Proposal for a Council Regulation on Community financial contributions to the International Fund for Ireland
Date: 1999-10-26
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: EU financing, Ireland, United Kingdom, cross-border cooperation, development aid

C 56 E/60

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

29.2.2000

Proposal for a Council Regulation (EC) on Community financial contributions to the International
Fund for Ireland

(2000/C 56 E/13)

COM(1999) 549 final (cid:151) 1999/0221(CNS)

(Submitted by the Commission on 29 October 1999)

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

(9) the peace process

in Northern Ireland requires
continuation of Community support beyond that date;

a

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European
Community, and in particular Article 308 thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,

Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament,

Whereas:

(1) the programmes of

the International Fund for Ireland
(hereinafter (cid:145)the Fund(cid:146)) encourage cross-border and cross-
community cooperation and thereby promote dialogue
and reconciliation between nationalists and unionists;

(2) the Fund is an example of successful Anglo-Irish coop-
eration in promoting reconciliation between the two
communities and their economic and social progress;

(3) ECU 15 million a year has been provided from the
from 1989 until 1995 to support
the Fund which have a genuine additional

Community budget
projects of
impact in the areas concerned;

(4) on 31 October 1994 the Council adopted Regulation (EC)
No 2687/94 on Community financial contributions to the
International Fund for Ireland for 1995, 1996 and 1997;

(5) pursuant to Council Regulation (EC) No 2687/94 of 31
October 1994 on Community financial contributions to
the Fund, the amount established as part of the budgetary
procedure for each of the years 1995, 1996 and 1997 has
been ECU 20 million;

(6) pursuant

to Council Regulation No 2614/97 of 15
December 1997 on Community financial contributions
to the International Fund for Ireland, the amount estab-
lished as part of the budgetary procedure for each of the
years 1998 and 1999 has been ECU 17 million;

(7) the assessments carried out in accordance with Articles 5
and 7 of Council Regulation (EC) No 2614/97 have
confirmed that the Community’s contribution has been
used in accordance with the objectives of the Fund and
the criteria laid down in Articles 2 and 3 of the said
Regulation;

(10) at

its meeting in Berlin on 24-25 March 1999,

the
European Council decided that support
the Fund
would be continued for three more years (2000-2002);

for

(11) at the said meeting the European Council decided that the
PEACE Programme in Northern Ireland and the Border
Counties of
Ireland would be continued for five years
(2000-2004), with an amount of EUR 500 million;

(12) the Community contribution should be used by the Fund
in accordance with the Agreement under which it was
established and in priority for projects that are consistent
with the activities funded by the PEACE programme for
the period 2000-2004;

(13) such support

form of
contributions for a period of three more years;

should

take

the

financial

(14) it

is vital to ensure proper co-ordination between the
Fund’s activities and those financed under Community
structural policies;

(15) Fund assistance will be effective only insofar as it

is
additional and not a substitute for other public or
private expenditure;

(16) an assessment reviewing the Fund’s performance and the
need for further support will be drawn up before 1 April
2001;

(17) the

the Community
amount deemed necessary for
contribution to the International Fund for
Ireland is
EUR 15 million for each of the years 2000, 2001 and
2002, expressed in current values;

(18) this support will contribute to reinforcing the solidarity

between the Member States and between their peoples;

(8) Council Regulation (EC) No 2614/97 expires on 31

(19) the Treaty provides no powers other than those in Article

December 1999;

308 for the adoption of this Regulation;

29.2.2000

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 56 E/61

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

(cid:151) a survey of the Fund’s activities;

Article 1

An annual contribution shall be made to the International Fund
for Ireland, hereinafter called the Fund, for each of the years
2000, 2001 and 2002. The amount of this contribution shall
be established as part of the annual budgetary procedure.

Article 2

The contribution shall be used by the Fund in priority for
projects of a cross-border or cross-community nature,
in
particular those consistent with the objectives of the PEACE
Programme and other operations supported by the Structural
Funds.

The contributions shall be used in such a way that they have a
genuine additional impact on the areas concerned and should
not therefore be used as a substitute for other public and
private expenditure.

The Commission shall be represented by an observer at the
Board meetings of the Fund.

Article 3

The Commission shall ensure co-ordination between the Fund’s
activities and those financed by Community structural policies.
The Commission
relevant monitoring
keep
committees informed of the activities of the Fund.

shall

the

Article 4

determine

The Commission shall, in cooperation with the board of the
Fund,
information
appropriate publicity
procedures in order to publicise the Community’s participation
in the projects financed by the Fund.

and

(cid:151) a list of projects which have received aid;

(cid:151) an assessment of the nature and impact of the interven-
tions, in respect, in particular, of the objectives of the Fund
and the criteria laid down in the first and second para-
graphs of Article 2 and in Article 3;

(cid:151) an annex containing the results of the verifications and
controls carried out by the Commission representative or
its agents, particularly as regards co-ordination of
the
Fund’s activities with those carried out under Community
structural policies.

Article 6

The annual contribution shall be paid in two parts as follows:

(cid:151) an advance of 80 % will be paid over after the Chairman of
the Board of the Fund has signed the Commission’s relevant
undertaking relating to grants and has undertaken to use
the contribution in accordance with the provisions of
Article 2 and after
the Commission has received and
accepted the beneficiary’s annual activity report and
audited accounts in respect of the previous year;

(cid:151) the remaining 20 % will be paid over after the Commission
has received and accepted the beneficiary’s annual activity
report and audited accounts relating to the year for which
the Community contribution was made.

Article 5

Article 7

The Commission shall administer the contributions.

This Regulation shall enter into force on 1 January 2000 and
shall remain in force until 31 December 2002.

The Commission shall submit not later than 1 April 2001 a
report
to the Budgetary Authority assessing the need for
continuing contributions beyond 2002. This report will cover
inter alia the following matter:

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