2002/326/EC: Commission Decision of 8 June 2001 approving the single programming document for Community structural assistance under Objective 2 in the regions of the province of East Flanders in Belgium (notified under document number C(2002) 1250)
Date: 2001-06-08
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: Belgium, Province of East Flanders, Structural Funds, regional aid

8.5.2002

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

L 122/17

COMMISSION DECISION

of 8 June 2001

approving the single programming document

for Community structural assistance under

Objective 2 in the regions of the province of East Flanders in Belgium

(notified under document number C(2002) 1250)

(Only the Dutch text is authentic)

(2002/326/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,

Whereas:

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

Articles 13 and following 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
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.

an

2000

31 May

acceptable

The Flemish Government submitted to the Commission
on
Single
Programming Document for the regions in the province
of East Flanders fulfilling the conditions for Objective 2
pursuant
to Article 4(1) of Regulation (EC) No
1260/1999 and the regions in that province qualifying
for transitional support under Objective 5(b) pursuant
to Article 6(2) of Regulation (EC) No 1260/1999. The

draft

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

(5)

(6)

(7)

(8)

(9)

draft contains the information listed in Article 16 of the
Regulation, and in particular a description of
the
priorities selected and an indication of
the financial
contribution from the European Regional Development
Fund (ERDF).

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 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.

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.

(10)

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,

L 122/18

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

8.5.2002

HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:

(e)

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

Article 1

(f)

information on the resources
and
monitoring
document.

evaluating

required for preparing,
single programming

the

The single programming document for Community structural
assistance in the regions of the province of East Flanders in
Belgium fulfilling the conditions for Objective 2 and in the
regions in that province qualifying for transitional support
under Objective 5(b) for the period 1 January 2000 to 31
December 2006 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
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 Flanders
(Belgium). The priorities are as follows:

1. developing

economic

initiatives

and

promoting

employment;

2.

improving living conditions and quality of life in urban
and rural areas;

3. promoting

the development of

tourism in the

transitional region;

4. 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 (cid:151) including, for information,
the total amount from the EAGGF Guarantee Section, and
indicating separately the funding planned for the regions
receiving transitional support in respect of Objective 5(b)
and the total amounts of eligible public or 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 perspective;

the single programming Document

for

(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;

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 59 109 164 for the whole period
and the financial contribution from the ERDF at EUR
13 586 000.

The resulting requirement
resources of EUR
31 982 841 from the public sector and EUR 13 540 323 from
the private sector can be partly met by Community loans from
the European Investment Bank and other lending instruments.

for national

Article 3

The total assistance from the ERDF granted under the
1.
single programming document amounts to EUR 13 586 000.
The procedure for granting the financial assistance, including
the financial contribution from the ERDF for the various
priorities included in the single programming document, is set
out in the financing plan annexed to this Decision.

During implementation of the financing plan, the total
2.
cost or Community financing of a given priority may be
adjusted in agreement with the Member State by up to 25 % of
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.

contribution from the ERDF

to the

total

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 Council Regulation (EC)
No 994/98 of 7 May 1998 on the application of Articles 92

8.5.2002

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

L 122/19

Article 5

The date from which expenditure shall be eligible is 31 May
2000. 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 Belgium.

Done at Brussels, 8 June 2001.

For the Commission

Michel BARNIER

Member of the Commission

set out

to the consequences

and 93 of the Treaty to certain categories of horizontal State
aid (2). In the absence of such exemption or approval, aid is
illegal and subject
in the
procedural
regulation for State aid, and its part-financing
would be treated as an irregularity within the meaning of
1260/1999.
Articles
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.

Regulation

(EC) No

38(5)

of

Consequently,
the Commission will not accept requests for
interim and final payments under Article 32 of Regulation (EC)
No 1260/1999 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.

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