13.

Article 29 and 30 are replaced by the following: ‘Article 29 1. The authorising officer shall be responsible for implementing revenue and expenditure in accordance with the principles of sound financial management and for ensuring that the requirements of legality and regularity are complied with. He shall conserve the supporting documents relating to operations carried out for a period of five years from the date of the decision granting discharge in respect of implementation of the budget. Personal data contained in supporting documents shall be deleted where possible when those data are not necessary for budgetary discharge, control and audit purposes. In any event, as concerns the conservation of traffic data, Article 37(2) of Regulation (EC) No 45/2001 shall apply. 2. The authorising officer shall put in place, in compliance with the minimum standards adopted by the Commission for its own departments and having due regard to the specific risks associated with his management environment and the nature of the action financed, the organisational structure and the internal management and control procedures suited to the performance of his duties, including where appropriate ex post verifications. Depending on the nature and scope of the duties, the authorising officer may establish within his departments an expertise and advice function designed to help him control the risks involved in his activities. Before an operation is authorised, the operational and financial aspects shall be verified by members of staff other than the one who initiated the operation. For the purpose of ex ante verification, a series of similar individual transactions relating to routine expenditure on salaries, pensions, reimbursement of mission expenses and medical expenses may be considered by the authorising officer responsible to constitute a single operation. In this case the authorising officer responsible shall, depending on his risk assessment, carry out appropriate ex post verification. Initiation and the ex ante and ex post verification of an operation shall be separate functions. 3. In accordance with Article 9(7) of Regulation (EC) No 58/2003, the authorising officer shall report, by 15 March each year, to the management board on the performance of his duties in the form of an annual activity report together with financial and management information confirming that the information contained in the report presents a true and fair view except as otherwise specified in any reservations related to defined areas of revenue and expenditure. Article 30 1. The management board shall appoint an accounting officer, who shall be a seconded official or a member of the temporary staff directly recruited by the agency and who shall be responsible for the following: (a) proper implementation of payments, collection of revenue and recovery of amounts established as being receivable; (b) drawing up the agency’s accounts in accordance with Title VI; (c) keeping the accounts in accordance with Title VI; (d) implementing the accounting rules and methods and the chart of accounts in accordance with the provisions adopted by the Commission's accounting officer; (e) laying down and validating the accounting system and, where appropriate, validating systems laid down by the authorising officer to supply or justify accounting information; the accounting officer shall be empowered to verify that validation criteria are respected; (f) treasury management. 2. Before the approval of the accounts by the management board, the accounting officer shall sign them off, thereby certifying that he has a reasonable assurance that the accounts present a true and fair view of the financial situation of the agency. For that purpose, the accounting officer shall satisfy himself that the accounts have been prepared in accordance with the accounting rules, methods and accounting systems established, and that all revenue and expenditure is entered in the accounts. The authorising officer shall forward all information that the accounting officer needs in order to fulfil his duties. The authorising officer shall remain fully responsible for the proper use of the funds he manages as well as the legality and regularity of the expenditure under his control. The accounting officer shall be empowered to check the information received as well as to carry out any further checks he deems necessary in order to sign off the accounts. The accounting officer shall make reservations, if necessary, explaining exactly the nature and scope of such reservations. The accounting officer shall obtain from the authorising officer, who shall guarantee its reliability, all the information necessary for the production of accounts which give a true image of the agency's assets and of budget implementation. 3. Save as otherwise provided in this Regulation, only the accounting officer is empowered to manage cash and cash equivalents. He shall be responsible for their safekeeping.’;