1999/808/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 Madeira for 1999 (notified under document number C(1999) 3773) (Only the Portuguese text is authentic)
Date: 1999-11-17
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: EU aid, Madeira, crop production, financial aid, parasitology, plant health treatment

7. 12. 1999

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

L 313/19

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 Madeira for 1999

(notified under document number C(1999) 3773)

(Only the Portuguese text is authentic)

(1999/808/EC)

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European
Community,

Having regard to Council Regulation (EEC) No 1600/92 of 15
June 1992 introducing specific measures in respect of certain
agricultural products
the Azores and
Madeira (1), as last amended by Commission Regulation (EC)
No 1257/1999 (2), and in particular Article 33(3) thereof,

the benefit of

for

(1) Whereas Commission Decision 93/522/EEC (3),

as
amended by Decision 96/633/EC (4), defines what meas-
ures are eligible for Community financing as regards
programmes for the control of organisms harmful to
plants and plant products in the French overseas depart-
ments, the Azores and Madeira;

(2) Whereas specific agricultural production conditions in
Madeira call for particular attention, and action must be
taken or
in
reinforced as regards crop production,
particular the phytosanitary aspects for this region;

(3) Whereas the action to be taken or reinforced on the

phytosanitary side is particularly costly;

(4) Whereas the programme of action is to be presented to
the Commission by the relevant Portuguese authorities;
whereas this programme specifies the objectives to be
achieved, the measures to be carried out, their duration
and their cost so that the Community may contribute to
financing them;

(5) Whereas the Community's financial contribution may
cover up to 75 % of eligible expenditure, protective
measures for bananas excluded;

(6) Whereas the plant protection operations in Madeira
provided for in the operational programme and the
Community initiative REGIS II for the period 1994 to
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

(1) OJ L 173, 27.6.1992, 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.

technological development cannot be the same as those
contained in this programme;

(8) Whereas the measures foreseen in the environmental
programme approved for the Region of Madeira in the
framework of Council Regulation (EEC) No 2078/92 (5),
as amended by Regulation (EC) No 2772/95 (6), cannot
be the same as those contained in this programme;

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

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

in accordance with the opinion of
Committee on Plant Health,

HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:

Article 1

financial

The Community's
contribution to the official
programme for the control of organisms harmful to plants and
plant products on the Island of Madeira presented for 1999 by
the relevant Portuguese authorities is hereby approved.

Article 2

The official programme is made up of two sub-programmes:

1. a sub-programme for the autocidal control of the fruit fly

(Ceratitis capitata Wied);

2. a sub-programme for the control of the white citrus fly

(Aleurothrixus floccosus Maskell).

Article 3

The Community's financial contribution to the programme in
1999 presented by Portugal shall be 75 % of expenditure
related to eligible measures as defined by Commission Decision
93/522/EEC with a maximum of EUR 400 000 (VAT
excluded).

(5) OJ L 215, 30.7.1992, p. 85.
(6) OJ L 288, 1.12.1995, p. 35.

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

Article 4

A first instalment of EUR 200 000 shall be paid to Portugal
immediately after
the present
Decision.

the official notification of

Article 5

The Community assistance shall relate to the eligible measures
associated with the operations covered by the programme set
up in Portugal by provisions for which the necessary financial
resources have been committed between 1 January 1999 and
31 December 1999. The final date for payments in connection
with the operations shall be 31 March 2000, and non-compli-
ance without justification of delay shall entail loss of entitle-
ment to Community financing.

In the case where a request for extension of the final date for
payment is necessary, the reponsible official authorities have to
introduce this request before the final date and present the
justification concerning this request.

Article 6

Specific provisions relating to the financing of the programme,
provisions on compliance with Community policies and the
information to be provided to the Commission by Portugal are
set out in Annex II.

Article 7

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

Article 8

This Decision is addressed to the Portuguese Republic.

Done at Brussels, 17 November 1999.

For the Commission

David BYRNE

Member of the Commission

ANNEX I

FINANCIAL TABLE FOR 1999

Eligible expenditure 1999

(in EUR)

Ceratitis capitata

Aleurothrixus floccosus

EC

369 325

30 675

Total

400 000

Madeira

123 108

10 226

133 334

Total

492 433

40 901

533 334

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L 313/21

ANNEX II

I.

PROVISIONS ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PROGRAMME

A. Provisions on the financial implementation

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

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

Commitment and payments

2. Portugal guarantees that, for all action co-financed by the Community, all public and private bodies involved in
its management and implementation shall keep accounts in standard form of all transactions in order to facilitate
monitoring of expenditure by the Community and the national authorities responsible for surveillance.

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 Standing Committee on
Plant Health under procedure Article 16a(a) of Council Directive 77/93/EEC (1), as last amended by Commission
Directive 1999/53/EC (2).

5. The first instalment of EUR 200 000 shall be paid to Portugal immediately after the official notification of the

present Decision.

6. The balance of the amount committed of EUR 200 000 is paid on presentation to the Commission the final
activity report and the detailed total expenditure incurred and after it has been approved by the Commission.

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 :

Direcção-Geral de Protecção das Culturas
Quinta do Marquês
P-2780 Oeiras

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

Região Autónoma da Madeira
Secretaria Regional da Agricultura, Florestas e Pescas
Direcção Regional da Agricultura
Av. Arriaga, 21 A
Edifício Golden Gate, 4.o piso
P-9000 Funchal

7. The actual expenditure incurred shall be notified to the Community broken down by type of action or
subprogramme in a way demonstrating the link between the indicative financial plan and expenditure actually
incurred. If Portugal keeps suitable computerised 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

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

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

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

Banco BPI
No de conta 0010 370 03221820001
Titular: Governo da Região Autónoma da Madeira
Endereço: Av. de Zarco
P-9000 Funchal

(1) OJ L 26, 31.1.1977, p. 20.
(2) OJ L 142, 5.4.1999, p. 29.

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Financial control

10. Inspections may be carried out by the Commission or the Court of Auditors should it so request. Portugal 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 Portugal shall make available to the Commission all official reports

relating to supervision of the measures in question.

Reduction, suspension and withdrawal of aid

13. Portugal and the recipients of aid 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 within the
partnership framework, asking Portugal or the other authorities designated by Portugal 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 in point 8.
Interest may be levied on sums not reimbursed. If for any reason the designated authority indicated in point 8
does not reimburse the Community, Portugal shall pay the amount to the Commission.

Prevention and detection of irregularities

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

provision of the assistance programme is detected. Portugal 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 by
Portugal and the Commission. It shall regularly review implementation of the programme and, in appro-
priate 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 Portugal.

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 on respect for 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 in the light of the

information furnished periodically by the interim monitoring and assessment indicators,

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— 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, or 20 % for
any 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 operational programme,

— shall give its opinion on draft final reports,

— shall report regularly to the Standing Committee on Plant Health on the progress of the programme and

expenditure incurred, at least twice during the relevant period.

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
expenditure on each measure and predefined physical

indicators showing the degree of realisation.

3. Continuous assessment of the programme will involve analysis of the quantitative results of implementation
on the basis of operational, legal and procedural considerations. The purpose is to guarantee correspondence
between measures and programme objectives.

Implementation report and scrutiny of the programme

4. Portugal 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 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
before 31 March 2000 and shall thereafter be presented to the Standing Committee on Plant Health as soon
as possible after this date.

5. The Commission may jointly with Portugal call in an independent assessor who shall, on the basis of the
continuous monitoring, carry out the continuous assessment defined at point 3. He may submit proposals
for adjustment of the subprogrammes and/or measures, modification of the selection criteria for projects,
etc., in the light of difficulties encountered in the course of implementation. On the basis of monitoring of
management he shall
issue an opinion on the administrative measures to be taken. To guarantee the
assessor's impartiality the Commission will not pay the entire cost of employing him.

C.

Information and publicity

In the framework of this programme, 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,

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

Portugal 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.

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II. COMPLIANCE WITH COMMUNITY POLICIES

Community policies applying in this field must be complied with.

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 Portugal.

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 in force are the ones at the date of the 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 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
Environment or its equivalent) and, if there were any such consultations, with the public concerned.

(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 of compliance with procurement rules in the case of projects and

programmes financed by the Structural Funds and financial

instruments (OJ C 22, 28.1.1989, p. 3).