EN Official Journal of the European Union L 157/29

PROTOCOL

Concerning the conditions and arrangements for admission of the republic of Bulgaria and Romania to the European Union

THE HIGH CONTRACTING PARTIES,

CONSIDERING that the Republic of Bulgaria and Romania become members of the European Union on 1 January 2007;

CONSIDERING that Article I-58 of the Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe provides that the conditions and arrangements for admission shall be the subject of an agreement between the Member States and the candidate State;

HAVE AGREED UPON the following provisions, which shall be annexed to the Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe and to the Treaty establishing the European Atomic Energy Community:

PART ONE

PRINCIPLES

Article 1

1. For the purposes of this Protocol:

— the expression ‘Constitution’ means the Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe;

— the expression ‘EAEC Treaty’ means the Treaty establishing the European Atomic Energy Community, as supplemented or amended by treaties or other acts which entered into force before accession;

— the expression ‘present Member States’ means the Kingdom of Belgium, the Czech Republic, the Kingdom of Denmark, the Federal Republic of Germany, the Republic of Estonia, the Hellenic Republic, the Kingdom of Spain, the French Republic, Ireland, the Italian Republic, the Republic of Cyprus, the Republic of Latvia, the Republic of Lithuania, the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, the Republic of Hungary, the Republic of Malta, the Kingdom of the Netherlands, the Republic of Austria, the Republic of Poland, the Portuguese Republic, the Republic of Slovenia, the Slovak Republic, the Republic of Finland, the Kingdom of Sweden and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland;

— the expression ‘new Member States’ means the Republic of Bulgaria and Romania;

— the expression ‘the institutions’ means the institutions established by the Constitution.

2. The references in this Protocol to the Constitution and to the Union shall, where appropriate, be taken as references, respectively, to the EAEC Treaty and to the Community established by the EAEC Treaty.

Article 2

From the date of accession, the provisions of the Constitution, the EAEC Treaty and the acts adopted by the institutions before accession shall be binding on Bulgaria and Romania and shall apply in those States under the conditions laid down in the Constitution, in the EAEC Treaty and in this Protocol.

Article 3

1. Bulgaria and Romania accede to the decisions and agreements adopted by the Representatives of the Governments of the Member States meeting within the Council.

2. Bulgaria and Romania are in the same situation as the present Member States in respect of declarations or resolutions of, or other positions taken up by, the European Council or the Council and in respect of those concerning the Union adopted by common agreement of the Member States; they will accordingly observe the principles and guidelines deriving from those declarations, resolutions or other positions and will take such measures as may be necessary to ensure their implementation.

3. Bulgaria and Romania accede to the conventions and protocols listed in Annex I. Those conventions and protocols shall enter into force in relation to Bulgaria and Romania on the date determined by the Council in the decisions referred to in paragraph 4.

4. The Council, acting unanimously on a recommendation by the Commission and after consulting the European Parliament, shall adopt European decisions making all adjustments required by reason of accession to the conventions and protocols referred to in paragraph 3 and publish the adapted text in the Official Journal of the European Union.

5. Bulgaria and Romania undertake in respect of the conventions and protocols referred to in paragraph 3 to introduce administrative and other arrangements, such as those adopted by the date of accession by the present Member States or by the Council, and to facilitate practical cooperation between the Member States' institutions and organisations.

6. The Council, acting unanimously on a proposal from the Commission, may adopt European decisions supplementing Annex I with those conventions, agreements and protocols signed before the date of accession.

7. The particular instruments mentioned in this Article include those referred to in Article IV‐438 of the Constitution.

Article 4

1. The provisions of the Schengen acquis, referred to in Protocol No 17 to the Constitution on the Schengen acquis integrated into the framework of the European Union, and the acts building upon it or otherwise related to it, listed in Annex II, as well as any further such acts adopted before the date of accession, shall be binding on and applicable in Bulgaria and Romania from the date of accession.

2. Those provisions of the Schengen acquis as integrated into the framework of the European Union and the acts building upon it or otherwise related to it not referred to in paragraph 1, while binding on Bulgaria and Romania from the date of accession, shall only apply in each of those States pursuant to a European decision of the Council to that effect after verification in accordance with the applicable Schengen evaluation procedures that the necessary conditions for the application of all parts of the acquis concerned have been met in that State.

The Council shall take its decision, after consulting the European Parliament, acting with the unanimity of its members representing the Governments of the Member States in respect of which the provisions referred to in this paragraph have already been put into effect and of the representative of the Government of the Member State in respect of which those provisions are to be put into effect. The members of the Council representing the Governments of Ireland and of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland shall take part in such a decision insofar as it relates to the provisions of the Schengen acquis and the acts building upon it or otherwise related to it in which these Member States participate.

Article 5

Bulgaria and Romania shall participate in Economic and Monetary Union from the date of accession as Member States with a derogation within the meaning of Article III-197 of the Constitution.

Article 6

1. The agreements or conventions concluded or provisionally applied by the Union with one or more third States, with an international organisation or with a national of a third State, shall, under the conditions laid down in the Constitution and in this Protocol, be binding on Bulgaria and Romania.

2. Bulgaria and Romania undertake to accede, under the conditions laid down in this Protocol, to the agreements or conventions concluded or signed by the Union and the present Member States, acting jointly.

The accession of Bulgaria and Romania to the agreements or conventions concluded or signed by the Union and the present Member States acting jointly with particular third countries or international organisations shall be agreed by the conclusion of a protocol to such agreements or conventions between the Council, acting unanimously on behalf of the Member States, and the third country or countries or international organisation concerned. The Commission shall negotiate these protocols on behalf of the Member States on the basis of negotiating directives approved by the Council, acting unanimously, and in consultation with a committee comprised of the representatives of the Member States. It shall submit a draft of the protocols for conclusion to the Council.

This procedure is without prejudice to the exercise of the Union's own competences and does not affect the allocation of powers between the Union and the Member States as regards the conclusion of such agreements in the future or any other amendments not related to accession.

3. Upon acceding to the agreements and conventions referred to in paragraph 2 Bulgaria and Romania shall acquire the same rights and obligations under those agreements and conventions as the present Member States.

4. As from the date of accession, and pending the entry into force of the necessary protocols referred to in paragraph 2, Bulgaria and Romania shall apply the provisions of the agreements or conventions concluded jointly by the Union and the present Member States before accession, with the exception of the agreement on the free movement of persons concluded with Switzerland. This obligation also applies to those agreements or conventions which the Union and the present Member States have agreed to apply provisionally.

Pending the entry into force of the protocols referred to in paragraph 2, the Union and the Member States, acting jointly as appropriate in the framework of their respective competences, shall take any appropriate measure.

5. Bulgaria and Romania accede to the Partnership Agreement between the members of the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States of the one part, and the European Community and its Member States, of the other part (1), signed in Cotonou on 23 June 2000.

6. Bulgaria and Romania undertake to accede, under the conditions laid down in this Protocol, to the Agreement on the European Economic Area (2), in accordance with Article 128 of that Agreement.

7. As from the date of accession, Bulgaria and Romania shall apply the bilateral textile agreements and arrangements concluded by the Union with third countries.

The quantitative restrictions applied by the Union on imports of textile and clothing products shall be adjusted to take account of the accession of Bulgaria and Romania to the Union. To that effect, amendments to the bilateral agreements and arrangements referred to above may be negotiated by the Union with the third countries concerned prior to the date of accession.

Should the amendments to the bilateral textile agreements and arrangements not have entered into force by the date of accession, the Union shall make the necessary adjustments to its rules for the import of textile and clothing products from third countries to take into account the accession of Bulgaria and Romania.

8. The quantitative restrictions applied by the Union on imports of steel and steel products shall be adjusted on the basis of imports of Bulgaria and Romania over recent years of steel products originating in the supplier countries concerned.

To that effect, the necessary amendments to the bilateral steel agreements and arrangements concluded by the Union with third countries shall be negotiated prior to the date of accession.

Should the amendments to the bilateral agreements and arrangements not have entered into force by the date of accession, the provisions of the first subparagraph shall apply.

9. Fisheries agreements concluded before accession by Bulgaria or Romania with third countries shall be managed by the Union.

The rights and obligations resulting for Bulgaria and Romania from those agreements shall not be affected during the period in which the provisions of those agreements are provisionally maintained.

As soon as possible, and in any event before the expiry of the agreements referred to in the first subparagraph, appropriate decisions for the continuation of fishing activities resulting from those agreements shall be adopted in each case by the Council on a proposal from the Commission, including the possibility of extending certain agreements for periods not exceeding one year.

10. With effect from the date of accession, Bulgaria and Romania shall withdraw from any free trade agreements with third countries, including the Central European Free Trade Agreement.

To the extent that agreements between Bulgaria, Romania or both those States on the one hand, and one or more third countries on the other, are not compatible with the obligations arising from this Protocol, Bulgaria and Romania shall take all appropriate steps to eliminate the incompatibilities established. If Bulgaria or Romania encounters difficulties in adjusting an agreement concluded with one or more third countries before accession, it shall, according to the terms of the agreement, withdraw from that agreement.

11. Bulgaria and Romania accede under the conditions laid down in this Protocol to the internal agreements concluded by the present Member States for the purpose of implementing the agreements or conventions referred to in paragraphs 2, 5 and 6.

12. Bulgaria and Romania shall take appropriate measures, where necessary, to adjust their position in relation to international organisations, and to those international agreements to which the Union or to which other Member States are also parties, to the rights and obligations arising from their accession to the Union.

They shall in particular withdraw at the date of accession or the earliest possible date thereafter from international fisheries agreements and organisations to which the Union is also a party, unless their membership relates to matters other than fisheries.

13. Where this Article refers to conventions and agreements concluded or signed by the Union, they include those referred to in Article IV-438 of the Constitution.

Article 7

A European law of the Council may repeal the transitional provisions set out in this Protocol, when they are no longer applicable. The Council shall act unanimously after consulting the European Parliament.

Article 8

1. Acts adopted by the institutions to which the transitional provisions laid down in this Protocol relate shall retain their status in law; in particular, the procedures for amending those acts shall continue to apply.

2. Provisions of this Protocol the purpose or effect of which is to repeal or amend acts adopted by the institutions, otherwise than as a transitional measure, shall have the same status in law as the provisions which they repeal or amend and shall be subject to the same rules as those provisions.

Article 9

The application of the Constitution and acts adopted by the institutions shall, as a transitional measure, be subject to the derogations provided for in this Protocol.

PART TWO

ADJUSTMENTS TO THE CONSTITUTION

TITLE I

INSTITUTIONAL PROVISIONS

Article 10

1. Article 9, first paragraph, of Protocol No 3 on the Statute of the Court of Justice of the European Union, annexed to the Constitution and the EAEC Treaty, shall be replaced by the following:

‘When, every three years, the Judges are partially replaced, fourteen and thirteen Judges shall be replaced alternately.’.

2. Article 48 of Protocol No 3 on the Statute of the Court of Justice of the European Union, annexed to the Constitution and the EAEC Treaty, shall be replaced by the following:

‘Article 48 The General Court shall consist of twenty‐seven Judges.’.

Article 11

1. In Article 4(1), first subparagraph: (a) the introductory sentence shall be replaced by the following: ‘1. The capital of the Bank shall be 164 795 737 000 euro subscribed by the Member States as follows (3): (b) the following shall be inserted between the entries for Ireland and Slovakia: ‘Romania 846 000 000’; and (c) the following shall be inserted between the entries for Slovenia and Lithuania: ‘Bulgaria 296 000 000’.

2. In Article 9(2) the first, second and third paragraphs shall be replaced by the following: ‘2. The Board of Directors shall consist of twenty-eight directors and eighteen alternate directors. The directors shall be appointed by the Board of Governors for five years, one nominated by each Member State. One shall also be nominated by the Commission. The alternate directors shall be appointed by the Board of Governors for five years as shown below: — two alternates nominated by the Federal Republic of Germany, — two alternates nominated by the French Republic, — two alternates nominated by the Italian Republic, — two alternates nominated by the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, — one alternate nominated by common accord between the Kingdom of Spain and the Portuguese Republic, — one alternate nominated by common accord between the Kingdom of Belgium, the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg and the Kingdom of the Netherlands, — two alternates nominated by common accord between the Kingdom of Denmark, the Hellenic Republic, Ireland and Romania, — two alternates nominated by common accord between the Republic of Estonia, the Republic of Latvia, the Republic of Lithuania, the Republic of Austria, the Republic of Finland and the Kingdom of Sweden, — three alternates nominated by common accord between the Republic of Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, the Republic of Cyprus, the Republic of Hungary, the Republic of Malta, the Republic of Poland, the Republic of Slovenia and the Slovak Republic, — one alternate nominated by the Commission.’.

Article 12

Article 134(2), first subparagraph, of the EAEC Treaty on the composition of the Scientific and Technical Committee shall be replaced by the following:

‘2. The Committee shall consist of forty-one members, appointed by the Council after consultation with the Commission.’

TITLE II

OTHER ADJUSTMENTS

Article 13

The last sentence of Article III-157(1) of the Constitution shall be replaced by the following:

‘With regard to restrictions existing under national law in Bulgaria, Estonia and Hungary, the date in question shall be 31 December 1999.’

Article 14

Article IV-440(1) of the Constitution shall be replaced by the following:

‘1. This Treaty shall apply to the Kingdom of Belgium, the Republic of Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, the Kingdom of Denmark, the Federal Republic of Germany, the Republic of Estonia, the Hellenic Republic, the Kingdom of Spain, the French Republic, Ireland, the Italian Republic, the Republic of Cyprus, the Republic of Latvia, the Republic of Lithuania, the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, the Republic of Hungary, the Republic of Malta, the Kingdom of the Netherlands, the Republic of Austria, the Republic of Poland, the Portuguese Republic, Romania, the Republic of Slovenia, the Slovak Republic, the Republic of Finland, the Kingdom of Sweden and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.’

Article 15

1. The following subparagraph shall be added to Article IV-448(1) of the Constitution:

‘Pursuant to the Accession Treaty, the Bulgarian and Romanian versions of this Treaty shall also be authentic.’

2. The second paragraph of Article 225 of the EAEC Treaty shall be replaced by the following:

‘The Bulgarian, Czech, Danish, English, Estonian, Finnish, Greek, Hungarian, Irish, Latvian, Lithuanian, Maltese, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Slovak, Slovenian, Spanish and Swedish versions of this Treaty shall also be authentic.’

PART THREE

PERMANENT PROVISIONS

TITLE I

ADAPTATIONS TO ACTS ADOPTED BY THE INSTITUTIONS

Article 16

The acts listed in Annex III to this Protocol shall be adapted as specified in that Annex.

Article 17

The adaptations to the acts listed in Annex IV to this Protocol made necessary by accession shall be drawn up in conformity with the guidelines set out in that Annex.

TITLE II

OTHER PROVISIONS

Article 18

The measures listed in Annex V to this Protocol shall be applied under the conditions laid down in that Annex.

Article 19

A European law of the Council may make the adaptations to the provisions of this Protocol relating to the common agricultural policy which may prove necessary as a result of a modification of Union law. The Council shall act unanimously after consulting the European Parliament.

PART FOUR

TEMPORARY PROVISIONS

TITLE I

TRANSITIONAL MEASURES

Article 20

The measures listed in Annexes VI and VII to this Protocol shall apply in respect of Bulgaria and Romania under the conditions laid down in those Annexes.

TITLE II

INSTITUTIONAL PROVISIONS

Article 21

1. In Article 1(2) of Protocol No 34 on the transitional provisions relating to the institutions and bodies of the Union, annexed to the Constitution and to the EAEC Treaty, the following subparagraph shall be added:

‘By way of derogation from the maximum number of Members of the European Parliament fixed in Article I-20(2) of the Constitution, the number of Members of the European Parliament shall be increased to take account of the accession of Bulgaria and Romania with the following number of Members from those countries for the period running from the date of accession until the beginning of the 2009‐2014 term of the European Parliament: Bulgaria 18 Romania 35’.

2. Before 31 December 2007, Bulgaria and Romania shall each hold elections to the European Parliament, by direct universal suffrage of their citizens, for the number of Members fixed in paragraph 1, in accordance with the provisions of the Act concerning the election of the Members of the European Parliament by direct universal suffrage (4).

3. By way of derogation from Article I-20(3) of the Constitution, if elections are held after the date of accession, the Members of the European Parliament representing the citizens of Bulgaria and Romania for the period running from the date of accession until each of the elections referred to in paragraph 2, shall be appointed by the Parliaments of those States within themselves in accordance with the procedure laid down by each of those States.

Article 22

1. In Article 2(2), second subparagraph, of Protocol No 34 on the transitional provisions relating to the institutions and bodies of the Union, annexed to the Constitution and to the EAEC Treaty, the following shall be inserted between the entries for Belgium and the Czech Republic:

‘Bulgaria 10’

and, between the entries for Portugal and Slovenia:

‘Romania 14’.

2. Article 2(2), third subparagraph, of Protocol No 34 on the transitional provisions relating to the institutions and bodies of the Union, annexed to the Constitution and to the EAEC Treaty, shall be replaced by the following:

‘Acts shall be adopted if there are at least 255 votes in favour representing a majority of the members where, under the Constitution, they must be adopted on a proposal from the Commission. In other cases decisions shall be adopted if there are at least 255 votes in favour representing at least two thirds of the members.’.

Article 23

In Article 6 of Protocol No 34 on the transitional provisions relating to the institutions and bodies of the Union, annexed to the Constitution and to the EAEC Treaty, the following shall be inserted between the entries for Belgium and the Czech Republic:

‘Bulgaria 12’

and, between the entries for Portugal and Slovenia:

‘Romania 15’

Article 24

In Article 7 of Protocol No 34 on the transitional provisions relating to the institutions and bodies of the Union, annexed to the Constitution and to the EAEC Treaty, the following shall be inserted between the entries for Belgium and the Czech Republic:

‘Bulgaria 12’

and, between the entries for Portugal and Slovenia:

‘Romania 15’.

TITLE III

FINANCIAL PROVISIONS

Article 25

(5)

Bulgaria EUR 14 800 000 Romania EUR 42 300 000.

These contributions shall be paid in eight equal instalments falling due on 31 May 2007, 31 May 2008, 31 May 2009, 30 November 2009, 31 May 2010, 30 November 2010, 31 May 2011 and 30 November 2011.

5

Bulgaria 0,181 % Roumania 0,517 %.

3. The capital and payments provided for in paragraphs 1 and 2 shall be paid in by Bulgaria and Romania in cash in euro, save by way of derogation decided unanimously by the Board of Governors.

Article 26

1. Bulgaria and Romania shall pay the following amounts to the Research Fund for Coal and Steel referred to in Decision 2002/234/ECSC of the Representatives of the Governments of the Member States, meeting within the Council, of 27 February 2002 on the financial consequences of the expiry of the ECSC Treaty and on the Research Fund for Coal and Steel (6):

(EUR million, current prices) Bulgaria 11,95 Romania 29,88.

2009: 15 % 2010: 20 % 2011: 30 % 2012: 35 %.

Article 27

1. Tendering, contracting, implementation and payments for pre‐accession assistance under the Phare programme (7), the Phare CBC programme (8) and for assistance under the Transition Facility referred to in Article 31 shall be managed by implementing agencies in Bulgaria and Romania as of the date of accession.

The ex‐ante control by the Commission over tendering and contracting shall be waived by a Commission decision to that effect, following an accreditation procedure conducted by the Commission and a positively assessed Extended Decentralised Implementation System (EDIS) in accordance with the criteria and conditions laid down in the Annex to Council Regulation (EC) No 1266/1999 of 21 June 1999 on coordinating aid to the applicant countries in the framework of the pre‐accession strategy and amending Regulation (EEC) No 3906/89 (9) and in Article 164 of the Financial Regulation applicable to the general budget of the European Communities (10).

If this Commission decision to waive ex‐ante control has not been taken before the date of accession, any contracts signed between the date of accession and the date on which the Commission decision is taken shall not be eligible for pre‐accession assistance.

However, exceptionally, if the Commission decision to waive ex‐ante control is delayed beyond the date of accession for reasons not attributable to the authorities of Bulgaria or Romania, the Commission may accept, in duly justified cases, eligibility for pre‐accession assistance of contracts signed between the date of accession and the date of the Commission decision, and the continued implementation of pre‐accession assistance for a limited period, subject to ex‐ante control by the Commission over tendering and contracting.

2. Financial commitments made before accession under the pre‐accession financial instruments referred to in paragraph 1 as well as those made under the Transition Facility referred to in Article 31 after accession, including the conclusion and registration of subsequent individual legal commitments and payments made after accession shall continue to be governed by the rules and regulations of the pre‐accession financing instruments and be charged to the corresponding budget chapters until closure of the programmes and projects concerned. Notwithstanding this, public procurement procedures initiated after accession shall be carried out in accordance with the relevant Union provisions.

3. The last programming exercise for the pre‐accession assistance referred to in paragraph 1 shall take place in the last year preceding accession. Actions under these programmes will have to be contracted within the following two years. No extensions shall be granted for the contracting period. Exceptionally and in duly justified cases, limited extensions in terms of duration may be granted for execution of contracts.

Notwithstanding this, pre-accession funds to cover administrative costs, as defined in paragraph 4, may be committed in the first two years after accession. For audit and evaluation costs, pre‐accession funds may be committed up to five years after accession.

4. In order to ensure the necessary phasing out of the pre-accession financial instruments referred to in paragraph 1 and of the ISPA programme (11), the Commission may take all appropriate measures to ensure that the necessary statutory staff is maintained in Bulgaria and Romania for a maximum of nineteen months following accession. During this period, officials, temporary staff and contract staff assigned to posts in Bulgaria and Romania before accession and who are required to remain in service in those States after the date of accession shall benefit, as an exception, from the same financial and material conditions as were applied by the Commission before accession in accordance with the Staff Regulations of officials of the European Communities and the Conditions of Employment of other servants of the European Communities laid down in Council Regulation (EEC, Euratom, ECSC) No 259/68 (12). The administrative expenditure, including salaries for other staff necessary shall be covered by the heading ‘Phasing-out of pre-accession assistance for new Member States’ or equivalent under the appropriate policy area of the general budget of the European Union dealing with enlargement.

Article 28

1. Measures which on the date of accession have been the subject of decisions on assistance under Regulation (EC) No 1267/1999 establishing an Instrument for Structural Policies for Pre‐accession and the implementation of which has not been completed by that date shall be considered to have been approved by the Commission under Council Regulation (EC) No 1164/94 of 16 May 1994 establishing a Cohesion Fund (13). Amounts which still have to be committed for the purpose of implementing such measures shall be committed under the Regulation relating to the Cohesion Fund in force at the date of accession and allocated to the chapter corresponding to that Regulation under the general budget of the European Union. Unless stated otherwise in paragraphs 2 to 5, the provisions governing the implementation of measures approved pursuant to the latter Regulation shall apply to those measures.

2. Any procurement procedure relating to a measure referred to in paragraph 1 which on the date of accession has already been the subject of an invitation to tender published in the Official Journal of the European Union shall be implemented in accordance with the rules laid down in that invitation to tender. However, the provisions contained in Article 165 of the Financial Regulation applicable to the general budget of the European Communities shall not apply. Any procurement procedure relating to a measure referred to in paragraph 1 which has not yet been the subject of an invitation to tender published in the Official Journal of the European Union shall be in keeping with the provisions of the Constitution, with the acts adopted pursuant thereto and with Union policies, including those concerning environmental protection, transport, trans-European networks, competition and the award of public contracts.

3. Payments made by the Commission under a measure referred to in paragraph 1 shall be posted to the earliest open commitment made in the first instance pursuant to Regulation (EC) No 1267/1999, and then pursuant to the Regulation relating to the Cohesion Fund then in force.

4. For the measures referred to in paragraph 1, the rules governing the eligibility of expenditure pursuant to Regulation (EC) No 1267/1999 shall remain applicable, except in duly justified cases to be decided on by the Commission at the request of the Member State concerned.

5. The Commission may decide, in exceptional and duly justified cases, to authorise specific exemptions from the rules applicable pursuant to the Regulation relating to the Cohesion Fund in force at the date of accession for the measures referred to in paragraph 1.

Article 29

Where the period for multiannual commitments made under the SAPARD programme (14) in relation to afforestation of agricultural land, support for the establishment of producer groups or agri‐environment schemes extends beyond the final permissible date for payments under SAPARD, the outstanding commitments will be covered within the 2007-2013 rural development programme. Should specific transitional measures be necessary in this regard, these shall be adopted in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 50(2) of Council Regulation (EC) No 1260/1999 of 21 June 1999 laying down general provisions on the Structural Funds (15).

Article 30

1. Bulgaria, having closed — in line with its commitments — definitively for subsequent decommissioning Unit 1 and Unit 2 of the Kozloduy Nuclear Power Plant before the year 2003, commits to the definitive closure of Unit 3 and Unit 4 of this plant in 2006 and to subsequent decommissioning of these units.

2. During the period 2007-2009, the Community shall provide Bulgaria with financial assistance in support of its efforts to decommission and to address the consequences of the closure and decommissioning of Units 1 to 4 of the Kozloduy Nuclear Power Plant.

The assistance shall, inter alia, cover: measures in support of the decommissioning of Units 1 to 4 of the Kozloduy Nuclear Power Plant; measures for environmental upgrading in line with the acquis; measures for the modernisation of the conventional energy production, transmission and distribution sectors in Bulgaria; measures to improve energy efficiency, to enhance the use of renewable energy sources and to improve security of energy supply.

For the period 2007-2009, the assistance shall amount to EUR 210 million (2004 prices) in commitment appropriations, to be committed in equal annual tranches of EUR 70 million (2004 prices).

The assistance, or parts thereof, may be made available as a Community contribution to the Kozloduy International Decommissioning Support Fund, managed by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.

3. The Commission may adopt rules for implementation of the assistance referred to in paragraph 2. The rules shall be adopted in accordance with Council Decision 1999/468/EC of 28 June 1999 laying down the procedures for the exercise of implementing powers conferred on the Commission (16). To this end, the Commission shall be assisted by a committee. Articles 4 and 7 of Decision 1999/468/EC shall apply. The period laid down in Article 4(3) of Decision 1999/468/EC shall be six weeks. The committee shall adopt its rules of procedure.

Article 31

1. For the first year of accession, the Union shall provide temporary financial assistance, hereinafter referred to as the ‘Transition Facility’, to Bulgaria and Romania to develop and strengthen their administrative and judicial capacity to implement and enforce Union law and to foster exchange of best practice among peers. This assistance shall fund institution‐building projects and limited small-scale investments ancillary thereto.

2. Assistance shall address the continued need for strengthening institutional capacity in certain areas through action which cannot be financed by the Structural Funds or by the Rural Development Funds.

3. For twinning projects between public administrations for the purpose of institution building, the procedure for call for proposals through the network of contact points in the Member States shall continue to apply, as established in the Framework Agreements with the Member States for the purpose of pre‐accession assistance.

The commitment appropriations for the Transition Facility, at 2004 prices, for Bulgaria and Romania, shall be EUR 82 million in the first year after accession to address national and horizontal priorities. The appropriations shall be authorised by the budgetary authority within the limits of the financial perspective.

4. Assistance under the Transition Facility shall be decided and implemented in accordance with Council Regulation (EEC) No 3906/89 on economic aid to certain countries of Central and Eastern Europe.

Article 32

1. A Cash-flow and Schengen Facility is hereby created as a temporary instrument to help Bulgaria and Romania between the date of accession and the end of 2009 to finance actions at the new external borders of the Union for the implementation of the Schengen acquis and external border control and to help improve cash-flow in national budgets.

2. For the period 2007-2009, the following amounts (2004 prices) shall be made available to Bulgaria and Romania in the form of lump-sum payments under the temporary Cash-flow and Schengen Facility:

(EUR million, 2004 prices) 2007 2008 2009 Bulgaria 121,8 59,1 58,6 Romania 297,2 131,8 130,8

3. At least 50 % of each country allocation under the temporary Cash-flow and Schengen Facility shall be used to support Bulgaria and Romania in their obligation to finance actions at the new external borders of the Union for the implementation of the Schengen acquis and external border control.

4. One twelfth of each annual amount shall be payable to Bulgaria and Romania on the first working day of each month in the corresponding year. The lump-sum payments shall be used within three years from the first payment. Bulgaria and Romania shall submit, no later than six months after expiry of this three-year period, a comprehensive report on the final execution of the lump‐sum payments under the Schengen part of the temporary Cash-flow and Schengen Facility with a statement justifying the expenditure. Any unused or unjustifiably spent funds shall be recovered by the Commission.

5. The Commission may adopt any technical provisions necessary for the operation of the temporary Cash-flow and Schengen Facility.

Article 33

1. Without prejudice to future policy decisions, the overall commitment appropriations for structural actions to be made available for Bulgaria and Romania over the three-year period 2007‐2009 shall be as follows:

(EUR million, 2004 prices) 2007 2008 2009 Bulgaria 539 759 1 002 Romania 1 399 1 972 2 603

2. During the three years 2007-2009, the scope and nature of the interventions within these fixed country envelopes shall be determined on the basis of the provisions then applicable to structural actions expenditure.

Article 34

1. In addition to the regulations concerning rural development in force on the date of accession, the provisions laid down in Sections I to III of Annex VIII shall apply to Bulgaria and Romania for the period 2007-2009 and the specific financial provisions laid down in Section IV of Annex VIII shall apply to Bulgaria and Romania throughout the programming period 2007-2013.

2. Without prejudice to future policy decisions, commitment appropriations from the EAGGF Guarantee Section for rural development for Bulgaria and Romania over the three-year period 2007-2009 shall amount to EUR 3 041 million (2004 prices).

3. Implementing rules, where necessary, for the application of the provisions of Annex VIII shall be adopted in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 50(2) of Regulation (EC) No 1260/1999.

4. The Council, acting on a proposal from the Commission, and after consulting the European Parliament, shall make any adaptations to the provisions of Annex VIII where necessary to ensure coherence with the regulations concerning rural development.

Article 35

The amounts referred to in Articles 30, 31, 32, 33 and 34 shall be adjusted by the Commission each year in line with movements in prices as part of the annual technical adjustments to the financial perspective.

TITLE IV

OTHER PROVISIONS

Article 36

1. If, until the end of a period of up to three years after accession, difficulties arise which are serious and liable to persist in any sector of the economy or which could bring about serious deterioration in the economic situation of a given area, Bulgaria or Romania may apply for authorisation to take protective measures in order to rectify the situation and adjust the sector concerned to the economy of the internal market.

In the same circumstances, any present Member State may apply for authorisation to take protective measures with regard to Bulgaria, Romania, or both those States.

2. Upon request by the State concerned, the Commission shall, by emergency procedure, adopt the European regulations or decisions establishing the protective measures which it considers necessary, specifying the conditions and modalities under which they are to be put into effect.

In the event of serious economic difficulties and at the express request of the Member State concerned, the Commission shall act within five working days of the receipt of the request accompanied by the relevant background information. The measures thus decided on shall be applicable forthwith, shall take account of the interest of all parties concerned and shall not entail frontier controls.

3. The measures authorised under paragraph 2 may involve derogations from the rules of the Constitution and in particular from this Protocol to such an extent and for such periods as are strictly necessary in order to attain the objectives referred to in paragraph 1. Priority shall be given to such measures as will least disturb the functioning of the internal market.

Article 37

If Bulgaria or Romania has failed to implement commitments undertaken in the context of the accession negotiations, causing a serious breach of the functioning of the internal market, including any commitments in all sectoral policies which concern economic activities with cross-border effect, or an imminent risk of such breach the Commission may, until the end of a period of up to three years after accession, upon the motivated request of a Member State or on its own initiative, adopt European regulations or decisions establishing appropriate measures.

Measures shall be proportional and priority shall be given to measures which least disturb the functioning of the internal market and, where appropriate, to the application of the existing sectoral safeguard mechanisms. Such safeguard measures shall not be invoked as a means of arbitrary discrimination or a disguised restriction on trade between Member States. The safeguard clause may be invoked even before accession on the basis of the monitoring findings and the measures adopted shall enter into force as of the first day of accession unless they provide for a later date. The measures shall be maintained no longer than strictly necessary and, in any case, shall be lifted when the relevant commitment is implemented. They may however be applied beyond the period specified in the first paragraph as long as the relevant commitments have not been fulfilled. In response to progress made by the new Member State concerned in fulfilling its commitments, the Commission may adapt the measures as appropriate. The Commission shall inform the Council in good time before revoking the European regulations and decisions establishing the safeguard measures, and it shall take duly into account any observations of the Council in this respect.

Article 38

If there are serious shortcomings or any imminent risks of such shortcomings in Bulgaria or Romania in the transposition, state of implementation, or the application of the framework decisions or any other relevant commitments, instruments of cooperation and decisions relating to mutual recognition in the area of criminal law under Title VI of the Treaty on European Union and Directives and Regulations relating to mutual recognition in civil matters under Title IV of the Treaty establishing the European Community, and European laws and framework laws adopted on the basis of Sections 3 and 4 of Chapter IV of Title III of Part III of the Constitution, the Commission may, until the end of a period of up to three years after accession, upon the motivated request of a Member State or on its own initiative and after consulting the Member States, adopt European regulations or decisions establishing appropriate measures and specify the conditions and modalities under which these measures are put into effect.

These measures may take the form of temporary suspension of the application of relevant provisions and decisions in the relations between Bulgaria or Romania and any other Member State or Member States, without prejudice to the continuation of close judicial cooperation. The safeguard clause may be invoked even before accession on the basis of the monitoring findings and the measures adopted shall enter into force as of the first day of accession unless they provide for a later date. The measures shall be maintained no longer than strictly necessary and, in any case, shall be lifted when the shortcomings are remedied. They may however be applied beyond the period specified in the first paragraph as long as these shortcomings persist. In response to progress made by the new Member State concerned in rectifying the identified shortcomings, the Commission may adapt the measures as appropriate after consulting the Member States. The Commission shall inform the Council in good time before revoking the European regulations and decisions establishing the safeguard measures, and it shall take duly into account any observations of the Council in this respect.

Article 39

1. If, on the basis of the Commission's continuous monitoring of commitments undertaken by Bulgaria and Romania in the context of the accession negotiations and in particular the Commission's monitoring reports, there is clear evidence that the state of preparations for adoption and implementation of the acquis in Bulgaria or Romania is such that there is a serious risk of either of those States being manifestly unprepared to meet the requirements of membership by the date of accession of 1 January 2007 in a number of important areas, the Council may, acting unanimously on the basis of a Commission recommendation, decide that the date of accession of that State is postponed by one year to 1 January 2008.

2. Notwithstanding paragraph 1, the Council may, acting by qualified majority on the basis of a Commission recommendation, take the decision mentioned in paragraph 1 with respect to Romania if serious shortcomings have been observed in the fulfilment by Romania of one or more of the commitments and requirements listed in Annex IX, point I.

3. Notwithstanding paragraph 1, and without prejudice to Article 37, the Council may, acting by qualified majority on the basis of a Commission recommendation and after a detailed assessment to be made in the autumn of 2005 of the progress made by Romania in the area of competition policy, take the decision mentioned in paragraph 1 with respect to Romania if serious shortcomings have been observed in the fulfilment by Romania of the obligations undertaken under the Europe Agreement (17) or of one or more of the commitments and requirements listed in Annex IX, point II.

4. In the event of a decision taken under paragraph 1, 2 or 3, the Council shall, acting by qualified majority decide immediately upon such adjustments to this Protocol, including its Annexes and Appendices, as have become indispensable by reason of the postponement decision.

Article 40

In order not to hamper the proper functioning of the internal market, the enforcement of Bulgaria's and Romania's national rules during the transitional periods referred to in Annexes VI and VII shall not lead to border controls between Member States.

Article 41

If transitional measures are necessary to facilitate the transition from the existing regime in Bulgaria and Romania to that resulting from the application of the common agricultural policy under the conditions set out in this Protocol, such measures shall be adopted by the Commission in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 25(2) of Council Regulation (EC) No 1784/2003 of 29 September 2003 on the common organisation of the market in cereals (18) or, as appropriate, in the corresponding Articles of the other Regulations on the common organisation of agricultural markets or of the European laws replacing them or the relevant procedure as determined in the applicable legislation. The transitional measures referred to in this Article may be adopted during a period of three years following the date of accession and their application shall be limited to that period. A European law of the Council may extend this period. The Council shall act unanimously after consulting the European Parliament.

The transitional measures relating to implementation of the instruments concerning the common agricultural policy not specified in this Protocol which are required as a result of accession shall be established prior to the date of accession by European regulations or decisions adopted by the Council on a proposal from the Commission or, where they affect instruments initially adopted by the Commission, by European regulations or decisions adopted by the Commission in accordance with the procedure required for adopting the instruments in question.

Article 42

If transitional measures are necessary to facilitate the transition from the existing regime in Bulgaria and Romania to that resulting from the application of the Union veterinary, phytosanitary and food safety rules, such measures shall be adopted by the Commission in accordance with the relevant procedure as determined in the applicable legislation. These measures shall be taken during a period of three years following the date of accession and their application shall be limited to that period.

PART FIVE

PROVISIONS RELATING TO THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THIS PROTOCOL

TITLE I

SETTING UP OF THE INSTITUTIONS AND BODIES

Article 43

The European Parliament shall make such adaptations to its Rules of Procedure as are rendered necessary by accession.

Article 44

The Council shall make such adaptations to its Rules of Procedure as are rendered necessary by accession.

Article 45

A national of each new Member State shall be appointed to the Commission as from the date of accession. The new Members of the Commission shall be appointed by the Council, by common accord with the President of the Commission, after consulting the European Parliament and in accordance with the criteria set out in Article I-26(4) of the Constitution.

The terms of office of the Members thus appointed shall expire at the same time as those of the Members in office at the time of accession.

Article 46

1. Two Judges shall be appointed to the Court of Justice and two Judges shall be appointed to the General Court.

2. The term of office of one of the Judges of the Court of Justice appointed in accordance with paragraph 1 shall expire on 6 October 2009. This Judge shall be chosen by lot. The term of office of the other Judge shall expire on 6 October 2012.

The term of office of one of the Judges of the General Court appointed in accordance with paragraph 1 shall expire on 31 August 2007. This Judge shall be chosen by lot. The term of office of the other Judge shall expire on 31 August 2010.

3. The Court of Justice shall make such adaptations to its Rules of Procedure as are rendered necessary by accession.

The General Court, in agreement with the Court of Justice, shall make such adaptations to its Rules of Procedure as are rendered necessary by accession.

The Rules of Procedure as adapted shall require the consent of the Council.

4. For the purpose of judging cases pending before the Courts on the date of accession in respect of which oral proceedings have started before that date, the full Courts or the Chambers shall be composed as before accession and shall apply the Rules of Procedure in force on the day preceding the date of accession.

Article 47

A national of each new Member State shall be appointed to the Court of Auditors as from the date of accession for a term of office of six years.

Article 48

The Committee of the Regions shall be enlarged by the appointment of 27 members representing regional and local bodies in Bulgaria and Romania, who either hold a regional or local authority electoral mandate or are politically accountable to an elected assembly. The terms of office of the members thus appointed shall expire at the same time as those of the members in office at the time of accession.

Article 49

The Economic and Social Committee shall be enlarged by the appointment of 27 members representing the various economic and social components of organised civil society in Bulgaria and Romania. The terms of office of the members thus appointed shall expire at the same time as those of the members in office at the time of accession.

Article 50

Adaptations to the rules of the Committees established by the Constitution and to their rules of procedure, necessitated by the accession, shall be made as soon as possible after accession.

Article 51

1. New members of the committees, groups or other bodies created by the Constitution or by an act of the institutions shall be appointed under the conditions and according to the procedures laid down for the appointment of members of these committees, groups or other bodies. The terms of office of the newly appointed members shall expire at the same time as those of the members in office at the time of accession.

2. The membership of committees or groups created by the Constitution or by an act of the institutions with a number of members fixed irrespective of the number of Member States shall be completely renewed upon accession, unless the terms of office of the present members expire within the year following accession.

TITLE II

APPLICABILITY OF THE ACTS OF THE INSTITUTIONS

Article 52

Upon accession, Bulgaria and Romania shall be considered as being addressees of European framework laws, regulations and decisions within the meaning of Article I-33 of the Constitution, and of directives and decisions within the meaning of Article 249 of the Treaty establishing the European Community and of Article 161 of the EAEC Treaty, provided that those European framework laws, regulations and decisions, and those directives and decisions have been addressed to all the present Member States. Except with regard to European decisions which enter into force pursuant to Article I-39(2) of the Constitution, and to directives and decisions which have entered into force pursuant to Article 254(1) and (2) of the Treaty establishing the European Community, Bulgaria and Romania shall be considered as having received notification of such European decisions and such directives and decisions upon accession.

Article 53

1. Bulgaria and Romania shall put into effect the measures necessary for them to comply, from the date of accession, with the provisions of European framework laws and those European regulations which are binding as to the result to be achieved but leave the national authorities the choice of form and methods within the meaning of Article I-33 of the Constitution, and of directives and decisions within the meaning of Article 249 of the Treaty establishing the European Community and of Article 161 of the EAEC Treaty, unless another time limit is provided for in this Protocol. They shall communicate those measures to the Commission at the latest by the date of accession or, where appropriate, by the time limit provided for in this Protocol.

2. To the extent that amendments to directives within the meaning of Article 249 of the Treaty establishing the European Community and of Article 161 of the EAEC Treaty introduced by this Protocol require a modification of the laws, regulations or administrative provisions of the present Member States, the present Member States shall put into effect the measures necessary to comply, from the date of accession, with the amended directives, unless another time limit is provided for in this Protocol. They shall communicate those measures to the Commission by the date of accession or, where later, by the time limit provided for in this Protocol.

Article 54

Provisions laid down by law, regulation or administrative action designed to ensure the protection of the health of workers and the general public in the territory of Bulgaria and Romania against the dangers arising from ionising radiations shall, in accordance with Article 33 of the EAEC Treaty, be communicated by those States to the Commission within three months of accession.

Article 55

At the duly substantiated request of Bulgaria or Romania submitted to the Commission no later than the date of accession, the Council acting on a proposal from the Commission, or the Commission, if the original act was adopted by the Commission, may adopt European regulations or decisions establishing temporary derogations from acts of the institutions adopted between 1 October 2004 and the date of accession. The measures shall be adopted according to the voting rules governing the adoption of the act from which a temporary derogation is sought. Where these derogations are adopted after accession they may be applied as from the date of accession.

Article 56

Where acts of the institutions adopted prior to accession require adaptation by reason of accession, and the necessary adaptations have not been provided for in this Protocol or its Annexes, the Council, acting on a proposal from the Commission, or the Commission, if the original act was adopted by the Commission, shall to this end adopt the necessary acts. Where these adaptations are adopted after accession they may be applied as from the date of accession.

Article 57

Unless otherwise stipulated, the Council, on a proposal from the Commission, shall adopt the European regulations or decisions establishing the necessary measures to implement the provisions of this Protocol.

Article 58

The texts of the acts of the institutions adopted before accession and drawn up by the Council, the Commission or the European Central Bank in the Bulgarian and Romanian languages shall, from the date of accession, be authentic under the same conditions as the texts drawn up in the present official languages. They shall be published in the Official Journal of the European Union if the texts in the present languages were so published.

TITLE III

FINAL PROVISIONS

Article 59

Annexes I to IX and the Appendices thereto shall form an integral part of this Protocol.

Article 60

The Government of the Italian Republic shall remit to the Governments of the Republic of Bulgaria and Romania a certified copy of the Treaty establishing the European Atomic Energy Community, and the Treaties amending or supplementing it, in the Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Estonian, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hungarian, Irish, Italian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Maltese, Polish, Portuguese, Slovak, Slovenian, Spanish and Swedish languages.

The text of that Treaty, drawn up in the Bulgarian and Romanian languages, shall be annexed to this Protocol. Those texts shall be authentic under the same conditions as the texts of the Treaty referred to in the first paragraph, drawn up in the present languages.

Article 61

A certified copy of the international agreements deposited in the archives of the General Secretariat of the Council of the European Union shall be remitted to the Governments of the Republic of Bulgaria and Romania by the Secretary General.

(1) OJ L 317, 15.12.2000, p. 3.

(2) OJ L 1, 3.1.1994, p. 3.

(3) The figures quoted for Bulgaria and Romania are indicative and based on the 2003 data published by Eurostat.’

(4) OJ L 278, 8.10.1976, p. 5. Act as last amended by Council Decision 2002/772/EC, Euratom (OJ L 283, 21.10.2002, p. 1).

(5) The figures quoted are indicative and based on the 2003 data published by Eurostat.

(6) OJ L 79, 22.3.2002, p. 42.

(7) Council Regulation (EEC) No 3906/89 of 18.12.1989 on economic aid to certain countries of Central and Eastern Europe (OJ L 375, 23.12.1989, p. 11). Regulation as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 769/2004 (OJ L 123, 27.4.2004, p. 1).

(8) Commission Regulation (EC) No 2760/98 of 18.12.1998 concerning the implementation of a programme for cross-border cooperation in the framework of the PHARE programme (OJ L 345, 19.12.1998, p. 49). Regulation as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 1822/2003 (OJ L 267, 17.10.2003, p. 9).

(9) OJ L 161, 26.6.1999, p. 68.

(10) Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002 of 25.6.2002 (OJ L 248, 16.9.2002, p. 1).

(11) Council Regulation (EC) No 1267/1999 of 21.6.1999 establishing an Instrument for Structural Policies for Pre-Accession (OJ L 161, 26.6.1999, p. 73). Regulation as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 769/2004 (OJ L 123, 27.4.2004, p. 1).

(12) OJ L 56, 4.3.1968, p. 1. Regulation as last amended by Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 723/2004 (OJ L 124, 27.4.2004, p. 1).

(13) OJ L 130, 25.5.1994, p. 1. Regulation as last amended by the 2003 Act of Accession (OJ L 236, 23.9.2003, p. 33).

(14) Council Regulation (EC) No 1268/1999 of 21.6.1999 on Community support for pre-accession measures for agriculture and rural development in the applicant countries of Central and Eastern Europe in the pre-accession period (OJ L 161, 26.6.1999, p. 87). Regulation as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 2008/2004 (OJ L 349, 25.11.2004, p. 12).

(15) OJ L 161, 26.6.1999, p. 1. Regulation as last amended by the 2003 Act of Accession (OJ L 236, 23.9.2003, p. 33).

(16) OJ L 184, 17.7.1999, p. 23.

(17) Europe Agreement establishing an association between the European Economic Communities and their Member States, of the one part, and Romania, of the other part (OJ L 357, 31.12.1994, p. 2)

(18) OJ L 270, 21.10.2003, p. 78.

ANNEX V List referred to in Article 18 of the Protocol: other permanent provisions 1. COMPANY LAW Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe, Part III, Title III, Chapter I, Section 3, Free movement of goods SPECIFIC MECHANISM With regard to Bulgaria or Romania, the holder, or his beneficiary, of a patent or supplementary protection certificate for a pharmaceutical product filed in a Member State at a time when such protection could not be obtained in one of the abovementioned new Member States for that product, may rely on the rights granted by that patent or supplementary protection certificate in order to prevent the import and marketing of that product in the Member State or States where the product in question enjoys patent protection or supplementary protection, even if the product was put on the market in that new Member State for the first time by him or with his consent. Any person intending to import or market a pharmaceutical product covered by the above paragraph in a Member State where the product enjoys patent or supplementary protection shall demonstrate to the competent authorities in the application regarding that import that one month's prior notification has been given to the holder or beneficiary of such protection. 2. COMPETITION POLICY Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe, Part III, Title III, Chapter I, Section 5, Rules on competition 1. The following aid schemes and individual aid put into effect in a new Member State before the date of accession and still applicable after that date shall be regarded upon accession as existing aid within the meaning of Article III-168(1) of the Constitution: (a) aid measures put into effect before 10 December 1994; (b) aid measures listed in the Appendix to this Annex; (c) aid measures which prior to the date of accession were assessed by the State aid monitoring authority of the new Member State and found to be compatible with the acquis, and to which the Commission did not raise an objection on the ground of serious doubts as to the compatibility of the measure with the common market, pursuant to the procedure set out in paragraph 2. All measures still applicable after the date of accession which constitute State aid and which do not fulfil the conditions set out above shall be considered as new aid upon accession for the purpose of the application of Article III-168(3) of the Constitution. The above provisions do not apply to aid to the transport sector, nor to activities linked to the production, processing or marketing of products listed in Annex I to the Constitution with the exception of fisheries products and products derived thereof. The above provisions shall also be without prejudice to the transitional measures regarding Competition Policy set out in the Protocol and the measures laid down in Annex VII, Chapter 4, Section B, to the Protocol. 2. To the extent that a new Member State wishes the Commission to examine an aid measure under the procedure described in paragraph 1(c), it shall provide the Commission regularly with: (a) a list of existing aid measures which have been assessed by the national State aid monitoring authority and which that authority has found to be compatible with the acquis; and (b) any other information which is essential for the assessment of the compatibility of the aid measure to be examined, in accordance with the concrete reporting format provided by the Commission. If the Commission does not object to the existing aid measure on the ground of serious doubts as to the compatibility of the measure with the common market, within 3 months of receipt of complete information on that measure or of receipt of the statement of the new Member State in which it informs the Commission that it considers the information provided to be complete because the additional information requested is not available or has been already provided, the Commission shall be deemed not to have raised an objection. All aid measures submitted under the procedure described in paragraph 1(c) prior to the date of accession to the Commission are subject to the above procedure irrespective of the fact that in the period of examination the new Member State concerned has already become member of the Union. 3. A Commission decision to object to a measure, within the meaning of paragraph 1(c), shall be regarded as a decision to initiate the formal investigation procedure within the meaning of Council Regulation (EC) No 659/1999 of 22 March 1999 laying down detailed rules for the application of Article 93 of the EC Treaty (1). If such a decision is taken before the date of accession, the decision will only come into effect upon the date of accession. 4. Without prejudice to the procedures concerning existing aid provided for in Article III-168 of the Constitution, aid schemes and individual aid granted in the transport sector, put into effect in a new Member State before the date of accession and still applicable after that date, shall be regarded as existing aid within the meaning of Article III-168(1) of the Constitution subject to the following condition: — the aid measures shall be communicated to the Commission within four months of the date of accession. This communication shall include information on the legal basis for each measure. Existing aid measures and plans to grant or alter aids communicated to the Commission prior to the date of accession shall be deemed to have been communicated on the date of accession. These aid measures shall be regarded as ‘existing’ aid within the meaning of Article III‐168(1) of the Constitution until the end of third year from the date of accession. The new Member States shall, where necessary, amend these aid measures in order to comply with the guidelines applied by the Commission by the end of the third year from the date of accession at the latest. After that date, any aid found to be incompatible with those guidelines shall be considered as new aid. 5. With regard to Romania, paragraph 1(c) shall only apply to aid measures assessed by the Romanian State aid monitoring authority after such date, decided upon by the Commission on the basis of continuous monitoring of the commitments undertaken by Romania in the context of the accession negotiations, that Romania's State aid enforcement record in the period prior to accession has reached a satisfactory level. Such a satisfactory level shall only be considered to have been reached once Romania has demonstrated the consistent application of full and proper State aid control in relation to all aid measures granted in Romania, including the adoption and the implementation of fully and correctly reasoned decisions by the Romanian State aid monitoring authority containing an accurate assessment of the State aid nature of each measure and a correct application of the compatibility criteria. The Commission may object, on the ground of serious doubts as to the compatibility with the common market, to any aid measure granted in the pre-accession period between 1 September 2004 and the date fixed in the above Commission decision finding that the enforcement record has reached a satisfactory level. Such a Commission decision to object to a measure shall be regarded as a decision to initiate the formal investigation procedure within the meaning of Regulation (EC) No 659/1999. If such a decision is taken before the date of accession, the decision will only come into effect upon the date of accession. Where the Commission adopts a negative decision following the initiation of the formal investigation procedure, the Commission shall decide that Romania shall take all necessary measures to effectively recover the aid from the beneficiary. The aid to be recovered shall include interest at an appropriate rate determined in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 794/2004 (2), and payable from the same date. 3. AGRICULTURE (a) Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe, Part III, Title III, Chapter III, Section 4, Agriculture and fisheries 1. Public stocks held at the date of accession by the new Member States and resulting from their market-support policy shall be taken over by the Community at the value resulting from the application of Article 8 of Council Regulation (EEC) No 1883/78 of 2 August 1978 laying down general rules for the financing of interventions by the European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund, Guarantee Section (3). The said stocks shall be taken over only on condition that public intervention for the products in question is operated in the Community and that the stocks meet the Community intervention requirements. 2. Any stock of product, private as well as public, in free circulation at the date of accession within the territory of the new Member States exceeding the quantity which could be regarded as constituting a normal carryover of stock must be eliminated at the expense of the new Member States. The concept of normal carryover stock shall be defined for each product on the basis of criteria and objectives specific to each common market organisation. 3. The stocks referred to in paragraph 1 shall be deducted from the quantity exceeding the normal carryover of stocks. 4. The Commission shall implement and apply the arrangements outlined above in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 13 of Council Regulation (EC) No 1258/1999 of 17 May 1999 on the financing of the common agricultural policy (4) or, as appropriate, in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 42(2) of Council Regulation (EC) No 1260/2001 of 30 June 2001 on the common organisation of the markets in the sugar sector (5), or in the corresponding Articles of the other Regulations on the common organisation of agricultural markets or the relevant committee procedure as determined in the applicable legislation. (b) Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe, Part III, Title III, Chapter I, Section 5, Rules on competition Without prejudice to the procedures concerning existing aid provided for in Article III-168 of the Constitution, aid schemes and individual aid granted to activities linked to the production, processing or marketing of products listed in Annex I to the Constitution, with the exception of fisheries products and products derived therefrom, put into effect in a new Member State before the date of accession and still applicable after that date, shall be regarded as existing aid within the meaning of Article III-168(1) of the Constitution, subject to the following condition: — the aid measures shall be communicated to the Commission within four months of the date of accession. This communication shall include information on the legal basis for each measure. Existing aid measures and plans to grant or alter aids communicated to the Commission prior to the date of accession shall be deemed to have been communicated on the date of accession. The Commission shall publish a list of such aids. These aid measures shall be regarded as ‘existing’ aid within the meaning of Article III-168(1) of the Constitution until the end of third year from the date of accession. The new Member States shall, where necessary, amend these aid measures in order to comply with the guidelines applied by the Commission by the end of the third year from the date of accession at the latest. After that date, any aid found to be incompatible with those guidelines shall be considered as new aid. 4. CUSTOMS UNION Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe, Part III, Title III, Chapter I, Section 3, Free movement of goods, Subsection 1, Customs Union 31992 R 2913: Council Regulation (EEC) No 2913/92 of 12 October 1992 establishing the Community Customs Code (OJ L 302, 19.10.1992, p. 1), as last amended by: — 12003 T: Act concerning the conditions of accession and the adjustments to the Treaties — Accession of the Czech Republic, the Republic of Estonia, the Republic of Cyprus, the Republic of Latvia, the Republic of Lithuania, the Republic of Hungary, the Republic of Malta, the Republic of Poland, the Republic of Slovenia and the Slovak Republic (OJ L 236, 23.9.2003, p. 33); 31993 R 2454: Commission Regulation (EEC) No 2454/93 of 2 July 1993 laying down provisions for the implementation of Council Regulation (EEC) No 2913/92 establishing the Community Customs Code (OJ L 253, 11.10.1993, p. 1), as last amended by: — 32003 R 2286: Commission Regulation (EC) No 2286/2003 of 18.12.2003 (OJ L 343, 31.12.2003, p. 1). Regulation (EEC) No 2913/92 and Regulation (EEC) No 2454/93 shall apply to the new Member States subject to the following specific provisions: PROOF OF COMMUNITY STATUS (TRADE WITHIN THE ENLARGED COMMUNITY) 1. Notwithstanding Article 20 of Regulation (EEC) No 2913/92, goods which on the date of accession are in temporary storage or under one of the customs treatments and procedures referred to in Article 4(15)(b) and (16)(b) to (g) of that Regulation in the enlarged Community, or which are in transport after having been the subject of export formalities within the enlarged Community, shall be free of customs duties and other customs measures when declared for release for free circulation within the enlarged Community on condition that one of the following is presented: (a) proof of preferential origin properly issued or made out prior to the date of accession under one of the Europe Agreements listed below or the equivalent preferential agreements concluded between the new Member States themselves, and which contains a prohibition of drawback of, or exemption from, customs duties on non-originating materials used in the manufacture of the products for which a proof of origin is issued or made out (‘no‐drawback’ rule); The Europe Agreements: — 21994 A 1231 (24) Bulgaria: Europe Agreement establishing an association between the European Communities and their Member States, of the one part, and the Republic of Bulgaria, of the other part — Protocol 4 concerning the definition of the concept of ‘originating products’ and methods of administrative cooperation (6); — 21994 A 1231 (20) Romania: Europe Agreement establishing an association between the European Communities and their Member States, of the one part, and Romania, of the other part — Protocol 4 concerning the definition of the concept of ‘originating products’ and methods of administrative cooperation (7). (b) any of the means of proof of Community status referred to in Article 314c of Regulation (EEC) No 2454/93; (c) an ATA carnet issued before the date of accession in a present Member State or in a new Member State. 2. For the purpose of issuing the proofs referred to in paragraph 1(b) above, with reference to the situation at the date of accession and in addition to the provisions of Article 4(7) of Regulation (EEC) No 2913/92, ‘Community goods’ shall mean goods: — wholly obtained in the territory of any of the new Member States under conditions identical to those of Article 23 of Regulation (EEC) No 2913/92 and not incorporating goods imported from other countries or territories; or — imported from countries or territories other than the country concerned, and released for free circulation in that country; or — obtained or produced in the country concerned, either from goods referred to in the second indent of this paragraph alone or from goods referred to in the first and second indent of this paragraph. 3. For the purpose of verifying the proofs referred to in paragraph 1(a) above, the provisions concerning the definition of the concept of ‘originating products’ and methods of administrative cooperation under the respective Europe Agreements or the equivalent preferential agreements concluded between the new Member States themselves shall apply. Requests for subsequent verification of those proofs shall be accepted by the competent customs authorities of the present Member States and of the new Member States for a period of three years after the issue of the proof of origin concerned and may be made by those authorities for a period of three years after acceptance of the proof of origin in support of a declaration of free circulation. PROOF OF PREFERENTIAL ORIGIN (TRADE WITH THIRD COUNTRIES, INCLUDING TURKEY, IN THE FRAMEWORK OF THE PREFERENTIAL AGREEMENTS ON AGRICULTURE, COAL AND STEEL PRODUCTS) 4. Without prejudice to the application of any measure deriving from the common commercial policy, proof of origin properly issued by third countries or made out in the framework of preferential agreements concluded by the new Member States with those countries or issued or made out in the framework of unilateral national legislation of the new Member States shall be accepted in the respective new Member States, provided that: (a) the acquisition of such origin confers preferential tariff treatment on the basis of the preferential tariff measures contained in agreements or arrangements which the Community has concluded with, or adopted in respect of those third countries or groups of countries, as referred to in Article 20(3)(d) and (e) of Regulation (EEC) No 2913/92; and (b) the proof of origin and the transport documents were issued or made out no later than the day before the date of accession; and (c) the proof of origin is submitted to the customs authorities within the period of four months from the date of accession. Where goods were declared for release for free circulation in a new Member State prior to the date of accession, proof of origin issued or made out retrospectively under preferential agreements or arrangements in force in that new Member State at the date of the release for free circulation may also be accepted in the new Member State concerned, provided that it is submitted to the customs authorities within the period of four months from the date of accession. 5. Bulgaria and Romania are authorised to retain the authorisations with which the status of ‘approved exporters’ has been granted in the framework of agreements concluded with third countries, provided that: (a) such a provision is also provided for in the agreements concluded prior to the date of accession by those third countries with the Community; and (b) the approved exporters apply the rules of origin provided for in those agreements. These authorisations shall be replaced by the new Member States, no later than one year after the date of accession, by new authorisations issued under the conditions of Community legislation. 6. For the purpose of verifying the proofs referred to in paragraph 4, the provisions concerning the definition of the concept of ‘originating products’ and methods of administrative cooperation of the relevant agreements or arrangements shall apply. Requests for subsequent verification of those proofs shall be accepted by the competent customs authorities of the present Member States and of the new Member States for a period of three years after the issue of the proof of origin concerned and may be made by those authorities for a period of three years after acceptance of the proof of origin in support of a declaration of free circulation. 7. Without prejudice to the application of any measure deriving from the common commercial policy, proof of origin issued retrospectively by third countries in the framework of preferential agreements concluded by the Community with those countries shall be accepted in the new Member States for the release for free circulation of goods which on the date of accession are either en route or in temporary storage, in a customs warehouse or in a free zone in one of these third countries or in that new Member State, provided that the new Member State where the release for free circulation takes place had no free trade agreement in force with the third country, for the products concerned, at the moment when the transport documents where issued, and provided that: (a) the acquisition of such origin confers preferential tariff treatment on the basis of the preferential tariff measures contained in agreements or arrangements which the Community has concluded with, or adopted in respect of third countries or groups of countries, as referred to in Article 20(3)(d) and (e) of Regulation (EEC) No 2913/92; and (b) the transport documents were issued no later than the day before the date of accession; and (c) the proof of origin issued retrospectively is submitted to the customs authorities within four months of the date of accession. 8. For the purpose of verifying the proofs referred to in paragraph 7, the provisions concerning the definition of the concept of ‘originating products’ and methods of administrative cooperation of the relevant agreements or arrangements shall apply. PROOF OF STATUS UNDER THE PROVISIONS ON FREE CIRCULATION FOR INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTS WITHIN THE EC‐TURKEY CUSTOMS UNION 9. Proofs of origin properly issued by either Turkey or a new Member State in the framework of preferential trade agreements applied between them and allowing with the Community a cumulation of origin based on identical rules of origin and a prohibition of any drawback or suspension from customs duties on the goods concerned, shall be accepted in the respective countries as a proof of status under the provisions on free circulation for industrial products, laid down in Decision No 1/95 of the EC-Turkey Association Council (8), provided that: (a) the proof of origin and the transport documents were issued no later than the day before the date of accession; and (b) the proof of origin is submitted to the customs authorities within the period of four months from the date of accession. Where goods were declared for release for free circulation in either Turkey or a new Member State, prior to the date of accession, in the framework of preferential trade agreements mentioned above, proof of origin issued retrospectively under those agreements may also be accepted provided that it is submitted to the customs authorities within the period of four months from the date of accession. 10. For the purpose of verifying the proofs referred to in paragraph 9, the provisions concerning the definition of the concept of ‘originating products’ and methods of administrative cooperation of the relevant preferential agreements shall apply. Requests for subsequent verification of those proofs shall be accepted by the competent customs authorities of the present Member States and of the new Member States for a period of three years after the issue of the proof of origin concerned and may be made by those authorities for a period of three years after acceptance of the proof of origin in support of a declaration of free circulation. 11. Without prejudice to the application of any measure deriving from the common commercial policy, an A.TR movement certificate issued under the provisions on free circulation for industrial products, laid down in Decision No 1/95 of the EC-Turkey Association Council, shall be accepted in the new Member States for the release for free circulation of goods which on the date of accession are either in transport after having been the subject of export formalities within the Community or Turkey or are in temporary storage or under a customs procedure referred to in Article 4(16)(b) to (h) of Regulation (EEC) No 2913/92 in Turkey or in that new Member State, provided that: (a) no proof of origin as referred to in paragraph 9 is submitted for the goods concerned; and (b) the goods comply with the conditions for the implementation of the provisions on free circulation for industrial products; and (c) the transport documents were issued no later than the day before the date of accession; and (d) the A.TR movement certificate is submitted to the customs authorities within four months of the date of accession. 12. For the purpose of verifying the A.TR movement certificates referred to in paragraph 11 above, the provisions concerning the issue of A.TR movement certificates and methods of administrative cooperation under Decision No 1/2001 of the EC-Turkey Customs Cooperation Committee (9) shall apply. CUSTOMS PROCEDURES 13. Temporary storage and customs procedures referred to in Article 4(16) (b) to (h) of Regulation (EEC) No 2913/92 which have begun before accession shall be ended or discharged under the conditions of Community legislation. Where the end or discharge gives rise to a customs debt, the amount of import duty to be paid shall be that in force at the time when the customs debt is incurred in accordance with the Common Customs Tariff and the amount paid shall be considered as own resources of the Community. 14. The procedures governing customs warehousing laid down in Articles 84 to 90 and 98 to 113 of Regulation (EEC) No 2913/92 and Articles 496 to 535 of Regulation (EEC) No 2454/93 shall apply to the new Member States subject to the following specific provisions: — where the amount of a customs debt is determined on the basis of the nature of the import goods, the value for customs purposes and the quantity of the import goods at the time of acceptance of the declaration of their placing under customs warehousing and that declaration was accepted prior to the date of accession, these elements shall result from the legislation applicable before the date of accession in the new Member State concerned. 15. The procedures governing inward processing laid down in Articles 84 to 90 and 114 to 129 of Regulation (EEC) No 2913/92 and Articles 496 to 523 and 536 to 550 of Regulation (EEC) No 2454/93 shall apply to the new Member States subject to the following specific provisions: — where the amount of a customs debt is determined on the basis of the nature of the import goods, their tariff classification, the quantity, the value for customs purposes and the origin of the import goods at the time they were placed under the procedure and where the declaration placing the goods under the procedure was accepted prior to the date of accession, these elements shall result from the legislation applicable before the date of accession in the new Member State concerned; — where the discharge gives rise to a customs debt, in order to maintain the equity between the holders of authorisations established in the present Member States and those in the new Member States, compensatory interest shall be paid on the import duties due under the conditions of Community legislation from the date of accession; — if the declaration for inward processing was accepted under a drawback system, the drawback shall be effected under the conditions of Community legislation, by and at the expense of the new Member State, where the customs debt in respect of which the drawback is requested was incurred before the date of accession. 16. The procedures governing temporary importation laid down in Articles 84 to 90 and 137 to 144 of Regulation (EEC) No 2913/92 and Articles 496 to 523 and 553 to 584 of Regulation (EEC) No 2454/93 shall apply to the new Member States subject to the following specific provisions: — where the amount of a customs debt is determined on the basis of the nature of the import goods, their tariff classification, the quantity, the value for customs purposes and the origin of the import goods at the time they were placed under the procedure and where the declaration placing the goods under the procedure was accepted prior to the date of accession, these elements shall result from the legislation applicable before the date of accession in the new Member State concerned; — where the discharge gives rise to a customs debt, in order to maintain equity between the holders of authorisations established in the present Member States and those in the new Member States, compensatory interest shall be paid on the import duties due under the conditions of Community legislation from the date of accession. 17. The procedures governing outward processing laid down in Articles 84 to 90 and 145 to 160 of Regulation (EEC) No 2913/92 and Articles 496 to 523 and 585 to 592 of Regulation (EEC) No 2454/93 shall apply to the new Member States subject to the following specific provisions: — Article 591, second paragraph, of Regulation (EEC) No 2454/93 shall apply mutatis mutandis to temporary export goods which have been exported temporarily before the date of accession from the new Member States. OTHER PROVISIONS 18. Authorisations which have been granted before the date of accession for the use of the customs procedures referred to in Article 4(16)(d), (e) and (g) of Regulation (EEC) No 2913/92 shall be valid until the end of their validity or one year after the date of accession, whichever is the earlier. 19. The procedures governing incurrence of a customs debt, entry in the accounts and post-clearance recovery laid down in Articles 201 to 232 of Regulation (EEC) No 2913/92 and Articles 859 to 876a of Regulation (EEC) No 2454/93 shall apply to the new Member States subject to the following specific provisions: — recovery shall be effected under the conditions of Community legislation. However, where the customs debt was incurred before the date of accession, recovery shall be effected under the conditions in force in the new Member State concerned before accession, by it and in its own favour. 20. The procedures governing repayment and remission of duty laid down in Articles 235 to 242 of Regulation (EEC) No 2913/92 and Articles 877 to 912 of Regulation (EEC) No 2454/93 shall apply to the new Member States subject to the following specific provisions: — repayment and remission of duties shall be effected under the conditions of Community legislation. However, where the duties of which repayment or remission is requested relate to a customs debt which was incurred before the date of accession, the repayment and remission of duties shall be effected under the conditions in force in the new Member State concerned before accession, by it and at its own expense. (1) OJ L 83, 27.3.1999, p. 1. Regulation as last amended by the 2003 Act of Accession (OJ L 236, 23.9.2003, p. 33). (2) Commission Regulation (EC) No 794/2004 of 21.4.2004 implementing Council Regulation (EC) No 659/1999 laying down detailed rules for the application of Article 93 of the EC Treaty (OJ L 140, 30.4.2004, p. 1). (3) OJ L 216, 5.8.1978, p. 1. Regulation as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 1259/96 (OJ L 163, 2.7.1996, p. 10). (4) OJ L 160, 26.6.1999, p. 103. (5) OJ L 178, 30.6.2001, p. 1. Regulation as last amended by Commission Regulation (EC) No 39/2004 (OJ L 6, 10.1.2004, p. 16). (6) OJ L 358, 31.12.1994, p. 3. Protocol as last amended by Decision No 1/2003 of the EU/Bulgaria Association Council of 4.6.2003 (OJ L 191, 30.7.2003, p. 1). (7) OJ L 357, 31.12.1994, p. 2. Protocol as last amended by Decision No 2/2003 of the EU/Romania Association Council of 25.9.2003 (not yet published in the Official Journal). (8) Decision No 1/95 of the EC-Turkey Association Council of 22.12.1995 on implementing the final phase of the Customs Union (OJ L 35, 13.2.1996, p. 1). Decision as last amended by Decision No 2/99 of the EC-Turkey Association Council (OJ L 72, 18.3.1999, p. 36). (9) Decision No 1/2001 of the EC-Turkey Customs Cooperation Committee of 28.3.2001 amending Decision No 1/96 laying down detailed rules for the application of Decision No 1/95 of the EC-Turkey Association Council (OJ L 98, 7.4.2001, p. 31). Decision as last amended by Decision No 1/2003 of the EC‐Turkey Customs Cooperation Committee (OJ L 28, 4.2.2003, p. 51). Appendix to Annex V List of existing aid measures referred to in point 1(b) of the existing aid mechanism provided for in Chapter 2 of Annex V Note: The aid measures listed in this Appendix are only to be considered as existing aid for the purpose of the existing aid mechanism set out in Chapter 2 of Annex V to the extent that they fall within the scope of its first paragraph. No Title (original) Date of approval by national State aid monitoring authority Duration MS Nr Yr BG 1 2004 Предоговаряне на задълженията към държавата, възникнали по реда на Закона за уреждане на необслужваните кредити, договорени до 31.12.1990 г. със ‘Силома’ АД, гр.Силистра, чрез удължаване на срока на изплащане на главницата за срок от 15 години 29.7.2004 2004-2018 BG 2 2004 Средства за компенсиране от държавния бюджет на доказания от ‘Български пощи’ ЕАД дефицит от изпълнението на универсалната пощенска услуга 18.11.2004 31.12.2010 BG 3 2004 Целево финансиране на дейността на Българската телеграфна агенция- направление ‘Информационно обслужване’ 16.12.2003 31.12.2010

ANNEX VIII Rural development (referred to in Article 34 of the Protocol) SECTION I TEMPORARY ADDITIONAL RURAL DEVELOPMENT MEASURES FOR BULGARIA AND ROMANIA A. Support for semi‐subsistence farms undergoing restructuring (1) Support for semi‐subsistence farms undergoing restructuring shall contribute to the following objectives: (a) to help ease rural transition problems as the agricultural sector and rural economy of Bulgaria and Romania are exposed to the competitive pressure of the single market; (b) to facilitate and encourage the restructuring of farms not yet economically viable. For the purpose of this Annex, ‘semi‐subsistence farms’ shall mean farms which primarily produce for their own consumption, but also market a proportion of their output. (2) To benefit from the support, the farmer must present a business plan which: (a) demonstrates the future economic viability of the farm; (b) contains details of the investments required; (c) describes specific milestones and targets. (3) Compliance with the business plan referred to in point (2) shall be reviewed after three years. If the interim objectives set out in the plan have not been achieved by the time of the three‐year review, no further support shall be granted but there will be no requirement on these grounds to repay monies already received. (4) Support shall be paid annually in the form of a flat-rate aid up to the maximum eligible amount specified in Section I G and for a period not exceeding five years. B. Producer groups (1) Flat‐rate support shall be granted in order to facilitate the establishment and administrative operation of producer groups which have as their objectives: (a) adapting the production and output of the producers who are members of such groups to market requirements; (b) jointly placing goods on the market, including preparation for sale, the centralisation of sales and supply to bulk buyers; and (c) establishing common rules on production information, with particular regard to harvesting and availability. (2) The support shall be granted only to producer groups which are formally recognised by the competent authorities of Bulgaria or Romania between the date of accession and 31 December 2009 on the basis of either national or Community law. (3) The support shall be granted in annual instalments for the first five years following the date on which the producer group was recognised. It shall be calculated on the basis of the group's annual marketed production and shall not exceed: (a) 5 %, 5 %, 4 %, 3 % and 2 % of the value of the production up to EUR 1 000 000 marketed respectively in the first, second, third, fourth and fifth year, and (b) 2,5 %, 2,5 %, 2,0 %, 1,5 % and 1,5 % of the value of the production exceeding EUR 1 000 000 marketed respectively in the first, second, third, fourth and fifth year. In any case, support shall not exceed the maximum eligible amounts laid down in Section I G. C. Leader + type measures (1) Support may be granted for measures which are related to the acquisition of skills intended to prepare rural communities to conceive and implement local rural development strategies. These measures may include in particular: (a) technical support for studies of the local area, and territory diagnosis taking into account the wishes expressed by the population concerned; (b) information and training of the population to encourage an active participation in the development process; (c) building representative local development partnerships; (d) drawing up integrated development strategies; (e) financing research and preparing applications for support. (2) Support may be granted for the adoption of integrated territorial rural development strategies, of a pilot nature, prepared by local action groups in accordance with the principles laid down in items 12, 14 and 36 of the Commission Notice to the Member States of 14 April 2000 laying down guidelines for the Community initiative for rural development (Leader+) (1). This support shall be limited to regions where there is already sufficient administrative capacity and experience of local rural development type approaches. (3) The local action groups referred to in point (2) may be eligible to participate in inter-territorial and transnational cooperation actions in accordance with the principles laid down in items 15 to 18 of the Commission Notice referred to in point (2). (4) Bulgaria and Romania and local action groups shall be given access to the Observatory of rural areas provided for in item 23 of the Commission Notice referred to in point (2). D. Farm advisory and extension services Support shall be granted for the provision of farm advisory and extension services. E. Complements to direct payments (1) Support may be granted to farmers eligible for complementary national direct payments or aids under Article 143c of Regulation (EC) No 1782/2003 (2). (2) The support granted to a farmer in respect of the years 2007, 2008, 2009 shall not exceed the difference between: (a) the level of direct payments applicable in Bulgaria or Romania for the year concerned in accordance with Article 143a of Regulation (EC) 1782/2003, and (b) 40 % of the level of direct payments applicable in the Community as constituted on 30 April 2004 in the relevant year. (3) The Community contribution to support granted under this subsection E in Bulgaria or Romania in respect of each of the years 2007, 2008, and 2009 shall not exceed 20 % of its respective annual allocation. However Bulgaria or Romania may decide to replace this 20 % annual rate with the following rates: 25 % for 2007, 20 % for 2008 and 15 % for 2009. (4) Support granted to a farmer under this subsection E shall be counted as complementary national direct payments or aids, as applicable, for the purposes of applying the maximum levels set out in Article 143c(2a) of Regulation (EC) No 1782/2003. F. Technical assistance (1) Support may be granted for the preparation, monitoring, evaluation and control measures which are necessary for the implementation of the rural development programming documents. (2) The measures referred to in point (1) shall include in particular: (a) studies; (b) measures of technical assistance, the exchange of experience and information aimed at partners, beneficiaries and the general public; (c) installation, operation and interconnection of computerised systems for management, monitoring and evaluation; (d) improvements in evaluation methods and exchange of information on best practice in this field. G. Table of amounts for the temporary additional rural development measures for Bulgaria and Romania Measure EUR Semi‐subsistence farms 1 000 per farm/per year Producer groups 100 000 For the first year 100 000 For the second year 80 000 For the third year 60 000 For the fourth year 50 000 F