Council Regulation (EC) No 2154/2002 of 28 November 2002 amending Regulation (EEC) No 4045/89 on scrutiny by Member States of transactions forming part of the system of financing by the Guarantee Section of the European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund
Date: 2002-11-28
Institutions: Council of the European Union
Subjects: EAGGF Guarantee Section, EU control, EU financing, disclosure of information, financial control, management audit

L 328/4

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

5.12.2002

I

(Acts whose publication is obligatory)

COUNCIL REGULATION (EC) No 2154/2002

of 28 November 2002

amending Regulation (EEC) No 4045/89 on scrutiny by Member States of transactions forming part
of the system of financing by the Guarantee Section of the European Agricultural Guidance and
Guarantee Fund

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Commu-
nity, and in particular Article 37 thereof,

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

Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament (2),

Whereas:

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

The rules for the selection of undertakings to be scruti-
nised as laid down in Article 2 of Regulation (EEC) No
4045/89 (3) should be modified in order to take account
of developments in the use of risk-analysis techniques in
other control measures, to take account of inflation since
the last amendment to Regulation (EEC) No 4045/89,
and to give Member States greater flexibility in the selec-
tion of undertakings.

joint actions

Provision should be made for cases where Member States
involving mutual assistance
carry out
between Member States. A reduction in the number of
scrutinies, reflecting the selection of undertakings on the
basis of risk-analysis techniques and enhanced mutual
assistance, should not give rise to a deterioration in the
quality of these scrutinies.

The provisions
communication of
requests for mutual assistance under Article 7 of Regula-
tion (EEC) No 4045/89 should be simplified.

relating to the

The provisions dealing with the financial participation of
the Community in Member States' expenditure resulting
from the application of Regulation (EEC) No 4045/89
have become obsolete and should be deleted.

Article 1

Regulation (EEC) No 4045/89 is hereby amended as follows:

1. Article 1 shall be amended as follows:

(a) paragraph 1 shall be replaced by the following:

‘1.
This Regulation relates to scrutiny of the commer-
cial documents of those entities receiving or making
payments relating directly or indirectly to the system of
financing by the Guarantee Section of the EAGGF, or
their representatives, hereinafter called “undertakings”, in
order to ascertain whether transactions forming part of
the system of financing by the Guarantee Section of the
EAGGF have actually been carried out and have been
executed correctly.’;

(b) the following paragraph 5 shall be added:

Scrutinies of

‘5.
rural development measures and
projects not explicitly excluded from the scope of such
scrutinies, pursuant to the Annex to Regulation (EC) No
2311/2000 (*), shall pay particular attention to the
special conditions governing the implementation of such
measures and projects.

(*) OJ L 265, 19.10.2000, p. 10.’;

2. Article 2(2) shall be amended as follows:

(a) in the first

subparagraph,
replaced by ‘EUR 150 000’;

(b) in the fourth subparagraph,
replaced by ‘EUR 350 000’;

‘ECU 100 000’

shall be

‘ECU 300 000’ shall be

(c) in the fifth subparagraph, ‘ECU 30 000’ shall be replaced

by ‘EUR 40 000’;

(5)

Regulation (EEC) No 4045/89 therefore should be
amended accordingly,

3. the following indent shall be added to Article 3(1):

(1) OJ C 51 E, 26.2.2002, p. 366.
(2) Opinion of 24 September 2002 (not yet published in the Official

Journal).

(3) OJ L 388, 30.12.1989, p. 18. Regulation as last amended by Regu-

lation (EC) No 3235/94 (OJ L 338, 28.12.1994, p. 16).

‘— Checks, in relation to bookkeeping, or records of finan-
cial movements showing, at the time of the scrutiny,
that the documents held by the paying agency as justifi-
cation for the payment of aid to the beneficiary are
accurate.’;

5.12.2002

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

L 328/5

4. Article 7 shall be amended as follows:

(a) in paragraph 1, the following subparagraph shall be

added:
‘Where two or more Member States include in the
programme sent in under Article 10(1) a proposal for
joint action involving extensive mutual assistance, the
Commission may, on request, allow a reduction of up to
a maximum of 25 % of the minimum number of scruti-
nies as determined under Article 2(2) for the Member
States concerned.’;

(b) in paragraph 2, the fifth subparagraph shall be replaced

by the following:
‘An overview of such requests shall be sent
to the
Commission on a quarterly basis, within one month
after the end of each quarter. The Commission may
demand that a copy of individual requests be provided.’;

(c) paragraph 4 shall be replaced by the following:

If additional

‘4.
information is required in another
Member State as part of the scrutiny of an undertaking
in accordance with Article 2, and in particular cross-
checks in accordance with Article 3, specific scrutiny

requests may be made indicating the reasons for the
request. An overview of such specific requests shall be
sent to the Commission on a quarterly basis within one
month after the end of each quarter. The Commission
may demand that a copy of
individual requests be
provided.

The scrutiny request shall be met not later than six
months after its receipt; the results of the scrutiny shall
be communicated without delay to the requesting
Member State and to the Commission. The communica-
tion to the Commission shall be on a quarterly basis
within one month after the end of each quarter.’;

5. Articles 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 16a and 17 shall be deleted.

Article 2

This Regulation shall enter
into force on the third day
following its publication in the Official Journal of the European
Communities.

It shall apply with effect from the 2003/2004 scrutiny period.

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.

Done at Brussels, 28 November 2002.

For the Council

The President

M. FISCHER BOEL