CELEX: 51993PC0067(02)
Language: en
Date: 1993-03-10
Title: Proposal for a COUNCIL REGULATION (EEC) amending Council Regulation (EEC) No 4253/88 of 19 December 1988 laying down provisions for implementing Regulation (EEC) No 2052/88 as regards coordination of the activities of the different Structural Funds between themselves and with the operations of the European Investment Bank and the other existing financial instruments

28 . 4 . 93                                   Official Journal of the European Communities                                No C 118 / 55
                Proposal for a Council Regulation amending Council Regulation (EEC ) No 4253 / 88 laying down
                provisions for implementing Regulation (EEC) No 2052 / 88 as regards coordination of the
                 activities of the different Structural Funds between themselves and with the operations of the
                                European Investment Bank and the other existing financial instruments
                                                              ( 93 /C 118 / 05 )
                                                     COM(93) 67 final/2 — SYN 455
                                            (Submitted by the Commission on 12 March 1993 )
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES ,                                 (5)    Wereas , in order to simplify programming
                                                                                 procedures , there should be provision for the
                                                                                 Commission to adopt simultaneously the
                                                                                 Community support frameworks and the forms of
 Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European                           assistance    submitted    at   the  same     time  as
 Economic Community , and in particluar Articles 130E and                        development plans ; whereas for the same reason
 153 thereof,                                                                    there should be provision for the plan and the
                                                                                 application for assistance to be presented in a single
                                                                                 document and that the Community support
 Having regard to the proposal from the Commission ,                             framework may be adopted and Community
                                                                                 assistance granted through a single Commission
                                                                                 decision ;
 In cooperation with the European Parliament ,
 Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social                  (6)    Whereas , in application of the principle of
 Committee ,                                                                     subsidiarity , implementation of the forms of
                                                                                 assistance contained in the Community support
                                                                                 frameworks should be primarily the responsibility of
 (1)     Whereas Regulation ( EEC ) No .../ 93 ( ! ) amends                      the Member States ;
         Council Regulation ( EEC ) No 2052 / 88 of 24 June
         1988 on the tasks of the Structural Funds and their
         effectiveness and on coordination of their activities
                                                                          (7 )   Whereas the principle of additionality and the
         between themselves and with the operations of the                       criteria and procedures for its verification should be
         European Investment Bank and the other existing                         defined ;
         financial instruments ( 2 ); whereas Regulation ( EEC )
         No 4253 / 88 ( 3 ) should therefore be amended ;
                                                                          (8)    Whereas , in order to increase the flexibility of
(2 )     Whereas pursant to Article 3a of Regulation ( EEC)                      Community structural assistance , there should be
         No 2052 / 88 the provisions of that Regulation                          provision for assistance undertaken at the initiative
         governing the Structural Funds and the provisions                       of the Commission in the context of Objectives 1 , 2
         necessary for the coordination of the acitivities of the                and 5 ( b ) to concern exceptionally areas other than
         different Structural Funds between themselves and                       those eligible under those Objectives; whereas the
         with the operations of the EIB and the other existing                   question of cross-border cooperation with
         financial instruments apply to the FIFG ;                               Community priority regions may also be addressed
                                                                                 by Phare , taking account of complementary support
                                                                                 under the Community Structural Funds;
(3)      Whereas the coordination provided for in
         Regulation ( EEC ) No 4253 / 88 should therefore be
         extended to the FIFG , to the cohesion financial
         instrument and to the trans-European networks ;                  ( 9)   Whereas, in order to minimize delays in financial
                                                                                 flows , the time allowed for the Commission to pay
                                                                                 financial assistance to the Member State and for the
(4 )     Whereas the Member States should submit their                           Member State to pay that assistance to the final
         development plans as soon as possible in order not                      beneficiaries should be laid down ;
         to delay the implementation of structural assistance
         from 1 January 1994 ;
                                                                          ( 10)  Whereas the role and powers of the monitoring
                                                                                 committees      should   be   laid  down ;    whereas,
(!) OJ No L ...                                                                  furthermore , for reasons of increased transparency ,
(2) OJ No L 185 , 15 . 7 . 1988 , p. 9 .                                         it is considered appropriate that projects benefiting
( 3 ) OJ No L 374 , 31 . 12 . 1988 , p. 1 .                                      from Community assistance should be specified
 ---pagebreak--- No C 118 / 56                               Official Journal of the European Communities                                   28 . 4 . 93
          when published by notice in the Official Journal of          coordination and consistency between assistance from the
          the European Communities under die rules relating            Funds and the FIFG and assistance provided:
          to the award of public contracts;
                                                                       — by the European Coal and Steel Community in the form
                                                                           of re-adaptation aids, loans, interest subsidies or
( 11 )    Whereas assessment is primarily the responsibility of            guarantees,
          the Member States;
                                                                       — by the EIB, the New Community Instrument and
( 12)     Whereas it is appropriate to lay down the detailed               Euratom in the form of loans and guarantees,
          transitional provisions including provisions to ensure       — from resources from the Community budget allocated
          that aid to Member States is not interrupted pending             to :
          the establishment of the plans and operational
          programmes in accordance with the new system and                 — the financial cohesion instrument,
          that the grant of assistance for projects granted
          assistance before 1 January 1989 may be finally                  — other action for structural purposes,
          concluded no later than 30 June 1995 ,
                                                                           — accompanying measures for the reform of the
                                                                                CAP;
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION :
                                                                       — the framework programmes in the area of research and
                                                                           technological development,
                                                                       — trans-European networks,
                         I. COORDINATION
                                                                       — economic restructuring of central and eastern Europe.
                               Article 1                               Such coordination shall be carried out in keeping with the
                                                                       EIB's own powers and responsibilities and with the
                          General provisions                           objectives of the other instruments concerned.
Pursuant to Regulation (EEC) No 2052 / 88 , the                        2 . The Commission shall associate the EIB in the use of
Commission shall, in a manner consistent with partnership,
ensure coordination of the activities of the different Funds           the Funds or the other existing financial instruments with a
and the FIFG as between themselves and with the                        view to the part-financing of investments that are eligible
operations of the EIB and the other existing financial                 for financing by the EIB in accordance with its Statute.
instruments.
                                                                                                 Article 4
                              Article 2
                                                                       Selection of rural areas outside the regions in Objective 1
         Coordination between the Funds and the FIFG                                         (Objective 5 (b))
Coordination between the activities of the various Funds
and the FIFG shall be carried out in particular through:
— Community support frameworks,
— multiannual budget forecasts,
                                                                                                 D. PLANS
— where advisable, the implementation of integrated
       forms of assistance,
                                                                                                 Article S
— monitoring and assessment of operations under the
       Funds carried out in connection with a single objective
       and of those carried out in connection with a number of
                                                                                            Scope and content
       objectives in the same territory.
                                                                       1 . Subject to the guidelines laid down in this Article, plans
                                                                       submitted in connection with Objectives 1 to 5 shall be
                              Article 3                                drawn up at the geographical level deemed to be most
                                                                       appropriate. They shall be prepared by the competent
Coordination between the Funds, the EIB and the other                  national , regional or other authorities designated by the
                   existing financial instruments                      Member State and shall be submitted by the Member State
                                                                      to the Commission .
1 . In implementing the objectives referred to in Article 1
of Regulation (EEC) No 2052 / 88 , the Commission shall               Plans submitted in connection with Objective 1 shall , as a
ensure, within the framework of the partnership,                      general rule, cover one region at NUTS level II. However,
 ---pagebreak---  28 . 4. 93                             Official Journal of the European Communities                                 No C 118 / 57
 in implementation of the second subparagraph of Article 8                                    Article 6
  (4) of Regulation (EEC) No 2052/ 88 , Member States may
                                                                                       Duration and timetable
  submit a plan for more than one of their regions included
  in the list referred to in paragraph 2 of that Article,
 provided that such plans comprise the features listed in the      Each plan shall cover a period of three or six years. The
  first subparagraph of the abovementioned paragraph 4.            first programming period shall begin on 1 January 1994.
                                                                   As a general rule, the plans may be revised on an annual
                                                                   basis and in the event of significant changes in the
  Plans submitted in connection with Objectives 2 and 5 (b);       socio-economic situation and the labour market.
  shall normally cover one or more regions at NUTS level
  III .
                                                                   Plans in respect of Objectives 1 , 3 , 4 and 5 (a) shall be
                                                                   submitted not later than three months after the entry into
 Member States may submit plans covering a wider territory         force of this Regulation. Plans in respect of Objectives 2
 than that of eligible regions or areas, provided they             and 5 (b) shall be submitted not later than three months
 distinguish between operations in eligible regions or areas       after the establishment of the list of eligible areas under the
 and operations elsewhere.                                         objectives concerned.
 2. For regions concerned by Objective 1 , the regional
 development plans shall include measures relating to the
 conversion of declining industrial areas and rural
 development; together with employment and vocational
 training measures under Objective 1 and, should the
                                                                                              Article 7
 occasion arise, those in connection with Objectives 3 and
 4.
                                                                                             Preparation
 Regional and social conversion plans submitted in                 1 . The Commission may provide Member States at their
 connection with Objective 2 and rural development plans          request with any technical assistance necessary in the
 submitted in connection with Objetive 5 (b) shall also           preparation of plans.
 include employment and vocational training measures
 other than those covered by plans submitted in connection        2. The plans shall contain information making it possible
 with Objectives 3 and 4 .                                        to assess the link between structural action and the
                                                                  Member State's economic and social policies.
 Plans submitted in connection with Objectives 3 and 4 shall
 distinguish between expenditure in respect of the regions
 covered by Objectives 1 , 2 and 5 (b) and expenditure in                  m. COMMUNITY SUPPORT FRAMEWORKS
 respect of other regions.
                                                                                              Article 8
                                                                                   Preparation, scope and content
                                                                  1 . The Community support frameworks relating to
In the plans, Member States shall indicate the particulars        Objectives 1 to 5 shall be drawn up at the appropriate
relating to each Fund, including the volumes of assistance        geographical level in agreement with the Member State
requested. In accordance with Articles 8 to 11a of                concerned within the framework of the partnership and
Regulation (EEC) No 2052/ 88 , in order to expedite the           shall be established by decision of the Commission in
examination of applications and the implementation of             accordance with the procedures laid down in Title VIII.
action, they shall include in their plans, according to the       The EIB shall also be involved in the preparation of the
provisions in the abovementioned Articles, applications for       Community support frameworks.
assistance for operational programmes and other forms of
assistance .
The plan and applications for assistance may be submitted
in a single document.
                                                                  2. A Community support framework shall cover a period
3 . Member States shall ensure, when the plans are drawn          of three or six years.
up, that plans relating to the same objective within a
Member State and plans relating to different objectives in        3 . Each Community support framework shall include:
the same geographical area are mutually consistent.
                                                                  — a statement of the priorities for joint Community and
                                                                       national action in relation to the objectives referred to
4 . Member States shall ensure that the plans take full                pursuant to Article 1 of Regulation (EEC) No
account of Community policies .                                        2052 / 88 , their specific objectives, quantified where
 ---pagebreak---  No C 118 / 58                             Official Journal of the European Communities                                    28 . 4 . 93
     they lend themselves to quantification, an ex-ante               3 . To permit verification of the principle of additionally,
     assessment and the expected impact, together with                the Member State shall provide the relevant financial
     information on their consistency with the economic and           information to the Commission at the time of the
     social policies of the Member State concerned,                   submission of the plans and regularly during the
                                                                      implementation of the Community support frameworks.
 — for Objective 1 , an outline of the assistance which is
     not decided at the same time as the Community support
     framework including, for operational programmes,                                            Article 10
     their specific objectives and the main types of measure
     involved ,                                                                      Approval and implementation
 — an indicative financing plan specifying the financial              1 . Unless otherwise agreed between the Commission and
     allocations envisaged for the various forms of assistance        the Member State concerned, the Commission shall take a
     and the duration thereof, including those of the Funds,          decision approving the Community support framework not
     the EIB and the other existing financial instruments             later than six months after receiving the relevant plan or
     provided for in Article 3 ( 1 ), where they contribute           plans.
     directly to the financing plan concerned,
 — the procedures for monitoring and assessment,                      When adopting its decision on the Community support
                                                                      framework, the Commission shall also approve
                                                                      applications for assistance submitted at the same time as
 — the procedures for verifying additionally and an initial
                                                                      the plans in so far as they include the information required
     appraisal of the latter, including the transparency of the
     relevant financial flows,
                                                                      under Article 14 (2). Adoption of the Community support
                                                                      framework and grant of assistance may be made in a single
                                                                      Commission decision .
 — for Objectives 1 , 2 and 5 (b), the arrangements for
     associating the environmental authorities in the
     implementation of the Community support                          2. The Commission decision on the Community support
     framework,                                                       framework shall be sent as a declaration of intent to the
                                                                      Member State. The declaration shall be published in the
 — where appropriate, information on the means available              Official Journal of the European Communities .
     for any studies or technical assistance operations
     relating to the preparation, implementation or                   The Commission and the Member States shall ensure that
     adaptation of the measures concerned.                            measures accounting for at least two-thirds of assistance
                                                                      from the Funds during the first year of the Community
                                                                      support framework are approved by the Commission
                                                                      within two months of adoption of its decision on the
                            Article 9                                 Community support framework.
                          Additionally
                                                                                                Article 11
 1 . In order to achieve a genuine economic impact, the                                  Community initiatives
Structural Funds appropriations allocated in each Member
State to each of the Objectives under Article 1 of                    1 . In accordance with Article 5 ( 5 ) of Regulation (EEC)
Regulation (EEC) No 2052 / 88 may not replace public                 2052 / 88 , the Commission may, on its own initiative and in
expenditure on structural or comparable expenditure                  accordance with the procedures provided for in Title VIII ,
undertaken by the Member State in the whole of the                   decide to propose to the Member States that they submit
territory eligible under an Objective.                               applications for assistance in respect of measures of
                                                                     significant interest to the Community. Any assistance
                                                                     approved pursuant to this provision shall be reflected in the
2. For this purpose, in establishing and implementing the            establishment or revision of the relevant Community
Community support frameworks, the Commission and                     support framework.
Member State concerned shall ensure that the Member
State maintains, in the whole of the territory concerned, its
public structural or comparable assistance at least at the           For operations of transnational interest, pursuant to the
same level as in the previous programming period taking              previous subparagraph, the Commission may invite two or
into account, however, the macroeconomic circumstances               more Member States to submit a single application for
in which the funding takes place including the                       assistance. In response to these applications, the
implementation of convergence programmes.                            Commission may approve a single grant of assistance for
                                                                     all the Member States concerned .
The Commission and Member State shall also agree, in                 2. For a limited part of the funds available, the forms of
establishing the Community support frameworks, the                   assistance approved under paragraph 1 in the context of
arrangements for verifying additionality.                            the priority Objectives 1 , 2 and 5 (b ) may cover areas other
 ---pagebreak--- 28 . 4 . 93                               Official Journal of the European Communities                               No C 118 / 59
than those under Articles 8 , 9 and 11a of Regulation (EEC)          assistance provide for in Article 5 of Regulation (EEC) No
No 2052 / 88 .                                                       2052 / 88 .
                           Article 12                                Applications for assistance in the form referred to in Article
                                                                     5 (2) (e) of Regulation (EEC) No 2052/ 88 may also be
                      Forms of assistance                            submitted by any individual or public or private body
                                                                     according to the rules referred to in the provisions laid
Assistance covered by a Community support framework                  down pursuant to Article 3 (4 ) of that Regulation.
shall be provided predominantly in the form of operational
programmes which shall be implemented in the form of an
integrated approach if the conditions laid down in Article           2. Applications shall contain the information the
 13 are met.                                                         Commission needs in order to assess them where this is not
                                                                     already included in the plans, including a description of the
                                                                     operation proposed, its scope, including geographical
                           Article 13                                coverage, and specific objectives including an appraisal of
                                                                     the     medium-term      economic     and    social   benefits
                      Integrated approach                            commensurate with the resources deployed, the bodies
                                                                     responsible for implementation, the proposed beneficiaries
 1 . At the initiative of a Member State or of the                   and the proposed timetable and financing plan, together
                                                                     with any other information necessary to verify that the
Commission, pursuant to Article 11 , in agreement with the           operation concerned is compatible with Community
Member State concerned, assistance shall be implemented
                                                                     legislation and policies.
in the form of an integrated approach if:
( a) the programme involves financing by more than one
     Fund or at least one Fund and one financial instrument          3 . The Commission shall examine applications with a
     other than a loan instrument;                                   view in particular:
(b) the measures to be financed by different Funds or
                                                                     — to assessing the conformity of the proposed operations
     financial instruments are mutually reinforcing and                   and measures with the relevant Community legislation
     significant benefits are likely to accrue from close                 and, where appropriate, with the relevant Community
     coordination between all the parties involved ;                      support framework,
(c) the appropriate administrative structures are provided
     at national, regional and local level in the interests of       — to assessing the contribution of the proposed operation
     integrated implementation of the assistance.                         to the achievement of its specific objectives and, in the
                                                                          case of an operational programme, the consistency of
                                                                         the constituant measures,
2 . The desirability of implementing measures on the basis
of an integrated approach shall be considered in particular          — to checking that the administrative and financial
when establishing or revising a Community support                        mechanisms are adequate to ensure effective
framework.
                                                                         implementation,
3 . In the implementation of integrated approaches the               — to determining the precise arrangements for providing
Commission shall ensure that Community assistance is                     assistance from the Fund or Funds concerned on the
provided in the most effective manner, taking into account               basis, where appropriate, of the information already
the special coordination effort required.                                given in any relevant Community support framework.
                                                                     The Commission shall decide on assistance from the Funds
             IV . ASSISTANCE FROM THE FUNDS                          and the FIFG , provided the requirements of the Article are
                                                                     fulfilled, as a general rule within six months of receipt of
                                                                    the application. A single Commission decision shall be
                           Article 14                               taken in respect of assistance from all the Funds and other
                                                                    existing financial instruments contributing to the financing
                   Processing of applications                       of assistance, including those established in the form of an
                                                                    integrated approach .
1 . Applications for assistance from the Structural Funds
and the FIFG shall be prepared by the competent national,
regional, local or other authorities designated by the              4 . The respective commitments of the partners, in the
Member States and shall be submitted to the Commission              framework of an agreement within the partnership , shall be
by the Member State or by anybody it may designate to do            reflected in the Commission's decisions to grant
so . Each application shall relate to one of the forms of           assistance.
 ---pagebreak--- No C 118 / 60                           Official Journal of the European Communities                                    28 . 4 . 93
                         Article 15                                — in relation to integrated operational programmes.
                         Eligibility
                                                                   4.
1 . Subject to Article 33 , expenditure in respect of
measures covered by Objectives 1 to 5 shall be eligible for
financial assistance from the Structural Funds only if the
measures in question come within the relevant Community
support framework .                                                   V. DIFFERENTIATION OF COMMUNITY ASSISTANCE
2. Except as provided for in Article 33 of this Regulation,
expenditure may not be considered eligible for asistance                                     Article 17
from the Funds if incurred before the date on which the
corresponding application reaches the Commission .                             Financial contribution from the Funds
                                                                   1 . Pursuant to Article 13 (5 ) of Regulation (EEC) No
                                                                   2052 / 88 , the contribution of the Funds to the financing of
                                                                   measures covered by Objectives 1 to 5 shall be laid down
                                                                   by the Commission, within the framework of the
                                                                   partnership , on the basis of Article 13 ( 1 ) of Regulation
                                                                   (EEC) No 2052 / 88 , within the limits laid down by Article
                         Article 16                                13 (3 ) of the said Regulation and in accordance with the
                                                                   procedures provided for in that Article.
                     Specific provisions
1 . In the case of global grants, the intermediaries who
shall be designated by the Member State concerned in
agreement with the Commission must provide appropriate
guarantees of solvency and have the necessary                      2 . The financial contribution from the Funds shall be
administrative capability to manage the operations                 calculated in relation to either the total eligible cost of, or
envisaged by the Commission. The intermediaries shall also         the total public or similar expenditure (national , regional
be selected in the light of the particular situation in the        or local, and Community) on, each measure (operational
Member States or areas concerned. Without prejudice to             programme, aid scheme, global grant, project, technical
Article 23 , the management of global grants shall be              assistance, study).
subject to control by the competent authorities designated
by the Member States .
                                                                   3 . Where the measure concerned entails the financing of
                                                                   revenue-generating investments, the Commission shall
2. The Funds may provide financial assistance towards              determine, within the framework of the partnership , the
expenditure in respect of major projects whose total cost          contribution from the Funds for these investments , in
taken into account in determining the amount of                    compliance with the provisions of Article 13 ( 3 ) of
Community assistance is , as a general rule, greater than          Regulation (EEC ) No 2052 / 88 and on the basis of the
ECU 25 million for infrastructure investments or greater           criteria referred to in paragraph 1 of that Article, taking
than ECU 20 million for productive investments.                    account, amongst their intrinsic characteristics, of the size
                                                                   of the gross self-financing margin which would normally be
                                                                   expected for the class of investments concerned in the light
                                                                   of the     macroeconomic     circumstances     in  which      the
                                                                   investments are to be implemented, and without there
                                                                   being any increase in the national budget effort as a result
                                                                   of contribution by the Fund.
3 . In addition to similar assistance connected with the
operations of the various Funds, the Commission may, for           In any event, in connection with the development effort in
up to 0,3 % of the Funds' total allocation, finance studies        the regions concerned, the contribution from the Funds to
and technical assistance linked to the joint or coordinated        investments in firms may not exceed 50 % of the total cost
deployment of the Structural Funds, the EIB and the other          in the regions covered by Objective 1 and 30 % of the toal
financial instruments :                                            cost in the other regions.
— in preparation for the establishment of plans,
                                                                   4 . The contribution of the Funds for individual measures
— with a view to assessing the impact and effectiveness of         forming part of operational programmes may be
    assistance provided under the relevant Community               differentiated in accordance with agreements to be
    support framework,                                             concluded within the framework of the partnership .
 ---pagebreak--- 28 . 4 . 93                              Official Journal of the European Communities                             No C 118 / 61
                          Article 18                                the total amount of Community assistance shall be
                                                                    committed when the Commission adopts the decision
              Combination of grants and loans                       approving the operation.
The combination of loans and grants referred to in Article
5 (4) of Regulation (EEC) No 2052 / 88 shall be determined                                     Article 21
in conjunction with the EIB when the Community support
framework is being established . It shall take account of the                                  Payments
balance in the proposed financing plan, the contribution
from the Funds established in accordance with Article 7
                                                                    1 . Payments of financial assistance shall be made in
and the development objectives pursued.                             accordance with the corresponding budgetary
                                                                    commitments to the authority or body designated for the
                                                                    purpose in the application submitted through the Member
                                                                    State concerned as a general rule within two months from
                 VI . FINANCIAL PROVISIONS                          receipt of an acceptable application. They may take the
                                                                    form either of advances or of final payments in respect of
                                                                    expenditure actually incurred . For operations to be carried
                          Article 19                                out over a period of two or more years payments shall
                                                                    relate to the annual instalments of commitments referred to
                       General provisions                           in Article 20 (2).
1.   Financial assistance from the Structural Fluids shall be
                                                                    2. The advance made following each commitment may be
subject to the relevant rules applicable to the Funds under         up to 50 % of the amount committed, taking into account
the Financial Regulation .                                          the nature of the operation concerned.
2 . The financial assistance to be granted in respect of            3 . A second advance such that the sum of the two
specific measures undertaken in implementing a                      advances does not exceed 80 % of the commitment shall be
Community support framework shall be consistent with the            made after the responsible body has certified that at least
financing plan laid down in that support framework.                 half of the first advance has been used up and that the
                                                                    operation is progressing at a satisfactory rate and in
3 . In order to avoid administrative delays at the end of the       accordance with the objectives laid down .
year, Member States shall ensure that requests for
payments are , as far as possible, submitted in accordance          The payments shall be made to the final beneficiaries
with a balanced schedule throughout the year.                       without any reduction or retention that could reduce the
                                                                    amount of financial assistance granted to them.
                          Article 20
                                                                    4. Payment of the balance in respect of each commitment
                         Commitments                                shall be conditional on :
                                                                    — submission to the Commission by the designated
1 . Budgetary commitments shall be made on the basis of                 authority or body referred to in paragraph 1 of a
the Commission decisions approving the operations                       request for payment within six months of the end of the
concerned. They shall be valid for a period, depending on               year concerned or of completion in practice of the
the nature of the operations and on the specific conditions             operation concerned ,
for their implementation.
                                                                    — submission to the Commission of the relevant reports
                                                                        referred to in Article 25 (4 ),
2. Commitments in respect of operations to be carried out
over a period of two or more years shall, as a general rule,        — transmission by the Member State to the Commission
and subject to the provisions of paragraph 3 , be effected in           of a certificate confirming the information contained in
annual instalments . The commitments in connection with                 the request for payment and the reports.
the first annual instalment shall be made when the decision
approving the operation is adopted by the Commission .
                                                                    5 . Member States shall designate the authorities
                                                                    empowered to issue the certificates referred to in
Commitments in connection with subsequent annual                    paragraphs 3 and 4 and shall ensure that the beneficiaries
instalments shall be based on the financing plan for the            receive the advances and payments as soon as possible, and
initial or revised operation concerned and on the progress          as a general rule within three months from receipt of the
made in implementing it.                                            appropriations by the Member State.
3 . For operations to be carried out over a period of less          6.
than two years or subject to available funding where the
Community assistance granted is less than ECU 40 million ,
 ---pagebreak--- No C 118 / 62                             Official Journal of the European Communities                                  28 . 4 . 93
7 . In the case of studies and innovation schemes, the               administrative provisions and without prejudice to the
Commission shall determine the appropriate payment                   provisions of Article 106 of the Treaty or to any inspection
 procedures.                                                         arranged on the basis of Article 209 (c) of the Treaty,
                                                                     Commission officials may carry out on-the-spot checks,
                                                                     including sample checks, in respect of operations financed
                           Article 22                                by the Structural Funds.
                         Use of the ecu
                                                                     Before carrying out an on-the-spot check, the Commission
 Commission decisions, commitments and payments shall                shall give notice to the Member State concerned with a
 be denominated and carried out in ecus in accordance with           view to obtaining all the assistance necessary. If the
the arrangements to be drawn up by the Commission                    Commission carries out on-the-spot checks without giving
pursuant to the procedures referred to in Tide VIII                  notice, it shall be subject to agreements reached in
hereof.                                                              accordance with the provisions of the Financial Regulation
                                                                     within the framework of the partnership . Officials of the
This Article shall be applicable as soon as the Commission           Member State concerned may take part in such checks.
decision referred to in the first subparagraph has been
adopted .
                                                                     The Commission may require the Member State concerned
                                                                     to carry out an on-the-spot check to verify the regularity of
                           Article 23                                payment requests. Commission officials may take part in
                                                                     such checks and must do so if the Member State concerned
                        Financial control                            so requests.
 1 . In order to guarantee successful completion of
operations carried out by public or private promoters,               The Commission shall ensure that any checks that it carries
Member States shall take the necessary measures in                   out are performed in a coordinated manner so as to avoid
implementing the operations:                                         repeating checks in respect of the same subject matter
                                                                     during the same period. The Member State concerned and
— to verify on a regular basis that operations financed by           the Commission shall immediately exchange any relevant
     the Community have been properly carried out,                   information concerning the results of the checks carried
                                                                     out .
— to prevent and to take action against irregularities,
— to recover any amounts lost as a result of an irregularity
     or negligence. Except where the Member State and/or             3 . For a period of three years following the last payment
     the intermediary and / or the promoter provide proof            in respect of any operation, the responsible body and
     that they were not responsible for the irregularity or          authorities shall keep available for the Commission all the
     negligence, the Member State shall be liable in the             supporting documents regarding expenditure on the
                                                                    operation.
     alternative for reimbursement of any sums unduly paid.
     For global loans as well as operations undertaken in
     accordance with the second subparagraph of Article 14
     ( 1 ), the intermediary, individual or body concerned                                     Article 24
     may, with the agreement of the Commission, take up a
     bank guarantee or other insurance covering this risk.               Reduction, suspension and cancellation of assistance
Member States shall inform the Commission of the
                                                                     1 . If an operation or measure appears to justify only part
measures taken for those purposes and, in particular, the           of the assistance allocated, the Commission shall conduct a
description of the management and control systems                   suitable examination of the case in the framework of the
established to ensure the efficient implementation of               partnership, in particular requesting that the Member State
operations. They shall inform the Commission of the                 or other authorities designated by it to implement the
progress of administrative and judicial proceedings.                operation submit their comments within a specified period
                                                                    of time.
Member States shall keep and make available to the
Commission any appropriate national control reports on
the measures included in the programmes or other                    2. Following this examination, the Commission may
operations concerned.                                               reduce or suspend assistance in respect of the operation or
                                                                    measure     concerned    if  the   examination   reveals     an
As soon as this Regulation enters into force the                    irregularity or a significant change affecting the nature or
Commission shall draw up detailed arrangements for                  conditions of the operations or measure for which the
implementation of this paragraph in accordance with the             Commission's approval has not been sought.
procedure rereferred to in Title VIII .
                                                                    3 . Any sum received unduly and to be recovered shall be
2. Without prejudice to checks carried out by Member                repaid to the Commission. Interest on account of late
States, in accordance with national laws, regulations and           payment shall be charged on sums not repaid in compliance
 ---pagebreak--- 28 . 4 . 93                              Official Journal of the European Communities                              No C 118 / 63
with the provisions of the Financial Regulation and in              the arrangements for granting assistance as initially
accordance with the arrangements to be drawn up by the              approved as well as the financing plan envisaged. Other
Commission pursuant to die procedures referred to in Tide           amendments required which exceed these limits shall be
VIII hereof.                                                        decided by the Commission after the monitoring committee
                                                                    has delivered its opinion .
            VH. MONITORING AND ASSESSMENT                           6 . For the greater effectiveness of the Funds, the
                                                                    Commission shall ensure that particular attention is paid to
                                                                    transparency of management in its administration of them.
                          Article 25                                For this purpose, in the context of the application of
                                                                    Community rules on the award of public contracts , notices
                         Monitoring                                 sent for publication in the Official Journal of the European
                                                                    Communities shall specify those projects benefiting from
 1 . Within the framework of the partnership , the                  Community assistance.
Commission and the Member States shall ensure effective
monitoring of implementation of assistance from the                 7. Wherever this Regulation or the Regulations referred to
Funds, geared to the Community support framework and                in Article 3 (4) and at Article 3a of Regulation (EEC) No
specific operations (programmes, etc.). Such monitoring             2052 / 88 provide for the Commission to determine detailed
shall be carried out by way of jointly agreed reporting             arrangements for implementation, the precise details which
procedures , sample checks and the establishment of                 are adopted shall be notified to the Member States and
monitoring committees .                                             published in the Official Journal of the European
                                                                    Communities.
                                                                                               Article 26
                                                                                              Assessment
2. Monitoring shall be carried out by reference to physical
and financial indicators specified in the Commission                1 . Assessment shall primarily be the responsibility of the
decision approving the operation concerned . The indicators         Member States and be carried out within the framework of
shall relate to the specific character of the operation, its        the partnership . The competent authorities in the Member
objectives and the form of assistance provided. They shall          States shall contribute in such a way as to ensure that
be arranged in such a way as to show for the operations in          assessment can be carried out in the most effective manner.
question:                                                           In this connection , assessment shall make use of the various
                                                                    particulars that the monitoring arrangements can yield in
— the stage reached in the operation,
                                                                    order to gauge the socio-economic impact of the
— the progress achieved on the management side and any              operations, where appropriate in close association with the
     related problems.                                              monitoring committess.
3 . Monitoring committees shall be set up within the                2. Continuous assessment of operations undertaken for
framework of the partnership , by agreement between the             structural purposes by the Community shall be concerned
Member State concerned and the Commission .                         with their effectiveness at three levels :
                                                                    — their overall impact on the objectives set out in Article
The Commission and, where appropriate, the EIB may                      130 A of the Treaty, and in particular the strengthening
delegate representatives to those Committees.                           of    the  economic     and    social  cohesion   of  the
                                                                        Community,
4 . For each       multiannual    operation   the   authority       — the impact of operations under each Community
designated for the purpose by the Member State shall                    support framework,
submit progress reports to the Commission within six
months of the end of each full year of implementation . A           — the impact of individual operations (programmes,
final report shall be submitted to the Commission within                etc.).
six months of completion of the operation.
                                                                    Assessment shall , according to the circumstances, be
For each operation to be implemented over a period of less          carried out by reference to macroeconomic indicators based
than two years, the authority designated for the purpose by         on regional or national statistics, to information yielded by
the Member State shall submit a report to the Commission            descriptive and analytical studies and to qualitative
within six months of completion of the operation.                   analyses.
5 . The monitoring committee shall , if necessary, without          3 . In drawing up Community support frameworks and in
modifying the total amount of the Community contribution            vetting individual applications for assistance the
approved and within harmonized limits for each objective            Commission shall take into account the findings of
to be agreed in the framework of the partnership , adjust           assessments made in accordance with this Article .
 ---pagebreak--- No C 118 / 64                           Official Journal of the European Communities                                 28 . 4 . 93
4. The assessment principle and procedures shall be laid                                    Article 28
down in the Community support framework.
                                                                       Committee referred to in Article 124 of the Treaty
5 . The results of the assessments shall be submitted to the       In accordance with Article 17 of Regulation (EEC)
European Parliament and the Economic and Social                    No 2052 / 88 , the Committee referred to in Article 124 of
Committee within the framework of the annual report and            the Treaty shall be composed of two government
the three-yearly report pursuant to Article 16 of Regulation       representatives, two representatives of the workers'
(EEC ) No 2052 / 88 .                                              organizations and two representatives of the employers'
                                                                   organizations from each Member State. The Member of
                                                                   the Commission responsible for chairing the Committee
                                                                   may delegate that responsibility to a senior Commission
                     VIII . COMMITTEES
                                                                   official .
                                                                   For each Member State, an alternate shall be appointed for
                            Article 27
                                                                   each category of representative mentioned above. In the
                                                                   absence of one or both members, the alternate shall be
                                                                   automatically entitled to take part in the proceedings.
Advisory Committee on the Development and Conversion
                           of Regions
                                                                   The members and alternates shall be appointed by the
                                                                   Council acting on a proposal from the Commission, for a
In accordance with Artice 17 of Regulation (EEC)                   period of three years. They may be reappointed. The
No 2052 / 88 an Advisory Committee on the Development              Council shall , as regards the composition of the
and Conversion of Regions, made up of Member States'               Committee, endeavour to ensure fair representation of the
representatives and chaired by the Commission                      different groups concerned. For the items on the agenda
representative, is hereby set up under the auspices of the         affecting it, the EIB shall appoint a non-voting
Commission. The EIB shall appoint a non-voting                     representative .
representative. The European Parliament shall receive
regular information on the outcome of the proceedings of
the Committee .                                                    The Committee shall deliver opinions on the draft
                                                                   Commission decisions relating to the guidelines for action
                                                                   in connection with Objectives 3 and 4, on the Community
The Commission representative shall submit to the                  support frameworks relating to those objectives and, in the
Committee a draft of the measures to be taken. The                 case of support from the European Social Fund, on the
Committee shall deliver its opinion on the draft within a          Community support frameworks relating to Objectives 1 , 2
time limit which the chairman may lay down according to            and 5 (b).
the urgency of the matter, where appropriate by taking a
vote .                                                             For their adoption, the opinions of the committee shall
                                                                   require an absolute majority of the votes validly cast. The
                                                                   Commission shall inform the Committee of the manner in
The opinion shall be recorded in the minutes. In addition,         which it took account of those opinions.
each Member State shall have the right to request that its
position be recorded in those minutes.
                                                                   The Committees referred to in Articles 27 and 29 shall be
                                                                   informed of the Committee's opinions.
The Commission shall take the utmost account of the
opinion delivered by the Commission. It shall inform the           The Committee shall draw up its rules of procedure.
Committee of the manner in which it took account of the
opinion .
                                                                                            Article 29
The Committee shall deliver opinions on draft Commission           Committee       on  agricultural    structures  and    rural
decisions concerning the Community support frameworks              development and standing committee on the fishing
as provided for in Articles 8 (5 ) and 9 (9) of Regulation                                   industry
(EEC) No 2052 / 88 , on the regular reports provided for in
Article 8 of Council Regulation (EEC) No 4254 / 88 and on          1 . In accordance with Article 17 of Regulation (EEC)
the drawing-up and revision of the list of areas eligible in       No 2052 / 88 a Committee on agricultural structures and
connection with Objective 2. The matters referred to in            rural development, made up of Member States'
Article 10 of Regulation (EEC) No 4254 / 88 may also be            representatives and chaired by the Commission
referred to it by the Commission .                                 representative, is hereby set up under the auspices of the
                                                                   Commission. The EIB shall appoint a non-voting
The committees referred to in Articles 28 and 29 shall be
                                                                   representative.
informed of the Committee's opinions.
                                                                   The Commission representative shall submit to the
                                                                   Committee a draft of the measures to be taken . The
The Committee shall draw up its rules of procedure.                Committee shall deliver an opinion on the draft within a
 ---pagebreak--- 28 . 4 . 93                               Official Journal of the European Communities                               No C 118 / 65
time limit which the chairman may lay down according to                                        Article 30
 the urgency of the matter under consideration. The opinion
 shall be delivered by the majority stipulated in Article 148                               Other provisions
 (2) of the Treaty in the case of decisions which the Council
 is requested to adopt on a proposal from the Commission;            1 . The Commission shall periodically refer to the
 when a matter is put to the vote within the the Committee,          Committees provided for in Articles 27 , 28 and 29 the
 the votes of the Member States' representatives shall be            reports referred to in Article 16 of Regulation (EEC)
 weighted as provided for in the abovementioned Article.             No 2052/ 88 . It shall seek the opinion of the appropriate
 The chairman shall not vote .                                       committees on their proposals to Member States referred to
                                                                     in the first paragraph of Article 11 , and may seek the
                                                                     opinion of the Committees on any matter relating to
 The Commission shall adopt measures which shall apply               assistance operations under the Funds , other than those
 immediately. However, if they are not in accordance with            provided for in this Title.
 the opinion delivered by the Commission, they shall be
communicated forthwith by the Commission to the                      Moreover, all the specific cases laid down in Regulation
 Council . In that event, the Commission may defer                   ( EEC) No 2052 / 88 , and by all the implementing
 application of the measures which it has decided for a              Regulations referred to in Article 130 E of the Treaty shall
period of not more than one month from the date of such              be referred to the Committees.
communication .
                                                                     2.   Decision 75 / 185 / EEC and Decision 83 / 517 / EEC
 The Council , acting by a qualified majority, may take a            shall be repealed and , as regards the EAGGF, Guidance
different decision within the period provided for in the             Section , the provisions of Articles 11 to 15 of Regulation
third subparagraph .                                                 (EEC ) No 729 / 70 concerning the EAGGF Committee shall
                                                                     no longer apply.
 The Committee shall deliver opinions on draft Commission
decisions :
                                                                                    IX. REPORTS AND PUBLICITY
— relating to Community support frameworks for the
      speeding-up of the adjustment of agricultural structures
      under Objective 5 ( a),                                                                  Article 31
— relating to the establishment of the list of areas eligible                                   Reports
      under Objective 5 (b) as well as to Community support
     frameworks under this Objective.                                1 . The annual reports referred to in the first subparagraph
                                                                     of Article 16 of Regulation (EEC) No 2052 / 88 shall
                                                                     review, inter alia:
The Committee shall also be consulted on operations
concerning agricultural structures and rural development             — the efforts deployed under all the Funds, the EIB and
included in the draft Commission decisions relating to the               the other existing financial instruments in support of
Community support frameworks for the Objective 1                         the priority objectives referred to in Article 1 of the
regions.                                                                 aforementioned Regulation,
                                                                     — the activities of each Fund, the utilization of their
The committee provided for in this paragraph shall replace               budgetary resources and the concentration of assistance
the Standing Committe on Agricultural Structures, set up                 within the meaning of Article 12 of Regulation (EEC)
by Article 1 of the Council Decision of 4 December 1962 ,                No 2052 / 88 , the deployment of the other financial
in respect of all the functions assigned to it under that                instruments     for   which     the  Commission      has
Decision or pursuant to Article 6 of Regulation (EEC ) No                responsibility and where their resources have been
729 / 70 , as last amended by Regulation (EEC) No                        concentrated ,
2048 / 88 .
                                                                    — the coordination of assistance provided by the Funds
                                                                         between themselves and with the assistance granted by
The Committees referred to in Articles 27 and 28 and                     the EIB and the other existing financial instruments,
paragraph 2 of this Article shall be informed of the                — the results of the assessment referred to in Article 26,
Committee's opinions .
                                                                    — the results of analysis of the impact of Community
                                                                         assistance and policies as compared with the objectives
The Committee shall draw up its rules of procedure.                      listed in Article 1 of Regulation ( EEC) No 2052 / 88
                                                                         and in particular their impact on the socio-economic
2. The provisions detailing the operation of the Standing                development of the regions.
Committee on the Fishing Industry shall be laid down
in accordance with the provisions laid down pursuant to             2. Each year, the Commission shall consult the social
the first subparagraph of Article 3a of Regulation                  partners organized at European level on the structural
No 2052 / 88 .                                                      policy of the Community.
 ---pagebreak--- No C 118 / 66                           Official Journal of the European Communities                                  28 . 4 . 93
3 . The three-yearly report referred to in the third               2. In drawing up Community support frameworks, the
subparagraph of Article 16 of Regulation (EEC)                     Commission shall take account of any operation already
No 2052 / 88 shall review in particular:                           approved by the Council or by the Commission before the
                                                                   entry into force of this Regulation and having financial
— progress made in achieving economic and social                   repercussions during the period covered by those support
    cohesion,                                                      frameworks. These operations shall not be subject to
                                                                   compliance with Article 15 ( 2).
— the role of the Structural Funds, the FIFG , the financial
    instrument for cohesion, the EIB and other financial
    instruments as well as the impact of other Community
    policies in the completion of this process,                    3 . Notwithstanding Article 15 ( 2), pending the adoption
                                                                   of the Community support frameworks covering the period
— the measures which need to be taken in order to                  from 1 January 1994, requests for expenditure received by
    strengthen economic and social cohesion.                       the Commission before 31 March 1994 and fulfilling all the
                                                                   conditions under Article 14 ( 2) may be regarded as eligible
                                                                   for Community assistance from 1 January 1994 .
                         Article 32
                  Information and publicity
                                                                   4 . For expenditure on Objective 5 (a) operations
                                                                   approved before the entry into force of this Regulation
1 . Member States shall ensure that adequate publicity is          without budgetary commitment the programming
given to the plans referred to in Article 5 ( 1 ) before their     provisions and the financial provisions under Articles 20
submission to the Commission .                                     and 21 shall apply from 1 January 1994.
2. The body responsible for implementing an operation
carried out with financial assistance from the Community           5 . Sums committed in respect of grants of assistance for
shall ensure that adequate publicity is given to the               projects decided by the Commission before 1 January 1989
operation with a view to:                                          with respect to the Structural Funds, and for which the
                                                                   Commission had not received a final payment request
— making potential beneficiaries and trade organizations           before 31 December 1994 shall be automatically
    aware of the opportunities afforded by the operation,          decommitted by the Commission by 30 June 1995 at the
                                                                   latest .
— making the general public aware of the role played by
    the Community in relation to the operation.
Member States shall consult the Commission on and
inform it about the initiatives taken for these purposes.                                   Article 34
                                                                                         Entry into force
                   X. FINAL PROVISIONS
                                                                   This Regulation shall enter into force on the third day
                                                                   following its publication in the Official Journal of the
                         Article 33                                European Communities .
                   Transitional provisions
1.
                                                                   This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and direcdy
                                                                   applicable in all Member States.