2002/433/EC: Commission Decision of 22 March 2001 approving the single programming document for Community structural assistance under Objective 2 in the region of Auvergne in France (notified under document number C(2001) 627)
Date: 2001-03-22
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: Auvergne, EU financial instrument, European Investment Bank, Structural Funds, aid system, development aid, development plan, financing plan, industrial region, regional aid

14.6.2002

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Official Journal of the European Communities

L 156/47

COMMISSION DECISION

of 22 March 2001

approving the single programming document for Community structural assistance under
Objective 2 in the region of Auvergne in France

(notified under document number C(2001) 627)

(Only the French text is authentic)

(2002/433/EC)

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Com-
munity,

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 and the Committee on Agricultural Structures
and Rural Development,

Whereas:

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

(5)

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

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 estab-
lished in accordance with Article 8 of that 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 French Government submitted to the Commission
on 28 April 2000 an acceptable draft single program-
ming document for the region of Auvergne fulfilling the
conditions for Objective 2 pursuant to Article 4(1) and
qualifying for transitional support under Objectives 2
and 5(b) pursuant to Article 6(2) of Regulation (EC)

for rural development

No 1260/1999. As permitted by Article 40(2) of Council
Regulation (EC) No 1257/1999 of 17 May 1999 on
from the European
support
Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund (EAGGF) (2).
The draft includes rural development measures other
than those referred to in Article 35(1) of the Regulation.
It also includes the information listed in Article 16 of
Regulation (EC) No 1260/1999, in particular a descrip-
tion 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 European Agricultural Guidance and
Guarantee Fund (EAGGF), Guarantee Section.

The date of submission 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 in the case of the
Structural Funds; in the case of the EAGGF Guarantee
Section, Article 6 of Commission Regulation (EC)
No 2603/1999 (3) provides that
the expenditure is
eligible only if it has actually been paid to the beneficiary
after the date of submission of the programme. Under
Article 30 of Regulation (EC) No 1260/1999,
it is
necessary to lay down the final date for the eligibility of
expenditure.

(6)

The rural development measures to be financed by the
EAGGF Guarantee Section are governed, in particular as
regards their compatibility and consistency with com-
mon agricultural policy measures, by Regulation (EC)
No 1257/1999.

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

(2) OJ L 160, 26.6.1999, p. 80.
(3) OJ L 316, 10.12.1999, p. 26.

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Official Journal of the European Communities

14.6.2002

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

Article 2

(7)

(8)

(9)

The Commission has satisfied itself
programming document
principle of additionality.

the single
that
is in accordance with the

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.

(10) The EIB has been involved in drawing up the single
programming document in accordance with the pro-
visions of Article 15(5) of Regulation (EC) No 1260/
1999 and has declared itself prepared to contribute to
its implementation in conformity with its statutory
provisions.

(11) The financial contribution from the Community avail-
able over the entire period and its year-by-year break-
down are expressed in euro. The annual breakdown
should be consistent with the relevant financial perspec-
tive. 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.

(12)

Provision should 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,

HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:

Article 1

The single programming document for Community structural
assistance in the region of Auvergne in France eligible under
Objective 2 and qualifying for transitional support under
Objectives 2 and 5(b) for the period 1 January 2000 to
31 December 2006 is hereby approved.

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
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
France. The priorities are as follows:

1. modernising and adapting the resources of

the

Auvergne;

2.

improving access to the Auvergne and raising its
profile;

3.

the environment and spatial cohesion;

4.

cooperation within the Massif central;

5.

rural development (EAGGF Guarantee Section);

6.

technical assistance, communications and evalu-
ation;

(b)

(c)

(d)

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

the indicative financing plan specifying for each priority
and each year the financial allocation envisaged for the
contribution from each Fund and the other financial
instruments, including the total amount from the EAGGF
Guarantee Section and indicating separately the funding
planned for the regions receiving transitional support in
respect of Objectives 2 and 5(b) and the total amounts of
eligible public or equivalent expenditure and estimated
private funding in the Member State. The total contri-
bution from the Funds planned for each year for the
single programming document is consistent with the
relevant financial perspective;

the provisions for implementing the single programming
document including designation of the managing auth-
ority, 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 monitor-
ing and evaluation, including the role of the Monitoring
Committee and the arrangements for the participation of
the partners in that Committee;

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Official Journal of the European Communities

L 156/49

(e)

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

Article 4

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 1 493 258 121 for the whole
period, the financial contribution from the Structural Funds at
EUR 299 564 423 and that
from the EAGGF Guarantee
Section at EUR 58 343 000.

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.

resulting

requirement

630 982 451

resources of
The
EUR
and
sector
from the
EUR 504 368 247 from the private sector can be partly met
by Community loans from the European Investment Bank and
other lending instruments.

for national
public

The rate of part-financing by the EAGGF Guarantee
3.
Section for each rural development measure is given in the
single programming document. The rate of part-financing by
the EAGGF at the level of the sub-measure or action is given
in the programme complement provided for in Article 19(4)
of Regulation (EC) No 1260/1999 and shall be valid for at
least one financial year.

Article 3

the

The total assistance from the Structural Funds granted
1.
to
under
EUR 299 564 423, to which the EAGGF Guarantee Section
will contribute a further EUR 58 343 000.

single programming document amounts

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.

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

ERDF

ESF

EUR 253 332 423

EUR 46 232 000

During implementation of the financing plan, the total
3.
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,
up to a maximum of EUR 30 million, without altering the
total Community contribution referred to in paragraph 1.

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 87 and 88) to certain categories of horizontal State
aid (4). In the absence of such exemption or approval, aid is
illegal and subject to the consequences set out 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 (EC) No 1260/1999.

Consequently, 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.

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 shall be eligible is 1 January
2000 for the Structural Funds and 17 April 2000 for the
EAGGF Guarantee Section.

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

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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. The closing
date for the eligibility of expenditure in the area receiving
transitional support shall be 31 December 2007.

under this programming document shall be 31 December
2006.

Article 6

This Decision is addressed to the French Republic.

Done at Brussels, 22 March 2001.

The final date for
the EAGGF Guarantee Section to
take account of payments made by the paying bodies

For the Commission
Michel BARNIER

Member of the Commission