Revenue operationsSection 1 General provisionsSection 2 Estimate of amounts receivableSection 3 Establishment of amounts receivableSection 4 Authorisation of recoverySection 5 RecoverySection 6 Specific provisions applicable to fees and charges
Chapter 5 Expenditure operations
Section 1 Commitment of expenditureSection 2 Validation of expenditureSection 3 Authorisation of expenditureSection 4 Payment of expenditureSection 5 Time limits for expenditure operationsChapter 6 Information Technology Systems2002R2343 — EN — 01.01.2003 — 000.001 — 2
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Chapter 7 Internal auditor
TITLE V PROCUREMENT
TITLE VI GRANTS AWARDED BY THE COMMUNITY BODY
TITLE VII PRESENTATION OF THE ACCOUNTS AND
ACCOUNTING
Chapter 1 Presentation of the accounts
Chapter 2 AccountingSection 1 Common provisions
Section 2 General accounts
Section 3 Budgetary accountsChapter 4 Property inventories
TITLE VIII EXTERNAL AUDIT AND DISCHARGE
Chapter 1 External auditChapter 2 Discharge
TITLE IX TRANSITIONAL AND FINAL PROVISIONS
THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,
Having regard to Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002 of
25 June 2002 on the Financial Regulation applicable to the generalbudget of the European Communities, and in particular Article 185(1)thereof(
1),
Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament(2),
Having regard to the opinion of the Council (2),
Having regard to the opinion of the Court of Auditors (2),
Whereas:
(1)The Community bodies set upto assume the burden of carrying
out certain Community activities have legal personality andhence their own budget governed by specific financial rules.
(2)In order to guarantee a certain degree of consistency in these
rules compared with Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002
(hereinafter ‘the general Financial Regulation’) and pursuant toArticle 185(1) of that Regulation, this framework FinancialRegulation must lay down the rules governing the establishment,implementation and scrutiny of the budget of the said Commu-
nity bodies which actually receive grants charged to the
Community budget (hereinafter ‘Community bodies’). It is onthe basis of this framework Financial Regulation that each ofthose Community bodies will adopt its own financial rules,which, as indicated in the abovementioned Article 185, maydepart from the framework Financial Regulation in accordance
with the specific management needs of those bodies, but only
with the Commission's consent.
(3)Like the general Financial Regulation, this framework FinancialRegulation confines itself to stating the broad principles andbasic rules governing the whole of the budgetary sectorconcerned, while detailed provisions may subsequently beadopted by these bodies in order to make their financial rules
easier to read.
(4)For the purposes of establishing and implementing the budget,
the four fundamental principles of budgetary law (unity, univers-ality, specification, annuality), and the principles of equilibrium,2002R2343 — EN — 01.01.2003 — 000.001 — 3
(1) OJ L 248, 15.9.2002, p. 1.
(2) Not yet published in the Official Journal.
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unit of account, sound financial management and transparency
must be reasserted.
(5)It is necessary to define the powers and responsibilities of theaccounting officer, the internal auditor and authorising officers.The last mentioned are fully responsible for all revenue andexpenditure operations executed under their authority and must
be held accountable for their actions, including, where necessary,
through disciplinary proceedings.
(6)Like the institutions, these Community bodies must not beallowed to raise loans, in accordance with Article 14 of the
general Financial Regulation.
(7)The internal audit function within the Community bodies must
be performed by the Commission's internal auditor, who will
therefore act as the guarantor of the overall consistency of the
system and its working methods in accordance with Article185(3) of the general Financial Regulation.
(8)The timetable for establishing the budget, presenting the
accounts and granting discharge must be aligned on the equiva-
lent provisions of the general Financial Regulation, and theauthority responsible for granting the Community bodiesdischarge will now be the same as for the general budget(Article 185(2) of the general Financial Regulation).
(9)The accounting rules applied by the Community bodies mustallow for consolidation with the accounts of the institutions,and to this end they must be adopted by the Commission'saccounting officer in accordance with Article 133 of the new
general Financial Regulation.
(10)In accordance with Article 46 of the general Financial Regula-
tion, the establishment plan must now be submitted to thebudgetary authority for approval.
(11)Each body could have access to the panel referred to in Article66(4) of the general Financial Regulation set upby the Commis-sion to examine irregularities so that a similar assessment can bemade of identical cases.
(12)Since they receive a grant charged to the Community budget, theCommunity bodies must strictly observe the same requirementsas the institutions in the award of public contracts and grants,
in so far as such contracts and grants are authorised by the
Instruments setting upthose bodies; in this resp ect a referenceto the relevant provisions of the general Financial Regulationwill suffice.
(13)Like the institutions, the Community bodies may, for the perfor-mance of the tasks entrusted to them, employ external privatesector bodies only where necessary and not for tasks involvingany public service mission or any use of discretionary powersof judgement, in order to guarantee that each body is accoun-
table for the implementation of its budget and adheres to the
objectives assigned to it on its creation.
(14)In support of their requests for payment of the Communitysubsidy, Community bodies must submit a cash-flow forecast,
and the funds paid by the Communities in respect of that subsidy
must bear interest for the benefit of the Communities.
(15)There must be specific provisions organising the collection offees and charges, which are one of the resources of these bodies.
(16)In view of the statutory requirements arising from the instru-ments setting upCommunity bodies, the p rocedure forpresenting the accounts should be adapted and provision made
for the management board to give its opinion on the accounts.
(17)The new budget structure adopted in the general financial regu-
lation must also be used by the Community bodies in so far asthis is justified by the nature of their activities.2002R2343 — EN — 01.01.2003 — 000.001 — 4
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(18)The only provisions of the general Financial Regulation that
must be included in this Regulation are those which are relevant
to the Community bodies.
In particular this Regulation must therefore not include the
provisions relating to areas of activity that have no connectionwith the Community bodies, the various methods of implementa-tion embodying the concept of externalisation and the
information on the budget to be sent to the European Parliament
and the Council. Additionally, only some of the categories ofassigned revenue in the general Financial Regulation should betaken into consideration and, finally, the procedure for transfersof appropriations and establishment of the budget must be lessdetailed and less complex,
HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:
TITLE I
SUBJECTMATTER
Article 1
This Regulation spells out the essential rules which the financial rules
of each Community body may depart from only where their specificoperating needs so require and with the Commission's prior consent inaccordance with Article 185 of Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No
1605/2002 (hereinafter ‘the general Financial Regulation’).
Article 2
For the purposes of this Regulation:
1. ‘Community body’ shall mean any body referred to in Article
185(1) of the general Financial Regulation;
2. ‘Management board’ shall mean the main internal body of the
Community body that is responsible for taking decisions on finan-
cial and budgetary matters, irrespective of the name given to it inthe constituent instrument of the Community body;
3. ‘Director’ shall mean the person responsible for implementing the
decisions of the management board and the Community body's
budget as authorising officer, irrespective of the title given to him/her in the constituent instrument of the Community body;
4. ‘Constituent instrument’ shall mean the instrument of Community
law governing the main aspects of the creation and operation of the
Community body;
5. ‘Budgetary authority’ shall mean the European Parliament and the
Council of the European Union.
TITLE II
BUDGETARYPRINCIPLES
Article 3
The establishment and implementation of the budget of the Community
body (hereinafter referred to as ‘the budget’) shall comply with theprinciples of unity and budget accuracy, annuality, equilibrium, unit ofaccount, universality, specification, sound financial management andtransparency as provided for in this Regulation.2002R2343 — EN — 01.01.2003 — 000.001 — 5
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CHAPTER 1
Principles ofunityandofbudgetaccuracy
Article 4
The budget is the instrument which, for each financial year, forecasts
and authorises the revenue and expenditure considered necessary forthe Community body.
Article 5
The budget shall comprise:
(a) own revenue consisting of all fees and charges which the Commu-
nity body is authorised to collect by virtue of the tasks entrusted to
it, and any other revenue;
(b) revenue made upof any financial contributions of the host Member
States;
(c) a subsidy granted by the European Communities;
(d) revenue assigned to specific items of expenditure in accordance
with Article 19(1);
(e) the expenditure of the Community body, including administrative
expenditure.
Article 6
1. No revenue shall be collected and no expenditure effected unless
booked to a heading in the budget.
2. An appropriation must not be entered in the budget if it is not for
an item of expenditure considered necessary.
3. No expenditure may be committed or authorised in excess of the
appropriations authorised by the budget.
CHAPTER 2
Principle ofannuality
Article 7
The appropriations entered in the budget shall be authorised for one
financial year which shall run from 1 January to 31 December.
Article 8
1. The budget shall contain differentiated and non-differentiated
appropriations, which shall consist of commitment appropriations and
payment appropriations.
2. Commitment appropriations shall cover the total cost of the legal
commitments entered into during the current financial year.
3. Payment appropriations shall cover payments made to honour the
legal commitments entered into in the current financial year and/orearlier financial years.
4. Administrative appropriations shall be non-differentiated. Admin-
istrative expenditure arising from contracts covering periods that extendbeyond the financial year, either in accordance with local practice orrelating to the supply of equipment, shall be charged to the budget of
the financial year in which it is effected.
Article 9
1. The revenue of the Community body referred to in Article 5 shall
be entered in the accounts for the financial year on the basis of the
amounts collected during the financial year.
2. The revenue of the Community body shall give rise to an equiva-
lent amount of payment appropriations.2002R2343 — EN — 01.01.2003 — 000.001 — 6
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3. The appropriations authorised in the budget for a given year may
be used solely to cover expenditure committed and paid in that finan-cial year, and to cover amounts due against commitments from
preceding financial years.
4. Commitments shall be entered in the accounts on the basis of the
legal commitments entered into upto 31 December.
5. Payments shall be entered in the accounts for a financial year on
the basis of the payments effected by the accounting officer by 31
December of that year at the latest.
Article 10
1. Appropriations which have not been used at the end of the finan-
cial year for which they were entered shall be cancelled.
However, they may, by decision of the management board taken not
later than 15 February, be carried over to the next financial year only,in accordance with the paragraphs 2 to 8.
2. Appropriations relating to staff expenditure may not be carried
over.
3. Appropriations for commitment of differentiated appropriations
and non-differentiated appropriations not yet committed at the close of
the financial year may be carried over in respect of amounts corre-sponding to commitment appropriations for which most of thepreparatory stages of the commitment procedure, to be defined in therules implementing the financial regulation of each Community body,
have been completed by 31 December; these amounts may then be
committed upto 31 March of the following year.
4. Appropriations for payment of differentiated appropriations may
be carried over in respect of amounts needed to cover existing commit-
ments or commitments linked to commitment appropriations carriedover, when the appropriations provided for the relevant headings inthe budget for the following financial year do not cover requirements.The Community body shall first use the appropriations authorised for
the current financial year and shall not use the appropriations carried
over until the former are exhausted.
5. Non–differentiated appropriations corresponding to obligations
duly contracted at the close of the financial year shall be carried over
automatically to the following financial year only.
6. Appropriations carried over which have not been committed by
31 March of year N+1 shall be automatically cancelled.
Appropriations carried over in this way shall be identified in the
accounts.
7. The appropriations available at 31 December arising from the
assigned revenue referred to in Article 19 shall be carried over automa-tically.
The appropriations available corresponding to assigned revenue carried
over must be used first.
Article 11
Where amounts are decommitted, as a result of total or partial non-
implementation of the actions for which they were earmarked, in anyfinancial year after that in which the appropriations were committed,the appropriations concerned shall be cancelled.
Article 12
The appropriations entered in the budget may be committed with effect
from 1 January, once the budget has become definitive.2002R2343 — EN — 01.01.2003 — 000.001 — 7
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Article 13
1. As from 15 November of each year, routine administrative expen-
diture may be committed in advance against the appropriations
provided for the following financial year. Such commitments may not,
however, exceed one quarter of the appropriations on the correspondingbudget heading for the current financial year. They may not apply tonew expenditure of a kind not yet approved in principle in the lastbudget duly adopted.
2. Expenditure which must be paid in advance, for example rents,
may give rise to payments from 1 December onwards to be charged
to the appropriations for the following financial year.
Article 14
1. If the budget of the Community body has not been finally
adopted at the beginning of the financial year, the following rules shallapply to commitment and payment of expenditure which it has beenpossible to book to a specific heading in the budget as part of imple-
mentation of the last budget duly adopted.
2. Commitments may be made per chapter up to a maximum of one
quarter of the total appropriations authorised in the chapter in questionfor the previous financial year, plus one twelfth for each month whichhas elapsed.
Payments may be made monthly per chapter up to a maximum of one
twelfth of the appropriations authorised in the chapter in question for
the previous financial year.
The limit of the appropriations provided for in the statement of esti-
mates of revenue and expenditure may not be exceeded.
3. At the request of the director, if the continuity of action by the
Community body and management needs so require, the management
board may simultaneously authorise two or more provisional twelfths
for both commitments and payments over and above those automati-cally made available by the provisions of paragraphs 1 and 2.
The additional twelfths shall be authorised in full and shall not be divi-
sible.
CHAPTER 3
Principle ofequilibrium
Article 15
1. The budget revenue and payment appropriations must be in
balance.
2. Commitment appropriations may not exceed the amount of the
Community subsidy, plus own revenue and any other revenue referred
to in Article 5.
3. The Community body may not raise loans.4. Funds paid to the Community body shall constitute for its budget
a balancing subsidy which shall count as prefinancing within themeaning of Article 81(1)(b)(i) of the general Financial Regulation.
Article 16
1. If the balance of the outturn account within the meaning of
Article 81 is positive, it shall be repaid to the Commission up to the
amount of the Community subsidy paid during the year. The part of
the balance exceeding the amount of the Community subsidy paidduring the year shall be entered in the budget for the following finan-cial year as revenue.
The difference between the Community subsidy entered in the general
budget and that actually paid to the body shall be cancelled.2002R2343 — EN — 01.01.2003 — 000.001 — 8
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2. If the balance of the outturn account provided for in Article 81 is
negative, it shall be entered in the budget for the following financialyear.
3. The revenue or payment appropriations shall be entered in the
budget during the budgetary procedure using the letter of amendmentprocedure or, while budget implementation is under way, by means ofan amending budget.
CHAPTER 4
Principle ofunitofaccount
Article 17
The budget shall be drawn upand imp lemented in euro and the
accounts shall be presented in euro.
However, for cash-flow purposes, the accounting officer and, in the
case of imprest accounts, imprest administrators, shall be authorised tocarry out operations in national currencies as laid down in the financialrules of each Community body.
CHAPTER 5
Principle ofuniversality
Article 18
Total revenue shall cover total payment appropriations, subject to
Article 19. All revenue and expenditure shall be entered in full withoutany adjustment against each other, subject to Article 21.
Article 19
1. The following items of revenue shall be used to finance specific
items of expenditure:
(a) revenue earmarked for a specific purpose, such as income from
foundations, subsidies, gifts and bequests;
(b) contributions to the Community body's activities from Member
States, non-member countries or miscellaneous bodies, in so far asthis is provided for in the agreement concluded between the
Community body and the Member States, non-member countries
or bodies in question.
2. All items of revenue within the meaning of paragraph 1 shall
cover all direct or indirect expenditure incurred by the activity orpurpose in question.
3. The budget shall carry headings to accommodate the categories of
assigned revenue referred to in paragraph 1 and wherever possible shallindicate the amount.
Article 20
1. The Director may accept any donation made to the Community
body, such as foundations, subsidies, gifts and bequests.
2. Acceptance of donations which may involve some financial
charge shall be subject to the prior authorisation of the managementboard, which shall take a decision within two months of the date onwhich the request is submitted to it. If the management board fails totake a decision within that period, the donation shall be deemed
accepted.
Article 21
1. The financial regulation of each Community body shall specify
the cases where certain amounts may be deducted from requests forpayment, invoices or statements, which shall then be passed forpayment of the net amount.2002R2343 — EN — 01.01.2003 — 000.001 — 9
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Discounts, refunds and rebates on invoices and payment requests shall
not be recorded as revenue of the Community body.
2. The cost of products or services provided to the Community body
shall be charged to the budget for the full ex-tax amount, where theyincorporate taxes refunded:
(a) either by the Member States pursuant to the Protocol on the Privi-
leges and Immunities of the European Communities, provided thatit applies to the Community body;
(b) or by a Member State or non-member country on the basis of other
relevant agreements.
Any national taxes temporarily borne by the Community body under
the first subparagraph shall be entered in a suspense account until
they are refunded by the State concerned.
3. Any negative balance shall be entered in the budget as expendi-
ture.
4. Adjustments may be made in respect of exchange differences
occurring in the implementation of the budget. The final gain or lossshall be included in the balance for the year.
CHAPTER 6
Principle ofspecification
Article 22
The appropriations in their entirety shall be earmarked for specific
purposes by title and chapter; the chapters shall be further subdividedinto articles and items.
Article 23
1. The director may make transfers from one article to another
within each chapter.
He/she shall inform the management board as soon as possible of the
transfers made pursuant to the first paragraph.
2. The director may make transfers from one title to another and
from one chapter to another within a total limit of 10 % of the appro-
priations for the financial year. Beyond this limit, he/she may propose
to the management board transfers of appropriations from one title toanother or from one chapter to another within a title. The managementboard shall have one month in which to oppose such transfers; afterthis time limit they shall be deemed to be adopted.
3. Proposals for transfers and transfers carried out under this Article
shall be accompanied by appropriate and detailed supporting docu-ments showing the implementation of appropriations and estimates ofrequirements upto the end of the financial year, both for the headings
to be credited and for those from which the appropriations are drawn.
Article 24
1. Appropriations may be transferred only to budget headings for
which the budget has authorised appropriations or carries a token entry
(p.m.).
2. Appropriations corresponding to assigned revenue may be trans-
ferred only if they are used for the purpose to which the revenue isassigned.2002R2343 — EN — 01.01.2003 — 000.001 — 10
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CHAPTER 7
Principle ofsoundfinancialmanagement
Article 25
1. Budget appropriations shall be used in accordance with the prin-
ciple of sound financial management, that is to say, in accordance withthe principles of economy, efficiency and effectiveness.
2. The principle of economy requires that the resources used by the
Community body for the pursuit of its activities shall be made avail-able in due time, in appropriate quantity and quality and at the bestprice.
The principle of efficiency is concerned with the best relationship
between resources employed and results achieved.
The principle of effectiveness is concerned with attaining the specific
objectives set and achieving the intended results.
3. Specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and timed objectives
shall be set for all sectors of activity covered by the budget. Achieve-
ment of those objectives shall be monitored by performance indicatorsfor each activity and information shall be provided to the managementboard by the director. This information shall be provided annually andat the latest in the documents accompanying the preliminary draftbudget.
4. In order to improve decision-making, the Community body shall
regularly carry out ex ante and ex post evaluations of programmes oractivities. Such evaluations shall be applied to all programmes andactivities which entail significant spending and evaluation results shallbe sent to the management board.
CHAPTER 8
Principle oftransparency
Article 26
1. The budget shall be drawn upand imp lemented and the accounts
presented in compliance with the principle of transparency.
2. The budget and amending budgets, as finally adopted, shall be
published in the Official Journal of the European Communities within
two months of their adoption.
TITLE III
ESTABLISHMENTANDSTRUCTUREOFTHEBUDGET
CHAPTER 1
Establishmentofthebudget
Article 27
1. The budget shall be established in accordance with the provisions
of the constituent instrument of that Community body.
2. In accordance with its constituent instrument, the Community
body shall send the Commission an estimate of its revenue and expen-diture and the general guidelines underlying that estimate, togetherwith its work programme, by 31 March each year at the latest.
3. The estimate of revenue and expenditure of the Community body
shall include:
(a) an establishment plan setting the number of permanent and
temporary posts authorised within the limits of the budget appro-
priations, by grade and by category;
(b) where there is a change in the number of persons in post, a state-
ment justifying the request for new posts;2002R2343 — EN — 01.01.2003 — 000.001 — 11
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(c) a quarterly estimate of cash payments and receipts;
(d) information on the achievement of all previously set objectives for
the various activities as well as new objectives measured by indica-tors; evaluation results shall be consulted and referred to as
evidence of the likely merits of a proposed budget amendment.
4. As part of the procedure for adopting the general budget, the
Commission shall send the Community body's statement of estimatesto the budgetary authority and propose the amount of the subsidy forthe Community body and the number of staff it considers that the
body needs.
5. The budgetary authority shall adopt the establishment plan of the
Community body and any subsequent amendment thereto in accordancewith Article 32(1).
6. The budget and the establishment plan shall be adopted by the
management board. They become definitive after final adoption of thegeneral budget setting the amount of the subsidy and the establishmentplan and if necessary the budget and the establishment plan shall be
adjusted accordingly.
Article 28
Any amendment to the budget, including the establishment plan, shall
be the subject of an amending budget adopted by the same procedure
as the initial budget, in accordance with the provisions of the consti-
tuent instrument and Article 27.
CHAPTER 2
Structureandpresentationofthebudget
Article 29
The budget shall comprise a statement of revenue and a statement of
expenditure.
Article 30
In so far as it is justified by the nature of the Agency's activities, the
statement of expenditure must be set out on the basis of a nomenclature
with a classification by purpose. This nomenclature shall be determinedby the Community body and shall make a clear distinction betweenadministrative appropriations and operating appropriations.
Article 31
The budget shall show:
1. in the statement of revenue:
(a) the estimated revenue of the Community body for the financial
year in question;
(b) the estimated revenue for the preceding financial year and the
revenue for year n–2 ;
(c) appropriate remarks on each revenue line;
2. in the statement of expenditure:
(a) the commitment and payment appropriations for the financial
year in question;
(b) the commitment and payment appropriations for the preceding
financial year, and the expenditure committed and the expendi-ture paid in year n–2 ;
(c) a summary statement of the schedule of payments due in subse-
quent financial years to meet budget commitments entered into
in earlier financial years;
(d) appropriate remarks on each subdivision.2002R2343 — EN — 01.01.2003 — 000.001 — 12
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Article 32
1. The establishment plan referred to in Article 27 shall show next
to the number of posts authorised for the financial year, the number
authorised for the preceding year and the number of posts actuallyfilled.
It shall constitute an absolute limit for the Community body; no
appointment may be made in excess of the limit set.
However, save in the case of grades A 1, A 2 and A 3, the manage-
ment board may modify the establishment plan by up to 10 % ofposts authorised, subject to two conditions:
(a) that the volume of staff appropriations corresponding to a full
financial year is not affected;
(b) that the limit of the total number of posts authorised by the estab-
lishment plan is not exceeded.
2. By way of derogation from the second subparagraph of paragraph
1, the effects of part-time work authorised by the appointing authorityin accordance with the Staff Regulations may be offset by otherappointments.
TITLE IV
IMPLEMENTATIONOFTHEBUDGET
CHAPTER 1
General provisions
Article 33
The director shall perform the duties of authorising officer. He/she
shall implement the revenue and expenditure of the budget in accor-dance with the financial rules of the Community body, on his/her ownresponsibility and within the limits of the appropriations authorised.
Article 34
1. The director may delegate his/her powers of budget implementa-
tion to staff of the Community body covered by the regulations andrules applicable to officials and other servants of the EuropeanCommunities (hereinafter referred to as the ‘Staff Regulations’), inaccordance with the conditions laid down by the financial rules, within
the meaning of Article 185 of the general Financial Regulation,
adopted by the management board. Those so empowered may act onlywithin the limits of the powers expressly conferred upon them.
2. The delegatee may subdelegate the powers received as provided
for in the rules for implementing this Regulation referred to in Article
99. Each act of subdelegation shall require the explicit agreement of
the director.
Article 35
1. All financial actors within the meaning of Chapter 2 of this title
shall be prohibited from taking any measures of budget implementationwhich may bring their own interests into conflict with those of the
Community body. Should such a case arise, the actor in question must
refrain from such measures and refer the matter to the competentauthority.
2. There is a conflict of interests where the impartial and objective
exercise of the functions of an actor in the implementation of the
budget or an internal auditor is compromised for reasons involving
family, emotional life, political or national affinity, economic interestor any other shared interest with the beneficiary.
3. The competent authority referred to in paragraph 1 shall be the
immediate superior of the member of staff concerned. If the member2002R2343 — EN — 01.01.2003 — 000.001 — 13
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of staff is the director, the competent authority shall be the manage-
ment board.
Article 36
1. The budget shall be implemented by the director in the depart-
ments placed under his/her authority.
2. Technical expertise tasks and administrative, preparatory or ancil-
lary tasks involving neither the exercise of public authority nor the useof discretionary powers of judgement may be entrusted by contract toexternal private-sector entities or bodies, where this proves to be indis-
pensable.
CHAPTER 2
Financialactors
Section 1
Principle of segregation of duties
Article 37
The duties of authorising officer and accounting officer shall be segre-
gated and mutually incompatible.
Section 2
Authorising officer
Article 38
1. The authorising officer shall be responsible for implementing
revenue and expenditure in accordance with the principles of sound
financial management and for ensuring that the requirements of legality
and regularity are complied with.
2. To implement expenditure, the authorising officer shall make
budget commitments and legal commitments, shall validate expenditureand authorise payments and shall undertake the preliminaries for theimplementation of appropriations.
3. Implementation of revenue shall comprise drawing up estimates
of amounts receivable, establishing entitlements to be recovered andissuing recovery orders. It shall involve waiving established entitle-ments where appropriate.
4. The authorising officer shall put in place, in compliance with the
minimum standards adopted by the management board on the basis of
equivalent standards laid down by the Commission for its own depart-
ments, and having due regard to the risks associated with themanagement environment and the nature of the action financed, theorganisational structure and the internal management and controlsystems and procedures suited to the performance of his/her duties,
including where appropriate ex post verifications.
The authorising officer shall establish within his/her departments an
expertise and advice function designed to help him/her control the risks
involved in his/her activities.
5. Before an operation is authorised, the operational and financial
aspects shall be verified by members of staff other than the one whoinitiated the operation. Initiation and the ex ante and ex post verifica-tion of an operation shall be separate functions.
6. The authorising officer shall conserve the supporting documents
relating to operations carried out for a period of five years from thedate of the decision granting discharge in respect of implementationof the budget.2002R2343 — EN — 01.01.2003 — 000.001 — 14
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Article 39
1. Initiation of an operation as referred to in Article 38(5) shall be
understood to mean all the operations which are preparatory to theadoption of the acts implementing the budget by the authorising offi-cers responsible referred to in Articles 33 and 34.
2. Ex ante verification of an operation as referred to in Article 38(5)
shall be understood to mean all the ex ante checks put in place by theauthorising officer responsible in order to verify the operational and
financial aspects.
3. Each operation shall be subject of at least one ex ante verifica-
tion. The purpose of this verification shall be to ascertain that:
(a) the expenditure is in order and conforms to the relevant provisions;
(b) the principle of sound financial management referred to in Article
25 has been applied.
4. The purpose of ex post verifications of documents and, where
appropriate, on-the-spot verifications shall be to verify that operationsfinanced by the budget have been correctly implemented and in parti-
cular that the criteria referred to in paragraph 3 have been complied
with. These verifications may be organised on a sample basis usingrisk analysis.
5. The officials or other staff responsible for the verifications
referred to in paragraphs 2 and 4 shall be different from thoseperforming the tasks referred to in paragraph 1 and shall not be theirsubordinates.
6. All staff responsible for scrutinising the management of financial
operations must have the necessary professional skills. They shallrespect a specific code of professional standards adopted by theCommunity body and based on standards laid down by the Commissionfor its own departments.
Article 40
1. The authorising officer shall report to the management board on
the performance of his/her duties in the form of an annual activityreport (hereinafter ‘authorising officer's report’), together with financialand management information. This report shall indicate the results ofhis/her operations by reference to the objectives set, the risks asso-
ciated with these operations, the use made of the resources provided
and the way the internal control system functions. The internal auditorwithin the meaning of Article 71 shall take note of the annual activityreport and any other pieces of information identified.
2. By no later than 15 June each year, the management board shall
send the budgetary authority and the Court of Auditors an analysis andan assessment of the authorising officer's annual report on the previousfinancial year. This analysis and assessment shall be included in theannual report of the Community body, in accordance with the provi-
sions of the constituent instrument.
Article 41
Any member of staff involved in the financial management and control
of transactions who considers that a decision he/she is required by his/her superior to apply or to agree to is irregular or contrary to the prin-ciples of sound financial management or the professional rules he/she
is required to observe shall inform the Director in writing and, if the
latter fails to take action within a reasonable period, the panel referredto in Article 47(4) and the management board. In the event of anyillegal activity, fraud or corruption which may harm the interests ofthe Community, he/she shall inform the authorities and bodies desig-nated by the applicable legislation.2002R2343 — EN — 01.01.2003 — 000.001 — 15
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Article 42
Where powers of budget implementation are delegated or subdelegated
in accordance with Article 34, Article 38(1), (2) and (3) shall applymutatis mutandis to the authorising officers by delegation or subdelega-
tion.
Section 3
Accounting officer
Article 43
1. The management board shall appoint an accounting officer,
covered by the Staff Regulations, who shall be responsible in theCommunity body for:
(a) proper implementation of payments, collection of revenue and
recovery of amounts established as being receivable;
(b) preparing and presenting the accounts in accordance with Title VII;
(c) keeping the accounts in accordance with Title VII;
(d) implementing, in accordance with Title VII, the accounting rules
and methods and the chart of accounts in accordance with theprovisions adopted by the Commission's accounting officer;
(e) laying down and validating the accounting systems and where
appropriate validating systems laid down by the authorising officerto supply or justify accounting information;
(f) treasury management.
2. The accounting officer shall obtain from the authorising officer,
who shall guarantee its reliability, all the information necessary forthe production of accounts which give a true image of the Community
body's assets and of budget implementation.
3. Subject to paragraph 4 of this Article and Article 44, the
accounting officer is alone empowered to manage monies and other
assets. He/she shall be responsible for their safekeeping.
4. The accounting officer may delegate certain tasks to subordinates
subject to the Staff Regulations, where this is indispensable for theperformance of his/her duties.
5. The instrument of delegation shall lay down the tasks entrusted to
the delegatees and their rights and obligations.
Section 4
Imprest administrator
Article 44
Where it proves indispensable for the payment of small sums and for
the collection of other revenue referred to in Article 5, imprestaccounts may be set upwhich shall be endowed by the accountingofficer and shall be placed under the responsibility of imprest adminis-trators designated by him/her.
The maximum amount of each item of expenditure or revenue that can
be paid by the imprest administrator to third parties may not exceed acertain amount to be specified by each Community body for each itemof expenditure or revenue.2002R2343 — EN — 01.01.2003 — 000.001 — 16
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CHAPTER 3
Liabilityofthefinancialactors
Section 1
General rules
Article 45
1. Without prejudice to any disciplinary action, authorising officers
by delegation and subdelegation may at any time have their delegationor subdelegation withdrawn temporarily or definitively by the authority
which appointed them.
The authorising officer may at any time withdraw his/her agreement to
a specific subdelegation.
2. Without prejudice to any disciplinary action, the accounting
officer may at any time be suspended temporarily or definitively fromhis/her duties by the management board. The management board shallappoint an interim accounting officer.
3. Without prejudice to any disciplinary action, imprest administra-
tors may at any time be suspended temporarily or definitively from
their duties by the accounting officer.
Article 46
1. The provisions of this chapter are without prejudice to the crim-
inal-law liability which the authorising officer and the persons referredto in Article 45 may incur as provided in the applicable national lawand in the provisions in force on the protection of the Communities'financial interests and on the fight against corruption involving officialsof the Communities or officials of Member States.
2. Each authorising officer, accounting officer or imprest adminis-
trator shall be liable to disciplinary action and payment of
compensation as laid down in the Staff Regulations, without prejudiceto Articles 47, 48 and 49. In the event of illegal activity, fraud orcorruption which may harm the interests of the Community, the matterwill be referred to the authorities and bodies designated by the applic-able legislation.
Section 2
Rules applicable to authorising officers by delegation and subdelega-
tion
Article 47
1. The authorising officer shall be liable to payment of compensa-
tion as laid down in the Staff Regulations. Accordingly, he/she maybe required to make good, in whole or in part, any damage sufferedby the Communities as a result of serious misconduct on his/her partin the course of or in connection with the performance of his/her
duties, in particular if he/she determines entitlements to be recovered
or issues recovery orders, commits expenditure or signs a paymentorder without complying with this Financial Regulation and its imple-menting rules.
The same shall apply where, through serious misconduct, he/she fails
to draw upa document establishing an amount receivable or if he/shefails to issue a recovery order or is, without justification, late in issuing
it, or if he/she fails to issue a payment order or is late in issuing it,
thereby rendering the agency liable to civil action by third parties.
2. An authorising officer by delegation or subdelegation who
considers that a decision falling under his/her responsibility is irregularor contrary to the principles of sound financial management shallinform the delegating authority in writing. If the delegating authoritythen gives a reasoned instruction in writing to the authorising officer2002R2343 — EN — 01.01.2003 — 000.001 — 17
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by delegation or subdelegation to implement the decision in question,
the latter must implement it and may not be held liable.
3. In the event of delegation, the authorising officer shall continue to
be responsible for the effectiveness of the internal management and
control systems put in place and for the choice of the authorising
officer by delegation.
4. The panel set up by the Commission to determine whether a
financial irregularity has occurred and what the consequences, if any,should be, in accordance with Article 66(4) of the general FinancialRegulation, may exercise the same powers in respect of the Commu-nity body as it does in respect of Commission departments, if the
management board so decides.
If it does not so decide, the management board shall set upa function-
ally independent panel that is specialised in this field.
On the basis of the opinion of this panel, the director shall decide
whether to initiate disciplinary proceedings or proceedings for thepayment of compensation. If the panel detects systemic problems, itshall send a report with recommendations to the authorising officerand to the Commission's internal auditor. If the opinion implicates the
director, the panel shall send it to the management board and the
Commission's internal auditor.
5. Any member of staff may be required to make good, in whole or
in part, any damage suffered by the Community body as a result ofserious misconduct on his/her part in the course of or in connectionwith the performance of his/her duties.
The appointing authority shall take a reasoned decision, after
completing the formalities laid down by the Staff Regulations withregard to disciplinary matters.
Section 3
Rules applicable to accounting officers and imprest administrators
Article 48
An accounting officer may be liable to disciplinary action and payment
of compensation, as laid down in the Staff Regulations, in particularwhere:
(a) he/she loses or damages monies, assets and documents in his/her
keeping or causes them to be lost or damaged by his/her negli-
gence;
(b) he/she alters bank accounts or postal giro accounts without noti-
fying the authorising officer in advance;
(c) he/she recovers or pays amounts which are not in conformity with
the corresponding recovery or payment orders;
(d) he/she fails to collect revenue due.
Article 49
An imprest administrator may be liable to disciplinary action and
payment of compensation, as laid down in the Staff Regulations, inparticular where:
(a) he/she loses or damages monies, assets and documents in his/her
keeping or causes them to be lost or damaged by his/her negli-gence;
(b) he/she cannot provide proper supporting documents for the
payments he/she has made;
(c) he/she makes payments to persons other than those entitled;
(d) he/she fails to collect revenue due.2002R2343 — EN — 01.01.2003 — 000.001 — 18
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CHAPTER 4
Revenueoperations
Section 1
General provisions
Article 50
The Community body shall present to the Commission requests for
payment of all or part of the Community subsidy, supported by acash-flow forecast, under terms and at intervals agreed with theCommission.
Article 51
The funds paid to the Community body by the Commission by way of
the subsidy shall bear interest for the benefit of the general budget.
Section 2
Estimate of amounts receivable
Article 52
An estimate of the amount receivable shall first be made by the author-
ising officer responsible in respect of any measure or situation which
may give rise to or modify an amount owing to the Community body.
Section 3
Establishment of amounts receivable
Article 53
1. Establishment of an amount receivable is the act by which the
authorising officer or authorising officer by delegation:
(a) verifies that the debt exists;
(b) determines or verifies the reality and the amount of the debt;
(c) verifies the conditions in which the debt is due.
2. Any amount receivable that is identified as being certain, of a
fixed amount and due must be established by a recovery order givento the accounting officer, accompanied by a debit note sent to thedebtor. Both of these documents shall be drawn upand sent by the
authorising officer responsible.
3. Without prejudice to the provisions laid down in the rules,
contract or agreement applicable, any debt not repaid on the due datelaid down in the debit note shall bear interest in accordance with thedetailed rules for implementation of the general Financial Regulation.
4. In duly substantiated cases, certain routine revenue items may be
established provisionally.
Provisional establishment shall cover the recovery of several individual
amounts which need not therefore be established individually.
Before the end of the financial year, the authorising officer shall amend
the amounts established provisionally to ensure that they correspond tothe amounts receivable actually established.
Section 4
Authorisation of recovery
Article 54
The authorisation of recovery is the act whereby the authorising officer
responsible instructs the accounting officer, by issuing a recoveryorder, to recover an amount receivable which he/she has established.2002R2343 — EN — 01.01.2003 — 000.001 — 19
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Section 5
Recovery
Article 55
1. Amounts wrongly paid shall be recovered.
2. The accounting officer shall act on recovery orders for amounts
receivable duly established by the authorising officer or authorising
officer responsible. He/she shall exercise due diligence to ensure that
the Community body receives its revenue and shall see that its rightsare safeguarded.
3. Where the authorising officer responsible is planning to waive
recovery of an established amount receivable, he/she shall ensure thatthe waiver is in order and complies with the principle of sound finan-cial management.
Such a waiver shall be by decision of the authorising officer, which
must be substantiated. The authorising officer may not delegate such adecision.
The waiver decision shall state what action has been taken to secure
recovery and the points of law and fact on which it is based.
4. The authorising officer responsible shall cancel an established
amount receivable when the discovery of a mistake as to a point of
law or fact reveals that the amount had not been correctly established.
Such cancellation shall be by decision of the authorising officer respon-sible and shall be suitably substantiated.
5. The authorising officer responsible shall adjust the amount of an
established debt upwards or downwards when the discovery of a factualerror entails the alteration of the amount of the debt, provided that thiscorrection does not involve the loss of the established entitlement ofthe Community body. Such an adjustment shall be by decision of the
authorising officer responsible and shall be suitably substantiated.
Article 56
1. Upon actual recovery of the sum due, the accounting officer shall
make an entry in the accounts and shall inform the authorising officerresponsible.
2. A receipt shall be issued in respect of all cash payments made to
the accounting officer.
Article 57
1. If actual recovery has not taken place by the due date stipulated
in the debit note, the accounting officer shall inform the authorisingofficer responsible and immediately launch the procedure for effectingrecovery by any means offered by the law, including, where appro-
priate, by offsetting and, if this is not possible, by enforced recovery.
2. The accounting officer shall recover amounts by offsetting them
against equivalent claims that the Community body has on any debtor
who himself or herself has a claim on the Community body that iscertain, of a fixed amount and due, provided that offsetting is legallypossible.
Article 58
The accounting officer, in collaboration with the authorising officer
responsible, may allow additional time for payment only at the writtenrequest of the debtor, with due indication of the reasons, provided thatthe following two conditions are met:
(a) the debtor undertakes to pay interest at the rate specified the
detailed rules for implementation of the general Financial Regula-tion for the entire additional period allowed, starting from the dateon which the payment was originally due;2002R2343 — EN — 01.01.2003 — 000.001 — 20
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(b) in order to safeguard the rights of the Community body, the debtor
provides a financial guarantee covering both the principal sum andthe interest.
Section 6
Specific provisions applicable to fees and charges
Article 59
1. Where the Community body collects fees and charges referred to
in Article 5(a), an overall provisional estimate of such fees and charges
shall be made at the beginning of each financial year.
2. As a general rule, the Community body shall provide services by
virtue of the tasks entrusted to it only after the corresponding fee or
charge has been paid in its entirety.
3. If, by way of exception, a service has been provided without prior
payment of the corresponding charge or fee, sections 3, 4 and 5 of thischapter shall apply.
CHAPTER 5
Expenditureoperations
Article 60
1. Every item of expenditure shall be committed, validated,
authorised and paid.
2. Every commitment of expenditure shall be preceded by a finan-
cing decision.
3. The work programme of the Community body shall be equivalent
to a financing decision for the activities it covers, provided that theyare clearly identified and the underlying criteria are spelled outprecisely.
4. Administrative appropriations may be implemented without a
prior financing decision.
Section 1
Commitment of expenditure
Article 61
1. The budget commitment is the operation reserving the appropria-
tions necessary to cover subsequent payments to honour a legalcommitment.
2. The legal commitment is the act whereby the authorising officer
responsible enters into or establishes an obligation which results in acharge for the budget.
3. The budget commitment is individual when the beneficiary and
the amount of the expenditure are known.
4. The budget commitment is global when at least one of the
elements necessary to identify the individual commitment is still not
known.
5. The budget commitment is provisional when it is intended to
cover routine administrative expenditure and either the amount or thefinal beneficiaries are not definitively known.
The provisional budget commitment shall be implemented either by the
conclusion of one or more individual legal commitments giving rise toan entitlement to subsequent payments or, in exceptional cases relatingto expenditure on staff management, directly by payments.2002R2343 — EN — 01.01.2003 — 000.001 — 21
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Article 62
1. In respect of any measure which may give rise to expenditure
chargeable to the budget, the authorising officer responsible must first
make a budget commitment before entering into a legal obligation withthird parties.
2. Individual legal commitments relating to individual or provisional
budget commitments shall be concluded by 31 December of year n.
At the end of the periods referred to in the first subparagraph, the
unused balance of these budget commitments shall be decommitted bythe authorising officer responsible.
3. The legal commitments entered into for actions extending over
more than one financial year and the corresponding budget commit-ments shall, save in the case of staff expenditure, have a final date forimplementation set in compliance with the principle of sound financialmanagement.
Any parts of such commitments which have not been executed six
months after that final date shall be decommitted in accordance withArticle 11.
Article 63
When adopting a budget commitment, the authorising officer respon-
sible shall ensure that:
(a) the expenditure has been charged to the correct item in the budget;
(b) the appropriations are available;
(c) the expenditure conforms to the applicable provisions, in particular
those of the constituent instrument, the financial rules of each
Community body and all acts adopted pursuant to them;
(d) the principle of sound financial management is complied with.
Section 2
Validation of expenditure
Article 64
Validation of expenditure is the act whereby the authorising officer
responsible:
(a) verifies the existence of the creditor's entitlement;
(b) verifies the conditions in which payment is due;
(c) determines or verifies the reality and the amount of the claim.
Article 65
1. Validation of any expenditure shall be based on supporting docu-
ments attesting the creditor's entitlement, on the basis of a statement of
services actually rendered, supplies actually delivered or work actuallycarried out, or on the basis of other documents justifying payment.
2. The validation decision shall be expressed by the signing of a
‘passed for payment’ voucher by the authorising officer responsible.
3. In a non-computerised system, ‘passed for payment’ shall take the
form of a stampincorp orating the signature of the authorising officerresponsible. In a computerised system, ‘passed for payment’ shall takethe form of validation using the personal password of the authorisingofficer responsible.2002R2343 — EN — 01.01.2003 — 000.001 — 22
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Section 3
Authorisation of expenditure
Article 66
1. Authorisation of expenditure is the act whereby the authorising
officer responsible, by issuing a payment order, instructs the accounting
officer to pay an item of expenditure which he/she has validated.
2. The payment order shall be dated and signed by the authorising
officer responsible, then sent to the accounting officer. The supportingdocuments shall be kept by the authorising officer responsible in accor-dance with Article 38(6).
3. Where appropriate, the payment order sent to the accounting
officer shall be accompanied by a document certifying that the goodshave been entered in the inventories referred to in Article 90(1).
Section 4
Payment of expenditure
Article 67
1. Payment shall be made on production of proof that the relevant
action has been carried out in accordance with the provisions of the
basic act within the meaning of Article 49 of the general FinancialRegulation or the contract or grant agreement, and shall cover one ofthe following operations:
(a) payment of the entire amount due;
(b) payment of the amount due in any of the following ways:
(i) prefinancing, which may be divided into a number of
payments;
(ii) one or more interim payments;
(iii) payment of the balance of the amounts due.
Prefinancing shall count in full or in part against the interim payments.
The entire prefinancing and interim payments shall count against the
payment of balances.
2. A distinction shall be made in the accounts between the different
types of payment referred to in paragraph 1 at the time they are made.
Article 68
Payment of expenditure shall be made by the accounting officer within
the limits of the funds available.
Section 5
Time limits for expenditure operations
Article 69
The validation, authorisation and payment of expenditure must be
carried out within the time limits specified in, and in accordance withthe provisions of, the detailed rules for implementation of the generalFinancial Regulation.
CHAPTER 6
ITsystems
Article 70
Where revenue and expenditure operations are managed by means of
computer systems, documents may be signed by a computerised orelectronic procedure.2002R2343 — EN — 01.01.2003 — 000.001 — 23
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CHAPTER 7
Internalauditor
Article 71
1. The Community body shall have an internal auditing function
which must be performed in compliance with the relevant internationalstandards.
2. Without prejudice to Article 38(4) the Commission's internal
auditor shall exercise, the same powers with respect to the Communitybodies as with respect to Commission departments.
Article 72
1. The internal auditor shall advise the Community body on dealing
with risks, by issuing independent opinions on the quality of manage-
ment and control systems and by issuing recommendations forimproving the conditions of implementation of operations andpromoting sound financial management.
He/she shall be responsible:
(a) for assessing the suitability and effectiveness of internal manage-
ment systems and the performance of departments inimplementing programmes and actions by reference to the risksassociated with them; and
(b) for assessing the suitability and quality of the internal control
systems applicable to every budgetary implementation operation.
2. The internal auditor shall perform his/her duties on all the
Community body's activities and departments. He/she shall enjoy fulland unlimited access to all information required to perform his/herduties.
3. The internal auditor shall report to the management board and the
Director on his/her findings and recommendations. They shall ensure
that action is taken on recommendations resulting from audits.
4. The internal auditor shall submit to the Community body an
annual internal audit report setting out, inter alia , the number and
type of internal audits conducted, the recommendations made and the
action taken on these recommendations. This annual report shall also
mention any systemic problems detected by the specialised panel setupunder Article 66(4) of the general Financial Regulation.
5. Each year the Community body shall send to the authority
responsible for discharge and to the Commission, a report drawn up
by its director summarising the number and type of internal audits
conducted by the internal auditor, the recommendations made and theaction taken on these recommendations.
Article 73
The responsibility of the internal auditor for action taken in the perfor-
mance of his/her duties shall be determined in accordance with Article
87 of the general Financial Regulation.
TITLE V
PROCUREMENT
Article 74
As regards procurement, the relevant provisions of the general Finan-
cial Regulation and the detailed rules for implementing thatRegulation shall apply.2002R2343 — EN — 01.01.2003 — 000.001 — 24
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TITLE VI
GRANTSAWARDEDBYTHECOMMUNITYBODY
Article 75
Where the Community body may award grants in accordance with its
constituent instrument, the relevant provisions of the general Financial
Regulation and the detailed rules for implementing that Regulationshall apply.
TITLE VII
PRESENTATIONOFTHEACCOUNTSANDACCOUNTING
CHAPTER 1
Presentation oftheaccounts
Article 76
The annual accounts of the Community body shall comprise:
(a) the financial statements of the Community body;
(b) the reports on implementation of the budget of the Community
body.
The accounts of the Community body shall be accompanied by a report
on budgetary and financial management during the year.
Article 77
The accounts must comply with the rules and be accurate and compre-
hensive and present a true and fair view:
(a) as regards the financial statements, of the assets and liabilities,
charges and income, entitlements and obligations not shown asassets or liabilities and cash flow;
(b) as regards reports on budgetary implementation, of revenue and
expenditure operations.
Article 78
The financial statements shall be drawn upin accordance with the
generally accepted accounting principles specified in the detailed rules
for implementing the general Financial Regulation, namely:
(a) going concern basis;
(b) prudence;
(c) consistent accounting methods;
(d) comparability of information;
(e) materiality;
(f) no netting;
(g) reality over appearance;(h) accrual-based accounting.
Article 79
1. In accordance with the principle of accrual-based accounting, the
financial statements shall show the charges and income for the finan-cial year, regardless of the date of payment or collection.
2. The value of assets and liabilities shall be determined in accor-
dance with the valuation rules laid down by the accounting methodsprovided for in Article 132 of the general Financial Regulation.2002R2343 — EN — 01.01.2003 — 000.001 — 25
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Article 80
1. The financial statements shall be presented in euro and shall
comprise:
(a) the balance sheet and the economic outturn account, which repre-
sent the assets and liabilities and financial situation and theeconomic outturn at 31 December of the previous year; they shallbe presented in accordance with the structure laid down by the
Council Directive on the annual accounts of certain types of
companies, but with account being taken of the specific nature ofthe Community body's activities;
(b) the cash-flow table showing amounts collected and disbursed
during the year and the final treasury position;
(c) the statement of changes in capital presenting in detail the increases
and decreases during the year in each item of the capital accounts.
2. The annex to the financial statements shall supplement and
comment on the information presented in the statements referred to inparagraph 1 and shall supply all the additional information prescribed
by internationally accepted accounting practice where such information
is relevant to the Community body's activities.
Article 81
The budgetary implementation reports shall be presented in euro. They
shall comprise:
(a) the budgetary outturn account, which sets out all budget operations
for the year in terms of revenue and expenditure; the structure inwhich it is presented shall be the same as that of the budget itself;
(b) the annex to the budgetary outturn account, which shall supplement
and comment on the information given in that account.
Article 82
The accounting officer shall send to the Commission's accounting
officer by no later than 1 March of the following year its provisionalaccounts, together with the report on budgetary and financial manage-ment during the year, referred to in Article 76(7) of this Regulation, sothat the Commission's accounting officer can consolidate the accountsas provided for in Article 128 of the general Financial Regulation.
Article 83
1. In accordance with Article 129(1) of the general Financial Regu-
lation, the Court of Auditors shall, by 15 June at the latest, make itsobservations on the provisional accounts of each institution and eachbody referred to in Article 185 of the general Financial Regulation.
2. On receiving the Court of Auditors' observations on the provi-
sional accounts of the Community body, the Director shall draw upthe final accounts of the Community body, under his/her own responsi-bility, and send them to the management board, which shall give anopinion on these accounts.
3. The director shall send the final accounts, together with the
opinion of the management board, to the Commission's accountingofficer and to the Court of Auditors, the European Parliament and theCouncil, by 1 July of the following year at the latest.
4. The final accounts of the Community body shall be published in
theOfficial Journal of the European Communities on 31 October of the
following financial year.
5. The director shall send the Court of Auditors a reply to the obser-
vations made in its annual report by 30 September at the latest.2002R2343 — EN — 01.01.2003 — 000.001 — 26
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CHAPTER 2
Accounting
Section 1
Common provisions
Article 84
1. The accounting system of the Community body is the system
serving to organise the budgetary and financial information in such a
way that figures can be input, filed and registered.
2. The accounts shall consist of general accounts and budgetary
accounts. These accounts shall be kept in euro on the basis of thecalendar year.
3. The figures in the general accounts and the budgetary accounts
shall be adopted at the close of the budget year so that the accounts
referred to in Chapter 1 can be drawn up.
4. Notwithstanding paragraphs 2 and 3, the authorising officer may
keepanalytical accounts.
Article 85
The accounting rules and methods and the harmonised chart of
accounts to be applied by the Community body shall be adopted bythe Commission's accounting officer in accordance with Article 133 ofthe general Financial Regulation.
Section 2
General accounts
Article 86
The general accounts shall record, in chronological order using the
double entry method, all events and operations which affect theeconomic and financial situation and the assets and liabilities of theCommunity body.
Article 87
1. Movements on the accounts and the balances shall be entered in
the accounting ledgers.
2. All accounting entries, including adjustments to the accounts,
shall be based on supporting documents, to which they shall refer.
3. The accounting system must be such as to leave a trail for all
accounting entries.
Article 88
The accounting officer of the Community body shall, after the close of
the budgetary year and upto the date of p resentation of the finalaccounts, make any adjustments which, without involving disbursement
or collection in respect of that year, are necessary for a true and fair
presentation of the accounts in compliance with the rules.
Section 3
Budgetary accounts
Article 89
1. The budget accounts shall provide a detailed record of budgetary
implementation.
2. For the purposes of paragraph 1, the budgetary accounts shall
record all budgetary revenue and expenditure operations provided forin Title IV of this Regulation.2002R2343 — EN — 01.01.2003 — 000.001 — 27
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CHAPTER 3
Property inventories
Article 90
1. The Community body shall keepinventories showing the quantity
and value of all the tangible, intangible and financial assets constitutingCommunity property in accordance with a model drawn up by the
accounting officer of the Commission.
The Community body shall check that entries in the inventory corre-
spond to the actual situation.
2. The sale of movable property shall be advertised in appropriate
manner.
TITLE VIII
EXTERNALAUDITANDDISCHARGE
CHAPTER 1
Externalaudit
Article 91
The Court of Auditors shall scrutinise the accounts of the Community
body in accordance with Article 248 of the EC Treaty.
Article 92
1. The Community body shall send the Court of Auditors the
budget, as finally adopted. It shall inform the Court of Auditors, assoon as possible, of all decisions and acts adopted pursuant to Articles10, 14, 19 and 23.
2. The Community body shall send the Court of Auditors the
internal financial rules it adopts.
3. The Court of Auditors shall be informed of the appointment of
authorising officers, accounting officers and imprest administratorsand of delegation decisions under Article 34, Article 43(1) and (4)and Article 44.
Article 93
The scrutiny carried out by the Court of Auditors shall be governed by
Articles 139 to 144 of the general Financial Regulation.
CHAPTER 2
Discharge
Article 94
1. The European Parliament, upon a recommendation from the
Council, shall, before 30 April of year n+ 2 give a discharge to the
director in respect of the implementation of the budget for year n.
2. If the date provided for in paragraph 1 cannot be met, the
European Parliament or the Council shall inform the director of thereasons for the postponement.
3. If the European Parliament postpones the decision giving a
discharge, the director shall make every effort to take measures, assoon as possible, to remove or facilitate removal of the obstacles tothat decision.
Article 95
1. The discharge decision shall cover the accounts of all the revenue
and expenditure of the Community body, the resulting balance and the2002R2343 — EN — 01.01.2003 — 000.001 — 28
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assets and liabilities of the Community body shown in the financial
statement.
2. With a view to granting the discharge, the European Parliament
shall, after the Council has done so, examine the accounts and financialstatements of the Community body. It shall also examine the annual
report made by the Court of Auditors, together with the replies of the
director of the Community body, any relevant special reports by theCourt of Auditors in respect of the financial year in question and theCourt of Auditors' statement of assurance as to the reliability of theaccounts and the legality and regularity of the underlying transactions.
3. The director shall submit to the European Parliament, at the
latter's request, in the same manner as provided for in Article 146(3)of the general Financial Regulation, any information required for the
smooth application of the discharge procedure for the year in question.
Article 96
1. The director shall take all appropriate steps to act on the observa-
tions accompanying the European Parliament's discharge decision andon the comments accompanying the recommendation for discharge
adopted by the Council.
2. At the request of the European Parliament or the Council, the
director shall report on the measures taken in the light of these obser-
vations and comments. He/she shall send a copy thereof to theCommission and the Court of Auditors.
TITLE IX
TRANSITIONALANDFINALPROVISIONS
Article 97
The time limits referred to in Article 83 shall apply for the first time in
respect of budgetary year 2005.
For earlier years these time limits shall be:
(a) 15 September for Article 83(3);
(b) 30 November for Article 83(4);
(c) 31 October for Article 83(5).
Article 98
The European Parliament, the Council and the Commission shall be
empowered to obtain any necessary information or explanations
regarding budgetary matters within their fields of competence.
Article 99
The management board shall, as far as is necessary, adopt detailed
rules for implementing the financial regulation of the Community
body, on a proposal from its director.
Article 100
Once this Regulation has entered into force, each body referred to in
Article 185 of the general Financial Regulation shall adopt a newfinancial regulation in view of its entry into force for 1 January 2003or, in any event, within six months of the date on which it falls within
the scope of the said Article 185, following the granting of a subsidy
charged to the general budget.
Article 101
This Regulation shall enter into force on the day following its publica-
tion in the Official Journal of the European Communities .2002R2343 — EN — 01.01.2003 — 000.001 — 29
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This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable
in all Member States.2002R2343 — EN — 01.01.2003 — 000.001 — 30