Decision No 466/2002/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 1 March 2002 laying down a Community action programme promoting non-governmental organisations primarily active in the field of environmental protection
Date: 2002-03-01
Institutions: Council of the European Union, European Parliament
Subjects: EU financing, EU programme, action programme, environmental protection, non-governmental organisation

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(Acts whose publication is obligatory)

DECISION No 466/2002/EC OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL

of 1 March 2002

laying down a Community action programme promoting non-governmental organisations
primarily active in the field of environmental protection

THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE
EUROPEAN UNION,

Programme envisages the need for appropriate support,
including Community finance, to NGOs.

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European
Community, and in particular Article 175(1) thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission (1),

Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social
Committee (2),

Following consultation of the Committee of the Regions,

Acting in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article
251 of the Treaty (3),

Whereas:

(1)

(2)

(3)

The Treaty provides for the development and the imple-
mentation of a Community environment policy and sets
out
the objectives and principles which guide that
policy.

The Action Programme introduced by Council Decision
97/872/EC of 16 December 1997 on a Community
action programme promoting non-governmental organ-
isations primarily active in the field of environmental
protection (4) comes to an end on 31 December 2001.
The Programme has been evaluated by the Commission
and present and previous beneficiaries,
revealing a
strong support for its renewal or revision.

The Sixth Environment Action Programme recognises
the need for empowering citizens, and the measures
proposed include extensive and wide-ranging dialogue
with stakeholders in environmental policy-making.
In
order to make it possible for non-governmental organ-
isations (hereinafter referred to as ‘NGOs’) to take part in
Sixth Environment Action
such a dialogue,

the

(1) OJ C 270 E, 25.9.2001, p. 125.
(2) Opinion delivered on 18 October 2001 (not yet published in the

Official Journal).

(3) Opinion of the European Parliament of 23 October 2001 (not yet
published in the Official
Journal), Council Common Position of 6
December 2001 (not yet published in the Official Journal) and Deci-
sion of
the European Parliament of 16 January 2002 (not yet
published in the Official Journal).

(4) OJ L 354, 30.12.1997, p. 25.

(4)

(5)

(6)

(7)

NGOs active in the field of environmental protection
have already demonstrated that they can contribute to
the environment policy of the Community, as laid down
in Article 174 of the Treaty, by active involvement in
concrete environmental protection measures and in
activities to increase the general awareness of the need
for the protection of the environment with a view to
sustainable development. NGOs also active in the field
of animal protection, provided that such activities serve
to achieve environmental protection objectives, may also
participate in this Programme.

NGOs are essential to coordinate and channel to the
Commission information and views on the new and
emerging perspectives, such as on nature protection and
transboundary environmental problems, which cannot
be, or are not being, fully dealt with at the Member State
or subordinate level. NGOs have good understanding of
public concerns on the environment and can thus
promote these views and channel them back to the
Commission.

Environmental NGOs participate in experts groups, in
preparatory and implementation committees of
the
Community institutions, providing important input to
Community policies, programmes and initiatives and
necessary balance in relation to the interests of other
actors in the environment, including industry/business,
trade unions and consumer groups.

NGOs with a capacity to stimulate exchange of perspec-
tives, problems and possible solutions and to implement
relevant activities related to environmental problems
with a Community dimension, involving stakeholders at
national, regional and local level, should be promoted.
For this purpose only NGOs and NGO networks active
at a European level will be targeted.

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(8)

(9)

(10)

(11)

The geographical expansion of the Programme is neces-
sary in order to include Candidate Countries' NGOs in
the light of their importance in gaining public accep-
tance for the environmental ‘acquis’ and strengthening
its implementation.

In the light of the experience gained in the first three
years of implementation of this Decision, an assessment
of the operation of the Programme should be under-
taken in order to decide on its continuation.

The annual appropriations should be decided upon by
the budgetary authority in the budgetary procedure.

This Decision lays down, for the entire duration of the
Programme, a financial
framework constituting the
prime reference, within the meaning of point 33 of the
Interinstitutional Agreement of 6 May 1999 between the
European Parliament, the Council and the Commission
on budgetary discipline and improvement of the budg-
etary procedure (1), for the budgetary authority during
the annual budgetary procedure,

(b) it must be active at a European level, either singly or in the
form of several coordinated associations with a structure
(membership base) and activities covering at least three
European countries. However, coverage of two European
countries is acceptable, provided that the primary objective
of the activities is to support the development and imple-
mentation of Community environmental policy, as detailed
in Article 1(2) and (3);

(c) its activities must meet, in particular, the principles under-
lying the Sixth Environment Action Programme and be in
line with the priority areas identified in Article 5;

(d) it must have been legally constituted for more than two
years and have had its annual statement of accounts for the
two preceding years certified by a registered auditor. In
cases of exceptional circumstances, the Commission may
grant a derogation from these two requirements, provided
that to do so would not compromise the protection of
Community financial

interests.

Article 3

HAVE DECIDED AS FOLLOWS:

The Programme shall be open to the participation of European
NGOs established in either:

Article 1

(a) the Member States;

A Community action programme promoting non-govern-
1.
mental organisations (NGOs) primarily active in the field of
environmental protection is hereby established.

The general objective of

2.
this Programme shall be to
promote NGOs which are primarily active in the field of envir-
onmental protection and enhancement at a European level.
Such activities should involve contributing, or being able to
contribute,
and implementation of
Community environmental policy and legislation in different
regions of Europe.

to the development

3.
The Programme shall also promote the systematic
involvement of NGOs at all stages of the Community environ-
mental policy-making process, by ensuring relevant representa-
tion in stakeholder consultation meetings and public hearings.
The Programme shall also contribute to the strengthening of
small regional or local associations working to apply the acquis
communautaire in relation to the environment and sustainable
development in their local area.

Article 2

In order to qualify for a grant, an NGO shall have the following
characteristics and comply with the Annex:

(a) it must be an independent and non-profit-making legal
person primarily active in the field of environmental
protection and enhancement with an environmental objec-
tive aimed at the public good and with a view to sustain-
able development;

(1) OJ C 172, 18.6.1999, p. 1.

(b) the Associated Countries (2) in accordance with the condi-
tions established in the respective Europe Agreements, in
the additional protocols thereto and in the decisions of the
respective Association Councils;

(c) Cyprus, Malta or Turkey in accordance with conditions and

procedures to be agreed with those countries; or

(d) the Balkan countries forming part of the Stabilisation and
South-Eastern
Association process
Europe (3) in accordance with conditions and procedures to
be agreed with those countries.

countries of

for

Article 4

The Commission shall publish a Call for Proposals in the
1.
Official Journal of the European Communities by 30 September
each year, for grants in the following calendar year. In addition,
the Commission shall use other appropriate means available to
make
the programme known to potential beneficiaries,
including the electronic media.

The Call

for Proposals shall

2.
include an information
package and set out the eligibility, selection and award criteria
(including details of the proposed weighting system) and the
application, assessment and approval procedure.

(2) Bulgaria,

the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania,

Poland, Romania, the Slovak Republic and Slovenia.

(3) Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Albania, Federal Republic

of Yugoslavia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, and Croatia.

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After assessing the proposals,

the Commission shall
3.
decide which organisations are to receive financing in the
following year, by 31 December each year, save for a delay in
the adoption of the Community budget. The decision shall give
rise to an agreement between the Commission and the benefi-
ciary, fixing the maximum amount of the grant, the methods
of payment, the control and monitoring measures and the
objectives to be achieved by the grant. Payments shall be made
immediately.

Article 5

1.
Given the importance of sustainable development and the
health and quality of life of European citizens, support from
this Programme shall target in particular the priority areas from
the Sixth Environment Action Programme, grouped under four
main headings as follows:

(a) limiting climate change;

(b) nature and bio-diversity — protecting a unique resource;

(c) health and environment;

(d) ensuring the sustainable management of natural resources

and waste.

The Sixth Environment Action Programme will be subject to a
review in the fourth year of operation and revised and updated,
as necessary, to take account of new developments and infor-
mation.

In addition to the abovementioned areas, environmental educa-
tion and implementation and enforcement of Community
environmental

legislation shall also be priorities.

The selection and award process shall be carried out in

2.
four steps, as detailed in A of the Annex.

Article 6

1.
A grant shall not exceed 70 % of the applicant's average
audited annual eligible expenses during the preceding two
years, in the case of NGOs based in the Community, or 80 % in
the case of NGOs based in the candidate countries and the
Balkan countries, nor 80 % of the applicant's eligible expenses
for the current year.

The amount shall be determined annually according to a fixed
weighting system, which takes into account the score values
resulting from the assessment referred to in Article 5(2) and
described in A of the Annex and the principles as outlined in C
of the Annex.

during the grant year shall be considered eligible, except for
those specified in section 2 of D of the Annex. Beneficiaries
may also disburse funds to partners or member organisations
in accordance with details specified in the approved work
programme.

3.
The amount of the grant shall become final only once the
audited financial statement has been accepted by the Commis-
sion, ensuring that Community funds have been used in
accordance with the relevant provisions of the Financial Regu-
lation of 21 December 1977 applicable to the general budget
of the European Communities (1).

The final payment shall be reduced accordingly if the total of
from this and any other programmes,
Community grants,
exceeds 80 % of the audited eligible expenses of the beneficiary
for the year.

4. Moreover, if the audited financial statement of the grant
year shows that the total revenues of the beneficiary, save
revenues regularly earmarked for ineligible expenses, exceed the
eligible expenses, the final payment shall be reduced or,
if
necessary, the excess amount shall be recovered accordingly.
Pursuant to Article 256 of the Treaty, recovery orders shall be
enforceable.

In order to ensure the effectiveness of

5.
the grants to
environmental NGOs, the Commission shall take the necessary
measures to verify that a selected organisation still satisfies the
requirements for being awarded the grant throughout the grant
year. In particular, a systematic scheme to monitor the benefi-
ciaries' performance during the grant year, as well as an ex-post
performance evaluation, shall be put in place.

6.
The Commission shall provide unsuccessful applicants
with reasons for the failure of the NGO to meet the require-
ments, giving sufficient explanation to enable them to identify
reforms needed before making new applications.

Article 7

This Programme shall start on 1 January 2002 and end

1.
on 31 December 2006.

2.
The financial framework for the implementation of this
Programme for the period 2002 to 2006 is hereby set at
EUR 32 million.

3.
The annual appropriations shall be authorised by the
budgetary authority within the limits of the financial perspec-
tive.

Article 8

1.
In order to protect the Communities' financial interests
against fraud and other irregularities, the Commission may
carry out on-the-spot checks and inspections under
this
Programme in accordance with Council Regulation (Euratom,
EC) No 2185/96 (2). If appropriate, the European Anti-Fraud
Office (OLAF) shall carry out investigations, which shall be
governed by Regulation (EC) No 1073/1999 of the European
Parliament and of the Council (3).

2.
A beneficiary under this Programme shall be free to use
the grant to cover its eligible expenses as it deems appropriate,
over the grant year. All expenses incurred by the beneficiary

(1) OJ L 356, 31.12.1977, p. 1. Regulation as last amended by Regula-

tion (EC) No 762/2001 (OJ L 111, 20.4.2001, p. 1).

(2) OJ L 292, 15.11.1996, p. 2.
(3) OJ L 136, 31.5.1999, p. 1.

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The beneficiary of a grant shall keep available for the
2.
Commission all
including the
the supporting documents,
audited financial statement, regarding expenditure incurred
during the grant year for a period of five years following the
last payment. The beneficiary of a grant shall see to it that,
where appropriate, supporting documents that are in the hands
of partners or members are available for the Commission.

Article 9

1.
Failure to meet expected results, as evidenced by obliga-
tory reports, may lead to ineligibility for funding under this
Programme in the following year. Repeated failure in two
successive years shall result in ineligibility for the remaining
years of the programme.

2.
If an NGO becomes
recovery order due to intentional
caused by negligence or
fraud,
excluded from funding under the remaining years of
Programme.

the subject of a Commission
irregularities
shall automatically be
the

irregularities,
it

3.
If the Commission discovers irregularities, mismanage-
ment or fraud in relation to a grant, either by audits or
on-the-spot checks, the beneficiary shall be subject to one or
several of the following administrative measures and penalties
in proportion to the severity of the case (and with a right to
appeal against the decision):

(a) annulment of the grant;

(b) payment of a fine of up to 50 % of the amount of the

recovery order;

(c) exclusion from other Community funding opportunity, for

the remaining years of the Programme;

(d) exclusion from the relevant dialogue mechanisms of the
Commission, for the remaining years of the Programme.

Article 10

A list of the beneficiaries to be financed under this Programme,
together with the amount allocated, shall be published each
year in the Official Journal of the European Communities.

Article 11

The Commission shall provide a report to the Member States
and the European Parliament by 30 April each year on the
process of allocating grants for the current year, and outcomes
from grants for the previous year. The report shall include an
explanation of how the Commission has selected beneficiaries
for the current year. The Commission shall convene a meeting
of stakeholders to discuss this report by 30 June each year.

By 31 December 2004 at the latest, the Commission shall
submit a report to the European Parliament and the Council on
the achievement of the objectives of this Programme during the
first three years and shall, if appropriate, make proposals for
any adjustment to be made with a view to continuing or not
continuing the Programme. This Report shall be based on the
reports concerning beneficiaries' performance and assess,
in
particular, their effectiveness in contributing to the objectives
stated in Article 1 and the Annex.

The European Parliament and the Council, in accordance with
the Treaty, shall decide on the continuation of the Programme
as from 1 January 2007. Before putting forward proposals to
this end, the Commission shall conduct an external evaluation
of the results achieved by the Programme.

Article 12

This Decision shall enter into force on the day following that
of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Communi-
ties.

Done at Brussels, 1 March 2002.

For the European Parliament

For the Council

The President

P. COX

The President

R. DE MIGUEL

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A. THE FOUR STEPS OF THE SELECTION AND AWARD PROCESS

ANNEX

1. Elimination of applications which do not comply with the technical/administrative requirements for submitting a
request for funding under this Programme. In particular, incomplete or insufficiently detailed applications, or
applications which have not been filled in according to the instructions given on the application form or which
have been submitted after the publicised deadline, shall be ineligible under this Programme.

2. Elimination of applications which do not comply with the eligibility criteria as outlined in Articles 2 and 3.

3. Comparative assessment of the remaining eligible applications evaluated against the following criteria, which are

further specified in B:

(a) extent to which the application and, more specifically, the proposed work programme meet the objectives of
the Programme as described in Article 1 and the priorities of the Programme as described in Article 5;

(b) management and product quality;

(c) outreach, effectiveness and efficiency.

Comparative score values will be assigned to each retained applicant.

4. Fixing the set of applications, which will enter the award procedure by retaining only those which have received

score values above thresholds defined by the Commission.

B. CHARACTERISTICS AGAINST WHICH APPLICANTS WILL BE ASSESSED

Applicants having successfully passed the first two selection steps accounted for in A shall be measured against the
following criteria:

1. Extent to which the application meets the objectives of the Programme

Characteristics of the applicant, including his proposed work programme, which will be evaluated, shall include:

(a) Policy relevance (in relation to the Sixth Environment Action programme, a new European Governance,
Sustainable Development, Enlargement, the Stabilisation and Association process for countries of South-
Eastern Europe, the development of the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership, Integration, Gender Mainstreaming).

(b) Relevance and potential impact of involvement in Community environmental policy-shaping and implementa-

tion.

(c) Representational ability as to voicing the public's concerns from different regions of Europe and as to feeding

in these ideas and proposals for the solution of environmental problems.

(d) Relevance in environment-awareness raising and knowledge-enhancement activities, both in general and in

relation to Community environmental policies.

(e) Ability to: develop networks between organisations in Member States and in candidate countries; encourage
cooperation with organisations in the public and private sector; and attract part financing from external
sources.

For each of the abovementioned characteristics, consideration shall be given to the strength of the applicant with
regard to fulfilling the associated NGO roles indicated in the examples given in D.

2. Management and product quality

Characteristics to be assessed shall

include:

(a) Organisational structure, adequacy in staffing and management of human resources.

(b) Internal decision-making process, relationship with members, including arrangements to ensure involvement of

membership in policy development and policy pronouncements.

(c) Strategic approach, goal-orientation and planning practices.

(d) Administration, budget control and financial management.

(e) Reporting practices (internal and external).

(f) Self-assessment and quality control, feedback of experience (learning).

(g) Technical/scientific competence.

3. Outreach, effectiveness, efficiency

Characteristics to be assessed shall

include:

(a) General visibility of the organisation and its activities.

(b) External relations and effectiveness (with other actors in the field of the environment, such as local and
regional authorities, business and industry, consumer groups, trade unions, other NGOs and the general
public).

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C. DETERMINATION OF GRANTS

The grant is calculated on the applicant's forecasted total eligible expenses for the grant year, taking explicitly into
account his average audited expenses over the preceding two years, according to the following principles:

1. When all other parameters are equal, the grant amount for NGOs with larger volumes of relevant activities (as
measured by the average value of their preceding two years' audited annual expenses and the forecasted total
eligible expenses for the grant year) will normally be higher than the grant amounts for NGOs with smaller
volumes of relevant activities. However, the distribution will be made on a non-linear basis and so beneficiaries
with smaller volumes of relevant activities will receive a relatively higher rate of support.

2. When all other parameters are equal, NGOs getting higher comparative assessment scores will receive larger

amounts than lower scoring applicants.

3. When an NGO has requested a specified amount, under no circumstances shall the grant awarded exceed that

amount.

D. ELIGIBLE EXPENSES

1. All expenses incurred by the beneficiary during the grant year shall be considered eligible except those listed in

section 2. Eligible expenses could include some of the following,

illustrative, examples of activities:

(a) coordinating and channelling to the Commission information and views, based on the concerns and opinions
of the general public, on new and emerging perspectives, which cannot be, or are not being, fully dealt with at
the Member State or appropriate level;

(b) preparatory work and research required for participation in experts groups, in preparatory and implementation
committees of the Community institutions, providing important input to Community policies, programmes
and initiatives and the necessary balance in relation to the interests of other actors in the environment,
including industry/business, trade unions and consumer groups;

(c) stimulation of exchange of views, problems and possible solutions, related to environmental problems with a
Community dimension, involving stakeholders at national, regional and local level. This could also include
transfer of knowledge and ensuring synergy via networking;

(d) awareness-raising and knowledge-enhancement regarding both general aspects of

the environment and

Community environmental policy;

(e) capacity building, in particular to reinforce the involvement of small NGOs, new NGO networks and NGOs in

the candidate countries and the Balkan countries at European level.

2. Payments made by the beneficiary and contracts awarded to third parties, which comprise elements of the

categories below, will be deemed ineligible:

(a) entertainment, hospitality, unnecessary or ill considered expenses;

(b) expenses clearly outside the agreed work programme of the beneficiary for the grant year;

(c) debt reimbursements,

interest owed, carried over deficits;

(d) costs related to the capital employed,

investments or reserves set aside to strengthen the assets of the

beneficiary;

(e) contributions in kind;

(f) private expenses;

(g) criminal/illegal activities.