2001/768/EC: Council Decision of 29 October 2001 concerning the exceptional use of interest from the European Development Fund for the financing of costs linked to the implementation of the devolution exercise in ACP States for a transitional period
Date: 2001-10-29
Institutions: Council of the European Union
Subjects: ACP countries, EU aid, European Development Fund, financing method, interest, operating cost

L 289/6

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

6.11.2001

II

(Acts whose publication is not obligatory)

COUNCIL

COUNCIL DECISION

of 29 October 2001

concerning the exceptional use of interest from the European Development Fund for the financing
of costs linked to the implementation of the devolution exercise in ACP States for a transitional
period

(2001/768/EC)

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European
Community,

Having regard to the Third ACP-EEC Convention,

Having regard to the Fourth ACP-EC Convention, signed at
Lomé on 15 December 1989, as revised by the Agreement
signed at Mauritius on 4 November 1995 (1),

Having regard to the Internal Agreement of 19 February 1985
on financing and administration of Community aid (2), and in
particular Article 9(2) thereof,

Having regard to the Internal Agreement of 16 July 1990 on
the financing and administration of Community aid under the
Fourth ACP-EEC Convention (3), hereinafter
the ‘7th EDF
Internal Agreement’, and in particular Article 9(2) thereof,

Having regard to the Internal Agreement of 20 December 1995
between the Representatives of
the
Member States, meeting within the Council, on the financing
and administration of the Community aid under the Second
Financial Protocol to the Fourth ACP-EC Convention (4), here-
inafter the ‘8th EDF Internal Agreement’, and in particular the
second paragraph of Article 9(2) thereof,

the Governments of

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,

Whereas:

(3)

(4)

(5)

(6)

(7)

(1)

(2)

The Commission decided on 16 May 2000 to reform
the management of external aid programmes as part of
the global reform of the Commission.

The said Decision highlighted the lack of human
resources at the disposal of the Commission to imple-
ment external aid.

(8)

(1) OJ L 156, 29.5.1998, p. 3.
(2) OJ L 86, 31.3.1986, p. 210.
(3) OJ L 229, 17.8.1991, p. 288.
(4) OJ L 156, 29.5.1998, p. 108.

The elements of reform linked to human resources
include reorganising the management of
the project
cycle and a major devolution of decision-making closer
to the field and of activities to external Delegations. The
objective is to improve the efficiency of aid management
and the quality of operations, as well as to accelerate the
programming,
identification and implementation of
programmes and projects.

In this context it is necessary to strengthen both the
human resources as well as the physical infrastructure of
the Commission's external delegations.

In this process the costs for these personnel will be
borne by using a proportion of Part BA lines of expend-
iture in the budget relating to the programmes outside
the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) regions.

During the period 2001-2002, thirteen of the Commis-
sion's ACP Delegations should be devolved.

The new Internal Agreement on the financing and
administration of Community Aid under the Financial
Protocol to the Partnership Agreement between the ACP
States and the European Community and its Member
States,
signed on 14 September 2000, hereinafter
referred to as ‘the 9th EDF Internal Agreement’, and in
particular Article 1(3) and Articles 4 and 9 thereof,
identifies
likely to reinforce the
administrative capacities of the Commission's Delega-
tions for the implementation of the operations financed
from the 9th EDF.

resources

financial

Pending the entry into force of the 9th EDF, financial
resources should be made available from interest accrued
to the funds deposited by the EDFs and now held in the
general treasury of the EDF,
in accordance with the
provisions of the 6th, 7th and 8th EDF Internal Agree-
ments,

6.11.2001

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

L 289/7

HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS:

Article 1

An amount of EUR 23 000 000 shall be reserved from interest
accumulated on deposited European Development Fund (EDF)
funds and held in the general treasury of the EDF, for the
financing of costs linked to the implementation of the devolu-
tion exercise in ACP States, as specified in Article 2.

Article 2

The resources referred to in Article 1 shall be used to finance
the following types of expenditure:
(a) support expenses in relation to identification, preparation,
management, follow-up, accounting, audit and control of
the Commission's aid operations in ACP States,
in par-
ticular costs linked to the recruitment and stationing in
Delegations of experts and local agents that will assist in
handling these ‘devolved’ tasks and to the provision of

technical support to the ‘devolution’ of the Commission's
computerised on-line accounting system (OLAS);

(b) administrative costs, provided these are directly linked to
the efficient functioning of the experts and local agents
recruited, including the purchase of equipment, the tem-
porary renting of extra office space, related IT costs and
others.

This Decision shall enter into force on the day of its adoption.

Article 3

Done at Luxembourg, 29 October 2001.

For the Council

The President

L. MICHEL