2000R2667 — EN — 01.10.2003 — 002.001 — 1
This document is meant purely as a documentation tool and the institutions do not assume any liability for its contents
►B COUNCILREGULATION(EC)No2667/2000
of5December 2000
ontheEuropeanAgencyforReconstruction
(OJ L 306, 7.12.2000, p. 7)
Amended by:
Official Journal
No page date
►M1Council Regulation (EC) No 2415/2001 of 10 December 2001 L 327 3 12.12.2001
►M2Council Regulation (EC) No 1646/2003 of 18 June 2003 L 245 16 29.9.2003
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COUNCILREGULATION(EC)No2667/2000
of5December 2000
ontheEuropeanAgencyforReconstruction
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and
in particular Article 308 thereof,
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,Having regard to the Opinion of the European Parliament (
1),
Whereas:
(1)Assistance for Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, the
Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and the former YugoslavRepublic of Macedonia has been implemented essentially underRegulation (EC) No 1628/96 (
2) and under Council Regulation
(EC) No 3906/89 of 18 December 1989 on economic aid to
certain countries of Central and Eastern Europe (3).
(2)Regulation (EC) No 1628/96, established the European Agency
for Reconstruction.
(3)The Council adopted Regulation (EC) No 2666/2000 (4), which
lays down a single legal framework for Community assistanceto those countries and repeals Regulation (EC) No 1628/96.
(4)The provisions governing the establishment and operation of theEuropean Agency for Reconstruction should therefore be adaptedto Regulation (EC) No 2666/2000 and incorporated in a newRegulation, and the appropriate changes made at the same time.
(5)The Feira European Council of 19 and 20 June 2000 emphasisedthat the European Agency for Reconstruction, as an authorityimplementing the future CARDS programme, should be allowedto use its full potential in order to achieve the goals set by theCologne European Council of 3 and 4 June 1999.
(6)The Treaty does not provide, for the adoption of this Regulation,powers other than those under Article 308,
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:
Article 1
1. The Commission may delegate the following tasks to an Agency:
(i) implementation of Community assistance provided for in Article 1
of the Regulation (EC) No 2666/2000 to the Federal Republic ofYugoslavia and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia;
(ii) implementation of Community assistance decided by the Commis-
sion on the basis of other available instruments for the countriesconcerned. In such cases this shall be done in accordance with theprovisions of the relevant Regulations and Article 2(1)(b) and (c),Article 2(2), (3) and (4), Article 4 and Article 5(1)(a) to (c) and (h)
of this Regulation shall not apply.
2. The European Agency for Reconstruction, hereinafter referred to
as the ‘Agency’, shall be set up to that end with the aim of imple-menting the Community assistance referred to in paragraph 1.2000R2667 — EN — 01.10.2003 — 002.001 — 2
(1) Opinion delivered 15.11.2000 (Not yet published in the Official Journal).
(2) OJ L 204, 14.8.1996, p. 1. Regulation as amended by Regulation (EC) No
2454/1999 (OJ L 299, 20.11.1999, p. 1).
(3) OJ L 375, 23.12.1989, P. 11. Regulation as last amended by Regulation
(EC) No 1266/1999 (OJ L 161, 26.6.1999, p. 68).
(4) See page 1 of this Official Journal.▼M1
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Article 2
1. To achieve the objective laid down in the second subparagraph of
Article 1, the Agency shall carry out the following tasks, within thelimits of its powers and in accordance with the decisions taken by theCommission:
(a) gathering, analysing and communicating information to the
Commission on:
(i) damage, the requirements for reconstruction and the return of
refugees and displaced persons, and related initiatives taken bygovernments, local or regional authorities and the internationalcommunity;
(ii) the urgent requirements of the communities concerned, taking
account of the various population displacements and the possi-
bilities for the return of those displaced;
(iii) the priority sectors and geographical areas requiring urgent
assistance from the international community;
(b) preparing draft programmes for the reconstruction of the
►
M1Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and of the Former Yugoslav
Republic of Macedonia ◄and the return of refugees and displaced
persons in accordance withguidelines provided by th e Commis-
sion;
(c) implementing the Community assistance referred to in Article 1,
wherever possible in cooperation with the local population andwhere necessary by drawing on the services of operators selectedby tender. The Commission may accordingly make the Agencyresponsible for all operations required to implement the
programmes referred to in (b), including:
(i) drawing up terms of reference;
(ii) preparing and evaluating invitations to tender;
(iii) signing contracts;
(iv) concluding financing agreements;
(v) awarding contracts, in accordance with the provisions of this
Regulation;
(vi) evaluating draft programmes referred to in (b);
(vii) checking implementation of the draft programmes referred to
in (b);
(viii) effecting payments.
2. The Board of Management referred to in Article 4 shall be kept
informed on the implementation of the tasks listed in paragraph 1. Itshall where necessary adopt recommendations which shall be commu-
nicated to the Commission and brought to the attention of the CARDS
Committee set up by Article 10 of Regulation (EC) No 2666/2000.
3. Without prejudice to any operations cofinanced in the framework
of the responsibilities entrusted to the Agency under Article 1, the
Agency may implement reconstruction programmes, programmes for
the restoration of civil society and the rule of law and programmesproviding aid for the return of refugees and displaced persons whichthe Member States and other donors entrust to it, inter alia under the
arrangements for cooperation established by the Commission with theWorld Bank, international financial institutions and the European
Investment Bank (EIB).
Such implementation shall be subject to the following conditions:
(a) the financing must be provided in full by the other donors;
(b) the financing must cover any associated administrative costs;2000R2667 — EN — 01.10.2003 — 002.001 — 3
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(c) the duration thereof must be compatible with the deadline for
winding up the Agency set in Article 14.
4. The Commission may also entrust the Agency with following up
(including monitoring, evaluation and auditing) decisions regardingsupport for the United Nations Interim Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK)taken within the framework of Regulation (EC) No 1080/2000 (
1).
Article 3
The Agency shall have legal personality. It shall enjoy in each of the
Member States the most extensive legal capacity accorded to legalpersons under their laws. It may, in particular, acquire or dispose ofmovable and immovable property and be a party to legal proceedings.The Agency shall be non-profit-making.
The Agency may establish operational centres with a considerable
degree of management autonomy.
The Agency's general services shall be located at its seat in Thessalo-
niki.
Article 4
1. The Agency shall have a Governing Board composed of one
representative from eachMember State and two representatives of th eCommission.
2. The Member State representatives shall be appointed by the
Member State concerned, paying due regard to experience and qualifi-
cations relevant to the Agency's activities.
3. The term of office of representatives shall be thirty months.4. The Governing Board shall be chaired by a Commission represen-
tative. The Chairman shall not vote.
5. The EIB shall appoint a non-voting observer.6. The Governing Board shall adopt its rules of procedure.7. The Commission and Member State representatives on the
Governing Board shall each have one vote.
Governing Board decisions shall be adopted by a two-thirds majority.8. The Governing Board shall determine by unanimous decision the
rules governing the languages used by the Agency.
9. The Governing Board shall be convened by the Chairman when-
ever necessary, and at least once every three months. It shall also beconvened at the request of the Agency's Director or at least a simplemajority of its members.
10. The Governing Board shall be kept informed by the Director of
the strategy framework, the multiannual programme and the annualaction programme referred to in Article 3(1) of Regulation (EC) No2666/2000, which shall include Community assistance to the►
M1Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and to the Former Yugoslav
Republic of Macedonia ◄as well as the list of projects to be imple-
mented.
11. The Director shall regularly report to the Governing Board on
the progress of implementation of projects. The Governing Board maythen approve recommendations concerning:
(a) conditions for implementation and proper execution of projects
(b) possible adjustments to projects currently being executed
(c) individual projects which may be particularly sensitive.
12. The Director shall regularly report to the Governing Board on
the functioning and activities of the operational centres set up in accor-2000R2667 — EN — 01.10.2003 — 002.001 — 4
(1) OJ L 122, 24.5.2000, p. 27.
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dance withArticle 3. Th e Governing Board may approve recommenda-
tions to this effect.
13. On a proposal from the Director, the Governing Board shall
decide on:
(a) arrangements for evaluating the implementation and proper execu-
tion of projects;
(b) proposals for programmes by the other donors referred to in Article
2(3) for possible implementation by the Agency;
(c) setting the multiannual contractual framework with the provisional
authority responsible for the administration of Kosovo, for imple-
mentation of the Community assistance referred to in Article 1(3)
of Regulation (EC) No 2666/2000;
(d) whether representatives of the countries and organisations dele-
gating implementation of their programmes to the Agency should
be present as observers on the Governing Board;
(e) the establishment of new operational centres in accordance with the
second subparagraphof Article 3.
14. The Governing Board shall adopt the annual report on the
Agency's activities and forward it by 15 June at the latest to theEuropean Parliament, the Council, the Commission and the Court ofAuditors.
15. The Agency shall forward annually to the budgetary authority
any information relevant to the outcome of the evaluation procedures.
Article 5
1. The Director of the Agency shall be appointed by the Governing
Board on a proposal from the Commission for a term of office of thirtymonths. The term of office may be terminated by the same procedure.
The Director shall be responsible for:
(a) preparing the draft annual action programme referred to in Article
4(1)(b) of Regulation (EC) No 2666/2000 and its implementation;
(b) preparation and organisation of the work of the Governing Board
and regularly informing the Board;
(c) informing the Governing Board of invitations to tender, procure-
ment and contracts;
(d) day-to-day administration of the Agency;
(e) preparation of the draft statement of estimates of the Agency's
revenue and expenditure, and execution of the Agency's budget;
(f) preparation and publication of the reports specified in this Regula-
tion;
(g) all staff matters;
(h) implementation of the Governing Board's decisions and guidelines
laid down for the Agency's activities.
2. The Director shall be accountable to the Governing Board for his
activities and shall attend its meetings.
3. The Director shall be the legal representative of the Agency.4. The Director shall hold the power of Appointing Authority.5. The Director shall present a quarterly activity report to the
European Parliament.
Article 6
1. Estimates of all the Agency's revenue and expenditure shall be
prepared for each financial year, which shall correspond to the calendar2000R2667 — EN — 01.10.2003 — 002.001 — 5
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year, and shall be shown in the Agency's budget, which shall include
an establishment plan.
2. The revenue and expenditure shown in the Agency budget shall
be in balance.
3. The Agency's revenue shall comprise, without prejudice to other
types of income, a subsidy from the general budget of the EuropeanUnion, payments made as remuneration for services performed and
funding from other sources.
4. The budget shall also include details of any funds made available
by the recipient countries themselves for projects receiving financialassistance from the Agency.
Article 7
1. Each year, the Governing Board, on the basis of a draft drawn up
by the Director, shall produce an estimate of revenue and expenditure
for the Agency for the following financial year. This estimate, which
shall include a draft establishment plan, shall be forwarded by theGoverning Board to the Commission by 31 March at the latest.
2. The estimate shall be forwarded by the Commission to the
European Parliament and the Council (hereinafter referred to as the
budgetary authority) together with the preliminary draft general budgetof the European Union.
3. The Commission shall examine the estimate, taking account of
the priorities it has agreed and the overall financial guidelines for
Community assistance for the reconstruction of Serbia and Montenegro
and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.
It shall establish on this basis, within the proposed limits of the overall
amount to be made available for Community assistance to Serbia andMontenegro and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, the
indicative annual contribution for the budget of the Agency.
4. On the basis of the estimate, the Commission shall enter in the
preliminary draft general budget of the European Union the estimatesit deems necessary for the establishment plan and the amount of thesubsidy to be charged to the general budget, which it shall place before
the budgetary authority in accordance with Article 272 of the Treaty.
5. The budgetary authority shall authorise the appropriations for the
subsidy to the Agency.
The budgetary authority shall adopt the establishment plan for the
Agency.
6. The budget of the Agency shall be adopted by the Governing
Board. It shall become final following final adoption of the generalbudget of the European Union. Where appropriate, it shall be adjusted
accordingly.
7. The Governing Board shall, as soon as possible, notify the
budgetary authority of its intention to implement any project whichmay have significant financial implications for the funding of itsbudget, in particular any projects relating to property suchas th e rental
or purchase of buildings. It shall inform the Commission thereof.
Where a branch of the budgetary authority has notified its intention to
deliver an opinion, it shall forward its opinion to the Governing Boardwithin a period of six weeks from the date of notification of theproject.
8. In the interests of budgetary transparency, funds from sources
other than the general budget of the European Union shall be shownseparately in the Agency's revenue. In the expenditure, administrativeand staff costs shall be clearly separate from operating costs for theprogrammes referred to in the first indent of Article 2(3).2000R2667 — EN — 01.10.2003 — 002.001 — 6
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Article 8
1. The Director shall implement the budget of the Agency.2. By 1 March at the latest following each financial year, the
Agency's accounting officer shall communicate the provisional
accounts to the Commission's accounting officer together with a reporton the budgetary and financial management for that financial year. TheCommission's accounting officer shall consolidate the provisionalaccounts of the institutions and decentralised bodies in accordance
withArticle 128 of th e general Financial Regulation.
3. By 31 March at the latest following each financial year, the
Commission's accounting officer shall forward the Agency's provisionalaccounts to the Court of Auditors, together with a report on thebudgetary and financial management for that financial year. The reporton the budgetary and financial management for the financial year shall
also be forwarded to the European Parliament and the Council.
4. On receipt of the Court of Auditors' observations on the Agency's
provisional accounts, pursuant to Article 129 of the general FinancialRegulation, the Director shall draw up the Agency's final accountsunder his own responsibility and submit them to the Governing Boardfor an opinion.
5. The Director shall, by 1 July at the latest following each financial
year, forward the final accounts to the European Parliament, theCouncil, the Commission and the Court of Auditors, together with theGoverning Board's opinion.
6. The Governing Board shall deliver an opinion on the Agency's
final accounts.
7. The final accounts shall be published.8. The Director shall send the Court of Auditors a reply to its obser-
vations by 30 September at the latest. He shall also send this reply tothe Governing Board.
9. The Director shall submit to the European Parliament, at the
latter's request, any information required for the smooth application of
the discharge procedure for the financial year in question, as laid downin Article 146(3) of the general Financial Regulation.
10. The European Parliament, on a recommendation from the
Council acting by a qualified majority, shall, before 30 April of yearN + 2, give a discharge to the Director in respect of the implementation
of the budget for year N.
Article 9
The financial rules applicable to the Agency shall be adopted by the
Governing Board after the Commission has been consulted. They maynot depart from Commission Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 2343/2002of 19 November 2002 on the framework Financial Regulation for the
bodies referred to in Article 185 of Council Regulation (EC, Euratom)
No 1605/2002 on the Financial Regulation applicable to the generalbudget of the European Communities (
1) unless specifically required
for the Agency's operation and with the Commission's prior consent.
Article 10
The Agency's staff shall be subject to the rules and regulations applic-
able to officials and other servants of the European Communities. TheGoverning Board, in agreement with the Commission, shall adopt thenecessary implementing rules.
The Agency's staff shall consist of a strictly limited number of officials
assigned or seconded by the Commission or Member States to carry2000R2667 — EN — 01.10.2003 — 002.001 — 7
(1) OJ L 357, 31.12.2002, p. 72. Corrigendum in OJ L 2, 7.1.2003, p. 39.▼B
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out management duties. The remaining staff shall consist of other
employees recruited by the Agency for a period strictly limited to itsrequirements.
Article 11
The translation services necessary for the operation of the Agency
shall, as a rule, be provided by the Translation Centre of the bodies ofthe European Union.
Article 12
The Governing Board shall decide on the Agency's accession to the
Interinstitutional Agreement on internal investigations by the EuropeanAnti-Fraud Office (OLAF). It shall adopt the provisions necessary forthe conduct of internal investigations by OLAF.
Financing decisions and any implementing instrument or contract
arising therefrom shall expressly provide that the Court of Auditorsand OLAF may, if necessary, carry out on-the-spot checks on recipi-
ents of Agency funds and on the intermediaries distributing them.
Article 13
1. The contractual liability of the Agency shall be governed by the
law applicable to the contract in question.
2. In the case of non-contractual liability, the Agency shall, in
accordance with the general principles common to laws of the MemberStates, make good any damage caused by the Agency or its servants in
the performance of their duties.
The Court of Justice shall have jurisdiction in disputes relating to
compensation for any suchdamage.
3. The personal liability of servants towards the Agency shall be
governed by the relevant provisions applying to the staff of the
Agency.
Article 13a
1. Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 of the European Parliament and
of the Council of 30 May 2001 regarding public access to EuropeanParliament, Council and Commission documents (
1) shall apply to
documents held by the Agency.
2. The Governing Board shall adopt the arrangements for imple-
menting Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 within six months of entry
into force of Council Regulation (EC) No 1646/2003 of 18 June 2003amending Regulation (EC) No 2667/2000 on the European Agency forReconstruction (
2).
3. Decisions taken by the Agency pursuant to Article 8 of Regula-
tion (EC) No 1049/2001 may form the subject of a complaint to theOmbudsman or of an action before the Court of Justice, under theconditions laid down in Articles 195 and 230 of the Treaty respec-
tively.
Article 14
Once the Commission considers that the Agency has fulfilled the
mandate described in Article 1, it shall submit to the Council aproposal for the winding up of the Agency. In any event, on 30 June
2004 at the latest, the Commission shall submit to the Council an
evaluation report on the application of this Regulation and a proposalon the status of the Agency.2000R2667 — EN — 01.10.2003 — 002.001 — 8
(1) OJ L 145, 31.5.2001, p. 43.
(2) OJ L 245, 29.9.2003, p. 16.▼M2
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Article 15
The Commission may delegate to the Agency the execution of the
Community assistance decided upon for the ►M1Federal Republic
of Yugoslavia and for the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia ◄
under Regulation (EC) No 1628/96.
Article 16
This Regulation shall enter into force on the day of its publication in
theOfficial Journal of the European Communities .
It shall apply until 31 December 2004.
This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable
in all Member States.2000R2667 — EN — 01.10.2003 — 002.001 — 9