Commission Regulation (EC) No 259/2008 of 18 March 2008 laying down detailed rules for the application of Council Regulation (EC) No 1290/2005 as regards the publication of information on the beneficiaries of funds deriving from the European Agricultural Guarantee Fund (EAGF) and the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD)
Date: 2008-03-18
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: Internet site, access to EU information, aid to agriculture, dissemination of EU information, fund (EU), rural development

L 76/28

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Official Journal of the European Union

19.3.2008

COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 259/2008

of 18 March 2008

laying down detailed rules for the application of Council Regulation (EC) No 1290/2005 as regards
funds deriving from the European
the publication of
Agricultural Guarantee Fund (EAGF) and the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development
(EAFRD)

information on the beneficiaries of

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

(5)

Having regard to the Treaty
Community,

establishing the European

Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 1290/2005 of
21 June 2005 on the financing of the common agricultural
policy (1), and in particular point 8b of Article 42 thereof,

After consulting the European Data Protection Supervisor,

Whereas:

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

Article 44a of Regulation (EC) No 1290/2005 lays down
that Member States have to ensure the annual ex-post
publication of the beneficiaries of the European Agri-
cultural Guarantee Fund (EAGF), and of the European
Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD), here-
inafter referred to as Funds, and the amounts received per
beneficiary under each of these Funds.

The purpose of
the publication, which should be in
accordance with the information held by the paying
agencies in their books and records and which should
only concern payments
received in the preceding
financial year, is to enhance transparency regarding the
use of
the Funds and improve their sound financial
management. In order to meet these objectives, the infor-
mation should be presented to the public in a clear,
harmonised and searchable manner by the due date of
30 April. In respect of EAFRD expenditure paid between
1 January and 15 October 2007, a special date for publi-
cation should be fixed.

the publication should be

To this end, the minimum requirements as to the content
laid down. These
of
requirements
is
than what
should not go further
necessary in a democratic society in order to reach the
objectives pursued.

Publication of the information should be implemented
via the internet
in the form of a search tool which
ensures that the public at large is in the position to
consult it. The search tool should permit to search on
the basis of certain criteria and the results of the search
should be presented in an easily accessible form.

(6)

(7)

(8)

The publication of the information concerning the bene-
ficiaries should occur as quickly as possible after the
closure of the financial year in order to ensure trans-
parency towards the public. At the same time, Member
States
time to undertake the
necessary work. As the objective of transparency does
not require that the information remains available indefi-
nitely, a reasonable period of availability of the published
information should be laid down.

should have sufficient

this

these funds,

information accessible

Making
to the public
enhances transparency regarding the use of Community
funds in the common agricultural policy and improves
in
the sound financial management of
particular by reinforcing public control of the money
used. Given the overriding weight of
the objectives
pursued,
it is justified with regard to the principle of
proportionality and the requirement of the protection
of personal data to provide for the general publication
of the relevant information as it does not go beyond
what is necessary in a democratic society and for the
prevention of irregularities.

the European Parliament and of

To comply with the data protection requirements bene-
ficiaries of the Funds should be informed of the publi-
cation of their data before the publication takes place.
The information of the beneficiaries should take place
through the application forms for aid or when the data
are collected otherwise. Furthermore,
the beneficiaries
should be informed about their rights under Directive
the
95/46/EC of
Council of 24 October 1995 on the protection of indi-
viduals with regard to the processing of personal data
and on the free movement of such data (2) and the
procedures applicable for exercising these rights. As
regards expenditure incurred in financial years 2007
and 2008, in so far as information of the beneficiaries
is not possible at the moment of collecting the personal
data, the beneficiaries should still be informed within a
time before publication actually
reasonable period of
takes place.

For the sake of transparency, beneficiaries of the Funds
should also be informed that, for the purpose of safe-
guarding the financial interests of the Communities, their
personal data may be processed by auditing and investi-
gating bodies of
the Communities and the Member
States. This information should be given at the same
moment as the information on the publication and on
the rights of individuals is given.

(1) OJ L 209, 11.8.2005, p. 1. Regulation as last amended by Regu-

(2) OJ L 281, 23.11.1995, p. 31. Directive as last amended by Regu-

lation (EC) No 1437/2007 (OJ L 322, 7.12.2007, p. 1).

lation (EC) No 1882/2003 (OJ L 284, 31.10.2003, p. 1).

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Official Journal of the European Union

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(9)

(10)

the Commission should provide

In order to facilitate the access of the public to the data
published,
a
Community website including links to the websites of
the Member States on which the information has been
made available. In view of the different organisational
they should
structures within the Member States,
determine themselves which body is
in charge of
setting up and maintaining their single website and of
publishing the data.

for

inserted

Since Article 2 of Regulation (EC) No 1437/2007
that Article 44a of Regulation (EC) No
provides
No
by
1290/2005,
1437/2007, applies to EAGF expenditure incurred from
16 October 2007 and to EAFRD expenditure incurred
from 1 January 2007, it is therefore necessary to apply
also the implementing rules for the same time period.

Regulation

(EC)

(11)

The measures provided for in this Regulation are in
accordance with the opinion of the Committee on the
Agricultural Funds,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

Content of the publication

The publication referred to in Article 44a of Regulation

1.
(EC) No 1290/2005 shall include the following information:

(a)

the first name and the surname where the beneficiaries are
natural persons;

(b) the full legal name as registered where the beneficiaries are

legal persons;

(g) for the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development,
hereinafter referred to as EAFRD, the total amount of public
funding received by each beneficiary in the financial year
concerned, which includes both the Community and the
national contribution;

(h) the sum of the amounts referred to in points (e), (f) and (g)
received by each beneficiary in the financial year concerned;

(i)

the currency of these amounts.

2. Member States may publish more detailed information
than provided for in paragraph 1.

Article 2

Form of the publication

The information referred to in Article 1 shall be made available
on a single website per Member State through a search tool
allowing the users to search for beneficiaries by name, munici-
pality, amounts received as referred to in (e), (f), (g) and (h) of
Article 1 or a combination thereof and to extract all the corre-
sponding information as a single set of data.

Article 3

Date of the publication

The information referred to in Article 1 shall be published

1.
by 30 April each year for the preceding financial year.

For the EAFRD expenditure paid between 1 January and
2.
15 October 2007,
the information shall be published by
30 September 2008, provided that the expenditure has been
reimbursed by the EAFRD to the Member State concerned by
the information shall be published
that date. Otherwise,
together with the information for the financial year 2008.

(c)

the full name of the association as registered or otherwise
officially recognised where the beneficiaries are associations
of natural or legal persons without an own legal personality;

The information shall remain available on the website for

3.
two years from the date of their initial publication.

(d) the municipality where

is
registered and, where available, the postal code or the part
thereof identifying the municipality;

the beneficiary resides or

(e)

for the European Agricultural Guarantee Fund, hereinafter
referred to as EAGF, the amount of direct payments within
the meaning of Article 2(d) of Regulation (EC) No
1782/2003 received by each beneficiary in the financial
year concerned;

(f)

for the EAGF, the amount of payments other than those
referred to in point (e) received by each beneficiary in the
financial year concerned;

Article 4

Information of the beneficiaries

1. Member States shall
inform the beneficiaries that their
data will be made public in accordance with Regulation (EC)
No 1290/2005 and this Regulation and that
they may be
processed by auditing and investigating bodies of the Commu-
nities and the Member States for the purpose of safeguarding
the Communities' financial interests.

2.
In case of personal data, the information referred to in
paragraph 1 shall be provided in accordance with the
requirements of Directive 95/46/EC and the beneficiaries shall
be informed of their rights as data subjects under this Directive
and of the procedures applicable for exercising these rights.

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Official Journal of the European Union

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The information referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2 shall be
3.
provided to the beneficiaries by including it in the application
forms for receiving funds deriving from the EAGF and EAFRD,
or otherwise at the time when the data are collected.

The Member States shall send to the Commission the
2.
internet address of their website as soon as it has been set up
as well as any subsequent changes thereof having an influence
on the accessibility of
their website from the Community
website.

By way of derogation from the first subparagraph, as regards
data related to payments received in the financial years 2007
and 2008, the information shall be provided at least four weeks
before the date of their publication.

3. Member States shall nominate a body in charge of setting
up and maintaining the single website referred to in Article 2.
inform the Commission of the name and address
They shall
details of this body.

Article 5

Cooperation between the Commission and Member States

The Commission shall set up and maintain a Community
1.
website under its central
internet address which includes the
links to the websites of the Member States. The Commission
shall provide updates of the internet links according to the
information sent by Member States.

Article 6

Entry into force and application

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

It shall apply to EAGF expenditure incurred from 16 October
2007 and to EAFRD expenditure incurred from 1 January
2007.

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

Done at Brussels, 18 March 2008.

For the Commission

Mariann FISCHER BOEL
Member of the Commission