2004/858/EC: Commission Decision of 15 December 2004 setting up an executive agency, the ‘Executive Agency for the Public Health Programme’, for the management of Community action in the field of public health — pursuant to Council Regulation (EC) No 58/2003
Date: 2004-12-15
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: EU office or agency, EU programme, management, operation of the Institutions, powers of the institutions (EU), public health

16.12.2004

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

L 369/73

COMMISSION DECISION

of 15 December 2004
setting up an executive agency, the ‘Executive Agency for the Public Health Programme’, for the
management of Community action in the field of public health — pursuant to Council Regulation
(EC) No 58/2003

(2004/858/EC)

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

tation of technical projects which do not entail political
decision-making and requires a high level of technical
and financial expertise throughout the project cycle.

Having regard to the Treaty
Community,

establishing the European

Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 58/2003 of 19
December 2002 laying down the statute for executive agencies
to be entrusted with certain tasks in the management of
Community programmes (1), and in particular Article 3(1)
thereof,

Whereas:

(1)

(2)

(3)

Regulation (EC) No 58/2003 empowers the Commission
to set up executive agencies in accordance with the
general statute laid down by the said Regulation and to
entrust them with certain management tasks relating to
this Decision
one or more Community programmes;
does not affect the scope of the Regulation.

The purpose of empowering the Commission to set up
executive agencies is to allow it to focus on core activities
and functions which cannot be outsourced, without relin-
quishing control over, or ultimate responsibility for,
activities managed by the said executive agencies.

Management of the programme of Community action in
the field of public health, adopted by Decision No
1786/2002/EC of the European Parliament and of the
Council of 23 September 2002 (2),
involves implemen-

(1) OJ L 11, 16.1.2003, p. 1.
(2) OJ L 271, 9.10.2002, p. 1. Decision as last amended by Decision

No 786/2004/EC (OJ L 138, 30.4.2004, p. 7).

(4)

(5)

(6)

(7)

The delegation to an executive agency of tasks related to
programme implementation is possible, with a clear
separation between the project programming stage,
which is the task of the Commission, and the project
implementation stage, which would be entrusted to the
executive agency.

A cost-benefit study carried out for that purpose showed
that the executive agency would be a more economical
means of
the way in
improving the effectiveness of
which the public health programme is implemented.
Based on the characteristics of
the
emphasis is on delegating technical tasks, the main aim
being to strengthen the connections between the said
Community programme and communities of experts in
the Member States.

this programme,

The agency will have to mobilise high-level expertise in
order to meet the objectives defined by the Commission
and under its control. The agency will also have to make
it possible to optimise the implementation of
the
programme by facilitating the recruitment of specialists
in public health matters.

in the

flexibility

implementation of

In addition to its tasks in the long term, the agency will
the
improve
programme. The agency's annual work programme will
ensure that it supports the setting of annual priorities for
the implementation of
the public health programme,
arranged and decided by the Commission following the
opinion of the programme committee.

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Official Journal of the European Union

16.12.2004

(8)

(9)

of

the

programme

establishment

together with

Management based on the results obtained by the
agency,
the
the
necessary procedures and channels of control and coor-
dination, will make it possible to simplify the ways in
the
is
which
Commission. The Commission will be able to capitalise
on the technical work carried out by the agency, by
developing,
in parallel and in an appropriate manner,
tasks which require political discretion. The Commission
will also develop tasks relating to the implementation of
the programme which it would be inappropriate to
entrust to the agency.

implemented

by

or any other action which could come under the exclusive
competence of
is hereby
the Commission.
entrusted with the following tasks:

In particular,

it

(a) managing all the phases in the lifetime of specific projects,
in the context of implementing the programme on public
health, on the basis of Decision No 1786/2002/EC and of
the work plan provided for in that Decision and adopted by
the Commission, and the necessary checks to that end,
taking the relevant decisions where the Commission has
empowered it to do so;

Cooperation between the agency and the Commission,
and the accomplishment of the agency's specific tasks
as
regards disseminating information and providing
assistance to networks, should help to raise the profile
of Community action in the field of public health.

(b) adopting the instruments of budget execution for revenue
and expenditure and carrying out, where the Commission
has empowered it to do so, all the operations necessary for
the management of the Community programme and,
in
particular, those linked to the award of contracts and grants;

(10)

The measures provided for
accordance with the opinion of
Executive Agencies,

in this Decision are in
the Committee for

DECIDES:

Article 1

Establishment

agency

An executive

the
for
1.
Community programme in the field of public health (the
Agency), the statute of which is laid down in Regulation (EC)
No 58/2003, is hereby established.

the management of

The name of the Agency shall be the ‘Executive Agency

2.
for the Public Health Programme’.

Article 2

Location

The Agency shall be located in Luxembourg.

Article 3

Term

The Agency is hereby established for a period beginning on 1
January 2005 and ending on 31 December 2010.

(c) providing logistical,

scientific and technical

in
particular by organising technical meetings (management
of expert working groups), preparatory studies, seminars
or conferences.

support,

2.
The Commission decision delegating authority to the
Agency shall set out in detail all the tasks entrusted to the
Agency. It shall be forwarded to the Committee for Executive
Agencies by way of information.

Article 5

Organisational structure

The Agency shall be managed by a Steering Committee

1.
and a Director appointed by the Commission.

2.
The members of
appointed for two years.

the Steering Committee

shall be

3.

The Director shall be appointed for four years.

Article 6

Grant

The Agency shall receive a grant entered in the general budget
of the European Union and taken from the funds allocated to
the programme on public health.

Article 4

Article 7

Objectives and tasks

Supervision and reporting requirement

1.
Under the Community programme in the field of public
health established by Decision No 1786/2002/EC (framework
Decision), the Agency is hereby entrusted with implementing
the tasks concerning Community aid under the programme,
legislation,
except

for programme evaluation, monitoring of

The Agency shall be subject to supervision by the Commission
and shall report regularly on progress in implementing the
in accordance with
programmes for which it is responsible,
the arrangements and at
stipulated in the
intervals
instrument of delegation.

the

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Official Journal of the European Union

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Article 8

Implementation of the operating budget

The Agency shall implement its operating budget in accordance with the provisions of the standard financial
regulation (1).

Done at Brussels, 15 December 2004.

For the Commission

Markos KYPRIANOU
Member of the Commission

(1) Commission Regulation (EC) No 1653/2004 of 21 September 2004 on a standard financial regulation for the
executive agencies pursuant to Council Regulation (EC) No 58/2003 laying down the statute for executive agencies
to be entrusted with certain tasks in the management of Community programmes (OJ L 297, 22.9.2004, p. 6).