2002D0466 — EN — 30.04.2004 — 001.001 — 1
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►B DECISION No 466/2002/EC OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL
of 1 March 2002
laying down a Community action programme promoting non-governmental organisations
primarily active in the field of environmental protection
(OJ L 75, 16.3.2002, p. 1)
Amended by:
Official Journal
No page date
►M1Decision No 786/2004/EC of the European Parliament and of the
Council of 21 April 2004L 138 7 30.4.2004
▼B
DECISION No 466/2002/EC OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIA-
MENT AND OF THE COUNCIL
of 1 March 2002
laying down a Community action programme promoting non-
governmental organisations primarily active in the field of environ-
mental protection
THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE
EUROPEAN UNION,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and
in particular Article 175(1) thereof,
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission (1),
Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social
Committee (2),
Following consultation of the Committee of the Regions,Acting in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 251 of
the Treaty (
3),
Whereas:
(1)The Treaty provides for the development and the implementation
of a Community environment policy and sets out the objectivesand principles which guide that policy.
(2)The Action Programme introduced by Council Decision 97/872/EC of 16 December 1997 on a Community action programmepromoting non-governmental organisations primarily active inthe field of environmental protection (
4) comes to an end on 31
December 2001. The Programme has been evaluated by the
Commission and present and previous beneficiaries, revealing astrong support for its renewal or revision.
(3)The Sixth Environment Action Programme recognises the need
for empowering citizens, and the measures proposed include
extensive and wide-ranging dialogue with stakeholders in envir-onmental policy-making. In order to make it possible for non-governmental organisations (hereinafter referred to as ‘NGOs’)to take part in such a dialogue, the Sixth Environment ActionProgramme envisages the need for appropriate support, including
Community finance, to NGOs.
(4)NGOs active in the field of environmental protection have
already demonstrated that they can contribute to the environmentpolicy of the Community, as laid down in Article 174 of the
Treaty, by active involvement in concrete environmental protec-
tion measures and in activities to increase the general awarenessof the need for the protection of the environment with a view tosustainable development. NGOs also active in the field of animalprotection, provided that such activities serve to achieve environ-
mental protection objectives, may also participate in this
Programme.
(5)NGOs are essential to coordinate and channel to the Commissioninformation and views on the new and emerging perspectives,
such as on nature protection and transboundary environmental
problems, which cannot be, or are not being, fully dealt with atthe Member State or subordinate level. NGOs have good under-2002D0466 — EN — 30.04.2004 — 001.001 — 2
(1) OJ C 270 E, 25.9.2001, p. 125.
(2) Opinion delivered on 18 October 2001 (not yet published in the Official
Journal).
(3) Opinion of the European Parliament of 23 October 2001 (not yet published
in the Official Journal), Council Common Position of 6 December 2001 (not
yet published in the Official Journal) and Decision of the European Parlia-
ment of 16 January 2002 (not yet published in the Official Journal).
(4) OJ L 354, 30.12.1997, p. 25.
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standing of public concerns on the environment and can thus
promote these views and channel them back to the Commission.
(6)Environmental NGOs participate in experts groups, in prepara-tory and implementation committees of the Communityinstitutions, providing important input to Community policies,programmes and initiatives and necessary balance in relation to
the interests of other actors in the environment, including
industry/business, trade unions and consumer groups.
(7)NGOs with a capacity to stimulate exchange of perspectives,problems and possible solutions and to implement relevant activ-
ities related to environmental problems with a Community
dimension, involving stakeholders at national, regional and locallevel, should be promoted. For this purpose only NGOs andNGO networks active at a European level will be targeted.
(8)The geographical expansion of the Programme is necessary inorder to include Candidate Countries' NGOs in the light of theirimportance in gaining public acceptance for the environmental‘acquis’ and strengthening its implementation.
(9)In the light of the experience gained in the first three years ofimplementation of this Decision, an assessment of the operationof the Programme should be undertaken in order to decide on itscontinuation.
(10)The annual appropriations should be decided upon by thebudgetary authority in the budgetary procedure.
(11)This Decision lays down, for the entire duration of theProgramme, a financial framework constituting the prime refer-
ence, within the meaning of point 33 of the Interinstitutional
Agreement of 6 May 1999 between the European Parliament,the Council and the Commission on budgetary discipline andimprovement of the budgetary procedure (
1), for the budgetary
authority during the annual budgetary procedure,
HAVE DECIDED AS FOLLOWS:
Article 1
1. A Community action programme promoting non-governmental
organisations (NGOs) primarily active in the field of environmentalprotection is hereby established.
2. The general objective of this Programme shall be to promote
NGOs which are primarily active in the field of environmental protec-
tion and enhancement at a European level. Such activities shouldinvolve contributing, or being able to contribute, to the developmentand implementation of Community environmental policy and legisla-tion in different regions of Europe.
3. The Programme shall also promote the systematic involvement of
NGOs at all stages of the Community environmental policy-making
process, by ensuring relevant representation in stakeholder consultation
meetings and public hearings. The Programme shall also contribute tothe strengthening of small regional or local associations working toapply the acquis communautaire in relation to the environment and
sustainable development in their local area.
Article 2
In order to qualify for a grant, an NGO shall have the following char-
acteristics and comply with the Annex:
(a) it must be an independent and non-profit-making legal person
primarily active in the field of environmental protection and2002D0466 — EN — 30.04.2004 — 001.001 — 3
(1) OJ C 172, 18.6.1999, p. 1.
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enhancement with an environmental objective aimed at the public
good and with a view to sustainable development;
(b) it must be active at a European level, either singly or in the form of
several coordinated associations with a structure (membershipbase)
and activities covering at least three European countries. However,
coverage of two European countries is acceptable, provided that theprimary objective of the activities is to support the developmentand implementation of Community environmental policy, asdetailed in Article 1(2) and (3);
(c) its activities must meet, in particular, the principles underlying the
Sixth Environment Action Programme and be in line with the
priority areas identified in Article 5;
(d) it must have been legally constituted for more than two years and
have had its annual statement of accounts for the two preceding
years certified by a registered auditor. In cases of exceptionalcircumstances, the Commission may grant a derogation from thesetwo requirements, provided that to do so would not compromise theprotection of Community financial interests.
Article 3
The Programme shall be open to the participation of European NGOs
established in either:
(a) the Member States;
(b) the Associated Countries (
1) in accordance with the conditions
established in the respective Europe Agreements, in the additionalprotocols thereto and in the decisions of the respective AssociationCouncils;
(c) Cyprus, Malta or Turkey in accordance with conditions and proce-
dures to be agreed with those countries; or
(d) the Balkan countries forming part of the Stabilisation and Associa-
tion process for countries of South-Eastern Europe (
2) in accordance
with conditions and procedures to be agreed with those countries.
Article 4
1. The Commission shall publish a Call for Proposals in the Official
Journal of the European Communities by 30 September each year, for
grants in the following calendar year. In addition, the Commission shalluse other appropriate means available to make the programme knownto potential beneficiaries, including the electronic media.
2. The Call for Proposals shall include an information package and
set out the eligibility, selection and award criteria (including details ofthe proposed weighting system) and the application, assessment andapproval procedure.
3. After assessing the proposals, the Commission shall decide which
organisations are to receive financing in the following year, by 31December each year, save for a delay in the adoption of the Commu-nity budget. The decision shall give rise to an agreement between theCommission and the beneficiary, fixing the maximum amount of the
grant, the methods of payment, the control and monitoring measures
and the objectives to be achieved by the grant. Payments shall bemade immediately.
Article 5
1. Given the importance of sustainable development and the health
and quality of life of European citizens, support from this Programme2002D0466 — EN — 30.04.2004 — 001.001 — 4
(1) Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland,
Romania, the Slovak Republic and Slovenia.
(2) Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Albania, Federal Republic of
Yugoslavia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, and Croatia.
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shall target in particular the priority areas from the Sixth Environment
Action Programme, grouped under four main headings as follows:
(a) limiting climate change;
(b) nature and bio-diversity — protecting a unique resource;
(c) health and environment;
(d) ensuring the sustainable management of natural resources and
waste.
The Sixth Environment Action Programme will be subject to a review
in the fourth year of operation and revised and updated, as necessary,
to take account of new developments and information.
In addition to the abovementioned areas, environmental education and
implementation and enforcement of Community environmental legisla-tion shall also be priorities.
2. The selection and award process shall be carried out in four steps,
as detailed in A of the Annex.
Article 6
1. A grant shall not exceed 70 % of the applicant's average audited
annual eligible expenses during the preceding two years, in the case ofNGOs based in the Community, or 80 % in the case of NGOs based in
the candidate countries and the Balkan countries, nor 80 % of the
applicant's eligible expenses for the current year.
The amount shall be determined annually according to a fixed
weighting system, which takes into account the score values resulting
from the assessment referred to in Article 5(2) and described in A of
the Annex and the principles as outlined in C of the Annex.
2. A beneficiary under this Programme shall be free to use the grant
to cover its eligible expenses as it deems appropriate, over the grant
year. All expenses incurred by the beneficiary during the grant year
shall be considered eligible, except for those specified in section 2 ofD of the Annex. Beneficiaries may also disburse funds to partners ormember organisations in accordance with details specified in theapproved work programme.
3. The amount of the grant shall become final only once the audited
financial statement has been accepted by the Commission, ensuring thatCommunity funds have been used in accordance with the relevantprovisions of the Financial Regulation of 21 December 1977 applicable
to the general budget of the European Communities (
1).
The final payment shall be reduced accordingly if the total of Commu-
nity grants, from this and any other programmes, exceeds 80 % of theaudited eligible expenses of the beneficiary for the year.
4. Moreover, if the audited financial statement of the grant year
shows that the total revenues of the beneficiary, save revenues regu-larly earmarked for ineligible expenses, exceed the eligible expenses,
the final payment shall be reduced or, if necessary, the excess amount
shall be recovered accordingly. Pursuant to Article 256 of the Treaty,recovery orders shall be enforceable.
5. In order to ensure the effectiveness of the grants to environmental
NGOs, the Commission shall take the necessary measures to verify that
a selected organisation still satisfies the requirements for beingawarded the grant throughout the grant year. In particular, a systematicscheme to monitor the beneficiaries' performance during the grant year,as well as an ex-post performance evaluation, shall be put in place.
6. The Commission shall provide unsuccessful applicants with
reasons for the failure of the NGO to meet the requirements, giving2002D0466 — EN — 30.04.2004 — 001.001 — 5
(1) OJ L 356, 31.12.1977, p. 1. Regulation as last amended by Regulation (EC)
No 762/2001 (OJ L 111, 20.4.2001, p. 1).
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sufficient explanation to enable them to identify reforms needed before
making new applications.
Article 7
1. This Programme shall start on 1 January 2002 and end on 31
December 2006.
2. The financial framework for the implementation of this
Programme for the period 2002 to 2006 is hereby set at EUR 34,3
million.
3. The annual appropriations shall be authorised by the budgetary
authority within the limits of the financial perspective.
Article 8
1. In order to protect the Communities' financial interests against
fraud and other irregularities, the Commission may carry out on-the-
spot checks and inspections under this Programme in accordance withCouncil Regulation (Euratom, EC) No 2185/96 (
1). If appropriate, the
European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) shall carry out investigations,which shall be governed by Regulation (EC) No 1073/1999 of the
European Parliament and of the Council (
2).
2. The beneficiary of a grant shall keepavailable for the Commis-
sion all the supporting documents, including the audited financialstatement, regarding expenditure incurred during the grant year for a
period of five years following the last payment. The beneficiary of a
grant shall see to it that, where appropriate, supporting documents thatare in the hands of partners or members are available for the Commis-sion.
Article 9
1. Failure to meet expected results, as evidenced by obligatory
reports, may lead to ineligibility for funding under this Programme inthe following year. Repeated failure in two successive years shall resultin ineligibility for the remaining years of the programme.
2. If an NGO becomes the subject of a Commission recovery order
due to intentional irregularities, irregularities caused by negligence orfraud, it shall automatically be excluded from funding under theremaining years of the Programme.
3. If the Commission discovers irregularities, mismanagement or
fraud in relation to a grant, either by audits or on-the-spot checks, thebeneficiary shall be subject to one or several of the following adminis-trative measures and penalties in proportion to the severity of the case(and with a right to appeal against the decision):
(a) annulment of the grant;
(b) payment of a fine of up to 50 % of the amount of the recovery
order;
(c) exclusion from other Community funding opportunity, for the
remaining years of the Programme;
(d) exclusion from the relevant dialogue mechanisms of the Commis-
sion, for the remaining years of the Programme.
Article 10
A list of the beneficiaries to be financed under this Programme,
together with the amount allocated, shall be published each year intheOfficial Journal of the European Communities .2002D0466 — EN — 30.04.2004 — 001.001 — 6
(1) OJ L 292, 15.11.1996, p. 2.
(2) OJ L 136, 31.5.1999, p. 1.▼M1
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Article 11
The Commission shall provide a report to the Member States and the
European Parliament by 30 April each year on the process of allocating
grants for the current year, and outcomes from grants for the previous
year. The report shall include an explanation of how the Commissionhas selected beneficiaries for the current year. The Commission shallconvene a meeting of stakeholders to discuss this report by 30 Juneeach year.
By 31 December 2004 at the latest, the Commission shall submit a
report to the European Parliament and the Council on the achievement
of the objectives of this Programme during the first three years and
shall, if appropriate, make proposals for any adjustment to be madewith a view to continuing or not continuing the Programme. ThisReport shall be based on the reports concerning beneficiaries' perfor-mance and assess, in particular, their effectiveness in contributing to
the objectives stated in Article 1 and the Annex.
The European Parliament and the Council, in accordance with the
Treaty, shall decide on the continuation of the Programme as from 1January 2007. Before putting forward proposals to this end, theCommission shall conduct an external evaluation of the resultsachieved by the Programme.
Article 12
This Decision shall enter into force on the day following that of its
publication in the Official Journal of the European Communities .2002D0466 — EN — 30.04.2004 — 001.001 — 7
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ANNEX
A. THE FOUR STEPS OF THE SELECTION AND AWARD PROCESS
1. Elimination of applications which do not comply with the technical/
administrative requirements for submitting a request for funding under
this Programme. In particular, incomplete or insufficiently detailed appli-
cations, or applications which have not been filled in according to the
instructions given on the application form or which have been submitted
after the publicised deadline, shall be ineligible under this Programme.
2. Elimination of applications which do not comply with the eligibility
criteria as outlined in Articles 2 and 3.
3. Comparative assessment of the remaining eligible applications evaluated
against the following criteria, which are further specified in B:
(a) extent to which the application and, more specifically, the proposed
work programme meet the objectives of the Programme as described
in Article 1 and the priorities of the Programme as described in
Article 5;
(b) management and product quality;
(c) outreach, effectiveness and efficiency.
Comparative score values will be assigned to each retained applicant.
4. Fixing the set of applications, which will enter the award procedure by
retaining only those which have received score values above thresholds
defined by the Commission.
B. CHARACTERISTICS AGAINST WHICH APPLICANTS WILL BE
ASSESSED
Applicants having successfully passed the first two selection steps accounted
for in A shall be measured against the following criteria:
1.Extent to which the application meets the objectives of the
Programme
Characteristics of the applicant, including his proposed work programme,
which will be evaluated, shall include:
(a) Policy relevance (in relation to the Sixth Environment Action
programme, a new European Governance, Sustainable Development,
Enlargement, the Stabilisation and Association process for countries
of South-Eastern Europe, the development of the Euro-Mediterranean
Partnership, Integration, Gender Mainstreaming).
(b) Relevance and potential impact of involvement in Community envir-
onmental policy-shaping and implementation.
(c) Representational ability as to voicing the public's concerns from
different regions of Europe and as to feeding in these ideas and
proposals for the solution of environmental problems.
(d) Relevance in environment-awareness raising and knowledge-enhance-
ment activities, both in general and in relation to Community
environmental policies.
(e) Ability to: developnetworks between organisations in Member States
and in candidate countries; encourage cooperation with organisations
in the public and private sector; and attract part financing from
external sources.
For each of the abovementioned characteristics, consideration shall be
given to the strength of the applicant with regard to fulfilling the asso-
ciated NGO roles indicated in the examples given in D.
2.Management and product quality
Characteristics to be assessed shall include:
(a) Organisational structure, adequacy in staffing and management of
human resources.
(b) Internal decision-making process, relationship with members,
including arrangements to ensure involvement of membershipin
policy development and policy pronouncements.
(c) Strategic approach, goal-orientation and planning practices.
(d) Administration, budget control and financial management.2002D0466 — EN — 30.04.2004 — 001.001 — 8
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(e) Reporting practices (internal and external).
(f) Self-assessment and quality control, feedback of experience
(learning).
(g) Technical/scientific competence.
3.Outreach, effectiveness, efficiency
Characteristics to be assessed shall include:
(a) General visibility of the organisation and its activities.
(b) External relations and effectiveness (with other actors in the field of
the environment, such as local and regional authorities, business and
industry, consumer groups, trade unions, other NGOs and the general
public).
C. DETERMINATION OF GRANTS
The grant is calculated on the applicant's forecasted total eligible expenses
for the grant year, taking explicitly into account his average audited
expenses over the preceding two years, according to the following princi-
ples:
1. When all other parameters are equal, the grant amount for NGOs with
larger volumes of relevant activities (as measured by the average value
of their preceding two years' audited annual expenses and the forecasted
total eligible expenses for the grant year) will normally be higher than the
grant amounts for NGOs with smaller volumes of relevant activities.
However, the distribution will be made on a non-linear basis and so bene-
ficiaries with smaller volumes of relevant activities will receive a
relatively higher rate of support.
2. When all other parameters are equal, NGOs getting higher comparative
assessment scores will receive larger amounts than lower scoring appli-
cants.
3. When an NGO has requested a specified amount, under no circumstances
shall the grant awarded exceed that amount.
D. ELIGIBLE EXPENSES
1. All expenses incurred by the beneficiary during the grant year shall be
considered eligible except those listed in section 2. Eligible expenses
could include some of the following, illustrative, examples of activities:
(a) coordinating and channelling to the Commission information and
views, based on the concerns and opinions of the general public, on
new and emerging perspectives, which cannot be, or are not being,
fully dealt with at the Member State or appropriate level;
(b) preparatory work and research required for participation in experts
groups, in preparatory and implementation committees of the
Community institutions, providing important input to Community
policies, programmes and initiatives and the necessary balance in
relation to the interests of other actors in the environment, including
industry/business, trade unions and consumer groups;
(c) stimulation of exchange of views, problems and possible solutions,
related to environmental problems with a Community dimension,
involving stakeholders at national, regional and local level. This
could also include transfer of knowledge and ensuring synergy via
networking;
(d) awareness-raising and knowledge-enhancement regarding both
general aspects of the environment and Community environmental
policy;
(e) capacity building, in particular to reinforce the involvement of small
NGOs, new NGO networks and NGOs in the candidate countries and
the Balkan countries at European level.
2. Payments made by the beneficiary and contracts awarded to third parties,
which comprise elements of the categories below, will be deemed ineli-
gible:
(a) entertainment, hospitality, unnecessary or ill considered expenses;
(b) expenses clearly outside the agreed work programme of the benefi-
ciary for the grant year;
(c) debt reimbursements, interest owed, carried over deficits;
(d) costs related to the capital employed, investments or reserves set
aside to strengthen the assets of the beneficiary;2002D0466 — EN — 30.04.2004 — 001.001 — 9
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(e) contributions in kind;
(f) private expenses;
(g) criminal/illegal activities.2002D0466 — EN — 30.04.2004 — 001.001 — 10