2002/330/EC: Commission Decision of 11 December 2001 approving the single programming document for Community structural assistance under Objective 2 in the province of Liège in Belgium (notified under document number C(2001) 3583)
Date: 2001-12-11
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: Belgium, Province of Liège, Structural Funds, regional aid

8.5.2002

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

L 122/27

COMMISSION DECISION

of 11 December 2001

approving the single programming document

for Community structural assistance under

Objective 2 in the province of LiŁge in Belgium

(notified under document number C(2001) 3583)

(Only the French and Dutch text are authentic)

(2002/330/EC)

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European
Community,

in particular a 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).

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,

(5)

After consulting the Committee on the Development and
Conversion of Regions and the Committee pursuant to Article
147 of the Treaty,

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.

(6)

an

11

July

2000

acceptable

The Walloon Government submitted to the Commission
on
single
programming document for the areas of the province of
LiŁge eligible under Objective 2 pursuant to Article 4(1)
and the areas of that province 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

draft

Under Article 8 of Regulation (EC) No 1260/1999, the
operations being financed by the Structural Funds must
comply,
inter alia, with the Community policies and
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 (2)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
areas of
conservation, known as (cid:145)Natura 2000(cid:146). It was reminded
of 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)Specialised
economic platforms(cid:146) and (cid:145)Valorisation of touristic and
cultural potential and of the natural heritage(cid:146) concerning
this SPD, which are likely to be harmful to any sites to
the list of
be protected, should be suspended until
(cid:145)Natura
the
to
Commission.

notified

special

2000(cid:146)

been

sites

has

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

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

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

(7)

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

L 122/28

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

8.5.2002

(8)

(9)

(10)

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.

3.

increased know-how;

4. consolidation of the area’s international role;

5. promotion of sustainable urban development;

6.

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 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

(11)

Provision should be made for adapting the financial
allocations of the priorities of this single programming
document within certain limits to actual requirements
implementation on the
reflected by the pattern of
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 in the areas of the province of LiŁge eligible under
Objective 2 and the areas of
that province qualifying for
transitional support under Objective 2 in Belgium 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
their specific
Structural Funds and the Member State;
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 Belgium.
The priorities are as follows:

1. diversification of the economic base;

2. entry into the knowledge society;

(f)

information on the resources
monitoring and evaluating the assistance.

required for preparing,

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 561 969 961 for the whole period
and the financial contribution from the Structural Funds at
EUR 158 320 255.

for national

The resulting requirement
resources of EUR
204 440 847 from the public sector and EUR 199 208 859
from the private sector can be partly met by Community loans
from the European Investment Bank and other
lending
instruments.

Article 3

1.
The total assistance from the Structural Funds granted
under the single programming document amounts to EUR
158 320 255. 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.

for granting the

8.5.2002

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Official Journal of the European Communities

L 122/29

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

ERDF

ESF

EUR 132 743 255

EUR 25 577 000

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.

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 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,
and its part-financing would be treated as an irregularity
within the meaning of Articles 38 and 39 of Regulation (EC)
No 1260/1999.

illegal and subject

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

Article 5

Expenditure relating to the measures (cid:145)Specialised economic
platforms(cid:146) and (cid:145)Valorisation of touristic and cultural potential
and of the natural heritage(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/EC.

Article 6

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, 11 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.