1999/807/EC: Commission Decision of 17 November 1999 on the Community's financial contribution to a programme for the control of organisms harmful to plants and plant products in the French overseas departments for 1999 (notified under document number C(1999) 3772) (Only the French text is authentic)
Date: 1999-11-17
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: EU aid, French overseas department and region, crop production, financial aid, parasitology, plant health treatment

L 313/12

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Official Journal of the European Communities

7. 12. 1999

COMMISSION

COMMISSION DECISION

of 17 November 1999

on the Community's financial contribution to a programme for the control of organisms harmful to
plants and plant products in the French overseas departments for 1999

(notified under document number C(1999) 3772)

(Only the French text is authentic)

(1999/807/EC)

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European
Community,

Having regard to Council Regulation (EEC) No 3763/91 of 16
December 1991 introducing specific measures in respect of
certain agricultural products for the benefit of the French over-
seas departments (1), as last amended by Regulation (EC) No
1257/1999 (2), and in particular the first subparagraph of
Article 11(3) thereof,

(1) Whereas Commission Decision 93/522/EEC (3), as last
amended by Decision 96/633/EC (4) defines the meas-
ures
under
Community
programmes for the control of organisms harmful to
plants and plant products in the French overseas depart-
ments, the Azores and Madeira;

financing

eligible

for

(2) Whereas specific growing conditions in the French over-
seas departments call for particular attention; whereas
measures concerning crop production,
in particular
plant health measures, must be adopted or strengthened
in those regions;

(3) Whereas the plant health measures to be adopted or

strengthened are particularly costly;

(4) Whereas a programme of measures has been presented
to the Commission by the competent French authorities;
whereas this programme specifies the objectives to be
achieved, the operations to be carried out, their duration
and their cost with a view to a possible Community
financial contribution;

(5) Whereas the Community's financial contribution may
cover up to 60 % of eligible expenditure, protective
measures for bananas being excluded;

(6) Whereas the plant protection operations in the French
overseas departments provided for
in the Single
Programme Documents for the period 1994/1999 and
financed from the Structural Funds cannot be the same
as those contained in this programme;

(7) Whereas the operations provided for in the European
Community framework programme for research and
technological development cannot be the same as those
contained in this programme;

(8) Whereas the technical information provided by France
has enabled the Standing Committee on Plant Health to
analyse the situation accurately and comprehensively;

(1) OJ L 356, 24.12.1991, p. 1.
(2) OJ L 160, 26.6.1999, p. 80.
(3) OJ L 251, 8.10.1993, p. 35.
(4) OJ L 283, 5.11.1996, p. 58.

(9) Whereas the measures provided for in this Decision are
the Standing

in accordance with the opinion of
Committee on Plant Health,

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HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:

Article 1

A Community financial contribution to the official programme
to plants and plant
for the control of organisms harmful
products in the French overseas departments presented by
France for 1999 is hereby approved.

Article 2

The official programme shall consist of four subprogrammes:

1. a subprogramme drawn up for the department of Guade-

loupe in four parts:
— evaluation structures, analysis and diagnostics of phyto-

sanitary risks,

— control of main harmful organisms,
— ‘labo vert’,
— regional structure of experimentation and application of

techniques in crop protection;

2. a subprogramme drawn up for the department of Guyana in

three parts:
— evaluation structures, analysis and diagnostics of phyto-

sanitary risks,

— management of control methods for main harmful

organisms,

— development of techniques for biological crop control;

3. a subprogramme drawn up for the department of Réunion

in three parts:
— evaluation structures, analysis and diagnostics of phyto-

sanitary risks,

— development of control methods for main harmful

organisms,

— applied research on harmful organisms;

4. a subprogramme drawn up for the department of Marti-

nique in three parts:
— development of efforts for detection of harmful organ-

isms,

— control of main harmful organisms,
— biological and integrated crop control.

Article 3

The Community's financial contribution to the programme in
1999 presented by France shall be 60 % of expenditure related

to eligible measures as defined by Commission Decision 93/
522/EEC, with a maximum of EUR 700 000 (VAT excluded).

The schedule of programme costs and their financing is set out
as Annex I to this Decision.

Article 4

An advance of EUR 300 000 shall be paid to France.

Article 5

The Community assistance shall relate to expenditure on
eligible measures associated with the operations covered by the
programme for which provisions are adopted by France and
for which the necessary financial resources are committed
between 1 October and 31 December 1999. The final date for
payments in connection with the operations shall be 30
September 2000; unjustified delay shall entail loss of entitle-
ment to Community financing.

Should any extension of the deadline for payment become
necessary, the competent official authorities shall submit a
request along with the necessary justification, before the final
date laid down.

Article 6

Provisions on the financing of the programme, compliance
with Community policies and the information to be supplied
to the Commission by France shall be as set out in Annex II.

Article 7

Any public contracts connected with investments covered by
this Decision shall be subject to Community law.

Article 8

This Decision is addressed to the French Republic.

Done at Brussels, 17 November 1999.

For the Commission

David BYRNE

Member of the Commission

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Official Journal of the European Communities

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ANNEX I

FINANCIAL TABLE FOR 1999

Eligible expenditures 1999

(EUR)

Guadeloupe

Guyana

Martinique

Réunion

Total

EC

153 120

121 560

235 970

189 350

700 000

National

102 080

81 040

157 250

126 230

466 600

Total

255 200

202 600

393 220

315 580

1 166 600

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ANNEX II

I. PROVISIONS ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PROGRAMME

A. PROVISIONS ON FINANCIAL IMPLEMENTATION

1. The Commission's intention is to establish real cooperation with the authorities responsible for the implementation

of the programme. In line with the programme these authorities are those indicated below.

Commitment and payments

2. France shall guarantee that all public and private bodies involved in the management and implementation of all
operations part-financed by the Community shall keep suitable accounting records of all transactions in order to
facilitate the verification of expenditure by the Community and the national

inspection authorities.

3. The initial budgetary commitment shall be based on an indicative financial plan; this commitment shall be made

for one year.

4. The commitment will be made when the decision approving assistance is adopted by the Commission under the
procedure provided for in Article 16a of Council Directive 77/93/EEC (1), as last amended by Commission Directive
1999/53/EC (2).

5. Following commitment, an initial advance of EUR 300 000 shall be paid.

6. The balance of the amount committed shall be paid as two equal payments, each of EUR 200 000. The first
instalment of the balance shall be paid upon presentation to and approval by the Commission of an interim
activity report. The second and final instalment of the balance shall be paid upon presentation to and approval by
the Commission of a final activity report and a detailed breakdown of the total expenditure incurred.

Authorities responsible for the implementation of the programme:

— C e n t r a l a d m i n i s t r a t i o n :

Ministère de l'Agriculture et de la Pêche
Sous-Direction de la Protection des Végétaux
175 rue du Vaugirard
F-75732 Paris Cedex 15

— L o c a l a d m i n i s t r a t i o n :

— G u a d e l o u p e :

Ministère de l'Agriculture et de la Pêche
Direction de l'Agriculture et de la Forêt
Jardin Botanique
F-97109 Basse Terre Cedex

— M a r t i n i q u e :

Ministère de l'Agriculture et de la Pêche
Direction de l'Agriculture et de la Forêt
Jardin Desclieux
B.P. 642
F-97262 Fort de France Cedex

— G u y a n a :

Ministère de l'Agriculture et de la Pêche
Direction de l'Agriculture et de la Forêt
Cité Rebard
Route de Baduel
B.P. 746
F-97305 Cayenne Cedex

— R é u n i o n :

Ministère de l'Agriculture et de la Pêche
Direction de l'Agriculture et de la Forêt
Parc de la Providence
F-97489 Saint Denis de la Réunion

(1) OJ L 26, 31.1.1977, p. 20.
(2) OJ L 142, 5.6.1999, p. 29.

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7. The actual expenditure incurred shall be notified to the Commission broken down by type of action or
subprogramme in a way demonstrating the link between the indicative financial plan and expenditure actually
incurred. If France keeps suitable computerized accounts this will be acceptable.

8. All payments of aid granted by the Community under this Decision shall be made to the authority designated by

France, which will also be responsible for repayment to the Community of any excess amount.

9. All commitments and payments shall be made in EURO.

Financial schedules for Community support frameworks and amounts of Community aid shall be expressed in
EURO. Payment shall be made to the following account:

Ministère du Budget
Direction de la Comptabilité Publique
Agence Comptable Centrale du Trésor
139, rue de Bercy
F-75572 Paris Cedex 12
No E 478 98 Divers

Financial control

10. Inspections may be carried out by the Commission or the Court of Auditors should it so request. France and the
Commission shall immediately exchange all relevant information in regard to the outcome of an inspection.

11. For three years following the last payment relating to the assistance the authority responsible for implementation

shall keep available to the Commission all documentary evidence of expenditure incurred.

12. When it submits applications for payment France shall make available to the Commission all official reports

relating to supervision of the measures in question.

Reduction, suspension and withdrawal of aid

13. France shall declare that Community funds are used for the intended purposes. If implementation of a measure
appears to require only part of the financial assistance allotted the Commission shall immediately recover the
amount due. In cases of dispute the Commission shall examine the case, asking France or the other authorities
designated by France for implementation of the measure to submit their comments within two months.

14. The Commission may reduce or suspend aid for a measure if the examination confirms the existence of an
irregularity, in particular of a substantial modification affecting the nature or conditions of implementation of the
measure for which approval by the Commission has not been sought.

Recovery of undue payments

15. All sums unduly paid must be reimbursed to the Community by the designated authority indicated at point 8.
Interest may be levied on sums not reimbursed. If for any reason the designated authority indicated at point 8
does not reimburse the Community, France shall pay the amount to the Commission.

Prevention and detection of irregularities

16. The partners shall observe a code of conduct drawn up by France in order to ensure that any irregularity in the

provision of assistance programme is detected. France shall ensure that:

— suitable action is taken in this area,

— any amount unduly paid as a result of an irregularity is recovered,

— action is taken to prevent irregularities.

B. Monitoring and assessment

I. Monitoring committee

1. E s t a b l i s h m e n t

Independent of the financing of this action, a monitoring committee for the programme shall be set up,
composed of representatives of France and the Commission. It shall review implementation of the programme
regularly and,

in appropriate cases, propose any adjustments required.

2. The Committee shall establish its own internal procedures within one month of the notification of the present

decision to France.

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3. C o m p e t e n c e o f M o n i t o r i n g C o m m i t t e e

The Committee:

— shall have as its general responsibility the satisfactory progress of the programme towards attainment of the
objectives set. Its competence shall embrace the programme measures within the limits of the Community
aid granted. It shall keep watch with respect to the regulatory provisions, including those on eligibility of
operations and projects,

— shall, on the basis of information on the selection of projects already approved and implemented, reach an

opinion on application of the selection criteria set out in the programme,

— shall propose any action required to accelerate implementation of the programme should the information

furnished periodically by the interim monitoring and assessment indicators reveal a delay,

— may, in agreement with the Commission representative(s), adjust the financing plans within a limit of 15 %
of the Community contribution to a subprogramme or measure for the entire period, and 20 % for any
financial year, provided that the total amount scheduled in the programme is not exceeded. Care must be
taken to see that the main objectives of the programme are not thereby compromised,

— shall give its opinion on the adjustments proposed to the Commission,

— shall

issue an opinion on technical assistance projects scheduled in the programme,

— shall give its opinion on the final draft report,

— shall report regularly, and at least twice during the relevant period, to the Standing Committee on Plant

Health on the progress of the programme and expenditure incurred.

II. Monitoring and assessment of the programme during the implementation period (continuous monitoring and assessment)

1. The national agency responsible for implementation shall also be responsible for continuous monitoring and

assessment of the programme.

2. By continuous monitoring is meant an information system on the state of progress of the programme.
Continuous monitoring will cover the measures contained in the programme. It involves reference to the
financial and physical indicators structured so as to permit assessment of the correspondence between expendi-
ture on each measure and predefined physical

indicators showing the degree of realisation.

3. Continuous assessment of a programme will involve analysis of the quantitative results of implementation on
legal and procedural considerations. The purpose is to guarantee correspondence

the basis of operational,
between measures and programme objectives.

Implementation report and scrutiny of programme

4. France shall notify to the Commission, within one month of adoption of the programme, the name of the

authority responsible for compilation and presentation of the final

implementation report.

The final report shall contain a concise evaluation of the entire programme (degree of achievement of physical
and qualitative objectives and of progress accomplished) and an assessment of the immediate phytosanitary and
economic impact.

The final report on the present programme will be presented by the competent authority to the Commission on
31 December 2000 at the latest and shall thereafter be presented to the Standing Committee on Plant Health as
soon as possible after that date.

5. The Commission may jointly with France call

in an independent assessor who shall, on the basis of the
continuous monitoring, carry out the continuous assessment referred to in point 3. He may submit proposals
for adjustment the sub-programmes and/or measures, and amending the selection criteria for projects, etc., in
the light of difficulties encountered in the course of implementation. On the basis of monitoring of manage-
ment he shall give an opinion on the administrative measures to be taken.

C. Information and publicity

In the framework of this action, the agency appointed as responsible for the programme shall ensure that it is
adequately publicised.

It shall

in particular take action:

— to make potential recipients and professional organisations aware of the possibilities offered under the programme

measures,

— to make the general public aware of the Community's role in the programme.

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France and the agency responsible for implementation shall consult the Commission on initiatives envisaged in this
area, possibly through the monitoring committee They shall regularly notify the Commission of information and
publicity measures adopted, either by a final report or through the monitoring committee.

The national

legal provisions on confidentiality of information shall be complied with.

Community policies applying in this field must be complied with.

II. COMPLIANCE WITH COMMUNITY POLICIES

The programme shall be implemented in accordance with the provisions on coordination of and compliance with
Community policies. The following information must be supplied by France.

1. Award of public contracts

The ‘public contracts’ (1) questionnaire must be completed for:

— public contracts above the ceilings set by the ‘supplies’ and ‘works’ Directives that are awarded by contract-
awarding authorities as defined in these Directives and are not covered by the exemptions specified therein,

— public contracts below these ceilings where they constitute components of a single piece of work or of uniform
supplies of a value above the ceiling. By ‘a single piece of work’ is meant a product of building or civil
engineering works intended in itself to fulfil an economic or technical function.

The ceilings will be those in force on the date of notification of this Decision.

2. Protection of the environment

(a) General

information:

— description of the main environmental features and problems of the region concerned, giving, inter alia, a

description of the important conservation areas (sensitive zones),

— a comprehensive description of the major beneficial and harmful effects that the programme, given the

investments planned,

is likely to have on the environment,

— a description of the action planned to prevent; reduce or offset any serious harmful effects on the

environment,

— a report on consultations with the responsible environmental authorities (opinion of the Ministry of the
if there were any such consultations, with the public concerned.

Environment or its equivalent) and,

(b) Description of planned activities

For programme measures liable to have a significantly harmful effect on the environment:

— the procedures which will be applied for assessing individual projects during implementation of the

programme,

— the mechanisms planned for monitoring environmental impact during implementation, assessing results

and eliminating, reducing or offsetting harmful effects.

(1) Notice C(88) 2510 to the Member States on monitoring compliance with public procurement rules in the case of projects and

programmes financed by the Structural Funds and financial

instruments (OJ C 22, 8.1.1989, p. 3).