EN Official Journal of the European Union L 365/124

COMMISSION IMPLEMENTING REGULATION (EU) No 1362/2014

of 18 December 2014

laying down rules on a simplified procedure for the approval of certain amendments to operational programmes financed under the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund and rules concerning the format and presentation of the annual reports on the implementation of those programmes

THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,

Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

Having regard to Regulation (EU) No 508/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 May 2014 on the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund and repealing Council Regulations (EC) No 2328/2003, (EC) No 861/2006, (EC) No 1198/2006 and (EC) No 791/2007 and Regulation (EU) No 1255/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council (1), and in particular Articles 22(1) and 114(3) thereof,

Whereas:

(1) According to Article 20 of Regulation (EU) No 508/2014, any amendments to an operational programme financed under the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (‘EMFF’) must be approved by the Commission.

(2) According to Article 22(2) of Regulation (EU) No 508/2014 procedures and timetables for the submission and approval of the following amendments to operational programmes are to be simplified in the following cases: (a) amendments to operational programmes concerning a transfer of funds between Union priorities, provided that the funds transferred do not exceed 10 % of the amount allocated to the Union priority; (b) amendments to operational programmes concerning the introduction or withdrawal of measures or types of relevant operations and related information and indicators; (c) amendments to operational programmes concerning changes in the description of measures, including changes of eligibility conditions; (d) amendments required by changes in the priorities of the Union for the enforcement and control policy. Such amendments to operational programmes should not affect the overall intervention logic of the programme, the selected Union priorities and specific objectives, nor the results they should deliver and should therefore raise no doubts as to their compatibility with the existing rules and practices.

(3) It is therefore necessary to lay down rules on a simplified procedure for the approval of amendments to operational programmes listed in Article 22(2) of Regulation (EU) No 508/2014. This procedure should allow the Commission to approve within an accelerated time frame such type of amendments submitted by a given Member State to their operational programme. In view of the time constraints, the simplified procedure should be subject to Member States submitting a request supported with complete information allowing the Commission to make the full assessment of the proposed amendments.

(4) Pursuant to Article 50 of Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013 and Article 114 of Regulation (EU) No 508/2014, each Member State is to submit to the Commission an annual report on the implementation of its operational programme by 31 May of each year from 2016 until 2023.

(5) The annual implementation report submitted by the Member States should provide information that is consistent and comparable between the years of implementation as well as among Member States. The report should also allow for aggregation of data at the level of the EMFF or where necessary, for the whole of the European Structural and Investment Funds.

(6) It is necessary to lay down rules concerning the format and presentation of those annual implementation reports.

(7) In order to allow for the prompt application of the measures provided for in this Regulation, this Regulation should enter into force on the day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.

(8) The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Committee for the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

Approval by simplified procedure of amendments to operational programmes

1. When a Member State submits to the Commission a request for approval of an amendment to its operational programme falling under the scope of Article 22(2) of Regulation (EU) No 508/2014, it shall ask the Commission to approve that amendment by simplified procedure pursuant to this Article.

2. Requests for approval by simplified procedure shall only include amendments listed in Article 22(2) of Regulation (EU) No 508/2014.

3. Where the Commission considers that information provided by the Member State concerned with regard to an amendment submitted pursuant to paragraph 1 is incomplete, it shall request all necessary additional information. The period laid down in paragraphs 4 and 5 shall begin on the day following the receipt of a complete request for approval of an amendment to its operational programme as indicated by the Commission to the Member State.

4. Where the Commission has not sent to the Member State any observations within 25 working days from receiving a request for approval by simplified procedure, the amendment to the operational programme shall be deemed to have been approved by the Commission.

5. Where the Commission has sent observations to the Member State within 25 working days from receiving the request for approval by simplified procedure, the amendment to the operational programme shall be approved in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 30(2) of Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013 and Article 20(1) of Regulation (EU) No 508/2014.

Article 2

Format and presentation of the annual implementation reports

The content of the annual implementation report as set out in Article 50 of the Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013 and in Article 114(2) of Regulation (EU) No 508/2014, shall be presented in accordance with the model set out in the Annex to this Regulation.

Article 3

This Regulation shall enter into force on the day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States. Done at Brussels, 18 December 2014. For the Commission The President Jean-Claude JUNCKER

(1) OJ L 149, 20.5.2014, p. 1.