2003R2152 — EN — 03.05.2004 — 001.001 — 1
This document is meant purely as a documentation tool and the institutions do not assume any liability for its contents
►B REGULATION (EC) No 2152/2003 OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE
COUNCIL
of17November2003
concerningmonitoringofforestsandenvironmentalinteractionsintheCommunity(ForestFocus)
(OJ L 324, 11.12.2003, p. 1)
Amended by:
Official Journal
No page date
►M1Regulation (EC) No 788/2004 of the European Parliament and of the
Council of 21 April 2004L 138 17 30.4.2004
▼B
REGULATION (EC) No 2152/2003 OF THE EUROPEAN
PARLIAMENTANDOFTHECOUNCIL
of17November2003
concerningmonitoringofforestsandenvironmentalinteractionsin
theCommunity(Forest Focus)
THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE
EUROPEAN UNION,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and
in particular Article 175 thereof,
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission (1),
Having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social
Committee (2),
Having regard to the opinion of the Committee of the Regions (3),
Acting in accordance withth e procedure laid down in Article 251 of
the Treaty (4),
Whereas:
(1)Forests have an important multifunctional role for society. Apart
from their significant role in the development of rural areas,forests have a major value for nature conservation, play animportant role in preserving the environment, are key elementsof the carbon cycle and significant carbon sinks and represent a
critical controlling factor of the hydrological cycle.
(2)The condition of forests can be seriously affected by natural
factors suchas extreme weath er conditions, attacks from para-sites and diseases or human influences such as climate change,fires and air pollution. Suchth reats can seriously distort and
even destroy forests. Most natural and anthropogenic factors
affecting forests can have cross-border effects.
(3)The Communication from the Commission to the EuropeanParliament and the Council on a forestry strategy for theEuropean Union stressed the need to protect the natural environ-
ment and the forest heritage, to manage forests sustainably and
to support international and pan-European cooperationconcerning the protection of forests, making reference to forestmonitoring and the promotion of forests as carbon sinks. TheCouncil, in its resolution of 15 December 1998 on a forestrystrategy for the European Union(
5), called upon the Commission
to evaluate and improve continuously the effectiveness of the
European monitoring system of forest health and to take intoaccount all the potential impacts on forest ecosystems. It alsocalled upon the Commission to pay special attention to thedevelopment of the Community forest fire information system,
which enables the effectiveness of the protection measures
against fires to be better assessed.
(4)Decision No 1600/2002/EC of the European Parliament and ofthe Council of 22 July 2002 laying down the sixth Communityenvironment action programme (
6) identifies the need to base
the drawing-up, implementation and evaluation of environmental
policies on a knowledge-based approachand, in particular, th eneed for monitoring the multiple roles of forests in line with2003R2152 — EN — 03.05.2004 — 001.001 — 2
(1) OJ C 20 E, 28.1.2003, p. 67.
(2) OJ C 85, 8.4.2003, p. 83.
(3) OJ C 128, 29.5.2003, p. 41.
(4) Opinion of the European Parliament of 13 February 2003 (not yet published
in the Official Journal), Council common position of 13 June 2003 (OJ C233 E, 30.9.2003, p. 1), position of the European Parliament of 21 October
2003 (not yet published in the Official Journal) and Council decision of 6
November 2003.
(
5) OJ C 56, 26.2.1999, p. 1.
(6) OJ L 242, 10.9.2002, p. 1.
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recommendations adopted by the Ministerial Conference on the
Protection of Forests in Europe and the United Nations Forumon Forests and the Convention on Biodiversity and other forums.
(5)The Community and the Member States are committed to imple-menting internationally agreed activities relating to theconservation and protection of forests, in particular, the propo-sals for actions of the intergovernmental panel and Forum on
Forests, the expanded work programme on forest biological
diversity of the Convention on Biological Diversity, as well asthe United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Changeand the Kyoto Protocol.
(6)The Community has already addressed two of the causesadversely affecting forest ecosystem conditions by means ofCouncil Regulation (EEC) No 3528/86 of 17 November 1986on the protection of the Community's forests against atmosphericpollution (
1) and Council Regulation (EEC) No 2158/92 of 23
July 1992 on protection of the Community's forests against
fire (2).
(7)Bothregulations expired on 31 December 2002 and it is in th egeneral interest of the Community to continue and further
develop the monitoring activities established by those regulations
by integrating them into a new scheme called ‘Forest Focus’.
(8)The scheme should be reconciled with existing national,European and international systems, having due regard for the
Community's competence in respect of forests, in accordance
with its forestry strategy and without prejudice to the principleof subsidiarity.
(9)Measures under the scheme concerning forest fire monitoring
should complement those measures which are undertaken, in
particular, pursuant to Council Decision 1999/847/EC of 9December 1999 establishing a Community action programme inthe field of civil protection (
3), Council Regulation (EC) No
1257/1999 of 17 May 1999 on support for rural developmentfrom the European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund
(EAGGF)(
4) and Council Regulation (EEC) No 1615/89 of 29
May 1989 establishing a European forestry information andcommunication system (EFICS)(
5).
(10)The scheme should encourage the exchange of information on
the condition of and harmful influences on forests in the
Community and enable the evaluation of ongoing measures topromote conservation and protection of forests for the benefit ofsustainable development, withparticular emph asis on actionstaken to reduce impacts negatively affecting forests.
(11)The protection of forest from fires is a matter of particularimportance and urgency in order, inter alia , to fight against
desertification and to avoid their negative effects on climatechange. It is crucial to avoid any interruption of the actions putin place by Member States in accordance withth e expired Regu-
lation (EEC) No 2158/92. Therefore, this Regulation should
cover preventive measures that are not supported by Regulation(EC) No 1257/99 and not included in national or regional ruraldevelopment programmes.
(12)In order to promote a comprehensive understanding of the rela-tionship between forests and the environment, the scheme shouldalso include monitoring of other important factors such as biodi-2003R2152 — EN — 03.05.2004 — 001.001 — 3
(1) OJ L 326, 21.11.1986, p. 2. Regulation as last amended by Regulation (EC)
No 804/2002 (OJ L 132, 17.5.2002, p. 1).
(2) OJ L 217, 31.7.1992, p. 3. Regulation as last amended by Regulation (EC)
No 805/2002 (OJ L 132, 17.5.2002, p. 3).
(3) OJ L 327, 21.12.1999, p. 53.
(4) OJ L 160, 26.6.1999, p. 80.
(5) OJ L 165, 15.6.1989, p. 12. Regulation as last amended by Regulation (EC)
No 1100/98 (OJ L 157, 30.5.1998, p. 10).
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versity, carbon sequestration, climate change, soils and the
protective function of forests. The scheme should thereforecomprise actions in order to provide for a broader range of
objectives and a flexible implementation, while building on the
achievements made pursuant to Regulations (EEC) No 3528/86and (EEC) No 2158/92. It should provide for appropriate, cost-efficient monitoring of forests and environmental interactions.
(13)The Member States should implement the scheme through
national programmes to be approved by the Commission
following a procedure to be set up.
(14)The Commission, in cooperation with the Member States, shouldensure the coordination, monitoring and development of thescheme and report on it, in particular to the Standing Forestry
Committee set up by Council Decision 89/367/EEC (
1).
(15)The monitoring of forests and environmental interactions can
only provide reliable and comparable information to protectforests in the Community if data are collected on the basis ofharmonised methods. Such comparable information at Commu-nity level would contribute towards the establishment of a
platform containing spatial data deriving from various sources
of common environmental information systems. It is thereforeappropriate to prepare manuals laying down the methods to beused for monitoring the condition of forests, the format of thedata and rules for data handling.
(16)The Commission should use the data collected under this schemein relation to carbon sequestration, climate change and impact onbiodiversity in order to contribute to the reporting commitmentsunder the relevant conventions and protocols, consistently withtheir provisions. If problems of inconsistency arise, the Commis-sion should take any possible action with a view to reaching a
positive solution.
(17)The Commission and the Member States should cooperate with
other international bodies in the field of forest monitoring at aninternational or pan-European level, and, in particular, the inter-national cooperative programme on assessment and monitoring
of air pollution effects on forests (hereinafter referred to as
‘ICP Forests’), in order to promote conservation and protectionof forests for the benefit of sustainable development.
(18)This Regulation 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 (
2), for the budgetary
authority during the annual budgetary procedure.
(19)It is appropriate to determine the volume of the Community
contribution to activities financed under the scheme.
(20)In order to ensure the continuity of monitoring activities there is
a need exceptionally to allow expenditure incurred by a MemberState to be eligible for co-financing if it relates to actions thatwere launched after 1 January 2003 and before the entry into
force of this Regulation, provided that these actions have not
been completed when the Commission approves the relatednational programme.
(21)Member States should designate the authorities and agenciesresponsible for the handling and forwarding of data and for the
administration of the Community contribution.
(22)Member States should also draw up reports on various moni-
toring activities, which should be submitted to the Commission.2003R2152 — EN — 03.05.2004 — 001.001 — 4
(1) OJ L 165, 15.6.1989, p. 14.
(2) OJ C 172, 18.6.1999, p. 1.
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(23)The data should be disseminated taking into account the UN/
ECE 1998 Convention on access to information, public partici-
pation in decision-making and access to justice inenvironmental matters (Aarhus Convention) and relevantCommunity provisions on access to environmental information.
(24)The measures of general scope necessary for the implementationof this Regulation should be adopted in accordance with CouncilDecision 1999/468/EC of 28 June 1999 laying down the proce-dures for the exercise of implementing powers conferred on theCommission (
1).
(25)The Standing Forestry Committee should assist the Commissionby use of the regulatory procedure in accordance with thecriteria set out in Article 2(b) of that Decision.
(26)It is important to keep the scheme under review and assess itseffectiveness, in order to identify needs to be addressed. TheCommission should report to the European Parliament and tothe Council on the implementation of the scheme, in particular
in view of its continuation beyond the implementation period
fixed in this Regulation.
(27)Since the objectives of the proposed action, namely the moni-toring of forests, their condition and environment interactions,
cannot be sufficiently achieved by the Member States and can,
therefore, be better achieved at Community level, the Commu-nity may adopt measures, in accordance withth e principle ofsubsidiarity as set out in Article 5 of the Treaty. In accordancewith the principle of proportionality, as set out in that Article,
this Regulation does not go beyond what is necessary in order
to achieve those objectives.
(28)The Europe Agreements between the European Communitiesand their Member States, of the one part, and the candidate
countries of central and eastern Europe, of the other part,
provide for participation of these countries in Communityprogrammes, in particular in the field of the environment. Thescheme should also be open to participation by other Europeancountries.
(29)In the light of the expiry of Regulations (EEC) No 3528/86 and(EEC) No 2158/92 and in order to avoid any overlap or discon-tinuity it is appropriate for this Regulation to apply from 1January 2003,
HAVE ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:
SECTION1
Objectives, contentanddefinitions
Article 1
1. A Community scheme for broad-based, harmonised and compre-
hensive, long-term monitoring of the condition of forests, (hereinafterreferred to as ‘the scheme’) is hereby established to:
(a) continue and further develop:
— monitoring of air pollution and air pollution effects and of other
agents and factors that have an impact on forests, such as bioticand abiotic factors and factors of anthropogenic origin,
— monitoring of forest fires and their causes and effects,— forest fire prevention;
(b) assess the requirements for and develop the monitoring of soils,
carbon sequestration, climate change effects and biodiversity, aswell as protective functions of forests;2003R2152 — EN — 03.05.2004 — 001.001 — 5
(1) OJ L 184, 17.7.1999, p. 23.
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(c) continuously evaluate the efficiency of the monitoring activities in
the assessment of the condition of forests and the further develop-ment of monitoring activity.
The scheme shall provide reliable and comparable data and information
on the condition of and harmful influences on forests at Communitylevel. It shall also help to evaluate ongoing measures to promoteconservation and protection of forests for the benefit of sustainabledevelopment, withparticular emph asis on actions taken to reduceimpacts negatively affecting forests. The scheme will take account of,
and where appropriate link to, existing and planned national, European
and global monitoring mechanisms and will be in line with relevantinternational agreements.
2. Where reference is made to forests in this Regulation, Member
States may include other wooded land. Where reference is made toforests in the context of forest fires in this Regulation, Member States
may in addition include other land.
3. In France, the scheme shall not be applicable to the overseas
departments.
Article 2
1. The scheme shall provide for actions designed to:
(a) promote harmonised collection, handling and assessment of data;
(b) improve data evaluation and promote integrated data evaluation at
Community level;
(c) improve the quality of data and information gathered under the
scheme;
(d) further develop the monitoring activity of the scheme;
(e) enhance the understanding of forests and, in particular, the impact
of natural and anthropogenic stresses;
(f) study the dynamics of forest fires and their causes and impacts on
forests;
(g) develop indicators as well as methodologies for risk assessment
concerning multiple stresses on forests over time and space.
2. The actions set out in paragraph 1 shall be complementary to
Community researchprogrammes.
Article 3
For the purposes of this Regulation, the following definitions shall
apply:
(a) ‘forest’ means land withtree crown cover (or equivalent stocking
level) of more than 10 % and area of more than 0,5 ha. The treesshould be able to reach a minimum height of 5 m at maturity in
situ. It may consist either of closed forest formations where trees
of various storeys and undergrowth cover a high proportion of the
ground, or of open forest formations witha continuous vegetation
cover in which tree crown cover exceeds 10 %. Young naturalstands and all plantations established for forestry purposes whichhave yet to reach a crown density of 10 % or tree height of 5 mare included under forest, as are areas normally forming part ofthe forest area which are temporarily unstocked as a result of
human intervention or natural causes but which are expected to
revert to forest. The definition of ‘forest’ includes: forest nurseriesand seed orchards that constitute an integral part of the forest;forest roads, cleared tracts, firebreaks and other small open areaswithin the forest; forest in national parks, nature reserves and other
protected areas suchas th ose of special environmental, scientific,
historical, cultural or spiritual interest; windbreaks and shelterbeltsof trees with an area of more than 0,5 ha and a width of more than20 m. Rubberwood plantations and cork oak stands are included.However, the definition of ‘forest’ excludes: land predominantlyused for agricultural practices;2003R2152 — EN — 03.05.2004 — 001.001 — 6
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(b) ‘other wooded land’ means land either with a tree crown cover (or
equivalent stocking level) of 5 to 10 % of trees able to reachaheight of 5 m at maturity in situ, or a crown cover (or equivalent
stocking level) of more than 10 % of trees not able to reach a
height of 5 m at maturity in situ(e.g. dwarf or stunted trees) and
shrub or bush cover. The definition of ‘other wooded land’excludes: areas having the tree, shrub or bush cover specifiedabove but of less than 0,5 ha and width of 20 m, which are classed
under ‘other land’; land predominantly used for agricultural prac-
tices;
(c) ‘other land’ means land not classified as forest or other wooded
land as defined in this Regulation, but which nonetheless has been
included in forest fire statistics under national law. Suchland mayinclude heathland, waste land or agricultural land adjoining orenclosed by forest land;
(d) ‘forest fire’ means fire which breaks out and spreads on forest and
other wooded land or which breaks out on other land and spreadsto forest and other wooded land. The definition of ‘forest fire’excludes: prescribed or controlled burning, usually withth e aim ofreducing or eliminating the quantity of accumulated fuel on the
ground;
(e) ‘geo-referenced’ means a reference to a specific geographic area
within which data or other information is gathered. The area
referred to may be larger than the area or point from which the
data/information is gathered, for example in order to ensure anon-ymity as regards the source of gathered data/information.
SECTION2
Monitoringandtoolstoimproveanddevelopthescheme
Article 4
1. Building on the achievements of Regulation (EEC) No 3528/86,
the scheme shall:
(a) continue and further develop the systematic network of observation
points in order to conduct periodic inventories in order to gatherrepresentative information on the condition of forests;
(b) continue and further develop the network of observation plots, on
which intensive and continuous monitoring of forests is carried out.
2. Detailed rules for the implementation of paragraph 1 shall be laid
down in accordance withth e procedure referred to in Article 17(2).
Article 5
1. Building on the achievements of Regulation (EEC) No 2158/92,
the scheme shall continue and further develop the information systemin order to collect comparable information on forest fires at Commu-nity level.
2. The scheme shall allow Member States to conduct studies on the
identification of the causes and dynamics of forest fires, as well as ontheir impacts on forests. Those studies shall complement activities andmeasures relating to forest fires undertaken in accordance withDeci-sion 1999/847/EC, Regulation (EC) No 1257/1999 and Regulation
(EEC) No 1615/89.
In addition and up to 31 December 2005, awareness-raising campaigns
and special training for agents involved in fire prevention interventionsshall be financed separately in accordance with Article 13(1), unlesssuchmeasures are included in th e rural development programmes.
3. Forest fire prevention measures which were eligible under Regu-
lation (EEC) No 2158/92 shall be financed in accordance with Articles12(2)b and 13(1), provided that they are not supported by Regulation(EC) No 1257/1999 and that they are not included in the national/regional rural development programmes.2003R2152 — EN — 03.05.2004 — 001.001 — 7
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4. Member States may, at their request, participate in the measures
and activities referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2.
5. Detailed rules for the implementation of paragraphs 1 and 2 shall
be laid down in accordance withth e procedure referred to in Article
17(2).
Article 6
1. For the realisation of the objectives set out in Article 1(1)(b) the
scheme shall be developed by means of studies, experiments, demon-stration projects, testing on a pilot basis and establishment of new
monitoring activities. The Commission shall, in cooperation with the
Member States, develop the scheme, in particular to:
(a) enhance the knowledge of the condition of forests and other
wooded land as well as the relationship between their conditionand natural and anthropogenic stress factors;
(b) assess impacts of climate change on forests and other wooded land,
including impacts on their biological diversity and their relation-ship with carbon sequestration and soil;
(c) taking into account the relevant existing indicators, identify key
structural and functional ecosystem elements to be used as indica-tors for assessing status and trends of biological diversity in forestsand the protective functions of forests.
2. In parallel with the measures set out in paragraph 1, the Member
States may, at the request of the Commission or on their own initiative,
carry out studies, experiments, demonstration projects or a monitoringtest phase.
3. The measures set out in paragraphs 1 and 2 shall help to identify
options for the establishment of new monitoring activities under thescheme, which should contribute substantially to the information and
monitoring needs within the fields listed under Article 1(1)(b). The
implementation of these activities shall be considered as part of thereview referred to in Article 18. When developing the scheme, theCommission shall take account of scientific as well as financial needsand restrictions.
4. Detailed rules for the implementation of paragraphs 1, 2 and 3,
including decisions on the implementation of new monitoring activities,shall be laid down in accordance with the procedure referred to inArticle 17(2).
Article 7
1. For the realisation of the objectives set out in Article 1(1)(c) and
in addition to the actions set out in Article 6, the Commission, in close
cooperation with the Member States, shall conduct studies, experiments
and demonstration projects in order to:
(a) promote harmonised collection, handling and assessment of data at
Community level;
(b) improve data evaluation at Community level;
(c) improve the quality of data and information gathered under the
scheme.
2. For the realisation of the objectives set out in Article 1(1)(c) and
in addition to the actions set out in Article 6, Member States may inte-grate in their national programmes studies, experiments anddemonstration projects in the areas described under paragraph 1.
3. Detailed rules for the implementation of paragraph 1 shall be laid
down in accordance withth e procedure referred to in Article 17(2).2003R2152 — EN — 03.05.2004 — 001.001 — 8
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SECTION3
Nationalprogrammes,coordinationandcooperation
Article 8
1. The activities provided for in Articles 4, 5, 6(2) and (3) and 7(2)
shall be implemented under national programmes, to be drawn up by
the Member States for periods of two years.
2. The national programmes shall be submitted to the Commission
within 60 days following the entry into force of this Regulation and
thereafter before 1 November in the year preceding the commencement
date of eachth ree-year period.
3. Member States shall adapt their national programmes with the
approval of the Commission, in particular in order to allow for the
extension of the monitoring activity, developed in accordance with
Article 6, when established.
4. The national programmes shall be accompanied by an ex ante
evaluation when they are submitted to the Commission. The Member
States shall also carry out mid-term evaluations at the end of the third
year of the period indicated in Article 12 and ex postevaluations at the
end of that period.
5. The Commission shall, on the basis of the national programmes
submitted, or on the basis of any approved adaptations of these national
programmes, decide on the financial contributions to the eligible costs.
6. Detailed rules for the implementation of paragraphs 1 to 5 shall
be laid down in accordance withth e procedure referred to in Article
17(2), taking into account national, European and international moni-
toring mechanisms in order to avoid any additional administrativeburden.
Article 9
1. The Commission, in cooperation with the Member States, shall
coordinate, monitor and develop the scheme and shall report on it, inparticular to the Standing Forestry Committee.
2. The Commission, in cooperation with the Member States, shall
assess data at Community level and shall ensure the evaluation of thecollected data and information at Community level in accordance withArticle 15.
3. The Commission shall establish a scientific advisory group which
shall assist the Standing Forestry Committee in preparing its work, inparticular to develop the scheme as referred to in Article 6.
4. To fulfil the tasks laid down in paragraphs 1 and 2, the Commis-
sion shall establish a scientific coordination body within the Joint
ResearchCentre, and may consult and contract researchinstitutes andexperts, taking full account of the range of different forest ecosystemsin the Community.
5. To fulfil its reporting tasks laid down in paragraph1 th e Commis-
sion shall be assisted by the European Environmental Agency.
6. Detailed rules for the implementation of paragraph 3 shall be laid
down in accordance withth e procedure referred to in Article 17(2).
Article 10
1. To harmonise the activities referred to in Articles 4, 5 and 6(3)
and to ensure the comparability of data, manuals shall specify manda-tory and optional parameters and lay down the monitoring methods as
well as the data formats to be used for data transmission. Manuals
should build on existing systems where available and appropriate.
2. Detailed rules for the implementation of paragraph 1 shall be laid
down in accordance withth e procedure referred to in Article 17(2).2003R2152 — EN — 03.05.2004 — 001.001 — 9
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Article 11
1. In the context of the objectives set out in Article 1, the Commis-
sion and the Member States shall cooperate and foster synergies withother bodies at an international or pan-European level in order to
promote conservation and protection of forests for the benefit of
sustainable development.
2. In the context of Article 4, the Commission shall collaborate with
ICP Forests to meet obligations set out in the framework of theConvention on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution.
3. For the purpose of the cooperation referred to in paragraphs 1 and
2, the Community may support the following activities:
(a) establishment of appropriate links to the scientific coordination
body;
(b) studies and data evaluations.
SECTION4
Periodofexecutionandfinancialaspects
Article 12
1. The scheme shall run for a period of four years from 1 January
2003 to 31 December 2006.
2. For the purposes of the scheme the maximum financial support of
the Community to the eligible costs of the national programmes shall
be as follows:
(a) activities to be carried out under Article 4: 50 %;
(b) activities to be carried out under Article 5: 50 %;
(c) activities to be carried out under Article 6(2): 75 %;
(d) activities to be carried out under Article 6(3): 50 %;
(e) activities to be carried out under Article 7(2): 50 %.
3. The Commission shall pay the Community contribution to the
eligible costs to the Member States.
4. Expenditure incurred by Member States in carrying out national
programmes approved by the Commission shall exceptionally be
eligible for co-financing if those actions were launched after 1 January2003 and before the date of entry into force of this Regulation,provided these actions are not complete when the Commission decidesupon the national programmes.
5. The Commission shall finance activities to be carried out under
Articles 6(1), 7(1) and 9(1), (2) and (4) in accordance withth e applic-
able rules for public procurement.
6. The Community may provide a contribution to the European
Environmental Agency for the fulfilment of the tasks set out in Articles
9(5) and 18.
7. The Commission may finance activities of the scientific advisory
group referred to in Article 9(3) for the fulfilment of the tasks set outin the detailed rules.
8. The Community may provide a contribution to ICP Forests in
order to meet the Community's obligations set out in Article 11(2).
Article 13
1. The financial framework for the implementation of the scheme
for the period 2003 to 2006 shall be EUR 65 million, of which EUR9 million can be used for fire prevention measures.
2. The annual appropriations shall be authorised by the budgetary
authority within the framework of the annual budgetary procedure andthe limits of the financial perspective.2003R2152 — EN — 03.05.2004 — 001.001 — 10
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SECTION5
Execution, reporting by Member States, Standing Forestry
Committee
Article 14
1. Member States shall designate the bodies competent to manage
the activities included in the approved national programmes, on the
basis of the financial and operational capacity of those bodies. Those
bodies may be either national administrations or other entities, subjectto the Commission's approval of private entities with a public servicemission providing adequate financial guarantees and complying withthe conditions provided for in the detailed rules for the implementation
of this paragraph.
2. Without prejudice to the existing competent authorities, Member
States shall designate the authorities and agencies empowered to carryout the measures adopted in accordance with this Regulation.
3. Member States shall be responsible for the sound and efficient
management of the Community contribution. To that end, they shall
adopt the provisions necessary to:
(a) ensure that the activities financed by the Community are actually
carried out and that they are carried out in the proper manner,ensuring the visibility of the contribution of the Community;
(b) prevent any irregularity;
(c) recover payments lost as a result of any irregularity or negligence;
(d) ensure that the bodies mentioned in paragraph 1 have proper
internal management and control systems;
(e) ensure that, if the bodies mentioned in paragraph 1 are not public
entities, Member States stand guarantee for them.
4. Member States shall provide the Commission with all the neces-
sary information and shall make any arrangements which may facilitatechecks, including on-the-spot inspections by the Commission or theEuropean Court of Auditors, which the Commission considers appro-
priate for the purposes of managing Community financing. Member
States shall inform the Commission of any arrangements made to thisend.
5. Detailed rules for the implementation of paragraphs 1 to 4 shall
be laid down in accordance withth e procedure referred to in Article
17(2).
Article 15
1. The Member States shall annually, through the designated autho-
rities and agencies, forward to the Commission the data gathered underthe scheme, together with a report on them.
The data shall be geo-referenced and transmitted to the Commission by
means of computer telecommunications and/or electronic technology.The Commission shall, in close cooperation with the Member States,establishth e format and particulars needed for suchtransmission.
2. The Member States shall actively disseminate the data gathered,
on the basis of common formats and standards and through electronic
geo-referenced databases, which will be administered in accordancewith the principles of the Aarhus Convention and relevant Communityprovisions on access to environmental information.
3. In order to promote the evaluation of the data and to obtain the
highest added value from the use of the data, the Commission's right
to use and disseminate data in accordance with the principles of theAarhus Convention and relevant Community provisions on access toenvironmental information shall not be restricted. In any such dissemi-nation of data gathered from Member States, the Member States mustbe accredited as the source.2003R2152 — EN — 03.05.2004 — 001.001 — 11
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4. Detailed rules for the implementation of paragraph 1 shall be laid
down in accordance withth e procedure referred to in Article 17(2).
Article 16
1. Each Member State shall draw up, in particular on the basis of
the activities set out in Article 4(1), a report on the national situation
regarding condition of forests.
The report shall be transmitted to the Commission no later than 31
December 2005.
2. EachMember State participating in th e activities set out in
Article 5 shall draw up a report on the national situation regarding the
impact of fires on forests.
The report shall be transmitted to the Commission no later than 31
December eachyear, starting from 2003.
3. Each Member State shall draw up a report on the national situa-
tion regarding matters covered by the monitoring activities referred to
in Article 6(3), when established.
Guidelines for the reporting and the reporting period shall be laid down
in accordance withth e procedure referred to in Article 17(2).
Article 17
1. The Commission shall be assisted by the Standing Forestry
Committee.
2. Where reference is made to this paragraph, Articles 5 and 7 of
Decision 1999/468/EC shall apply, having regard to the provisions of
Article 8 thereof.
The period laid down in Article 5(6) of Decision 1999/468/EC shall be
set at two months.
3. The Committee shall adopt its Rules of Procedure.
SECTION6
ReportingbytheCommission,review, candidatecountries
Article 18
Six months from the date set for the transmission of the reports referred
to in Article 16(1) and taking into account all reports transmittedpursuant to Article 16, the Commission, assisted by the EuropeanEnvironment Agency, shall submit a report on the implementation ofthe scheme to the European Parliament and to the Council, reviewing
the effectiveness of the scheme in order to provide a basis for any deci-
sions on the continuation of these activities after 2006. To this end, theCommission is invited to present a proposal.
Article 19
Before the expiry of the period referred to in Article 12(1), the
Commission shall submit to the European Parliament and to the
Council a report on the implementation of the scheme, taking into
account the review referred to in Article 18.
Article 20
This scheme shall be open to participation by:
(a) the candidate countries of central and eastern Europe, in accor-
dance with the conditions established in the Europe Agreements,in their additional protocols and in the decisions of the respectiveassociation councils;
(b) Cyprus, Malta and Turkey, on the basis of bilateral agreements to
be concluded withth ese countries;
(c) other European countries, optionally, at their own expense.2003R2152 — EN — 03.05.2004 — 001.001 — 12
▼B
Article 21
This Regulation shall enter into force on the day of its publication in
theOfficial Journal of the European Union .
It shall apply from 1 January 2003.
This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable
in all Member States.2003R2152 — EN — 03.05.2004 — 001.001 — 13