2002/329/EC: Commission Decision of 7 December 2001 approving the single programming document for Community structural assistance under Objective 2 in the provinces of Namur and Luxembourg in Belgium (notified under document number C(2001) 3555)
Date: 2001-12-07
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: Belgium, Province of Luxembourg, Province of Namur, Structural Funds, regional aid

L 122/24

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

8.5.2002

COMMISSION DECISION

of 7 December 2001

approving the single programming document

for Community structural assistance under

Objective 2 in the provinces of Namur and Luxembourg in Belgium

(notified under document number C(2001) 3555)

(Only the French and Dutch texts are authentic)

(2002/329/EC)

description of the priorities selected and an indication of
the financial contribution from the European Regional
Development Fund (ERDF) and the European Social
Fund (ESF).

Under Article 8 of Regulation (EC) No 1260/1999, the
operations being financed by the Structural Funds must
inter alia, with the Community policies and
comply,
actions, including those concerning the protection and
improvement of
the environment. The Kingdom of
Belgium has not complied with its obligations under
Article 4 of Council Directive 92/43/EEC of 21 May
1992 on the conservation of natural habitats and of
wild fauna and flora as regards proposing a list of sites
indicating which natural habitat types in Annex I and
which species in Annex II that are native to its territory
the sites host in order to set up a coherent European
ecological network of special areas of conservation,
known as
this
obligation on 23 June 1999 by a letter from Mrs
Wulf-Mathies and Ms Bjerregaard and on 28 March
2000 by a letter from Mr Barnier. As a result, payments
for ERDF assistance under the measures (cid:145)Valorisation of
touristic and cultural potential and of
the natural
heritage(cid:146) and (cid:145)Equipment to encourage access to NICT
and make the most of opportunities of
the euro
corridor(cid:146) concerning this SPD, which are likely to be
harmful
should be
suspended until the list of (cid:145)Natura 2000(cid:146) sites has been
notified to the Commission (2).

to be protected,

(cid:145)Natura 2000(cid:146).

to any sites

reminded of

It was

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 and the Committee pursuant to Article
147 of the Treaty,

(5)

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

11

July

draft

2000

acceptable

The Walloon Government submitted to the Commission
single
on
programming document for the areas of the province of
Namur fulfilling the conditions for Objective 2 pursuant
to Article 4(1) and the areas of
the province of
Luxembourg qualifying for transitional support under
Objective 2 pursuant to Article 6(2) of Regulation (EC)
No 1260/1999. The draft contains the information
listed in Article 16 of the Regulation, and in particular a

(6)

submission of

The date of
the draft which was
considered acceptable by the Commission constitutes
the date from which expenditure under the plan is
is
eligible. Under Article 30 of
necessary to lay down the final date for the eligibility of
expenditure.

the Regulation,

it

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

(2) OJ L 206, 22.7.1992, p. 7.

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Official Journal of the European Communities

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

regional policies and the employment strategy of Belgium.
The priorities are as follows:

The Commission has
programming document
principle of additionality.

satisfied itself

the single
that
in accordance with the

is

1. encouraging and supporting the local development of

merchant economic activities;

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.

2.

structuring rural areas;

3.

investing in human resources;

4.

technical assistance;

(7)

(8)

(9)

(10)

in

are

financial

expressed

euro. The

The
contribution from the Community
available over the entire period and its year-by-year
annual
breakdown
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.

(11)

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 areas of the province of Namur eligible under
Objective 2 and in the area of the province of Luxembourg
qualifying for
support under Objective 2 in
Belgium for the period 1 January 2000 to 31 December 2006
is hereby approved.

transitional

(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 indicating separately the
funding planned for
receiving transitional
the regions
support in respect of Objective 2 and the total amounts of
eligible public or equivalent expenditure and estimated
private
total
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

(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;

(e)

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

(f)

information on the resources
monitoring and evaluating the assistance.

required for preparing,

Article 2

1.
In accordance with Article 19 of Regulation (EC) No
1260/1999, the single programming document includes the
following elements:

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 206 239 924 for the whole period
and the financial contribution from the Structural Funds at
EUR 58 378 745.

(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

The resulting requirement
resources of EUR
87 042 672 from the public sector and EUR 60 818 507 from
the private sector can be partly met by Community loans from
the European Investment Bank and other lending instruments.

for national

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Official Journal of the European Communities

8.5.2002

Article 3

1.
The total assistance from the Structural Funds granted
under the single programming document amounts to EUR
58 378 745. The procedure
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.

granting

the

for

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

ERDF

ESF

EUR 52 998 745

EUR 5 380 000

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 Council Regulation (EC) No 1257/1999 (4) shall
apply in the context of rural development part-financed by the
EAGGF.

Article 5

During implementation of the financing plan, the total 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.

Expenditure relating to the measures (cid:145)Valorisation of touristic
the natural heritage(cid:146) and
and cultural potential and of
(cid:145)Equipment to encourage access to NICT and make the most of
opportunities of the euro corridor(cid:146)
in this SPD will not be
settled until the Kingdom of Belgium has notified the complete
and final list of sites to be protected in Wallonia, pursuant to
Council Directive 92/43/EEC.

Article 4

Article 6

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 of 7
May 1998 on the application of Articles 87 and 88 to certain
categories of horizontal State aid (3). In the absence of such
exemption or approval, aid is
to the
consequences set out in the procedural regulation for State aid,

illegal and subject

The date from which expenditure shall be eligible is 11 July
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 7

This Decision is addressed to the Kingdom of Belgium.

Done at Brussels, 7 December 2001.

For the Commission

Michel BARNIER

Member of the Commission

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

(4) OJ L 160, 26.6.1999, p. 80.