EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM

1. CONTEXT OF THE PROPOSAL

On 29 June 2011, the Commission adopted a proposal for the next multi-annual financial framework for the period 2014-2020: A Budget for Europe 2020[1]. Simplification of policy delivery, focus on results and increased use of conditionality are among the major hallmarks of the next set of programmes.

Simplification has been defined as a key objective in the EU Budget Review Communication[2], the Smart Regulation agenda[3] and the aforesaid communication on the next multi-annual financial framework. Experience suggests that in the current programming period, the diversity and fragmentation of rules governing spending programmes are often perceived as unnecessarily complicated and difficult to implement and control. This imposes a heavy administrative burden on beneficiaries as well as on the Commission and Member States, which can have the unintended effect of discouraging participation, increasing error rates and delaying implementation. This means that the potential benefits of EU programmes are not fully realised.

The European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), the European Social Fund (ESF), the Cohesion Fund (CF), the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) and the future European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF) (hereinafter referred to as the 'CSF Funds') pursue complementary policy objectives and their management is shared between the Member States and the Commission. It is therefore important to maximise the effectiveness of all structural instruments in terms of delivering objectives and targets set in programmes and optimise synergies and efficiency of the different instruments. This will be achieved through sound policy, regulatory and institutional framework conditions for the funds, an increased focus on results and monitoring progress towards objectives and targets agreed in programmes as well as the harmonisation, to the extent possible, of implementation rules and control requirements.

Against this background, this Regulation delivers a common set of basic rules. It is divided into two parts.

The first part sets out a series of common provisions governing all structural instruments covered by the Common Strategic Framework. These provisions concern the general principles of support such as partnership, multi-level governance, equality between men and women, sustainability and compliance with applicable EU and national law. The proposal also contains the common elements of strategic planning and programming, including a list of joint thematic objectives derived from the Europe 2020 Strategy, provisions on the Common Strategic Framework at Union level and on Partnership Contracts to be concluded with each Member State. It sets out a common approach to reinforce the performance orientation of the cohesion policy, the rural development policy and the maritime and fisheries policy and therefore includes provisions concerning conditionalities and performance review, but also the arrangements for monitoring, reporting and evaluation. Common provisions concerning the implementation of CSF Funds are also set out with regard to eligibility rules, and special arrangements are defined for financial instruments and community led local development. Some management and control arrangements are also common for all CSF Funds.

The second part includes specific provisions set out for the ERDF, the ESF and the CF. These include provisions related to the mission and goals of cohesion policy, the financial framework, specific programming and reporting arrangements, major projects and joint action plans. The second part sets out the requirements on management and control systems under cohesion policy and elaborates the specific arrangements for control and financial management.

At the same time, the Commission will ensure that synergies already obtained through simplification and harmonisation of the first pillar (EAGF – European Agricultural Guarantee Fund) and the second pillar (EAFRD) of the Common Agriculture Policy are preserved. The strong link between the EAGF and the EAFRD will therefore be maintained and the structures already in place in the Member States will be sustained.

2. RESULTS OF CONSULTATIONS WITH THE INTERESTED PARTIES AND IMPACT ASSESSMENTS 2.1. Consultations and expert advice

The Regulation draws on extensive consultations with stakeholders, including Member States, regions, social and economic partners, academic experts and international institutions in the context of the preparation of the proposal for each structural fund for the 2014-2020 financial framework. The results of the ex post evaluations carried out on the 2000-2006 programmes; and a broad range of studies and expert advice were used as input.

For the next cohesion policy framework, expert advice was provided by the High Level Group reflecting on future Cohesion Policy, with 10 meetings held between 2009 and 2011, an informal platform established to support the work of the Commission in developing the future directions of cohesion policy as well as a Task Force on Conditionality, which met three times in early 2011. A public consultation on the conclusions of the Fifth Cohesion Report was held between 12 November 2010 and 31 January 2011. A total of 444 contributions were received. A summary of the results was published on 13 May 2011[4].

On the future of rural development, a public consultation was held between 23 November 2010 and 25 January 2011 and an advisory committee with stakeholders was organised on 12 January 2011.[5] Altogether, 517 contributions were received by the Commission. Of the contributions from organisations, 44% came from the farming and processing sector and 40% from national, regional and local authorities, environmental organisations, think-tanks and research institutes as well as, development organisations, the trade sector, and consumer organisations. Other organisations (12%) participating in the consultation included health protection organisations, water management bodies and civil society representations.

On reform of the common fisheries policy, a Green Paper was adopted in April 2009[6], followed by a public consultation. In addition to the public consultation, approximately 200 meetings with Member States, the Advisory Committee on Fisheries and Aquaculture (ACFA) and the Regional Advisory Councils (RACs), the fishing industry, the processing and marketing sector, trade unions, NGOs, and the research community were organized. In particular: (i) two meetings with the Member States, during which future funding was discussed, took place in Gent (12-14 September 2010) and Noordwijk (9-11 March 2011); (ii) a dedicated seminar on the future European Fisheries Fund with the participation of stakeholders from industry, trade unions and Member States was organised on 13 April 2010, in Brussels; (iii) a conference on the future of local development in fisheries areas took place in Brussels (12-13 April 2011).

A number of common conclusions can be drawn from the results of the different public consultations which confirmed the following:

– A majority of stakeholders called for continued financial support of these policies;

– EU support should focus on a number of priorities and the different policies should be aligned with the Europe 2020 Strategy;

– For cohesion policy in particular, stakeholders called for a more results-oriented approach and there was strong support for a more transparent and simplified set of financial management procedures;

A majority of stakeholders called for a more integrated approach or joined-up strategies with other EU policies and financial instruments.

2.2. Impact assessment

This proposal draws on three Impact Assessments: one carried out for the ERDF, the CF and the ESF together; and one each for the EAFRD and for the EMFF. These impact assessments analysed issues including EU added value, performance and delivery of the policies, as well as simplification and harmonisation of rules. The options assessed in the impact assessments related to (i) improving the capacity of the policies to deliver European added value, (ii) increasing the performance of the policies and (iii) simplification – reducing administrative costs and minimising the risk error.

2.2.1. Delivering European added value

To be able to deliver greater European added value, the structural programmes need to both: a) concentrate their support on EU priorities and b) coordinate with other EU policies and financial instruments. The Europe 2020 Strategy provides a clear set of common objectives, including headline targets and flagship initiatives, as a clear framework for identification of funding priorities. There is broad consensus among stakeholders on the role of the different policies (cohesion policy, rural development policy and maritime and fisheries policy) in contributing to the achievement of the Europe 2020 Strategy[7].

As for concentration on EU priorities, the options assessed included a flexible approach to concentration by earmarking provisions; a more visible and comprehensive link with the Europe 2020 headline targets and the Integrated Guidelines, ensuring a critical mass for the ESF and, thirdly, concentration on EU priorities in less developed Member States only. The preferred option is to establish a strong link to Europe 2020 targets which would contribute most to reaching the headline targets.

As for coordination with other EU policies and financial instruments, the options examined included a loose alignment based on non-binding Community Strategic Guidelines, a more comprehensive alignment with the Europe 2020 objectives through the Common Strategic Framework and Partnership Contract, and no alignment with other EU policies and financial instruments beyond formal compliance. Strategic planning arrangements which include the Common Strategic Framework at Union level and Partnership Contracts at national level are considered to ensure effective coordination between Union policies and instruments.

2.2.2. Increasing the performance of the policy

The effectiveness of the different structural instruments depends on sound policy, regulatory and institutional frameworks. In many sectors, a combination of strategic and regulatory conditions and public investment is needed to address bottlenecks to growth effectively. The options examined in this context related to: a) the status quo (macro-fiscal conditionality under the CF, compliance with procedures and with EU sectoral legislation and strategic frameworks, albeit unsystematically applied, no provisions related to performance; b) ex ante conditionalities to be fulfilled prior to the adoption of the programmes; c) ex post conditionalities including the performance framework and performance reserve; d) strengthened macro-fiscal conditionality; and e) combined option. The preferred option was the combined option since this option would allow addressing the preconditions necessary for the effective use of the CSF Funds and would provide incentives to attain predefined objectives and targets and align the implementation of programmes with the Union's economic governance.

2.2.3. Simplification - reducing administrative costs and minimising the risk error

Sound, effective and efficient management of the structural instruments requires appropriate, effective and transparent systems involving all the different administrations concerned. These systems need to ensure the selection of high quality operations and the effective implementation of these operations to achieve the objectives of the policy. The management and control systems must also ensure the prevention and detection of irregularities, including fraud, and thus reasonable assurance on the regularity of expenditure. At the same time the delivery system should be as simple and streamlined as possible to ensure efficient implementation and the reduction of administrative burden for beneficiaries

The options examined for cohesion policy included different reimbursement options (based on real costs and simplified cost options), eGovernance and assurance. The main differences between the options relate to the level of Commission involvement in the assessment of management and control systems, to the availability of reimbursement options linked to results, and to the mechanisms for promoting eGovernance in the day to day management of EU funds. A proportional approach entailing risk based control arrangements, the availability of a wide range of reimbursement options, and advanced eGovernance at the level of Member States and regions is the preferred option since it could lead to a significant potential reduction in the cost of controls and a decline in workload and would also comply better with the subsidiarity principle.

3. LEGAL ELEMENTS OF THE PROPOSAL

EU action is justified both on the grounds of the objectives laid out in Article 174 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) and the subsidiarity principle. The right to act is enshrined in Article 175 of the TFEU which explicitly calls on the Union to implement this policy by means of Structural Funds, in conjunction with Article 177, which defines the role of the CF. The aims of the ESF, ERDF and the CF are defined in Articles 162, 176 and 177 of the TFEU respectively. The actions related to agriculture and fisheries are justified by Articles 38 and 39 of the TFEU.

Article 174 of the TFEU states that particular attention shall be paid to rural areas, areas affected by industrial transition, and regions which suffer from severe and permanent natural or demographic handicaps such as the northernmost regions with very low population density and island, cross-border and mountain regions.

Article 349 of the TFEU states that specific measures shall be adopted to take account of the structural social and economic situation of the outermost regions, which is compounded by certain specific features which severely restrain their development.

4. BUDGETARY IMPLICATIONS

The Commission's proposal for a multi-annual financial framework foresees an amount of EUR 376 billion for economic, social and territorial cohesion for the period 2014-2020.

Proposed budget 2014-2020 || EUR billion

Less developed regions Transition regions More developed regions Territorial cooperation Cohesion Fund Extra allocation for outermost and sparsely populated regions || 162,6 38,9 53,1 11,7 68,7 0,926

Connecting Europe Facility for transport, energy and ICT || 40 (with an additional EUR 10 billion ring fenced inside the Cohesion Fund)

*All figures in constant 2011 prices

The Commission's proposal has also established, with the aim of enhancing the contribution of the CSF Funds in delivering on the headline targets of the Europe 2020 Strategy, minimum shares for the ESF for each category of regions. The application of the shares result in a minimum overall share for the ESF of 25% of the budget allocated to cohesion policy, i.e. EUR 84 billion. It is however important to note that the indicated minimum ESF allocation includes the budget for a forthcoming Commission proposal regarding food support for the most deprived persons.

The Commission's proposal for the financing of the EAFRD and the EMFF will be included in the Fund-specific regulations for each Fund.

5. SUMMARY OF THE CONTENT OF THE REGULATION 5.1. Common provisions governing all CSF Funds 5.1.1. General principles

The general principles governing the support of all CSF Funds will include partnership and multi-level governance, compliance with applicable EU and national law, promotion of equality between men and women and sustainable development.

Within this context, for the ESF, the Commission will continue to be assisted by the Committee foreseen in Article 163 of the Treaty and composed of one government representative, one representative of the workers' organisations and one representative of the employers' organisations from each Member State.

5.1.2. Strategic approach

In order to maximise the impact of the policy in delivering European priorities, the Commission proposes to reinforce the strategic programming process. This involves defining a list of thematic objectives in the Regulation in line with the Europe 2020 Strategy:

(1) strengthening research, technological development and innovation;

(2) enhancing access to and use and quality of information and communication technologies;

(3) enhancing the competitiveness of small and medium-sized enterprises, the agricultural sector (for the EAFRD) and fisheries and aquaculture sector (for the EMFF);

(4) supporting the shift towards a low-carbon economy in all sectors;

(5) promoting climate change adaptation, risk prevention and management;

(6) protecting the environment and promoting resource efficiency;

(7) promoting sustainable transport and removing bottlenecks in key network infrastructures;

(8) promoting employment and supporting labour mobility;

(9) promoting social inclusion and combating poverty;

(10) investing in education, skills and lifelong learning;

(11) enhancing institutional capacity and an efficient public administration.

The Common Strategic Framework will translate the objectives and targets of the Union priorities of smart, sustainable and inclusive growth into key actions for the ERDF, the CF, the ESF, the EAFRD and the EMFF which will ensure an integrated use of the CSF Funds to deliver common objectives.

Partnership Contracts between the Commission and each Member State will set out the commitments of partners at national and regional level and the Commission. They will be linked to the objectives of the Europe 2020 Strategy and the National Reform Programmes. They will set out an integrated approach for territorial development supported by all the CSF Funds and include objectives based on agreed indicators, strategic investments and a number of conditionalities. They will contain commitments to give yearly account of progress in the annual reports on cohesion policy, on rural development policy and in other public reporting.

5.1.3. Conditionalities and performance

To reinforce performance, new conditionality provisions will be introduced to ensure that EU funding creates strong incentives for Member States to deliver Europe 2020 objectives and targets. Conditionality will take the form of both ‘ex ante’ conditions that must be in place before funds are disbursed and 'ex post' conditions that will make the release of additional funds contingent on performance.

The rationale for strengthening 'ex ante' conditionality for these funds is to ensure that the conditions necessary for their effective support are in place. Past experience suggests that the effectiveness of investments financed by the funds have in some instances been undermined by bottlenecks in policy, regulatory and institutional frameworks. The concept of conditionality is not a new concept within the framework of cohesion policy. Over successive programming periods, a number of mechanisms have been introduced to maximise the effectiveness of the interventions. Some are linked to management and control disciplines while others to strategic and regulatory frameworks as well as administrative capacity. The experiences with the application of conditionalities however indicate variations across programmes. A more transparent and systematic application is therefore justified.

'Ex post' conditionality will strengthen the focus on performance and the attainment of the Europe 2020 objectives. It will be based on the achievement of milestones related to targets for outputs and results linked to Europe 2020 objectives set for programmes in the partnership contract. 5% of the budget of the relevant funds will be set aside and allocated, during a mid-term performance review, to the Member States whose programmes have met their milestones. In addition to the performance reserve, failure to achieve milestones may lead to the suspension of funds, and a serious underachievement in meeting targets for a programme may give rise to a cancellation of funds.

To ensure that the effectiveness of the funds is not undermined by unsound macro-fiscal policies, the Commission proposes to reinforce the rules governing the Funds on macro-fiscal conditionality and align them with the new Stability and Growth Pact enforcement measures to be adopted as part of the Sixth Economic Governance Package.

At the same time, a higher co-financing rate (by 10 percentage points) can be applied when a Member State is receiving financial assistance in accordance with Articles 136 and 143 of the TFEU, thus reducing the effort required from national budgets at a time of fiscal consolidation, while keeping the same overall level of EU funding.

5.1.4. Common management arrangements

The proposal envisages a management and control system which is similar across shared management instruments and is based on common principles. A system of national accreditation is put in place to emphasize the commitment of Member States to sound financial management. The arrangements underpinning the assurance of the Commission with regard to the regularity of expenditure have been harmonised and new common elements such as a management declaration of assurance and annual clearance of accounts have been introduced to reinforce assurance.

5.1.5. Community-led local development

Member States will have the possibility to use common processes for preparation, negotiation, management and implementation, and will be encouraged to do so in particular where the need for improved coordination of human capital and infrastructure investments is greatest.

The CSF Funds need to address multiple development needs at sub-regional and local level. To facilitate the implementation of multi-dimensional and cross-sectoral interventions, the Commission proposes to strengthen community-led initiatives, facilitate the implementation of integrated local development strategies and formation of local action groups, based on the experience of the LEADER approach.

5.1.6. Financial instruments

In addition to grant funding, it is proposed that support for enterprises and projects expected to generate substantial financial returns will be delivered primarily through innovative financial instruments.

While financial instruments will remain similar to those employed in 2007-2013, several elements of simplification should be emphasized. First, the Commission will offer ready made solutions through access to financial instruments set up at EU level and models for national and regional funds based on standard terms and conditions laid down by the Commission. Second, the proposal represents a clear framework for the implementation of these instruments, and addresses the ambiguities which arose in the context the 2007-2013 legislative framework, increasing legal certainty for all parties. Third, financial instruments can in the future be used for all types of investment and beneficiary representing a significant extension of the possibilities to use these innovative instruments.

5.1.7. Monitoring and evaluation

Common provisions for all CSF funds in the area of monitoring and evaluation include the role and composition of the monitoring committee, annual implementation reports, annual review meetings, progress reports on the implementation of the Partnership Contract, ex ante and ex post evaluations.

5.1.8. Simplified and streamlined eligibility rules

In the current period, many beneficiaries using funds from different Union funding instruments are faced with different eligibility rules which increases the complexity of management and thus also the risk of errors. Emphasis has therefore been placed on measures to ensure that administrative costs are proportionate and that the administrative burden associated with the management of EU funds by beneficiaries is reduced. The aim is to harmonise, to the extent possible, these basic rules for instruments implemented under shared management, in order to reduce the multiplicity of rules applied on the ground. Simplified costs options such as flat rates and lump sums provide the means for Member States to introduce performance-oriented management at the level of individual operations.

Common provisions on the delivery include common rules on eligible expenditure, the different forms of financial support, simplified costs, and durability of operations. The proposal also envisages common principles for the management and control systems

In the context of the CAP, the current rules on administrative costs and the control systems will be maintained and sustained.

5.2. General provisions applicable to the ERDF, the ESF and the CF

Part Three of the Regulation defines the mission and goals of cohesion policy, the geographical coverage of support, financial resources and principles of assistance, programming, major projects, joint action plans, territorial development, monitoring and evaluation, information and communication, eligibility of expenditure and management and control systems.

5.2.1. Geographical coverage of support

This includes a distinction in relation to less developed, transition and more developed regions.

Less developed regions: In accordance with the TFEU, supporting the less developed regions will remain an important priority for cohesion policy. The catching up process of economically and socially lagging regions will require long-term sustained efforts in a world of increasing uncertainty. This category concerns those regions whose GDP per capita is less than 75 % of the average GDP of the EU-27.

Transition regions: A new category of region – 'transition regions' – will be introduced to replace the current phasing-out and phasing-in system. This category will include all regions with a GDP per capita between 75% and 90% of the EU-27 average.

More developed regions: While interventions in the less developed regions will remain the priority for cohesion policy, there are important challenges that concern all Member States such as global competition in the knowledge-based economy, the shift towards the low carbon economy and social polarisation exacerbated by the current economic climate. This category concerns those regions whose GDP per capita is above 90% of the average GDP of the EU-27.

All regions whose GDP per capita for the 2007-2013 period was less than 75% of the average of the EU-25 for the reference period but whose GDP per capita has grown to more than 75% of the EU-27 average will receive two thirds of their 2007-13 allocation.

Minimum shares for the ESF will be established for each category of regions (25% for convergence regions, 40% for transition, and 52% for competiveness regions).

The CF will support Member States whose GNI per inhabitant is less than 90% of the EU-27 average in making investments in TEN-T transport networks and the environment. Part of the Cohesion Fund allocation (EUR 10 billion) will be ring-fenced to finance core transport networks under the Connecting Europe Facility

Experience with the current financial framework shows that many Member States have difficulties in absorbing large volumes of EU funds over a limited period of time. Furthermore, the fiscal situation in some Member States has made it more difficult to release funds to provide national co-financing. In order to address the issue of absorption of funding the Commission is proposing a number of steps:

– to fix at 2,5% of GDP the capping rates for cohesion allocations;

– capping co-financing rates at the level of each priority axis within the operational programmes at 85% in less developed regions (or in certain cases, 80% and 75%) and outermost regions, 60% in transition regions and 50% in more developed regions;

– to include certain conditions in the partnership contracts regarding the improvement of administrative capacity.

5.2.2. Reinforced strategic programming geared towards results

The Commission proposes a more results-oriented programming process to ensure that cohesion policy programmes have a clear intervention logic, are oriented towards results, and include the appropriate provisions for an integrated approach to development and the effective implementation of the Funds. In particular, the Commission proposes to introduce the Joint Action Plans, which are operations comprising a group of projects as part of an operational programme, with specific objectives, result indicators and outputs agreed between the Member State and the Commission. They offer a simplified management and control system geared towards performance.

5.2.3. Streamlining financial management and control

Management and control system need to find a balance between the costs of management and control and the risks involved.

The Commission's role in the ex ante review of national management and control systems will be proportionate, as an obligatory review by the Commission is replaced by a risk based approach. Small programmes will be exempt from a Commission review. The risk-based approach reduces administrative costs associated with small programmes and solid administrations. It also reinforces assurance, as Commission resources can be used more efficiently and targeted to areas of higher risks.

Electronic data management can be a major source of reductions in administrative burden and at the same time increase the controllability of projects and expenditure. It is therefore proposed to require all Member States to set up systems by the end of 2014 to enable beneficiaries to submit all information by way of electronic data exchange.

One of the complexities associated with the financial management system in the 2007-2013 programming period is the general rule that all supporting documents for individual operations have to be retained until three years after the programme has been closed. The proposal therefore foresees a mandatory annual closure of completed operations or expenditure in the framework of the annual clearance of accounts. This aims to reduce the burden associated with a long retention period of documents for individual beneficiaries and the risks associated with the loss of the audit trail.

2011/0276 (COD)

Proposal for a

REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL

laying down common provisions on the European Regional Development Fund, the European Social Fund, the Cohesion Fund, the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development and the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund covered by the Common Strategic Framework and laying down general provisions on the European Regional Development Fund, the European Social Fund and the Cohesion Fund and repealing Regulation (EC) No 1083/2006

THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, and in particular Article 177 thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the European Commission,

After transmission of the draft legislative act to the national Parliaments,

Having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee[8],

Having regard to the opinion of the Committee of the Regions[9],

Having regard to the opinion of the Court of Auditors[10],

Acting in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure,

Whereas:

(1) Article 174 of the Treaty provides that, in order to strengthen its economic, social and territorial cohesion, the Union shall aim at reducing disparities between the levels of development of the various regions and the backwardness of the least favoured regions or islands, particular rural areas, areas affected by industrial transition, and regions which suffer from severe and permanent natural or demographic handicaps. Article 175 of the Treaty requires that the Union would support the achievement of these objectives by action it takes through the European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund, Guidance Section, the European Social Fund, the European Regional Development Fund, the European Investment Bank and other instruments.

(2) In line with the conclusions of the European Council of 17 June 2010, whereby the Union strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth was adopted, the Union and Member States should implement the delivery of smart, sustainable and inclusive growth, while promoting harmonious development of the Union and reducing regional disparities.

(3) In order to improve coordination and harmonise implementation of the Funds providing support under the cohesion policy, namely the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), the European Social Fund (ESF) and the Cohesion Fund (CF), with the Funds for rural development, namely the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD), and for the maritime and fisheries sector, namely the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF), common provisions should be established for all these Funds (the 'CSF Funds'). In addition this Regulation contains provisions which are common for the ERDF, the ESF and the CF, but do not apply to the EAFRD and the EMFF. Due to the particularities that exist for each CSF Fund, specific rules applicable to each CSF Fund and to the European territorial cooperation goal under the ERDF should be specified in separate regulations.

(4) As regards the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), significant synergies have already been obtained by harmonising and aligning management and control rules for the first pillar (EAGF - European Agricultural Guarantee Fund) and the second pillar (EAFRD) of the CAP. The strong link between the EAGF and the EAFRD should therefore be maintained and the structures already in place in the Member States be sustained.

(5) The outermost regions should benefit from specific measures and additional funding to offset the handicaps resulting from the factors referred to in Article 349 of the Treaty.

(6) To ensure correct and consistent interpretation of provisions and to contribute to the legal certainty of Member States and beneficiaries, it is necessary to define certain terms that are used in the Regulation.

(7) It is set out that this Regulation consists of three parts, of which the first contains recitals and definitions, the second contains rules applicable to all CSF funds and the third includes provisions applicable only to the ERDF, the ESF and the CF (the 'Funds').

(8) Under Article 317 of the Treaty, and in the context of shared management, the conditions allowing the Commission to exercise its responsibilities for implementation of the general budget of the European Union should be specified and the responsibilities of cooperation by the Member States clarified. Those conditions should enable the Commission to obtain assurance that Member States are using the CSF Funds in a legal and regular manner and in accordance with the principle of sound financial management within the meaning of Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002 of 25 June 2002 on the Financial Regulation applicable to the general budget of the European Communities[11]. Member States and the bodies designated by them for that purpose should be responsible for implementing programmes at the appropriate territorial level, in accordance with the institutional, legal and financial framework of the Member State. These provisions also ensure that attention is drawn to the need to ensure complementarity and consistency of Union intervention, the proportionality of administrative arrangements and a reduction of the administrative burden of beneficiaries of the CSF Funds.

(9) For the Partnership Contract and each programme respectively, a Member State should organise a partnership with the representatives of competent regional, local, urban and other public authorities, economic and social partners, and bodies representing civil society, including environmental partners, non-governmental organisations, and bodies responsible for promoting equality and non-discrimination. The purpose of such a partnership is to respect the principle of multi-level governance, ensure the ownership of planned interventions by stakeholders and build on the experience and know-how of relevant actors. The Commission should be empowered to adopt delegated acts providing for a code of conduct in order to ensure that partners are involved in the preparation, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of Partnership Contracts and programmes in a consistent manner

(10) The activities of the CSF Funds and the operations which they support should comply with applicable Union and national law which is directly or indirectly linked to the implementation of the operation.

(11) In the context of its effort to increase economic, territorial and social cohesion, the Union should, at all stages of implementation of the CSF Funds, aim at eliminating inequalities and promoting equality between men and women, as well as combating discrimination based on sex, racial or ethnic origin, religion or belief, disability, age or sexual orientation.

(12) The objectives of the CSF Funds should be pursued in the framework of sustainable development and the Union's promotion of the aim of protecting and improving the environment as set out in Article 11 and 19 of the Treaty, taking into account the polluter pays principle. The Member States should provide information on the support for climate change objectives in line with the ambition to devote at least 20% of the Union budget to this end, using a methodology adopted by the Commission by implementing act.

(13) In order to achieve the targets and objectives of the Union strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth, the CSF Funds should focus their support on a limited number of common thematic objectives. The precise scope of each of the CSF Funds shall be set out in Funds-specific rules and may be limited to only some of the thematic objectives defined in this Regulation.

(14) The Commission should adopt by delegated act a Common Strategic Framework which translates the objectives of the Union into key actions for the CSF Funds, in order to provide clearer strategic direction to the programming process at the level of Member States and regions. The Common Strategic Framework should facilitate sectoral and territorial coordination of Union intervention under the CSF Funds and with other relevant Union policies and instruments.

(15) The Common Strategic Framework should therefore establish the key areas of support, territorial challenges to be addressed, policy objectives, priority areas for cooperation activities, coordination mechanisms and mechanisms for coherence and consistency with the economic policies of Member States and the Union.

(16) On the basis of the Common Strategic Framework adopted by the Commission, each Member State should prepare, in cooperation with its partners and in dialogue with the Commission, a Partnership Contract. The Partnership Contract should translate the elements set out in the Common Strategic Framework into the national context and set out firm commitments to the achievement of Union objectives through the programming of the CSF Funds.

(17) Member States should concentrate support to ensure a significant contribution to the achievement of Union objectives in line with their specific national and regional development needs. Ex ante conditionalities should be defined to ensure that the necessary framework conditions for the effective use of Union support are in place. The fulfilment of those ex ante conditionalities should be assessed by the Commission in the framework of its assessment of the Partnership Contract and programmes. In cases where there is a failure to fulfil an ex ante conditionality, the Commission should have the power to suspend payments to the programme.

(18) A performance framework should be defined for each programme with a view to monitoring progress towards the objectives and targets set for each programme over the course of the programming period. The Commission should undertake a performance review in cooperation with the Member States in 2017 and 2019. A performance reserve should be foreseen and allocated in 2019 where milestones set in the performance framework have been attained. Due to their diversity and multi-country character, there should be no performance reserve for 'European Territorial Cooperation' programmes. In cases where the shortfall in the achievement of milestones or targets is significant, the Commission should be able to suspend payments to the programme or, at the end of the programming period, apply financial corrections, in order to ensure that the Union budget is not used in a wasteful or inefficient way.

(19) Establishing a closer link between cohesion policy and the economic governance of the Union will ensure that the effectiveness of expenditure under the CSF Funds is underpinned by sound economic policies and that the CSF Funds can, if necessary, be redirected to addressing the economic problems a country is facing. This process has to be gradual, starting with amendments to the Partnership Contract and to the programmes in support of Council recommendations to address macroeconomic imbalances and social and economic difficulties. Where, despite the enhanced use of CSF funds, a Member State fails to take effective action in the context of the economic governance process, the Commission should have the right to suspend all or part of the payments and commitments. Decisions on suspensions should be proportionate and effective, taking into account the impact of the individual programmes for addressing the economic and social situation in the relevant Member State and previous amendments to the Partnership Contract. When deciding on suspensions, the Commission should also respect equality of treatment between Member States, taking into account in particular the impact of the suspension on the economy of the Member State concerned. The suspensions should be lifted and funds be made available again to the Member State concerned as soon as the Member State takes the necessary action.

(20) In order to ensure focus on the achievement of the Union strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth, common elements should be defined for all programmes. In order to ensure the consistency of programming arrangements for the CSF Funds, the procedures for adoption and amendment of programmes should be aligned. Programming should ensure consistency with the Common Strategic Framework and Partnership Contract, coordination of the CSF Funds between themselves and with the other existing financial instruments and the European Investment Bank.

(21) Territorial cohesion has been added to the goals of economic and social cohesion by the Treaty, and it is necessary to address the role of cities, functional geographies and sub-regional areas facing specific geographical or demographic problems. To this end, to better mobilise potential at a local level, it is necessary to strengthen and facilitate community-led local development by laying down common rules and close coordination for all CSF Funds. Responsibility for the implementation of local development strategies should be given to local action groups representing the interests of the community, as an essential principle.

(22) Financial instruments are increasingly important due to their leverage effect on CSF Funds, their capacity to combine different forms of public and private resources to support public policy objectives, and because revolving forms of finance make such support more sustainable over the longer term.

(23) Financial instruments supported by the CSF Funds should be used to address specific market needs in a cost effective way, in accordance with the objectives of the programmes, and should not crowd out private financing. The decision to finance support measures through financial instruments should be determined therefore on the basis of an ex ante analysis.

(24) Financial instruments should be designed and implemented so as to promote substantial participation by private sector investors and financial institutions on an appropriate risk-sharing basis. To be sufficiently attractive to private sector, financial instruments need to be designed and implemented in a flexible manner. Managing authorities should therefore decide on the most appropriate forms to implement financial instruments to address the specific needs of the target regions, in accordance with the objectives of the relevant programme.

(25) Managing authorities should have the possibility to contribute resources from programmes to financial instruments set up at Union level, or to instruments set up at regional level. Managing authorities should also have the possibility to implement financial instruments directly, through specific funds or through funds of funds.

(26) The amount of the resources paid at any time from the CSF Funds to financial instruments should correspond to the amount necessary to implement planned investments and payments to final recipients, including management costs and fees, determined on the basis of business plans and cash-flow forecasts for a pre-defined period which should not exceed two years.

(27) It is necessary to lay down specific rules regarding the amounts to be accepted as eligible expenditure at closure, to ensure that the amounts, including the management costs and fees, paid from the CSF Funds to financial instruments are effectively used for investments and payments to final recipients. It is also necessary to lay down specific rules regarding the reuse of resources attributable to the support from the CSF Funds, including the use of legacy resources after the closure of the programmes.

(28) Member States should monitor programmes in order to review implementation and progress towards achieving the programme's objectives. To this end, monitoring committees should be set up and their composition and functions defined for CSF Funds. Joint Monitoring Committees could be set up to facilitate coordination between the CSF Funds In order to ensure effectiveness, monitoring committees should be able to issue recommendations to managing authorities regarding implementation of the programme and should monitor actions taken as a result of its recommendations.

(29) Alignment of the monitoring and reporting arrangements of the CSF Funds is necessary to simplify management arrangements at all levels. It is important to ensure proportionate reporting requirements but also the availability of comprehensive information on progress made at key review points. Therefore it is necessary that reporting requirements reflect information needs in given years and are aligned with the timing of the performance reviews.

(30) With a view to monitoring progress of programmes, an annual review meeting should take place between the Member State and the Commission. The Member State and the Commission should however be able to agree not to organize the meeting in order to avoid unnecessary administrative burden.

(31) In order for the Commission to monitor progress towards achieving Union objectives, Member States should submit progress reports on the implementation of their Partnership Contracts. On the basis of such reports, the Commission should prepare a strategy report on progress in 2017 and 2019.

(32) It is necessary to evaluate the effectiveness, efficiency and impact of assistance from the CSF Funds in order to improve the quality of implementation and design of programmes, and to determine the impact of programmes in relation to the targets for the Union strategy for smart sustainable and inclusive growth and in relation to GDP and unemployment, where relevant. The responsibilities of Member States and the Commission in this regard should be specified.

(33) In order to improve the quality and design of each programme, and verify that objectives and targets can be reached, an ex ante evaluation of each programme should be carried out.

(34) An evaluation plan should be drawn up by the authority responsible for the preparation of the programme. During the programming period managing authorities should carry out evaluations to assess the effectiveness and impact of a programme. The monitoring committee and the Commission should be informed about the results of evaluations to facilitate management decisions.

(35) Ex post evaluations should be carried out in order to assess the effectiveness and efficiency of the CSF Funds and their impact on the overall goals of the CSF Funds and the Union strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth.

(36) It is useful to specify the types of action that may be undertaken at the initiative of the Commission and of the Member States as technical assistance with support from the CSF Funds.

(37) In order to ensure an effective use of Union resources, and avoid the over- financing of revenue generating operations, it is necessary to set out the rules for calculating the contribution from the CSF Funds to a revenue-generating operation.

(38) The starting and closing dates for the eligibility of expenditure should be defined so as to provide for a uniform and equitable rule applying to the implementation of the CSF Funds across the Union. In order to facilitate the execution of programmes, it is appropriate to establish that the starting date for the eligibility of expenditure may be prior to 1 January 2014 if the Member State concerned submits a programme before that date. With a view to ensuring an effective use of EU Funds and reducing the risk to the EU budget, it is necessary to put in place restrictions on support for completed operations-

(39) In accordance with the principle of subsidiarity and subject to exceptions provided for in Regulation(s) (EU) No […] [ERDF, ESF, CF, ETC, EAFRD, EMFF Regulations], Member States should adopt national rules on the eligibility of expenditure.

(40) With a view to simplifying the use of the CSF Funds and reducing the risk of errors, while providing for differentiation where needed to reflect the specificities of policy, it is appropriate to define the forms of support, harmonized conditions of reimbursement of grants and flat rate financing, specific eligibility rules for grants and specific conditions on the eligibility of operations depending on location.

(41) To ensure the effectiveness, fairness and sustainable impact of the intervention of the CSF Funds, there should be provisions guaranteeing that investments in businesses and infrastructures are long-lasting and prevent the CSF Funds from being used to undue advantage. Experience has shown that a period of five years is an appropriate minimum period to be applied, except where State aid rules foresee a different period. It is appropriate to exclude actions supported by the ESF and those not entailing productive investment or investment in infrastructure from the general requirement of durability, unless such requirements are derived from applicable State aid rules, and to exclude contributions to or from financial instruments.

(42) Member States should adopt adequate measures to guarantee the proper set up and functioning of their management and control systems to give assurance on the legal and regular use of the CSF Funds. The obligations of Member States as regards the management and control systems of programmes, and in relation to the prevention, detection and correction of irregularities and infringements of Union law should therefore be specified.

(43) In accordance with the principles of shared management, Member States should have the primary responsibility, through their management and control systems, for the implementation and control of the operations in programmes. In order to strengthen the effectiveness of the control over the selection and implementation of operations and the functioning of the management and control system, the functions of the managing authority should be specified.

(44) In order to provide assurance ex ante on the set up and design of the main systems of management and control, Member States should designate an accrediting body that is responsible for the accreditation and withdrawal of accreditation of managing and control bodies.

(45) The powers and responsibilities of the Commission to verify the effective functioning of the management and control systems, and to require Member State action, should be laid down. The Commission should also have the power to carry out audits focused on issues relating to sound financial management in order to draw conclusions on the performance of Funds.

(46) Union budget commitments should be effected annually. In order to ensure effective programme management, it is necessary to lay down common rules for interim payment requests, the payment of the annual balance, where appropriate, and the final balance, without prejudice to specific rules that are required for each of the CSF Funds.

(47) The pre-financing payment at the start of programmes ensures that the Member State has the means to provide support to beneficiaries in the implementation of the programme from programme adoption. Therefore, provisions should be made for initial pre-financing amounts from the CSF Funds. Initial pre-financing should be totally cleared at closure of the programme.

(48) In order to safeguard the Union's financial interests, there should be measures limited in time that allow the authorising officer by delegation to interrupt payments where there is evidence to suggest a significant deficiency in the functioning of the management and control system, evidence of irregularities linked to a payment application, or a failure to submit documents for the purpose of clearance of accounts.

(49) In order to ensure that expenditure co-financed by the Union budget in any given financial year is used in accordance with the applicable rules, an appropriate framework should be created for the annual clearance of accounts. Under this framework, the accredited bodies should submit to the Commission, in respect of each programme, a management declaration of assurance accompanied by the certified annual accounts, a summary report of controls and an independent audit opinion and control report.

(50) In order to safeguard the Union budget, it may be necessary for the Commission to make financial corrections. To ensure legal certainty for the Member States, it is important to define the circumstances under which breaches of applicable Union or national law can lead to financial corrections by the Commission. In order to ensure that financial corrections which the Commission may impose on Member States are related to the protection of the EU's financial interests, they should be confined to cases where the breach of Union or national law concerns directly or indirectly the eligibility, regularity, management or control of operations and the corresponding expenditure. To ensure proportionality it is important that the Commission considers the nature and the gravity of the breach in deciding the amount of financial correction.

(51) In order to encourage financial discipline, it is appropriate to define the arrangements for decommitment of any part of the budget commitment in a programme, in particular where an amount may be excluded from decommitment, notably when delays in implementation result from circumstances which are independent of the party concerned, abnormal or unforeseeable and whose consequences cannot be avoided despite the diligence shown.

(52) Additional general provisions are necessary in relation to the specific functioning of the Funds. In particular, in order to increase their added value, and to enhance their contribution to the priorities of the Union strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth, the functioning of these Funds should be simplified and concentrated on the goals of 'Investment for growth and jobs' and 'European territorial cooperation'.

(53) Additional provisions for the specific functioning of the EAFRD and the EMFF are set out in the relevant sector-specific legislation.

(54) In order to promote the Treaty objectives of economic, social and territorial cohesion, the 'Investment for growth and jobs' goal should support all regions. To provide balanced and gradual support and reflect the level of economic and social development, resources under that goal should be allocated from the ERDF and the ESF among the less developed regions, the transition regions and the more developed regions according to their gross domestic product (GDP) per capita in relation to the EU average. In order to ensure the long-term sustainability of investment from the Structural Funds, regions whose GDP per capita for the 2007-2013 period was less than 75% of the average of the EU-25 for the reference period but whose GDP per capita has grown to more than 75% of the EU-27 average should receive at least two thirds of their 2007-2013 allocation. Member States whose per capita gross national income (GNI) is less than 90 % of that of the Union average should benefit under the 'Investment for growth and jobs' goal from the CF.

(55) Objective criteria should be fixed for designating eligible regions and areas for support from the Funds. To this end, the identification of the regions and areas at Union level should be based on the common system of classification of the regions established by Regulation (EC) No 1059/2003 of the European Parliament and the Council of 26 May 2003 on the establishment of a common classification of territorial units for statistics (NUTS)[12].

(56) In order to set out an appropriate financial framework, the Commission should establish, by means of implementing acts, the indicative annual breakdown of available commitment appropriations using an objective and transparent method with a view to targeting the regions whose development is lagging behind, including those receiving transitional support.

(57) It is necessary to fix the limits of those resources for investment for growth and jobs and to adopt objective criteria for their allocation to regions and Member States. In order to encourage the necessary acceleration of development of infrastructure in transport and energy as well as information and communication technologies across the Union, a Connecting Europe Facility should be created. The allocation of the annual appropriations from the Funds and the amounts transferred from the Cohesion Fund to the Connecting Europe Facility to a Member State should be limited to a ceiling that would be fixed taking into account the capacity of that particular Member State to absorb these appropriations. In addition, in line with the headline target on poverty reduction, it is necessary to reorient the scheme for food support for the most deprived persons to promote social inclusion and the harmonious development of the Union. A mechanism is envisaged which transfers resources to this instrument and ensures that these will be constituted from ESF allocations through an implicit corresponding decrease of the minimum percentage of the Structural Funds to be allocated to the ESF in each country.

(58) In order to strengthen the focus on results and achievement of the Europe 2020 objectives and targets, five per cent of the resources for the 'Investment for growth and jobs' goal should be set aside as a performance reserve for each Fund, and category of region in each Member State.

(59) As regards the Funds and with a view to ensuring an appropriate allocation to each category of regions, resources should not be transferred between less developed, transition and more developed regions except in duly justified circumstances linked to the delivery of one or more thematic objectives and for no more than 2 % of the total appropriation for that category of region.

(60) In order to ensure a genuine economic impact, support from the Funds should not replace public expenditure or equivalent structural expenditure by Member States under the terms of this Regulation. In addition, so that the support from the Funds takes into account a broader economic context, the level of public expenditure should be determined with reference to the general macroeconomic conditions in which the financing takes place based on the indicators provided in the Stability and Convergence Programmes submitted annually by Member States in accordance with Regulation (EC) No. 1466/1997 of 7 July 1997 on the strengthening of the surveillance of budgetary positions and the surveillance and coordination of economic policies[13]. Verification by the Commission of the principle of additionality should concentrate on the Member States in which less developed and transition regions cover at least 15% of the population because of the scale of the financial resources allocated to them.

(61) It is necessary to lay down additional provisions concerning the programming, management, monitoring and control of operational programmes supported by the Funds. Operational programmes should set out priority axes corresponding to thematic objectives, elaborate a consistent intervention logic to tackle the development needs identified, and set out the framework for performance assessment. They should also contain other elements necessary to underpin the effective and efficient implementation of these Funds.

(62) With a view to improving complementarities and simplifying implementation, it should be possible to combine support from the CF and the ERDF with support from the ESF in joint operational programmes under the growth and jobs goal.

(63) Major projects represent a substantial share of Union spending and are frequently of strategic importance with respect to the achievement of the Union strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth. Therefore it is justified that operations of substantial size continue to be subject to approval by the Commission under this regulation. To ensure clarity, it is appropriate to define the content of a major project for this purpose. The Commission should also have the possibility to refuse support for a major project where the granting of such support is not justified.

(64) In order to give Member States the option of implementing part of an operational programme using a result-based approach, it is useful to provide for a joint action plan comprising a set of actions to be carried out by a beneficiary to contribute to the objectives of the operational programme. In order to simplify and reinforce the result orientation of the Funds the management of the joint action plan should be exclusively based on jointly agreed milestones, outputs and results as defined in the Commission decision adopting the joint action plan. Control and audit of a joint action plan should also be limited to the achievement of these milestones, outputs and results. Consequently, it is necessary to lay down rules on its preparation, content, adoption, financial management and control of joint action plans.

(65) Where an urban or territorial development strategy requires an integrated approach because it involves investments under more than one priority axis of one or several operational programmes, action supported by the Funds should be carried out as an integrated territorial investment within an operational programme.

(66) It is necessary to adopt specific rules in relation to the functions of the monitoring committee and the annual reports on implementation of operational programmes supported by the Funds. Additional provisions for the specific functioning of the EAFRD are set out in the relevant sector specific legislation.

(67) To ensure the availability of essential and up to date information on programme implementation, it is necessary that Member States provide the Commission with the key data on a regular basis. In order to avoid an additional burden on Member States, this should be limited to data collected continuously, and the transmission should be performed by way of electronic data exchange.

(68) In accordance with Article 175 of the Treaty, the Commission submits Cohesion Reports to the European Parliament, the Council, the Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions every three years on the progress made towards achieving the Union's economic, social and territorial cohesion. It is necessary to lay down the content of this report.

(69) It is considered appropriate that the Commission, in cooperation with the Member States, carries out the ex post evaluation for the Funds to obtain information at the appropriate level on the results and impact of interventions financed. Specific provisions are also needed to establish a procedure for the approval of the evaluation plans for the Funds.

(70) It is important to bring the achievements of the Union's Funds to the attention of the general public. Citizens have the right to know how the Union's financial resources are invested. The responsibility to ensure that the appropriate information is communicated to the public should lie with both the managing authorities and the beneficiaries. To ensure more efficiency in communication to the public at large and stronger synergies between the communication activities undertaken at the initiative of the Commission, the budget allocated to communication actions under this Regulation shall also contribute to cover corporate communication of the political priorities of the European Union provided that these are related to the general objectives of this Regulation.

(71) For the purpose of ensuring a wide dissemination of information about the achievements of the Funds and the role of the Union therein and to inform potential beneficiaries about funding opportunities, detailed rules about information and communication measures, as well as certain technical characteristics of such measures, should be defined in this Regulation.

(72) With a view to strengthening accessibility and transparency of information about funding opportunities and project beneficiaries, in each Member State a single website or website portal providing information on all the operational programmes, including the lists of operations supported under each operational programme, should be made available.

(73) It is necessary to determine the elements for modulating the co-financing rate from the Funds to operational programmes, in particular, to increase the multiplier effect of Union resources. It is also necessary to establish the maximum rates of co-financing by category of region in order to ensure respect of the principle of co-financing through an appropriate level of national support.

(74) It is necessary for Member States to designate a managing authority, a certifying authority and a functionally independent auditing authority for each operational programme. To provide flexibility for Member States in the set up of control systems, it is appropriate to provide the option for the functions of the certifying authority to be carried out by the managing authority. The Member State should also be allowed to designate intermediate bodies to carry out certain tasks of the managing authority or the certifying authority. The Member State should in that case lay down clearly their respective responsibilities and functions.

(75) The managing authority bears the main responsibility for the effective and efficient implementation of the Funds and thus fulfils a substantial number of functions related to programme management and monitoring, financial management and controls as well as project selection. Its responsibilities and functions should be set out.

(76) The certifying authority should draw up and submit to the Commission payment applications. It should draw up the annual accounts, certifying the completeness, accuracy and veracity of the annual accounts and that the expenditure entered in the accounts complies with applicable Union and national rules. Its responsibilities and functions should be set out.

(77) The audit authority should ensure that audits are carried out on the management and control systems, on an appropriate sample of operations and on the annual accounts. Its responsibilities and functions should be set out.

(78) In order to take account of the specific organisation of the management and control systems for the ERDF, ESF and Cohesion Funds and the need to ensure a proportionate approach, specific provisions are required for the accreditation and withdrawal of accreditation of the managing authority and the certifying authority.

(79) Without prejudice to the Commission's powers as regards financial control, cooperation between the Member States and the Commission in this field should be increased and criteria should be established which allow the Commission to determine, in the context of its strategy of control of national systems, the level of assurance it should obtain from national audit bodies.

(80) In addition to common rules on financial management, additional provisions are necessary for the ERDF, ESF and the Cohesion Fund. In particular, with a view to ensuring reasonable assurance for the Commission prior to the annual clearance of accounts, applications for interim payments should be reimbursed at a rate of 90 % of the amount resulting from applying the co-financing rate for each priority axis as laid down in the decision adopting the operational programme to the eligible expenditure for the priority axis. The outstanding amounts due should be paid to the Member States upon annual clearance of accounts, provided that reasonable assurance has been attained in regard to the eligibility of expenditure for the year covered by the clearance procedure.

(81) To ensure that beneficiaries receive the support as soon as possible and to reinforce the assurance for the Commission it is appropriate to require that payment applications include only expenditure for which the support has been paid to beneficiaries. Pre-financing each year should be foreseen to ensure that Member State have sufficient means to operate under such arrangements. Such pre-financing should be cleared each year with the clearance of accounts.

(82) To ensure the appropriate application of the general rules on decommitment, the rules established for the Funds should detail how the deadlines for decommitment are established and how the respective amounts are calculated.

(83) It is necessary to specify the detailed procedure for the annual clearance of accounts applicable to the Funds to ensure a clear basis and legal certainty for these arrangements. It is important to envisage a limited possibility for the Member State to define a provision in its annual accounts for an amount, which is subject to an ongoing procedure with the audit authority.

(84) The process of annual clearance of accounts should be accompanied by an annual closure of completed operations (for the ERDF and the CF) or expenditure (for the ESF). In order to reduce the costs associated with the final closure of operational programmes, to reduce the administrative burden for beneficiaries and to provide legal certainty, annual closure should be obligatory thereby limiting the period during which the supporting documents need to be maintained and during which operations can be audited and financial corrections imposed.

(85) In order to safeguard the Union's financial interests and provide the means to ensure effective programme implementation, there should be measures allowing for the suspension by the Commission of payments at the level of priority axis or operational programme.

(86) It is appropriate to lay down the specific arrangements and procedures for financial corrections by Member States and by the Commission in respect of the Funds to provide legal certainty for Member States.

(87) The frequency of audits on operations should be proportionate to the extent of the Union's support from the Funds. In particular, the number of audits s carried out should be reduced where the total eligible expenditure for an operation does not exceed EUR 100 000. Nevertheless, it should be possible to carry out audits at any time where there is evidence of an irregularity or fraud, or, following closure of a completed operation, as part of an audit sample. In order that the level of auditing by the Commission is proportionate to the risk, the Commission should be able to reduce its audit work in relation to operational programmes where there are no significant deficiencies or where the audit authority can be relied on.

(88) In order to supplement and amend certain non-essential elements of this Regulation, the power to adopt acts in accordance with Article 290 of the Treaty should be delegated to the Commission in respect of a code of conduct on the objectives and criteria to support the implementation of partnership, the adoption of a Common Strategic Framework, additional rules on the allocation of the growth and competitiveness reserve, the definition of the area and population covered by the local development strategies, detailed rules on financial instruments (ex ante assessment, eligibility of expenses, types of activities not supported, combination of support, transfer and management of assets, payment requests, and capitalisation of annual instalments), the definition of the flat rate for revenue generating operations, the responsibilities of Member States concerning the procedure for reporting irregularities and recovery of sums unduly paid, the model of management declaration of assurance on the functioning of the management and control system, the conditions of national audits, the accreditation criteria for managing authorities and certifying authorities, the identification of commonly accepted data carriers, the level of financial correction to be applied, the amendment of annexes and the specific measures necessary for the facilitation of transition from Regulation (EC) No 1083/2006. The Commission should also be empowered to amend Annexes I and IV in order to address future adaptation needs. It is of particular importance that the Commission carry out appropriate consultations during its preparatory work, including at expert level.

(89) The Commission, when preparing and drawing up delegated acts, should ensure a simultaneous, timely and appropriate transmission of relevant documents to the European Parliament and Council.

(90) The Commission should be empowered to adopt, by means of implementing acts, as regards all CSF Funds, decisions approving the Partnership Contracts, decisions allocating the performance reserve and decisions suspending payments linked to Member States' economic policies; and as regards the Funds, decisions adopting operational programmes decisions approving major projects, decisions suspending payments and decisions on financial corrections.

(91) In order to ensure uniform conditions for the implementation of this Regulation, the implementing powers relating to the methodology concerning climate change objectives, standard terms and conditions for monitoring of financial instruments, methodology for the calculation of net revenue for revenue-generating projects, identification of the regions and Member States fulfilling the Investment for growth and jobs criteria, model of operational programme for the Funds, format for information on major projects and methodology to be used in carrying out the cost-benefit analysis on major projects, standard format for the joint action plan, model of the annual and final implementation reports, technical characteristics of information and publicity measures, exchange of information by Member States and on-the-spot verifications, model of the management declaration, models for the audit strategy, opinion and annual control report, the use of data collected during audits, model for payment applications should be exercised in accordance with Regulation (EU) No 182/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 February 2011 laying down the rules and general principles concerning mechanisms for control by Member States of the Commission's exercise of implementing powers[14].

(92) This Regulation replaces Council Regulation (EC) No 1083/2006 of 11 July 2006 laying down general provisions on the European Regional Development Fund, the European Social Fund and the Cohesion Fund and repealing Regulation (EC) No 1260/1999[15]. That Regulation should be therefore repealed.

(93) Since the objective of this Regulation, namely to reduce disparities between levels of development of the various regions and the backwardness of the least favoured regions or islands, particular rural areas, areas affected by industrial transition, and regions which suffer from severe and permanent natural or demographic handicaps, cannot be sufficiently achieved by Member States but can be better achieved at Union level, the Union may adopt measures, in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity as set out in Article 5 of the Treaty on European Union. In accordance with the principle of proportionality, as set out in that Article, this Regulation does not go beyond what is necessary in order to achieve that objective,

HAVE ADOPTED THIS REGULATION

PART ONE SUBJECT-MATTER AND DEFINITIONS

Article 1 Subject-matter

This Regulation lays down the common rules applicable to the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), the European Social Fund (ESF), the Cohesion Fund (CF), the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) and the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF), which are operating under the Common Strategic Framework (the 'CSF Funds'). It also defines the provisions necessary to ensure the effectiveness of the CSF Funds and their coordination with one another and with other Union instruments.

This Regulation also lays down the general rules governing the ERDF, the ESF (together referred to as the 'Structural Funds') and the CF. The Regulation defines the tasks, priority objectives and organisation of the Structural Funds and the CF (the 'Funds'), the criteria for Member States and regions to be eligible for support from the CSF Funds, the financial resources available and the criteria for their allocation.

The rules set out in this Regulation apply without prejudice to the provisions laid down in Regulation (EU) No […]/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the financing, management and monitoring of the common agriculture policy[16] (hereinafter referred as the 'CAP' Regulation) and to the specific provisions laid down in the following Regulations:

(1) Regulation (EU) No […]/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the European Regional Development Fund and repealing Regulation (EC) No 1080/2006[17] (the 'ERDF Regulation');

(2) Regulation (EU) No […]/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the European Social Fund and repealing Regulation (EC) No 1081/2006[18] (the 'ESF Regulation');

(3) Regulation (EU) No […]/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing a Cohesion Fund and repealing Regulation (EC) No 1084/2006[19] (the 'CF Regulation');

(4) Regulation (EU) No […]/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council on European territorial cooperation[20] (the 'ETC Regulation');

(5) Regulation (EU) No […]/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development and repealing Regulation (EC) No 11698/2005[21] (the 'EAFRD Regulation'); and

(6) Regulation (EU) No […]/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund and repealing Regulation (EC) No 1198/2006[22] (the 'EMFF Regulation').

Article 2 Definitions

For the purposes of this Regulation, the definitions on financial instruments as laid down in the Financial Regulation shall apply to financial instruments supported by the CSF Funds, except where otherwise provided in this Regulation.

In addition, the following definitions shall apply:

(1) 'Union strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth' means the targets and shared objectives guiding the action of Member States and the Union set out in the Communication of the Commission: Europe 2020: A strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth, and contained in the Conclusions adopted by the European Council of 17 June 2010 as Annex I (New European Strategy for Jobs and Growth, EU Headline Targets) and Council Decision of 21 October 2010 on guidelines for the employment policies of the Member States, and any revision of such targets and shared objectives.

(2) 'Common Strategic Framework' means the document translating the objectives and targets of the Union strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth into key actions for the CSF Funds, establishing for each thematic objective the key actions to be supported by each CSF Fund and the mechanisms for ensuring the coherence and consistency of the programming of the CSF Funds with the economic and employment policies of the Member States and of the Union;

(3) 'Fund-specific rules' means the provisions laid down in or established on the basis of Part Three of this Regulation or a specific or generic regulation governing one or more of the CSF Fund(s) referred to or listed in the third sub-paragraph of Article 1;

(4) ‘programming’ means the process of organisation, decision-making and allocation of financial resources in several stages intended to implement, on a multi-annual basis, the joint action by the Union and the Member States to achieve Union strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth;

(5) ‘programme’ means ‘operational programme’ referred to in Part Three of this Regulation and in the EMFF Regulation, and ‘rural development programme’ referred to in the EAFRD Regulation;

(6) ‘priority’ means the ‘priority axis’ referred to in Part Three of this Regulation and the ‘Union priority’ referred to in the EMFF Regulation and in the EAFRD Regulation;

(7) 'operation' means a project, contract, action or group of projects selected by the managing authority of the programme concerned, or under its responsibility, contributing to the objectives of the priority or priorities to which it relates; in the context of financial instruments, the operation is constituted by the financial contributions from a programme to financial instruments and the subsequent financial support provided by these financial instruments;

(8) 'beneficiary' means a public or private body responsible for initiating or initiating and implementing operations; in the context of State aid, the term 'beneficiary' means the body which receives the aid; in the context of financial instruments, the term 'beneficiary' means the body that implements the financial instrument;

(9) 'final recipient' means a legal or natural person that receives financial support from a financial instrument;

(10) 'State aid' means aid falling under Article 107(1) of the Treaty which shall be deemed for the purposes of this Regulation also to include de minimis aid within the meaning of Commission Regulation (EC) No 1998/2006 of 15 December 2006 on the application of Articles 87 and 88 of the Treaty to de minimis aid[23], Commission Regulation (EC) No 1535/2007 of 20 December 2007 on the application of Articles 87 and 88 of the EC Treaty to de minimis aid in the sector of agricultural production[24] and Commission Regulation (EC) No 875/2007 of 24 July 2007 on the application of Articles 87 and 88 of the EC Treaty to de minimis aid in the fisheries sector and amending Regulation (EC) No 1860/2004[25];

(11) 'completed operation' means an operation that has been physically completed or fully implemented and in respect of which all related payments have been made by beneficiaries and the corresponding public contribution has been paid to the beneficiaries;

(12) ‘public support' means any financial support to the financing of an operation the origin of which is the budget of national, regional or local public authorities, the budget of the Union related to the CSF Funds, the budget of public law bodies or the budget of associations of public authorities or public law bodies;

(13) 'public law body' means any body governed by public law in the meaning of Article 1(9) of Directive 2004/18/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council[26] and any European grouping of territorial cooperation (EGTC) established in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 1082/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council[27], regardless of whether the relevant national implementing provisions consider the EGTC a public law body or a private law body;

(14) 'document' means a paper or an electronic medium bearing information relevant in the framework of this Regulation;

(15) 'intermediate body' means any public or private body which acts under the responsibility of a managing or certifying authority, or which carries out duties on behalf of such an authority vis-à-vis beneficiaries' implementing operations;

(16) ‘local development strategy’ means a coherent set of operations to meet local objectives and needs, which contributes to meeting the Union strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth and which is implemented in partnership at the appropriate level;

(17) ‘rolling closure’ means closure of operations as a result of the annual clearance of account exercise and before the general closure of the programme;

(18) 'Partnership Contract' means the document prepared by the Member State with the involvement of partners in line with the multi-level governance approach, which sets out the Member State's strategy, priorities and arrangements for using the CSF Funds in an effective and efficient way to pursue the Union strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth, and which is approved by the Commission following assessment and dialogue with the Member State;

(19) 'category of regions' means the categorisation of regions as 'less developed regions', 'transition regions' or 'more developed regions' according to Article 82(2);

(20) 'request for payment' means a payment application or declaration of expenditure submitted by the Member State to the Commission;

(21) 'EIB' means the European Investment Bank, the European Investment Fund or any subsidiary of the European Investment Bank;

(22) 'SME' means a micro, small or medium sized enterprise in the meaning of Commission Recommendation 2003/361/EC, or subsequent amendments thereof;

(23) 'accounting year, means, for the purposes of Part Three, the period from 1 July to 30 June, except for the first accounting year, in respect of which it means the period from the start date for eligibility of expenditure until 30 June 2015. The final accounting year shall be from 1 July 2022 to l June 2023;

(24) 'financial year, means, for the purposes of Part Three, the period from 1 January to 31 December.

PART TWO COMMON PROVISIONS APPLICABLE TO CSF FUNDS

TITLE I Principles of Union support for the CSF Funds

Article 3 Scope

The rules set out in this Part shall apply without prejudice to the provisions laid down in Part Three.

Article 4 General principles

1. The CSF Funds shall provide support, through multi-annual programmes, which complements national, regional and local intervention, to deliver the Union strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth, taking account of the Integrated Guidelines, the country-specific recommendations under Article 121(2) of the Treaty and the relevant Council recommendations adopted under 148(4) of the Treaty.

2. The Commission and the Member States shall ensure that support from the CSF Funds is consistent with the policies and priorities of the Union and complementary to other instruments of the Union.

3. Support from the CSF Funds shall be implemented in close cooperation between the Commission and the Member States.

4 Member States and the bodies designated by them for that purpose shall be responsible for implementing programmes and carrying out their tasks under this Regulation and the Fund-specific rules at the appropriate territorial level, in accordance with the institutional, legal and financial framework of the Member State and subject to compliance with this Regulation and the Fund-specific rules.

5. Arrangements for the implementation and use of the CSF Funds, and in particular the financial and administrative resources required for the implementation of the CSF Funds, in relation to the reporting, evaluation, management and control shall take into account the principle of proportionality having regard to the level of support allocated.

6. In accordance with their respective responsibilities, the Commission and the Member States shall ensure coordination among the CSF Funds, and with other Union policies and instruments, including those in the framework of the Union's external action.

7. The part of the Union budget allocated to the CSF Funds shall be implemented within the framework of shared management between the Member States and the Commission, in accordance with Article 53(b) of Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002 of 25 June 2002 on the Financial Regulation applicable to the general budget of the European Communities (hereinafter referred to as the 'Financial Regulation')[28], with the exception of the amount of the CF transferred to the Connecting Europe Facility referred to in Article 84(4) and innovative actions at the initiative of the Commission under Article 9 of the ERDF Regulation, and technical assistance at the initiative of the Commission.

8. The Commission and the Member States shall apply the principle of sound financial management in accordance with Article 73 of the Financial Regulation.

9. The Commission and the Member States shall ensure the effectiveness of the CSF Funds, in particular through monitoring, reporting and evaluation.

10. The Commission and the Member States shall carry out their respective roles in relation to the CSF Funds with the aim of reducing the administrative burden for beneficiaries.

Article 5 Partnership and multi-level governance

1. For the Partnership Contract and each programme respectively, a Member State shall organise a partnership with the following partners:

(a) competent regional, local, urban and other public authorities;

(b) economic and social partners; and

(c) bodies representing civil society, including environmental partners, non-governmental organisations, and bodies responsible for promoting equality and non-discrimination.

2. In accordance with the multi-level governance approach, the partners shall be involved by Member States in the preparation of Partnership Contracts and progress reports and in the preparation, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of programmes. The partners shall participate in the monitoring committees for programmes.

3. The Commission shall be empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 140 to provide for a European code of conduct that lays down objectives and criteria to support the implementation of partnership and to facilitate the sharing of information, experience, results and good practices among Member States.

4. At least once a year, for each CSF Fund, the Commission shall consult the organisations which represent the partners at Union level on the implementation of support from the CSF Funds.

Article 6 Compliance with Union and national law

Operations financed by the CSF Funds shall comply with applicable Union and national law.

Article 7 Promotion of equality between men and women and non-discrimination

The Member States and the Commission shall ensure that equality between men and women and the integration of gender perspective is promoted in the preparation and implementation of programmes.

The Member States and the Commission shall take appropriate steps to prevent any discrimination based on sex, racial or ethnic origin, religion or belief, disability, age or sexual orientation during the preparation and implementation of programmes.

Article 8 Sustainable development

The objectives of the CSF Funds shall be pursued in the framework of sustainable development and the Union's promotion of the aim of protecting and improving the environment, as set out in Articles 11 and 19 of the Treaty, taking into account the polluter pays principle.

The Member States and the Commission shall ensure that environmental protection requirements, resource efficiency, climate change mitigation and adaptation, disaster resilience and risk prevention and management are promoted in the preparation and implementation of Partnership Contracts and programmes. Member States shall provide information on the support for climate change objectives using the methodology adopted by the Commission. The Commission shall adopt this methodology by means of an implementing act. The implementing act shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 143(3).

TITLE II STRATEGIC APPROACH

CHAPTER I Thematic objectives for the CSF Funds and Common Strategic Framework

Article 9 Thematic objectives

Each CSF Fund shall support the following thematic objectives in accordance with its mission in order to contribute to the Union strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth:

(1) strengthening research, technological development and innovation;

(2) enhancing access to, and use and quality of, information and communication technologies;

(3) enhancing the competitiveness of small and medium-sized enterprises, the agricultural sector (for the EAFRD) and the fisheries and aquaculture sector (for the EMFF);

(4) supporting the shift towards a low-carbon economy in all sectors;

(5) promoting climate change adaptation, risk prevention and management;

(6) protecting the environment and promoting resource efficiency;

(7) promoting sustainable transport and removing bottlenecks in key network infrastructures;

(8) promoting employment and supporting labour mobility;

(9) promoting social inclusion and combating poverty;

(10) investing in education, skills and lifelong learning;

(11) enhancing institutional capacity and an efficient public administration.

Thematic objectives shall be translated into priorities specific to each CSF Fund and set out in the Fund-specific rules.

Article 10 Common Strategic Framework

In order to promote the harmonious, balanced and sustainable development of the Union, a Common Strategic Framework shall translate the objectives and targets of the Union strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth into key actions for the CSF Funds.

Article 11 Content

The Common Strategic Framework shall establish:

(a) for each thematic objective, the key actions to be supported by each CSF Fund;

(b) the key territorial challenges for urban, rural, coastal and fisheries areas, as well as for areas with particular territorial features referred to in Articles 174 and 349 of the Treaty, to be addressed by the CSF Funds;

(c) horizontal principles and policy objectives for the implementation of the CSF Funds;

(d) priority areas for cooperation activities for each of the CSF Funds, where appropriate, taking account of macro-regional and sea basin strategies;

(e) coordination mechanisms among the CSF Funds, and with other relevant Union policies and instruments, including external instruments for cooperation;

(f) mechanisms for ensuring the coherence and consistency of the programming of the CSF Funds with the country-specific recommendations under Article 121(2) of the Treaty and the relevant Council recommendations adopted under 148(4) of the Treaty.

Article 12 Adoption and review

The Commission shall be empowered to adopt a delegated act in accordance with Article 142 on the Common Strategic Framework within 3 months of the adoption of this Regulation.

Where there are major changes in the Union strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth, the Commission shall review and, where appropriate, adopt, by delegated act in accordance with Article 142, a revised Common Strategic Framework.

Within 6 months of adoption of a revised Common Strategic Framework, Member States shall propose amendments, where necessary, to their Partnership Contract and programmes to ensure their consistency with the revised Common Strategic Framework.

CHAPTER II Partnership Contract

Article 13 Preparation of the Partnership Contract

1. Each Member State shall prepare a Partnership Contract for the period from 1 January 2014 to 31 December 2020.

2. The Partnership Contract shall be drawn up by Member States in cooperation with the partners referred to in Article 5. The Partnership Contract shall be prepared in dialogue with the Commission.

3. The Partnership Contract shall cover all support from the CSF Funds in the Member State concerned.

4. Each Member State shall transmit its Partnership Contract to the Commission within 3 months of the adoption of the Common Strategic Framework.

Article 14 Content of the Partnership Contract

The Partnership Contract shall set out:

(a) arrangements to ensure alignment with the Union strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth, including:

(i) an analysis of disparities and development needs with reference to the thematic objectives and key actions defined in the Common Strategic Framework and the targets set in the country-specific recommendations under Article 121(2) of the Treaty and the relevant Council recommendations adopted under Article 148(4) of the Treaty;

(ii) a summary analysis of the ex ante evaluations of the programmes justifying the selection of the thematic objectives and the indicative allocations of the CSF Funds;

(iii) for each thematic objective, a summary of the main results expected for each of the CSF Funds;

(iv) the indicative allocation of support by the Union by thematic objective at national level for each of the CSF Funds, as well as the total indicative amount of support foreseen for climate change objectives;

(v) the main priority areas for cooperation, taking account, where appropriate, of macro-regional and sea basin strategies;

(vi) horizontal principles and policy objectives for the implementation of the CSF Funds;

(vii) the list of the programmes under the ERDF, the ESF and the CF, except those under the European territorial cooperation goal, and of the programmes of the EAFRD and the EMFF, with the respective indicative allocations by CSF Fund and by year;

(b) an integrated approach to territorial development supported by the CSF Funds setting out:

(i) the mechanisms at national and regional level that ensure coordination between the CSF Funds and other Union and national funding instruments and with the EIB;

(ii) the arrangements to ensure an integrated approach to the use of the CSF Funds for the territorial development of urban, rural, coastal and fisheries areas and areas with particular territorial features, in particular the implementation arrangements for Articles 28, 29 and 99 accompanied, where appropriate, by a list of the cities to participate in the urban development platform referred to in Article 7 of the ERDF Regulation;

(c) an integrated approach to address the specific needs of geographical areas most affected by poverty or of target groups at highest risk of discrimination or exclusion, with special regard to marginalised communities, where appropriate, including the indicative financial allocation for the relevant CSF Funds;

(d) arrangements to ensure effective implementation, including:

(i) a consolidated table of milestones and targets established in programmes for the performance framework referred to in Article 19(1), together with the methodology and mechanism to ensure consistency across programmes and CSF Funds;

(ii) a summary of t