Regulation (EC) No 1655/1999 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 July 1999 amending Regulation (EC) No 2236/95 laying down general rules for the granting of Community financial aid in the field of trans-European networks
Date: 1999-07-19
Institutions: Council of the European Union, European Parliament
Subjects: EU aid, energy transport, financial aid, intra-EU transport, telecommunications, trans-European network

29. 7. 1999

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Official Journal of the European Communities

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I

(Acts whose publication is obligatory)

REGULATION (EC) No 1655/1999 OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL

amending Regulation (EC) No 2236/95 laying down general rules for the granting of Community
financial aid in the field of trans-European networks

of 19 July 1999

THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE
EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European
Community, and in particular the first paragraph of Article
156 thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission (1),

Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social
Committee (2),

Having regard to the opinion of
Regions (3),

the Committee of

the

Acting in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article
251 of the Treaty (4),

(1) Whereas experience with the application of Regulation
(EC) No 2236/95 (5) has demonstrated that a number of
amendments need to be made thereto;

(2) Whereas it is necessary to facilitate the financing of
certain projects by including, among the possible forms
of aid, a contribution to the formation of risk capital;
whereas it is desirable to use the financial resources
provided under Regulation (EC) No 2236/95 in order to
maximise the contribution from private finance;

(3) Whereas a layer of risk capital in the financial package
of a project may contribute to putting public-private
partnerships in trans-European network projects on their
way; whereas the supply of risk capital for trans-Euro-
pean networks, particularly during their early stages, is
limited;

(4) Whereas it is appropriate to allow risk capital participa-
funds with a priority focus on
trans-European network

tion in investment
providing risk capital

for

(1) OJ C 175, 9.6.1998, p. 7 and
OJ C 27, 2.2.1999, p. 18.
(2) OJ C 407, 28.12.1998, p. 120.
(3) OJ L 93, 6.4.1999, p. 29.
(4) Opinion of the European Parliament of 19 November 1998 (OJ C
379, 7.12.1998, p. 186), Council Common Position of 21
December 1998 (OJ C 49, 22.2.1999, p. 4) and Decision of the
European Parliament of 6 May 1999 (not yet published in the Offi-
cial Journal). Council Decision of 7 June 1999.

(5) OJ L 228, 23.9.1995, p. 1.

projects up to 1 % of the overall amount for the period
2000 to 2006 in order to gain experience with this new
form of financing; whereas this limit may be increased
up to 2 % following a review of the functioning of this
instrument; whereas it is also appropriate to examine its
possible future extension;

that

indicative multiannual programmes

(5) Whereas it is desirable, in order to increase transparency
and to meet expectations for projects or groups of
projects having important financial needs for a long
period,
in
specific sectors or fields should be drawn up; whereas
those programmes should indicate the total and annual
amount of support which could be allocated for a given
period to such project or groups of projects, and which
should serve as a reference for the annual decisions to
grant financial aid within the yearly budgetary appro-
priations, when they conform to the relevant indicative
multiannual programmes; whereas, however, the annual
amounts indicated in these programmes do not amount
to budgetary commitments;

(6) Whereas projects or groups of projects should be able to
from successive financial assistance decisions;

benefit

(7) Whereas, in the application for financial support for a
project, a detailed breakdown of estimates is needed
concerning the sources of contributions
from the
regional and local
Community and from national,
government bodies, as well as the extent of financial
contributions from the private sector;

(8) Whereas financial aids granted should be cancelled
except in duly justified cases if the actions concerned
have not been started by a given date;

(9) Whereas it is necessary to include the activities of the
European Investment Fund among the Community
financial instruments with which action under Regula-
tion (EC) No 2236/95 is required to be coordinated;

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(10) Whereas the Commission should be able to require
beneficiaries
projects
supported under Regulation (EC) No 2236/95 or the
necessary information to allow the Commission to
undertake its own evaluation;

evaluations

provide

to

of

(11) Whereas Council Decision 87/373/EEC (1) lays down the
procedures for the exercise of powers conferred on the
Commission by the Council for the implementation of
acts which it adopts; whereas the procedures laid down
in this Regulation should take account of possible modi-
fications of existing arrangements laid down by interin-
stitutional agreement or by Decision 87/373/EEC;

(12) Whereas given the importance of the trans-European
networks, it is appropriate to include in Regulation (EC)
2236/95 a financial framework within the meaning of
point 1 of the Declaration by the European Parliament,
the Council and the Commission of 6 March 1995, of
the
its
EUR 4 600 million for
period 2000 to 2006;

implementation for

(13) Whereas it is appropriate that the Council examines
whether to continue or to amend the measures under
Regulation (EC) No 2236/95 in the light of the compre-
hensive report submitted by the Commission before the
end of 2006;

(14) Whereas,

throughout

the transitional period from 1
January 1999 to 31 December 2001, all references to
the euro should be read as references to the euro as a
monetary unit as referred to in Council Regulation (EC)
No 974/98 of 3 May 1998 on the introduction of the
euro (2);

(15) Whereas Regulation (EC) No 2236/95 should therefore

be amended accordingly,

HAVE ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

Regulation (EC) No 2236/95 is hereby amended as follows:

1. Article 2(2) shall be deleted.

2. Article 3 shall be deleted.

3. Article 4 shall be replaced by the following:

‘Article 4

Forms of aid

Community aid for projects may take one or several

1.
of the following forms:

(a) co-financing of studies related to projects,

including
preparatory,
feasibility and evaluation studies, and
other technical support measures for these studies.
Community participation may in general not exceed
50 % of the total cost of a study.

(1) OJ L 197, 18.7.1987, p. 33.
(2) OJ L 139, 11.5.1998, p. 1.

In exceptional, duly substantiated cases, at the initiative
of
the
the Commission and with the consent of
Member States concerned, Community participation
may exceed the limit of 50 %;

(b) subsidies of the interest on loans granted by the Euro-
pean Investment Bank or other public or private finan-
cial bodies. As a general rule, the duration of subsidy
shall not exceed five years;

(c) contributions towards fees for guarantees for loans
from the European Investment Fund or other financial
institutions;

(d) direct grants to investments in duly justified cases;

(e) risk-capital participation for

investment

funds or
comparable financial undertakings with a priority
for trans-European
focus on providing risk capital
network projects and involving substantial private-
sector investment; such risk-capital participation shall
not exceed 1 % of
the budgetary resources under
Article 18. In accordance with the procedure specified
in Article 17, this limit may be increased up to 2 % as
from 2003 in the light of a review, to be presented to
the European Parliament and the Council by the
Commission, of the functioning of this instrument.

Further modalities of
capital participation are laid down in the Annex.

implementation of

this risk-

The participation may be made directly into the fund
or comparable financial undertaking or into an appro-
priate coinvestment vehicle managed by the same fund
managers;

(f) Community assistance under points (a) to (e) shall be
combined where appropriate, in order to maximise the
stimulus
resources
deployed, which shall be used in the most economical
way.

budgetary

provided

the

by

2.
The forms of Community aid referred to under
points (a) to (e) shall be used selectively to take account of
the specific characteristics of the various types of network
involved and to ensure that such aid does not cause distor-
tions of competition between undertakings in the sector-
concerned.

The funding for

infrastructure projects
transport
3.
throughout the period referred to in Article 18 should be
used in such a way that at
least 55 % is devoted to
railways (including combined transport) and a maximum
of 25 % to roads.

4.
The Commission shall specifically promote recourse
to private sources of financing for projects funded under
this Regulation where the multiplier effect of Community
financial instruments can be maximised in public-private
partnerships. Each case shall be examined individually by
the Commission, with account taken where appropriate of
a possible alternative financed solely with public resources.
The support of each member State concerned shall be
required for each project in accordance with the Treaty.'

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4. In Article 5(3)

the following subparagraph shall be

inserted:

‘Exceptionally, in the case of projects concerning satellite
positioning and navigation systems as provided for in
the total
Article 17 of Decision No 1692/96/EC (*),
amount of Community aid under this Regulation may
reach 20 % of the total, investment cost as from 1 January
2003 following a review.'

(*) OJ L 228, 9.9.1996, p. 1.

5. The following Article shall be inserted:

‘Article 5a

Community indicative multiannual programme

1. Without prejudice to the application of Article 6
and in order to improve the efficiency of the Communi-
ty’s action, the Commission may, in accordance with the
procedure set out in Article 17, elaborate by sector an
called
indicative multiannual programme
“programme”) on the basis of the guidelines referred to
in Article 155 of the Treaty. The programme will be
based on applications for financial aid under Article 8
and reflect
inter alia information provided by Member
States, in particular the information set out in Article 9.

(hereinafter

2.
The programme shall exclusively be composed of
projects of common interest and/or coherent groups of
projects of common interest, as previously identified
the guidelines referred to in
within the framework of
Article 155(1 ) of the Treaty,
in specific fields having
substantial financial needs over a long period.

For each project or group of projects referred to in
3.
paragraph 2 the programme will establish the indicative
amounts for the granting of financial aid subject to the
annual decisions of
the budgetary authority. No more
than 75 % of the budgetary resources under Article 18
shall be used for the purposes of indicative multiannual
programmes.

annual

regularly

4.
The programme shall serve as a reference for the
annual decisions allocating Community aid for projects
within
The
budgetary
the
appropriations.
Commission shall
inform the Committee
referred to in Article 17 of the progress of programmes
and any decisions taken by the Commission in allo-
cating Community aid for projects. The supporting
documents accompanying the Commission’s preliminary
include a report concerning progress
draft budget shall
in the implementation of each multiannual
indicative
programme in accordance with the Financial Regulation.

The programme must be reviewed, at least at mid-term
or in the light of the effective progress of the project(s)
or groups) of projects, and if necessary revised,
in
in Article 17.
accordance with the procedure set out

The programme shall also give an indication of other
sources of
in
particular from other Community instruments and the
European Investment Bank.

the projects concerned,

financing for

In case substantial changes in the implementation
5.
of the project(s) or the groups) of projects take place,
the Member State concerned will
inform the Commis-
sion without delay.

Modifications to the indicative global amounts estab-
lished by the programme for the project(s) or groups) of
projects, which may be necessary
these
changes, shall be decided in accordance with the proce-
dure of Article 17.'

following

6. In Article 6 the

following paragraph 1a

shall be

inserted:

this Regulation,

In its implementation of

the
‘1 a.
Commission shall ensure the conformity of its decisions
on granting Community aid with the priorities
laid
down in the guidelines for the different sectors estab-
lished pursuant
the Treaty. This
to Article 155(1) of
include their conformity with any requirements
shall
which may be laid down in those guidelines in terms of
a percentage of total Community aid.'

7. Article 8 shall be replaced by the following:

‘Article 8

Submission of applications for financial aid

Applications for financial aid shall be submitted to the
Commission by the Member States concerned or, with
the agreement of the Member State(s), by the public or
private undertakings or bodies directly concerned. The
the
establish the
Commission shall
Member States concerned.'

agreement of

8. Article 9(1)(a), eighth indent, shall be replaced by the

following:

‘— a financial plan listing,

all

the

in euro or

components of

in national
financial
currency,
package,
including the financial aid requested from
the Community, in its different forms as mentioned
in Article 4, and from local, regional or national
government bodies, as well as from private sources,
and the aid already granted;'

the

9. Article 9(2) shall be replaced by the following:

‘2.
Applicants shall supply the Commission with any
relevant additional information which it requires, such as
the parameters, guidelines and hypotheses on which the
cost/benefit analysis is based..'

10. Article 10 shall be replaced by the following:

‘Article 10

Grant of financial aid

the Treaty,
the
In accordance with Article 274 of
financial aid under
Commission shall decide to grant
this Regulation according to its assessment of
the
application in accordance with the selection criteria. In
the case of projects identified in the relevant indicative
multiannual programme established pursuant to Article
5a, the Commission shall take the annual decisions to

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financial

indicative

aid within the

amounts
grant
provided for in that programme.
In the case of other
projects, measures shall be adopted in accordance with
the procedure specified in Article 17. The Commission
shall notify its decision directly to the beneficiaries and
to the Member States.'

11. Article 11(7) shall be replaced by the following:

timetable and amounts for payments of

Following the procedure set out in Article 17, the
‘7.
Commission shall establish a framework for the proced-
ures,
interest-
rate subsidies, guarantee premium subsidies and support
in the form of risk capital participation, for investment
funds or
financial undertakings with a
priority focus on providing risk capital for trans-Euro-
pean network projects.'

comparable

12. In Article 12:

(a) the introductory phrase to paragraph 1 shall be

replaced by the following:

‘1.
In order to guarantee successful completion of
projects financed by this Regulation, Member States
and the Commission, each in its field of compet-
ence, shall take the necessary measures to:'.

(b) the third indent of paragraph (1) shall be replaced

by the following:

‘— recover any amounts lost as a result of irregu-
late
including interest on account of
larity,
repayment in accordance with the rules adopted
by the Commission. Except where the Member
States) and/or the implementing public authority
provide proof that they were not responsible for
the irregularity, the Member State shall be liable
in the alternative for reimbursement of any sums
unduly paid.'

(c) paragraph 6 shall be replaced by the following:

‘6.
In the case of Community aid granted to
public or private undertakings or bodies directly
concerned, the control measures shall be carried out
by the Commission in cooperation with the Member
States as appropriate.'

(d) paragraph 7 shall be replaced by the following:

‘7.
The responsible bodies and authorities and
public or private undertakings or bodies directly
concerned shall keep available for the Commission
all the supporting documents regarding expenditure
on any project for a period of five years following
the last payment in respect of the project.'

13. In Article 13, the following paragraph shall be inserted:

‘2 a.
Except in cases duly justified to the Commission,
aids granted to projects which have not started within
two years following the date of their expected start, as
indicated in the decision granting assistance, will be
cancelled by the Commission.'

14. Article 14 shall be replaced by the following:

‘Article 14

Coordination

the

between

coherence

The Commission shall be responsible for coordination
and
the
programmes
referred to in Article 5a(1) undertaken
under this Regulation and projects undertaken with the
help of contributions from the Community budget, the
European Investment Bank,
the European Investment
Fund and other Community financial

instruments.'

projects

and

15. Article 15 shall be replaced by the following:

‘Article 15

Appraisal, monitoring and evaluation

The Member States and the Commission shall
1.
ensure that
the implementation of projects under this
Regulation is subject to effective monitoring and evalu-
ation. Projects may be adapted according to monitoring
and evaluation results.

In order to ensure that Community aid is used
2.
the Commission and the Member States
efficiently,
concerned shall
systematically monitor progress with
projects, where appropriate with the cooperation of the
European Investment Bank or other appropriate bodies.

On receipt of an application for aid, and before
3.
approving it,
an
the Commission shall
appraisal in order to assess the project’s conformity with
the conditions and criteria laid down in Articles 5 and
6. Where necessary,
invite the
European Investment Bank or other appropriate bodies
to contribute to this appraisal.

the Commission shall

carry out

their

in order

the manner

implementation,

The Commission and the Member States

shall
4.
assess
in which the projects and the
programmes have been carried out and evaluate the
impact of
to assess
whether the original objectives can be, or have been,
achieved. This evaluation shall,
the
impact of projects on the environment, regard being
had to the Community laws in force. The Commission
may, after consultation of the Member State concerned,
also require the beneficiary to provide a specific evalu-
ation on projects or groups of projects supported under
this Regulation, or to provide it with the information
and the assistance required to evaluate such projects.

inter alia, cover

5. Monitoring shall be carried out, where appropriate,
indicators. The
by reference to physical and financial
indicators shall relate to the specific character of
the
projects and its objectives. They shall be arranged in
such a way as to show:
— the stage of the project reached in relation to the
plan and the operational objectives originally laid
down,

— the progress achieved on the management side and

any related problems.

In vetting individual applications for assistance, the
6.
Commission shall
the findings of
take into account
appraisals and evaluations made in accordance with this
Article.

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for

Procedures

evaluation and monitoring,

as
7.
provided in paragraphs 4 and 5, shall be established in
the Decisions approving the projects and/or
in the
contractual provisions relating to the financial aid.'

16. Article 16(1) shall be replaced by the following:

‘1.
The Commission shall submit an annual report on
the activities carried out under this regulation to the
European Parliament,
the Economic and
the Council,
Social Committee and to the Committee of the Regions
for their appraisal. This report shall contain an evalu-
ation of
the results achieved with Community aid in
different fields of application, in terms of original objec-
tives, as well as a chapter on the substance and imple-
mentation of current multiannual programmes, especially
an account of the revisions provided in Article 5a'

18. Article 19 shall be replaced by the following:

‘Article 19

Revision clause

Before the end of 2006 the Commission shall submit to
the European Parliament and the Council a compre-
hensive report on the experience gained with the mech-
anisms under this Regulation for granting Community
aid,
in particular the mechanisms and provisions laid
down in Article 4. The European Parliament and the
Council, acting in accordance with the procedure laid
down in the first paragraph of Article 156 of
the
Treaty, shall examine whether and under which condi-
tions the measures provided for in this Regulation will
be continued or amended after the end of the period
referred to in Article 18'

17. Article 18 shall be replaced by the following

19. Throughout the text, the term ‘ecu' shall be replaced by

‘Article 18

Budgetary resources

The financial framework for the implementation of this
Regulation for
the period 2000 to 2006 shall be
EUR 4 600 million.

The annual appropriations shall be authorised by the
budgetary authority within the limits of
the financial
perspective.'

‘euro'.

20. The text appearing in the Annex to this Regulation shall

be added.

Article 2

into force on the 20th day
This Regulation shall enter
following its publication in the Official Journal of the European
Communities.

Point 19 of Article 1 shall apply from 1 January 1999.

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member
States.

Done at Brussels, 19 July 1999.

For the European Parliament

The President

J. M. GIL-ROBLES

For the Council

The President

T. HALONEN

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ANNEX

‘ANNEX

Implementation modalities referred to in Article 4(1)(e)

1. Conditions for a Community contribution to risk capital

Applications for financial assistance under Article 4(1)(e) of the Regulation shall include the following information,
satisfactory to the Committee referred to in Article 17 thereof, as a basis for decisions to grant assistance:

— an information memorandum containing the main provisions of the statutory documentation of the fund including

its legal and management structure,

— its detailed investment guidelines including information on target projects,

— information on the involvement of private investors,

— information on geographical coverage,

— information on the financial viability of the fund,

— information on the rights of the investors to take remedial action in the event that the undertakings given to them

are not honoured by the fund,

— information on the exit policies of the fund and arrangements for the termination of the fund,

— rights of representation in the committees of investors.

Before the decision to grant assistance, the intermediary investment fund or other comparable financial institution
must undertake to invest not less than a sum equivalent to two and a half times the Community contribution, into
projects previously identified as projects of common interest in accordance with Article 155(1) first subparagraph, first
indent of the Treaty.

Community aid for investment funds or comparable financial undertakings, if granted in the form of a risk-capital
participation, shall be granted, in principle, only if the Community contribution ranks pari passu in terms of risk with
other investors in the fund.

Recipient investment funds or comparable financial undertakings have to follow sound financial principles.

2. Limits for intervention and maximum investment

Contributions under Article 4(1)(e) of the Regulation shall not exceed 1 % of the overall amount for the period
mentioned in Article 18. However this limit may be increased in accordance with the said Article 4(1)(e).

Community assistance under the said Article 4(1)(e) shall not exceed 20 % of the total capital of an investment fund or
comparable financial undertaking.

3. Management of the Community contribution

The management of the Community contribution will be ensured by the European Investment Fund (EIF). The detailed
terms and conditions for implementing Community assistance under Article 4(1)(e) of the Regulation, including its
monitoring and control, shall be laid down in a Cooperation Agreement between the Commission and the EIF, taking
into account the provisions laid down in this Annex.

4. Other provisions

The provisions applying to appraisal, monitoring and evaluation as specified in the Regulation shall apply in full to
Article 4(1)(e) thereof,
including the provisions on conditions for Community aid, on financial control and the
reduction, suspension and cancellation of assistance. This shall, inter alia, be ensured by appropriate provisions in the
Cooperation Agreement between the Commission and the EIF and appropriate agreements with investee funds or
comparable financial undertakings stipulating the necessary controls at the level of individual projects of common
interest. Appropriate arrangements will be made to allow the Court of Auditors to exercise its mission in particular in
order to verify the regularity of payments made.

Payments under Article 4(1)(e) shall be governed by Article 11(7) thereof, notwithstanding Article 11(6) thereof. After
the end of the investment period or earlier as the case may be, any balances resulting from a return of invested capital
or distribution of profits and capital gains and any and all other distributions due to investors shall be returned to the
Community budget.

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All decisions to provide risk-capital participations under Article 4(1)(e) of the Regulation shall be submitted to the
Committee referred to in Article 17 thereof.

The Commission will report regularly to the said Committee on the implementation of risk capital participations under
Article 4(1)(e) of the Regulation.

Before the end of 2006, the Commission shall in the framework of Article 15 of the Regulation provide an evaluation
of actions carried out under Article 4(1)(e) thereof, in particular on its utilisation, its effects on the implementation of
the trans-European network projects supported and the involvement of private investors in the projects financed.'