Commission Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 2342/2002

of 23 December 2002

laying down detailed rules for the implementation of Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002 on the Financial Regulation applicable to the general budget of the European Communities

TABLE OF CONTENTS

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THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Atomic Energy Community,

Having regard to Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002 of 25 June 2002 on the Financial Regulation applicable to the general budget of the European Communities(1), and in particular Article 183 thereof,

Having consulted the European Parliament, the Council, the Court of Justice of the European Communities, the Court of Auditors, the European Economic and Social Committee, the Committee of the Regions, the Ombudsman and the European Data Protection Supervisor,

Whereas:

(1) The provisions of Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002 (hereinafter "the Financial Regulation") have been simplified to confine the Regulation to the basic principles and definitions relating to the establishment, execution and control of the general budget of the European Communities (hereinafter "the budget").

(2) These implementing rules should therefore not only supplement the Financial Regulation in respect of the provisions thereof for which it expressly refers to the implementing rules but also in respect of the provisions whose application requires the implementing measures to be determined in advance. In the interests of clarity, it is necessary to replace Commission Regulation (Euratom, ECSC, EC) No 3418/93 of 9 December 1993 laying down detailed rules for the implementation of the Financial Regulation of 21 December 1977(2), as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 1687/2001(3).

(3) To ensure that sectoral rules are consistent with the budgetary principles set out in the Financial Regulation, an inventory should be produced of all regulatory instruments relating to budget execution and provision made for this inventory to be drawn up by the Commission and submitted to the budgetary authority.

(4) As regards the budgetary principles, in particular the principle of unity, the requirement that interest on pre-financing to be repaid to the budget be identified means that any pre-financing which remains the property of the Communities must be identified. Such pre-financing remains the property of the institution unless the basic act, within the meaning of Article 49 of the Financial Regulation, provides otherwise and unless it is paid under a procurement contract, or to staff or members of the institutions, or to the Member States. This rule should be spelled out according to the type of management (direct or indirect centralised management and shared management). It does not apply to joint management since in such cases the Community funds are merged with the funds of the international organisation. Where pre-financing which remains the property of the Communities yields interest, this interest should be paid to the budget as miscellaneous revenue.

(5) For the principle of annuality, it is important to clarify the meaning of annual appropriations and the preparatory stages of the commitment procedure which, if completed by 31 December, may allow the carryover of commitment appropriations which will then have to be used by 31 March of the following financial year.

(6) As regards the principle of the unit of account, the rates to be used for conversion between the euro and the other currencies for the requirements of the management of the cash flow and the accounts should be specified.

(7) As regards the derogations from the principle of universality, the budget treatment to be given to assigned revenue, in particular to contributions by Member States or third countries to certain Community programmes, should be specified, as must the limits on the netting of expenditure and revenue.

(8) As regards the principle of specification, a precise definition should be given of the calculation of the percentage of appropriations which the institutions are authorised to transfer by virtue of the autonomy they enjoy and provision should be made for the budgetary authority to be given full information through a detailed explanation of the requests for transfers which have to be submitted to it.

(9) As for sound financial management, it is necessary to specify the objectives of the ex ante, interim and ex post evaluations of the programmes and activities, the minimum frequency with which they are to be carried out and the information to be given in the legislative financial statement.

(10) As for the establishment and presentation of the budget, it is necessary to determine the contents of the general introduction to the budget, the working documents backing up the budget and the budget remarks for ensuring that the budgetary authority is fully informed. In the new activity-based budgeting (ABB) presentation, the definition and classification of administrative appropriations should also be set out.

(11) As regards implementation of the budget, it is appropriate first to clarify the forms which may be taken by basic acts in the Community field and in the fields covered by the Treaty on European Union. The maximum amounts of appropriations which may be implemented for preparatory actions and pilot schemes without the existence of a basic act should be determined and the provisions of the Treaties conferring specific powers directly on the Commission should be listed.

(12) Acts likely to constitute a conflict of interests should also be defined, together with the procedure to be followed in such cases.

(13) As for the different methods of implementing the budget, it should be laid down that, when the Commission does not implement the budget directly in its departments, it must first ascertain that the entities to which it plans to entrust implementing tasks have management procedures and control and accounting systems which are adequate and appropriate with regard to the requirements of sound financial management.

(14) In respect of indirect centralised management, that is to say, of management delegated by the Commission to executive agencies or to bodies governed by Community law or national public-sector bodies or bodies with a public-service mission, it is also necessary to lay down the framework for such delegation of powers and the arrangements for its implementation by act of delegation or agreement. The executive agencies, which remain under Commission control, should be recognised as authorising officers by delegation of that institution for implementation of the Community budget. Where national bodies have to carry out acts of budget implementation, they should offer adequate financial guarantees and be chosen in a transparent manner following a cost-effectiveness analysis showing the reasons for delegating management to such a body. The Commission should seek the opinion of the relevant committee, in accordance with the basic act for implementing the appropriations concerned, before delegating powers to national bodies. Private-law entities performing preparatory or ancillary tasks on the Commission's behalf should be selected in accordance with procurement procedures.

(15) For shared management with the Member States or decentralised management with third countries, the stages and objectives of the procedure for the clearance of accounts should be laid down without prejudice to the specific provisions contained in the relevant sectoral regulations.

(16) Finally, for joint management, it should be made clear that the share contributed by each donor to each type of expenditure need not be identified but that the subsidised actions must none the less be subject to comprehensive controls; the international organisations eligible for this type of management should be identified.

(17) As regards the role of the financial actors, the reform of financial management, together with the dropping of centralised ex ante controls, increases the responsibilities of the authorising officers in all revenue and expenditure operations, including in terms of internal control systems. The budgetary authority should in future be informed of the appointment or termination of duties of an authorising officer by delegation. Consequently, the tasks, responsibilities and principles of the procedures to be observed should also be laid down. The internalisation of ex ante controls requires, in particular, a clear distinction between tasks relating to the initiation of operations in implementation of the budget and tasks relating to the verification of such operations. Moreover, each institution should adopt a code of professional standards applicable to the staff responsible for ex ante and ex post verifications. Provision should then be made for the responsibilities assumed to be accounted for in an annual report to the institution which must, inter alia, give the results of the ex post verifications; arrangements should also be made for keeping the supporting documents relating to the operations carried out. Finally, all the various forms of negotiated procedure for the award of public contracts should, since they represent derogations, be the subject of a special report to the institution and of a communication to the budgetary authority.

(18) In order to clarify responsibilities, a precise definition should also be given of the tasks and responsibilities of the accounting officer in connection with the accounting systems, treasury management, the management of bank accounts and third-party files. The arrangements for the termination of the accounting officer's duties should also be spelled out.

(19) The conditions for the use of imprest accounts, a system of management which forms an exception to normal budgetary procedures, should also be laid down, and the tasks and responsibilities of the imprest administrators, as well as those of the authorising officer and accounting officer in connection with the control of imprest accounts, should be set out. The budgetary authority should be informed of any appointment or termination of duties.

(20) Once the tasks and responsibilities of each financial actor have been defined, they may be held liable only under the conditions laid down in the Staff Regulations of Officials of the European Communities and the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants. However, a new specialised financial irregularities panel should be set up in appropriate manner in each institution to determine whether irregularities of a financial nature have occurred. The procedure by which an authorising officer may seek confirmation of an instruction and thus be released from any liability should also be laid down.

(21) As regards revenue, except for the special case of own resources covered by Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1150/2000 of 22 May 2000 implementing Decision 94/728/EC, Euratom on the system of the Communities' own resources(4), it is necessary to specify the tasks and controls falling within the responsibility of the authorising officers at the different stages of the procedure: establishment of the estimate of amounts receivable and then the recovery order; dispatch of the debit note informing the debtor that the amount receivable has been established; calculation of any default interest due; and, finally, the decision, where necessary, to waive an entitlement subject to criteria guaranteeing compliance with sound financial management. The accounting officer's role in the collection of revenue and in allowing any additional time for payment should also be specified.

(22) As regards expenditure, the relationship between financing decisions, global commitments and individual commitments should be defined, as should the characteristics of those different stages. The distinction between a global commitment and an individual commitment depends on the extent to which the beneficiaries are identified and the amounts involved. Provisional commitments are limited to routine administrative expenditure and expenditure in connection with the European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund (EAGGF). To restrict the volume of dormant commitments, appropriations corresponding to commitments for which no payment has been made for three years should be decommitted.

(23) It is then necessary to clarify the relationship between validation, authorisation and payment operations and the controls to be carried out by the authorising officer when validating expenditure, with the endorsement "passed for payment", and when authorising payment by checking the validity of the release from all liability, for which the authorising officer now has sole responsibility. The documents to be produced in support of payments should be specified and rules laid down for the clearing of pre-financing and interim payments. Finally, the time-limits applicable to validation and payment operations should be laid down, account being taken of Directive 2000/35/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 June 2000 on combating late payment in commercial transactions(5).

(24) For the internal audit, it is necessary to lay down the procedure for appointing the auditor and to guarantee his independence within the institution which has appointed him and to which he must report on his activities; the budgetary authority should be informed of any appointment or termination of duties.

(25) With regard to procurement, the option taken is to insert in the present Regulation the provisions of Council Directives 92/50/EEC(6), 93/36/EEC(7) and 93/37/EEC(8), as last amended by Commission Directive 2001/78/EC(9), relating to the procedures for the award of public service, supply and works contracts respectively. Consequently, it is first necessary to define the various types of procurement contract; the advertising and publication measures applicable; the conditions in which use may be made of a particular form of procedure and the main features of the existing procedures; the specification of selection criteria and the possible award arrangements; rules for access to tender documents and for communication with tenderers or candidates; and, for cases where the Commission awards contracts on its own account, the various thresholds applicable and the rules for estimating the value of the contracts to be awarded.

(26) The purpose of the procedures for the award of contracts is to satisfy the needs of the institutions on the best possible terms while guaranteeing equal access to public contracts and complying with the principles of transparency and non-discrimination. With a view to ensuring transparency and the equal treatment of candidates, as well as the full responsibility of authorising officers in the final choice, it is necessary to lay down the procedure for opening and then evaluating tenders and requests to participate, from the appointment of a committee up to the substantiated and documented award decision, which ultimately rests with the contracting authority. The financial guarantees needed to protect the Communities' financial interests should also be specified.

(27) Finally, it is necessary to delimit the contracting authorities' powers to impose administrative penalties, in order to ensure that penalties are proportionate and dissuasive and to secure equal treatment as between the various institutions and as between departments.

(28) The scope of the Title on grants should also be clarified, particularly with regard to the different methods for implementing the budget, but also with regard to the type of action or body of general European interest eligible for a grant. The characteristics of the annual work programme and of calls for proposals should be specified, as should the possible exceptions in this context and the possibility of retroactive effect, particularly in the context of humanitarian aid and the management of crisis situations, for which the constraints are very specific.

(29) Again with regard to the requirements of transparency, equal treatment for applicants and the enhancement of the accountability of authorising officers, the award procedure should be laid down, from the application for the grant to its evaluation, by a committee, in the light of previously specified selection and award criteria, before the authorising officer takes his final, appropriately documented decision.

(30) Sound financial management then requires that the Commission protect itself with guarantees: at the stage of grant applications, by arranging financial audits for applications involving larger amounts; then, at the time of paying pre-financing, by requiring advance financial guarantees; and, finally, at the stage of final payment, by arranging financial audits for the requests which involve the largest amounts and which present most risk. Sound management and compliance with the no-profit and co-financing principles also require rules to be laid down delimiting the possible use of flat-rate payments. Finally, the sound management of Community funds means that the grant beneficiaries themselves must comply with the principles of transparency and equal treatment of potential contractors, as well as with the principle that the contract must be awarded to the tender offering best value for money when the action is partly sub-contracted.

(31) Finally, powers for imposing penalties in that context should be aligned with those conferred in the context of procurement.

(32) As regards the keeping and presentation of the accounts, each of the generally accepted accounting principles on which the financial statements must be based should be defined. It is also necessary to specify the conditions for entering a transaction in the accounts and the rules for valuing assets and liabilities and for the constitution of provisions.

(33) It should be specified that the institutions' accounts must be accompanied by a report on budgetary and financial management and details should be given of the content and presentation of the elements making up the financial statements (balance sheet, economic outturn account, cash-flow table and annex) and the budget implementation statements (budget outturn account and annex).

(34) On accounting matters, it should be specified that the accounting officer of each institution must produce documents describing the organisation of the accounts and the accounting procedures of that institution and define the conditions to be respected by the computerised accounting systems, in particular as regards security of access and the audit trail for any changes made to the systems.

(35) As regards the keeping of the accounts, it is necessary to specify the principles applicable to the accounting ledgers, the trial balance, the periodical reconciliation of the totals in that balance and the inventory, and to specify the components of the chart of accounts adopted by the Commission's accounting officer. The rules applicable to the registration of operations, in particular the double-entry method, the rules for the conversion of operations which are not denominated in euro and the supporting documents for accounting entries, should be laid down. The content of the accounting records should also be specified.

(36) Finally, it is necessary to lay down the rules relating to the property inventory and to clarify the respective responsibilities in this field of the accounting officers and authorising officers, as well as the rules applicable to the resale of property entered in the inventory.

(37) As regards the Structural Funds, it should be specified that the repayment of payments on account in respect of a given operation does not have the effect of reducing the contribution from the Fund to that operation.

(38) The types of action, direct and indirect, which may be financed in the research sector should be specified.

(39) For external actions, the implementing rules, like the Financial Regulation itself, aim to make provision for exceptions which reflect the specific operational features of that sector, mainly as regards procurement and the award of grants.

(40) As regards procurement, these implementing rules take over the substance of the provisions of the Commission Decision of 10 November 1999 on the simplification of the management systems for the award of contracts in the framework of the cooperation programmes implemented by the Directorates-General for external relations,(10) resulting in procurement rules which differ from the standard rules by virtue of the different thresholds set and the management procedures, which have been adapted to external actions.

(41) As for grants, it is necessary to list the types of action for which derogation is possible from the principle of co-financing referred to in Article 109 of the Financial Regulation. This applies in particular to humanitarian aid and aid in crisis situations and actions for the protection of the health or fundamental rights of peoples.

(42) To guarantee the sound management of Community appropriations, it is also necessary to specify the pre-conditions and the rules to be contained in the agreements when the management of appropriations is decentralised or if use is made of imprest accounts.

(43) The provisions of the Financial Regulation relating to European Offices should be supplemented by specific rules for the Office for Official Publications of the European Communities and by provisions authorising the Commission's accounting officer to delegate some of his tasks to staff in those Offices. Operational procedures should also be laid down for the bank accounts which the European Offices may be authorised to open in the Commission's name.

(44) As regards administrative appropriations, each institution should inform the budgetary authority of significant building projects which are under way, that is to say, of those increasing the building stock.

(45) It is necessary to identify the bodies which may receive grants charged to the budget and which have to be given a set of rules in accordance with the conditions laid down in Article 185 of the Financial Regulation.

(46) The various thresholds and amounts referred to in this Regulation should be regularly updated by linking them with the inflation recorded in the Community, with the exception of the thresholds applicable to procurement,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

PART ONE

COMMON PROVISIONS

TITLE I

SUBJECT

Article 1

Subject

(Article 1 of the Financial Regulation)

This Regulation sets out the rules for implementing the provisions of Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002 (hereinafter "the Financial Regulation").

The institutions concerned by this Regulation are the institutions within the meaning of the Financial Regulation.

Article 2

Inventory of legislative acts concerning the implementation of the budget

(Article 2 of the Financial Regulation)

The Commission shall keep an inventory of the acts referred to in Article 2 of the Financial Regulation. It shall update that inventory each year and inform the budgetary authority accordingly.

TITLE II

BUDGETARY PRINCIPLES

CHAPTER 1

Principles of unity and budget accuracy

Article 3

Scope of pre-financing remaining the property of the Communities

(Article 5(4) of the Financial Regulation)

1. Pre-financing within the meaning of Article 105 shall remain the property of the Communities, unless the basic act, within the meaning of Article 49(1) of the Financial Regulation, provides otherwise. That provision shall not concern pre-financing paid under a contract within the meaning of Article 88 of the Financial Regulation, or to Member States, or under the pre-accession aid, or the advances referred to in Article 265. It shall not apply to joint management within the meaning of Article 53 of the Financial Regulation.

2. In the case of direct centralised management within the meaning of Article 53 of the Financial Regulation involving a number of partners, the rule referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article shall apply solely to the principal contractor.

3. In the case of decentralised management and in the case of indirect centralised management within the meaning of Article 53 of the Financial Regulation, the rule referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article shall apply only to the entity receiving pre-financing direct from the Commission.

4. The rule referred to in paragraph 1 shall apply to pre-financing paid under contracts or agreements concluded after the entry into force of this Regulation.

5. Paragraphs 1 to 4 shall be without prejudice to the entry of pre-financing on the assets side of the financial statements, as will be laid down in the accounting rules provided for in Article 133 of the Financial Regulation.

The authorising officers shall provide the accounting officer with details enabling him to identify pre-financing which remains the property of the Communities.

Article 4

Entry in the budget of interest yielded by Community funds

(Article 5(4) of the Financial Regulation)

1. Where pre-financing which remains the property of the Communities in accordance with Article 3 yields interest or equivalent benefits, these shall be paid to the general budget of the European Communities (hereinafter "the budget") as miscellaneous revenue.

2. Authorising officers shall ensure that, under contracts and agreements concluded with beneficiaries:

(a) such pre-financing is paid to accounts which allow the funds paid by the Communities to be identified; and

(b) the beneficiaries inform the authorising officer responsible of the amount of any interest or equivalent benefits yielded by those funds at least once a year if such interest represents significant amounts and in any event whenever requests are made for interim payments or payments of balances that clear the pre-financing.

3. In accordance with Chapter 5 of Title IV, the authorising officer responsible shall, upon payment of the pre-financing, draw up an estimate of amounts receivable covering any interest or equivalent benefits yielded by the pre-financing.

The authorising officer responsible shall, in accordance with the timetable referred to in point (b) of paragraph 2, draw up a recovery order for the amount of interest referred to in paragraph 1.

4. Where pre-financing is paid from the same budget line, under the same basic act and to beneficiaries covered by the same award procedure, the authorising officer may draw up a single estimate of amounts receivable for a number of debtors.

CHAPTER 2

Principle of annuality

Article 5

Appropriations for the financial year

(Article 8(3) of the Financial Regulation)

The commitment appropriations and payment appropriations entered in the budget for a financial year and which have to be used during that year shall consist of the appropriations authorised for that financial year. The appropriations authorised for the financial year are:

(a) appropriations provided in the budget, including by amending budgets;

(b) appropriations carried over;

(c) appropriations made available again in accordance with Articles 157 and 181(5) of the Financial Regulation;

(d) appropriations arising from payments on account which have been repaid in accordance with Article 228;

(e) appropriations provided following the receipt of revenue assigned during the financial year or during previous financial years and not used.

Article 6

Carryover of appropriations

(Article 9(2) of the Financial Regulation)

1. The commitment appropriations referred to in Article 9(2)(a) of the Financial Regulation may be carried over only if the commitments could not be made before 31 December of the financial year for reasons not attributable to the authorising officer and if the preparatory stages are sufficiently advanced to make it reasonable to surmise that the commitment will be made by no later than 31 March of the following year.

2. The preparatory stages referred to in Article 9(2)(a) of the Financial Regulation, which should be completed by 31 December of the financial year in order to allow a carryover to the following year, are in particular:

(a) for global commitments within the meaning of Article 76 of the Financial Regulation, the adoption of a financing decision or the closing by that date of the consultation of the departments concerned within each institution for the adoption of the decision;

(b) for individual commitments within the meaning of Article 76 of the Financial Regulation, the advanced stage of preparation of the contracts or agreements. This advanced stage of preparation of the contracts or agreements shall mean the completion of the selection of potential contractors or beneficiaries.

3. Appropriations carried over in accordance with Article 9(2)(a) of the Financial Regulation which have not been committed by 31 March of the following financial year shall be automatically cancelled.

The Commission shall inform the budgetary authority by 15 April of the appropriations cancelled in this way.

4. Appropriations carried over in accordance with Article 9(2)(b) of the Financial Regulation may be used until 31 December of the following financial year.

5. The accounts shall identify appropriations carried over in this way.

6. The appropriations for staff expenditure referred to in Article 9(6) of the Financial Regulation are those for remuneration and allowances for members and staff of the institutions.

CHAPTER 3

(Chapter 4 of the Financial Regulation)

Principle of unit of account

Article 7

Rate of conversion between the euro and other currencies

(Article 16 of the Financial Regulation)

1. Without prejudice to specific provisions arising from the application of sectoral regulations, conversion between the euro and another currency shall be made using the daily euro rate published in the C series of the Official Journal of the European Communities.

2. If no daily euro rate is published in the Official Journal of the European Communities for the currency in question, the Commission shall use the accounting rate referred to in paragraph 3.

3. For the purposes of the accounts provided for in Articles 132 to 137 of the Financial Regulation and subject to Article 213, conversion between the euro and another currency shall be made using the monthly accounting rate of the euro. That accounting rate shall be established by the Commission by means of any source of information it regards as reliable, on the basis of the rate on the penultimate working day of the month preceding that for which the rate is established.

Article 8

Rate to be used for conversion between the euro and other currencies

(Article 16 of the Financial Regulation)

1. Without prejudice to specific provisions deriving from the application of sectoral regulations, the rate to be used for conversion between the euro and other currencies shall be that of the day on which the payment order or recovery order is drawn up by the authorising department.

2. In the case of euro imprest accounts, the rate to be used shall be determined by the date of the payment by the bank.

3. In the case of imprest accounts in national currencies, referred to in Article 16 of the Financial Regulation, the rate to be used shall be that of the month of the expenditure from the imprest account.

4. For expenditure financed by the European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund (EAGGF), Guarantee Section, the rate to be used for month "n" in respect of which such expenditure has been declared in accordance with Article 3 of Commission Regulation (EC) No 296/96(11) shall be that for the tenth day of month "n+1" or for the first preceding day for which a rate is quoted.

That rate shall also be used for the corresponding advances provided for in Articles 4 and 5 of Regulation (EC) No 296/96.

Article 9

Information on cash transfers by the Commission between different currencies

(Article 16 of the Financial Regulation)

Each quarter the Commission shall send the Member States a statement of transfers carried out between different currencies.

CHAPTER 4

(Chapter 5 of the Financial Regulation)

Principle of universality

Article 10

Structure to accommodate assigned revenue and provision of corresponding appropriations

(Article 18 of the Financial Regulation)

1. Without prejudice to Articles 12 and 13, the structure to accommodate assigned revenue in the budget shall comprise:

(a) in the statement of revenue of each institution's section, a budget line to receive the revenue;

(b) in the statement of expenditure, the remarks shall show which lines may receive the appropriations corresponding to the assigned revenue which are made available.

In the case referred to in point (a) of the first subparagraph, if the amount of such revenue is foreseeable, it shall be entered on the line. If it is not foreseeable, a token entry (p.m.) shall be made and the estimated revenue shall be shown for information in the remarks.

2. The appropriations corresponding to assigned revenue may be made available, both as commitment appropriations and as payment appropriations, when the revenue has been received by the institution, save in the case provided for in Article 161(2) of the Financial Regulation. They shall be made available automatically save in the case of repayments of payments on account, referred to in Article 156 of the Financial Regulation, and in the case of financial corrections in connection with the Structural Funds.

Article 11

Contributions from Member States to research programmes

(Article 18(1)(a) of the Financial Regulation)

1. The Member States' contributions to the financing of certain supplementary research programmes, provided for in Article 5 of Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1150/2000, shall be paid as follows:

(a) seven twelfths of the sum entered in the budget shall be paid by no later than 31 January of the current financial year;

(b) the remaining five twelfths shall be paid by no later than 15 July of the current financial year.

2. Where the budget has not been finally adopted before the start of a financial year, the contributions provided for in paragraph 1 shall be based on the sum entered in the budget for the previous financial year.

3. Any contribution or additional payment owed by the Member States to the budget shall be entered in the Commission's account or accounts within thirty calendar days of the call for funds.

4. Payments made shall be entered in the account provided for in Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1150/2000 and shall be subject to the conditions laid down by that Regulation.

Article 12

Assigned revenue resulting from the participation of EFTA States in certain Community programmes

(Article 18(1)(d) of the Financial Regulation)

1. The budget structure to accommodate the participation of the EFTA States in certain Community programmes shall be as follows:

(a) in the statement of revenue, a line with a token entry (p.m.) shall be entered to accommodate the full amount of the EFTA States' contribution for the financial year in question. The estimated amount shall be shown in the budget remarks;

(b) in the statement of expenditure:

(i) the remarks for each line relating to the Community activities in which the EFTA States participate shall show "for information" the estimated amount of the participation;

(ii) an annex, forming an integral part of the budget, shall set out all the lines covering the Community activities in which the EFTA States participate.

The annex referred to in point (b)(ii) of the first subparagraph reflects and is part of the structure to accommodate the appropriations corresponding to such participation, as provided for in paragraph 2, and to allow the expenditure to be implemented.

2. Under Article 82 of the Agreement on the European Economic Area (EEA), the amounts of the annual participation of the EFTA States, as confirmed to the Commission by the EEA Joint Committee in accordance with Article 1(5) of Protocol 32 annexed to that Agreement, shall give rise to the provision, at the start of the financial year, of the full amounts of the corresponding appropriations for commitments and appropriations for payments.

3. If, in the course of the financial year, additional appropriations are provided on the budget lines with EFTA State participation without the EFTA States being able, during that year, to adjust their contributions accordingly in order to comply with the "proportionality factor" provided for in Article 82 of the Agreement on the European Economic Area, the Commission may, as a provisional and exceptional measure, use its cash resources to pre-finance the share of the EFTA States. Whenever such additional appropriations are provided, the Commission shall, as soon as possible, call in the corresponding contributions from the EFTA States. The Commission shall inform the budgetary authority each year of any such decisions taken.

The pre-financing shall be regularised as soon as possible in the budget for the following financial year.

4. In accordance with Article 18(1)(d) of the Financial Regulation, the financial contributions of the EFTA States shall constitute assigned revenue. The accounting officer shall adopt appropriate measures to ensure that use of the revenue arising from those contributions and of the corresponding appropriations is monitored separately.

In the report provided for in Article 131(2) of the Financial Regulation, the Commission shall show separately the stage of implementation, in both revenue and expenditure, corresponding to EFTA State participation.

Article 13

Proceeds of sanctions imposed on Member States declared to have an excessive deficit

(Article 18(1)(b) of the Financial Regulation)

The budget structure to accommodate the proceeds of the sanctions referred to in Section 4 of Council Regulation (EC) No 1467/97(12) shall be as follows:

(a) in the statement of revenue, a line carrying a token entry (p.m.) shall be entered to accommodate the interest on such amounts;

(b) at the same time, and without prejudice to Article 74 of the Financial Regulation, entry of those amounts in the statement of revenue shall give rise to the provision, in the statement of expenditure, of commitment appropriations and payment appropriations. These appropriations shall be implemented in accordance with Article 17 of the Financial Regulation.

Article 14

Passing for payment of the net amount

(Article 20(1) of the Financial Regulation)

Pursuant to Article 20(1) of the Financial Regulation, the following deductions may be made from payment requests, invoices or statements, which shall then be passed for payment of the net amount:

(a) penalties imposed on parties to contracts, including procurement contracts;

(b) adjustments for amounts paid unduly, which can be made by means of direct deduction against a new payment of the same type to the same payee under the chapter, article and financial year in respect of which the excess payment was made, and which give rise to interim payments or payments of balances.

Discounts, refunds and rebates on individual invoices and payment requests shall not be recorded as Community revenue.

Article 15

Accounts for recoverable taxes

(Article 20(2) of the Financial Regulation)

Any taxes borne by the Communities under Article 20(2) of the Financial Regulation shall be entered in a suspense account until they are refunded by the States concerned.

CHAPTER 5

(Chapter 6 of the Financial Regulation)

Principle of specification

Article 16

Transfer procedures

(Article 22(1) of the Financial Regulation)

1. Each institution may propose to the budgetary authority, within its own section of the budget, transfers from one title to another exceeding the limit of 10 % of the appropriations for the financial year on the line from which the transfer is to be made. It shall inform the Commission accordingly.

Those transfers shall be subject to the procedure laid down in Article 24 of the Financial Regulation.

2. Each institution may, within its own section of the budget, make transfers within articles.

Article 17

Rules concerning the calculation of limits on transfers

(Article 23 of the Financial Regulation)

1. The percentages referred to in Article 22(1) and points (b) and (c) of the first subparagraph of Article 23(1) of the Financial Regulation shall be calculated at the time the request for transfer is made.

2. For the purposes of the limit referred to in Article 22(1) and points (b) and (c) of the first subparagraph of Article 23(1) of the Financial Regulation, the amount to be taken into consideration shall be the sum of the transfers to be made on the line from which the transfer is being made after adjustment for earlier transfers made.

Article 18

Administrative expenditure

(Article 23 of the Financial Regulation)

The expenditure referred to in point (b) of the first subparagraph of Article 23(1) of the Financial Regulation shall cover, for each policy area, the items referred to in Article 27.

Article 19

Grounds for requests for transfers of appropriations

(Articles 22 and 23 of the Financial Regulation)

Proposals for transfers and all information for the budgetary authority concerning transfers made under Articles 22 and 23 of the Financial Regulation shall be accompanied by appropriate and detailed supporting documents showing the implementation of appropriations and estimates of requirements up to the end of the financial year, both for the lines to which the appropriations are to be transferred and for those from which they are to be taken.

Article 20

Grounds for requests for transfers from the emergency aid reserve

(Article 26 of the Financial Regulation)

Proposals for transfers to allow the utilisation of the emergency aid reserve, referred to in the first subparagraph of Article 26(2) of the Financial Regulation, shall be accompanied by appropriate and detailed supporting documents showing:

(a) for the line to which the transfer is to be made, the most recent information available for the implementation of appropriations and the estimate of requirements up to the end of the financial year;

(b) for all lines relating to external action, the implementation of appropriations up to the end of the month preceding the request for transfer and an estimate of requirements up to the end of the financial year, including a comparison with the initial estimate;

(c) an analysis of the possibilities of reallocating appropriations.

CHAPTER 6

(Chapter 7 of the Financial Regulation)

Principle of sound financial management

Article 21

Evaluation

(Article 27 of the Financial Regulation)

1. All proposals for programmes or activities occasioning expenditure or a reduction in revenue for the budget shall be the subject of an ex ante evaluation, which shall identify:

(a) the need to be met in the short or long term;

(b) the objectives to be achieved;

(c) the results expected and the indicators needed to measure them;

(d) the added value of Community involvement;

(e) the risks, including fraud, linked with the proposals and the alternative options available;

(f) the lessons learned from similar experiences in the past;

(g) the volume of appropriations, human resources and other administrative expenditure to be allocated with due regard for the cost-effectiveness principle;

(h) the monitoring system to be set up.

2. All programmes or activities shall then be the subject of an interim and/or ex post evaluation in terms of the human and financial resources allocated and the results obtained in order to verify that they were consistent with the objectives set, as follows:

(a) the results obtained in carrying out a multiannual programme shall be periodically evaluated in accordance with a timetable which enables the findings of that evaluation to be taken into account for any decision on the renewal, modification or suspension of the programme;

(b) activities financed on an annual basis shall have their results evaluated at least every six years.

Point (b) of the first subparagraph shall not apply to each of the projects or actions conducted within those activities, for which the requirement may be met by the final reports sent by the bodies which carried out the action.

Article 22

Financial statement

(Article 28 of the Financial Regulation)

1. Any proposal for an act submitted to the legislative authority which may have an impact on the budget, including changes in the number of posts, shall include a financial statement.

The financial statement shall contain the financial and economic data for the assessment by the legislative authority of the need for Community action. It shall provide appropriate information as regards coherence with other financial instruments and any possible synergy.

In the case of multiannual operations, the financial statement shall contain the foreseeable schedule of annual requirements in terms of appropriations and posts and an evaluation of their medium-term financial impact.

2. In order to prevent any risk of fraud or irregularity which might adversely affect the protection of the Communities' financial interests, the financial statement shall provide information regarding existing and planned fraud prevention and protection measures.

CHAPTER 7

(Chapter 8 of the Financial Regulation)

Principle of transparency

Article 23

Provisional publication of a summary of the budget

(Article 29 of the Financial Regulation)

As soon as possible after the final adoption of the budget and within no more than four weeks, a summary of the budget figures shall be published on the Internet site of the institutions, on the Commission's initiative, pending official publication in the Official Journal of the European Communities.

TITLE III

ESTABLISHMENT AND STRUCTURE OF THE BUDGET

CHAPTER 1

Establishment of the budget

Article 24

General introduction to the preliminary draft budget

(Article 33 of the Financial Regulation)

The Commission shall draw up the general introduction to the preliminary draft budget.

Each of the sections of the preliminary draft budget shall be preceded by an introduction drawn up by the institution concerned.

The general introduction shall comprise:

(a) financial tables covering the entire budget;

(b) as regards the titles in the Commission section:

(i) a description of the policies substantiating entitlement to the appropriations requested, with due account for the principles and requirements set out in Articles 27 and 33(2)(d) of the Financial Regulation;

(ii) the grounds for changes in appropriations from one financial year to the next.

Article 25

Working documents in support of the preliminary draft budget

(Articles 30 and 33 of the Financial Regulation)

In support of the preliminary draft budget, the following working documents shall be provided:

(a) in respect of staff of the institutions:

(i) a statement of the policy for permanent and temporary staff;

(ii) for each category of staff, an organisation chart of budgetary posts and persons in post on the date of the presentation of the preliminary draft budget, indicating their distribution by grade and administrative unit;

(iii) where a change in the number of persons in post is proposed, a statement of the reasons justifying such change;

(iv) a list of posts broken down by policy area;

(b) a detailed statement of borrowing and lending policy;

(c) in respect of subsidies to the bodies referred to in Article 32 of the Financial Regulation, an estimate of revenue and expenditure prefaced by an explanatory memorandum drawn up by the bodies concerned and, for the European Schools, a statement showing revenue and expenditure prefaced by an explanatory memorandum.

Article 26

Preliminary draft amending budgets

(Article 37(1) of the Financial Regulation)

Preliminary draft amending budgets shall be accompanied by statements of grounds and the information on the implementation of the budget for the preceding and current financial years available at the time of their establishment.

CHAPTER 2

Structure and presentation of the budget

Article 27

Administrative appropriations

(Article 41 of the Financial Regulation)

Where the statement of expenditure of a section of the budget is presented in a nomenclature based on a classification by purpose, administrative appropriations shall be divided into separate headings by title according to the following classification:

(a) expenditure on staff authorised in the establishment plan: there shall be an amount of appropriations and a number of employment posts corresponding to this expenditure;

(b) expenditure on external staff (including auxiliary staff and agency staff) and other management expenditure (including representation expenses and meeting expenses);

(c) expenditure on buildings and other related expenditure, including cleaning and maintenance, rental and hiring, telecommunications, water, gas and electricity;

(d) support expenditure.

The Commission's administrative expenditure of a type common to all titles shall also be set out in a separate summary statement classified by type.

Article 28

Actual expenditure in the last financial year for which the accounts have been closed

(Article 46(1)(e) of the Financial Regulation)

For the purposes of establishing the budget, actual expenditure in the last financial year for which the accounts have been closed shall be determined as follows:

(a) in commitments: commitments entered in the accounts during the financial year against appropriations for that financial year as defined in Article 5;

(b) in payments: payments made during the financial year, that is to say, for which a payment order has been sent to the bank, against appropriations for that financial year as defined in the same article.

Article 29

Budget remarks

(Article 46(1)(g) of the Financial Regulation)

The budget remarks shall include:

(a) the references of the basic act, where one exists;

(b) all appropriate explanations concerning the nature and purpose of the appropriations.

Article 30

Establishment plan

(Article 46(1)(3)(a) of the Financial Regulation)

The staff of the Supply Agency shall appear separately in the Commission establishment plan.

TITLE IV

IMPLEMENTATION OF THE BUDGET

CHAPTER 1

General provisions

Article 31

Possible forms of basic acts

(Article 49(1) of the Financial Regulation)

1. In the Community field, a basic act may take the form of a regulation, a directive, a decision(13) within the meaning of Article 249 of the EC Treaty or a decision sui generis.

2. In the field of the common foreign and security policy a basic act may take one of the forms specified in Articles 13(2), 14 and 23(2) of the Treaty on European Union.

3. In the field of police and judicial cooperation in criminal matters a basic act may take one of the forms specified in Article 34(2) of the Treaty on European Union.

Article 32

Maximum amounts for pilot schemes and preparatory actions

(Article 49(2)(a) and (b) of the Financial Regulation)

1. The total amount of appropriations for the pilot schemes referred to in Article 49(2)(a) of the Financial Regulation may not exceed EUR 32 million in any budget year.

2. The total amount of appropriations for new preparatory actions referred to in Article 49(2)(b) of the Financial Regulation may not exceed EUR 30 million in any budget year, and the total amount of appropriations actually committed for preparatory actions may not exceed EUR 75 million.

Article 33

Specific powers of the Commission under the Treaties

(Article 49(2)(c) of the Financial Regulation)

1. The articles of the EC Treaty which directly confer specific powers on the Commission are as follows:

(a) Article 138 (social dialogue);

(b) Article 140 (studies, opinions and consultations on social matters);

(c) Articles 143 and 145 (special reports on social matters);

(d) Article 152(2) (initiatives to promote coordination on health protection matters);

(e) Article 155(2) (initiatives to promote coordination on trans-European networks);

(f) Article 157(2) (initiatives to promote coordination on matters relating to industry);

(g) Article 159, second paragraph (report on progress made towards achieving economic and social cohesion);

(h) Article 165(2) (initiatives to promote coordination on research and technological development);

(i) Article 173 (report on research and technological development);

(j) Article 180(2) (initiatives to promote coordination of development cooperation policies).

2. The articles of the Euratom Treaty which directly confer specific powers on the Commission are as follows:

(a) Article 70 (financial support, within the limits set by the budget, for prospecting programmes in the territories of the Member States);

(b) Article 77 et seq. (safeguards).

3. In the presentation of the preliminary draft budget, further detail may be added to the lists set out in paragraphs 1 and 2, with an indication of the articles in question and the amounts involved.

Article 34

Definition of a conflict of interests

(Article 52(2) of the Financial Regulation)

1. Acts likely to be vitiated by a conflict of interests within the meaning of Article 52(2) of the Financial Regulation may, inter alia, take one of the following forms:

(a) granting oneself or others unjustified direct or indirect advantages;

(b) refusing to grant a beneficiary the rights or advantages to which that beneficiary is entitled;

(c) committing undue or wrongful acts or failing to carry out acts that are mandatory.

2. The competent authority referred to in Article 52(1) of the Financial Regulation shall be the hierarchical superior of the member of staff concerned. The hierarchical superior shall confirm in writing whether or not there is a conflict of interests. If there is, the hierarchical superior shall personally take any appropriate decision.

CHAPTER 2

Methods of implementation

Section 1

General provisions

Article 35

Prior checks carried out by the Commission

(Articles 53 and 56 of the Financial Regulation)

1. Where the Commission implements the budget by shared, decentralised or indirect centralised management, it shall first carry out document and on-the-spot checks into the existence, relevance and proper operation within the entities to which it entrusts implementation, in accordance with the rules of sound financial management, and, in cases of decentralised management, in full or in part depending on the degree of decentralisation agreed, of:

(a) procedures applied;

(b) control systems;

(c) accounting systems;

(d) procurement and grant award procedures.

2. The Commission shall review such arrangements as necessary whenever there are substantial changes to procedures or systems in order to ensure continued compliance with the conditions set out in paragraph 1.

3. The entities referred to in paragraph 1 shall provide the Commission, within a specified time-limit, with any information it requests and shall inform it without delay of any substantial changes in their procedures or systems. The Commission shall, as appropriate, set out those obligations in the instruments of delegation or in the agreements concluded with those entities.

4. Where the Commission implements the budget by joint management, the verification agreements concluded with the international organisations concerned shall apply.

Section 2

Special provisions

Article 36

Direct centralised management

(Article 53 of the Financial Regulation)

Where the Commission implements the budget on a centralised basis directly in its departments, implementation tasks shall be performed by the financial actors within the meaning of Articles 58 to 68 of the Financial Regulation and in compliance with the conditions laid down in this Regulation.

Article 37

Exercise of powers delegated to executive agencies

(Articles 54(2)(a) and 55(2) of the Financial Regulation)

1. Decisions to delegate powers to executive agencies shall authorise them, as authorising officers by delegation, to implement appropriations relating to the Community programme the management of which is entrusted to them.

2. The powers delegated to the executive agency shall be exercised by the director of the agency pursuant to Article 55(2) of the Financial Regulation.

3. The Commission's instrument of delegation shall contain the same provisions as are listed in Article 39(2). It shall be formally accepted in writing by the director on behalf of the executive agency.

Article 38

Eligibility of national public-sector bodies or private-law entities with a public-service mission and conditions for delegation of powers to them

(Article 54(2)(c) of the Financial Regulation)

1. The Commission may delegate tasks involving the exercise of public authority to national public-sector bodies or private-law entities with a public-service mission only if they are governed by the law of one of the Member States, or the States of the European Economic Area (EEA) or the countries that have applied to join the European Union, unless the basic act provides otherwise.

2. The Commission shall ensure that the bodies or entities referred to in paragraph 1 offer adequate financial guarantees, issued preferably by a public authority, in particular as regards full recovery of amounts due to the Commission.

3. Where the Commission is planning to entrust tasks involving the exercise of public authority, and in particular tasks of budget implementation, to a body referred to in point (c) of Article 54(2) of the Financial Regulation, it shall analyse compliance with the principles of economy, effectiveness and efficiency. If that analysis shows that delegation best satisfies the requirements of sound financial management, the Commission shall, before proceeding to implement the delegation, request the opinion of the competent committee provided for in the basic act, which may also give its opinion on the planned application of the selection criteria.

Article 39

Designation of national public-sector bodies or private-law entities with a public-service mission

(Article 54(2)(c) of the Financial Regulation)

1. The national public-sector bodies or private-law entities with a public-service mission shall be subject to the law of the Member State or the country in which they have been set up.

2. Such bodies or entities shall be chosen in an objective and transparent manner, following a cost-effectiveness analysis, to match the implementation requirements identified by the Commission. That choice may not entail any discrimination between the various Member States or countries concerned.

3. In cases of management by a network, requiring the designation of at least one body or entity by Member State or by country concerned, the body or entity shall be designated by the Member State or the country concerned in accordance with the provisions of the basic act.

In all other cases the Commission shall designate such bodies or entities in agreement with the Member States or countries concerned and in accordance with the provisions of the basic acts.

Article 40

Compliance with the procurement rules

(Article 57 of the Financial Regulation)

Where the Commission entrusts tasks to private bodies under Article 57(2) of the Financial Regulation, it shall conclude a contract in accordance with the provisions of Title V of Part One of the Financial Regulation.

Article 41

Detailed arrangements for indirect centralised management

(Articles 54(2)(b) and (c) of the Financial Regulation)

1. Where the Commission entrusts implementing tasks to agencies, bodies or entities under points (b) and (c) of Article 54(2) of the Financial Regulation, it shall conclude an agreement with them.

2. The agreement referred to in paragraph 1 shall include the following provisions:

(a) a definition of the tasks assigned;

(b) the conditions and detailed arrangements for performing the tasks, including appropriate provisions for demarcating responsibilities and organising the controls to be carried out;

(c) the rules on reporting to the Commission on how the tasks are performed;

(d) the conditions under which performance of the tasks terminates;

(e) the detailed arrangements for Commission scrutiny;

(f) the conditions governing the use of separate bank accounts, the beneficiary of the interest yielded and the use made of it;

(g) the provisions guaranteeing the visibility of Community action in relation to the other activities of the body;

(h) an undertaking to refrain from any act which may give rise to a conflict of interests within the meaning of Article 52(2) of the Financial Regulation.

3. The agencies, bodies or entities referred to in paragraph 1 shall not have the status of authorising officers by delegation.

Article 42

Clearance-of-accounts procedures in decentralised or shared management

(Article 53(5) of the Financial Regulation)

1. The purpose of the clearance-of-accounts procedure referred to in Article 53(5) of the Financial Regulation shall be to ensure that expenditure by the Member States in the context of shared management or by third countries in the context of decentralised management and which may be chargeable to the Community budget is in order and consistent with the applicable Community rules.

2. Without prejudice to specific provisions contained in sectoral rules, the clearance-of-accounts procedure shall consist in:

(a) the declaration of expenditure by the Member States or third countries in the form of accounts certified by a technically competent department or body functionally independent of the spending agency;

(b) document and, where appropriate, on-the-spot checks by the Commission, subject to no limitations or restrictions, on the content of those accounts and on the underlying transactions, including checks made with beneficiaries;

(c) establishment by the Commission of the amount of expenditure recognised as chargeable to the budget, following an adversarial procedure and after the Member States or third countries have been notified;

(d) calculation of the financial correction arising from the difference between declared expenditure and expenditure recognised as chargeable to the budget;

(e) recovery or repayment of the balance arising from the difference between recognised expenditure and the sums already paid to the Member States or third countries. Recovery shall be by offsetting as specified in Article 83.

3. In the context of decentralised management, the clearance-of-accounts procedure described in paragraphs 1 and 2 shall apply in accordance with the degree of decentralisation agreed.

Article 43

Joint management

(Articles 53 and 165 of the Financial Regulation)

1. The appropriations used in joint management with international organisations within the meaning of Articles 53 and 165 of the Financial Regulation shall finance actions, performance of which requires the pooling of resources from a number of donors, where it is not reasonably possible or appropriate to assign the share contributed by each donor to each type of expenditure.

The Commission shall ensure that suitable arrangements exist for the control and audit of the action in its entirety.

2. The international organisations referred to in paragraph 1 are as follows:

(a) international public-sector organisations set up by intergovernmental agreements, and specialised agencies set up by such organisations;

(b) the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC);

(c) the International Federation of National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.

CHAPTER 3

Financial actors

Section 1

Rights and obligations of the financial actors

Article 44

Rights and obligations of the financial actors

(Article 58 of the Financial Regulation)

Each institution shall provide each financial actor with the resources required to perform his duties and a charter describing in detail his tasks, rights and obligations.

Section 2

Authorising officer

Article 45

Assistance for authorising officers by delegation and subdelegation

(Article 59 of the Financial Regulation)

1. The authorising officer responsible may be assisted in his duties by officials or other servants (hereinafter "staff") entrusted, under his responsibility, with certain operations required for the implementation of the budget and production of the financial and management information. In order to prevent any conflict of interests, staff assisting authorising officers by delegation or subdelegation shall be subject to the obligations referred to in Article 52 of the Financial Regulation.

2. Each institution shall inform the budgetary authority whenever a grade A1 authorising officer by delegation takes up his duties, changes duties or terminates his duties.

Article 46

Internal provisions governing delegations

(Article 59 of the Financial Regulation)

In accordance with the Financial Regulation and this Regulation, each institution shall lay down in its internal rules such measures for the management of appropriations as it considers necessary for proper implementation of its section of the budget.

Article 47

Segregation of duties of initiation and verification of an operation

(Article 60(4) of the Financial Regulation)

1. Initiation of an operation shall be understood to mean all the operations which are normally carried out by the staff referred to in Article 45 and which are preparatory to the adoption of the acts implementing the budget by the competent authorising officer, holder of a delegation or a subdelegation.

2. Ex ante verification of an operation shall be understood to mean all the ex ante checks put in place by the authorising officer responsible in order to verify its operational and financial aspects.

3. Each operation shall be subject at least to an ex ante verification. The purpose of that verification shall be to ascertain that:

(a) the expenditure and revenue are in order and comply with the provisions applicable, in particular those of the budget and the relevant regulations and of any acts adopted in implementation of the Treaties or regulations and, where appropriate, the terms of contracts;

(b) the principle of sound financial management referred to in Chapter 7 of Title II of the Financial Regulation is applied.

4. The ex post verifications on documents and, where appropriate, on the spot shall check that operations financed by the budget are correctly implemented and in particular that the criteria referred to in paragraph 3 are complied with. These verifications may be organised on a sample basis using risk analysis.

5. The officials or other staff responsible for the verifications referred to in paragraphs 2 and 4 shall be different from those performing the tasks of initiation referred to in paragraph 1 and shall not be their subordinates.

Article 48

Management and internal control procedures

(Article 60(4) of the Financial Regulation)

The management and internal control systems and procedures shall be designed to:

(a) achieve the objectives of the policies, programmes and actions of the institution in accordance with the principle of sound financial management;

(b) comply with the rules of Community law and minimum control standards established by the institution;

(c) safeguard the institution's assets and information;

(d) prevent and detect irregularities, errors and fraud;

(e) identify and prevent management risks;

(f) ensure reliable production of financial and management information;

(g) keep supporting documents relating to and subsequent to budget implementation and budget implementation measures;

(h) keep documents relating to advance guarantees for the institution and keep a log to enable such guarantees to be adequately monitored.

Article 49

Keeping of supporting documents by authorising officers

(Article 60(4) of the Financial Regulation)

The management systems and procedures concerning the keeping of original supporting documents shall provide for:

(a) such documents to be numbered;

(b) such documents to be dated;

(c) registers, which may be computerised, to be kept identifying the exact location of such documents;

(d) such documents to be kept for at least five years from the date on which the European Parliament grants discharge for the budgetary year to which the documents relate.

Documents relating to operations not definitively closed shall be kept for longer than provided for in point (d) of the first subparagraph, that is to say, until the end of the year following that in which the operations are closed.

Article 50

Code of professional standards

(Article 60(5) of the Financial Regulation)

1. The staff designated by the authorising officer responsible to verify financial operations shall be chosen on the grounds of their knowledge, skills and particular qualifications as evidenced by diplomas or by appropriate professional experience, or after an appropriate training programme.

2. Each institution shall draw up a code of professional standards which determine, on matters of internal control:

(a) the level of technical and financial competence required of the staff referred to in paragraph 1;

(b) the obligation for such staff to undergo continuing training;

(c) the mission, role and tasks allocated to them;

(d) the rules of conduct, in particular the standards of ethics and integrity that they must comply with and the rights they enjoy.

3. Each institution shall put in place the appropriate structures to distribute to authorising departments and update periodically appropriate information concerning the control standards and the methods and techniques available for that purpose.

Article 51

Failure of the authorising officer by delegation to take action

(Article 60(6) of the Financial Regulation)

Failure by the authorising officer by delegation to take action, as referred to in Article 60(6) of the Financial Regulation, shall mean the absence of any reply within a reasonable time given the circumstances of the case and, at all events, within a month at most.

Article 52

Ex post verification and annual activity report

(Article 60(7) of the Financial Regulation)

The result of the ex post verifications shall, with other matters, be set out in the annual activity report submitted by the authorising officer by delegation to his institution.

Article 53

Transmission of financial and management information to the accounting officer

(Article 60 of the Financial Regulation)

The authorising officer by delegation shall send the accounting officer, in accordance with the rules adopted by the latter, the financial and management information required for the performance of the accounting officer's duties.

Article 54

Report on negotiated procedures

(Article 60 of the Financial Regulation)

Authorising officers by delegation shall record, for each financial year, contracts concluded by the negotiated procedures referred to in Articles 126, 127, 242, 244, 246 and 247. If the proportion of negotiated procedures in relation to the number of contracts awarded by the same authorising officer by delegation increases appreciably in relation to earlier years or if that proportion is distinctly higher than the average recorded for the institution, the authorising officer responsible shall report to the institution setting out any measures taken to reverse that trend. Each institution shall send a report on negotiated procedures to the budgetary authority. In the case of the Commission, that report shall be annexed to the summary of the annual activity reports referred to in Article 60(7) of the Financial Regulation.

Section 3

Accounting officer

Article 55

Appointment of the accounting officer

(Article 61 of the Financial Regulation)

Each institution shall appoint an accounting officer from officials subject to the Staff Regulations of Officials of the European Communities.

The accounting officer shall, obligatorily, be chosen by the institution on the grounds of his particular competence as evidenced by diplomas or by equivalent professional experience.

Article 56

Termination of duties of the accounting officer

(Article 61 of the Financial Regulation)

1. An interim statement of account shall be drawn up without delay in the event of termination of the duties of the accounting officer.

That statement shall be made up of the accounts provided for in Title VII of Part One of the Financial Regulation, closed on the last day of the month in which the accounting officer terminates his duties.

2. No interim statement of account shall be required where the accounting officer terminates his duties at the end of a financial year.

3. The interim statement or, in the circumstances referred to in paragraph 2, the provisional accounts referred to in Article 128 of the Financial Regulation shall be transmitted by the accounting officer who is terminating his duties or, if this is not possible, by an official in his department to the new accounting officer, who, within no more than one month from the date of transmission, must sign in acceptance and may make reservations.

4. Each institution shall inform the budgetary authority of the appointment or termination of duties of its accounting officer.

Article 57

Opinion on accounting and inventory systems

(Article 61 of the Financial Regulation)

Where financial management systems set up by the authorising officer provide data for the institution's accounts or are used to substantiate data in those accounts, the accounting officer must give his agreement to the introduction or modification of such systems.

The accounting officer shall also be consulted regarding the introduction or modification by the authorising officers responsible of inventory systems and systems for valuing assets and liabilities.

Article 58

Treasury management

(Article 61 of the Financial Regulation)

1. The accounting officer shall ensure that his institution has at its disposal sufficient funds to cover the cash requirements arising from budgetary implementation.

2. For the purposes of paragraph 1, the accounting officer shall set up cash management systems enabling him to draw up cash-flow forecasts.

3. The Commission's accounting officer shall divide up the funds available in accordance with Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1150/2000.

Article 59

Management of bank accounts

(Article 61 of the Financial Regulation)

1. For the requirements of treasury management, the accounting officer may open accounts in the name of the institution with financial institutions or national central banks or cause such accounts to be opened. In duly warranted circumstances, he/she may open accounts in currencies other than the euro.

2. The accounting officer shall negotiate the operating terms for accounts with financial institutions, in accordance with the principles of sound financial management, efficiency and competitive tendering.

3. At least every five years the accounting officer shall relaunch competitive tendering between financial institutions with which accounts have been opened.

4. The accounting officer shall ensure strict compliance with the operating terms for accounts opened with financial institutions.

5. The Commission's accounting officer shall be responsible, after consulting the accounting officers of the other institutions, for harmonising the operating terms for accounts opened by the various institutions.

Article 60

Signatures on accounts

(Article 61 of the Financial Regulation)

The terms governing the opening, operation and use of accounts shall provide, depending on internal control requirements, that cheques, bank credit transfer orders or any other banking operations must be signed by one or more duly authorised members of staff.

To that end each institution shall communicate to all financial institutions with which it has opened accounts the names and specimen signatures of the authorised officials.

Article 61

Management of account balances

(Article 61 of the Financial Regulation)

1. The accounting officer shall ensure that the balance on the bank accounts provided for in Article 59 does not deviate significantly from the cash-flow forecasts referred to in Article 58(2) and in any event:

(a) that none of those accounts is in debit;

(b) that the balance of accounts held in other currencies is periodically converted into euro.

2. The accounting officer may not maintain balances in foreign currency accounts which might cause excessive losses to the institution as a result of exchange rate fluctuations.

Article 62

Transfers and conversion operations

(Article 61 of the Financial Regulation)

Without prejudice to Article 69, the accounting officer shall conduct transfers between accounts opened in the name of the institution with financial institutions, and conduct currency conversion operations.

Article 63

Methods of payment

(Article 61 of the Financial Regulation)

Payments shall be made by bank credit transfer or by cheque.

Article 64

Third-party files

(Article 61 of the Financial Regulation)

1. The accounting officer may make payments by bank credit transfer only if the bank account details of the payee have first been entered in a common file by institution.

Entry in the file of the payee's bank account details or modification of those details shall be based on a document, in paper or electronic form, certified by the payee's bank.

2. With a view to payment by bank credit transfer, authorising officers may enter into a commitment towards a third party on behalf of their institution only if that third party has provided the documentation required for its entry in the file.

Authorising officers shall check that the bank account details communicated by the payee are still valid when each payment order is drawn up.

In connection with pre-accession aid, individual commitments may be concluded with the public authorities in the countries applying for accession to the European Union without a prior entry in the third-party file. In such cases the authorising officer shall do his utmost to ensure that the entry is made as quickly as possible. The agreements shall provide that communication to the Commission of the payee's bank account details is a condition to be fulfilled before the first payment can be made.

Article 65

Keeping of supporting documents by the accounting officer

(Article 61 of the Financial Regulation)

Supporting documents for the accounting system and for the preparation of the accounts referred to in Article 121 of the Financial Regulation shall be kept for at least five years from the date on which the European Parliament grants discharge for the budgetary year to which the documents relate.

However, documents relating to operations not definitively closed shall be kept for longer, that is to say, until the end of the year following that in which the operations are closed.

Each institution shall decide in which department the supporting documents are to be kept.

Section 4

Imprest administrator

Article 66

Conditions of use of imprest accounts

(Article 63 of the Financial Regulation)

1. Where, owing to the limited amounts involved, it is materially impossible or inefficient to carry out payment operations by budgetary procedures, imprest accounts may be set up for the payment of such expenditure.

2. The imprest administrator may provisionally validate and pay expenditure, on the instructions of the authorising officer responsible.

3. The creation of an imprest account and the appointment of an imprest administrator shall be the subject of a decision by the accounting officer, on a duly substantiated proposal from the authorising officer responsible. That decision shall set out the respective responsibilities and obligations of the imprest administrator and the authorising officer.

Amendment of the operating terms for an imprest account shall also be the subject of a decision by the accounting officer on a duly substantiated proposal from the authorising officer responsible.

Article 67

Conditions governing creation and payment

(Article 63 of the Financial Regulation)

1. The decision setting up an imprest account and appointing an imprest administrator and the decision amending the operating terms for an imprest account shall specify in particular:

(a) the maximum amount which may be initially provided as an imprest, and its purpose;

(b) whether a bank account or post office giro account is to be opened in the name of the institution;

(c) the nature and maximum amount of each item of expenditure which may be paid by the imprest administrator to third parties or collected from them;

(d) the frequency with which supporting documents must be produced, the procedure for producing them and the arrangements for transmitting them to the authorising officer for settlement;

(e) the procedure to be followed if the imprest has to be replenished;

(f) that imprest transactions will be settled by the authorising officer by no later than the end of the following month, so that the accounting balance and the bank balance can be reconciled;

(g) the period of validity of the authorisation given to the imprest administrator by the accounting officer;

(h) the identity of the appointed imprest administrator.

2. In proposals for decisions setting up imprest accounts the authorising officer responsible shall ensure that:

(a) priority is given to the use of budgetary procedures where there is access to the central computerised accounting system;

(b) imprest accounts are used only in substantiated cases.

With the exception of specific imprests in the field of humanitarian aid and the management of crisis situations within the meaning of Article 168(2), the maximum amount referred to in point (c) of paragraph 1 may not exceed EUR 30000 for each item of expenditure.

3. The imprest administrator may make payments to third parties on the basis and within the limits of:

(a) prior budget and legal commitments signed by the authorising officer responsible;

(b) the positive residual balance of the imprest account, in cash or at the bank.

4. Payments from imprest accounts may be made by bank credit transfer, cheque or other means of payment.

5. Payments made shall be followed by formal final validation decisions and/or payment orders signed by the authorising officer responsible

Article 68

Choice of imprest administrators

(Article 63 of the Financial Regulation)

Imprest administrators shall be chosen from category A, B or C officials. Should the need arise, imprest administrators may be chosen from staff subject to the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants of a level equivalent to those categories. Imprest administrators shall be chosen on the grounds of their knowledge, skills and particular qualifications as evidenced by diplomas or by appropriate professional experience, or after an appropriate training programme.

Article 69

Endowment of imprest accounts

(Article 63 of the Financial Regulation)

1. The accounting officer shall make payments endowing imprest accounts and shall monitor those accounts from the point of view of opening of bank accounts and delegation of signatures and controls on the spot and in the centralised accounts. The accounting officer shall endow the imprest accounts. Imprests shall be paid to the bank account opened for the imprest.

Imprest accounts may also be endowed directly by miscellaneous local revenue such as that arising from:

(a) sales of equipment;

(b) publications;

(c) miscellaneous repayments;

(d) interest.

The imprest shall be settled, in terms of expenditure or miscellaneous or assigned revenue, in accordance with the decision setting up the imprest account referred to in Article 67 and the provisions of the Financial Regulation. The amounts in question shall be deducted by the authorising officer when he subsequently replenishes the imprest accounts concerned.

2. In order, in particular, to avoid any exchange losses, the imprest administrator may make transfers between different bank accounts relating to the same imprest.

Article 70

Checks by authorising officers and accounting officers

(Article 63 of the Financial Regulation)

1. The imprest administrator shall keep an account of the funds at his disposal, in cash and at the bank, and of payments made and amounts received, in accordance with the rules and on the instructions given by the accounting officer. Statements of that account shall be accessible at all times to the authorising officer responsible and a monthly list of transactions together with supporting documents shall be sent in the following month by the imprest administrator to the authorising officer for settlement of the imprest operations.

2. The accounting officer shall carry out, or have carried out by an official or other servant in his own department or in the authorising department specially empowered for that purpose, checks, which should normally be effected on the spot and without warning, to verify the existence of the funds allocated to the imprest administrators and the bookkeeping and to check that imprest transactions are settled within the time-limit set. The accounting officer shall communicate the findings of those checks to the authorising officer responsible.

Article 71

Procurement procedure

(Article 63 of the Financial Regulation)

Payments made from imprest accounts may, within the limits laid down in Article 129(4), consist simply in the payment of costs against invoices, without prior acceptance of a tender.

CHAPTER 4

Liability of the financial actors

Section 1

General rules

Article 72

Bodies responsible in matters of fraud

(Articles 60(6) and 65(2) of the Financial Regulation)

The authorities and bodies referred to in Articles 60(6) and 65(2) of the Financial Regulation shall be understood to mean the bodies designated by the Staff Regulations of Officials and the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants of the European Communities (hereinafter "the Staff Regulations") and the decisions of the Community institutions concerning the terms and conditions for internal investigations in relation to the prevention of fraud, corruption and any other illegal activity detrimental to the Communities' interests.

Section 2

Rules applicable to authorising officers by delegation and subdelegation

Article 73

Confirmation of instructions

(Article 66(2) of the Financial Regulation)

1. An authorising officer by delegation or subdelegation who receives a binding instruction which he considers to be irregular or contrary to the principle of sound financial management, in particular because the instruction cannot be carried out with the resources allocated to him, shall, in writing, so inform the authority from which he received the delegation or subdelegation. If the instruction is confirmed in writing and that confirmation is received in good time and is sufficiently clear, in that it refers explicitly to the points which the authorising officer by delegation or subdelegation has challenged, he may not be held liable; he shall carry out the instruction, unless it constitutes a breach of criminal law or of the relevant safety standards.

2. Paragraph 1 shall also apply in cases where an authorising officer learns, in the course of acting on a binding instruction, that the circumstances of the case may give rise to an irregular situation.

3. Any instructions confirmed in the circumstances described in Article 66(2) of the Financial Regulation shall be recorded by the authorising officer by delegation responsible and mentioned in his annual activity report.

Article 74

Financial irregularities

(Articles 60(6) and 66(4) of the Financial Regulation)

Without prejudice to the powers of the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF), the specialised financial irregularities panel shall be competent in respect of any infringement of a provision of the Financial Regulation or of a provision relating to financial management or the checking of operations resulting from an act or omission of an official or other servant.

Article 75

Financial irregularities panel

(Articles 60(6) and 66(4) of the Financial Regulation)

1. Cases of financial irregularities, as referred to in Article 74 shall be referred by the appointing authority or, where appropriate, by the authority authorised to conclude contracts of employment to the panel referred to in Article 66(4) of the Financial Regulation for an opinion.

Where a case is referred to it by the appointing authority or the authority authorised to conclude contracts of employment, the panel shall deliver an opinion evaluating whether irregularities within the meaning of Article 74 have occurred, how serious they are and what their consequences might be. Should the panel's analysis suggest that the case referred to it is a matter for OLAF, it shall without delay return the case-file to the appointing authority or to the authority authorised to conclude contracts of employment and shall inform OLAF at once.

When the panel referred to in the first subparagraph is directly informed of a matter by a member of staff in accordance with Article 60(6) of the Financial Regulation, it shall transmit the file to the appointing authority or, where appropriate, to the authority authorised to conclude contracts of employment and shall inform the member of staff accordingly.

2. Each institution shall, depending on its own internal organisation, specify the operating arrangements of the panel referred to in Article 66(4) of the Financial Regulation and its composition, which shall include an outside personality with the required qualifications and expertise.

CHAPTER 5

Revenue operations

Section 1

Own resources

Article 76

Rules applying to own resources

(Article 69 of the Financial Regulation)

The authorising officer shall draw up a schedule indicating when the own resources defined in the Decision on the system of the European Communities' own resources will be made available to the Commission.

Own resources shall be established and recovered in accordance with the rules adopted pursuant to the Decision referred to in the first paragraph.

Section 2

Estimate of amounts receivable

Article 77

Estimate of amounts receivable

(Article 70 of the Financial Regulation)

1. Estimates of amounts receivable shall specify the type of revenue and the budget item to which they are to be booked and, as far as possible, the particulars of the debtor and the estimated amount.

When drawing up an estimate of amounts receivable, the authorising officer responsible shall check in particular that:

(a) the revenue is booked to the correct budget item;

(b) the estimate is in order and complies with the provisions applicable and the principle of sound financial management.

2. Subject to Article 161(2) of the Financial Regulation, an estimate of amounts receivable shall not have the effect of making commitment available. In the cases referred to in Article 18 of the Financial Regulation, appropriations may be made available only after the sums due have actually been recovered by the Communities.

Section 3

Establishment of amounts receivable

Article 78

Procedure

(Article 71 of the Financial Regulation)

1. The establishment by the authorising officer responsible of an amount receivable shall constitute recognition of the right of the Communities in respect of a debtor and establishment of entitlement to demand that the debtor pay the debt.

2. The recovery order shall be the operation by which the authorising officer responsible instructs the accounting officer to recover the amount established.

3. The debit note shall be to inform the debtor that:

(a) the Communities have established the amount receivable;

(b) payment of the debt to the Communities is due on a certain date (hereinafter "the due date");

(c) failing payment by the due date the debt shall bear interest at the rate referred to in Article 86, without prejudice to any specific regulations applicable;

(d) wherever possible the institution shall effect recovery by offsetting after the debtor has been informed;

(e) failing payment by the due date the institution shall effect recovery by enforcement of any guarantee lodged in advance;

(f) if, after all those steps have been taken, the amount has not been recovered in full, the institution shall effect recovery by enforcement of a decision secured either in accordance with Article 72(2) of the Financial Regulation or by legal action.

The authorising officer shall send the debit note to the debtor with a copy to the accounting officer.

Article 79

Establishment of amounts receivable

(Article 71 of the Financial Regulation)

To establish an amount receivable the authorising officer responsible shall ensure that:

(a) the receivable is certain and not subject to any condition;

(b) the receivable is of fixed amount, expressed precisely in cash terms;

(c) the receivable is due and is not subject to any payment time;

(d) the particulars of the debtor are correct;

(e) the amount to be recovered is booked to the correct budget item;

(f) the supporting documents are in order; and

(g) the principle of sound financial management is complied with, in particular with regard to the criteria referred to in point (a) of Article 87(1).

Article 80

Supporting documents for the establishment of amounts receivable

(Article 71 of the Financial Regulation)

1. The establishment of an amount receivable shall be based on supporting documents certifying the Communities' entitlement.

2. Before establishing an amount receivable the authorising officer responsible shall personally check the supporting documents or, on his own responsibility, shall ascertain that this has been done.

3. The supporting documents shall be kept by the authorising officer in accordance with Articles 48 and 49.

Section 4

Authorisation of recovery

Article 81

Establishment of the recovery order

(Article 72 of the Financial Regulation)

1. The recovery order shall specify:

(a) the financial year to which the revenue is to be booked;

(b) the references of the act or legal commitment which is the source of the debt and gives rise to the entitlement to recovery;

(c) the budget article and any other subdivision that may apply, including, where appropriate, the references of the corresponding budget commitment;

(d) the amount to be recovered, expressed in euro;

(e) the name and address of the debtor;

(f) the due date; and

(g) the possible method of recovery, including in particular recovery by offsetting or enforcement of any guarantee lodged.

2. The recovery order shall be dated and signed by the authorising officer responsible, then sent to the accounting officer.

Section 5

Recovery

Article 82

Collection formalities

(Article 73 of the Financial Regulation)

1. Upon the recovery of an amount receivable, the accounting officer shall make an entry in the accounts and shall inform the authorising officer responsible.

2. A receipt shall be issued in respect of any cash payments made to the accounting officer or imprest administrator.

Article 83

Recovery by offsetting

(Article 73 of the Financial Regulation)

At any point in the procedure the accounting officer shall, after informing the authorising officer responsible and the debtor, recover established amounts receivable by offsetting in cases where the debtor also has a claim on the Communities that is certain, of a fixed amount and due relating to a sum established by a payment order.

Article 84

Recovery procedure failing voluntary payment

(Articles 72 and 73 of the Financial Regulation)

1. Without prejudice to Article 83, if the full amount has not been recovered by the due date specified in the debit note, the accounting officer shall inform the authorising officer responsible and shall without delay launch the procedure for effecting recovery by any means offered by the law, including, where appropriate, by enforcement of any guarantee lodged in advance.

2. Without prejudice to Article 83, where the recovery method referred to in paragraph 1 cannot be used and the debtor has failed to pay in response to the letter of formal notice sent by the accounting officer, the accounting officer shall enforce a recovery decision secured either in accordance with Article 72(2) of the Financial Regulation or by legal action.

Article 85

Additional time for payment

(Article 73 of the Financial Regulation)

The accounting officer, in collaboration with the authorising officer responsible, may allow additional time for payment only at the written request of the debtor, with due indication of the reasons, and provided that the following two conditions are fulfilled:

(a) the debtor undertakes to pay interest at the rate specified in Article 86 for the entire additional period allowed, starting from the date on which the payment was originally due; and

(b) in order to safeguard the Community's rights, the debtor lodges a financial guarantee covering the debt outstanding in both the principal sum and the interest, which is accepted by the institution's accounting officer.

The guarantee referred to in point (b) of the first paragraph may be replaced by a joint and several guarantee by a third party approved by the institution's accounting officer.

Article 86

Default interest

(Article 71(4) of the Financial Regulation)

1. Without prejudice to any specific provisions deriving from the application of sectoral rules, any amount receivable not repaid on the due date shall bear interest in accordance with paragraphs 2 and 3.

2. The interest rate for amounts receivable not repaid on the due date shall be the rate applied by the European Central Bank to its principal refinancing operations, as published in the C series of the Official Journal of the European Communities, in force on the first calendar day of the month in which the due date falls, increased by:

(a) seven percentage points where the obligating event is a public supply and service contract referred to in Title V;

(b) three and a half percentage points in all other cases.

3. Interest shall be calculated from the calendar day following the due date specified in the debit note up to the calendar day on which the debt is repaid in full.

4. Any partial payments shall first cover the interest determined in accordance with paragraphs 2 and 3.

5. In the case of fines, where the debtor provides a financial guarantee which is accepted by the accounting officer in lieu of provisional payment, the interest rate applicable from the due date shall be the rate referred to in paragraph 2 increased by only one and a half percentage points.

Article 87

Waiving of recovery of an established amount receivable

(Article 73 of the Financial Regulation)

1. The authorising officer responsible may waive recovery of all or part of an established amount receivable only in the following cases:

(a) where the foreseeable cost of recovery would exceed the amount to be recovered and the waiver would not harm the Community's image;

(b) where the amount receivable cannot be recovered in view of its age or the insolvency of the debtor;

(c) where recovery is inconsistent with the principle of proportionality.

2. In the case referred to in point (c) of paragraph 1, the authorising officer responsible shall act in accordance with predetermined procedures established within each institution and shall apply the following criteria which are compulsory and applicable in all circumstances:

(a) the facts, having regard to the gravity of the irregularity giving rise to the establishment of the amount receivable (fraud, repeat offence,