2002/695/EC: Commission Decision of 27 July 2000 approving the single programming document for Community structural assistance under Objective 1 in the region of Flevoland in the Netherlands (notified under document number C(2001) 1507)
Date: 2000-07-27
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: Flevoland, Netherlands, Structural Funds, distribution of aid, financing plan, regional aid, regional planning

L 241/34

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

9.9.2002

COMMISSION DECISION

of 27 July 2000

approving the single programming document

for Community structural assistance under

Objective 1 in the region of Flevoland in the Netherlands

(notified under document number C(2001) 1507)

(Only the Dutch text is authentic)

(2002/695/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 consulting the Committee on the Development and
Conversion of Regions, the Committee pursuant to Article 147
of the Treaty, the Committee on Agricultural Structures and
Rural Development and the Committee on Structures for
Fisheries and Aquaculture,

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,
on the basis of the regional development plan submitted
by the Member State and within the partnership
that
established in accordance with Article 8 of
Regulation, the Commission 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 Dutch Government submitted to the Commission
on 23 November 1999 an acceptable draft
single
programming document
for Flevoland qualifying for
to
transitional
Article 3(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1260/1999. The draft
the
contains the information listed in Article 16 of

support under Objective 1 pursuant

(5)

(6)

(7)

(8)

(9)

the
Regulation, and in particular a description of
priorities selected and an indication of
the financial
contribution from the European Regional Development
Fund (ERDF),
the
European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund
Financial
Section,
(EAGGF), Guidance
Instrument for Fisheries Guidance (FIFG).

the European Social Fund (ESF),

and

the

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 30 of
is
necessary to lay down the final date for the eligibility of
expenditure.

the Regulation,

it

The rural development measures to be financed by the
EAGGF are governed,
in particular as regards their
compatibility and consistency with common agricultural
policy measures, by Council Regulation (EC) No
for rural
1257/1999 of 17 May 1999 on support
development from the European Agricultural Guidance
and Guarantee Fund (EAGGF) and amending and
repealing certain Regulations (2).

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.

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

(2) OJ L 160, 26.6.1999, p. 80.

9.9.2002

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Official Journal of the European Communities

L 241/35

(10)

in

are

financial

expressed

euro. The

The
contribution from the Community
available over the entire period and its year-by-year
breakdown
annual
breakdown should be consistent with the 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
Article 7(7) and Article 44(2) of the Regulation, the
Community contribution may be reviewed at mid-term,
and not later than 31 March 2004, to take account of
the effective level of inflation and the allocation of the
performance reserve.

(11)

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

HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:

Article 1

(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;

(c)

the indicative financing plan specifying for each priority
and each year the financial allocation envisaged for the
contribution from each Fund and the total amounts of
eligible public or equivalent expenditure and estimated
private
total
contribution from the Funds planned for each year for the
single programming document
is consistent with the
relevant financial perspective;

the Member

State. The

funding

in

including

(d) the provisions for implementing the single programming
document,
the managing
designation
authority, a description of the arrangements for managing
the single programming document and the use to be made
for
of global grants,
a description of
the
monitoring and evaluation,
the
Monitoring Committee and the arrangements
participation of the partners in that Committee;

systems
the
including the role of
for

of

The single programming document for Community structural
assistance in the region of Flevoland in the Netherlands
qualifying for transitional support under Objective 1 for the
period 1 January 2000 to 31 December 2006 is hereby
approved.

(e)

(f)

ex

the
transparency of financial flows;

verification

ante

and

information

on

the

information on the resources
monitoring and evaluating the assistance.

required for preparing,

Article 2

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

(a)

the
the strategy and priorities for the joint action of
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
the
Netherlands.

strategy of

The priorities are as follows:

(1) developing urban areas;

(2) developing rural areas;

(3) improving production facilities;

(4) social cohesion and labour market;

(5) technical assistance;

The indicative financing plan puts the total cost of the
2.
priorities selected for the joint action by the Community and
the Member State at EUR 471 260 000 for the whole period
and the financial contribution from the Structural Funds at
EUR 126 000 000.

The resulting requirement
resources of EUR
280 760 000 from the public sector and EUR 64 500 000
from the private sector can be partly met by Community loans
from the EIB and other lending instruments.

for national

Article 3

1.
The total assistance from the Structural Funds granted
under the single programming document amounts to EUR
126 000 000.

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.

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Official Journal of the European Communities

9.9.2002

No

(EC)

set out

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 Articles 38 and 39 of
Regulation
the
Commission will not accept requests for 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.

Consequently,

1260/1999.

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 EAGGF.

Article 5

The date from which expenditure under the plan shall be
eligible is 23 November 1999. 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 Kingdom of the Netherlands.

Done at Brussels, 27 July 2000.

For the Commission

Michel BARNIER

Member of the Commission

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

ERDF

ESF

EAGGF Guidance Section

FIFG

EUR 76 660 000,

EUR 33 340 000,

EUR 10 000 000,

EUR 6 000 000.

3.
During implementation of the financing plan, the total
cost or Community financing of a given priority may 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
60 million, without altering the total Community contribution
referred to in paragraph 1.

Article 4

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 it has not
yet approved. Submission of the application for assistance, the
programme 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 under 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 (3). In
the absence of such exemption or approval, aid is illegal and

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