Commission Implementing Decision of 15 February 2019 on the financing and the adoption of the work programme for 2019 and 2020 for the implementation of emergency measures to combat certain animal diseases and plant pests
Date: 2019-02-15
Institutions: Directorate-General for Health and Food Safety, European Commission
Subjects: EU programme, animal disease, commitment of expenditure, distribution of EU funding, emergency aid, financial aid, plant disease, plant health control, protection of plant life, veterinary inspection




C_2019066EN.01001101.xml










19.2.2019   


EN


Official Journal of the European Union


C 66/11






COMMISSION IMPLEMENTING DECISION
of 15 February 2019
on the financing and the adoption of the work programme for 2019 and 2020 for the implementation of emergency measures to combat certain animal diseases and plant pests
(2019/C 66/10)
THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,
Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,
Having regard to Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 July 2018 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union (‘the Financial Regulation’ or ‘FR’), amending Regulations (EU) No 1296/2013, (EU) No 1301/2013, (EU) No 1303/2013, (EU) No 1304/2013, (EU) No 1309/2013, (EU) No 1316/2013, (EU) No 223/2014, (EU) No 283/2014, and Decision No 541/2014/EU and repealing Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012 (1), and in particular Article 110 thereof,
Having regard to Regulation (EU) No 652/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 May 2014 laying down provisions for the management of expenditure relating to the food chain, animal health and animal welfare, and relating to plant health and plant reproductive material, amending Council Directives 98/56/EC, 2000/29/EC and 2008/90/EC, Regulations (EC) No 178/2002, (EC) No 882/2004 and (EC) No 396/2005 of the European Parliament and of the Council, Directive 2009/128/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council and Regulation (EC) No 1107/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council and repealing Council Decisions 66/399/EEC, 76/894/EEC and 2009/470/EC (2), and in particular Article 36(4) thereof,
Whereas:






(1)


In order to ensure the implementation of emergency measures to combat certain animal diseases and plant pests, it is necessary to adopt a multiannual financing decision, which constitutes the multiannual work programme, for years 2019 and 2020. Article 110 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 (‘the Financial Regulation’) establishes detailed rules on financing decisions.










(2)


It is appropriate to authorise the award of grants without a call for proposals and to provide for the conditions for awarding those grants.










(3)


It is necessary to allow for the payment of interest due for late payment on the basis of Article 116(5) of the Financial Regulation.










(4)


In order to allow for flexibility in the implementation of the work programme, it is appropriate to allow changes which should not be considered substantial fur the purposes of Article 110(5) of the Financial Regulation.










(5)


Article 6 of Regulation (EU) No 652/2014 provides that grants may be awarded to Member States up to the maximum rates set in Article 5(1) to (3) of that Regulation in respect of the measures taken as a result of the confirmation that one of the animal diseases listed pursuant to Article 7 of that Regulation has occurred, provided that the measures have been applied immediately and the applicable provisions laid down in the relevant Union law have been complied with. Grants may also be awarded to Member States, third countries or international organisations in respect of protection measures taken in the case of a direct threat to the health status of the Union as a result of the occurrence or development, in the territory of a third country or a Member State, of one of the animal diseases and zoonoses listed pursuant to Articles 7 or 10 of that Regulation.










(6)


Article 16 of Regulation (EU) No 652/2014 provides that grants may be awarded to Member States or international organisations up to the maximum rates set in Article 5(1) to (3) of that Regulation for measures to eradicate, contain and protect against the spread of a plant pest, subject to the conditions laid down in Article 17 of that Regulation.










(7)


The measures provided for in this Decision are in accordance with the opinion of the Standing Committee on Plants, Animals, Food and Feed,




HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS:

Article 1
The work programme
The multiannual financing decision, constituting the multiannual work programme for the implementation of the emergency measures to combat certain animal diseases and plant pests for years 2019 and 2020, as set out in the Annex, is adopted.


Article 2
Union contribution
The maximum Union contribution for the implementation of the programme for the year 2019 of budget implementation is set at EUR 50 000 000 and for the year 2020 of budget implementation at EUR 20 000 000 and shall be financed from the appropriations entered in the following lines of the general budget of the Union:






(a)


for 2019; budget line 17 04 04: EUR 50 000 000;










(b)


for 2020, budget line 17 04 04; EUR 20 000 000.




The appropriations provided for in the first paragraph may also cover interest due for late payment.
The implementation of this Decision is subject to the availability of the appropriations provided for in the general budget of the Union for year 2020 following the adoption of that budget by the budget authority.
The financial contribution by the Union shall be at a rate of 50 %, 75 %, or 100 %, individually set for each beneficiary, in accordance with Article 5 of Regulation (EU) No 652/2014.


Article 3
Flexibility clause
Cumulated changes to the allocations to specific actions not exceeding 20 % of the yearly maximum Union contribution set in the first paragrpah of Article 2 of this Decision shall not be considered to be substantial for the purposes of Article 110(5) of the Financial Regulation, where those changes do not significantly affect the nature of the actions and the objective of the work programme.
The authorising officer responsible may apply the changes referred to in the first paragraph. Those changes shall be applied in accordance with the principles of sound financial management and proportionality.


Article 4
Grants
Grants may be awarded without a call for proposals in accordance with the conditions set out in the Annex. Grants may be awarded to the bodies referred to in the Annex selected in accordance with point 2.1 of the Annex.


Done at Brussels, 15 February 2019.


For the Commission

Vytenis ANDRIUKAITIS

Member of the Commission





(1)  OJ L 193, 30.7.2018, p. 1.

(2)  OJ L 189, 27.6.2014, p. 1.




ANNEX
Work programme for the years 2019 and 2020 for the implementation of emergency measures to combat certain animal diseases and plant pests
1.   Introduction

On the basis of the objectives given in the article 2 of Regulation (EU) No 652/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 May 2014 this work programme contains the actions to be financed and the budget breakdown for years 2019 and 2020 for grants implemented under direct management.
(a)   Legal basis





Regulation (EU) No 652/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 May 2014




Budget line





17 04 04




Objectives pursued





The objectives of the actions are to combat animal diseases or plant pests by applying emergency measures in accordance with articles 6 and 16 of Regulation (EU) No 652/2014.




Expected results





The results expected by the Commission of the action referred to under ‘objectives pursued’ are the avoidance of further spread of the animal diseases and plant pests and, when they appear on the Union territory, their fast eradication.




2.   Grants

The global budgetary envelope reserved for grants under this work programme is EUR 50 000 000 for the year 2019 and EUR 20 000 000 for the year 2020.
2.1.   Emergency measures to combat certain animal diseases and plant pests taking the form of grants without a call for proposals

Type of applicants targeted by the direct award











(a)


to bodies identified by the basic act, within the meaning of Article 58 of the FR, as beneficiaries or to bodies designated by Member States, under their responsibility, where those Member States are identified by a basic act as beneficiaries










(b)


to bodies with a de jure or de facto monopoly or to bodies designated by Member States, under their responsibility, where those Member States are in a de jure or de facto monopoly situation










(c)


for activities with specific characteristics that require a particular type of body on account of its technical competence, its high degree of specialisation or its administrative powers, on condition that the activities concerned do not fall within the scope of a call for proposals.








Description of the activities to be funded by the grants awarded without a call for proposals on the basis of Article 195 of the Financial Regulation











(a)


Article 6 of Regulation (EU) No 652/2014 provides that grants may be awarded to Member States up to the maximum rates set in Article 5(1) to (3) of that Regulation in respect of the measures taken as a result of the confirmation that one of the animal diseases listed pursuant to Article 7 of that Regulation has occurred, provided that the measures have been applied immediately and the applicable provisions laid down in the relevant Union law have been complied with. Grants may also be awarded to Member States, third countries or international organisations in respect of protection measures taken in the case of a direct threat to the health status of the Union as a result of the occurrence or development, in the territory of a third country or a Member State, of one of the animal diseases and zoonoses listed pursuant to Articles 7 or 10 of that Regulation.










(b)


Article 16 of Regulation (EU) No 652/2014 provides that grants may be awarded to Member States or international organisations up to the maximum rates set in Article 5(1) to (3) of that Regulation for measures to eradicate, contain and protect against the spread of a plant pest, subject to the conditions laid down in Article 17 of that Regulation.










(c)


Article 3(2) of Regulation (EU) No 652/2014 lays down that when grants are awarded to the competent authorities of the Member States, these competent authorities shall be considered to be identified beneficiaries within the meaning of Article 195(c) of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046. Such grants may be awarded without a call for proposals.










(d)


In accordance with Article 6(5) of Regulation (EU) No 652/2014 the Commission may award a Union financial contribution for the establishment of stocks of biological products or the acquisition of vaccine doses if the occurrence or the development in a third country or Member State of one of the animal diseases and zoonoses listed in Annex I and II of of that Regulation might constitute a threat to the Union.








Implementation





Implemented by DG SANTE




Eligible costs





The financial contribution by the Union shall cover the following eligible costs incurred to combat animal diseases, in accordance with Article 8 of Regulation (EU) No 652/2014:






(a)


costs of compensation, to owners for the value of their animals slaughtered or culled;










(b)


costs of slaughtering or culling the animals and related transport costs;










(c)


costs of compensation to owners for the value of their destroyed products of animal origin, limited to the market value of those products immediately before any suspicion of the disease arose or was confirmed;










(d)


costs of cleaning, desinsectisation and disinfection of holdings and equipment, based on the epidemiology and characteristics of the pathogen;










(e)


costs for the transport and the destruction of the contaminated feeding stuffs and, where it cannot be disinfected, contaminated equipment;










(f)


costs of purchase, storage, administration or distribution of vaccines and baits as well as costs of inoculation itself, if the Commission decides or authorises such actions;










(g)


costs of transport and disposal of carcasses;










(h)


in exceptional and duly justified cases:






(i)


the costs of sampling;










(ii)


the costs of testing;










(iii)


the costs of awareness campaigns;










(iv)


other costs essential for the eradication of the disease, depending on the epidemiology and the characteristics of the pathogen.








The financial contribution by the Union shall cover the following eligible costs incurred to combat plant pests in accordance with Article 18 of Regulation (EU) No 652/2014:






(a)


costs of personnel, regardless of their status, directly involved in the measures, as well as costs of renting equipment, of consumables and of any other necessary materials, of treatment products, of sampling and of laboratory tests;










(b)


costs of service contracts with third parties to execute part of the measures;










(c)


costs of compensating the operators or owners concerned for the treatment, the destruction and subsequent removal of plants, of plant products and of other objects, and for the cleaning and disinfection of premises, land, water, soil, growing media, facilities, machinery and equipment;










(d)


as of 1 January 2017, costs of compensating the owners concerned for the value of the destroyed plants, plant products or other objects subject to the measures referred to in Article 16 of Directive 2000/29/EC, limited to the market value of such plants, plant products and other objects as if they had not been affected by those measures; the salvage value, if any, shall be deducted from the compensation;










(e)


in exceptional and duly justified cases:






(i)


the costs of awareness campaigns;










(ii)


other costs essential for the eradication or the containment of the pest, or related to additional protective measures taken against the spread of the pest, depending on the epidemiology and the characteristics of the pathogen.












Award criteria





The award criteria for the financial contribution by the Union are:






(a)


compliance with the requirements of the relevant Union law;










(b)


relevance of the planned activities in view of the prevention or eradication of the animal diseases and plant pests.