Commission Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 478/2007 of 23 April 2007 amending Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 2342/2002 laying down detailed rules for the implementation of Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002 on the Financial Regulation applicable to the general budget of the European Communities
Date: 2007-04-23
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: financial management, financial regulation, general budget (EU), implementation of the budget

28.4.2007

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Official Journal of the European Union

L 111/13

COMMISSION REGULATION (EC, EURATOM) No 478/2007

of 23 April 2007

amending Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 2342/2002 laying down detailed rules
the
implementation of Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002 on the Financial Regulation
applicable to the general budget of the European Communities

for

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

(3)

Having regard to the Treaty
Community,

establishing the European

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Atomic
Energy Community,

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 Com-
munities (1) and in particular Article 183 thereof,

Having consulted the European Parliament, the Council of the
European Union, the Court of Justice of the European Com-
munities, the Court of Auditors, the European Economic and
Social Committee, the Committee of the Regions, the European
Ombudsman and the European Data Protection Supervisor,

Whereas:

(1)

(2)

implementing rules

Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002 (hereinafter ‘the
Financial Regulation’) was amended by Regulation (EC,
should be
Euratom) No 1995/2006. These changes
reflected in the
established in
Commission Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 2342/2002
of 23 December 2002 laying down detailed rules for
the
(EC,
Euratom) No 1605/2002 on the Financial Regulation
the European
applicable
Communities (2).

to the general budget of

of Council Regulation

implementation

In accordance with budgetary principles, in particular the
principle of unity, the rules established in the Financial
Regulation for recovering interest on pre-financing need
to be specified in the implementing rules. Thus, it has to
be clarified what amount has to be considered as a
interest on
significant amount. Below these thresholds,
pre-financing should not be due to the European
Communities. The cases where interest yielded on pre-
financing has to be recovered annually in order
to
protect the financial
interests of the Communities also
have to be specified.

(1) OJ L 248, 16.9.2002, p. 1. Regulation as amended by Regulation

(EC, Euratom) No 1995/2006 (OJ L 390, 30.12.2006, p. 1).

(2) OJ L 357, 31.12.2002, p. 1. Regulation as last amended by Regu-
lation (EC, Euratom) No 1248/2006 (OJ L 227, 19.8.2006, p. 3).

(4)

(5)

(6)

In respect of the principle of specification, a precise defi-
nition should be given of the methods of calculating the
percentage limits to be respected for transfers of appro-
priations of
in-
the Commission and of
stitutions. In addition, as the provision on procedures
for
than the
Commission has been consolidated in the Financial Regu-
lation; it can therefore be deleted from the implementing
rules.

institutions other

transfers by

the other

the

As regards the implementation of the budget, a definition
should be provided in respect of
the standard for
internal control which should
effective and efficient
in accordance with
apply to each management mode,
the principle of
and,
where appropriate, with the relevant sector-specific regu-
lations.

sound financial management

in particular as

Article 49(6)(c) of
the Financial Regulation expressly
provides for the financing of preparatory measures in
the field of the Common Foreign and Security Policy
regards envisaged EU crisis
(CFSP),
management operations. The rapid financing of such
measures corresponds to an operational necessity:
in
most crisis situations, a number of measures for the
setting up of a crisis management operation on the
ground need to be taken rapidly before the adoption
by the Council of a Joint Action on the basis of
Article 14 of the EU Treaty or another necessary legal
instrument. It is appropriate to clarify that the financing
of such measures includes incremental costs such as
high-risk insurance,
travel and accommodation costs
and per diem payments, directly arising from a specific
team involving
field deployment of a mission or
personnel
that
types of expenditure incurred in relation to
similar
crisis management operations covered by a Joint Action
are generally imputed to the operational CFSP budget
line.

from the institutions

to the extent

the

that

structures

entrusted with

In respect of methods of implementing the budget,
in
particular indirect centralised management, it has to be
specified
the
persons
management of specific actions pursuant to Title V of
the EU Treaty should be required to put in place the
to
appropriate
assume responsibility for
they will
manage. At the same time, since the requirement for
prior authorisation in the basic act
recourse to
national bodies entrusted with public tasks has been
removed from the Financial Regulation,
it is necessary
to remove the corresponding provisions from the im-
plementing rules.

and procedures
the funds

in order

that

for

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Official Journal of the European Union

28.4.2007

regards

shared management,

the
As
annual summary of available audits and declarations
referred to in Article 53b of the Financial Regulation
should be specified.

the content of

(13) As regards procurement, framework contracts without a
re-opening of competition in sectors subject to a rapidly
rising trend in prices and technological development
should be subject to a mid-term review or a bench-
marking system and the contracting authority should
take appropriate measures, including termination of the
framework contract.

(7)

(8)

(9)

it is necessary to insert
As regards joint management,
the
the
detailing
provisions
specific
arrangements to be concluded by the Commission in
its cooperation with international organisations and the
obligation of publication of beneficiaries of
funds
deriving from the budget.

content

of

As regards the liability of the financial actors, it has to be
clarified that the appointing authority may request the
opinion of the financial
irregularities panel on a case,
based on information provided by a member of staff in
accordance with the relevant provision of the Financial
Regulation. In addition, the authorising officer by del-
egation should be entitled to refer a matter to the
financial
that a
financial irregularity has occurred.

irregularities panel

if he considers

(10) As regards the recovery of debts, given the general
limitation period of
established in the
five years
Financial Regulation for Community debts and en-
titlements, it is necessary to specify the rules regarding
the starting dates and the grounds for interruption of the
limitation period, both for the institutions and for third
parties who have an enforceable claim against the insti-
tutions.

(11)

(12)

list of

In order to strengthen the protection of the financial
interests of the Communities, the Commission should
receivable within the
establish a
amounts
meaning of Article 73 of
the Financial Regulation,
stating the names of the debtors and the amount of
the debt where the debtor has been ordered to pay by
a Court decision that has the force of res judicata and
where no or no significant payment has been made for
one year after its pronouncement. This list should be
published, taking into account the legislation applicable
to data protection.

to ensure

the procedural

strengthened in order

The rules governing payments due by the Communities
should be
that
contractors and beneficiaries are fully and completely
requirements and auto-
informed of
matically compensated with default interest in case of
late payment whenever the interest due exceeds EUR
200. Each institution should submit to the budgetary
authority a report concerning compliance with the estab-
lished time limits.

(14)

(15)

In accordance with the principle of proportionality, for
contracts with a value of not more than EUR 5 000, and
in the case of contracts for external aid with a value of
not more than EUR 10 000, the contracting authority
to
should be able, depending on its
refrain from requiring the candidates or tenderers to
give a declaration that
the
situations giving rise to exclusion.

they are not

risk analysis,

in one of

For simplification reasons, payments against
invoices
without prior acceptance of a tender should be possible
for amounts less than or equal to EUR 500, and for
external aid the competitive negotiated procedure for
awarding
for
contract
contracts with a value of less than EUR 60 000.

should be possible

supply

(16) Whenever appropriate,

technically feasible and cost
efficient, procurement contracts with a value equal to
or greater than the thresholds laid down in Article 158
of Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 2342/2002 should be
awarded at the same time in the form of separate lots.

(17)

Information on available
indicated by the
tenderers.

legal

should be
remedies
contracting authority to rejected

(18) Given the possibility for an institution to carry out a
contracting
procurement procedure
authority from a Member State,
it should be specified
which procurement procedure should apply to those
cases and how it should be managed.

jointly with a

(19)

(20)

should be set out
Further details
modalities
the management
for
procedures launched on an interinstitutional basis.
particular, provisions on evaluation of
award decisions should be laid down.

in the practical
procurement
of
In
tenders and

further details

In order to ensure proper management of the central
should be
data-base on exclusions,
provided concerning the information to be transmitted
to the Commission. The procedure for transmission and
information contained in the database
reception of
should be
the
protection of personal data.

taking due account of

laid down,

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Official Journal of the European Union

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(21)

In accordance with the principle of proportionality,
economic operators that are in any of the situations of
legal exclusion mentioned in the Financial Regulation
should not be excluded indefinitely from participating
the criteria
in a procurement procedure. Accordingly,
for determining the duration of exclusion and the
procedure to be followed should be specified.

(22) As a result of the revision of the Financial Regulation, the
provisions on penalties need to be adapted accordingly.

(23)

(24)

(25)

(26)

(27)

In the interest of
exceptions
to the
signature of a contract should be specified.

legal certainty,

standstill procedure before

the modalities and
the

It is appropriate to have a provision which determines to
what extent the particular forms of financing laid down
in Article 108(3) of the Financial Regulation should be
treated in the same way as grants under Title VI of Part
One of that Regulation.

the

to ensure

consistency,

annual work
In order
programme
shall determine whether a decision or
written agreement should be used for awarding grants.
It is necessary to adapt some articles in order to take
account of the introduction of the decisions in the grant
award procedure.

In order to ensure that Community law is applicable to
all legal relationships to which institutions are party, it
should be made compulsory for the authorising officers
to insert in all their contracts and grant agreements a
specific clause on the applicability of Community law,
complemented as appropriate by the national
law
agreed by the parties.

In respect of the award of grants, the exceptions to the
requirement for a call for proposals should be extended
in order to cover the possibility which exists under the
current regulations in the field of research and devel-
opment to award grants directly to beneficiaries identified
by the Commission for proposals of high quality which
do not fall within the ambit of programmed calls for
proposals for the financial year concerned. Furthermore,
an additional derogation should be introduced to cover
actions with specific characteristics that require an imple-
menting body with particular expertise or administrative
power without this necessarily qualifying as a monopoly.

(28)

In order to protect the financial
interests of the Com-
munities, it has to be specified that the representatives of
beneficiaries who do not have legal personality should
prove that they have the capacity to act on behalf of the

(29)

(30)

(31)

(32)

(33)

beneficiaries and that they can offer financial guarantees
equivalent to those provided by legal persons.

In order to facilitate the management of
the award
procedure, and in accordance with the principle of
sound financial management, the possibility to restrict
a call for proposals to a targeted category of beneficiaries
should be provided for. The Commission would thus be
able, while duly respecting the principles of equal
treatment and non-discrimination, to reject applications
from entities not concerned by the programme in
question.

In order to help the applicants, and to increase the ef-
the calls for proposals, certain procedural
ficiency of
steps
should be improved. The Commission should
provide information and guidance to the applicants
about the rules applicable to the award of grants and it
should inform them as soon as possible of the possibility
of success of their applications. It should be possible to
divide the procedure of submission and the procedure of
evaluation in different stages, and thus allow rejecting at
an early stage the proposals which cannot have any
prospect of success at later stage.
In order to clarify
which costs may be eligible for Community financing,
criteria should be laid down and an indicative list should
be provided for. It is also appropriate to determine the
conditions for submission of the applications, especially
for
electronic means.
Furthermore, it should be possible to ask for additional
information from the applicants during the award
procedure,
in particular in the case of obvious clerical
errors in applications.

applications

submitted

by

annual work
adoption of
The possibility of
programme before the year to which it relates should
be provided for, in order to allow the launching of the
calls for proposals at an early stage, including before the
beginning of the year which they are related to.

the

should

reasons of

transparency,
annually

the Commission, when
For
budgetary
inform the
requested,
authority about
the grant award
the management of
procedures and about exceptions applied to the publi-
cation of beneficiaries of funds deriving from the budget.

In order to protect the interests of the beneficiaries and
to increase legal certainty, modifications of the content of
for proposals should remain exceptional, and
the call
should
applicants
supplementary
from a
deadline if
these modifications are substantial. They
should be subject to the same conditions of publication
as the call itself.

benefit

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Official Journal of the European Union

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(34)

it has to be specified that the
Concerning lump sums,
unit amounts of
lump sums below a threshold of
EUR 25 000 and the amounts of flat rates is fixed by
the Commission on the basis of objective elements,
such as statistical data where available. These amounts
should be reassessed regularly and updated by the
Commission on the same basis. On the other hand,
lump sums above a threshold of EUR 25 000 are
determined in the basic act. In addition, the authorising
officer responsible should be required to carry out appro-
priate ex post controls in order to ascertain that the
conditions for their award have been respected. These
controls are independent of the controls to be carried
out for grants intended for the reimbursement of the
eligible costs actually incurred. The non-profit rule and
the co-financing rule should be specified.

(35) With regard to contracts necessary to implement a
Community grant, it should be specified that, whenever
these contracts are of low value, the rules to be followed
by the beneficiary should be limited to what is strictly
necessary,
sound
management and the absence of conflicts of interests.
For contracts with a higher value,
the authorising
officer should be able to determine additional specific
requirements, based on those applicable to the insti-
tutions for equivalent contracts.

to say the principle of

that

is

(36)

The financial support
to third parties which may be
awarded by a beneficiary of a Community grant should
be organised in a way that does not leave scope for
amount of
limited to a
discretion and is
EUR 100 000 as
the
Financial Regulation.

required by Article 120 of

total

of multi-annual

the Council of 24 October 2006
Parliament and of
laying down general provisions establishing a European
Neighbourhood and Partnership Instrument (2),
in the
event
split
using
programmes
the Financial Regulation introduced a
commitments,
‘n+3’ decommitment rule in Article 166(3)(a) of
the
Financial Regulation. It is therefore necessary to provide
for specific detailed provisions, in particular concerning
the procedure and the consequences of the automatic
decommitment.

(39) As for external actions, further measures of simplification
are needed. In particular, the threshold for the negotiated
procedure on the basis of a single tender should be
raised. In addition, the possibility of secret procurement
procedures for security reasons, which is already possible
for procurement on behalf of the institutions, has to be
extended to operational procurement
in the field of
external relations. In order to implement the obligations
provided for in the Financial Regulation concerning the
publication of beneficiaries of funds deriving from the
budget, adequate provisions should be laid down in the
financing agreements with third countries.

the Office for Official Publications of

(40) As regards interinstitutional European offices, the specific
rules for
the
European Communities (Publications Office) need to be
amended following the new possibility introduced in the
Financial Regulation for interinstitutional delegation to
the directors of
In
this respect, the budgetary commitment should remain
the responsibility of each institution, which decides on
the publication of its documents, whereas all subsequent
acts could be delegated to the director of Publications
Office.

interinstitutional European offices.

(37) As regards the keeping and presentation of accounts, it
should be clarified that
the report on budgetary and
financial management which accompanies the accounts
in accordance with Article 122 of the Financial Regu-
lation is separate from the report on the implementation
of the budget referred to in Article 121 of the Financial
Regulation. At
following the modifi-
cations to the scope of consolidation established in the
Financial Regulation, all previous references to the bodies
referred to in Article 185 of the Financial Regulation
should be
to the bodies
replaced by a reference
referred to in Article 121 of the Financial Regulation.

the same time,

(41)

individual experts needed for

the
Regarding external
technical
evaluation of proposals and other forms of
assistance,
it should be possible to select these experts
from a list drawn up on the basis of their technical
capacity, after publishing a call
for expressions of
interest.

(42)

Since the Financial Regulation, as amended by Regulation
(EC, Euratom) No 1995/2006, will apply from 1 May
this Regulation should enter into
2007 at
force as a matter of urgency and apply from 1 May
2007.

the latest,

(38) As regards some components of Council Regulation (EC)
No 1085/2006 of 17 July 2006 establishing an
for Pre-Accession Assistance (IPA) (1) and
Instrument
the European
the Regulation (EC) No 1638/2006 of

(43)

Regulation (EC,
therefore be amended accordingly,

Euratom) No 2342/2002 should

(1) OJ L 210, 31.7.2006, p. 82.

(2) OJ L 310, 9.11.2006, p. 1.

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HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 2342/2002 is amended as follows:

1. Articles 2, 3 and 4 are replaced by the following:

‘Article 2

Legislative acts concerning the implementation of the
budget

( A r t i c l e s
2
R e g u l a t i o n )

a n d

4 9

o f

t h e

F i n a n c i a l

The Commission shall annually update in the preliminary
draft budget the information on the acts referred to in
Article 2 of the Financial Regulation

authority

legislative

Any proposal or amendment to a proposal submitted to
the
the
indicate
provisions containing derogations
from the Financial
Regulation or from this Regulation and state the specific
reasons justifying such derogations in the relevant Ex-
planatory Memorandum.

clearly

shall

Article 3

Scope of pre-financing

( A r t i c l e 5 a o f

t h e F i n a n c i a l R e g u l a t i o n )

In the

case of direct

centralised management
1.
involving a number of partners,
indirect centralised
management and decentralised management within the
meaning of Article 53 of the Financial Regulation, the
rules laid down in Article 5a of the Financial Regulation
shall apply solely to the entity receiving pre-financing
directly from the Commission.

Pre-financing shall be regarded as representing a
amount within the meaning of Article
is
the Financial Regulation if

2.
significant
5a(2)(a) of
higher than EUR 50 000.

the amount

is higher

than EUR 250 000.

representing a significant amount
For

However,
for external actions pre-financing shall be
regarded as
the
crisis
amount
management aid and humanitarian aid operations, pre-
financing shall be regarded as representing a significant
amount if it exceeds per agreement EUR 750 000 at the
end of each financial year and is for projects of a duration
of more than 12 months.

if

decision or agreement the amount of interest generated by
pre-financing payments which exceed EUR 750 000 per
agreement at the end of each financial year.

2.
The authorising officer responsible may recover at
least once a year the amount of interest generated by pre-
financing payments
than those referred to in
paragraph 1, taking account of the risks associated with
his management environment and the nature of
the
actions financed.

lower

3.
The authorising officer responsible shall recover the
amount of interest generated by pre-financing payments
which exceeds the balance of the amounts due as referred
to in Article 5a(1) of the Financial Regulation.’

2. The following Article 4a is inserted:

‘Article 4a

Accounting for interest yielded on pre-financing

( A r t i c l e 5 a o f

t h e F i n a n c i a l R e g u l a t i o n )

shall ensure that,

Authorising officers

1.
in grant
decisions or agreements with beneficiaries and inter-
mediaries, pre-financing is paid to bank accounts or
sub-accounts which allow the funds and related interest
to be identified. Otherwise, the accounting methods of the
beneficiaries or intermediaries must make it possible to
identify the funds paid by the Community and the interest
or other benefits yielded by these funds.

the

Financial Regulation,

In the cases referred to in the second subparagraph
2.
of Article 5a(1) of
the
authorising officer responsible shall draw up before the
end of each financial year estimates of the amount of any
interest or equivalent benefit yielded by these funds and
shall establish a provision for that amount. That provision
shall be entered in the accounts and cleared by effective
recovery, following the implementation of the decision or
agreement.

Where pre-financing is paid from the same budget line,
under the same basic act and to beneficiaries covered by
the same award procedure, the authorising officer may
draw up a single estimate of amounts receivable for a
number of debtors.

Article 4

Recovery of interest yielded by pre-financing

( A r t i c l e 5 a o f

t h e F i n a n c i a l R e g u l a t i o n )

1.
The authorising officer responsible shall recover for
each reporting period following the implementation of the

3.
Articles 3 and 4 and paragraphs 1 and 2 of this
Article shall be without prejudice to the entry of pre-
financing on the assets side of financial statements, as
laid down in the accounting rules referred to in Article
133 of the Financial Regulation.’

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Official Journal of the European Union

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3.

In point (c) of Article 5, ‘Articles 157 and 181(5) of the
Financial Regulation’
is replaced by ‘Articles 157 and
160a of the Financial Regulation’.

19(2) of the Financial Regulation, the Commission shall
estimate and duly explain the financial charges, including
follow-up costs, entailed by the acceptance of donations
made to the Communities.’

4.

In Article 7, the following paragraph 1a is inserted:

7. Article 14 is replaced by the following:

In order

to avoid that

‘1a.
currency conversion
operations have a significant
impact on the level of
Community co-financing or a detrimental impact on the
for
Community
conversion referred to in paragraph 1 shall provide,
if
appropriate, for a rate of conversion between the euro
and other currencies to be calculated using the average
of the daily exchange rate in a given period’.

arrangements

budget,

specific

the

5. Article 10 is amended as follows:

(a) paragraph 1 is amended as follows:

(i) in the first subparagraph, point (b) is replaced by

the following:

‘(b)

including general

in the statement of expenditure, the budget
remarks,
shall
show which lines may receive the appro-
priations
assigned
to the
corresponding
revenue which are made available.’;

remarks,

‘Article 14

Passing for payment of the net amount

( A r t i c l e 2 0 ( 1 )
l a t i o n )

o f

t h e

F i n a n c i a l R e g u -

Pursuant to Article 20(1) of the Financial Regulation, the
from payment
following deductions may be made
requests,
then be
passed for payment of the net amount:

invoices or statements, which shall

(a) penalties imposed on parties to procurement contracts

or beneficiaries of a grant;

(b) discounts, refunds and rebates on individual invoices

and payment requests;

(c)

interest generated by pre-financing payments, as
referred to in the first subparagraph of Article 5a(1)
of the Financial Regulation.’

(ii) the

second subparagraph is

replaced by the

following:

8. Article 16 is deleted.

‘In the case referred to in point (a) of the first
subparagraph, a token entry (p.m.) shall be made
and the estimated revenue shall be shown for
information in the remarks.’;

9. Article 17 is replaced by the following:

‘Article 17

(b) in the first sentence of paragraph 2, ‘Article 161(2) of
replaced by ‘Articles

the Financial Regulation’
160(1a) and 161(2) of the Financial Regulation.’

is

Rules concerning the calculation of percentages of
transfers
the
institutions
of
Commission

other

than

the

6. The following Article 13a is inserted:

( A r t i c l e 2 2 o f

t h e F i n a n c i a l R e g u l a t i o n )

‘Article 13a

Charges entailed by acceptance of donations to the
Communities

( A r t i c l e 1 9 ( 2 )
l a t i o n )

o f

t h e

F i n a n c i a l R e g u -

For the purposes of the authorisation of the European
referred to in Article
Parliament and of

the Council

1.
The percentages referred to in Article 22 of the
Financial Regulation shall be calculated at the time the
request for transfer is made and with reference to the
appropriations
including
in
amending budgets.

provided

budget,

the

2.
The amount to be taken into consideration shall be
the sum of the transfers to be made on the line from
which transfers are being made, after adjustment
for
earlier transfers made.

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Official Journal of the European Union

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The amount corresponding to the transfers which can be
carried out autonomously by the institution concerned
without a decision of the budgetary authority shall not
be taken into consideration.’

10. The following Article 17a is inserted:

‘Article 17a

Rules concerning the calculation of percentages of
transfers of the Commission

( A r t i c l e 2 3 o f

t h e F i n a n c i a l R e g u l a t i o n )

(d) adequate audit trails and data integrity in data systems;

(e) procedures for monitoring of performance and for
identified internal control weaknesses

follow-up of
and exceptions;

(f) periodic assessment of the sound functioning of the

control system.

2.
Efficient
following elements:

internal control shall be based on the

1.
The percentages referred to in Article 23(1) of the
Financial Regulation shall be calculated at the time the
request for transfer is made and with reference to the
including
in
appropriations
amending budgets.

provided

budget,

the

(a)

implementation

risk
the
management
coordinated
among appropriate actors involved in the control
chain;

of
control

appropriate

strategy

and

an

The amount to be taken into consideration shall be
2.
the sum of the transfers to be made on the line from
which or
to which transfers are being made, after
adjustment for earlier transfers made.

The amount corresponding to the transfers which can be
carried out autonomously by the Commission without a
decision of the budgetary authority shall not be taken into
consideration.’

11. In the introductory phrase of Article 20,

‘the first sub-
paragraph of Article 26(2) of the Financial Regulation’ is
replaced by ‘Article 26 of the Financial Regulation’.

12. In Article 22(1), the first subparagraph is deleted.

13. The following Article 22a is inserted:

‘Article 22a

(b) the accessibility of control results to all appropriate

actors involved in the control chain;

(c)

timely

the
including, where appropriate, dissuasive penalties;

corrective measures

application

of

(d) clear and unambiguous

legislation underlying the

policies;

(e)

the elimination of multiple controls;

(f)

the principle of improving the cost-benefit ratio of
controls.’

14. Article 23 is replaced by the following:

‘Article 23

Provisional publication of the budget

Effective and efficient internal control

( A r t i c l e 2 9 o f

t h e F i n a n c i a l R e g u l a t i o n )

( A r t i c l e 2 8 a ( 1 ) o f
l a t i o n )

t h e

F i n a n c i a l R e g u -

Effective internal control shall be based on best
the

1.
international practices and include in particular
following:

As soon as possible and no later than four weeks after the
final adoption of the budget, the final detailed budget
figures
languages on the
the institutions, on the Commission’s
internet site of
initiative, pending official publication in the Official
Journal of the European Union.’

shall be published in all

(a) segregation of tasks;

15. In Article 25, point (a)(ii) is replaced by the following:

(b) an appropriate risk management and control strategy

including controls at beneficiary level;

‘(ii)

(c) avoidance of conflicts of interests;

for each category of staff, an organisation chart of
budgetary posts and persons in post at the beginning
of the year in which the preliminary draft budget is
presented, indicating their distribution by grade and
administrative unit;’

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Official Journal of the European Union

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16. Article 31 is deleted.

17. Article 32 is amended as follows:

in the procedure has been authorised in advance by his
superior.’

(a)

in the title,
‘Article 49(6)(a) and (b)’;

‘Article 49(2)(a) and (b)’

is replaced by

‘Article 35

21. Article 35 is replaced by the following:

(b) paragraph 1 is amended as follows:

Checks to be carried out by the Commission

(i) ‘Article 49(2)(a)’ is replaced by ‘Article 49(6)(a)’;

( A r t i c l e s 5 3 d , 5 4 ( 2 ) ( c )
F i n a n c i a l R e g u l a t i o n )

a n d 5 6 o f

t h e

(ii) ‘EUR 32 million’ is replaced by ‘EUR 40 million’;

(c) paragraph 2 is amended as follows:

to the
1.
Decisions entrusting implementing tasks
the
entities or persons referred to in Article 56 of
Financial Regulation
appropriate
shall
arrangements for ensuring the transparency of operations
carried out.

include

all

(i) ‘Article 49(2)(b)’ is replaced by ‘Article 49(6)(b)’;

(ii) ‘EUR 30 million’ is replaced by ‘EUR 50 million’;

The Commission shall
review those arrangements as
necessary whenever there are substantial changes to the
procedures or systems applied by such entities or persons,
in order
to ensure continued compliance with the
conditions set out in Article 56.

(iii) ‘EUR 75 million’ is replaced by ‘EUR 100 million’.

18. The following Article 32a is inserted:

‘Article 32a

Preparatory measures in the field of the Common
Foreign and Security Policy

( A r t i c l e 4 9 ( 6 ) ( c ) o f
l a t i o n )

t h e F i n a n c i a l R e g u -

The financing of measures agreed by the Council for the
preparation of EU crisis management operations under
Title V of
the Treaty on European Union shall cover
incremental costs directly arising from a specific field
deployment of a mission or team involving inter alia
from the EU institutions,
personnel
including high-risk
travel and accommodation costs and per
insurance,
diem payments.’

The entities or persons concerned shall provide the
2.
Commission, within a specified time limit, with any infor-
mation it requests and shall
inform it without delay of
any substantial changes in their procedures or systems.

The Commission shall, as appropriate, set out the obli-
gations in the decisions referred to in paragraph 1, or in
the agreements concluded with those entities or persons.

3.
The Commission may accept that the procurement
procedures of the bodies referred to in Articles 54(2)(c)
and of the beneficiaries referred to in Article 166(1)(a) of
the Financial Regulation are equivalent to its own, with
due account for internationally accepted standards.

19. In the title of Article 33,

‘Article 49(6)(d)’.

‘Article 49(2)(c)’ is replaced by

4. Where the Commission implements the budget by
joint management, the verification agreements concluded
with the international organisations concerned shall apply.

20. In Article 34, the following paragraph 3 is added:

‘3.
A conflict of interests shall be presumed to exist if
an applicant, candidate or tenderer is a member of staff
covered by the Staff Regulations, unless his participation

The independent external audit referred to in Article
5.
56(1)(d) of
least
the Financial Regulation shall be at
performed by an audit service functionally independent
of the entity to which the Commission entrusts imple-
mentation tasks and shall perform its duties in accordance
with internationally accepted auditing standards.’

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22. The following Article 35a is inserted:

(a)

the title is replaced by the following:

‘Article 35a

Measures to promote best practices

( A r t i c l e 5 3 b o f t h e F i n a n c i a l R e g u l a t i o n )

for management,

The Commission shall compile a register of bodies
certification and audit
responsible
activities under the sector-specific regulations.
In order
to promote best practices in the implementation of the
Structural Funds and the European Fisheries Fund, the
Commission
information
available
to those responsible for management and
purposes
control activities a methodological guide setting out its
own control strategy and approach, including checklists,
and best practice examples which have been identified.’

shall make

for

23. In Article 36, ‘Article 53’ is replaced by ‘Article 53a’.

24. In Article 37, paragraph 2 is deleted.

25. Article 38 is replaced by the following:

‘Article 38

Eligibility of national or international public sector
bodies or private law entities with a public service
mission for the delegation of powers and conditions
relating thereto

‘Article 39

Designation of national or international public
sector bodies or private law entities with a
public service mission

( A r t i c l e
R e g u l a t i o n ) ’

5 4 ( 2 ) ( c )

o f

t h e

F i n a n c i a l

(b) in paragraph 2, the first sentence is replaced by the

following:

‘The bodies or entities referred to in paragraph 1 or
international public sector bodies shall be chosen in
in accordance
an objective and transparent manner,
with the principle of sound financial management,
to match the implementation requirements identified
by the Commission.’

(c)

in paragraph 3, the second subparagraph is replaced
by the following:

‘In all other cases, the Commission shall designate
such bodies or
in agreement with the
Member States or countries concerned.’

entities

( A r t i c l e 5 4 ( 2 ) ( c ) o f
l a t i o n )

t h e F i n a n c i a l R e g u -

(d) the following paragraph 4 is added:

The Commission may delegate tasks involving the

1.
exercise of public authority to:

(a)

international public sector bodies;

(b) national public sector bodies or privatelaw entities
with a public service mission governed by the law
of a Member State, one of the EEA States or one of
the countries that is a candidate for membership of
the European Union or, if appropriate, by the law of
any other country.

The Commission shall ensure that

2.
entities
financial guarantees,
authority,
in particular
amounts due to the Commission.

referred to in paragraph 1 offer
issued preferably by
regards

the bodies or
adequate
a public
recovery of

full

as

tasks
3. Where the Commission intends to entrust
and in
involving the
exercise of public
particular tasks of budget
to a body
referred to in point (c) of Article 54(2) of the Financial
Regulation, it shall analyse compliance with the principles
of economy, effectiveness and efficiency.’

implementation,

authority,

26. Article 39 is amended as follows:

‘4. Where the Commission entrusts implementing
tasks to bodies referred to in point (c) of Article 54(2)
it shall
of the Financial Regulation,
inform annually
the legislative authority of
the cases and bodies
concerned by providing commensurate justification
of the use of such bodies.’

27. The following Article 39a is inserted:

‘Article 39a

Persons entrusted with the management of specific
actions pursuant
the Treaty on
to Title V of
European Union

( A r t i c l e 5 4 ( 2 ) ( d ) o f
l a t i o n )

t h e F i n a n c i a l R e g u -

Persons entrusted with the management of specific actions
as referred to in point (d) of Article 54(2) of the Financial
Regulation shall put in place the appropriate structures
and procedures in order to assume the responsibility for
the funds that they will manage. Those persons shall have
the status of Common Foreign and Security Policy Special
Advisers of the Commission pursuant to Articles 1 and 5
of the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants of
the European Communities.’

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28.4.2007

28. Article 41 is amended as follows:

(a)

the title is replaced by the following:

‘Article 41

Detailed arrangements
management

for

indirect centralised

( A r t i c l e s 5 4 ( 2 ) ( b ) ,
F i n a n c i a l R e g u l a t i o n ) ’

( c ) a n d ( d ) o f

t h e

(b) paragraph 1 is replaced by the following:

(c) and (d) of Article 54(2) of

‘1. Where the Commission entrusts implementing
tasks to bodies, entities or persons referred to in
points
the
(b),
Financial Regulation,
it shall conclude an agreement
with them laying down the detailed arrangements for
funds and the
the management and control of
the Com-
protection of
munities.’

the financial

interests of

(c) paragraph 3 is replaced by the following:

‘3.
The bodies, entities or persons referred to in
paragraph 1 shall not have the status of authorising
officers by delegation.’

29. Article 42 is amended as follows:

similar measures,
structural and other
opinions provided by the audit authorities;

the audit

(b) be provided by 15 February of the year following the
year of the audit activity for agricultural expenditure
and for structural and other similar measures.

3.

The part related to declarations shall:

(a)

include, as concerns agriculture,
the statements of
assurance provided by the paying agencies, and, as
concerns structural and other similar measures, certi-
fications by the certifying authorities;

(b) be provided by 15 February of the following financial
year for agricultural expenditure and for structural and
other similar measures.’

31. Article 43 is replaced by the following:

‘Article 43

Joint management

( A r t i c l e s
1 0 8 a
F i n a n c i a l R e g u l a t i o n )

5 3 d ,

a n d

1 6 5

o f

t h e

The Commission
for

1.
arrangements exist
action in its entirety.

shall

ensure

that

the control and audit of

suitable
the

(a)

in the title, ‘Article 53(5)’ is replaced by ‘Articles 53b
and 53c’.

The international organisations referred to in Article

2.
53d of the Financial Regulation shall be:

(b) in paragraph 1, ‘Article 53(5)’ is replaced by ‘Articles

53b and 53c’.

(a)

international public sector organisations set up by
intergovernmental
specialised
agreements,
agencies set up by such organisations;

and

30. The following Article 42a is inserted:

‘Article 42a

Summary of audits and declarations

( A r t i c l e 5 3 b ( 3 ) o f
l a t i o n )

t h e

F i n a n c i a l R e g u -

The summary shall be provided by the appropriate
1.
authority or body designated by the Member State for the
area of expenditure concerned in accordance with the
sector-specific rules.

2.

The part related to audits shall:

(a)

include, as concerns agriculture, the certificates estab-
lished by the certification bodies, and, as concerns

(b) the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC);

(c)

the International Federation of National Red Cross and
Red Crescent Societies.

For the purposes of Article 53d of the Financial Regu-
lation, the European Investment Bank and the European
Investment Fund shall be assimilated to international or-
ganisations.

the budget

implemented by

joint
is
3. Where
management with
in
international
accordance with Articles 53d and 165 of the Financial
Regulation,
to be
financed shall be chosen in an objective and transparent
manner.

the organisations and the actions

organisations

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Official Journal of the European Union

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4. Without prejudice to Article 35 of this Regulation,
agreements concluded with the international organisations
referred to in Article 53d of the Financial Regulation shall
contain in particular the following:

national public sector body jointly assess the feasibility
and define the implementation agreements.

(a) a definition of
programme
to
management;

the
be

action,
implemented

the project or

under

the
In
6.
management,
with at least the following requirements:

implementation
international organisations

of

projects

joint
in
shall comply

the
joint

(b) the conditions and the detailed arrangements for their
implementation, including in particular the principles
for the award of procurement contracts and grants;

(c)

the rules on reporting to the Commission on imple-
mentation;

in

(d) provisions obliging the organisation to which imple-
mentation tasks are entrusted to exclude from par-
award
procurement
ticipation
procedure candidates or applicants who are in the
situations referred to in points (a),
(b) and (e) of
Article 93(1) and in points (a) and (b) of Article 94
of the Financial Regulation;

grant

or

a

(a) procurement

and grant

comply with the principles of
portionality,
treatment and non-discrimination,
of
standards;

interests and respect of

award procedures

shall
transparency, pro-
equal
lack of conflicts
internationally accepted

sound financial management,

(b) grants may not be cumulative or awarded retro-

spectively;

(c) grants must involve co-financing, save as otherwise

provided in Article 253;

(d) grants may not have the purpose or effect of

producing a profit for the beneficiary.

(e)

the conditions
the Community
for payments of
contribution, and the supporting documents required
to justify the payments;

Those requirements shall be expressly established in the
agreements
international organ-
isations.’

concluded with the

(f)

the conditions under which this
terminates;

implementation

32. The following Article 43a is inserted:

(g) the detailed arrangements for Commission scrutiny;

‘Article 43a

(h) provisions granting the Court of Auditors access to
the information required to perform its duties,
if
necessary on the spot, in accordance with the verifi-
cation agreements concluded with the international
organisations concerned;

(i) provisions regarding the use of any interest yielded;

(j) provisions

guaranteeing

the
Community action, project or programme in relation
to the other activities of the organisation;

visibility

the

of

(k) provisions on the publication of the beneficiaries of
funds deriving from the budget, which require the
international organisations to publish the information
in accordance with Article 169 of this Regulation.

Information on transfers of personal data for audit
purposes

( A r t i c l e 4 8 o f

t h e F i n a n c i a l R e g u l a t i o n )

In any call made in the context of grants or procurements
implemented in direct centralised management, potential
beneficiaries, candidates and tenderers shall, in accordance
with Regulation (EC) No 45/2001 of
the European
Parliament and of the Council (*) be informed that, for
interests of
the purposes of safeguarding the financial
the Communities, their personal data may be transferred
to the European Court of
to internal audit services,
Auditors, to the Financial
Irregularities Panel or to the
European Anti-Fraud Office (hereinafter “OLAF”).

___________
(*) OJ L 8, 12.1.2001, p. 1.’

33. In Article 48, point (e) is replaced by the following:

5.
A project or programme shall be considered to be
jointly elaborated when the Commission and the inter-

‘(e)

identify and prevent management risks and manage
them effectively;’

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Official Journal of the European Union

28.4.2007

34. In Article 49, the following paragraph is added:

‘Personal data contained in supporting documents shall be
deleted where possible when those data are not necessary
for budgetary discharge, control and audit purposes. In
any event, as concerns the conservation of traffic data,
Article 37(2) of Regulation (EC) No 45/2001 shall apply.’

35. In Article 67, paragraph 4 is replaced by the following:

transfer,

‘4.
Payments from imprest accounts may be made by
including the direct debit system
bank credit
referred to in Article 80 of
the Financial Regulation,
cheque or other means of payment, in accordance with
the instructions laid down by the accounting officer.’

36. In Article 72,

‘Staff Regulations of Officials and the
the
“the Staff Regu-

Conditions of Employment of Other Servants of
European Communities
lations”)’ is replaced by ‘Staff Regulations’.

(hereinafter

whether irregularities within the meaning of Article 74
have occurred, how serious they are and what their conse-
quences might be. Where the Panel’s analysis suggests that
the case referred to it
it shall
the file to the appointing authority without
transmit
delay and shall inform OLAF at once.

is a matter for OLAF,

is directly informed of a matter by a
When the panel
member of staff in accordance with Article 60(6) of the
the file to the
Financial Regulation,
appointing authority and shall
inform the member of
staff accordingly. The appointing authority may request
the panel’s opinion on the case.

transmit

it shall

internal

2.
The institution or, in the case of a joint panel, the
participating institutions shall, depending on its or their
own
operating
arrangements of the panel and its composition, which
shall
include an external participant with the required
qualifications and expertise.’

organisation,

specify

the

37. Articles 74 and 75 are replaced by the following:

‘Article 74

Financial irregularities

38. In Article 77(2),

the first sentence is replaced by the

following:

‘Subject to Articles 160(1a) and 161(2) of the Financial
Regulation, an estimate of amounts receivable shall not
have the effect of making commitment appropriations
available.’

( A r t i c l e s
F i n a n c i a l R e g u l a t i o n )

6 0 ( 6 )

a n d

6 6 ( 4 )

o f

t h e

39. In Article 81, the following paragraphs 3 and 4 are added:

Without prejudice to the powers of OLAF,
the Panel
referred to in Article 43a (hereinafter “the Panel”) shall
in respect of any infringement of a
be competent
provision of the Financial Regulation or of a provision
relating to financial management or
the checking of
operations
resulting from an act or omission of a
member of staff.

‘3.
The accounting officer of each institution shall keep
a list of amounts due to be recovered. Community en-
titlements shall be grouped in the list according to the
date of issue of the recovery order. He shall transfer this
list to the accounting officer of the Commission.

Article 75

Financial irregularities panel

( A r t i c l e s
F i n a n c i a l R e g u l a t i o n )

6 0 ( 6 )

a n d

6 6 ( 4 )

o f

t h e

The accounting officer of the Commission shall prepare a
consolidated list showing the amount due per institution
and per date of issue of the recovery order. The list shall
be added to the Commission's Report on budgetary and
financial management.

irregularities as referred to in
financial
Cases of
1.
this Regulation shall be referred to the
Article 74 of
Panel by the
an opinion
referred to in the second subparagraph of Article 66(4)
of the Financial Regulation.

appointing authority for

An authorising officer by delegation may refer a matter to
the panel if he considers that a financial irregularity has
occurred. The Panel shall deliver an opinion evaluating

4.
The Commission shall establish a list of Community
entitlements stating the names of the debtors and the
amount of the debt, where the debtor has been ordered
to pay by a Court decision that has the force of res
judicata and where no or no significant payment has
been made for one year following its pronouncement.
The list
the
shall be published,
relevant legislation on data protection.’

taking account of

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40. The following Article 85b is inserted:

41. In Article 87(3), the second sentence is replaced by the

following:

‘Article 85b

Rules for limitation periods

‘The authorising officer responsible shall waive recovery in
accordance with Article 81.’

( A r t i c l e 7 3 a o f t h e F i n a n c i a l R e g u l a t i o n )

42. Article 93 is deleted.

The

limitation period for

the
1.
Communities in respect of third parties shall begin to
run on the expiry of the deadline communicated to the
debtor in the debit note as specified in Article 78(3)(b).

entitlements of

The limitation period for entitlements of third parties in
respect of the Communities shall begin to run on the date
on which the payment of the third party's entitlement is
due according to the corresponding legal commitment.

The

limitation period for

the
2.
Communities in respect of third parties shall be inter-
rupted by any act of an institution, or a Member State
acting at the request of an institution, notified to the third
party and aiming at recovering the debt.

entitlements of

The limitation period for entitlements of third parties in
respect of the Communities shall be interrupted by any
act notified to the Communities by their creditors or on
behalf of their creditors aiming at recovering the debt.

3.
A new limitation period of five years shall begin to
run on the day following the interruptions referred to in
paragraph 2.

Any legal action relating to an amount receivable as
4.
including actions brought
referred to in paragraph 1,
to have
before a court which later declares itself not
the limitation period. The
interrupt
jurisdiction, shall
new limitation period of five years shall not begin until
a judgment having the force of res judicata is given or
there is an extrajudicial settlement between the same
parties on the same action.

5. Where the accounting officer allows the debtor ad-
ditional time for payment in accordance with Article 85,
the
this
shall be considered as an interruption of
limitation period. The new limitation period of
five
years shall begin to run on the day following the expiry
of the extended time for payment.

6.
Entitlements shall not be recovered after the expiry
of the limitation period, as established in paragraphs 1
to 5.’

43. In Article 94(1), the following point (f) is added:

‘(f) where an institution has delegated authorising officer
powers
an interinstitutional
European office pursuant to Article 174a(1) of the
Financial Regulation.’

to the director of

44. In Article 104, paragraph 1 is replaced by the following:

‘1.
Pre-financing, including cases where it is split into a
number of payments, shall be paid either on the basis of
the contract, the decision, the agreement or the basic act,
or on the basis of supporting documents which make it
possible to check the conformity of the actions financed
with the terms of the contract, decision or agreement in
for pre-financing is
question.
determined in those instruments, payment of
the due
amount shall not be dependent upon further demand.

If a date of payment

Interim payments and payments of balances shall be
based on supporting documents which make it possible
to check that the action financed has been carried out in
accordance with the basic act or the decision in favour of
the beneficiary, or in accordance with the terms of the
contract or agreement concluded with the beneficiary.’

45. Article 106 is amended as follows:

(a)

in paragraph 1, the following subparagraph is added:

‘Where the payment request is not admissible, the
authorising officer shall
inform the contractor or
beneficiary within 30 calendar days from the date
on which the payment request was initially received.
That
include a description of all
deficiencies.’

information shall

(b) paragraph 3 is replaced by the following:

‘3.
For contracts, grant agreements and decisions
under which payment depends on the approval of a
report or a certificate, the timelimit for the purposes
of the payment periods referred to in paragraphs 1
and 2 shall not begin to run until the report or cer-
tificate in question has been approved. The beneficiary
shall be informed without delay.

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Official Journal of the European Union

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The time allowed for approval may not exceed:

(a) 20 calendar days for straightforward contracts
relating to the supply of goods and services;

(b) 45 calendar days for other contracts and grant

agreements and decisions;

days

(c) 60 calendar
agreements
services
or
complex to evaluate.

and decisions

actions which

for

contracts

and
grant
involving technical
particularly

are

In any case, the contractor or beneficiary shall be
informed in advance of the possibility that payments
might be delayed for the purpose of approval of a
report.

inform the
The authorising officer responsible shall
beneficiary by means of a formal document of any
suspension of the period allowed for approval of the
report or certificate.

The authorising officer responsible may decide that a
single time limit for the approval of the report or the
certificate, and for payment shall apply. This single
time limit may not exceed the aggregated maximum
applicable periods for approval of the report or cer-
tificate and for payment.’

it
paragraph is lower than or equal
shall be paid to the creditor only upon a demand
submitted within two months of
receiving late
payment.

to EUR 200,

The first and the second subparagraphs shall not apply
to Member States.’

(e)

the following paragraph 6 is added:

‘6.
Each institution shall submit to the budgetary
authority a report on the compliance with the time
limits and on the suspension of the time limits laid
down in paragraphs 1 to 5. The report of
the
Commission shall be annexed to the summary of
referred to in Article
the annual activity reports
60(7) of the Financial Regulation.’

46. In Article 112, the following paragraph 3 is added:

‘3.
The internal auditor shall, during the elaboration of
his report, particularly focus on the overall compliance
with the principle of sound financial management and
shall ensure that appropriate measures have been taken
in order to steadily improve and enhance its application.’

47. In the second paragraph of Article 115, ‘Staff Regulations’
replaced by ‘Staff Regulations of Officials of
the

is
European Communities’.

(c)

in paragraph 4, the third sentence of the first sub-
paragraph is replaced by the following:

48. In Article 116(6), the fourth sentence of the first sub-

paragraph is replaced by the following:

‘The authorising officer shall inform the contractor or
beneficiary in question as soon as possible and set out
the reasons for the suspension.’

‘Those who have asked to be allowed to take part in a
restricted procedure, a competitive dialogue, or a nego-
tiated procedure are referred to as “candidates”. ’

(d) paragraph 5 is replaced by the following:

49. In Article 117, paragraph 1 is replaced by the following:

‘5.
On expiry of the time limits laid down in para-
graphs 1, 2 and 3, the creditor shall be entitled to
interest in accordance with the following provisions:

(a)

the interest rates shall be those referred to in the
first subparagraph of Article 86(2);

(b) the interest

the period
shall be payable for
elapsing from the calendar day following expiry
of the time limit for payment up to the day of
payment.

‘1. Where a framework contract is to be concluded
with several economic operators it shall be concluded
with at
there is a
sufficient number of economic operators who satisfy the
selection criteria or a sufficient number of admissible
tenders which meet the award criteria.

three operators provided that

least

A framework contract with a number of economic
operators may take the form of contracts which are
separate but concluded in identical terms.

By way of exception, when the interest calculated in
sub-
accordance with the provisions of

the first

The term of a framework contract may not exceed four
years, save in exceptional cases duly justified in particular
by the subject of the framework contract.

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Official Journal of the European Union

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framework contracts without

to a rapid price and technological
In sectors subject
evolution,
reopening of
competition shall contain a stipulation either on a mid-
term review or on a benchmarking system. After the mid-
term review, if the conditions initially laid down are no
longer geared to the price or technological evolution, the
contracting authority may not use the framework contract
concerned and shall
to
terminate it.’

appropriate measures

take

year

during

specific

financial
internet website

Information relating to the value and contractors
contracts based on a framework
of
be
a
contract
published
the
on the
than 31 March
contracting authority no later
following the end of that financial year if, as a
result of the conclusion of a specific contract or
of the aggregate volume of the specific contracts,
the thresholds referred to in Article 158 are
exceeded.’

shall
of

50. Article 118 is amended as follows:

51. Article 119 is amended as follows:

(a)

in paragraph 3, the following subparagraph is added:

(a) paragraph 1 is amended as follows:

authorities

contracting

appropriate,

interinstitutional

is
an
In such cases,

‘Where
shall
specify in the contract notice that the procurement
procedure
procurement
procedure.
the contract notice shall
indicate the institutions, executive agencies or bodies
referred to in Article 185 of the Financial Regulation
which are involved in the procurement procedure, the
institution responsible for the procurement procedure
and the global volume of the contracts for all those
institutions, executive agencies or bodies.’

(i) in point (a), ‘equal to or’ is deleted.

(ii) in point (b), ‘equal to or’ is deleted.

(iii) the second subparagraph is deleted.

(b) in the

first

subparagraph of paragraph 3,

sentence, ‘equal to or’ is deleted.

first

(b) in paragraph 4 is amended as follows:

(i) the

second subparagraph is

replaced by the

following:

contract or

‘The award notice shall be sent to the Publications
Office no later than 48 calendar days from the
date on which the
framework
contract is signed. However, notices relating to
contracts based on a dynamic purchasing system
may be grouped together on a quarterly basis. In
such cases, they shall be sent to the Publications
Office no later than 48 days after the end of each
quarter.’

(ii) the following subparagraphs are added:

‘The award notice shall also be sent to the Publi-
cations Office in the case of a contract or a
framework contract with a value equal
to or
above the thresholds laid down in Article 158
and awarded pursuant to a negotiated procedure
without prior publication of a contract notice, in
sufficient time for the publication to occur before
the signature of the contract, in accordance with
the terms and conditions
in Article
158a(1).

set out

52. In Article 123(2), the first subparagraph is replaced by the

following:

‘In negotiated procedures and after a competitive dialogue,
the number of candidates invited to negotiate or to tender
may not be less than three, provided that a sufficient
number of candidates satisfy the selection criteria.’

53. The following Article 125c is inserted:

‘Article 125c

Joint procurement procedure with a Member State

( A r t i c l e 9 1 o f

t h e F i n a n c i a l R e g u l a t i o n )

In the case of a joint procurement procedure between one
institution and the contracting authority from one or
more Member States, the procedural provisions applicable
to the institution shall apply.

the contract

Where the share pertaining to or managed by the
contracting authority of a Member State in the total
to or above
estimated value of
50 %, or in other duly justified cases,
the institution
may decide that the procedural rules applicable to the
contracting authority from a Member State shall apply,
provided that they can be considered as equivalent to
those of the institution.

is equal

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concerned by the

The institution and the contracting authority from a
Member State
joint procurement
procedure shall agree in particular upon the practical
modalities for the evaluation of the requests for partici-
pation or the tenders, the award of the contract, the law
applicable to the contract and the competent court for
hearing disputes.’

54. In Article 129, paragraphs (3) and (4) are replaced by the

following:

Contracts with a value less

‘3.
to
EUR 5 000 may be awarded on the basis of a single
tender.

than or equal

4.
Payments of amounts less than or equal to EUR 500
in respect of items of expenditure may consist simply in
payment against invoices, without prior acceptance of a
tender.’

55. Article 130 is amended as follows:

(a)

in paragraph 3, point (a) is replaced by the following:

‘(a) specify

the

exclusion and selection criteria
applying to the contract, save in a competitive
dialogue,
in the restricted procedure and in the
negotiated procedure following publication of a
in such
notice as referred to in Article 127;
cases those criteria shall appear solely in the
contract notice or the call
for expressions of
interest;’

(b) paragraph 4 is amended as follows:

(i) point (c) is replaced by the following:

‘(c) state

the

institutions

that, when

are
contracting authorities, Community law is
the law which applies to the contract, com-
plemented, where necessary, by national law
as specified in the contract;’

(ii) the following point (d) is added:

‘(d) specify the
disputes.’

competent

court

for hearing

(c)

in paragraph 5, the following sentence is added:

‘In addition to the information referred to in Article
134, the contracting authority may also require the
candidate or tenderer to submit information on the
financial, economic, technical and professional capa-
cities, as referred to in Articles 135, 136 and 137, of
in particular when
the

envisaged subcontractor,

subcontracting represents a significant part of
contract.’

the

56. Article 133 is replaced by the following:

‘Article 133

Illegal activities giving rise to exclusion

( A r t i c l e 9 3 a n d 1 1 4 o f
R e g u l a t i o n )

t h e

F i n a n c i a l

The cases referred to in point (e) of Article 93(1) of the
Financial Regulation shall be the following:

(a) cases of

fraud as referred to in Article 1 of

Convention on the protection of
Communities’
financial
Council Act of 26 July 1995 (*);

the
the European
interests drawn up by the

(b) cases of corruption as referred to in Article 3 of the
Convention on the fight against corruption involving
officials of the European Communities or officials of
Member States of the European Union, drawn up by
the Council Act of 26 May 1997 (**);

(c) cases of involvement in a criminal organisation, as
defined in Article 2(1) of Joint Action 98/733/JHA
of the Council (***);

(d) cases of money laundering as defined in Article 1 of

Council Directive 91/308/EEC (****).

___________

(*) OJ C 316, 27.11.1995, p. 48.
(**) OJ C 195, 25.6.1997, p. 1.
(***) OJ L 351, 29.12.1998, p. 1.
(****) OJ L 166, 28.6.1991, p. 77.’

57. The following Article 133a is inserted:

‘Article 133a

Application of exclusion criteria and duration of
exclusion

( A r t i c l e s
F i n a n c i a l R e g u l a t i o n )

9 4 ,

9 3 ,

9 5

a n d

9 6

o f

t h e

1.
In order to determine duration of exclusion and to
ensure compliance with the principle of proportionality,
the institution responsible shall
in
including their
particular the seriousness of
impact on the Communities’
interests and
image and the time which has elapsed, the duration and
the offence,
recurrence of
the intention or degree of
negligence of
the entity concerned and the measures
taken by the entity concerned to remedy the situation.

the facts,
financial

take into account

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When determining the period of exclusion, the institution
responsible shall give the candidate or tenderer concerned
the opportunity to express their views.

In case of doubt on this declaration on the honour,
the contracting authority shall request the evidence
referred to in paragraphs 3 and 4. Paragraph 5 shall
apply, where appropriate.’

the period of exclusion is
Where the duration of
determined,
in accordance with the applicable law, by
the authorities or bodies referred to in Article 95(2) of
the Financial Regulation, the Commission shall apply this
duration up to the maximum duration laid down in
Article 93(3) of the Financial Regulation.

2.
the
The period referred to in Article 93(3) of
Financial Regulation is set at a maximum of five years,
calculated from the following dates:

(a)

from the date of the judgment having the force of res
judicata in the cases referred to in points (b) and (e) of
Article 93(1) of the Financial Regulation;

(b) from the date on which the

is
committed or, in the case of continuing or repeated
infringements,
the date on which the infringement
ceases, in the cases referred to in Article 93(1)(c) of
the Financial Regulation.

infringement

That period of exclusion may be extended to 10 years in
the event of a repeated offence within five years of the
to
date
paragraph 1.

referred to in points

(a) and (b),

subject

3.
Candidates and tenderers shall be excluded from a
procurement and grant procedure as long as they are in
one of the situations referred to in points (a) and (d) of
Article 93(1) of the Financial Regulation.’

58. Article 134 is amended as follows:

59. The following Article 134a is inserted:

‘Article 134a

Central database

( A r t i c l e 9 5 o f

t h e F i n a n c i a l R e g u l a t i o n )

The

institutions,

1.
executive agencies and bodies
referred to in Article 95(1) of the Financial Regulation
shall transmit to the Commission,
in the format estab-
information identifying the
lished by the Commission,
economic operators which are in one of the situations
referred to in Articles 93, 94, 96(1)(b) and 96(2)(a) of
the Financial Regulation, the grounds for exclusion and
the duration of the period of exclusion.

They shall also transmit information concerning persons
with powers of representation, decision making or control
over economic operators which are legal entities, when
these persons have found themselves in one of
the
situations referred to in Articles 93, 94, 96(1)(b) and
96(2)(a) of the Financial Regulation.

The authorities and bodies referred to in Article 95(2) of
the Financial Regulation shall transmit to the Commission,
in the format established by the Commission:

(a)

information identifying the following persons who are
in one of the situations referred to in Article 93(1)(e)
of the Financial Regulation, where their conduct was
detrimental to the Communities’ financial interests:

(a)

in paragraph 1, the following subparagraph is added:

(i) the economic operators;

‘Depending on its risk assessment,
the contracting
authority may refrain from requiring the declaration
referred to in the first subparagraph for contracts with
a value less than or equal to EUR 5 000. However, for
contracts referred to in Articles 241(1), 243(1), and
245(1), the contracting authority may refrain from
requiring that declaration for contracts with a value
less than or equal to EUR 10 000.’

(ii) persons with powers of representation, decision-
making or control over economic operators which
are legal entities;

(b) the type of their conviction;

(b) the following paragraph 7 is added:

(c)

the duration of
procurement procedures, where applicable.

the period of

exclusion from

‘7. When requested by the contracting authority,
the candidate or tenderer shall submit a declaration
on honour from the intended subcontractor that he is
not in one of the situations referred to in Articles 93
and 94 of the Financial Regulation.

2.
The institutions, agencies, authorities and bodies
referred to in paragraph 1 shall designate the persons
authorised to communicate to and receive from the
Commission the information contained in the database.

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In the case of the institutions, agencies, authorities and
bodies referred to in Article 95(1) of the Financial Regu-
lation,
the designated persons shall address the infor-
mation as soon as possible to the accounting officer of
the Commission, and request, as appropriate, entry, modi-
fication or removal of data in the database.

In the case of the authorities and bodies referred to in
Article 95(2) of the Financial Regulation, the designated
persons shall address the requisite information to the
Commission authorising officer
the
programme or action concerned, within three months of
the issue of the relevant judgement.

responsible

for

The accounting officer of the Commission shall enter,
modify or remove data in the database. He shall, via a
secured protocol, provide on a monthly basis validated
data contained in the database to the designated persons.

3.
The institutions, agencies, authorities and bodies
referred to in paragraph 1 shall certify to the Commission
that the information communicated by them was estab-
lished and transmitted in accordance with the principles
set out in Regulation (EC) No 45/2001 and in Directive
95/46/EC of
the
the European Parliament
Council (*) concerning the protection of personal data.

and of

In particular, they shall inform in advance all economic
operators or persons referred to in paragraph 1 that their
data may be included in the database and communicated
by the Commission to the designated persons referred to
in paragraph 2. They shall update, where appropriate, the
information transmitted, following rectification or erasure
or any modification of data.

Any party entered in the database shall have the right to
be informed of the data stored concerning that party,
upon
the
Commission.

accounting

request

officer

the

to

of

4. Member States shall take appropriate measures to
assist the Commission in order to manage the database
efficiently, in compliance with Directive 95/46/EC.

Appropriate arrangements shall be laid down in the
agreements with the authorities of third countries and
all bodies referred to in Article 95(2) of the Financial
in order to ensure compliance with these
Regulation,
provisions
concerning the
and with the principles
protection of personal data.

___________
(*) OJ L 281, 23.11.1995, p. 3.’

60. The following Article 134b is inserted:

‘Article 134b

Administrative and financial penalties

( A r t i c l e s 9 6 a n d 1 1 4 o f
R e g u l a t i o n )

t h e

F i n a n c i a l

1. Without prejudice to the application of penalties laid
down in the contract, candidates or
tenderers and
contractors who have made false declarations, have
made substantial errors or committed irregularities or
their
fraud, or have been found in serious breach of
contractual obligations may be
excluded from all
contracts and grants financed by the Community budget
for a maximum of five years from the date on which the
is established as confirmed following an
infringement
adversarial procedure with the contractor.

That period may be extended to 10 years in the event of a
repeated offence within five years of the date referred to
in the first subparagraph.

Tenderers or candidates who have made false
irregu-
to financial
total

2.
declarations, have committed substantial errors,
larities or
penalties
estimated value of the contract being awarded.

representing 2 % to 10 % of

fraud, may also be

subject

the

Contractors who have been found in serious breach of
their contractual obligations may be subject to financial
penalties representing 2 % to 10 % of the total value of
the contract in question.

That rate may be increased to 4 % to 20 % in the event of
a repeat infringement within five years of the date referred
to in the first subparagraph of paragraph 1.

3.
The institution shall determine the administrative or
financial penalties taking into account in particular the
elements referred to in Article 133a(1).’

61. In Article 140(3), the first subparagraph is replaced by the

following:

‘In restricted procedures, in cases of use of the competitive
dialogue referred to in Article 125b and in negotiated
procedures with publication of a contract notice for
contracts above the thresholds set in Article 158, the
time limit for receipt of requests to participate shall be
no less than 37 days from the date on which the contract
notice is dispatched.’

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62. In Article 145(2), the following subparagraph is added:

contracting authority responsible for the procurement
procedure.’

‘In the case of a procurement procedure launched on an
interinstitutional basis, the opening committee shall be
appointed by the competent authorising officer from the
institution responsible for the procurement procedure.
The composition of the opening committee shall reflect,
insofar as possible, the interinstitutional character of the
procurement procedure.’

65. Article 149 is amended as follows:

(a)

the title is replaced by the following:

‘Article 149

63. Article 146 is amended as follows:

Information for candidates and tenderers

(a)

in paragraph 1, the following subparagraph is added:

( A r t i c l e s 1 0 0 ( 2 ) , 1 0 1 a n d 1 0 5 o f
F i n a n c i a l R e g u l a t i o n ) ’

t h e

the authorising officer

‘However,
responsible may
decide that the evaluation committee is to evaluate
the award
and rank the tenders on the basis of
criteria only and that
the exclusion and selection
criteria are to be evaluated by other appropriate
means guaranteeing the absence of
conflicts of
interests.’

(b) in paragraph 2, the following subparagraph is added:

‘In the case of a procurement procedure launched on
an interinstitutional basis, the evaluation committee
shall be appointed by the competent authorising
the
officer
for
the
procurement procedure. The composition of
as
insofar
evaluation
possible,
the
character of
the
procurement procedure.’

institution responsible

interinstitutional

committee

from the

reflect,

shall

64. Article 147 is amended as follows:

(a) paragraph 1 is replaced by the following:

‘1.
A written record of the evaluation and ranking
of requests to participate and tenders declared to
satisfy the requirements shall be drawn up and dated.

The written record shall be signed by all the members
of the evaluation committee.

If the evaluation committee was not given responsi-
bility for the evaluation and ranking of the tenders on
the basis of the exclusion and selection criteria, the
written record shall also be signed by the persons who
responsibility by the authorising
were given that
officer responsible. The written record shall be kept
for future reference.’

(b) in paragraph 3, the following subparagraph is added:

‘In the case of a procurement procedure launched on
an interinstitutional basis, the decision referred to in
the
the

subparagraph shall be

taken by

first

(b) paragraph 3 is amended as follows:

(i) the first subparagraph is replaced by the following:

case of

awarded by

‘In the
the
contracts
Community institutions on their own account,
with a value equal to or more than the thresholds
set in Article 158 and which are not excluded
from the scope of Directive 2004/18/EC,
the
contracting authority shall inform all unsuccessful
tenderers or candidates, simultaneously and indi-
vidually, by mail, fax or e-mail, that their appli-
cation or tender has not been accepted, at either
of the following stages:

(a) shortly after decisions have been taken on the
basis of exclusion and selection criteria and
before the award decision,
in procurement
procedures organised in two separate stages,

(b) as regards the award decisions and decisions to
reject offers, as soon as possible after the
award decision and within the
following
week at the latest.

the contracting authority shall
In each case,
indicate the reasons why the tender or application
has not been accepted and the available legal
remedies.’

(ii) the fourth subparagraph is deleted.

66. The following Article 149a is inserted:

‘Article 149a

Signature of the contract

( A r t i c l e s 1 0 0 a n d 1 0 5 o f
R e g u l a t i o n )

t h e F i n a n c i a l

Implementation of a contract may not start before the
contract is signed.’

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67. Article 155 is amended as follows:

Except in the cases provided for in paragraph 2, any
contract signed before the expiry of the period set in
the first subparagraph shall be null and void.

(a)

in paragraph 1, the following subparagraph is added:

‘Whenever appropriate, technically feasible, and cost-
efficient, contracts with a value equal to or greater
than the thresholds laid down in Article 158 shall
be awarded at
the same time in the form of
separate lots.’

(b) the following paragraph 4 is added:

‘4. Where a contract is to be awarded in the form
of separate lots, tenders shall be evaluated separately
for each lot. If several lots are awarded to the same
tenderer, a single contract covering those lots may be
signed.’

68. The following Article 158a is inserted:

‘Article 158a

Standstill period before signature of the contract

( A r t i c l e 1 0 5 o f t h e F i n a n c i a l R e g u l a t i o n )

1.
The contracting authority shall not sign the contract
or framework contract, covered by Directive 2004/18/EC,
with the successful tenderer until 14 calendar days have
elapsed.

That period shall run from either of the following dates:

(a)

the day after the simultaneous dispatch of the award
decisions and decisions to reject;

(b) where the contract or framework contract is awarded
to a negotiated procedure without prior
pursuant
publication of a contract notice,
the day after the
contract award notice referred to in Article 118 has
been published in the Official Journal of the European
Union.

relevant

If necessary, the contracting authority may suspend the
signing of the contract for additional examination if this is
justified by the requests or comments made by unsuc-
cessful or aggrieved tenderers or candidates or by any
requests,
other
comments or information must be received during the
In the case of
period set
suspension all
shall be
informed within three working days
following the
suspension decision.

in the first subparagraph.
the candidates or

information received. The

tenderers

Where the contract or framework contract cannot be
awarded to the
the
contracting authority may award it to the following best
tenderer.

envisaged tenderer,

successful

The period set

2.
paragraph 1 shall not apply in the following cases:

in the

subparagraph of

first

(a) open procedures where only one tender has been

submitted;

(b) restricted or negotiated procedures after prior publi-
cation of a contract notice where the tenderer to
whom the contract is to be awarded was the only
one who satisfies the exclusion and selection criteria,
provided that, in accordance with point (a) of the first
subparagraph of Article 149(3), the other candidates
or tenderers have been informed of the grounds of
their exclusion or rejection shortly after the relevant
decisions have been taken on the basis of
the
exclusion and selection criteria;

(c) specific contracts based on a framework contract and
by applying the terms set out in such a framework
contract, without reopening the competition.

(d) extreme urgency referred to in Article 126(1)(c).’

69. Article 160 is amended as follows:

(a)

in paragraph 1, the second subparagraph is deleted;

(b) paragraphs 2 and 3 are deleted.

70. The following Articles 160a to 160f are inserted:

‘Article 160a

Subscriptions

( A r t i c l e 1 0 8 o f t h e F i n a n c i a l R e g u l a t i o n )

The subscriptions referred to in point (d) of Article 108(2)
of the Financial Regulation shall be sums paid to bodies of
which the Community is member, in accordance with the
budgetary decisions and the conditions of payment estab-
lished by the body concerned.

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Article 160b

Participations

( A r t i c l e 1 0 8 o f t h e F i n a n c i a l R e g u l a t i o n )

For the purposes of Article 108(2) and (3) of the Financial
Regulation, the following definitions shall apply:

(a) “equity participation” means an ownership position in
taken through an
an organisation or
investment,
in which returns on the investment are
dependent on the profitability of the organisation or
venture;

venture

(b) “share holding” means an equity participation in the

form of shares in an organisation or venture;

(c) “equity investment” means the provision of capital to
a firm by an investor in return for partial ownership
of
this investor may
in addition,
assume some management control of the firm and
may share in future profits;

firm where,

that

(d) “quasi-equity financing” means a type of financing that
involves a mix of equity and debt, where the equity
allows investors to achieve a high rate of return upon
the success of
the company or where the debt
component entails a premium price contributing to
the return of the investor;

(e) “risk-bearing instrument” means a financial instrument
which guarantees the total or partial coverage of a
defined risk,
if possible in exchange for an agreed
remuneration.

Article 160c

Specific rules

( A r t i c l e 1 0 8 ( 3 ) o f
l a t i o n )

t h e

F i n a n c i a l R e g u -

1. Where grants as referred to in Article 108(3) of the
Financial Regulation are awarded by the Commission
under direct
they shall be
centralised management,
this Title, with the
subject
exception of the following provisions:

to the provisions of

(a)

the no-profit rule as referred to in Article 165 of this
Regulation;

(b) the co-financing requirement as referred to in Article

172 of this Regulation;

(c)

for actions where the objective is to reinforce the
financial capacity of a beneficiary or to generate an
income, the assessment of the financial viability of the

applicant as referred to in Article 173(4) of this Regu-
lation;

(d) the requirement for an advance guarantee as referred

to in Article 182 of this Regulation.

The first subparagraph applies without prejudice to the
the grants concerned, which
accounting treatment of
shall be determined by
in
accordance with international accounting standards.

accounting officer

the

2.
In all cases where a financial contribution is made,
the authorising officer responsible shall ensure that appro-
priate arrangements have been made with the recipient of
the contribution defining the modalities for payment and
control.

Article 160d

Prizes

( A r t i c l e 1 0 9 ( 3 ) ( b ) o f t h e F i n a n c i a l R e g u -
l a t i o n )

For the purposes of point (b) of Article 109(3) of the
Financial Regulation, prizes shall be the reward for an
entry in a contest.

They shall be awarded by a panel of judges who are free
to decide whether or not to award prizes depending on
their appraisal of the quality of the entries by reference to
the rules of the contest.

The amount of the prize shall not be linked to the costs
incurred by the recipient.

The rules of
conditions and criteria and the amount of the prize.

lay down the award

the contest

shall

Article 160e

Agreement and decision for grants

( A r t i c l e 1 0 8 ( 1 ) o f
l a t i o n )

t h e

F i n a n c i a l R e g u -

1.
the
For each Community programme or action,
annual work programme shall determine whether grants
shall be covered by a decision or by a written agreement.

To determine the instrument

2.
following elements shall be taken into account:

to be used,

the

(a) equal

treatment

and non-discrimination between
beneficiaries, in particular on the basis of nationality
or geographical location;

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(b) coherence of that instrument with other instruments
used within the same Community programme or
action;

(c) complexity and standardisation of the content of the

actions or work programmes funded.

3.
In the case of programmes managed by several
authorising officers, the instrument to be used shall be
determined in consultation between those authorising
officers.

Article 160f

Expenditure on the members of the institutions

( A r t i c l e 1 0 8 ( 2 ) ( a ) o f
l a t i o n )

t h e F i n a n c i a l R e g u -

Expenditure on the members of the institutions as referred
to in Article 108(2)(a) of the Financial Regulation shall
to associations of current and
include contributions
former members of
the European Parliament. These
contributions shall be implemented in accordance with
European
the
Parliament.’

administrative

rules of

internal

the

71. Article 163 is replaced by the following:

‘Article 163

Partnerships

( A r t i c l e 1 0 8 o f t h e F i n a n c i a l R e g u l a t i o n )

Specific grants may form part of a framework part-

1.
nership.

A framework partnership may be established as a
2.
long-term cooperation mechanism between
the
Commission and the beneficiaries of grants. It may take
the form of an agreement or a decision.

The framework partnership agreement or decision shall
specify the common objectives,
the nature of actions
planned on a one-off basis or as part of an approved
the procedure for awarding
annual work programme,
specific grants,
in compliance with the principles and
procedural rules of this Title, and the general rights and
obligations of each party under the specific agreements or
decisions.

The duration of the partnership may not exceed four
years, save in exceptional cases, justified in particular by
the subject of the framework partnership.

Authorising officers may not make undue use of
framework partnership agreements or decisions or use
them in such a way that
is
contrary to the principles of
transparency or equal
treatment of applicants.

the purpose or effect

3.
Framework partnership agreements or decisions
shall be treated as grants for the purposes of the award
procedure. They shall be subject to the ex ante publication
procedures referred to in Article 167.

Specific grants based on framework partnership
4.
agreements or decisions shall be awarded in accordance
with the procedures laid down in those agreements or
decisions, and in compliance with this Title.

They shall be
procedures laid down in Article 169.’

to the

subject

ex post publication

72. Article 164 is amended as follows:

(a) paragraph 1 is amended as follows:

(i) the

introductory phrase

is

replaced by the

following:

‘The grant agreement shall at least lay down the
following:’

(ii) point (d) is replaced by the following:

‘(d)

the total estimated cost of the action and the
Community funding provided for, as an
overall
an absolute
value, supplemented as appropriate by an
indication of:

ceiling expressed as

(i) the maximum rate of

funding of

the
costs of the action or approved work
programme in the case referred to in
point
the
(a) of Article 108a(1) of
Financial Regulation;

(ii) the lump sum or

referred to in points
Article 108a(1) of
lation;

flat-rate financing
(b) and (c) of
the Financial Regu-

(iii) the elements set out in points (i) and (ii)
of this point in the cases referred to in
point
the
(d) of Article 108a(1) of
Financial Regulation.’

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(iii) points (f) and (g) are replaced by the following:

‘(f)

the general terms and conditions applicable
to all agreements of this type, such as the
acceptance by the beneficiary of audits by
the Commission, OLAF and the Court of
Auditors and of
the ex post publication
rules referred to in Article 169, in accordance
these
with Regulation (EC) No 45/2001;
general terms shall at least:

(i) state that Community law is the law
which applies to the grant agreement,
complemented, where
by
national
law as specified in the grant
agreement;

necessary,

(ii) specify the competent court

to hear

disputes.

The specific decision or agreement shall contain the
information referred to in points (a) to (e), (g) and (k)
of paragraph 1 and, where necessary, point (i) thereof.’

(c)

the following paragraph 4 is added:

Paragraphs 1 to 3 shall apply mutatis mutandis

‘4.
to grant decisions.

Some of the information referred to in paragraph 1
for proposals or any
may be provided in the call
related document, instead of the grant decision.’

73. In Article 165, paragraphs 1 and 2 are replaced by the

following:

For the purposes of this Title, profit shall be defined

‘1.
as follows:

(g)

the estimated overall budget;’

(a)

(iv) point (i) is replaced by the following:

in the case of a grant for an action, profit means a
surplus of receipts over the costs incurred by the
final
beneficiary when the
payment;

is made

request

for

‘(i)

the responsibilities of the beneficiary, at least
in terms of sound financial management and
submission of activity and financial reports;
whenever appropriate,
targets
shall be
established, upon which those
reports become due;’

intermediate

(v) the following points (k) and (l) are added:

‘(k) as appropriate, details of the eligible costs of
the action or approved work programme, or
flat-rate financing
of
the
referred to in Article 108a(1) of
Financial Regulation;

the lump sums or

(l)

provisions governing the public display of
references
to the European Communities
Budget Support, unless it is not possible or
appropriate
substantiated
according to a
decision of the authorising officer.’

(b) paragraph 2 is replaced by the following:

‘2.
the
In the cases referred to in Article 163,
framework partnership decision or framework part-
nership agreement
information
referred to in points (a), (b), (c)(i), (d)(i), (f) and (h)
to (k) of paragraph 1 of this Article.

specify the

shall

(b) in the case of an operating grant, profit means a
surplus balance on the operating budget of the ben-
eficiary.

and

flat-rate

financing

Lump sums

2.
shall be
determined according to Article 181 on the basis of the
costs or the category of costs to which they relate, estab-
lished by statistical data and similar objective means, in
such a way as to exclude a priori a profit. On the same
basis,
shall be reassessed and, where
appropriate, adjusted by the Commission every two years.

those amounts

In that case, and for each grant, non-profit shall be
verified at the time of the determination of the amounts.

Where the ex post control on the generating event reveals
that the event has not occurred and an undue payment
has been made to the beneficiary on a lump sum or flat-
rate financing, the Commission shall be entitled to recover
up to the amount of the lump sum or flat-rate financing
and, in the case of a false declaration regarding the lump
sum or flat-rate financing, impose financial penalties up to
50 % of the total amount of the lump sum or flat-rate
financing.

Such controls are without prejudice to the verification and
certification of actual costs required for the payment of
grants or for grants consisting in the reimbursement of a
specified proportion of the eligible costs.’

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74. The following Article 165a is inserted:

‘Article 165a

Co-financing principle

( A r t i c l e 1 0 9 o f t h e F i n a n c i a l R e g u l a t i o n )

1.
Co-financing shall require that part of the cost of an
action or of the running costs of an entity is borne by the
beneficiary of a grant, or by contributions other than the
Community contribution.

In the case of grants taking one of

2.
the forms
provided for in points (b) or (c) of Article 108a(1) of
the Financial Regulation, or a combination thereof, co-
financing shall only be assessed at
the
evaluation of the grant application.’

the stage of

75. In Article 166(1), the first subparagraph is replaced by the

following:

‘An annual work programme for grants shall be prepared
by each authorising officer
responsible. This work
programme shall be adopted by the institution and
published on the grants internet site of the institution
if necessary during the
concerned as soon as possible,
year preceding budget
implementation, and no later
than 31 March of the year of implementation.’

76. Article 167 is amended as follows:

(a)

in paragraph 1, point (b) is replaced by the following:

‘(b)

selection and award
the eligibility, exclusion,
criteria as referred to in Articles 114 and 115
of
the Financial Regulation, and the relevant
supporting documents;’

(b) paragraph 2 is replaced by the following:

site of

‘2.
Calls for proposals shall be published on the
the Community institutions and
internet
possibly by any other appropriate means,
including
the Official Journal of the European Union, in order to
provide maximum publicity among potential bene-
ficiaries. They may be published during the year
preceding budget implementation. Any modification
of
the calls for proposals shall be
also subject to publication under the same conditions.’

the content of

‘(d)

to bodies identified by a basic act, within the
meaning of Article 49 of
the Financial Regu-
lation, as beneficiaries of a grant;’

(b) the following points (e) and (f) are added:

‘(e)

(f)

in the case of research and technological devel-
opment, to bodies identified in the annual work
the
programme referred to in Article 110 of
Financial Regulation, where
act
basic
expressly provides for that possibility, and on
condition that the project does not fall under
the scope of a call for proposals;

the

characteristics

actions with specific

technical competence,

that
for
require a particular type of body on account of
its
its high degree of
specialisation or
its administrative power, on
condition that the actions concerned do not fall
within the scope of a call for proposals.’

(c)

the following subparagraph is added:

‘The cases referred to in point (f) of the first sub-
paragraph shall be duly substantiated in the award
decision.’

78. Article 169 is amended as follows:

(a) paragraph 1 is replaced by the following:

‘1.
All grants awarded in the course of a financial
year, except scholarships paid to natural persons, shall
be published, according to a standard presentation, in
a dedicated and easily accessible place of the internet
site of the Community institution concerned during
the first half of the year following the closure of the
budget year in respect of which they were awarded.

In cases where management is delegated to the bodies
referred to in Article 54 of the Financial Regulation,
reference shall be made at least to the address of the
website where this information can be found if it is
not published directly in the dedicated place of the
internet site of the Community institutions.

77. In Article 168, paragraph 1 is amended as follows:

(a) point (d) is replaced by the following:

The information may also be published, according to
a standard presentation, by any other appropriate
the European
means,
Union.’

including the Official

Journal of

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(b) in paragraph 2, point (c) is replaced by the following:

‘(c)

the amount awarded and, except in the case of a
lump sum or flat-rate financing as referred to in
Article 108a(1)(b) and (c) of the Financial Regu-
lation, the rate of funding of the costs of the
action or approved work programme.’

(c)

the following paragraph 3 is added:

‘3.
Following the publication pursuant to paragraph
2, when requested by the budgetary authority the
Commission shall forward to that authority a report
on:

(a)

the number of applicants in the past year;

to cover certain administrative costs of a financial insti-
tution, including, where appropriate, a variable fee consti-
tuting a performance-related incentive in relation to the
management of a project or programme forming an indis-
soluble whole.’

81. The following Articles 172a, 172b and 172c are inserted:

‘Article 172a

Eligible costs

( A r t i c l e 1 1 3 o f t h e F i n a n c i a l R e g u l a t i o n )

1.
Eligible costs are costs actually incurred by the ben-
eficiary of a grant which meet all the following criteria:

(b) the number and percentage of successful appli-

cations per call for proposals;

(a)

they are incurred during the duration of the action or
of the work programme, with the exception of costs
relating to final reports and audit certificates;

(c)

the mean duration of the procedure from date of
closure of the call for proposals to the award of a
grant;

(b) they are indicated in the estimated overall budget of

the action or work programme;

(d) the number and amount of grants where the ex
post publication obligation was waived in the past
year for reasons of safety of the beneficiaries or
protection of their business interest.’

(c)

they are necessary for the implementation of
action or of
subject of the grant;

the
the work programme which is the

79. The following Article 169a is inserted:

‘Article 169a

Information for applicants

(d) they are identifiable and verifiable, in particular being
recorded in the accounting records of the beneficiary
applicable
and
accounting standards of the country where the ben-
eficiary is established and according to the usual cost-
accounting practices of the beneficiary;

determined

according

the

to

( A r t i c l e 1 1 0 o f t h e F i n a n c i a l R e g u l a t i o n )

The Commission shall provide information and advice to
applicants by the following means:

(e)

they comply with the requirements of applicable tax
and social legislation;

(a)

laying down joint standards for application forms for
similar grants and monitoring the size and readability
of the application forms;

(f)

they are reasonable,
requirements of
particular regarding economy and efficiency.

justified, and comply with the
in

sound financial management,

(b) supplying information to potential

in
through seminars and the provision of

applicants

particular
handbooks;

(c) maintaining permanent data for beneficiaries in the

Legal Entity File referred to in Article 64.’

80. In Article 172, the following paragraph 4 is added:

‘4.
The co-financing principle shall be considered to be
respected where the Community contribution is designed

2. Without prejudice to paragraph 1 and to the basic
act, the following costs may be considered as eligible by
the authorising officer responsible:

(a) costs relating to a bank guarantee or comparable
surety to be lodged by the beneficiary of the grant
pursuant to Article 118 of the Financial Regulation;

(b) costs

relating to external audits

required by the
responsible
either upon the
request for financing or upon the request for payment;

authorising officer

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Official Journal of the European Union

28.4.2007

(c) value added tax paid, and which cannot be refunded
to the beneficiary according to the applicable national
legislation;

The authorising officer responsible may require that elec-
tronic submission be accompanied by an advanced elec-
tronic
signature within the meaning of Directive
1999/93/EC.

(d) depreciation costs, provided they are actually incurred

by the beneficiary;

(e) administrative expenditure, staff and equipment costs,
including the salary costs of personnel of national
administrations to the extent that they relate to the
cost of activities which the relevant public authority
would not carry out if the project concerned were not
undertaken.

Article 172b

Principle of gradual decrease of operating grants

( A r t i c l e 1 1 3 ( 2 ) o f
l a t i o n )

t h e

F i n a n c i a l R e g u -

Where operating grants are decreased,
decreased in a proportionate and equitable manner.

they shall be

Article 172c

Financing applications

( A r t i c l e 1 1 4 o f t h e F i n a n c i a l R e g u l a t i o n )

1.
The arrangements for the submission of grant appli-
cations shall be determined by the authorising officer
responsible, who may choose the method of submission.
Grant applications may be submitted by letter or by elec-
tronic means.

2. Where the authorising officer responsible authorises
submission of applications by electronic means, the tools
used and their
technical characteristics shall be non-
discriminatory in nature, generally available and inter-
operable with the information and communication tech-
nology products in general use. The information relating
to the specifications required for presentation of appli-
including encryption shall be made available to
cations,
the applicants.

Moreover, the devices for the electronic receipt of appli-
cations shall guarantee security and confidentiality.

3. Where submission is by letter, applicants may
choose to submit applications in one of the following
ways:

(a) by post or by courier service, in which case the call
for proposals shall specify that the evidence shall be
constituted by the date of dispatch, the postmark or
the date of the deposit slip;

(b) by hand delivery to the premises of the institution by
the applicant in person or by an agent, in which case
the call for proposals shall specify the department to
which applications are to be delivered against a signed
and dated receipt.’

The means of communication chosen shall be non-
discriminatory in nature and shall not have the effect of
restricting the access of applicants to the award procedure.

82. Article 173 is amended as follows:

(a) paragraph 1 is replaced by the following:

The means of communication chosen shall be such as to
ensure that the following conditions are satisfied:

(a) each submission must contain all

the information

required for its evaluation;

(b) the integrity of data must be preserved;

(c)

the confidentiality of proposals must be preserved.

For the purposes of point
the authorising officer
responsible shall examine the content of applications
only after the time limit set for submitting them has
expired.

(c),

‘1.
Applications shall be made on the form estab-
lished in accordance with the joint standards laid
down pursuant
and made
available by the authorising officers responsible, and
in accordance with the criteria laid down in the basic
act and the call for proposals.’

to Article 169a(a)

(b) paragraph 3 is replaced by the following:

The budget

attached to the
and expenditure

‘3.
for the action or the operating
application shall have
budget
revenue
to
in balance,
provisions for possible variations in exchange rates,
and shall
indicate the costs which are eligible for
financing from the Community budget.’

subject

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83. Article 174 is replaced by the following:

86. The following Articles 175a and 175b are inserted:

‘Article 174

Evidence of non-exclusion

( A r t i c l e 1 1 4 o f t h e F i n a n c i a l R e g u l a t i o n )

Financial Regulation.

Applicants shall declare on their honour that they are not
in one of the situations listed in Articles 93(1) and 94 of
the
officer
responsible may, depending on his risk analysis, request
the evidence referred to in Article 134. Applicants shall be
required to supply such evidence, unless there is a material
impossibility
authorising officer
responsible.’

recognised by

authorising

The

the

84. The following Article 174a is inserted:

‘Article 174a

Applicants without legal personality

( A r t i c l e 1 1 4 o f t h e F i n a n c i a l R e g u l a t i o n )

is submitted by an
When an application for a grant
applicant who does not have
in
accordance with Article 114(2)(a) of the Financial Regu-
lation, the representatives of that applicant shall prove
that they have the capacity to undertake legal obligations
financial
on behalf of
guarantees equivalent to those provided by legal persons.’

the applicant, and shall offer

legal personality,

‘Article 175a

Eligibility criteria

( A r t i c l e 1 1 4 o f t h e F i n a n c i a l R e g u l a t i o n )

The eligibility criteria shall be published in the call

1.
for proposals.

2.
The eligibility criteria shall determine the conditions
for participating in a call for proposals. Those criteria shall
be established with due regard for the objectives of the
action and shall comply with the principles of
trans-
parency and non-discrimination.

Article 175b

Very low value grants

( A r t i c l e 1 1 4 ( 3 ) o f
l a t i o n )

t h e

F i n a n c i a l R e g u -

Very low value grants shall be considered to be those
grants which are lower than or equal to EUR 5 000.’

87. In Article 176(3), the following subparagraph is added:

‘If no supporting documents were requested in the call for
proposals and if the authorising officer responsible has
doubts about
the financial or operational capacity of
applicants, he shall request them to provide any appro-
priate documents.’

85. Article 175 is replaced by the following:

88. Article 178 is amended as follows:

‘Article 175

Financial and administrative penalties

( A r t i c l e 1 1 4 o f t h e F i n a n c i a l R e g u l a t i o n )

Financial or administrative penalties, or both, may be
imposed on applicants who have made false declarations
or substantial errors, or committed irregularities or fraud,
in accordance with the conditions laid down in Article
134b and in proportion to the value of the grants in
question.

(a)

in paragraph 1, the first subparagraph is replaced by
the following:

‘The authorising officer responsible shall appoint a
committee to evaluate the proposals, unless
the
Commission decides otherwise in the framework of
a
authorising
sectoral programme. The
officer may appoint such a committee before the
final date for the submission of proposals provided
for in point (d) of Article 167.’

specific

(b) the following paragraph 1a is inserted:

Such financial or administrative penalties, or both, may
also be imposed on beneficiaries who have been found in
serious breach of their contractual obligations.’

‘1a.
The authorising officer responsible shall, where
appropriate, divide the process into several procedural
stages. The rules governing the process
shall be
announced in the call for proposals.

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for proposals

specifies a two-stage
Where a call
submission procedure, only those applicants whose
proposals satisfy the evaluation criteria for the first
stage
requested to submit a complete
proposal in the second stage.

shall be

for proposals

Where a call
specifies a two-stage
evaluation procedure, only those proposals that pass
the first stage, based on the evaluation against a
limited set of criteria, shall go forward for further
evaluation.

The applicants whose proposals are rejected at any
stage shall be informed in accordance with Article
116(3) of the Financial Regulation.

Each subsequent stage of
clearly distinct from the previous one.

the procedure must be

The same documents and information shall not be
required to be provided more than once during the
same procedure.’

(c) paragraph 2 is replaced by the following:

‘2.
The evaluation committee or, where appro-
priate, the authorising officer responsible may ask an
applicant
to
submitted in
clarify
in particular in the
connection with the application,
case of obvious clerical errors.

supporting documents

to provide additional

information or

the

The authorising officer shall keep appropriate records
of contacts with applicants during the procedure.’

89. Article 180(2) is amended as follows:

(a)

in the second subparagraph, point (a) is replaced by
the following:

‘(a) Grants for an action of EUR 750 000 or more,
when the cumulative amounts of requests for
payment is at least EUR 325 000.’

(b) in the third subparagraph, the following point (d) is

added:

90. The following Article 180a is inserted:

‘Article 180a

Forms of grants

( A r t i c l e
l a t i o n )

1 0 8 a

o f

t h e

F i n a n c i a l R e g u -

1.
Community grants in the form referred to in point
(a) of Article 108a(1) of the Financial Regulation shall be
calculated on the basis of eligible costs, which are defined
as costs actually incurred by the beneficiary and subject to
a preliminary budget estimate as submitted with the
proposal and included in the grant decision or agreement.

Lump sums as referred to in point (b) of Article
2.
108a(1) of the Financial Regulation shall cover in global
terms certain costs necessary for carrying out an action, or
for the annual operation of a beneficiary, in accordance
with the terms of the agreement and on the basis of an
estimate.

3.
(c) of
Flat-rate financing as referred to in point
Article 108a(1) of the Financial Regulation shall cover
specific
clearly
identified in advance either by applying a percentage
fixed in advance or by the application of a standard
scale-of-unit cost.’

expenditure which are

categories of

91. Article 181 is replaced by the following:

‘Article 181

Lump sums and flat-rate financing

( A r t i c l e
l a t i o n )

1 0 8 a

o f

t h e

F i n a n c i a l R e g u -

The Commission may, by way of decision, authorise

1.
the use of the following:

(a) one or more lump sums with a unit value of
EUR 25 000 or less, to cover one or more different
categories of eligible costs;

(b) flat-rate financing,

annexed to the

scale
Staff Regulations or
approved each year by the Commission for
accommodations
and daily allowances
mission costs.

in particular on the basis of the
as
the
for

costs

of multiple

‘(d) Beneficiaries
provided
equivalent guarantees on the control
and methodology used to prepare their claims.’

have
offering
systems

grants who

independent

certification

That decision shall determine the maximum amount for
the total of such funding authorised, by grant or type of
grant.

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lump sums exceeding a unit
2. Where appropriate,
value of EUR 25 000 shall be authorised in the basic
act which shall
lay down the conditions of award and
the maximum amounts.

Those amounts shall be adjusted every two years by the
Commission on the basis of statistical data and similar
objective means as referred to in Article 165(2).

The grant decision or agreement may authorise, in
3.
the form of flat-rates, funding of the beneficiary’s indirect
costs up to a maximum of 7 % of total eligible direct
costs for the action, save where the beneficiary is in
receipt of
financed from the
Community budget. The 7 % ceiling may be exceeded
by reasoned decision of the Commission.

an operating

grant

4.
The grant decision or agreement shall contain all
necessary provisions in order to verify that the conditions
for the award of lump sums or flat-rate financing have
been respected.’

92. Article 184 is replaced by the following:

‘Article 184

Implementation contracts

( A r t i c l e 1 2 0 o f t h e F i n a n c i a l R e g u l a t i o n )

implementation of

1. Without prejudice to the application of Directive
2004/18/EC, where
assisted
actions requires the award of procurement contracts,
beneficiaries of grants shall award the contract
to the
tender offering best value for money, that is to say, to
the tender offering the best price-quality ratio, while
taking care to avoid any conflict of interests.

the

implementation of

2. Where
assisted actions
requires the award of a procurement contract with a
value of more than EUR 60 000, the authorising officer
responsible may require beneficiaries to abide by special
rules in addition to those referred to in paragraph 1.

the

Those special rules shall be based on rules contained in
the Financial Regulation and determined with due regard
for the value of the contracts concerned, the relative size
of the Community contribution in relation to the total
cost of the action and the risk. Such special rules shall
be included in the grant decision or agreement.’

93. The following Article 184a is inserted:

‘Article 184a

Financial support to third parties

( A r t i c l e 1 2 0 ( 2 ) o f
l a t i o n )

t h e

F i n a n c i a l R e g u -

1.
Provided the objectives or results to be obtained are
sufficiently detailed in the conditions referred to in Article
the margin of
120(2)(b) of
the Financial Regulation,
discretion may be considered to be exhausted if
the
grant decision or agreement also specifies:

(a)

the minimum and maximum amounts of
support
criteria for determining the exact amount;

financial
that can be paid to a third party and

(b) the different types of activity that may receive such

financial support, on the basis of a fixed list.

For the purpose of Article 120(2)(c) of the Financial
2.
Regulation, the maximum amount of
financial support
that may be paid to third parties by a beneficiary shall
be EUR 100 000, with a maximum of EUR 10 000 per
each third party.’

94. In Article 185, the following paragraph is added:

‘The report on budgetary and financial management shall
be separate from the reports on implementation of the
budget referred to in Article 121 of the Financial Regu-
lation.’

95. In Article 187,

‘Article 185’ is replaced by ‘Article 121’.

96. In Article 207(1), ‘Article 185’ is replaced by ‘Article 121’.

97. In Article 209(1), ‘Article 185’ is replaced by ‘Article 121’.

98. In Article 210,

‘Article 185’ is replaced by ‘Article 121’.

99. In Article 219(1),
by ‘EAGF’.

‘EAGGF Guarantee Section’ is replaced

100. In Article 225,

‘Article 185’ is replaced by ‘Article 121’.

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101. In Title I of Part Two,

the title is replaced by the

following:

‘TITLE I

(TITLE II OF PART II OF THE FINANCIAL REGULATION)

STRUCTURAL FUNDS, COHESION FUND, EUROPEAN
FISHERIES FUND AND EUROPEAN AGRICULTURAL
FUND FOR RURAL DEVELOPMENT’

102. In Article 228,

‘the Structural Funds and the Cohesion
Fund’ is replaced by ‘the Structural Funds, the Cohesion
Fund, the European Fisheries Fund and the European Agri-
cultural Fund for Rural Development’.

103. In Article 229, the following paragraph 7 is added:

‘7.
The estimate of the amount receivable, as referred
to in Article 160(1a) of the Financial Regulation shall be
sent to the accounting officer for registration.’

104. Article 232 is amended as follows:

(a) paragraph 1 is replaced by the following:

‘1.
Before a financing agreement is concluded for
an action which is to be the subject of decentralised
management, the authorising officer responsible shall
ensure, by means of document checks and on-the-spot
checks, that the management and control system set
up by the beneficiary third country to manage the
Community funds complies with Article 56 of the
Financial Regulation.’

(b) paragraph 2 is amended as follows:

‘(d) setting

up

the

financial

correction
mechanisms referred to in Article 53c of
the Financial Regulation and specified in
Article 42 of this Regulation,
in particular
as regards recovery by means of offsetting
where the action is fully decentralised.’

(iv) the following point (e) is added:

‘(e) provisions on the publication of the benefi-
ciaries of funds deriving from the budget.’

(c)

the following paragraph 3 is added:

the

require

The provisions

referred to in point

‘3.
(e) of
paragraph 2 shall
third country to
publish the information referred to in Article 169(2),
according to a standard presentation,
in a dedicated
and easily accessible place of its internet site. If such
internet publication is impossible,
the information
shall be published by any other appropriate means,
including the national official journal.

Publication shall take place during the first half of the
year following the closure of
the budget year in
respect of which the funds were attributed to the
third country.

third

country

communicate

The
to the
shall
Commission the address of the place of publication
and reference shall be made to this address in the
dedicated
the
the
Community institutions referred to in Article 169(1).
If the information is published otherwise, the third
country shall give the Commission full details of the
means used.’

internet

place

site

of

of

(i) points (a) and (b) are replaced by the following:

105. The following Article 233a is inserted:

‘(a) ensuring compliance with the criteria laid
the

and (2) of

down in Article 56(1)
Financial Regulation;

(b) stating that,

if

down in Article 56(1)
and (2) of
Financial Regulation cease to be met,
Commission may
suspend or
implementation of the agreement;’

the minimum criteria laid
the
the
terminate

‘Article 233a

Automatic decommitment of split commitments used
in multi-annual programmes

( A r t i c l e 1 6 6 ( 3 ) o f
l a t i o n )

t h e

F i n a n c i a l R e g u -

The following elements shall not be included in the
1.
calculation of the automatic decommitment provided for
in Article 166(3)(a) of the Financial Regulation:

(ii) in point

(c),
replaced by ‘Article 53c’.

the reference to ‘Article 53(5)’

(iii) point (d) is replaced by the following:

is

(a)

that part of the budget commitments for which a
declaration of expenditure has been made but reim-
bursement of which has
been interrupted or
suspended by the Commission at 31 December of
year n+3;

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EN

Official Journal of the European Union

L 111/43

(b) that part of the budget commitments for which it has
not been possible to make a disbursement or a
declaration of
force
majeure seriously affecting the implementation of
the programme.

expenditure

reasons of

for

National authorities claiming force majeure pursuant to
point (b) of the first subparagraph must demonstrate the
direct consequences on the implementation of all or part
of the programme.

The Commission shall

inform the beneficiary
2.
countries and the authorities concerned in good time if
there is a risk of automatic decommitment. It shall inform
them of the amount involved as indicated by the infor-
mation in its possession. The beneficiary countries shall
have two months from receiving this information to agree
to the amount in question or to present observations. The
Commission shall carry out the automatic decommitment
not later than nine months after the timelimits laid down
in points (a) and (b) respectively of Article 166(3) of the
Financial Regulation.

3.
the
In the event of automatic decommitment,
Community financial contribution to the programmes
concerned shall be reduced, for the year in question, by
the amount automatically decommited. The beneficiary
country shall produce a revised financing plan dividing
the reduction of
the aid between the priorities and
measures if relevant. If it does not do so, the Commission
shall reduce the amounts allocated to each priority and
measure if relevant pro rata.’

European Union, or the beneficiary country so requires,
and where the publication of the award notice is deemed
not to be appropriate.’

108. In Article 241(1), the second subparagraph is replaced by

the following:

‘Contracts with a value of
to
EUR 10 000 may be awarded on the basis of a single
tender.’

than or

equal

less

109. In Article 242(1), the following point (h) is added:

‘(h)

for contracts declared to be secret, or for contracts
whose performance must be accompanied by special
the
security measures or when the protection of
essential interests of the European Union or the ben-
eficiary country so requires.’

110. Article 243(1) is amended as follows:

(a) point (b),

‘EUR 30 000’ is replaced by ‘EUR 60 000’.

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

‘(c)

contracts with a

than
for
EUR 60 000: competitive negotiated procedure
within the meaning of paragraph 2.’

value of

less

106. Article 237 is amended as follows:

(c)

the second subparagraph is replaced by the following:

(a)

in paragraph 1, the first subparagraph is replaced by
the following:

‘Contracts with a value of
to
EUR 10 000 may be awarded on the basis of a
single tender.’

less than or equal

‘Articles 118 to 121, with the exception of the defi-
nition, Article 122(3) and (4), Articles 123, 126 to
129, 131(3) to (6), Article 139(2), Articles 140 to
146, Article 148 and Articles 151, 152 and 158a
of
this Regulation shall not apply to procurement
contracts concluded by or on behalf of the contracting
authorities referred to in points (a) and (b) of Article
167(1) of the Financial Regulation.’

(b) paragraph 3 is deleted.

107. In Article 240, paragraph 3 is replaced by the following:

‘3.
The award notice shall be sent when the contract is
signed except where,
if still necessary, the contract was
declared secret or where the performance of the contract
must be accompanied by special security measures, or
the
when the protection of

the essential

interests of

111. In Article 244(1), the following points (f), (g) and (h) are

added:

‘(f)

(g)

(h)

for contracts declared to be secret, or for contracts
whose performance must be accompanied by special
the
security measures or when the protection of
essential interests of the European Union or the ben-
eficiary country so requires;

for contracts
purchases on a commodity market;

in respect of

supplies quoted and

for contracts in respect of purchases on particularly
advantageous terms, either from a supplier which is
definitively winding up its business activities, or from
the receivers or
liquidators of a bankruptcy, an
arrangement with creditors, or a similar procedure
under national law.’

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EN

Official Journal of the European Union

28.4.2007

112. In Article 245(1), the second subparagraph is replaced by

the following:

‘Contracts with a value of
to
EUR 10 000 may be awarded on the basis of a single
tender.’

than or

equal

less

113. In the first subparagraph of Article 246(1), the following

point (e) is added:

‘(e)

for contracts declared to be secret, or for contracts
whose performance must be accompanied by special
the
security measures or when the protection of
essential interests of the European Union or the ben-
eficiary country so requires.’

114. Article 253 is amended as follows:

(a)

in paragraph 1, the following point (e) is added:

‘(e) where it is in the interests of the Community to
be the sole donor to an action, and in particular
to ensure visibility of a Community action.’

(b) in paragraph 2, the following subparagraph is added:

‘However,
in the case of point (e) of paragraph 1,
grounds shall be provided in the financing decision
of the Commission.’

115. Article 258 is replaced by the following:

‘Article 258

Delegations by the institutions to interinstitutional
European offices

( A r t i c l e s 1 7 1 a n d 1 7 4 a o f
R e g u l a t i o n )

t h e F i n a n c i a l

of

the

responsible

for budgetary
Each institution shall be
to the
commitments. The institutions may delegate
office
European
Director
concerned
legal
in particular
commitments, validation of expenditure, authorisation of
payments and implementation of revenue, and shall set
the limits and conditions for such delegation of powers.’

interinstitutional

subsequent

acts,

all

116. The following Article 258a is inserted:

‘Article 258a

Specific rules for the Office for Official Publications

( A r t i c l e s 1 7 1 a n d 1 7 4 a o f
R e g u l a t i o n )

t h e F i n a n c i a l

With regard to the Office for Official Publications (Publi-
cations Office), each institution shall decide on its publi-
cation policy.

The net proceeds from the sale of publications shall be re-
used as assigned revenue by the institution which is the
author of those publications, in accordance with Article
18 of the Financial Regulation.’

117. Article 261 is deleted.

118. In Part Two, the following Title VI is inserted:

‘TITLE VI

(TITLE VII OF PART II OF THE FINANCIAL REGULATION)

EXPERTS’

119. The following Article 265a is inserted.

‘Article 265a

External experts

( A r t i c l e
l a t i o n )

1 7 9 a

o f

t h e

F i n a n c i a l R e g u -

1.
For values below the thresholds laid down in Article
158(1)(a), external experts may be selected on the basis of
the procedure laid down in paragraph 2 of this Article for
tasks involving in particular the evaluation of proposals
and technical assistance.

A call for expressions of interest shall be published
2.
in particular in the Official Journal of the European Union or
the internet site of the institution concerned in order to
ensure maximum publicity among potential candidates
and with a view to establishing a list of experts.

The list drawn up following the call for expressions of
interest shall be valid for no more than the duration of a
multi-annual programme.

Any interested person may submit an application at any
time during the period of validity of the list, with the
exception of the last three months of that period.

3.
External experts shall not appear on the list referred
to in paragraph 2 if they are in one of the situations of
exclusion referred to in Article 93 of the Financial Regu-
lation.

4.
External experts appearing on the list referred to in
paragraph 2 shall be selected on the basis of their ability
to perform the tasks referred to in paragraph 1 and in
accordance with the principles of non-discrimination,
equal treatment and absence of conflict of interests.’

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Official Journal of the European Union

L 111/45

120. Article 269 is replaced by the following:

‘Article 269

Decentralised management of pre-accession aid

( A r t i c l e 5 3 c o f t h e F i n a n c i a l R e g u l a t i o n )

In connection with the pre-accession aid referred to in
Council Regulation (EEC) No 3906/89 (*) and Council
Regulation (EC) No 555/2000 (**), the rules concerning
checks laid down in Article 35 shall not affect the decen-
tralised management
already in operation with the
candidate countries in question.

___________
(*) OJ L 375, 23.12.1989, p. 11.
(**) OJ L 68, 16.3.2000, p. 3.’

172, 173, 175b, 180, 181, 182, 226, 241, 243, 245 and
250 shall be updated every three years in line with
movements
in the
Community.’

consumer price

in the

index

Article 2

Public procurement and grant award procedures
launched
before 1 May 2007 shall continue to be subject to the rules
applicable at the time when those procedures were launched.

Article 3

This Regulation shall enter into force on the day of its publi-
cation in the Official Journal of the European Union.

121. In Article 271, paragraph 1 is replaced by the following:

It shall apply from 1 May 2007.

‘1.
The thresholds and amounts laid down in Articles
54, 67, 119, 126, 128, 129, 130, 135, 151, 152, 164,

However, point (45)(d) of Article 1 shall apply from 1 January
2008 and point (59) of Article 1 shall apply from 1 January
2009.

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

Done at Brussels, 23 April 2007.

For the Commission

Dalia GRYBAUSKAITĖ
Member of the Commission