2002/690/EC: Commission Decision of 30 June 2000 approving the single programming document for Community structural assistance in the regions of South Karelia, Kanta-Häme and Päijät-Häme and in certain areas of the regions of Eastern Uusimaa, Kymenlaakso, Uusimaa and South-west Finland under Objective 2 in Finland (notified under document number C(2000) 1741)
Date: 2000-06-30
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: Finland, Structural Funds, development aid, distribution of aid, financing plan, regional planning

9.9.2002

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

L 241/19

COMMISSION DECISION

of 30 June 2000

approving the single programming document for Community structural assistance in the regions
of South Karelia, Kanta-H(cid:228)me and P(cid:228)ij(cid:228)t-H(cid:228)me and in certain areas of the regions of Eastern
Uusimaa, Kymenlaakso, Uusimaa and South-west Finland under Objective 2 in Finland

(notified under document number C(2000) 1741)

(Only the Finnish and Swedish texts are authentic)

(2002/690/EC)

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European
Community,

Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 1260/1999 of
21 June 1999 laying down general provisions on the
Structural Funds (1), and in particular Article 15(5) thereof,

After consultation of the Committee on the Development and
Conversion of Regions and the Committee pursuant to Article
147 of the Treaty,

Whereas:

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

Article 13 et seq. of Title II of Regulation (EC) No
1260/1999 lay down the procedure for preparing and
implementing single programming documents.

Article 15(1) and (2) of Regulation (EC) No 1260/1999
provides
that, after consultation with the partners
referred to in Article 8 of the Regulation, the Member
State may submit to the Commission a development
plan which is treated as a draft single programming
document, and which contains the information referred
to in Article 16 of the Regulation.

Under Article 15(5) of Regulation (EC) No 1260/1999,
the Commission, on the basis of
regional
development plan submitted by the Member State and
within the partnership established in accordance with
Article 8 of the Regulation, is to take a decision on the
single programming document, in agreement with the
Member State concerned and in accordance with the
procedures laid down in Articles 48 to 51.

the

The Finnish Government submitted to the Commission
on 3 January 2000 an acceptable
single
for the regions fulfilling the
programming document
conditions for Objective 2 pursuant
to Article 4(1)
qualifying for transitional support under Objectives 2

draft

(1) OJ L 161, 26.6.1999, p. 1.

(5)

(6)

(7)

(8)

(9)

and 5b pursuant to Article 6(2) of Regulation (EC) No
1260/1999. The draft contains the information listed in
Article 16 of
the Regulation, and in particular a
description of the priorities selected and an indication of
the financial contribution from the European Regional
Development Fund (ERDF), the European Social Fund
(ESF) and the other Financial Instruments proposed for
implementing the plan.

submission of

The date of
the draft which was
considered acceptable by the Commission constitutes
the date from which expenditure under the plan is
eligible. Under Article 52(4) of Regulation (EC) No
1260/1999, as an acceptable plan was
submitted
between 1 January and 30 April 2000, the date from
which expenditure under the plan is eligible is 1 January
2000. Under Article 30 of the Regulation, it is necessary
to lay down the final date for
the eligibility of
expenditure.

The single programming document has been drawn up
in agreement with the Member State concerned and
within the partnership.

The Commission has
programming document
principle of additionality.

satisfied itself

the single
that
in accordance with the

is

Under Article 10 of Regulation (EC) No 1260/1999, the
Commission and the Member State are required to
ensure,
in a manner consistent with the principle of
partnership, coordination between assistance from the
Funds and from the EIB and other existing Financial
Instruments.

are

financial

The
contribution from the Community
available over the entire period and its year-by-year
annual
breakdown
breakdown must be
relevant
financial perspective. Under Article 7(7) of Regulation
(EC) No 1260/1999, the Community contribution has
already been indexed at a rate of 2 % per year. Under

euro. The
consistent with the

expressed

in

L 241/20

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

9.9.2002

Article 7(7) and Article 44(2) of the Regulation, the
Community contribution may be reviewed at mid-term,
and not later than 31 December 2004, to take account
of the effective level of inflation and the allocation of
the performance reserve.

(b) a summary description of

the measures planned to
implement the priorities, including the information needed
to check compliance with the State aid rules under Article
87 of the Treaty;

(10)

Provision must be made for adapting the financial
allocations of the priorities of this single programming
document within certain limits to actual requirements
implementation on the
reflected by the pattern of
ground, in agreement with the Member State concerned,

(c)

HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:

Article 1

The single programming document for Community structural
assistance in the regions of South Karelia, Kanta-H(cid:228)me and
P(cid:228)ij(cid:228)t-H(cid:228)me and in certain areas of
the regions of Eastern
Uusimaa, Kymenlaakso, Uusimaa and South-west Finland
these regions
under Objective 2, and in certain areas of
qualifying for transitional support under Objectives 2 and 5b
in Finland, for the period 1 January 2000 to 31 December
2006 is hereby approved.

the indicative financing plan specifying for each priority
and each year the financial allocation envisaged for the
contribution from each Fund,
the EIB and the other
Financial Instruments and indicating separately the funding
planned for the regions receiving transitional support in
respect of Objectives 2 and 5b and the total amounts of
eligible public or equivalent expenditure and estimated
private
total
contribution from the Funds planned for each year for the
is consistent with the
single programming document
relevant financial perspective;

the Member

State. The

funding

in

(d) the provisions for implementing the single programming
document including designation of the managing authority,
a description of the arrangements for managing the single
programming document and the use to be made of global
grants, a description of the systems for monitoring and
evaluation, including the role of the Monitoring Committee
and the arrangements for the participation of the partners,
including partners representing the interests of equality
between men and women, and the environment in that
Committee;

(e)

the ex ante verification of compliance with additionality
and information on the transparency of financial flows;

Article 2

(f)

information on the resources
monitoring
and
document.

evaluating

required for preparing,
single programming

the

1.
In accordance with Article 19 of Regulation (EC) No
1260/1999, the single programming document includes the
following elements:

(a)

the strategy and priorities for the joint action of
the
Community Structural Funds and the Member State; their
specific quantified targets; the ex ante evaluation of the
expected impact, including on the environmental situation,
and the consistency of the priorities with the economic,
social and regional policies and the employment strategy
of Finland.

2.
The indicative financing plan puts the total cost of the
priorities selected for the joint action by the Community and
the Member State at EUR 545 895 000 for the whole period
and the financial contribution from the Structural Funds at
EUR 218 289 000.

The resulting requirement
resources of EUR
327 606 000 from the public sector and EUR 448 226 000
from the private sector can be partly met by Community loans
from the EIB and other lending instruments.

for national

The priorities are as follows:

(1) development of the attractiveness of southern Finland

and of the competitiveness of businesses;

(2) development of skills and human resources;

(3) promotion of a functioning and good-quality habitat;

(4) technical assistance;

Article 3

1.
The total assistance from the Structural Funds granted
under the single programming document amounts to EUR
218 289 000.

The procedure for granting the financial assistance, including
the financial contribution from the Funds for the various
priorities included in the single programming document, is set
out in the financing plan annexed to this Decision.

9.9.2002

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

L 241/21

2.
The indicative initial estimated breakdown of the total
Community assistance available between the Structural Funds
is as follows:

ERDF

ESF

EUR 173 820 000,

EUR 44 469 000.

3.
During implementation of the financing plan, the total
cost or Community financing of a given priority can be
adjusted in agreement with the Member State by up to 25 % of
the total Community contribution to the single programming
document throughout the programme period or by up to EUR
30 000 000, whichever is the greater, without altering the
total Community contribution referred to in paragraph 1.

to the consequences

subject
in the procedural
regulation for State aid, and its part-financing would be treated
as an irregularity within the meaning of Article 38(5) of
Regulation (EC) No 1260/1999.

set out

the Commission will not accept requests for
Consequently,
interim and final payments under Article 32 of the Regulation
for measures being part-financed with new or altered aid, as
defined in the procedural regulation for State aid, granted
under aid schemes or in individual cases, until such aid has
been notified to and formally approved by the Commission.

By way of derogation from the preceding paragraphs, Articles
51 and 52 of Regulation (EC) No 1257/1999 shall apply in
the context of rural development part-financed by the ERDF.

Article 4

Article 5

This Decision is without prejudice to the Commission’s
position on aid schemes falling within Article 87(1) of the
Treaty that are included in this assistance and which have not
yet been approved by the Commission. Submission of
the
application for assistance, the programming complement or a
request for payment by the Member State does not replace the
notification required by Article 88(3) of the Treaty.

Community financing of State aid falling within Article 87(1)
of the Treaty, granted under aid schemes or in individual cases,
requires prior approval by the Commission under Article 88 of
the Treaty, except where the aid falls within the de minimis rule
or is exempted under an exemption regulation adopted by the
Commission under Council Regulation (EC) No 994/98 of 7
May 1998 on the application of Articles 92 and 93 [now
Articles 87 and 88] of the Treaty establishing the European
Community to certain categories of horizontal State aid (2). In
the absence of such exemption or approval, aid is illegal and

The date from which expenditure shall be eligible is 1 January
2000. The closing date for the eligibility of expenditure shall
be 31 December 2008. This date is extended to 30 April 2009
for expenditure incurred by bodies granting assistance under
Article 9(l) of Regulation (EC) No 1260/1999.

Article 6

This Decision is addressed to the Republic of Finland.

Done at Brussels, 30 June 2000.

For the Commission

Michel BARNIER

Member of the Commission

(2) OJ L 142, 14.5.1998, p. 1.