Council Regulation (EC) No 1646/2003 of 18 June 2003 amending Regulation (EC) No 2667/2000 on the European Agency for Reconstruction
Date: 2003-06-18
Institutions: Council of the European Union
Subjects: European Agency for Reconstruction, access to EU information, financial regulation

L 245/16

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

29.9.2003

COUNCIL REGULATION (EC) No 1646/2003

of 18 June 2003

amending Regulation (EC) No 2667/2000 on the European Agency for Reconstruction

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European
Community, and in particular Article 308 thereof,

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

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

No 1049/2001 applicable to the European Agency for
Reconstruction, as should a provision on appeals against
a refusal of access to documents.

(5)

Regulation (EC) No 2667/2000 should therefore be
amended accordingly,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

Having regard to the opinion of the Court of Auditors (3),

Regulation (EC) No 2667/2000 is hereby amended as follows:

Whereas:

(1)

(2)

Certain provisions of Council Regulation (EC) No
2667/2000 of 5 December 2000 on the European
Agency for Reconstruction (4), should be brought into
Euratom) No
line with Council Regulation (EC,
Financial
1605/2002 of 25 June 2002 on the
Regulation applicable to the general budget of
the
European Communities (5) (hereinafter referred to as the
general Financial Regulation), and in particular Article
185 thereof.

The general principles and limits governing right of
access to documents provided for in Article 255 of the
Treaty have been laid down by Regulation (EC) No
1049/2001 of
the
Council of 30 May 2001 regarding public access to
European
Commission
documents (6).

the European Parliament and of

Parliament,

Council

and

(3) When Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 was adopted, the
three institutions agreed in a joint declaration that the
agencies and similar bodies should implement rules
conforming to those of that Regulation.

(4)

Appropriate provisions should therefore be included in
Regulation (EC) No 2667/2000 to make Regulation (EC)

(1) OJ C 331 E, 31.12.2002, p. 167.
(2) Opinion delivered on 27 March 2003 (not yet published in the

Official Journal).

(3) OJ C 285, 21.11.2002, p. 4.
(4) OJ L 306, 7.12.2000, p. 7. Regulation as

last amended by

Regulation (EC) No 2415/2001 (OJ L 327, 12.12.2001, p. 3).

(5) OJ L 248, 16.9.2002, p. 1 with Corrigendum in OJ L 25,

30.1.2003, p. 43.

(6) OJ L 145, 31.5.2001, p. 43.

1. Article 4(14) shall be replaced by the following:

‘14.
The Governing Board shall adopt the annual report
on the Agency's activities and forward it by 15 June at the
latest
the
to the European Parliament,
Commission and the Court of Auditors.

the Council,

The Agency shall forward annually to the budgetary
15.
authority any information relevant to the outcome of the
evaluation procedures.';

2. Article 5(1)(e) shall be replaced by the following:

‘(e) preparation of the draft statement of estimates of the
Agency's revenue and expenditure, and execution of
the Agency's budget;'

3. Articles 7, 8 and 9 shall be replaced by the following:

‘Article 7

revenue and expenditure for

1.
Each year, the Governing Board, on the basis of a
draft drawn up by the Director, shall produce an estimate
of
the
following financial year. This estimate, which shall include
a draft establishment plan, shall be forwarded by the
Governing Board to the Commission by 31 March at the
latest.

the Agency for

2.
The estimate shall be forwarded by the Commission
to the European Parliament and the Council (hereinafter
referred to as the budgetary authority) together with the
preliminary draft general budget of the European Union.

The Commission shall examine the estimate, taking
3.
the priorities it has agreed and the overall
account of
financial guidelines
the
reconstruction of Serbia and Montenegro and the Former
Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.

for Community assistance for

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It shall establish on this basis, within the proposed limits
of the overall amount to be made available for Community
assistance to Serbia and Montenegro and the Former
Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia,
the indicative annual
contribution for the budget of the Agency.

On the basis of the estimate, the Commission shall
4.
enter
the
in the preliminary draft general budget of
European Union the estimates it deems necessary for the
establishment plan and the amount of the subsidy to be
charged to the general budget, which it shall place before
the budgetary authority in accordance with Article 272 of
the Treaty.

The

5.
appropriations for the subsidy to the Agency.

budgetary

authority

shall

authorise

the

The budgetary authority shall adopt the establishment plan
for the Agency.

6.
The budget of the Agency shall be adopted by the
following final
Governing Board.
It shall become final
adoption of the general budget of the European Union.
Where appropriate, it shall be adjusted accordingly.

the budgetary

any project which may have

The Governing Board shall, as soon as possible,
7.
intention to
authority of
notify
significant
implement
financial
in
particular any projects relating to property such as the
rental or purchase of buildings.
inform the
Commission thereof.

implications for the funding of

its budget,

shall

its

It

Where a branch of the budgetary authority has notified its
intention to deliver an opinion, it shall forward its opinion
to the Governing Board within a period of six weeks from
the date of notification of the project.

8.
In the interests of budgetary transparency, funds from
sources other than the general budget of the European
Union shall be shown separately in the Agency's revenue.
In the expenditure, administrative and staff costs shall be
clearly separate from operating costs for the programmes
referred to in the first indent of Article 2(3).

Article 8

The Director shall

1.
Agency.

implement

the budget of

the

2.
By 1 March at the latest following each financial year,
the Agency's accounting officer shall communicate the
provisional accounts
to the Commission's accounting
together with a report on the budgetary and
officer
financial
financial management
year. The
that
Commission's accounting officer
shall consolidate the
provisional accounts of the institutions and decentralised
the general
bodies in accordance with Article 128 of
Financial Regulation.

for

By 31 March at the latest following each financial
3.
year, the Commission's accounting officer shall forward the
Agency's provisional accounts to the Court of Auditors,
together with a report on the budgetary and financial
management
financial year. The report on the
budgetary and financial management for the financial year
shall also be forwarded to the European Parliament and the
Council.

for that

On receipt of the Court of Auditors' observations on
4.
the Agency's provisional accounts, pursuant to Article 129
of the general Financial Regulation, the Director shall draw
up
own
responsibility and submit them to the Governing Board for
an opinion.

the Agency's

accounts

under

final

his

The Director shall, by 1 July at the latest following
5.
forward the final accounts to the
each financial year,
European Parliament, the Council, the Commission and the
Court of Auditors, together with the Governing Board's
opinion.

The Governing Board shall deliver an opinion on the

6.
Agency's final accounts.

7.

The final accounts shall be published.

8.
The Director shall send the Court of Auditors a reply
to its observations by 30 September at the latest. He shall
also send this reply to the Governing Board.

shall

submit

The Director

9.
European
Parliament, at the latter's request, any information required
for the smooth application of the discharge procedure for
the financial year in question, as laid down in Article
146(3) of the general Financial Regulation.

the

to

The European Parliament, on a recommendation
10.
from the Council acting by a qualified majority, shall,
before 30 April of year N + 2, give a discharge to the
Director in respect of the implementation of the budget for
year N.

Article 9

The financial
rules applicable to the Agency shall be
adopted by the Governing Board after the Commission has
been consulted. They may not depart from Commission
Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 2343/2002 of 19 November
2002 on the framework Financial Regulation for
the
bodies referred to in Article 185 of Council Regulation
(EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002 on the Financial Regulation
the European
applicable
the
for
Communities (*)
Agency's operation and with the Commission's prior
consent.

general budget of
specifically

required

to the

unless

(*) OJ L 357, 31.12.2002, p. 72. Corrigendum in OJ L 2,

7.1.2003, p. 39.';

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4.

the following Article shall be inserted:

‘Article 13a

Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 of

1.
the European
Parliament and of the Council of 30 May 2001 regarding
public
and
Commission documents (*) shall apply to documents held
by the Agency.

to European Parliament, Council

access

The Governing Board shall adopt the arrangements
2.
for implementing Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 within
six months of entry into force of Council Regulation (EC)
No 1646/2003 of 18 June 2003 amending Regulation (EC)
for
No
Reconstruction (**).

2667/2000

European

Agency

the

on

Decisions taken by the Agency pursuant to Article 8
3.
of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 may form the subject of
a complaint to the Ombudsman or of an action before the
Court of Justice, under the conditions laid down in Articles
195 and 230 of the Treaty respectively.

(*) OJ L 145, 31.5.2001, p. 43.
(**) OJ L 245, 29.9.2003, p. 16.'

Article 2

This Regulation shall enter into force on the on the first day of
its publication in the Official
the month following that of
Journal of the European Union.

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

Done at Luxembourg, 18 June 2003.

For the Council

The President

G. DRYS