Regulation (EC) No 1644/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 July 2003 amending Regulation (EC) No 1406/2002 establishing a European Maritime Safety Agency
Date: 2003-07-22
Institutions: Council of the European Union, European Parliament
Subjects: EU office or agency, access to EU information, budgetary control, document, financial regulation, maritime safety

L 245/10

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

29.9.2003

REGULATION (EC) No 1644/2003 OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL

amending Regulation (EC) No 1406/2002 establishing a European Maritime Safety Agency

of 22 July 2003

THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF
THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European
Community, and in particular Article 80(2) thereof,

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

Having regard to the opinion of the Court of Auditors (2),

Having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and
Social Committee (3),

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

(4)

Appropriate provisions should therefore be included in
Regulation (EC) No 1406/2002 to make Regulation (EC)
No 1049/2001 applicable to the European Maritime
Safety Agency, as should a provision on appeals against
a refusal of access to documents.

(5)

Regulation (EC) No 1406/2002 should therefore be
amended accordingly,

Acting in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article
251 of the Treaty (4),

HAVE ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Whereas:

Article 1

(1)

(2)

Certain provisions of Regulation (EC) No 1406/2002 of
the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 June
2002 setting up a European Maritime Safety Agency (5)
should be brought into line with Council Regulation
(EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002 of 25 June 2002 on the
Financial Regulation applicable to the general budget of
the European Communities (6), (hereinafter referred to
as the general Financial Regulation), and in particular
Article 185 thereof.

The general principles and limits governing the exercise
of the right of access to documents provided for in
the Treaty have been laid down by
Article 255 of
the European
Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 of
Parliament and of
the Council of 30 May 2001
regarding public access to European Parliament, Council
and Commission documents (7).

(1) OJ C 331 E, 31.12.2002, p. 87.
(2) OJ C 285, 21.11.2002, p. 4.
(3) OJ C 85, 8.4.2003, p. 64.
(4) Opinion of the European Parliament of 22 October 2002 (not yet
published in the Official Journal), Council Common Position of 3
June 2003 (not yet published in the Official Journal) and Decision
of the European Parliament of 1 July 2003.

(5) OJ L 208, 5.8.2002, p. 1.
(6) OJ L 248, 16.9.2002, p. 1; corrigendum in OJ L 25, 30.1.2003,

p. 43.

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

Regulation (EC) No 1406/2002 is hereby amended as follows:

1.

in Article 4:

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

Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 of the European
‘1.
the Council of 30 May 2001
Parliament and of
regarding public
to European Parliament,
Council and Commission documents (*) shall apply to
documents held by the Agency.

access

(*) OJ L 145, 31.5.2001, p. 43.';

(b) Paragraph 3 shall be replaced by the following:

shall

adopt

The Administrative Board

the
‘3.
practical arrangements for
implementing Regulation
(EC) No 1049/2001 within six months after the entry
into force of Regulation (EC) No 1644/2003 of the
European Parliament and of the Council of 22 July
2003 amending Regulation (EC) No 1406/2002
establishing a European Maritime Safety Agency (**).

(**) OJ L 245, 29.9.2003, p. 10.';

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Official Journal of the European Union

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(c) The following paragraph shall be added:

Decisions

taken by the Agency pursuant

‘5.
to
Article 8 of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 may form
the subject of a complaint to the Ombudsman or of an
the European
action before the Court of
Communities, under Articles 195 and 230 of the EC
Treaty respectively.';

Justice of

2. Article 10(2)(b) shall be replaced by the following:

‘(b) shall adopt the annual report on the Agency's activities
and forward it by 15 June at the latest to the European
Parliament, the Council, the Commission, the Court of
Auditors and the Member States.

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

3.

in Article 18:

(a) Paragraphs (3), (4), (5) and (6) shall be replaced by the

following:

The Executive Director shall draw up a draft
‘3.
statement of estimates of the Agency's revenue and
expenditure for the following year and shall forward it
to the Administrative Board,
together with a draft
establishment plan.

4.

Revenue and expenditure shall be in balance.

5.
Each year the Administrative Board, on the basis
revenue and
of a draft statement of estimates of
expenditure, shall produce a statement of estimates of
revenue and expenditure for
the
following financial year.

the Agency for

6.
This statement of estimates, which shall include a
draft establishment plan together with the provisional
work programme, shall by 31 March at the latest be
forwarded by
to the
Commission and to the States with which the
Community has concluded agreements in accordance
with Article 17.';

the Administrative Board

(b) the following paragraphs shall be added:

‘7.
The statement of estimates shall be forwarded by
the Commission to the European Parliament and the
the budgetary
Council
authority) together with the preliminary draft general
budget of the European Union.

referred to as

(hereinafter

8.
On the basis of the statement of estimates, the
Commission shall enter in the preliminary draft general
budget of the 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 budgetary authority shall
9.
appropriations for the subsidy to the Agency.

authorise

the

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

be

The

shall

budget

10.
the
Administrative Board. It shall become final following
final adoption of the general budget of the European
adjusted
Union. Where
accordingly.

appropriate,

shall be

adopted

by

it

The Administrative Board shall, as

11.
soon as
possible, notify the budgetary authority of its intention
to implement any project which may have significant
financial implications for the funding of the budget, in
particular any projects relating to property such as the
rental or purchase of buildings.
inform the
Commission thereof.

It shall

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

4. Article 19 shall be replaced by the following,

‘Article 19

Implementation and control of the budget

The Executive Director shall implement the Agency's

1.
budget.

2.
By 1 March at the latest following each financial year,
the Agency's accounting officer shall communicate the
to the Commission's accounting
provisional accounts
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, under Article 129 of
the general Financial Regulation,
the Executive Director
shall draw up the Agency's final accounts under his own
them to the Administrative
responsibility and submit
Board for an opinion.

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Official Journal of the European Union

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The Administrative Board shall deliver an opinion on

5.
the Agency's final accounts.

5. Article 21 shall be replaced by the following:

6.
The Executive Director shall, by 1 July at the latest
following each financial year, forward the final accounts to
the European Parliament, the Council, the Commission and
the Court of Auditors, together with the Administrative
Board's opinion.

7.

The final accounts shall be published.

The Executive Director

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

shall

9.
The Executive Director shall submit to the European
Parliament, at the latter's request, all information necessary
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.

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

‘Article 21

Financial provisions

been

depart

consulted. They may not

The financial
rules applicable to the Agency shall be
adopted by the Administrative Board after the Commission
has
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 applicable
the
such a departure is
European Communities (*) unless
specifically required for the Agency's operation and the
Commission has given its prior consent.

to the general budget of

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

7.1.2003, p. 39.'

Article 2

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

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

Done at Brussels, 22 July 2003.

For the European Parliament

The President

P. COX

For the Council

The President

G. ALEMANNO