25.

Article 49 shall be replaced by the following: ‘Article 49 1. A basic act shall first be adopted before the appropriations entered in the budget for any action by the Communities or by the European Union may be used. A basic act is a legal act which provides a legal basis for the action and for the implementation of the corresponding expenditure entered in the budget. 2. In application of the EC Treaty and the Euratom Treaty, a basic act is an act adopted by the legislative authority and may take the form of a regulation, a directive, a decision within the meaning of Article 249 of the EC Treaty or a decision sui generis. 3. In application of Title V of the Treaty on European Union (concerning Common Foreign and Security Policy — CFSP), a basic act may take one of the forms specified in Articles 13(2) and (3), 14, 18(5), 23(1) and (2) and 24 of the Treaty on European Union. 4. In application of Title VI of the Treaty on European Union (concerning Police and Judicial Cooperation in Criminal Matters), a basic act may take one of the forms referred to in Article 34(2) of the Treaty on European Union. 5. Recommendations and opinions do not constitute basic acts within the meaning of this Article, nor do resolutions, conclusions, declarations or other acts which have no legal effects. 6. By way of derogation from paragraphs 1 to 4, the following may be implemented without a basic act provided the actions which they are intended to finance fall within the powers of the Communities or the European Union: (a) appropriations for pilot schemes of an experimental nature designed to test the feasibility of an action and its usefulness. The relevant commitment appropriations may be entered in the budget for not more than two successive financial years; (b) appropriations for preparatory actions in the fields of application of the EC Treaty and the Euratom Treaty and of Title VI of the TEU, designed to prepare proposals with a view to the adoption of future actions. The preparatory actions are to follow a coherent approach and may take various forms. The relevant commitment appropriations may be entered in the budget for not more than three successive financial years. The legislative procedure must be concluded before the end of the third financial year. In the course of the legislative procedure, the commitment of appropriations must correspond to the particular features of the preparatory action as regards the activities envisaged, the aims pursued and the persons benefited. Consequently, the means implemented cannot correspond in volume to those envisaged for financing the definitive action itself. When the preliminary draft budget is presented, the Commission shall submit a report to the budgetary authority on the actions referred to in points (a) and (b) which shall also contain an assessment of results and the follow-up envisaged; (c) appropriations for preparatory measures in the field of Title V of the Treaty on European Union (concerning CFSP). These measures shall be limited to a short period of time and shall be designed to establish the conditions for European Union action in fulfilment of the objectives of the CFSP and for the adoption of the necessary legal instruments. For the purpose of EU crisis management operations, preparatory measures are designed inter alia to assess the operational requirements, to provide for a rapid initial deployment of resources, or to establish the conditions on the ground for the launching of the operation. Preparatory measures shall be agreed by the Council, in full association with the Commission. To this end, the Presidency, assisted by the Secretary-General of the Council/High Representative for the CFSP, shall inform the Commission as early as possible of the Council's intention to launch a preparatory measure and in particular of the estimated resources required for this purpose. In conformity with the provisions of this Regulation, the Commission shall take all the necessary measures to ensure a rapid disbursement of the funds; (d) appropriations for one-off actions, or even actions for an indefinite duration, carried out by the Commission by virtue of tasks resulting from its prerogatives at institutional level pursuant to the EC Treaty and the Euratom Treaty other than its right of legislative initiative referred to in point (b) and under specific powers directly conferred on it by those Treaties, a list of which is given in the implementing rules; (e) appropriations for the operation of each institution under its administrative autonomy.’;