Decision of the Bureau of the European Parliament of  29 March 2004  laying down the procedures for implementing Regulation (EC) No 2004/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the regulations governing political parties at European level and the rules regarding their funding
Date: 2006-06-28
Institutions: Bureau of the European Parliament
Subjects: EU financing, legal status, party financing, political parties

28.6.2006

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Official Journal of the European Union

C 150/9

I

(Information)

EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT

DECISION OF THE BUREAU OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT

of 29 March 2004 (1)

laying down the procedures for implementing Regulation (EC) No 2004/2003 of the European
Parliament and of the Council on the regulations governing political parties at European level and
the rules regarding their funding

(2006/C 150/02)

THE BUREAU,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Com-
munity, and in particular Article 191 thereof,

Having regard to Regulation (EC) No 2004/2003 of the Euro-
pean Parliament and of the Council of 4 November 2003 on
the regulations governing political parties at European level
and the rules regarding their funding (2),

Having regard to Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No
1605/2002 of 25 June 2002 on the Financial Regulation
applicable to the general budget of the European Commu-
nities (3)
(hereinafter ‘the Financial Regulation’), Commission
Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 2342/2002 of 23 December
2002 laying down detailed rules for the implementation of
Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002 on the Finan-
cial Regulation applicable to the general budget of the Euro-
pean Communities (4) (hereinafter ‘the regulation laying down
detailed implementing rules’), and Commission Regulation (EC)
No 643/2005 of 27 April 2005 repealing Commission Regu-
lation (EC) No 2909/2000 on the accounting management of
the European Communities' non-financial fixed assets (5),

Having regard to Rule 22(10) of Parliament's Rules of Proce-
dure,

Whereas:

(1) Amended by the Bureau decision of 1 February 2006.
(2) OJ L 297, 15.11.2003, p. 1.
(3) OJ L 248, 16.9.2002, p. 1.
(4) OJ L 357, 31.12.2002, p. 1.
(5) OJ L 107, 28.4.2005, p. 17.

(1)

(2)

There is a need to lay down the procedures for awarding
and managing grants intended to contribute to the
funding of political parties at European level;

Financial support for political parties at European level
constitutes a grant within the meaning of Article 108 et
seq. of the Financial Regulation,

HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS

Article 1

Subject-matter

These rules lay down the procedures for implementing Regu-
lation (EC) No 2004/2003 of the European Parliament and of
the Council of 4 November 2003 on the regulations governing
political parties at European level and the rules regarding their
funding.

Article 1a

For the funding of the political parties at European level, the
Bureau shall adopt at the beginning of every parliamentary
term an indicative multiannual financial framework, based on
reference values for the basic amount per party and for the
additional amount
linked to the number of MEPs being a
member of the party concerned. This framework will constitute
the prime reference for the budgetary authority of the Euro-
pean Parliament during the annual budgetary procedure,
without affecting the powers of the budgetary authority as
defined by the Treaty.

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Article 2

Call for proposals

following submission of the application, on the basis of notifi-
cations received pursuant to Article 4(3) of Regulation (EC) No
2004/2003 and changes which are common knowledge.

The European Parliament shall publish each year, before the
end of the first half of the year, a call for proposals with a view
to the awarding of grants to fund political parties at European
level. The published document shall set out
the eligibility
criteria,
the arrangements for the provision of Community
funding and the proposed timetable for the award procedure.

When, due to an increase in the number of parties applying for
funding, or the number of MEPs having joined an applicant
party, the reference amounts for the applicants are different
from those foreseen under article 1 a, the Secretary-General
shall
immediately inform the Bureau, which may invite the
President to submit a proposal to the competent committee
with a view to adapting the available appropriations.

Article 3

Funding application

1.
For the purposes of implementing Article 4 of Regulation
(EC) No 2004/2003, any political party at European level
wishing to receive a grant from the general budget of the Euro-
pean Union shall submit a written application to the President
of
to the 15 November
preceding the financial year in respect of which the grant is
being requested. The conditions laid down in Article 3 of Regu-
lation (EC) No 2004/2003 must be met on the date when the
application is submitted.

the European Parliament prior

The grant application form is annexed to these rules

2.
(Annex 1). It is available on Parliament's Internet site.

3.
All notifications pursuant to Article 4(3) of Regulation
(EC) No 2004/2003 shall be forwarded to the President of the
European Parliament.

Article 4

Decision on the funding application

1.
On a proposal from the Secretary-General, the Bureau
shall assess funding applications on the basis of the criteria laid
down in Articles 3 and 4 of Regulation (EC) No 2004/2003
with a view to determining which applications are eligible for
funding. The Bureau and, when the Bureau decision is being
prepared, the Secretary-General may ask an applicant to submit
further supporting documents or to clarify the supporting
documents attached to the application, by a deadline which
they shall lay down.

2.
Before 15 February of the financial year in respect of
which the grant is being requested, the Bureau shall draw up
the list of beneficiaries and the amounts of the grants awarded.
Should a grant application not be approved, the Bureau shall
set out in the same decision the grounds for rejecting the appli-
cation, in particular in the light of the criteria laid down in
Articles 3 and 4 of Regulation (EC) No 2004/2003.

The Bureau decision shall be adopted on the basis of the assess-
ment provided for in paragraph 1. It shall take account of any
situation
changes which have occurred in an applicant's

The President shall

3.
inform applicants in writing of the
action taken on their applications. In cases where an applica-
tion has been approved, the notification shall incorporate, as
an annex, the draft grant award agreement to be signed by the
beneficiary.
In cases where an application has not been
approved, the notification shall include the grounds for rejec-
tion set out by the Bureau. Applicants whose applications have
been rejected by the Bureau shall be informed of that fact
within 15 calendar days following notification to beneficiaries
of the decision to award a grant.

Article 5

Grant award agreement

A grant awarded to a political party at European level shall be
the subject of a written agreement between the European
Parliament, represented by the President or his or her delegate,
and the beneficiary. A copy of the grant award agreement is
annexed to these rules (Annex 2). The agreement must be duly
completed and signed by the two parties within 30 days
following the Bureau decision referred to in Article 4. The
wording of the grant award agreement shall not be thereafter
amended.

Article 6

Payment

1.
Unless the Bureau decides otherwise, grants shall be paid
to political parties at European level in the form of pre-finan-
cing in one instalment of 80 % of the maximum amount of
the grant laid down in Article I.3.2. of the grant award agree-
ment, within 15 days following the signing of that agreement.

2.
The balance shall be paid once the period of eligibility for
Community funding has come to an end, on the basis of the
expenditure actually incurred by the beneficiary in imple-
menting the programme of activities. If the total amount of the
preceding payments exceeds the figure determined for the final
grant, the European Parliament shall recover the sums unduly
paid.

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3.
By 15 May and at the latest by 30 June following the end
of the financial year, the beneficiary shall submit the following
documents with a view to enabling Parliament to pay the
balance of the grant:

Article 7

Determining the final grant

— a final report on the implementation of the programme of

activities;

— a final financial statement of the eligible expenditure actu-
ally incurred, based on the structure of the provisional
budget;

1.
Irrespective of the information obtained subsequently in
connection with the checks and audits, after hearing the repre-
sentatives of the political party making the request to be heard,
the Bureau shall determine the amount of the final grant to be
awarded to the beneficiary on the basis of the documents
referred to in Article 6(3) which it has approved.

— a comprehensive summary of revenue and expenditure
corresponding to the beneficiary's accounts for the period
of eligibility covered by the grant award agreement;

Under no circumstances may the total amount paid to

2.
the beneficiary by Parliament exceed:

— a report on an external audit of the beneficiary's accounts
carried out by an independent body or expert authorised
under national law to audit accounts.

4.
The purpose of the external audit shall be to certify that
the financial documents submitted by the beneficiary to Parlia-
ment are consistent with the financial provisions of the grant
award agreement, that the expenditure declared was actually
incurred, that the statement of revenue is exhaustive, and that
the obligations arising out of Articles 6, 7, 8 and 10(2) of
Regulation (EC) No 2004/2003 have been met.

5.
Upon receipt of the documents referred to in paragraph
3, and within two months, the Bureau, acting on a proposal
from the Secretary-General, shall approve the final report on
the implementation of the programme of activities and the
final financial statement.

The Bureau may ask the beneficiary to supply supporting docu-
ments or any further information it regards as necessary to
enable it to approve the final report and the final financial
statement. The beneficiary shall have 15 days in which to
submit the supporting documents concerned.

After hearing the
the political party
representatives of
concerned, the Bureau may reject the final report and the final
financial statement and call for the submission of a fresh report
and a fresh financial statement. The beneficiary shall have 15
days in which to submit a fresh report and a fresh financial
statement.

Should Parliament not respond in writing within the two-
month period referred to above, the final report and the final
financial statement shall be deemed to have been approved.

— the maximum amount of the grant laid down in Article

I.3.2 of the grant award agreement;

— 75 % of the eligible expenditure actually incurred.

3.
The grant shall be limited to the amount needed to
balance revenue and eligible expenditure in the operating
budget of the beneficiary which implemented the programme
it produce a
of activities and under no circumstances shall
profit for the beneficiary, pursuant to Article 165 of the regu-
lation laying down detailed implementing rules. Any surplus
shall give rise to a corresponding reduction in the amount of
the grant.

On the basis of the amount of the final grant determined
4.
in this way and the cumulative amount of
the payments
previously made under the grant award agreement, the Bureau
shall lay down the amount of the balance to be paid, which
shall be equal to the amounts still due to the beneficiary. If the
cumulative amount of the payments previously made exceeds
the amount of the final grant, the Secretary-General or his dele-
the excess
issue a recovery order in respect of
gate shall
amount.

Article 8

Suspension and reduction of the grant

On a proposal from the Secretary-General, the Bureau shall
suspend payments and reduce the grant, and, if appropriate,
shall terminate the grant award agreement, and may request
appropriate repayment,

(a) in the event of the grant being used to cover expenditure

not authorised by Regulation (EC) No 2004/2003;

6.
The beneficiary shall notify Parliament of the amount of
interest or equivalent benefits generated by the pre-financing
received from Parliament. The notification must be forwarded
with the application for payment of the balance which settles
the pre-financing procedure. That interest shall be the subject
of a recovery order issued by the Secretary-General or his dele-
gate.

(b) in the event of failure to provide the notification laid down

in Article 4(3) of Regulation (EC) No 2004/2003;

(c) in the event of failure to meet the conditions and obliga-
tions laid down in Articles 3 and 6 respectively of Regu-
lation (EC) No 2004/2003;

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(d) should one of the circumstances described in Article 93 or

94 of the Financial Regulation arise.

Before taking a decision, the Bureau shall give the beneficiary
the chance to comment on the irregularities established.

5.
Each grant award agreement shall expressly provide for
auditing by the European Parliament and the Court of Auditors,
on the basis of records and on the spot, of the political party at
European level which has received a grant from the general
budget of the European Union.

Article 9

Recovery

1.
If amounts have been unduly paid to the beneficiary or if
a recovery procedure is justified under the terms of the grant
the beneficiary shall repay the amounts
award agreement,
concerned to Parliament, in accordance with the terms and by
the deadline laid down by Parliament.

Should the beneficiary fail to make the repayment by the
2.
deadline laid down by Parliament, the latter shall charge on the
sums due late-payment interest at the rate laid down in Article
II.14.3 of the grant award agreement. The late-payment interest
shall cover the period between the deadline laid down for
repayment, exclusive, and the date on which Parliament
receives full repayment of the sums due, inclusive.

Article 10

Checks and audits

1.
The regular verification pursuant to Article 5(1) of Regu-
lation (EC) No 2004/2003 shall be carried out by the Secretary-
General.

The beneficiary shall supply all the detailed information
2.
to any other external body
requested to Parliament, or
the latter can verify the
authorised by Parliament, so that
proper implementation of the programme of activities and the
provisions of the grant award agreement.

The beneficiary shall keep at Parliament's disposal all the
3.
original documents,
in particular accounting, bank and tax
documents, or, in duly substantiated exceptional cases, certified
true copies of the original documents, relating to the grant
award agreement for a period of five years from the date on
which the balance of the amounts due, as referred to in Article
I.4 of the grant award agreement, is paid.

The beneficiary shall facilitate the performance by Parlia-
4.
ment, either directly by Parliament staff or by any other
external body Parliament has authorised to that effect, of an
audit of the way the grant has been used. Such audits may be
carried out throughout the lifetime of the grant award agree-
ment, up to the date on which the balance is paid, and for a
period of five years as from the date on which the balance is
paid. If appropriate, the audit findings may give rise to recovery
decisions by the Bureau.

Pursuant to Regulation (EC) No 1073/1999 of the Euro-
6.
pean Parliament and of
the Council of 25 May 1999
concerning investigations conducted by the European Anti-
Fraud Office (OLAF) (1), OLAF may also carry out checks and
verifications on the spot, in accordance with the procedures
laid down by Community law with a view to protecting the
financial interests of the European Communities against fraud
and other irregularities. If appropriate, the findings may give
rise to recovery decisions by the Bureau.

Article 11

Technical assistance

On a proposal from the Secretary-General, the Bureau
1.
may grant political parties at European level technical assis-
tance,
in accordance with the Bureau decision of 14 March
2000 governing the use of Parliament's premises by outside
bodies, as amended by the decision of 2 June 2003, and any
other form of technical assistance provided for by subsequent
rules. The Bureau may delegate to the Secretary-General the
power
to take certain types of decisions concerning the
granting of technical assistance.

2.
Each year, within three months following the end of the
financial year, the Secretary-General shall submit to the Bureau
a report setting out details of the technical assistance provided
by Parliament to each political party at European level. The
report shall then be published on Parliament's Internet site.

Article 12

Publicity

Details of all the grants awarded by Parliament to political
parties at European level during a given financial year shall be
published on Parliament's Internet site during the first six
months of
the following financial year. Those details shall
include:

— the name and address of the beneficiary,

— the purpose for which the grant was awarded,

— the amount awarded and the proportion of the beneficiary's

total operating budget covered by the funding.

(1) OJ L 136, 31.5.1999, p. 1.

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Article 13

Right of appeal

award agreement shall be paid within 15 days following the
signing of that agreement.

Decisions taken pursuant to these rules may be the subject of
an appeal to the Court of Justice of the European Communities
or the Court of First Instance of the European Communities, in
accordance with the conditions laid down by the Treaty.

Article 14

Transitional rules for the financial year 2004

The date given in Article 3(1) of these rules shall be
1.
replaced by 23 July 2004 and the date given in Article 4(2) by
16 September 2004.

By way of derogation from Article 6(1) of these rules, a
2.
the maximum
single pre-financing instalment of 80 % of
amount of the grant laid down in Article I.3.2 of the grant

Article 15

Revision of the rules

Before 30 September 2005 the Secretary-General of Parliament
shall submit to the Bureau a report on the implementation of
these rules.
report shall set out any
that
proposed changes to be made to these rules and to the arrange-
ments for funding European political parties as laid down by
Regulation (EC) No 2004/2003.

If appropriate,

Article 16

Entry into force

These rules shall enter into force on the day following their
publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.

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ANNEX 1

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ANNEX 2

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