2001/13/EC: Commission Decision of 19 December 2000 on the Community's financial contribution to a programme for the control of organisms harmful to plants and plant products in Madeira for 2000 (notified under document number C(2000) 3867)
Date: 2000-12-19
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: EU financing, Madeira, Portugal, parasitology, plant disease, plant health treatment

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Official Journal of the European Communities

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(Acts whose publication is not obligatory)

COMMISSION

COMMISSION DECISION

of 19 December 2000

on the Community's financial contribution to a programme for the control of organisms harmful to
plants and plant products in Madeira for 2000

(notified under document number C(2000) 3867)

(Only the Portuguese text is authentic)

(2001/13/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 the Regulation (EC) No 1257/
1999 (2), and in particular Article 33(3) thereof,

the benefit of

for

Whereas:

Commission Decision 93/522/EEC (3), as last amended
by Decision 96/633/EC (4), defines what measures are
eligible
regards
programmes for the control of organisms harmful to
plants and plant products in the French overseas depart-
ments, the Azores and Madeira.

Community

financing

for

as

Specific agricultural production conditions in Madeira
call for particular attention, and action must be taken or
reinforced as regards crop production, in particular the
phytosanitary aspects for this region.

(5)

(6)

(7)

(8)

(9)

The Community's financial contribution may cover up
to 75 % of eligible expenditure, protective measures for
bananas being excluded.

provided

operations

European
The
Community framework Programme for research and
technological Development cannot be the same as those
contained in this programme.

the

for

in

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

The technical
information provided by Portugal has
enabled the Standing Committee on Plant Health to
analyse the situation accurately and comprehensively.

The measures provided for in this Decision are in
accordance with the opinion of the Standing Committee
on Plant Health,

The action to be taken or reinforced on the phytosani-
tary side is particularly costly.

HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:

The programme of action has been presented to the
Commission by the relevant Portuguese authorities. 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.

(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.

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 2000 by
the relevant Portuguese authorities is hereby approved.

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

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

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Article 2

The official programme is made up of a programme for the
autocidal control of the fruit fly (Ceratitis capitata Wied).

Article 3

The Community's financial contribution to the programme in
2000 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 250 000 (VAT
excluded).

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

Article 4

A first instalment of EUR 100 000 shall be paid to Portugal
the present
immediately after
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 2000 and
31 December 2000. The final date for payments in connection
with the operations shall be 31 March 2001, 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 responsible 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
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.

This Decision is addressed to the Portuguese Republic.

Article 8

Done at Brussels, 19 December 2000.

For the Commission

David BYRNE

Member of the Commission

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ANNEX I

FINANCIAL TABLE FOR 2000

Eligible expenditures 2000

(in euro)

EC

250 000

Total

250 000

Madeira

83 333

83 333

Total

333 333

333 333

Ceratitis capitata

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 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 18 of Council Directive 2000/29/EC (1).

5. The first instalment of EUR 100 000 shall be paid to Portugal immediately after the official notification of the

present Decision.

6. The balance of the amount committed of EUR 150 000 is paid upon presentation to the Commission of the final
report of activity and the detailed total expenditure incurred and after it has been approved by the Commission.

Authorities responsible for the implementation of the programme:

— Central administration:

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

— Local administration:

Região Autónoma da Madeira
Secretaria Regional do Ambiente e Recursos Naturais
Direcção Regional da Agricultura
Avenida Arriaga, 21 A
Edificio Golden Gate, 4e 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.

(1) OJ L 169, 10.7.2000, p. 1.

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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:

Banco BPI
N.o de conta 0010 370 03221820001
Titular: Governo da Região Autónoma da Madeira
Endereço: Avenida de Zarco
P-9000 Funchal

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 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

B.I. Monitoring Committee

1. Establishment

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 appropriate
cases, propose any adjustments required.

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

Decision to Portugal.

3. Competence of Monitoring Committee

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,

— 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 programme,

— shall give its opinion on draft final report;

— 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.

B.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.

I m p l e m e n t a t i o n r e p o r t a n d s c r u t i n y o f

t h e p r o g r a m m e

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 2001 and shall thereafter be presented to the Standing Committee of 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 in 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.

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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,

— 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.

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 for 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 compliance with public 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).