2002/509/EC: Commission Decision of 22 March 2001 approving the Single Programming Document for Community structural assistance under Objective 2 in the region of Aquitaine in France (notified under document number C(2001) 631)
Date: 2001-03-22
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: Aquitaine, Structural Funds, development aid, development plan, financing plan, regional aid

L 175/22

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

4.7.2002

COMMISSION DECISION

of 22 March 2001

approving the Single Programming Document

for Community structural assistance under

Objective 2 in the region of Aquitaine in France

(notified under document number C(2001) 631)

(Only the French text is authentic)

(2002/509/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 and the Committee on Agricultural Structures
and Rural Development,

Whereas:

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

Articles 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 French Government submitted to the Commission
on 28 April 2000 an acceptable
Single
for the region of Aquitaine
Programming Document
to
fulfilling the conditions for Objective 2 pursuant
Article 4(1) and qualifying for
support
under Objectives 2 and 5(b) pursuant to Article 6(2) of

transitional

draft

(5)

(6)

(7)

(8)

Regulation (EC) No 1260/1999. As permitted by Article
40(2) of Council Regulation (EC) No 1257/1999 of
17 May 1999 on support for rural development from
the European 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 description of the priorities selected and an
contribution from the
financial
indication of
the
European Regional Development Fund (ERDF),
European
European
Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund (EAGGF),
Guarantee Section.

Social

Fund

(ESF)

and

the

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 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.

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

compatibility

their

and

The Single Programming Document has been drawn up
in agreement with the Member State concerned and
within the partnership.

The Commission has satisfied itself
Programming Document
principle of additionality.

is

the Single
in accordance with the

that

(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

L 175/23

(9)

(10)

(11)

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.

The EIB has been involved in drawing up the Single
Programming Document
in accordance with the
provisions of Article 15(5) of Regulation (EC) No
1260/1999 and has
to
contribute to its implementation in conformity with its
statutory provisions.

itself prepared

declared

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.

(12)

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

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

Article 2

In accordance with Article 19 of Regulation (EC) No
1.
1260/1999, the Single Programming Document includes the
following elements:

The priorities are as follows:

1. promoting employment

through support

for

the

establishment and development of firms;

2. making the region more competitive;

3. making the area more dynamic and improving living

conditions;

4. better use of rural resources;

5.

technical assistance;

(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 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
total
private
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 of global grants, a description of the systems for
the
monitoring and evaluation,
Monitoring Committee and the arrangements
the
participation of the partners in that Committee;

including the role of
for

of

(e)

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

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 2 297 277 717 for the whole period,
the financial contribution from the Structural Funds at EUR
452 855 666 and that from the EAGGF Guarantee Section at
EUR 82 264 000.

(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 strategy of France.

for national

The resulting requirement
resources of EUR
893 839 611 from the public sector and EUR 868 318 440
from the private sector can be partly met by Community loans
from the European Investment Bank and other
lending
instruments.

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Official Journal of the European Communities

4.7.2002

3.
The rate of part-financing by the EAGGF Guarantee
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

1.
The total assistance from the Structural Funds granted
under the Single Programming Document amounts to EUR
452 855 666,
to which the EAGGF Guarantee Section will
contribute a further EUR 82 264 000.

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.

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

ERDF

ESF

EUR 381 566 427,

EUR 71 289 239.

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
the programme period, up to a
maximum of EUR 30 million, without altering the total
Community contribution referred to in paragraph 1.

throughout

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
for payment by the
programme complement or a request
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 on the
application of Articles 92 and 93 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
regulation for State aid, and its part
in the procedural
financing would be treated as an irregularity within the
meaning of Articles 38 and 39 of Regulation (EC) No
1260/1999.

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 EAGGF.

Article 5

The date from which expenditure shall be eligible is 1 January
2000 for the Structural Funds and 28 April 2000 for the
EAGGF Guarantee Section.

The closing date for the eligibility of expenditure shall be 31
December 2008 for the Structural Funds. 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.

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

For the Commission

Michel BARNIER

Member of the Commission

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