2006/849/EC: Council Decision of 20 November 2006 amending and extending Decision 2001/923/EC establishing an exchange, assistance and training programme for the protection of the euro against counterfeiting (the Pericles programme)
Date: 2006-11-20
Institutions: Council of the European Union
Subjects: EU programme, action programme, economic offence, euro, euro area, fight against crime, industrial counterfeiting

L 330/28

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

28.11.2006

COUNCIL DECISION

of 20 November 2006

amending and extending Decision 2001/923/EC establishing an exchange, assistance and training
programme for the protection of the euro against counterfeiting (the Pericles programme)

(2006/849/EC)

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty
establishing the European
Community, and in particular the third sentence of Article
123(4) thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,

Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament,

Having regard to the opinion of the European Central Bank (1),

Whereas:

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

Article 13(3)(a) of Council Decision 2001/923/EC (2)
provided that
the Commission was to send to the
European Parliament and to the Council by 30 June
2005 a report that was independent of the programme
manager, evaluating the relevance, the efficiency and the
effectiveness of the programme and a communication on
whether
this programme should be continued and
adapted, accompanied by an appropriate proposal.

The evaluation report provided for in Article 13 of that
Decision was issued on 30 November 2004. It concluded
that
the programme had achieved its objectives and
recommended its continuation.

A financial reference amount, within the meaning of
point 38 of the Interinstitutional Agreement of 17 May
2006 between the European Parliament, the Council and
the Commission on budgetary discipline and sound
financial management (3)
is included in this Decision
for
the programme, without
thereby affecting the powers of the budgetary authority
as they are defined by the Treaty.

the entire duration of

The continuation of the programme reflects the need for
training and technical assistance
continuing vigilance,
necessary to sustain the protection of the euro against
counterfeiting, by providing a stable framework for the
planning of Member States programmes, particularly over
a period during which new countries adopt the single
currency.

(5)

(6)

(7)

(8)

(9)

In this spirit,
2005 a proposal
programme (4) until 31 December 2011.

the Commission submitted on 8 April
for the continuation of the Pericles

Pending final agreement on the Community Financial
Framework for 2007-2013,
the Council decided to
extend the Pericles programme for the year 2006.

In its declaration of 30 January 2006 the Council
considered that
the Pericles programme has a multi-
annual nature and that it should be extended to 2011.
To this effect,
it invited the Commission to present a
proposal for extending the programme for the period
starting from 2007, as soon as an agreement on the
Financial Framework for 2007-2013 had been reached.

It is appropriate that the Community programmes be in
line with the Community's Financial Framework.

In order to avoid overlaps and to ensure consistency and
under
actions
complementarity
Pericles
the
to develop synergies
programme,
important
it
between actions
the
European Central Bank and Europol.

is
financed by the Commission,

of

(10)

Consequently, and in view of the need for continuous
training and assistance for the protection of the euro,
the Pericles programme
extended until
31 December 2013. Decision 2001/923/EC should
therefore be amended accordingly,

should be

HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS:

Article 1

Amendments

Decision 2001/923/EC is amended as follows:

1.

in Article 1(2), the last sentence shall be replaced by the
following:

(1) OJ C 163, 14.7.2006, p. 7.
(2) OJ L 339, 21.12.2001, p. 50. Decision as amended by Decision

2006/75/EC (OJ L 36, 8.2.2006, p. 40).

(3) OJ C 139, 14.6.2006, p. 1.

‘It shall run from 1 January 2002 to 31 December 2013.’;

(4) COM(2005) 127 final.

28.11.2006

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

L 330/29

2. the following subparagraph is added at the end of Article 6:

Article 2

Applicability

‘The financial reference amount for the implementation of
the Community programme of action for the period from
1 January 2007 to 31 December 2013 shall be
EUR 7 000 000.’;

This Decision shall have effect
in the participating Member
States as defined in the first indent of Article 1 of Council
Regulation (EC) 974/98 of 3 May 1998 on the introduction
of the euro (1).

3. Article 13(3) shall be amended as follows:

Article 3

Entry into force

(a)

in point (a),
2013’;

‘30 June 2005’

is replaced by ‘30 June

This Decision shall take effect on the day of its publication in
the Official Journal of the European Union.

(b) point (b) is replaced by the following:

It shall apply from 1 January 2007.

‘(b) on completion of

the initial and the additional
periods of the programme and no later than 30
June 2006 and 2014 respectively, detailed reports
on the implementation and the results of
the
the added
programme setting out
value of the Community's financial assistance.’

in particular

Done at Brussels, 20 November 2006.

For the Council
The President

J. KORKEAOJA

(1) OJ L 139, 11.5.1998, p. 1. Regulation as last amended by Regu-

lation (EC) No 1647/2006 (OJ L 309, 9.11.2006, p. 2).