2002D0320 — EN — 08.05.2002 — 000.001 — 1
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►B COMMISSIONDECISION
of15May2000
approving the single programming document for Community structural assistance under Objec-
tive1intheregionofHainautinBelgium
(notified under document number C(2000) 1222)
(OnlytheFrenchandDutchtextsareauthentic)
(2002/320/EC)
(OJ L 122, 8.5.2002, p. 1)
Amended by:
Official Journal
No page date
►M1Commission Decision 2002/328/EC of 27 November 2001 L 122 23 8.5.2002
▼B
COMMISSIONDECISION
of15May2000
approvingthesingleprogrammingdocumentforCommunitystruc-
tural assistance under Objective 1 in the region of Hainaut in
Belgium
(notified under document number C(2000) 1222)
(OnlytheFrenchandDutchtextsareauthentic)
(2002/320/EC)
THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,
Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 1260/1999 of 21 June
1999 laying down general provisions on the Structural Funds(1), and
in particular Article 15(5) thereof,
After consulting the Committee on the Development and Conversion of
Regions, the Committee pursuant to Article 147 of the Treaty, theCommittee on Agricultural Structures and Rural Development and the
Committee on Structures for Fisheries and Aquaculture,
Whereas:
(1)Articles 13 and following of Title II of Regulation (EC) No
1260/1999 lay down the procedure for preparing and imple-menting single programming documents.
(2)Article 15(1) and (2) of Regulation (EC) No 1260/1999 providesthat, after consultation with the partners referred to in Article 8of the Regulation, the Member State may submit to the Commis-sion a development plan which is treated as a draft Single
Programming Document, and which contains the information
referred to in Article 16 of the Regulation
(3)Under Article 15(5) of Regulation (EC) No 1260/1999, on the
basis of the regional development plan submitted by the Member
State and within the partnership established in accordance withArticle 8 of that Regulation, the Commission is to take a deci-sion on the single programming document, in agreement withthe Member State concerned and in accordance with the proce-dures laid down in Articles 48 to 51.
(4)The Belgian Government submitted to the Commission on 7December 1999 an acceptable draft Single Programming Docu-ment for the province of Hainaut qualifying for transitionalsupport under Objective 1 pursuant to Article 6(1) of Regulation
(EC) No 1260/1999. The draft contains the information listed in
Article 16 of the Regulation, and in particular a description ofthe priorities selected and an indication of the financial contribu-tion from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF),the European Social Fund (ESF), the European Agricultural
Guidance and Guarantee Fund (EAGGF), Guidance Section,
and the Financial Instrument for Fisheries Guidance (FIFG).
(5)The date of submission of the draft which was considered accep-table by the Commission constitutes the date from which
expenditure under the plan is eligible. Under Article 30 of the
Regulation, it is necessary to lay down the final date for the elig-ibility of expenditure.
(6)The rural development measures to be financed by the EAGGF
are governed, in particular as regards their compatibility and
consistency with common agricultural policy measures, byCouncil Regulation (EC) No 1257/1999 of 17 May 1999 on2002D0320 — EN — 08.05.2002 — 000.001 — 2
(1) OJ L 161, 26.6.1999, p. 1.
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support for rural development from the European Agricultural
Guidance and Guarantee Fund (EAGGF)(1).
(7)The single programming document has been drawn up in agree-ment with the Member State concerned and within thepartnership.
(8)The Commission has satisfied itself that the Single ProgrammingDocument is in accordance with the principle of additionality.
(9)Under Article 10 of Regulation (EC) No 1260/1999, theCommission and the Member State are required to ensure, in amanner consistent with the principle of partnership, coordinationbetween assistance from the Funds and from the EIB and otherexisting Financial Instruments.
(10)The EIB has been involved in drawing upthe single p rogram-ming document in accordance with the provisions of Article15(5) of Regulation (EC) No 1260/1999 and has declared itselfprepared to contribute to its implementation with the estimatedloan amounts indicated in this Decision and in conformity with
its statutory provisions.
(11)The financial contribution from the Community available over
the entire period and its year-by-year breakdown are expressedin euro. The annual breakdown should be consistent with therelevant financial perspective. Under Article 7(7) of Regulation
(EC) No 1260/1999, the Community contribution has already
been indexed at a rate of 2 % per year. Under Article 7(7) andArticle 44(2) of the Regulation, the Community contributionmay be reviewed at mid-term, and not later than 31 March2004, to take account of the effective level of inflation and the
allocation of the performance reserve.
(12)Provision should be made for adapting the financial allocations
of the priorities of this single programming document withincertain limits to actual requirements reflected by the pattern ofimplementation on the ground, in agreement with the Member
State concerned,
HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:
Article 1
The single programming document for Community structural assistance
under Objective 1 in the region of Hainaut qualifying for transitionalsupport under Objective 1 in Belgium for the period 1 January 2000to 31 December 2006 is hereby approved.
Article 2
1. In accordance with Article 19 of Regulation (EC) No 1260/1999,
the single programming document includes the following elements:
(a) the strategy and priorities for the joint action of the Structural
Funds and the Member State; their specific quantified targets; theex anteevaluation of the expected impact, including on the envir-
onmental situation, and the consistency of the priorities with the
economic, social and regional policies and the employment strategy
of Belgium. The priorities are as follows:
1. creating growth centres by developing the productive base;
2. creating growth centres through the knowledge economy;3. developing the potential of agriculture, forestry, aquaculture and
the countryside;
4. increasing the attractiveness of the area through restoration and
image-promotion;2002D0320 — EN — 08.05.2002 — 000.001 — 3
(1) OJ L 160, 26.6.1999, p. 80.
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5. a preventative approach to the labour market;
6. improving reintegration into working life and social inclusion;7. technical assistance;
(b) a summary description of the measures planned to implement the
priorities, including the information needed to check compliancewith the State aid rules under Article 87 of the Treaty;
(c) the indicative financing plan specifying for each priority and each
year the financial allocation envisaged for the contribution fromeach Fund and the total amounts of eligible public or equivalent
expenditure and estimated private funding in the Member State.
The total contribution from the Funds planned for each year forthe single programming document is consistent with the relevantfinancial perspective;
(d) the provisions for implementing the single programming document
including designation of the managing authority, a description of
the arrangements for managing the single programming document
and the use to be made of global grants, a description of thesystems for monitoring and evaluation, including the role of theMonitoring Committee and the arrangements for the participationof the partners in that Committee;
(e) the ex anteverification of compliance with additionality and infor-
mation on the transparency of financial flows;
(f) information on the resources required for preparing, monitoring and
evaluating the assistance.
2. The indicative financing plan puts the total cost of the priorities
selected for the joint action by the Community and the Member Stateat EUR 2 221740000 for the whole period and the financial contribu-tion from the Structural Funds at EUR 645000000.
The resulting requirement for national resources of EUR 657300000
from the public sector and EUR 919 440000 from the private sectorcan be partly met by Community loans from the European Investment
Bank and other lending instruments.
Article 3
1. The total assistance from the Structural Funds granted under the
single programming document amounts to EUR 645000 000. Theprocedure for granting the financial assistance, including the financialcontribution from the Funds for the various priorities included in the
Single Programming Document, is set out in the financing plan
annexed to this Decision.
2. The indicative planned breakdown among the Structural Funds of
the total Community contribution is as follows:
ERDF EUR 409789200
ESF EUR 191903797EAGGF, Guidance Section EUR 41 571749FIFG EUR 1 735254
3. During implementation of the financing plan, the total cost or
Community financing of a given priority may be adjusted in agreementwith the Member State by upto 25 % of the total Community contribu-
tion to the single programming document throughout the programme
period, up to a maximum of EUR 60 million, without altering the totalCommunity contribution referred to in paragraph 1.
Article 4
This Decision is without prejudice to the Commission's position on aid
schemes falling within Article 87(1) of the Treaty that are included in2002D0320 — EN — 08.05.2002 — 000.001 — 4
▼M1
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this assistance and which it has not yet approved. Submission of the
application for assistance, the programme complement or a request forpayment by the Member State does not replace the notification required
by Article 88(3) of the Treaty.
Community financing of state aid falling within Article 87(1) of the
Treaty, granted under aid schemes or in individual cases, requires priorapproval by the Commission under Article 88 of the Treaty, exceptwhere the aid falls under the de minimis rule or is exempted under an
exemption regulation adopted by the Commission under Council Regu-
lation (EC) No 994/98 of 7 May 1998 on the application of Articles 87
and 88 to certain categories of horizontal State aid(
1). In the absence of
such exemption or approval, aid is illegal and subject to the conse-quences set out in the procedural regulation for State aid, and its part-financing would be treated as an irregularity within the meaning ofArticles 38 and 39 of Regulation (EC) No 1260/1999. Consequently,
the Commission will not accept requests for interim and final payments
under Article 32 of the Regulation for measures being part-financedwith new or altered aid, as defined in the procedural regulation forState aid, granted under aid schemes or in individual cases, until suchaid has been notified to and formally approved by the Commission.
Consequently, the Commission will not accept requests for interim and
final payments under Article 32 of the Regulation for measures being
part-financed with new or altered aid, as defined in the proceduralregulation for State aid, granted under aid schemes or in individualcases, until such aid has been notified to and formally approved bythe Commission.
By way of derogation from the preceding paragraphs, Articles 51 and
52 of Regulation (EC) No 1257/1999 shall apply in the context of rural
development part-financed by the EAGGF.
Article 5
The date from which expenditure shall be eligible is 7 December 1999.
The closing date for the eligibility of expenditure shall be 31 December2008. This date is extended to 30 April 2009 for expenditure incurredby bodies granting assistance under Article 9(l) of Regulation (EC) No1260/1999.
Article 6
This Decision is addressed to the Kingdom of Belgium.2002D0320 — EN — 08.05.2002 — 000.001 — 5
(1) OJ L 142, 14.5.1998, p. 1.