2002/715/EC: Commission Decision of 26 March 2001 approving the single programming document for Community structural assistance under Objective 2 in the region of North West England in the United Kingdom (notified under document number C(2001) 659)
Date: 2001-03-26
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: North West (England), Structural Funds, United Kingdom, development aid, distribution of aid, financing plan, regional development

L 241/94

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

9.9.2002

COMMISSION DECISION

of 26 March 2001

approving the single programming document

for Community structural assistance under

Objective 2 in the region of North West England in the United Kingdom

(notified under document number C(2001) 659)

(Only the English text is authentic)

(2002/715/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,

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
established in accordance with Article 8 of
the
Regulation, the Commission shall 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 United Kingdom Government submitted to the
Commission on 14 April 2000 an acceptable draft
single programming document
the North West
England region fulfilling the conditions for Objective 2
pursuant to Article 4(1) and qualifying for transitional
support pursuant to Article 6(2) of Regulation (EC) No
1260/1999. The draft contains the information listed in
the Regulation, and in particular a
Article 16 of

for

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

(5)

(6)

(7)

(8)

(9)

(10)

description of the priorities selected and an indication of
the financial contribution from the European Regional
Development Fund (ERDF),
the European Investment
Bank (EIB) and the other financial instruments proposed
for implementing the plan.

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 shall be 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

that
the single
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.

document

The EIB has been involved in drawing up the single
programming
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
consistent with the

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
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.

9.9.2002

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

L 241/95

(11)

Provision must 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:

(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
in that Committee,

Article 1

(e)

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

The single programming document for Community structural
assistance under Objective 2 in the North West England region
of the United Kingdom for the period 1 January 2000 to 31
December 2005 for transitional areas and 1 January 2000 to
31 December 2006 for fully eligible areas is hereby approved.

Article 2

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 United Kingdom.

The priorities are as follows:

(cid:151) business and ideas,

(cid:151) people and communities,

(cid:151) strategic regional investment,

(cid:151) 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 the ERDF,
the EIB and the other
financial instruments and indicating separately the funding
planned for the regions receiving transitional support and
the
equivalent
expenditure and estimated private funding in the Member
State. The total contribution from the ERDF planned for
each year
is
consistent with the relevant financial perspectives;

the single programming document

eligible public or

amounts of

total

for

(f)

information on the resources
monitoring and evaluating the assistance.

required for preparing,

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 1 907 605 000 for the whole period
and the financial contribution from the Structural Funds at
EUR 808 330 000.

The resulting requirement
resources of EUR
899 551 000 from the public sector and EUR 199 724 000
from the private sector can be partly met by Community loans
from the EIB and other lending instruments.

for national

Article 3

The total assistance from the ERDF granted under the
1.
single programming document amounts to EUR 808 330 000.
The procedure for granting the financial assistance, including
the financial contribution from the Fund for
the various
priorities included in the single programming document, is set
out in the financing plan annexed to this Decision.

2.
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 million, whichever is the greater, 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 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.

L 241/96

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

9.9.2002

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 87 and 88 to certain
categories of horizontal aid (2).
such
exemption or approval, aid is illegal and subject
to the
consequences set out in the procedural regulation for State aid,
and its co-financing would be treated as an irregularity within
the meaning of Articles 38 and 39 of Regulation (EC) No
1260/1999.

In the absence of

Consequently,
the Commission will not accept requests for
interim and final payments under Article 32 of the Regulation
for measures being co-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.

Article 5

The date from which expenditure shall be eligible is 1 January
2000. The closing date for the eligibility of expenditure shall
be 31 December 2007 for transitional areas and 31 December
2008 for fully eligible areas. This date is extended to 30 April
2008 for expenditure incurred by bodies granting assistance
under Article 9(l) of Regulation (EC) No 1260/1999 in
transitional areas and to 30 April 2009 for such bodies in fully
eligible areas.

Article 6

This Decision is addressed to the United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Northern Ireland.

Done at Brussels, 26 March 2001.

For the Commission

Michel BARNIER

Member of the Commission

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