EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM

1. CONTEXT OF THE PROPOSAL

The Commission presented its proposals for a regulation laying down common provisions on the ERDF, the ESF, the CF, the EAFRD and the EMFF and general provisions on cohesion policy funds on 6 October 2011 (COM(2011) 615 final).

The initial Commission's proposal for the EMFF Regulation aligned the management and control system for the EMFF with the arrangements proposed for the EAFRD. This was proposed mainly for the reason that the authorities managing the EAFRD and EMFF are often the same and would benefit from harmonised arrangements for these two funds.

During the examination of the EMFF proposal in the Fisheries Working Group in the Council, a number of Member States have expressed reservations as regards the shift to the system proposed by the Commission for management and control and for financial management. In the previous (2000-2006) and the current (2007-2013) programming periods the delivery system of the EMFF was aligned with arrangements set up under cohesion policy and Member States consider that the highest degree of continuity should be ensured. They have expressed a view that continuing with such arrangements would enable to make the best use of the expertise gained by national authorities currently involved in the management of EU funds for fisheries.

Although a majority of Member States have indicated that they prefer alignment of the EMFF with the delivery system for cohesion policy, they have also highlighted the need to take into account the principle of proportionality (CPR Article 4(5)). The fisheries operational programmes, in most of the cases, are smaller than those under cohesion policy and also have specific features to ensure that the EMFF contributes to the reform of the Common Fisheries Policy.

In order to facilitate the already on-going negotiations in the Council and the European Parliament the Commission proposes a simultaneous amendment of the Commission proposals for the Common Provisions Regulation and of the EMFF Regulation to ensure simple and streamlined integration of the EMFF into an already existing set of rules for cohesion policy.

A close alignment of EMFF delivery systems with those proposed for cohesion policy in the manner proposed will contribute to harmonisation and consistency of rules across these different Funds (ERDF, ESF, CF and EMFF). It enables harnessing the experience attained in previous programming periods and facilitates a smooth transition from one programming period to the next.

2. RESULTS OF CONSULTATIONS WITH THE INTERESTED PARTIES AND IMPACT ASSESSMENTS

The Commission proposal amending the Common Provisions Regulation and the EMFF Regulation has been preceded by throrough discussions on the delivery arrangements of the EMFF in the Fisheries Working Party of the Council and bilateral contacts with the Member States.

An Impact Assessment has been carried out for the original legislative proposals.

3. LEGAL ELEMENTS OF THE PROPOSAL

The proposal involves a parallel amendment of the Commission proposals for the Common Provisions Regulation and of the EMFF Regulation:

· the EMFF is integrated in the relevant provisions in the Common Provisions Regulation which were initially specific to cohesion policy, creating a new Part Four of the Common Provisions Regulation which applies to cohesion policy and to the EMFF;

· Respective provisions (which correspond to the delivery arrangements of the EAFRD or overlap with the articles of the Common Provisions Regulations in its amended form) are deleted from the EMFF Regulation and appropriate references to the CPR are introduced in the EMFF Regulation, where necessary.

Recitals and definitions are aligned with the changes to the articles and amendment of the structure of the regulations. The terminology used in the new Part Four is adjusted to accommodate the specificities of the EMFF and in certain instances it is clarified that the Fund-specific rules under the EMFF may set out complementary rules.

4. BUDGETARY IMPLICATIONS

The amended proposal will have no budgetary implications. The availability of new data and macro-economic forecasts as well as the accession of the Republic of Croatia results however in changes of the cohesion envelope.

These modifications are without prejudice to the on-going negotiations on the MFF Regulation and to the Financial Regulation.

5. SUMMARY OF AMENDMENTS

As regards the Common Provisions Regulation, the amendment concerns recitals 3, 75, 78, 80, 84 and 87. It also introduces changes in Article 1 and Article 3 to clearly set out the applicability of each Part of the Common Provisions Regulation as regards each of the Funds (ERDF, ESF, CF, EMFF and EAFRD). It has required limited adjustment of definitions set out under paragraphs (5), (7), (25) and (26) of Article 2 in order to replace references to Part Three with references to Part Four.

It includes amendments to Articles 55 (7), 64 (6), 74 (1), 112 (3), 113 (5), 114 (3) (b) and (g), 117 (4), 120, 121 (1), 124, 126 (4), 128, 130 (1), 131 (1), 133(1), 134 (1), 135, 136, 137 and 140 (1).

As regards the EMFF Regulation, the amendment concerns recitals 86, 89, 101, 103, 104 and deletion of recitals 91, 93, 94 and 97. It includes amendments to Articles 3, 12, 14, 20, 24, 25, 28, 33, 37, 38, 39, 45, 46, 54, 56, 61, 62, 63, 64, 67, 75, 78, 92, 94, 95, 102, 103, 105, 108, 117, 118, 119, 120, 122, 126, 128, 129, 131, 132, 133, 134, 135, 1369, 137, 138, 139, 140, 141, 142,143, 144, 145, 146, 147, 148, 149, 150,151, 152, 153, 154 and deletion of Articles 96, 97, 98, 99, 100, 101, 104, 106, 107, 109, 110, 111, 112, 113, 114, 115, 116, 121, 123, 124, 125, 127 and 130.

For clarity reasons, this amending proposal is presented in a consolidated form, including all the amendments to the Common Provisions Regulation adopted by the Commission so far, i.e. COM(2012) 496 of 11 September 2012 and COM(2013) 146 of 12 March 2013. However, only the modifications proposed through this amending proposal are presented in a highlighted format.

2011/0276 (COD)

Amended 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 Council 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[1],

Having regard to the opinion of the Committee of the Regions[2],

Having regard to the opinion of the Court of Auditors[3],

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 as well as provisions which are common to the ERDF, the ESF, the CF and the EMFF, but do not apply to the EAFRD. 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 (hereinafter referred to as the 'Financial Regulation')[4]. 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 should be set out in Funds-specific rules and may be limited to only some of the thematic objectives defined in this Regulation.

(14) In order to maximise the contribution of the CSF Funds and to provide clear strategic direction to the programming process at the level of Member States and the regions, a Common Strategic Framework should be established. 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 set out the means to achieve coherence and consistency with the economic policies of Member States and the Union, coordination mechanisms among the CSF Funds and with other relevant Union policies and instruments, horizontal principles and cross-cutting policy objectives, the arrangements to address territorial challenges, indicative actions of high European added value and corresponding principles for delivery, and priorities for cooperation.

(16) On the basis of the Common Strategic Framework, 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)[5].

(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 the 'Investment for growth and jobs' goal 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.

(57 bis) Given the urgent priority to address youth unemployment in the Union's most affected regions, a Youth Employment Initiative should be created and funded from a specific allocation and from targeted investment from the European Social Fund. The Youth Employment Initiative should aim to support young people not in employment, education or training residing in the eligible regions. The Youth Employment Initiative should be implemented as a part of the Investment for growth and jobs goal.

(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[6]. 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 resources allocated to communication actions under this Regulation shall also contribute to cover the corporate communication of the political priorities of the European Union as far as they 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 the EMFF 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 CF and EMFF 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 CF and the EMFF. 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, the and the CF and the EMFF) 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, or for the EMFF, EUR 50 000, in order to take into account the small size of operations supported under this Fund. 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 the elements of the Common Strategic Framework related to indicative actions of high European added value and corresponding principles for delivery, and priorities for cooperation, additional rules on the allocation of the performance reserve, the definition of the area and population covered by the local development strategies, detailed rules on financial instruments (ex ante assessment, combination of support, eligibility, types of activities not supported), the rules on certain types of financial instruments set up at national, regional, transnational or cross-border level, rules concerning funding agreements, transfer and management of assets, the arrangements for management and control, the rules on payment requests, and establishment of a system of capitalisation of annual instalments, the definition of the flat rate for revenue generating operations, the definition of the flat rate applied to indirect costs for grants based on existing methods and corresponding rates applicable in Union policies, the responsibilities of Member States concerning the procedure for reporting irregularities and recovery of sums unduly paid, the modalities of exchange of information of operations, the arrangements for the adequate audit trail, the conditions of national audits, the accreditation criteria for managing authorities and certifying authorities, the identification of commonly accepted data carriers, and the criteria for establishing the level of financial correction to be applied. The Commission should also be empowered to amend, by means of delegated acts, Annexes I and VI, both of which contain non-essential elements to this Regulation, 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 on the allocation of the performance reserve, decisions suspending payments linked to Member States' economic policies, and, in the case of decommitment, decisions to amend decisions adopting programmes; and as regards the Funds, decisions identifying the regions and Member States fulfilling the Investment for growth and jobs criteria, decisions setting out the annual breakdown of commitment appropriations to the Member States, decisions setting out the amount to be transferred from each Member State's CF allocation to the Connecting Europe Facility, decisions setting out the amount to be transferred from each Member State's Structural Funds allocation for food for deprived people, decisions adopting and amending operational programmes, decisions on major projects, decisions on joint action plans, 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, the uniform conditions concerning the monitoring and provision of monitoring information for financial instruments, the methodology for the calculation of net revenue for revenue-generating projects, the electronic data exchange system between the Member State and the Commission, the model of operational programme for the Funds, the nomenclature for the categories of intervention, the format for information on major projects and methodology to be used in carrying out the cost-benefit analysis on major projects, the model for the joint action plan, the model of the annual and final implementation reports, certain technical characteristics of information and publicity measures and related instructions, rules on the exchange of information between beneficiaries and managing authorities, certifying authorities, audit authorities and intermediate bodies, the model of the management declaration, the models for the audit strategy, opinion and annual control report and methodology for the sampling method, the rules concerning use of data collected during audits, and the 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[7].

(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[8]. 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. The common rules are set out in Part Two.

Part Three of this This Regulation also lays down the general rules governing the ERDF, the ESF (together referred to as the 'Structural Funds') and the CF concerning. 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.

Part Four of this Regulation lays down general rules applicable to the Funds and the EMFF on management and control, financial management, accounts and financial corrections.

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[9] (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[10] (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[11] (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[12] (the 'CF Regulation');

(4) Regulation (EU) No […]/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council on European territorial cooperation[13] (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 1698/2005[14] (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[15] (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), Council Recommendation of 13 July 2010 on broad guidelines for the economic policies of the Member States and the Union[16] and Council Decision of 21 October 2010 on guidelines for the employment policies of the Member States[17], and any revision of such targets and shared objectives.

(2) 'Common Strategic Framework' means the elements that provide clear strategic direction to the programming process and facilitate sectoral and territorial coordination of Union intervention under the CSF Funds and with other relevant Union policies and instruments in line with the objectives and targets of the Union strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth;

(3) 'action' means a type of operation to be supported by the CSF Funds to achieve the objectives of a progamme;

(4) 'indicative action of high European added value' means an action which can be expected to make a significant contribution to the achievement of the targets and objectives of the Union strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth and which shall act as a reference point in the preparation of programmes;

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

(6) ‘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;

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

(8) ‘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;

(9) 'operation' means a project, contract, action or group of projects selected by the managing authorities of the programmes concerned, or under their 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;

(10) '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;

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

(12) '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[18], 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[19] 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[20];

(13) '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;

(14) ‘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;

(15) '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[21] 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[22], regardless of whether the relevant national implementing provisions consider the EGTC a public law body or a private law body;

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

(17) '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;

(18) ‘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;

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

(20) '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;

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

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

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

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

(25) 'accounting year, means, for the purposes of Part Three and Part Four, 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 30 June 2023;

(26) 'financial year, means, for the purposes of Part Three and Part Four, 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 and Part Four.

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 the Financial Regulation, 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 27 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 142 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 Article 11 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 provide clear strategic direction to the programming process and facilitate sectoral and territorial coordination of Union intervention under the CSF Funds and with other relevant Union policies and instruments in line with the objectives and targets of the Union strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth.

Article 11 Content

The Common Strategic Framework shall establish:

(a) means to achieve 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;

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

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

(d) arrangements to address territorial challenges and the steps to be taken to encourage an integrated approach that reflects the role of urban, rural, coastal and fisheries areas, as well as the specific challenges for areas with particular territorial features referred to in Articles 174 and 349 of the Treaty;

(e) for each thematic objective, the indicative actions of high European added value to be supported by each CSF Fund and the corresponding principles for delivery;

(f) priorities for cooperation for the CSF Funds, where appropriate, taking account of macro-regional and sea basin strategies.

Article 12 Adoption and review

The elements of the Common Strategic Framework related to coherence and consistency with the economic policies of Member States and the Union, the coordination mechanisms among the CSF Funds and with other relevant Union policies and instruments, the horizontal principles and cross-cutting policy objectives and the arrangements to address territorial challenges are laid down in Annex I.

The Commission shall be empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 142 laying down the specific elements of the Common Strategic Framework related to the establishment of indicative actions of high European added value and corresponding principles for delivery for each thematic objective and of priorities for cooperation.

Where there are major changes in the Union strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth, the Commission shall review the Common Strategic Framework and, where appropriate, adopt by means of delegated acts in accordance with Article 142, amendments to Annex I.

Within 6 months of adoption of a revision to the 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, 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 8 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 the assessment of the fulfilment of ex ante conditionalities and of the actions to be taken at national and regional level, and the timetable for their implementation, where ex ante conditionalities are not fulfilled;

(iii) the information required for ex ante verification of compliance with the rules on additionality as they are defined in Part Three of this Regulation;

(iv) the actions taken to involve the partners and their role in the preparation of the Partnership Contract and the progress report as defined in Article 46 of this Regulation;

(e) arrangements to ensure efficient implementation of the CSF Funds, including:

(i) an assessment of whether there is a need to reinforce the administrative capacity of the authorities and, where appropriate, beneficiaries, and actions to be taken for this purpose;

(ii) a summary of the actions planned and corresponding targets in the programmes to achieve a reduction in the administrative burden for beneficiaries;

(iii) an assessment of the existing systems for electronic data exchange, and the actions planned to permit all exchanges of information between beneficiaries and authorities responsible for management and control of programmes to be carried out solely by electronic data exchange.

Article 15 Adoption and amendment of the Partnership Contract

1. The Commission shall assess the consistency of the Partnership Contract with this Regulation, with the Common Strategic Framework, and the country-specific recommendations under Article 121(2) of the Treaty and the Council recommendations adopted under 148(4) of the Treaty, taking account of the ex ante evaluations of the programmes, and shall make observations within three months of the date of submission of the Partnership Contract. The Member State shall provide all necessary additional information and, where appropriate, shall revise the Partnership Contract.

2. The Commission shall adopt a decision, by means of implementing acts, approving the Partnership Contract no later than six months after its submission by the Member State, provided that any observations made by the Commission have been satisfactorily taken into account. The Partnership Contract shall not enter into force before 1 January 2014.

3. Where a Member State proposes an amendment to the Partnership Contract, the Commission shall carry out an assessment in accordance with paragraph 1 and, where appropriate, shall adopt a decision, by means of implementing acts, approving the amendment.

CHAPTER III Thematic concentration, ex ante conditionalities and performance review

Article 16 Thematic concentration

Member States shall concentrate support, in accordance with the Fund-specific rules, on actions bringing the greatest added value in relation to the Union strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth, addressing the challenges identified in the country-specific recommendations under Article 121(2) of the Treaty and the relevant Council recommendations adopted under 148(4) of the Treaty, and taking into account national and regional needs.

Article 17 Ex ante conditionalities

1. Ex ante conditionalities shall be defined for each CSF Fund in the Fund-specific rules.

2. Member States shall assess whether the applicable ex ante conditionalities are fulfilled.

3. Where ex ante conditionalities are not fulfilled at the date of transmission of the Partnership Contract, Member States shall set out in the Partnership Contract a summary of the actions to be taken at national or regional level and the timetable for their implementation, to ensure their fulfilment not later than two years after the adoption of the Partnership Contract or by 31 December 2016, whichever is earlier.

4. Member States shall set out the detailed actions relating to the fulfilment of ex ante conditionalities, including the timetable for their implementation, in the relevant programmes.

5. The Commission shall assess the information provided on the fulfilment of ex ante conditionalities in the framework of its assessment of the Partnership Contract and programmes. It may decide, when adopting a programme, to suspend all or part of interim payments to the programme pending the satisfactory completion of actions to fulfil an ex ante conditionality. The failure to complete actions to fulfil an ex ante conditionality by the deadline set out in the programme shall constitute a basis for suspending payments by the Commission.

6. Paragraphs 1 to 5 shall not apply to programmes under the European territorial cooperation goal.

Article 18 Performance reserve

5% of the resources allocated to each CSF Fund and Member State, with the exception of resources allocated to the European territorial cooperation goal, to the Youth Employment Initiative, and to Title V of the EMFF Regulation, shall constitute a performance reserve to be allocated in accordance with Article 20.

Article 19 Performance review

1. The Commission, in cooperation with the Member States, shall undertake a review of the performance of the programmes in each Member State in 2017 and 2019, with reference to the performance framework set out in the respective Partnership Contract and programmes. The method for establishing the performance framework is set out in Annex II.

2. The review shall examine the achievement of the milestones of the programmes at the level of priorities, on the basis of the information and the assessments presented in the progress reports submitted by the Member States in the years 2017 and 2019.

Article 20 Allocation of performance reserve

1. Where the review of performance undertaken in 2017 reveals that a priority within a programme has not attained its milestones set for the year 2016, the Commission shall make recommendations to the Member State concerned.

2. On the basis of the review undertaken in 2019, the Commission shall adopt a decision, by means of implementing acts, to determine for each CSF Fund and Member State the programmes and priorities which have attained their milestones. The Member State shall propose the attribution of the performance reserve for the programmes and priorities set out in that Commission decision. The Commission shall approve the amendment of the programmes concerned in accordance with Article 26. Where a Member State fails to submit the information in accordance with Article 46(2) and (3), the performance reserve for the programmes or the priorities concerned shall not be allocated.

3. Where there is evidence resulting from a performance review that a priority has failed to achieve the milestones set out in the performance framework, the Commission may suspend all or part of an interim payment of a priority of a programme in accordance with the procedure laid down in Fund-specific rules.

4. Where the Commission, based on the examination of the final implementation report of the programme, establishes a serious failure to achieve the targets set out in the performance framework, it may apply financial corrections in respect of the priorities concerned in accordance with Fund-specific rules. The Commission shall be empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 142 to establish criteria and the methodology for determining the level of financial correction to be applied. .

5. Paragraph 2 shall not apply to programmes under the European territorial cooperation goal and to Title V of the EMFF Regulation.

CHAPTER IV Macroeconomic conditionalities

Article 21 Conditionality linked to the coordination of Member States' economic policies

1. The Commission may request a Member State to review and propose amendments to its Partnership Contract and the relevant programmes, where this is necessary:

(a) to support the implementation of a Council recommendation, addressed to the Member State concerned and adopted in accordance with Articles 121(2) and/or 148(4) of the Treaty, or to support the implementation of measures addressed to the Member State concerned and adopted in accordance with Article 136(1) of the Treaty;

(b) to support the implementation of a Council recommendation addressed to the Member State concerned and adopted in accordance with Article 126(7) of the Treaty;

(c) to support the implementation of a Council recommendation addressed to the Member State concerned and adopted in accordance with Article 7(2) of Regulation (EU) No …/2011 [on the prevention and correction of macroeconomic imbalances], provided that these amendments are deemed necessary to help correct the macroeconomic imbalances; or

(d) to maximise the growth and competitiveness impact of the available CSF Funds pursuant to paragraph 4, if a Member State meets one of the following conditions:

(i) Union financial assistance is made available to it under Council Regulation (EU) No 407/2010;

(ii) medium-term financial assistance is made available to it in accordance with Council Regulation (EC) No 332/2002[23];

(iii) financial assistance in the form of an ESM loan is made available to it in accordance with the Treaty establishing the European Stability Mechanism.

2. The Member State shall submit a proposal for amending the Partnership Contract and the relevant programmes within one month. If necessary, the Commission shall make observations within one month from the submission of the amendments, in which case the Member State shall re-submit its proposal within one month.

3. Where the Commission has not made observations or where its observations have been satisfactorily taken into account, the Commission shall adopt a decision approving the amendments to the Partnership Contract and the relevant programmes without undue delay.

4. By derogation to paragraph 1, where financial assistance is made available to a Member State in accordance with paragraph 1(d) and is linked to an adjustment programme, the Commission may without any proposal from the Member State amend the Partnership Contract and the programmes with a view to maximising the growth and competitiveness impact of the available CSF Funds. To ensure effective implementation of the Partnership Contract and the relevant programmes, the Commission shall become involved in their management as detailed in the adjustment programme or the Memorandum of Understanding signed with the Member State concerned.

5. Where the Member State fails to respond to the Commission's request referred to in paragraph 1 or does not reply satisfactorily within one month to the observations of the Commission referred to in paragraph 2, the Commission may, within three months following its observations, adopt a decision, by means of implementing acts, suspending part or all of the payments for the programmes concerned.

6. The Commission shall suspend, by means of implementing acts, part or all of the payments and commitments for the programmes concerned where:

(a) the Council decides that the Member State does not comply with the specific measures set out by the Council in accordance with Article 136(1) of the Treaty;

(b) the Council decides in accordance with Article 126(8) or Article 126(11) of the Treaty that the Member State concerned has not taken effective action to correct its excessive deficit;

(c) the Council concludes in accordance with Article 8(3) of Regulation (EU) No […]/2011 [on the prevention and correction of macroeconomic imbalances] that, on two successive instances, the Member State has not submitted a sufficient corrective action plan or the Council adopts a decision declaring non-compliance in accordance with Article 10(4) of that Regulation;

(d) the Commission concludes that the Member State has not taken measures to implement the adjustment programme referred to in Council Regulation (EU) No 407/2010 or Council Regulation (EC) No 332/2002 and as a consequence decides not to authorise the disbursement of the financial assistance granted to this Member State; or

(e) the Board of Directors of the European stability mechanism concludes that the conditionality attached to an ESM financial assistance in the form of an ESM loan to the concerned Member State was not met and as a consequence decides not to disburse the stability support granted to it.

7. When deciding to suspend part or all of the payments or commitments in accordance with paragraphs 5 and 6 respectively, the Commission shall ensure that the suspension is proportionate and effective, taking into account the economic and social circumstances of the Member State concerned, and respects equality of treatment between Member States, in particular with regard to the impact of the suspension on the economy of the Member State concerned.

8. The Commission shall without delay lift the suspension of payments and commitments where the Member State has proposed amendments to the Partnership Contract and the relevant programmes as requested by the Commission, which the Commission has approved and, where applicable:

(a) the Council has decided that the Member State complies with the specific measures set out by the Council in accordance with Article 136(1) of the Treaty;

(b) the excessive deficit procedure is held in abeyance in accordance with Article 9 of Regulation (EC) No 1467/97 or the Council has decided in accordance with Article 126(12) of the Treaty to abrogate the decision on the existence of an excessive deficit;

(c) the Council has endorsed the corrective action plan submitted by the concerned Member State in accordance with Article 8(2) of Regulation (EU) No […] [EIP Regulation] or the excessive imbalance procedure is placed in a position of abeyance in accordance with Article 10(5) of that Regulation or the Council has closed the excessive imbalance procedure in accordance with Article 11 of that Regulation;

(d) the Commission has concluded that the Member State has taken measures to implement the adjustment programme referred to in Council Regulation (EU) No 407/2010 or Council Regulation (EC) No 332/2002 and as a consequence has authorised the disbursement of the financial assistance granted to this Member State; or

(e) the Board of Directors of the European stability mechanism has concluded that the conditionality attached to a financial assistance in the form of an ESM loan to the concerned Member State is met and as a consequence has decided to disburse the stability support granted to it.

At the same time, the Council shall decide, on a proposal from the Commission, to re-budget the suspended commitments in accordance with Article 8 of Council Regulation (EU) No […] laying down the multiannual financial framework for the years 2014 to 2020.

Article 22 Increase in payments for Member State with temporary budgetary difficulties

1. On the request of a Member State, interim payments and payments of the final balance may be increased by 10 percentage points above the co-financing rate applicable to each priority for the ERDF, ESF and CF or to each measure for the EAFRD and the EMFF. The increased rate, which may not exceed 100%, shall apply to requests for payment relating to the accounting period in which the Member State has submitted its request and in subsequent accounting periods during which the Member State meets one of the following conditions:

(a) where the Member State concerned has adopted the euro, it receives macro-financial assistance from the Union under Council Regulation (EU) No 407/2010[24];

(b) where the Member State concerned has not adopted the euro, it receives medium-term financial assistance in accordance with Council Regulation (EC) No 332/2002[25];

(c) financial assistance is made available to it in accordance with the Treaty establishing the European Stability Mechanism signed on 11 July 2011.

The first sub-paragraph shall not apply to programmes under the ETC Regulation.

2. Notwithstanding paragraph 1, Union support through interim payments and payments of the final balance shall not be higher than the public support and the maximum amount of support from the CSF Funds for each priority for the ERDF, ESF and CF, or for each measure for the EAFRD and the EMFF, as laid down in the decision of the Commission approving the programme.

TITLE III PROGRAMMING

CHAPTER I General provisions on the CSF Funds

Article 23 Preparation of programmes

1. The CSF Funds shall be implemented through programmes in accordance with the Partnership Contract. Each programme shall cover the period from 1 January 2014 to 31 December 2020.

2. Programmes shall be drawn up by Member States or any authority designated by them, in cooperation with the partners.

3. Programmes shall be submitted by the Member States at the same time as the Partnership Contract, with the exception of European territorial cooperation programmes, which shall be submitted within six months of the approval of the Common Strategic Framework. All programmes shall be accompanied by the ex ante evaluation as set out in Article 48.

Article 24 Content of programmes

1. Each programme shall set out a strategy for the programme's contribution to the Union strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth consistent with the Common Strategic Framework and Partnership Contract. Each programme shall include the arrangements to ensure effective, efficient and coordinated implementation of the CSF Funds and actions to achieve a reduction of administrative burden for beneficiaries.

2. Each programme shall define priorities setting out specific objectives, financial appropriations of support from the CSF Funds and corresponding national co-financing.

3. Each priority shall set out indicators to assess progress of programme implementation towards achievement of objectives as the basis for monitoring, evaluation and review of performance. These shall include:

(a) financial indicators relating to expenditure allocated;

(b) output indicators relating to the operations supported;

(c) result indicators relating to the priority.

For each CSF Fund, the Fund-specific rules shall set out common indicators and may provide for programme-specific indicators.

4. Each programme, except those which cover exclusively technical assistance, shall include a description of the actions to take into account the principles set out in Articles 7 and 8.

5. Each programme, except those where technical assistance is undertaken under a specific programme, shall set out the indicative amount of support to be used for climate change objectives.

6. Member States shall draft the programme in accordance with the Fund-specific rules.

Article 25

The procedure for adoption of programmes

1. The Commission shall assess the consistency of programmes with this Regulation, the Fund-specific rules, their effective contribution to the thematic objectives and the Union priorities specific to each CSF Fund, the Common Strategic Framework, the Partnership Contract, the country-specific recommendations under Article 121(2) of the Treaty and the Council recommendations adopted under 148(4) of the Treaty, taking account of the ex ante evaluation. The assessment shall address, in particular, the adequacy of the programme strategy, the corresponding objectives, indicators, targets and the allocation of budgetary resources.

2. The Commission shall make observations within three months of the date of submission of the programme. The Member State shall provide to the Commission all necessary additional information and, where appropriate, revise the proposed programme.

3. In accordance with the Fund-specific rules, the Commission shall approve each programme no later than six months following its formal submission by the Member State(s), provided that any observations made by the Commission have been satisfactorily taken into account, but not before 1 January 2014 or before adoption by the Commission of a decision approving the Partnership Contract.

Article 26 Amendment of programmes

1. Requests for amendment of programmes submitted by a Member State shall be duly substantiated and shall in particular set out the expected impact of the changes to the programme on achieving the Union strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth and the specific objectives defined in the programme, taking account of the Common Strategic Framework and the Partnership Contract. They shall be accompanied by the revised programme and, where appropri