Commission Regulation (EC) No 2245/1999 of 22 October 1999 amending Regulation (EC) No 1663/95 laying down detailed rules for the application of Council Regulation (EEC) No 729/70 regarding the procedure for the clearance of the accounts of the EAGGF Guarantee Section
Date: 1999-10-22
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: EAGGF Guarantee Section, EU Member State, approval, closing of accounts, exchange of information, payment

23. 10. 1999

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

L 273/5

COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 2245/1999

of 22 October 1999

amending Regulation (EC) No 1663/95 laying down detailed rules for the application of Council
Regulation (EEC) No 729/70 regarding the procedure for the clearance of the accounts of the
EAGGF Guarantee Section

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

2. The following point (f) is added to Article 5(1):

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European
Community,

Having regard to Council Regulation (EEC) No 729/70 of 21
April 1970 on the financing of
the common agricultural
policy (1), as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 1287/95 (2),
and in particular Articles 4(6) and 5(3) thereof,

Whereas:

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

(5)

in the light of experience, a number of changes and
clarifications should be made to Commission Regulation
(EC) No 1663/95 (3), as last amended by Regulation (EC)
No 896/97 (4), in particular with regard to the accredita-
tion criteria for executing payments and the provisions
concerning the need to avoid conflicts of interest in the
work of persons occupying positions of responsibility in
paying agencies;

details of amounts still
included in the annual accounts of paying agencies;

to be recovered should be

it is neither right nor fair for the Commission to give an
evaluation of the expenditure it intends to exclude under
Article 5(2)(c) of Regulation (EEC) No 729/70 as a result
of its findings before the Member State has had the
opportunity to reply;

expenditure must be excluded for the whole period
during which Community rules are infringed;

the EAGGF Committee has delivered a favourable
opinion,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

Regulation (EC) No 1663/95 is amended as follows:

1. Article 2(3) is replaced by the following:

‘The form and content of
the accounting information
referred to in paragraph 1 shall be established in accordance
with the procedure provided for in Article 13 of Regulation
(EEC) No 729/70.’

(1) OJ L 94, 28.4.1970, p. 13.
(2) OJ L 125, 8.6.1995, p. 1.
(3) OJ L 158, 8.7.1995, p. 6.
(4) OJ L 128, 21.5.1997, p. 8.

‘(f) a summary of amounts in the process of being recov-
ered, broken down by financial year in which the
the
recovery order was issued and a summary of
amounts recognised during the year as unrecoverable.’

3. Article 8(1) is replaced by the following:

‘1.
If, as a result of an enquiry, the Commission considers
that expenditure has not been effected according to
shall notify the Member State
Community rules,
concerned of the results of
its checks and indicate the
corrective measures to be taken to ensure future compli-
ance.

it

The communication shall refer to this Regulation. The
Member State shall reply within two months and the
Commission may modify its position in consequence. In
justified cases,
the Commission may extend the period
allowed for reply.

After expiry of the period allowed for reply, the Commis-
sion shall invite the Member State to a bilateral discussion
and the parties shall endeavour to reach agreement on the
measures to be taken and on an evaluation of the gravity of
the infringement and the financial loss to the Community.
Following that discussion and any deadline after the discus-
sion fixed by the Commission, after consultation of the
Member States, for the provision of further information or,
where the Member State does not accept the invitation to a
meeting before the deadline set by the Commission, after
that deadline has passed, the Commission shall formally
communicate its conclusions to the Member State, referring
to Commission Decision 94/442/EC (*). Without prejudice
to the
that
communication shall include an evaluation of any expendi-
ture the Commission intends to exclude under Article
5(2)(c) of Regulation (EEC) No 729/70.

fourth subparagraph of

this paragraph,

The Member State shall inform the Commission as soon as
possible of
the corrective measures adopted to ensure
compliance with Community rules and the date of their
entry into force. The Commission shall, as appropriate,
adopt one or more Decisions under Article 5(2)(c) of Regu-
lation (EEC) No 729/70 to exclude expenditure affected by
non-compliance with Community rules up to the date of
entry into force of the corrective measures.

(*) OJ L 182, 16.7.1994, p. 45.’

L 273/6

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

23. 10. 1999

4. The Annex is amended as follows:

(b) The following is added to point 5:

(a) A new point 4a is added:

‘4a. With the prior agreement of the Commission and
in the case of co-financed measures only, where a
large number of small payments must be made,
payments to applicants for aid may be delegated
to other bodies. A written agreement must be
concluded between the paying agency and that
the information
body specifying the nature of
and the supporting documents to be submitted to
the paying agency and the time limit within
which they must be submitted; they must as a
the paying agency to comply
minimum permit
with the accreditation criteria and to meet
the
deadlines
submission of
monthly and annual accounts. The paying agency
shall remain responsible for the efficient manage-
the funds concerned and for updating
ment of
accounting records. The authorised agents of the
paying agency, the certifying body and the Euro-
pean Union shall have the right to examine any
evidence held by the abovementioned body and
to carry out checks on applicants for aid.’

laid down for

the

available

shall have

it,
the authorisation of claims, and of

‘The administrative subunit responsible for the execu-
tion of the payments, or else a unit responsible for
documentary
supervising
the
evidence of
administrative and physical checks prescribed. The
information and the evidence may be in a summary
form equivalent
to that described in point 4(iv) of
this Annex, and it may be provided through a
computerised system.’

(c) The

following sentence

is
subparagraph of point 6(ii):

added to the

second

‘Appropriate measures must be taken to avoid a
conflict of interests where a person occupying a posi-
tion of
responsibility or a sensitive position with
regard to the verification, authorisation and payment
of claims on the Fund also fulfils other functions
outside the paying agency.’

Article 2

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

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

Done at Brussels, 22 October 1999.

For the Commission

Franz FISCHLER

Member of the Commission