Article 75 Commission powers and responsibilities
1. The Commission shall satisfy itself, on the basis of available information, including information on the designation of bodies responsible for the management and control, the documents provided each year, in accordance with Article 59(5) of the Financial Regulation, by those designated bodies, control reports, annual implementation reports and audits carried out by national and Union bodies, that the Member States have set up management and control systems that comply with this Regulation and the Fund-specific rules and that those systems function effectively during the implementation of programmes. 2. Commission officials or authorised Commission representatives may carry out on-the-spot audits or checks subject to giving at least 12 working days notice to the competent national authority, except in urgent cases. The Commission shall respect the principle of proportionality by taking into account the need to avoid unjustified duplication of audits or checks carried out by Member States, the level of risk to the budget of the Union and the need to minimise the administrative burden on beneficiaries in accordance with the Fund-specific rules. The scope of such audits or checks may include, in particular, verification of the effective functioning of management and control systems in a programme or a part thereof, in operations and assessment of the sound financial management of operations or programmes. Officials or authorised representatives of the Member State may take part in such audits or checks. Commission officials or authorised Commission representatives, duly empowered to carry out on-the-spot audits or checks, shall have access to all necessary records, documents and metadata, irrespective of the medium in which they are stored, relating to operations supported by the ESI Funds or to management and control systems. Member States shall provide copies of such records, documents and metadata to the Commission upon request. The powers set out in this paragraph shall not affect the application of national provisions which reserve certain acts for agents specifically designated by national legislation. Commission officials and authorised representatives shall not take part, inter alia, in home visits or the formal questioning of persons within the framework of national legislation. However, such officials and representatives shall have access to the information thus obtained without prejudice to the competences of national courts and in full respect of the fundamental rights of the legal subjects concerned. 3. The Commission may require a Member State to take the actions necessary to ensure the effective functioning of their management and control systems or the correctness of expenditure in accordance with the Fund-specific rules.
Amendment rationale: CONTEXT OF THE PROPOSAL Reasons for and objectives of the proposal The objective of the proposal is to adapt the amounts of resources available for the Investment for growth and jobs goal and for the European territorial cooperation goal set out in Articles 91(1) and 92(5) of Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013 1 and the annual breakdown of commitment appropriations reflected in Annex VI in order to reflect changes in the financial programming for the Youth Employment Initiative ('YEI'). More specifically, in line with the adopted budget for 2018, commitment appropriations for the specific allocation for the YEI should be increased by an amount of EUR 116.7 million, bringing the overall amount for 2018 up to EUR 350 million. The commitment appropriations for 2020 were adjusted to reflect the frontloading to 2018. In addition, it is necessary to correct some errors with regard to the amounts and percentages concerning the resources for the Investment for Growth and Jobs goal set out in point (2)(a) of Article 1 of Regulation (EU) 2017/2305, amending Article 92(1) of Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013. 
Revised version (Article 75 Commission powers and responsibilities):
1. The Commission shall satisfy itself, on the basis of available information, including information on the designation of bodies responsible for the management and control, the documents provided each year, in accordance with Article 63(5), (6) and (7) of the Financial Regulation , by those designated bodies, control reports, annual implementation reports and audits carried out by national and Union bodies, that the Member States have set up management and control systems that comply with this Regulation and the Fund-specific rules and that those systems function effectively during the implementation of programmes. 2. Commission officials or authorised Commission representatives may carry out on-the-spot audits or checks subject to giving at least 12 working days notice to the competent national authority, except in urgent cases. The Commission shall respect the principle of proportionality by taking into account the need to avoid unjustified duplication of audits or checks carried out by Member States, the level of risk to the budget of the Union and the need to minimise the administrative burden on beneficiaries in accordance with the Fund-specific rules. The scope of such audits or checks may include, in particular, verification of the effective functioning of management and control systems in a programme or a part thereof, in operations and assessment of the sound financial management of operations or programmes. Officials or authorised representatives of the Member State may take part in such audits or checks. Commission officials or authorised Commission representatives, duly empowered to carry out on-the-spot audits or checks, shall have access to all necessary records, documents and metadata, irrespective of the medium in which they are stored, relating to operations supported by the ESI Funds or to management and control systems. Member States shall provide copies of such records, documents and metadata to the Commission upon request. The powers set out in this paragraph shall not affect the application of national provisions which reserve certain acts for agents specifically designated by national legislation. Commission officials and authorised representatives shall not take part, inter alia, in home visits or the formal questioning of persons within the framework of national legislation. However, such officials and representatives shall have access to the information thus obtained without prejudice to the competences of national courts and in full respect of the fundamental rights of the legal subjects concerned. 2a. The Commission shall provide the competent national authority with: (a) the draft audit report from the on-the-spot audit or check within three months of the end of that audit or check; (b) the final audit report within three months of the receipt of a complete reply from the competent national authority to the draft audit report from the on-the-spot audit or check concerned. The reports referred to in points (a) and (b) of the first subparagraph shall be made available within the time limits set out in those points in at least one of the official languages of the institutions of the Union. The time limit set out in point (a) of the first subparagraph shall not include the period which starts on the date following the date on which the Commission sends its request for additional information to the Member State and lasts until the Member State responds to that request. This paragraph shall not be applicable to the EAFRD. 3. The Commission may require a Member State to take the actions necessary to ensure the effective functioning of their management and control systems or the correctness of expenditure in accordance with the Fund-specific rules.
Article 76 Budget commitments
The budget commitments of the Union in respect of each programme shall be made in annual instalments for each Fund during the period between 1 January 2014 and 31 December 2020. The budget commitments relating to the performance reserve in each programme shall be made separately from the remaining allocation to the programme. The decision of the Commission adopting a programme shall constitute a financing decision within the meaning of Article 84 of the Financial Regulation and once notified to the Member State concerned, a legal commitment within the meaning of that Regulation. For each programme, the budget commitments for the first instalment shall follow the adoption of the programme by the Commission. The budget commitments for subsequent instalments shall be made by the Commission before 1 May of each year, on the basis of the decision referred to in the second paragraph of this Article, except where Article 16 of the Financial Regulation applies. Following application of the performance framework in accordance with Article 22, where priorities have not achieved their milestones, the Commission shall where necessary decommit the corresponding appropriations committed to the programmes concerned as part of the performance reserve and shall make them available again for the programmes for which the allocation is increased as a result of an amendment approved by the Commission in accordance with Article 22(5).
Article 77 Common rules for payments
1. Payments by the Commission of the contribution from the ESI Funds to each programme shall be made in accordance with budget appropriations and subject to available funding. Each payment shall be posted to the earliest open budget commitment of the Fund concerned. 2. Payments related to the commitments of the performance reserve shall not be made prior to the definitive allocation of the performance reserve, in accordance with Article 22(3) and (4). 3. Payments shall take the form of pre-financing, interim payments and payment of the final balance. 4. For forms of support under points (b), (c) and (d) of the first subparagraph of Article 67(1) and under Articles 68 and 69, costs calculated on the applicable basis shall be regarded as eligible expenditure.
Article 78 Common rules for calculating interim payments, and payment of the final balance
The Fund-specific rules shall lay down rules for the calculation of the amount reimbursed as interim payments, and of the final balance. That amount shall be a function of the specific co-financing rate applicable to the eligible expenditure.
Article 79 Requests for payment
1. The specific procedure and information to be submitted for requests for payment in relation to each ESI Fund shall be laid down in the Fund-specific rules. 2. The request for payment to be submitted to the Commission shall provide all the information necessary for the Commission to produce accounts in accordance with Article 68(3) of the Financial Regulation.
Amendment rationale: CONTEXT OF THE PROPOSAL The financial crisis had led to persistently negative growth rates in Greece and to serious liquidity problems and a lack of public funds available for much needed investments to boost growth and job creation. Therefore, as an exceptional measure and given the unique situation this has created in Greece, the Commission in its Communication "A new start for Jobs and Growth in Greece" proposes three elements to ensure that the available EU funding from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), the European Social Fund (ESF), the Cohesion Fund (CF) and the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF), is effectively used for investments on the ground and reaches beneficiaries as rapidly as possible. In this context, the Commission proposes to increase the level of initial pre-financing of the funding available for the 2014-2020 period for cohesion policy programmes under the Investment for Growth and Jobs Goal and programmes supported by the EMFF to give an immediate boost to investment. In addition, in order to improve the effective use of available cohesion policy funding for the financing of operations under programmes adopted for the 2007-2013 period, it proposes to increase the maximum co-financing rates and to raise the ceiling for payments to programmes at the end of the programming period.
Revised version (Article 79 Payment applications):
1. The specific procedure and information to be submitted for payment applications in relation to each ESI Fund shall be laid down in the Fund-specific rules. 2. The payment application to be submitted to the Commission shall provide all the information necessary for the Commission to produce accounts in accordance with Article 68(3) of the Financial Regulation.
Article 80 Use of the euro
Amounts set out in programmes submitted by Member States, forecasts of expenditure, statements of expenditure, requests for payment, accounts and expenditure mentioned in the annual and final implementation reports shall be denominated in euro.
Amendment rationale: CONTEXT OF THE PROPOSAL The financial crisis had led to persistently negative growth rates in Greece and to serious liquidity problems and a lack of public funds available for much needed investments to boost growth and job creation. Therefore, as an exceptional measure and given the unique situation this has created in Greece, the Commission in its Communication "A new start for Jobs and Growth in Greece" proposes three elements to ensure that the available EU funding from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), the European Social Fund (ESF), the Cohesion Fund (CF) and the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF), is effectively used for investments on the ground and reaches beneficiaries as rapidly as possible. In this context, the Commission proposes to increase the level of initial pre-financing of the funding available for the 2014-2020 period for cohesion policy programmes under the Investment for Growth and Jobs Goal and programmes supported by the EMFF to give an immediate boost to investment. In addition, in order to improve the effective use of available cohesion policy funding for the financing of operations under programmes adopted for the 2007-2013 period, it proposes to increase the maximum co-financing rates and to raise the ceiling for payments to programmes at the end of the programming period.
Revised version (Article 80 Use of the euro):
Amounts set out in programmes submitted by Member States, forecasts of expenditure, payment applications, accounts and expenditure mentioned in the annual and final implementation reports shall be denominated in euro.
Article 81 Payment of initial pre-financing
1. Following the Commission decision adopting the programme, an initial pre-financing amount for the whole programming period shall be paid by the Commission. The initial pre-financing amount shall be paid in instalments according to budgetary needs. The level of the instalments shall be defined in the Fund-specific rules. 2. Initial pre-financing shall be used only for payments to beneficiaries in the implementation of the programme. It shall be made available without delay to the body responsible for that purpose.
Article 82 Clearance of initial pre-financing
The amount paid as initial pre-financing shall be totally cleared from the Commission accounts not later than when the programme is closed.
Article 83 Interruption of the payment deadline
1. The payment deadline for an interim payment claim may be interrupted by the authorising officer by delegation within the meaning of the Financial Regulation for a maximum period of six months if: (a) following information provided by a national or Union audit body, there is clear evidence to suggest a significant deficiency in the functioning of the management and control system; (b) the authorising officer by delegation has to carry out additional verifications following information that has come to that officer's attention alerting him or her that expenditure in a request for payment is linked to an irregularity having serious financial consequences; (c) there is a failure to submit one of the documents required under Article 59(5) of the Financial Regulation. The Member State may agree to an extension of the interruption period for another three months. The Fund-specific rules for the EMFF may lay down specific bases for interruption of payments linked to non-compliance with rules applicable under the Common Fisheries Policy, which shall be proportionate, having regard to the nature, gravity, duration and recurrence of the non-compliance. 2. The authorising officer by delegation shall limit the interruption to the part of the expenditure covered by the payment claim affected by the elements referred to in the first subparagraph of paragraph 1, unless it is not possible to identify the part of the expenditure affected. The authorising officer by delegation shall inform the Member State and the managing authority in writing immediately of the reason for interruption and shall ask them to remedy the situation. The interruption shall be ended by the authorising officer by delegation as soon as the necessary measures have been taken.
Amendment rationale: CONTEXT OF THE PROPOSAL The financial crisis had led to persistently negative growth rates in Greece and to serious liquidity problems and a lack of public funds available for much needed investments to boost growth and job creation. Therefore, as an exceptional measure and given the unique situation this has created in Greece, the Commission in its Communication "A new start for Jobs and Growth in Greece" proposes three elements to ensure that the available EU funding from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), the European Social Fund (ESF), the Cohesion Fund (CF) and the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF), is effectively used for investments on the ground and reaches beneficiaries as rapidly as possible. In this context, the Commission proposes to increase the level of initial pre-financing of the funding available for the 2014-2020 period for cohesion policy programmes under the Investment for Growth and Jobs Goal and programmes supported by the EMFF to give an immediate boost to investment. In addition, in order to improve the effective use of available cohesion policy funding for the financing of operations under programmes adopted for the 2007-2013 period, it proposes to increase the maximum co-financing rates and to raise the ceiling for payments to programmes at the end of the programming period.
Revised version (Article 83 Interruption of the payment deadline):
1. The payment deadline for an interim payment claim may be interrupted by the authorising officer by delegation within the meaning of the Financial Regulation for a maximum period of six months if: (a) following information provided by a national or Union audit body, there is clear evidence to suggest a significant deficiency in the functioning of the management and control system; (b) the authorising officer by delegation has to carry out additional verifications following information that has come to that officer's attention alerting him or her that expenditure in a payment application is linked to an irregularity having serious financial consequences; (c) there is a failure to submit one of the documents required under Article 59(5) of the Financial Regulation. The Member State may agree to an extension of the interruption period for another three months. The Fund-specific rules for the EMFF may lay down specific bases for interruption of payments linked to non-compliance with rules applicable under the Common Fisheries Policy, which shall be proportionate, having regard to the nature, gravity, duration and recurrence of the non-compliance. 2. The authorising officer by delegation shall limit the interruption to the part of the expenditure covered by the payment claim affected by the elements referred to in the first subparagraph of paragraph 1, unless it is not possible to identify the part of the expenditure affected. The authorising officer by delegation shall inform the Member State and the managing authority in writing immediately of the reason for interruption and shall ask them to remedy the situation. The interruption shall be ended by the authorising officer by delegation as soon as the necessary measures have been taken.
Article 84 Deadline for the examination and acceptance of accounts by the Commission
By 31 May of the year following the end of the accounting period, the Commission shall, in accordance with Article 59(6) of the Financial Regulation, apply procedures for the examination and acceptance of the accounts and inform the Member State as to whether it accepts that the accounts are complete, accurate and true in accordance with Fund-specific rules.
Article 85 Financial corrections by the Commission
1. The Commission shall make financial corrections by cancelling all or part of the Union contribution to a programme and effecting recovery from the Member State, in order to exclude from Union financing expenditure which is in breach of applicable law. 2. A breach of applicable law shall lead to a financial correction only in relation to expenditure which has been declared to the Commission and where one of the following conditions is met: (a) the breach has affected the selection of an operation by the body responsible for support from the ESI Funds or in cases where, due to the nature of the breach, it is not possible to establish that impact but there is a substantiated risk that the breach has had such an effect; (b) the breach has affected the amount of expenditure declared for reimbursement by the budget of the Union or in cases where, due to the nature of the breach, it is not possible to quantify its financial impact but there is a substantiated risk that the breach has had such an effect. 3. When deciding on a financial correction under paragraph 1, the Commission shall respect the principle of proportionality by taking account of the nature and gravity of the breach of applicable law and its financial implications for the budget of the Union. The Commission shall keep the European Parliament informed of decisions taken to apply financial corrections. 4. The criteria and the procedures for applying financial corrections shall be laid down in the Fund-specific rules.
Amendment rationale: CONTEXT OF THE PROPOSAL Reasons for and objectives of the proposal The Russian war of aggression against Ukraine has brought a series of unexpected challenges for the European Union just when the Union and its Member States have been engaged in the recovery of our economies and societies after the COVID-19 pandemic. Since Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine on 24 February, the Union has received over 6.2 million Ukrainian nationals fleeing Russian aggression. The EU has reacted rapidly, supporting Member States and regions in managing this arrival of people by mobilising all available funding. However, with the rising number of arrivals, it is clear that further action is required. The special meeting of the European Council in May 2022 invited the Commission to “present new initiatives … within the Multiannual Financial Framework” to support the effort of providing protection to millions of refugees fleeing the war in Ukraine. In addition to providing support to Member States in the context of the inflow of displaced persons, the Commission has also been monitoring closely the on-going impact of Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine on the implementation of cohesion policy in particular. The consequences on infrastructure projects have been especially noted, both in terms of the availability and costs of raw materials and the availability of labour force. The European Parliament, the Council and regions have all raised concerns about the effect these issues may have on finalising the implementation of the 2014-2020 programmes and ensuring the start up of the new 2021-2027 programmes. Since 24 February, the Commission has already tabled a number of proposals, under Cohesion’s Action for Refugees in Europe (CARE), to ensure that all the funding available under the 2014-2020 cohesion policy and European Fund for the Most Deprived programmes are speedily mobilised to address the immediate challenges faced by the Member States and several of their eastern regions in particular, notably as regards those fleeing Russian aggression. These amendments have secured the possibility to mobilise available funding to address the immediate consequences of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine, while allowing Member States to continue their efforts to ensure a green, digital and resilient recovery of their economies from the crisis resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. The possibility to use the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and the European Social Fund (ESF) for operations addressing the migratory challenges resulting from the military aggression by Russia under the rules of the other fund enables the use of available resources for existing needs, without the need for a transfer. Furthermore, these operations are made eligible as from the date of the invasion, to allow support for all related needs. Moreover, a new unit cost has been introduced and reporting arrangements on participants have been simplified to reduce the administrative burden for both beneficiaries and Member State administrations in the context of addressing migratory challenges. Finally, the possibility to make use of up to 100% co-financing was extended for these measures also to the accounting year ending on 30 June 2022 in order to contribute to alleviating the burden on Member States’ public finances, and the substantial increase of pre-financing from REACT-EU resources provided Member States with liquidity needed to cover the most pressing needs. The consequences of the Russian military aggression have grown in scope and its impact has expanded. As a result, Member States are facing continuous substantial inflows of persons fleeing the Russian aggression. At the same time, some Member States are facing labour shortages and a scarcity of input materials in certain sectors. This situation comes on top of the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic, notably the disruption of value chains, which challenges public budgets that were focused on the recovery of the economy, but also risks delaying investments, especially in infrastructure. While the measures already adopted have played a major role in supporting Member States and regions addressing the immediate effects of the war, it is clear that the evolving situation calls for additional action. In particular, increased flexibility will help optimise the use of the remaining 2014-2020 resources and allow a smoother phasing of delayed projects between 2014-2020 and 2021-2027 programmes. Consequently, further flexibility to allow quicker and more complete support from the Funds should be introduced to alleviate the burden on national budgets and facilitate the implementation of operations addressing both migratory challenges, as well as market disruptions of key economic sectors. For operations addressing migratory challenges resulting from the military aggression by the Russian Federation , i t is therefore appropriate , as part of that more complete support and as an exceptional measure , without prejudice to the rules that should apply under regular circumstances, to derogate from the requirement s linked to the location of the operation within a given Member State , given that the persons fleeing the war may move location more than once . In addition, given the continuation of the Russian aggression , an extension in time and increase of the newly established unit cost allow ed to cover the basic needs and support of persons granted temporary protection or other adequate protection under national law in accordance with Council Implementing Decision (EU) 2022/382 1 and Council Directive 2001/55/EC 2 in all Member States is justified . Furthermore, i t is also proposed to allow the remaining resources from the 2014-2020 Cohesion Fund to support operations falling within the scope of either the ERDF or the ESF, in accordance with the rules applicable to those Funds. This implies the extension to the Cohesion Fund of the flexibility for the use of ERDF and ESF resources introduced with Regulation (EU) 2022/562 of the European Parliament and of the Council 3 . Similarly, given that the eligibility for operations addressing the migratory challenges as a result of the military aggression by Russia was set as of 24 February 2022, the possibility to declare expenditure for such operations also when they are already physically completed or fully implemented should be made possible. These possibilities should also be extended to the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund ( EMFF ) as a result of the consequences of the war on the fishery and aquaculture sector. In the same spirit and with the intention of alleviating the administrative burden on Member States that are constantly adjusting to the evolving needs, transfers between thematic objectives within a priority and within a Fund and category of region should be made possible without the need for a decision of the Commission amending the programme. In addition, it is proposed to increase the ceiling of the flexibility between priorities for calculating the final balance of the contribution from the Funds. Moreover, for priorities promoting the socio-economic integration of third country nationals, including those dedicated to operations addressing migratory challenges as a result of the military aggression by the Russian Federation, the possibility of a co-financing rate up to 100% should be established in both programming periods, in order to support Member States in addressing the needs of displaced people both now and in the future. To reflect the easier conditions for phasing of projects between programming periods, it is also necessary to introduce targeted flexibilities for the 2021-2027 programming period. In order to assist all Member States in addressing the impact of the war with their 2021-2027 programmes, support from the ERDF, ESF+ and Cohesion Fund under the Investment for jobs and growth goal should be mobilised quickly by increasing the rate of pre-financing. In addition, the co-financing rate of up to 100% should be introduced for priorities promoting the socio-economic integration of third country nationals from the 2021-2027 programmes until mid-2024 and should be reviewed on the basis of how it has been used. Finally, the ceiling for the possibility to phase operations from the 2014-2020 programmes to those of the 2021-2027 programming period should be lowered to enlarge this possibility to more operations facing delays. Moreover, the second phase of operations under 2021-2027 programmes should be made eligible in accordance with 2014-2020 rules and managing authorities should be given the possibility to grant support to such operations directly, provided that a limited number of key conditions are met. Such phasing flexibility will not affect Member States’ obligations to comply with thematic concentration requirements and climate contribution targets. 
Revised version (Article 85 Financial corrections by the Commission):
1. The Commission shall make financial corrections by cancelling all or part of the Union contribution to a programme and effecting recovery from the Member State, in order to exclude from Union financing expenditure which is in breach of applicable law. 2. A breach of applicable law shall lead to a financial correction only in relation to expenditure which has been declared to the Commission and where one of the following conditions is met: (a) the breach has affected the selection of an operation by the body responsible for support from the ESI Funds or in cases where, due to the nature of the breach, it is not possible to establish that impact but there is a substantiated risk that the breach has had such an effect; (b) the breach has affected the amount of expenditure declared for reimbursement by the budget of the Union or in cases where, due to the nature of the breach, it is not possible to quantify its financial impact but there is a substantiated risk that the breach has had such an effect. A breach of applicable law shall lead to a financial correction only in relation to expenditure which has been declared to the Commission and where one of the following conditions is met: (a) the breach has affected the selection of an operation by the body responsible for support from the ESI Funds or in cases where, due to the nature of the breach, it is not possible to establish that impact but there is a substantiated risk that the breach has had such an effect; (b) the breach has affected the amount of expenditure declared for reimbursement by the budget of the Union or in cases where, due to the nature of the breach, it is not possible to quantify its financial impact but there is a substantiated risk that the breach has had such an effect. 3. When deciding on a financial correction under paragraph 1, the Commission shall respect the principle of proportionality by taking account of the nature and gravity of the breach of applicable law and its financial implications for the budget of the Union. The Commission shall keep the European Parliament informed of decisions taken to apply financial corrections. 4. The criteria and the procedures for applying financial corrections shall be laid down in the Fund-specific rules.
Article 86 Principles
1. All programmes shall be submitted to a decommitment procedure established on the basis that amounts linked to a commitment which are not covered by pre-financing or by a request for payment within a defined period, including any request for payment for which all or part is subject to an interruption of the payment deadline or a suspension of payments, shall be decommitted. 2. The commitment related to the last year of the period shall be decommitted in accordance with the rules to be followed for the closure of the programmes. 3. The Fund-specific rules shall specify the precise application of the decommitment rule for each ESI Fund. 4. The part of commitments still open shall be decommitted if any of the documents required for the closure have not been submitted to the Commission by the deadlines established in the Fund-specific rules. 5. The budgetary commitments in respect of the performance reserve shall be subject only to the decommitment procedure set out in paragraph 4.
Amendment rationale: CONTEXT OF THE PROPOSAL The financial crisis had led to persistently negative growth rates in Greece and to serious liquidity problems and a lack of public funds available for much needed investments to boost growth and job creation. Therefore, as an exceptional measure and given the unique situation this has created in Greece, the Commission in its Communication "A new start for Jobs and Growth in Greece" proposes three elements to ensure that the available EU funding from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), the European Social Fund (ESF), the Cohesion Fund (CF) and the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF), is effectively used for investments on the ground and reaches beneficiaries as rapidly as possible. In this context, the Commission proposes to increase the level of initial pre-financing of the funding available for the 2014-2020 period for cohesion policy programmes under the Investment for Growth and Jobs Goal and programmes supported by the EMFF to give an immediate boost to investment. In addition, in order to improve the effective use of available cohesion policy funding for the financing of operations under programmes adopted for the 2007-2013 period, it proposes to increase the maximum co-financing rates and to raise the ceiling for payments to programmes at the end of the programming period.
Revised version (Article 86 Principles):
1. All programmes shall be submitted to a decommitment procedure established on the basis that amounts linked to a commitment which are not covered by pre-financing or by a payment application within a defined period, including any payment application for which all or part is subject to an interruption of the payment deadline or a suspension of payments, shall be decommitted. 2. The commitment related to the last year of the period shall be decommitted in accordance with the rules to be followed for the closure of the programmes. 3. The Fund-specific rules shall specify the precise application of the decommitment rule for each ESI Fund. 4. The part of commitments still open shall be decommitted if any of the documents required for the closure have not been submitted to the Commission by the deadlines established in the Fund-specific rules. 5. The budgetary commitments in respect of the performance reserve shall be subject only to the decommitment procedure set out in paragraph 4.
Article 87 Exception to the decommitment
1. The amount concerned by decommitment shall be reduced by the amounts equivalent to that part of the budget commitment for which: (a) the operations are suspended by a legal proceeding or by an administrative appeal having suspensory effect; or (b) it has not been possible to make a request for payment for reasons of force majeure seriously affecting implementation of all or part of the programme. The national authorities claiming force majeure under point (b) of the first subparagraph shall demonstrate the direct consequences of the force majeure on the implementation of all or part of the programme. For the purpose of points (a) and (b) of the first subparagraph, the reduction may be requested once, if the suspension or force majeure lasted no longer than one year, or a number of times that corresponds to the duration of the force majeure or the number of years between the date of the legal or administrative decision suspending the implementation of the operation and the date of the final legal or administrative decision. 2. By 31 January, the Member State shall send to the Commission information on the exceptions referred to in points (a) and (b) of the first subparagraph of paragraph 1 for the amount to be declared by the end of the preceding year.
Amendment rationale: CONTEXT OF THE PROPOSAL The financial crisis had led to persistently negative growth rates in Greece and to serious liquidity problems and a lack of public funds available for much needed investments to boost growth and job creation. Therefore, as an exceptional measure and given the unique situation this has created in Greece, the Commission in its Communication "A new start for Jobs and Growth in Greece" proposes three elements to ensure that the available EU funding from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), the European Social Fund (ESF), the Cohesion Fund (CF) and the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF), is effectively used for investments on the ground and reaches beneficiaries as rapidly as possible. In this context, the Commission proposes to increase the level of initial pre-financing of the funding available for the 2014-2020 period for cohesion policy programmes under the Investment for Growth and Jobs Goal and programmes supported by the EMFF to give an immediate boost to investment. In addition, in order to improve the effective use of available cohesion policy funding for the financing of operations under programmes adopted for the 2007-2013 period, it proposes to increase the maximum co-financing rates and to raise the ceiling for payments to programmes at the end of the programming period.
Revised version (Article 87 Exception to the decommitment):
1. The amount concerned by decommitment shall be reduced by the amounts equivalent to that part of the budget commitment for which: (a) the operations are suspended by a legal proceeding or by an administrative appeal having suspensory effect; or (b) it has not been possible to make a payment application for reasons of force majeure seriously affecting implementation of all or part of the programme. The national authorities claiming force majeure under point (b) of the first subparagraph shall demonstrate the direct consequences of the force majeure on the implementation of all or part of the programme. For the purpose of points (a) and (b) of the first subparagraph, the reduction may be requested once, if the suspension or force majeure lasted no longer than one year, or a number of times that corresponds to the duration of the force majeure or the number of years between the date of the legal or administrative decision suspending the implementation of the operation and the date of the final legal or administrative decision. 2. By 31 January, the Member State shall send to the Commission information on the exceptions referred to in points (a) and (b) of the first subparagraph of paragraph 1 for the amount to be declared by the end of the preceding year.
Article 88 Procedure
1. The Commission shall inform the Member State and the managing authority in good time whenever there is a risk of application of the decommitment rule under Article 86. 2. On the basis of the information it has received as of 31 January, the Commission shall inform the Member State and the managing authority of the amount of the decommitment resulting from that information. 3. The Member State shall have two months to agree to the amount to be decommitted or to submit its observations. 4. By 30 June, the Member State shall submit to the Commission a revised financing plan reflecting, for the financial year concerned, the reduced amount of support over one or more priorities of the programme taking into account the allocation by Fund and by category of region, where appropriate. Failing such submission, the Commission shall revise the financing plan by reducing the contribution from the ESI Funds for the financial year concerned. That reduction shall be allocated to each priority proportionately. 5. The Commission shall amend the decision adopting the programme, by means of implementing acts, not later than 30 September.
Article 89 Mission and goals
1. The Funds shall contribute to developing and pursuing the actions of the Union leading to strengthening of its economic, social and territorial cohesion in accordance with Article 174 TFEU. The actions supported by the Funds shall also contribute to the delivery of the Union strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth. 2. For the purpose of the mission referred to in paragraph 1, the following goals shall be pursued: (a) Investment for growth and jobs in Member States and regions, to be supported by the Funds; and (b) European territorial cooperation, to be supported by the ERDF.
Amendment rationale: CONTEXT OF THE PROPOSAL Reasons for and objectives of the proposal The Russian war of aggression against Ukraine has brought a series of unexpected challenges for the European Union just when the Union and its Member States have been engaged in the recovery of our economies and societies after the COVID-19 pandemic. Since Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine on 24 February, the Union has received over 6.2 million Ukrainian nationals fleeing Russian aggression. The EU has reacted rapidly, supporting Member States and regions in managing this arrival of people by mobilising all available funding. However, with the rising number of arrivals, it is clear that further action is required. The special meeting of the European Council in May 2022 invited the Commission to “present new initiatives … within the Multiannual Financial Framework” to support the effort of providing protection to millions of refugees fleeing the war in Ukraine. In addition to providing support to Member States in the context of the inflow of displaced persons, the Commission has also been monitoring closely the on-going impact of Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine on the implementation of cohesion policy in particular. The consequences on infrastructure projects have been especially noted, both in terms of the availability and costs of raw materials and the availability of labour force. The European Parliament, the Council and regions have all raised concerns about the effect these issues may have on finalising the implementation of the 2014-2020 programmes and ensuring the start up of the new 2021-2027 programmes. Since 24 February, the Commission has already tabled a number of proposals, under Cohesion’s Action for Refugees in Europe (CARE), to ensure that all the funding available under the 2014-2020 cohesion policy and European Fund for the Most Deprived programmes are speedily mobilised to address the immediate challenges faced by the Member States and several of their eastern regions in particular, notably as regards those fleeing Russian aggression. These amendments have secured the possibility to mobilise available funding to address the immediate consequences of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine, while allowing Member States to continue their efforts to ensure a green, digital and resilient recovery of their economies from the crisis resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. The possibility to use the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and the European Social Fund (ESF) for operations addressing the migratory challenges resulting from the military aggression by Russia under the rules of the other fund enables the use of available resources for existing needs, without the need for a transfer. Furthermore, these operations are made eligible as from the date of the invasion, to allow support for all related needs. Moreover, a new unit cost has been introduced and reporting arrangements on participants have been simplified to reduce the administrative burden for both beneficiaries and Member State administrations in the context of addressing migratory challenges. Finally, the possibility to make use of up to 100% co-financing was extended for these measures also to the accounting year ending on 30 June 2022 in order to contribute to alleviating the burden on Member States’ public finances, and the substantial increase of pre-financing from REACT-EU resources provided Member States with liquidity needed to cover the most pressing needs. The consequences of the Russian military aggression have grown in scope and its impact has expanded. As a result, Member States are facing continuous substantial inflows of persons fleeing the Russian aggression. At the same time, some Member States are facing labour shortages and a scarcity of input materials in certain sectors. This situation comes on top of the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic, notably the disruption of value chains, which challenges public budgets that were focused on the recovery of the economy, but also risks delaying investments, especially in infrastructure. While the measures already adopted have played a major role in supporting Member States and regions addressing the immediate effects of the war, it is clear that the evolving situation calls for additional action. In particular, increased flexibility will help optimise the use of the remaining 2014-2020 resources and allow a smoother phasing of delayed projects between 2014-2020 and 2021-2027 programmes. Consequently, further flexibility to allow quicker and more complete support from the Funds should be introduced to alleviate the burden on national budgets and facilitate the implementation of operations addressing both migratory challenges, as well as market disruptions of key economic sectors. For operations addressing migratory challenges resulting from the military aggression by the Russian Federation , i t is therefore appropriate , as part of that more complete support and as an exceptional measure , without prejudice to the rules that should apply under regular circumstances, to derogate from the requirement s linked to the location of the operation within a given Member State , given that the persons fleeing the war may move location more than once . In addition, given the continuation of the Russian aggression , an extension in time and increase of the newly established unit cost allow ed to cover the basic needs and support of persons granted temporary protection or other adequate protection under national law in accordance with Council Implementing Decision (EU) 2022/382 1 and Council Directive 2001/55/EC 2 in all Member States is justified . Furthermore, i t is also proposed to allow the remaining resources from the 2014-2020 Cohesion Fund to support operations falling within the scope of either the ERDF or the ESF, in accordance with the rules applicable to those Funds. This implies the extension to the Cohesion Fund of the flexibility for the use of ERDF and ESF resources introduced with Regulation (EU) 2022/562 of the European Parliament and of the Council 3 . Similarly, given that the eligibility for operations addressing the migratory challenges as a result of the military aggression by Russia was set as of 24 February 2022, the possibility to declare expenditure for such operations also when they are already physically completed or fully implemented should be made possible. These possibilities should also be extended to the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund ( EMFF ) as a result of the consequences of the war on the fishery and aquaculture sector. In the same spirit and with the intention of alleviating the administrative burden on Member States that are constantly adjusting to the evolving needs, transfers between thematic objectives within a priority and within a Fund and category of region should be made possible without the need for a decision of the Commission amending the programme. In addition, it is proposed to increase the ceiling of the flexibility between priorities for calculating the final balance of the contribution from the Funds. Moreover, for priorities promoting the socio-economic integration of third country nationals, including those dedicated to operations addressing migratory challenges as a result of the military aggression by the Russian Federation, the possibility of a co-financing rate up to 100% should be established in both programming periods, in order to support Member States in addressing the needs of displaced people both now and in the future. To reflect the easier conditions for phasing of projects between programming periods, it is also necessary to introduce targeted flexibilities for the 2021-2027 programming period. In order to assist all Member States in addressing the impact of the war with their 2021-2027 programmes, support from the ERDF, ESF+ and Cohesion Fund under the Investment for jobs and growth goal should be mobilised quickly by increasing the rate of pre-financing. In addition, the co-financing rate of up to 100% should be introduced for priorities promoting the socio-economic integration of third country nationals from the 2021-2027 programmes until mid-2024 and should be reviewed on the basis of how it has been used. Finally, the ceiling for the possibility to phase operations from the 2014-2020 programmes to those of the 2021-2027 programming period should be lowered to enlarge this possibility to more operations facing delays. Moreover, the second phase of operations under 2021-2027 programmes should be made eligible in accordance with 2014-2020 rules and managing authorities should be given the possibility to grant support to such operations directly, provided that a limited number of key conditions are met. Such phasing flexibility will not affect Member States’ obligations to comply with thematic concentration requirements and climate contribution targets. 
Revised version (Article 89 Mission and goals):
1. The Funds shall contribute to developing and pursuing the actions of the Union leading to strengthening of its economic, social and territorial cohesion in accordance with Article 174 TFEU. The actions supported by the Funds shall also contribute to the delivery of the Union strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth. 2. For the purpose of the mission referred to in paragraph 1, the following goals shall be pursued: (a) Investment for growth and jobs in Member States and regions, to be supported by the Funds; and (b) European territorial cooperation, to be supported by the ERDF. For the purpose of the mission referred to in paragraph 1, the following goals shall be pursued: (a) Investment for growth and jobs in Member States and regions, to be supported by the Funds; and (b) European territorial cooperation, to be supported by the ERDF.
Article 90 Investment for growth and jobs goal
1. The Structural Funds shall support the Investment for growth and jobs goal in all regions corresponding to level 2 of the common classification of territorial units for statistics ('NUTS level 2 regions') established by Regulation (EC) No 1059/2003 amended by Regulation (EC) No 105/2007. 2. Resources for the Investment for growth and jobs goal shall be allocated among the following three categories of NUTS level 2 regions: (a) less developed regions, whose GDP per capita is less than 75 % of the average GDP of the EU-27; (b) transition regions, whose GDP per capita is between 75 % and 90 % of the average GDP of the EU-27; (c) more developed regions, whose GDP per capita is above 90 % of the average GDP of the EU-27. The classification of regions under one of the three categories of regions shall be determined on the basis of how the GDP per capita of each region, measured in purchasing power parities (PPS) and calculated on the basis of Union figures for the period 2007 - 2009, relates to the average GDP of the EU-27 for the same reference period. 3. The Cohesion Fund shall support those Member States whose GNI per capita, measured in PPS and calculated on the basis of Union figures for the period 2008 - 2010, is less than 90 % of the average GNI per capita of the EU-27 for the same reference period. The Member States eligible for funding from the Cohesion Fund in 2013, but whose nominal GNI per capita exceeds 90 % of the average GNI per capita of the EU-27 as calculated under the first subparagraph shall receive support from the Cohesion Fund on a transitional and specific basis. 4. Immediately following the entry into force of this Regulation, the Commission shall adopt a decision, by means of an implementing act, setting out the list of regions fulfilling the criteria of the three categories of regions referred to in paragraph 2 and of Member States fulfilling the criteria of paragraph 3. That list shall be valid from 1 January 2014 to 31 December 2020. 5. In 2016, the Commission shall review the eligibility of Member States for support from the Cohesion Fund on the basis of Union GNI figures for the period 2012 - 2014 for the EU-27. Those Member States whose nominal GNI per capita falls below 90 % of the average GNI per capita of the EU-27 shall become newly eligible for support from the Cohesion Fund and those Member States which were eligible for the Cohesion Fund and whose nominal GNI per capita exceeds 90 %, shall lose their eligibility and shall receive support from the Cohesion Fund on a transitional and specific basis.
Article 91 Resources for economic, social and territorial cohesion
1. The resources for economic, social and territorial cohesion available for budgetary commitment for the period 2014 - 2020 shall be EUR 325 145 694 739 in 2011 prices, in accordance with the annual breakdown set out in Annex VI, of which EUR 322 145 694 739 represents the global resources allocated to the ERDF, the ESF and the Cohesion Fund and EUR 3 000 000 000 represents a specific allocation for the YEI. For the purposes of programming and subsequent inclusion in the budget of the Union, the amount of resources for economic, social and territorial cohesion shall be indexed at 2 % per year. 2. The Commission shall adopt a decision, by means of implementing acts, setting out the annual breakdown of the global resources per Member State under the Investment for growth and jobs goal and the European territorial cooperation goal, and the annual breakdown of the resources from the specific allocation for the YEI per Member State together with the list of eligible regions in accordance with the criteria and methodology set out in Annexes VII and VIII respectively, without prejudice to paragraph 3 of this Article or to Article 92(8). 3. 0,35 % of the global resources after the deduction of the support to the CEF referred to in Article 92(6), and to the aid for the most deprived referred to in Article 92(7) shall be allocated to technical assistance at the initiative of the Commission.
Amendment rationale: CONTEXT OF THE PROPOSAL Reasons for and objectives of the proposal The objective of the proposal is to adapt the amounts of resources available for the Investment for growth and jobs goal and for the European territorial cooperation goal set out in Articles 91(1) and 92(1) and (5) of Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013 1 and the annual breakdown of commitment appropriations reflected in Annex VI to decisions adopted since the adoption of that Regulation. Firstly, to adapt the amounts to the result of the technical adjustment exercise in accordance with Article 92(3) of that Regulation; secondly, to reflect the different transfers decided on the basis of Articles 25, 93 and 94 of that Regulation affecting the global amounts per year; thirdly, to include the increase of the Youth Employment Initiative ('YEI') until 2020 by an total amount of EUR 1.2 billion in current prices for the specific allocation for the YEI, which needs to be complemented by at least EUR 1.2 billion from targeted ESF investment; and fourthly to reflect the transfer of some of the 2014 commitment appropriations to subsequent years because of the adoption of new programmes after 1 January 2015. The results of the technical adjustment and the transfers decided on the basis of Articles 25, 93 and 94 of that Regulation were already addressed in Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2016/1941 2 . The proposal also reflects that Cyprus was to become newly eligible for support from the Cohesion Fund and was no longer to receive support from the Cohesion Fund on a transitional and specific basis as of 1 January 2017. This had already been addressed in Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2016/1916 3 . The technical adjustment exercise has its origin in Article 7 of Council Regulation (EU) No 1311/2013 4 to take account of the particularly difficult situation of Member States suffering from the crisis and to review in 2016 the total allocation for the Investment for growth and jobs goal. Article 25 sets out a mechanism regarding the management of technical assistance for Member States with temporary budgetary difficulties, i.e. the transfer of part of that technical assistance to the technical assistance at the initiative of the Commission. Under certain conditions, Article 93 allows for the transfer of resources between categories of regions and Article 94 for the transfer of resources between goals. 
Revised version (Article 91 Resources for economic, social and territorial cohesion):
1. The resources for economic, social and territorial cohesion available for budgetary commitment for the period 2014-2020 shall be EUR 329 978 401 458 in 2011 prices, in accordance with the annual breakdown set out in Annex VI, of which EUR 325 938 694 233 represents the global resources allocated to the ERDF, the ESF and the Cohesion Fund, and EUR 4 039 707 225 represents a specific allocation for the YEI. For the purposes of programming and subsequent inclusion in the budget of the Union, the amount of resources for economic, social and territorial cohesion shall be indexed at 2 % per year. 2. The Commission shall adopt a decision, by means of implementing acts, setting out the annual breakdown of the global resources per Member State under the Investment for growth and jobs goal and the European territorial cooperation goal, and the annual breakdown of the resources from the specific allocation for the YEI per Member State together with the list of eligible regions in accordance with the criteria and methodology set out in Annexes VII and VIII respectively, without prejudice to paragraph 3 of this Article or to Article 92(8). 3. 0,35 % of the global resources after the deduction of the support to the CEF referred to in Article 92(6), and to the aid for the most deprived referred to in Article 92(7) shall be allocated to technical assistance at the initiative of the Commission, of which up to EUR 112 233 000 in current prices shall be allocated to the Structural Reform Support Programme established by Regulation (EU) 2017/825 for use within the scope and purpose of that programme.
Article 92 Resources for the Investment for growth and jobs goal and for the European territorial cooperation goal
1. Resources for the Investment for growth and jobs goal shall amount to 96,33 % of the global resources (i.e., a total of EUR 313 197 435 409) and shall be allocated as follows: (a) 52,45 % (i.e., a total of EUR 164 279 015 916) for less developed regions; (b) 10,24 % (i.e., a total of EUR 32 084 931 311) for transition regions; (c) 15,67 % (i.e., a total of EUR 49 084 308 755) for more developed regions; (d) 21,19 % (i.e., a total of EUR 66 362 384 703) for Member States supported by the Cohesion Fund; (e) 0,44 % (i.e., a total of EUR 1 386 794 724) as additional funding for the outermost regions identified in Article 349 TFEU and the NUTS level 2 regions fulfilling the criteria laid down in Article 2 of Protocol No 6 to the 1994 Act of Accession. 2. In addition to the amounts set out in Article 91 and paragraph 1 of this Article, for the years 2014 and 2015, a further amount of EUR 94 200 000 and of EUR 92 400 000 respectively shall be made available as set out in the "Additional adjustments" under Annex VII. Those amounts shall be identified in the decision of the Commission referred to in Article 91(2). 3. In 2016, the Commission shall, in its technical adjustment for the year 2017 in accordance with Articles 4 and 5 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 1311/2013, review the total allocations under the Investment for growth and jobs goal of each Member State for 2017-2020, applying the allocation method set out in paragraphs 1 to 16 of Annex VII on the basis of the most recent statistics available and of the comparison, for the capped Member States, between the cumulated national GDP observed for the years 2014-2015 and the cumulated national GDP for the same period estimated in 2012 in accordance with paragraph 10 of Annex VII. Where there is a cumulative divergence of more than +/-5 % between the revised allocations and the total allocations, the total allocations shall be adjusted correspondingly. In accordance with Article 5 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 1311/2013, adjustments shall be spread in equal proportions over the years 2017-2020 and the corresponding ceilings of the financial framework shall be modified accordingly. The total net effect of the adjustments, whether positive or negative, shall not exceed EUR 4 000 000 000. Following the technical adjustment, the Commission, shall adopt a decision, by means of implementing acts, setting out a revised annual breakdown of the global resources for each Member State. 4. In order to ensure that sufficient investment is targeted at youth employment, labour mobility, knowledge, social inclusion and combating poverty, the share of Structural Funds resources available for programming for operational programmes, under the Investment for growth and jobs goal allocated to the ESF in each Member State, shall not be lower than the corresponding ESF share for that Member State laid down in the operational programmes for the Convergence and Regional competitiveness and employment objectives for the 2007-2013 programming period. To that share shall be added an additional amount for each Member State determined in accordance with the method set out in Annex IX in order to ensure that the share of the ESF as a percentage of total combined resources for the Funds at Union level, excluding the support from the Cohesion Fund for transport infrastructure under the CEF referred to in paragraph 6 and support from the Structural Funds for aid for the most deprived referred to in paragraph 7, in Member States is not less than 23,1 %. For the purposes of this paragraph, investment provided from the ESF to the YEI shall be considered to be part of the share of Structural Funds allocated to the ESF. 5. Resources for the YEI shall amount to EUR 3 000 000 000 from the specific allocation for the YEI and at least EUR 3 000 000 000 from ESF targeted investment. 6. The amount of support from the Cohesion Fund to be transferred to the CEF shall be EUR 10 000 000 000. It shall be spent for transport infrastructure projects in line with Regulation (EU) No 1316/2013 exclusively in Member States eligible for funding from the Cohesion Fund. The Commission shall adopt a decision, by means of an implementing act, setting out the amount to be transferred from each Member State's Cohesion Fund allocation to the CEF, which amount shall be determined on a pro rata basis for the whole period. The Cohesion Fund allocation of each Member State shall be reduced accordingly. The annual appropriations corresponding to the support from the Cohesion Fund referred to in the first subparagraph shall be entered in the relevant budget lines of the CEF as of the 2014 budgetary exercise. The amount transferred from the Cohesion Fund to the CEF, referred to in the first subparagraph, shall be implemented by launching specific calls for projects implementing the core networks or for projects and horizontal activities identified in Part I of Annex I to Regulation (EU) No 1316/2013. Rules applicable for the transport sector under Regulation (EU) No 1316/2013 shall apply to the specific calls referred to in the fourth subparagraph. Until 31 December 2016, the selection of projects eligible for financing shall respect the national allocations under the Cohesion Fund. As of 1 January 2017, resources transferred to the CEF which have not been committed to a transport infrastructure project shall be made available to all Member States eligible for funding from the Cohesion Fund to finance transport infrastructure projects in accordance with Regulation (EU) No 1316/2013. In order to support Member States eligible for funding from the Cohesion Fund, which may experience difficulties in designing projects that are of a sufficient maturity, quality, or both, and which have sufficient added value for the Union, particular attention shall be given to programme support actions aimed at strengthening institutional capacity and the efficiency of public administrations and public services in relation to the development and implementation of projects listed in Part I of Annex I to the Regulation (EU) No 1316/2013. To ensure the highest possible absorption of the transferred funds in all Member States eligible for funding from the Cohesion fund, the Commission may organise additional calls. 7. The support from the Structural Funds for aid for the most deprived under the Investment for Growth and Jobs goal shall be not less than EUR 2 500 000 000 and may be increased by up to EUR 1 000 000 000 by additional support decided on a voluntary basis by Member States. The Commission shall adopt a decision, by means of an implementing act, setting out the amount to be transferred from each Member State's Structural Funds allocation to aid for the most deprived for the whole period. The Structural Funds allocation of each Member State shall be reduced accordingly, on the basis of a pro-rata reduction by category of region. The annual appropriations corresponding to the support from the Structural Funds referred to in the first subparagraph shall be entered in the relevant budget lines of the aid for the most deprived instrument with the 2014 budgetary exercise. 8. EUR 330 000 000 of the Structural Funds resources for the Investment for growth and jobs goal shall be allocated to innovative actions under direct or indirect management by the Commission in the area of sustainable urban development. 9. Resources for the European territorial cooperation goal shall amount to 2,75 % of the global resources available for budgetary commitment from the Funds for the period 2014-2020 (i.e., a total of EUR 8 948 259 330). 10. For the purposes of this Article, Articles 18, 91, 93, 95, 99, 120, Annex I and Annex X of this Regulation, Article 4 of the ERDF Regulation, Article 4 and Articles 16 to 23 of the ESF Regulation, Article 3(3) of the ETC Regulation, the outermost region of Mayotte shall be considered to be a NUTS level 2 region falling into the category of less developed regions. For the purposes of Article 3(1) and (2) of the ETC Regulation, the regions of Mayotte and Saint Martin shall be considered to be NUTS level 3 regions.
Amendment rationale: CONTEXT OF THE PROPOSAL Reasons for and objectives of the proposal The objective of the proposal is to adapt the amounts of resources available for the Investment for growth and jobs goal and for the European territorial cooperation goal set out in Articles 91(1) and 92(1) and (5) of Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013 1 and the annual breakdown of commitment appropriations reflected in Annex VI to decisions adopted since the adoption of that Regulation. Firstly, to adapt the amounts to the result of the technical adjustment exercise in accordance with Article 92(3) of that Regulation; secondly, to reflect the different transfers decided on the basis of Articles 25, 93 and 94 of that Regulation affecting the global amounts per year; thirdly, to include the increase of the Youth Employment Initiative ('YEI') until 2020 by an total amount of EUR 1.2 billion in current prices for the specific allocation for the YEI, which needs to be complemented by at least EUR 1.2 billion from targeted ESF investment; and fourthly to reflect the transfer of some of the 2014 commitment appropriations to subsequent years because of the adoption of new programmes after 1 January 2015. The results of the technical adjustment and the transfers decided on the basis of Articles 25, 93 and 94 of that Regulation were already addressed in Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2016/1941 2 . The proposal also reflects that Cyprus was to become newly eligible for support from the Cohesion Fund and was no longer to receive support from the Cohesion Fund on a transitional and specific basis as of 1 January 2017. This had already been addressed in Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2016/1916 3 . The technical adjustment exercise has its origin in Article 7 of Council Regulation (EU) No 1311/2013 4 to take account of the particularly difficult situation of Member States suffering from the crisis and to review in 2016 the total allocation for the Investment for growth and jobs goal. Article 25 sets out a mechanism regarding the management of technical assistance for Member States with temporary budgetary difficulties, i.e. the transfer of part of that technical assistance to the technical assistance at the initiative of the Commission. Under certain conditions, Article 93 allows for the transfer of resources between categories of regions and Article 94 for the transfer of resources between goals. 
Revised version (Article 92 Resources for the Investment for growth and jobs goal and for the European territorial cooperation goal):
1. Resources for the Investment for growth and jobs goal shall amount to 96,09 % of the global resources (i.e., a total of EUR 317 103 114 309 ) and shall be allocated as follows: (a) 48,64 % (i.e., a total of EUR 160 498 028 177 ) for less developed regions; (b) 10,19 % (i.e., a total of EUR 33 621 675 154 ) for transition regions; (c) 15,43 % (i.e., a total of EUR 50 914 723 304 ) for more developed regions; (d) 20,01 % (i.e., a total of EUR 66 029 882 135 ) for Member States supported by the Cohesion Fund; (e) 0,42 % (i.e., a total of EUR 1 378 882 914 ) as additional funding for the outermost regions identified in Article 349 TFEU and the NUTS level 2 regions fulfilling the criteria laid down in Article 2 of Protocol No 6 to the 1994 Act of Accession. 2. In addition to the amounts set out in Article 91 and paragraph 1 of this Article, for the years 2014 and 2015, a further amount of EUR 94 200 000 and of EUR 92 400 000 respectively shall be made available as set out in the "Additional adjustments" under Annex VII. Those amounts shall be identified in the decision of the Commission referred to in Article 91(2). 3. In 2016, the Commission shall, in its technical adjustment for the year 2017 in accordance with Articles 6 and 7 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 1311/2013, review the total allocations under the Investment for growth and jobs goal of each Member State for 2017-2020, applying the allocation method set out in paragraphs 1 to 16 of Annex VII on the basis of the most recent statistics available and of the comparison, for the capped Member States, between the cumulated national GDP observed for the years 2014-2015 and the cumulated national GDP for the same period estimated in 2012 in accordance with paragraph 10 of Annex VII. Where there is a cumulative divergence of more than +/-5 % between the revised allocations and the total allocations, the total allocations shall be adjusted correspondingly. In accordance with Article 7 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 1311/2013, adjustments shall be spread in equal proportions over the years 2017-2020 and the corresponding ceilings of the financial framework shall be modified accordingly. The total net effect of the adjustments, whether positive or negative, shall not exceed EUR 4 000 000 000 . Following the technical adjustment, the Commission, shall adopt a decision, by means of implementing acts, setting out a revised annual breakdown of the global resources for each Member State. 4. In order to ensure that sufficient investment is targeted at youth employment, labour mobility, knowledge, social inclusion and combating poverty, the share of Structural Funds resources available for programming for operational programmes, under the Investment for growth and jobs goal allocated to the ESF in each Member State, shall not be lower than the corresponding ESF share for that Member State laid down in the operational programmes for the Convergence and Regional competitiveness and employment objectives for the 2007-2013 programming period. To that share shall be added an additional amount for each Member State determined in accordance with the method set out in Annex IX in order to ensure that the share of the ESF as a percentage of total combined resources for the Funds at Union level, excluding the support from the Cohesion Fund for transport infrastructure under the CEF referred to in paragraph 6 and support from the Structural Funds for aid for the most deprived referred to in paragraph 7, in Member States is not less than 23,1 %. For the purposes of this paragraph, investment provided from the ESF to the YEI shall be considered to be part of the share of Structural Funds allocated to the ESF. 5. Resources for the YEI shall amount to EUR 4 039 707 225 from the specific allocation for the YEI and at least EUR 4 039 707 225 from ESF targeted investment. 6. The amount of support from the Cohesion Fund to be transferred to the CEF shall be EUR 10 000 000 000 . It shall be spent for transport infrastructure projects in line with Regulation (EU) No 1316/2013 exclusively in Member States eligible for funding from the Cohesion Fund. The Commission shall adopt a decision, by means of an implementing act, setting out the amount to be transferred from each Member State's Cohesion Fund allocation to the CEF, which amount shall be determined on a pro rata basis for the whole period. The Cohesion Fund allocation of each Member State shall be reduced accordingly. The annual appropriations corresponding to the support from the Cohesion Fund referred to in the first subparagraph shall be entered in the relevant budget lines of the CEF as of the 2014 budgetary exercise. The amount transferred from the Cohesion Fund to the CEF, referred to in the first subparagraph, shall be implemented by launching specific calls for projects implementing the core networks or for projects and horizontal activities identified in Part I of Annex I to Regulation (EU) No 1316/2013. Rules applicable for the transport sector under Regulation (EU) No 1316/2013 shall apply to the specific calls referred to in the fourth subparagraph. Until 31 December 2016, the selection of projects eligible for financing shall respect the national allocations under the Cohesion Fund. As of 1 January 2017, resources transferred to the CEF which have not been committed to a transport infrastructure project shall be made available to all Member States eligible for funding from the Cohesion Fund to finance transport infrastructure projects in accordance with Regulation (EU) No 1316/2013. In order to support Member States eligible for funding from the Cohesion Fund, which may experience difficulties in designing projects that are of a sufficient maturity, quality, or both, and which have sufficient added value for the Union, particular attention shall be given to programme support actions aimed at strengthening institutional capacity and the efficiency of public administrations and public services in relation to the development and implementation of projects listed in Part I of Annex I to the Regulation (EU) No 1316/2013. To ensure the highest possible absorption of the transferred funds in all Member States eligible for funding from the Cohesion fund, the Commission may organise additional calls. 7. The support from the Structural Funds for aid for the most deprived under the Investment for Growth and Jobs goal shall be not less than EUR 2 500 000 000 and may be increased by up to EUR 1 000 000 000 by additional support decided on a voluntary basis by Member States. The Commission shall adopt a decision, by means of an implementing act, setting out the amount to be transferred from each Member State's Structural Funds allocation to aid for the most deprived for the whole period. The Structural Funds allocation of each Member State shall be reduced accordingly, on the basis of a pro-rata reduction by category of region. The annual appropriations corresponding to the support from the Structural Funds referred to in the first subparagraph shall be entered in the relevant budget lines of the aid for the most deprived instrument with the 2014 budgetary exercise. 8. EUR 330 000 000 of the Structural Funds resources for the Investment for growth and jobs goal shall be allocated to innovative actions under direct or indirect management by the Commission in the area of sustainable urban development. 9. Resources for the European territorial cooperation goal shall amount to 2,69 % of the global resources available for budgetary commitment from the Funds for the period 2014-2020 (i.e., a total of EUR 8 865 148 841 ). 10. For the purposes of this Article, Articles 18, 91, 93, 95, 99, 120, Annex I and Annex X of this Regulation, Article 4 of the ERDF Regulation, Article 4 and Articles 16 to 23 of the ESF Regulation, Article 3(3) of the ETC Regulation, the outermost region of Mayotte shall be considered to be a NUTS level 2 region falling into the category of less developed regions. For the purposes of Article 3(1) and (2) of the ETC Regulation, the regions of Mayotte and Saint Martin shall be considered to be NUTS level 3 regions.
Article 93 Non-transferability of resources between categories of regions
1. The total appropriations allocated to each Member State in respect of less developed regions, transition regions and more developed regions shall not be transferable between those categories of regions. 2. By way of derogation from paragraph 1, the Commission may accept, in duly justified circumstances which are linked to the implementation of one or more thematic objectives, a proposal by a Member State in its first submission of the Partnership Agreement or, in duly justified circumstances, at the time of allocation of the performance reserve, or in a major revision of the Partnership Agreement, to transfer up to 3 % of the total appropriation for a category of regions to other categories of regions.
Article 94 Non-transferability of resources between goals
1. The total appropriations allocated to each Member State in respect of the Investment for growth and jobs goal and the European territorial cooperation goal shall not be transferable between those goals. 2. By way of derogation from paragraph 1, the Commission may in order to uphold the effective contribution of the Funds to the missions referred to in Article 89(1), in duly justified circumstances, and subject to the condition laid down in paragraph 3, accept by means of an implementing act a proposal by a Member State in its first submission of the Partnership Agreement to transfer a part of its appropriations for the European territorial cooperation goal to the Investment for growth and jobs goal. 3. The share of the European territorial cooperation goal in the Member State making the proposal referred to in paragraph 2 shall be not less than 35 % of the total allocated to that Member State in respect of the Investment for growth and jobs goal and the European territorial cooperation goal, and after transfer shall be not less than 25 % of that total.
Article 95 Additionality
1. For the purposes of this Article and Annex X, the following definitions apply: (1) 'gross fixed capital formation' means all the resident producers' acquisitions, less disposals, of fixed assets during a given period and certain additions to the value of non-produced assets realised by the productive activity of producer or institutional units, as defined in Council Regulation (EC) No 2223/96 ( 37 ) ; (2) 'fixed assets' means all tangible or intangible assets produced as outputs from processes of production that are themselves used repeatedly, or continuously, in processes of production for more than one year; (3) 'general government' means the totality of institutional units which, in addition to fulfilling their political responsibilities and their role of economic regulation, produce principally non-market services (possibly goods) for individual or collective consumption and redistribute income and wealth; (4) 'public or equivalent structural expenditure' means the gross fixed capital formation of the general government. 2. Support from the Funds for the Investment for growth and jobs goal shall not replace public or equivalent structural expenditure by a Member State. 3. Member States shall maintain for the period 2014-2020 a level of public or equivalent structural expenditure on average per year at least equal to the reference level set in the Partnership Agreement. In setting the reference level referred to in the first subparagraph, the Commission and the Member States shall take into account the general macroeconomic conditions and specific or exceptional circumstances, such as privatisations, an exceptional level of public or equivalent structural expenditure by a Member State in the 2007-2013 programming period and the evolution of other public investment indicators. They shall also take into account changes in the national allocations from the Funds as compared to the years 2007-2013. 4. Verification of whether the level of public or equivalent structural expenditure under the Investment for growth and jobs goal has been maintained for the period shall only take place in those Member States in which less developed regions cover at least 15 % of the total population. In those Member States in which less developed regions cover at least 65 % of the total population, the verification shall take place at national level. In those Member States in which less developed regions cover more than 15 % and less than 65 % of the total population, the verification shall take place at regional level. For that purpose, those Member States shall provide to the Commission information about the expenditure in the less developed regions at each stage of the verification process. 5. The verification of whether the level of public or equivalent structural expenditure under the Investment for growth and jobs goal has been maintained shall take place at the time of submission of the Partnership Agreement (the "ex ante verification"), in 2018 (the "mid-term verification"), and in 2022 (the "ex post verification"). The detailed rules relating to the verification of additionality are set out in point 2 of Annex X. 6. If it is established by the Commission in the ex post verification that a Member State has not maintained the reference level of public or equivalent structural expenditure under the Investment for growth and jobs goal set out in the Partnership Agreement and as set out in Annex X, the Commission may, in relation to the degree of non-compliance, carry out a financial correction by adoption of a decision by means of implementing act. In determining whether to carry out a financial correction the Commission shall take into account whether the economic situation of the Member State has significantly changed since the mid-term verification. The detailed rules relating to financial correction rates are set out in point 3 of Annex X. 7. Paragraphs 1 to 6 shall not apply to programmes under the European territorial cooperation goal.
Article 96 Content, adoption and amendment of operational programmes under the Investment for growth and jobs goal
1. An operational programme shall consist of priority axes. A priority axis shall concern one Fund and one category of region, except in the case of the Cohesion Fund, and shall correspond, without prejudice to Article 59, to a thematic objective and comprise one or more of the investment priorities of that thematic objective, in accordance with the Fund-specific rules. Where appropriate and in order to increase its impact and effectiveness through a thematically coherent integrated approach, a priority axis may: (a) concern more than one category of region; (b) combine one or more complementary investment priorities from the ERDF, the Cohesion Fund and the ESF under one thematic objective; (c) in duly justified cases combine one or more complementary investment priorities from different thematic objectives in order to achieve the maximum contribution to that priority axis; (d) for the ESF, combine investment priorities from different thematic objectives set out in points (8), (9), (10) and (11) of the first paragraph of Article 9 in order to facilitate their contribution to other priority axes and in order to implement social innovation and transnational cooperation. Member States may combine two or more of the options in points (a) to (d). 2. An operational programme shall contribute to the Union strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth and to the achievement of economic, social and territorial cohesion and shall set out: (a) a justification for the choice of thematic objectives, corresponding investment priorities and financial allocations having regard to the Partnership Agreement, based on an identification of regional and, where appropriate, national needs including the need to address the challenges identified in relevant country-specific recommendations adopted in accordance with Article 121(2) TFEU and the relevant Council recommendations adopted in accordance with Article 148(4) TFEU, taking into account the ex ante evaluation in accordance with Article 55; (b) for each priority axis other than technical assistance: (i) the investment priorities and corresponding specific objectives; (ii) in order to strengthen the result-orientation of the programming, the expected results for the specific objectives, and the corresponding result indicators, with a baseline value and a target value, where appropriate quantified in accordance with the Fund-specific rules; (iii) a description of the type and examples of actions to be supported under each investment priority and their expected contribution to the specific objectives referred to in point (i) including the guiding principles for the selection of operations and where appropriate, the identification of main target groups, specific territories targeted, types of beneficiaries, the planned use of financial instruments and major projects; (iv) the output indicators, including the quantified target value, which are expected to contribute to the results, in accordance with the Fund-specific rules, for each investment priority; (v) identification of implementation steps and financial and output indicators, and where appropriate, result indicators, to be used as milestones and targets for the performance framework in accordance with Article 21(1) and Annex II; (vi) the corresponding categories of intervention based on a nomenclature adopted by the Commission, and an indicative breakdown of the programmed resources; (vii) where appropriate, a summary of the planned use of technical assistance including, where necessary, actions to reinforce the administrative capacity of authorities involved in the management and control of the programmes and beneficiaries; (c) for each priority axis concerning technical assistance: (i) specific objectives; (ii) the expected results for each specific objective, and, where objectively justified given the content of the actions, the corresponding result indicators, with a baseline value and a target value, in accordance with the Fund-specific rules; (iii) a description of actions to be supported and their expected contribution to the specific objectives referred to in point (i); (iv) the output indicators which are expected to contribute to the results; (v) the corresponding categories of intervention based on a nomenclature adopted by the Commission, and an indicative breakdown of the programmed resources. Point (ii) shall not apply where the Union contribution to the priority axis or axes concerning technical assistance in an operational programme does not exceed EUR 15 000 000. (d) a financing plan containing the following tables: (i) tables specifying for each year, in accordance with Articles 60, 120 and 121, the amount of the total financial appropriation envisaged for the support from each of the Funds, identifying the amounts related to the performance reserve; (ii) tables specifying, for the whole programming period, for the operational programme and for each priority axis, the amount of the total financial appropriation of the support from each of the Funds and the national co-financing, identifying the amounts related to the performance reserve. For priority axes, which concern several categories of region, the tables shall specify the amount of total financial appropriation from the Funds and the national co-financing for each category of region. For priority axes, which combine investment priorities from different thematic objectives, the table shall specify the amount of total financial appropriation from each of the Funds and the national co-financing for each of the corresponding thematic objectives. Where the national co-financing is made up of public and private co-financing, the table shall give the indicative breakdown between the public and the private components. It shall show, for information purposes, the envisaged participation from the EIB; (e) a list of major projects for which the implementation is planned during the programming period. The Commission shall adopt implementing acts concerning the nomenclature referred to in points (b)(vi) and (c)(v)of the first subparagraph. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 150(3). 3. Taking into account its content and objectives, an operational programme shall describe the integrated approach to territorial development, having regard to the Partnership Agreement, and showing how that operational programme contributes to the accomplishment of its objectives and expected results, specifying, where appropriate, the following: (a) the approach to the use of community-led local development instruments and the principles for identifying the areas where it will be implemented; (b) the indicative amount of the ERDF support for integrated actions for sustainable urban development, to be implemented in accordance with Article 7(3) of the ERDF Regulation and the indicative allocation of ESF support for integrated actions; (c) the approach to the use of the ITI instrument other than in cases covered by point (b), and their indicative financial allocation from each priority axis; (d) the arrangements for interregional and transnational actions, within the operational programmes, with beneficiaries located in at least one other Member State; (e) where Member States and regions participate in macro-regional strategies and sea-basin strategies, subject to the needs of the programme area as identified by the Member State, the contribution of the planned interventions under the programme to such strategies. 4. In addition, the operational programme shall specify the following: (a) where appropriate, the identification of whether and how it addresses the specific needs of geographical areas most affected by poverty or target groups at highest risk of discrimination or social exclusion, with special regard to marginalised communities, and persons with disabilities, and where relevant the contribution to the integrated approach set out in the Partnership Agreement; (b) where appropriate, the identification of whether and how it addresses the demographic challenges of regions or specific needs of areas which suffer from severe and permanent natural or demographic handicaps, as referred to in Article 174 TFEU and the contribution to the integrated approach set out in the Partnership Agreement to this end. 5. The operational programme shall identify: (a) the managing authority, the certifying authority, where applicable, and the audit authority; (b) the body to which payments are to be made by the Commission; (c) the actions taken to involve the relevant partners referred to in Article 5 in the preparation of the operational programme, and the role of those partners in the implementation, monitoring and evaluation of the operational programme. 6. The operational programme shall also set out the following, having regard to the content of the Partnership Agreement and taking into account the institutional and legal framework of the Member States: (a) mechanisms to ensure coordination between the Funds, the EAFRD, the EMFF and other Union and national funding instruments, and with the EIB taking into account the relevant provisions laid down in the CSF; (b) for each ex ante conditionality, established in accordance with Article 19 and Annex XI, which is applicable to the operational programme, an assessment of whether the ex ante conditionality is fulfilled at the date of submission of the Partnership Agreement and operational programme, and where ex ante conditionalities are not fulfilled, a description of the actions to fulfil the ex ante conditionality, the bodies responsible and a timetable for such actions in accordance with the summary submitted in the Partnership Agreement; (c) a summary of the assessment of the administrative burden on beneficiaries and, where necessary, the actions planned, accompanied by an indicative timeframe, to reduce the administrative burden. 7. Each operational programme, except those where technical assistance is undertaken under a specific operational programme, shall, subject to the Member State's duly justified assessment of their relevance to the content and objectives of the operational programmes, include a description of: (a) the specific actions to take into account environmental protection requirements, resource efficiency, climate change mitigation and adaptation, disaster resilience and risk prevention and management, in the selection of operations; (b) the specific actions to promote equal opportunities and prevent discrimination based on sex, racial or ethnic origin, religion or belief, disability, age or sexual orientation during the preparation, design and implementation of the operational programme and in particular in relation to access to funding, taking account of the needs of the various target groups at risk of such discrimination and in particular the requirements to ensure accessibility for persons with disabilities; (c) the contribution of the operational programme to the promotion of equality between men and women and, where appropriate, the arrangements to ensure the integration of gender perspective at operational programme and operation level. Member States may submit an opinion from the national equality bodies on the measures set out in points (b) and (c) of the first subparagraph with the proposal for an operational programme under the Investment for growth and jobs goal. 8. When a Member State prepares a maximum of one operational programme for each Fund, the elements of the operational programme falling under point (a) of the first subparagraph of paragraph 2, points (a), (c) and (d) of paragraph 3, paragraph 4 and paragraph 6 may be incorporated solely under the relevant provisions of the Partnership Agreement. 9. The operational programme shall be prepared in accordance with a model. The Commission shall, in order to ensure uniform conditions for the implementation of this Article adopt an implementing act laying down that model. That implementing act shall be adopted in accordance with the advisory procedure referred to in Article 150(2). 10. The Commission shall adopt a decision, by means of implementing acts, approving all the elements, including any of its future amendments, of the operational programme falling under this Article, except those falling under points (b)(vi), (c)(v) and (e) of the first subparagraph of paragraph 2, paragraphs 4 and 5, points (a) and (c) of paragraph 6 and paragraph 7, which remain under the responsibility of the Member States. 11. The managing authority shall notify the Commission of any decision amending the elements of the operational programme not covered by the Commission decision, referred to in paragraph 10, within one month of the date of that amending decision. The amending decision shall specify the date of its entry into force, which shall not be earlier than the date of its adoption.
Amendment rationale: CONTEXT OF THE PROPOSAL The financial crisis had led to persistently negative growth rates in Greece and to serious liquidity problems and a lack of public funds available for much needed investments to boost growth and job creation. Therefore, as an exceptional measure and given the unique situation this has created in Greece, the Commission in its Communication "A new start for Jobs and Growth in Greece" proposes three elements to ensure that the available EU funding from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), the European Social Fund (ESF), the Cohesion Fund (CF) and the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF), is effectively used for investments on the ground and reaches beneficiaries as rapidly as possible. In this context, the Commission proposes to increase the level of initial pre-financing of the funding available for the 2014-2020 period for cohesion policy programmes under the Investment for Growth and Jobs Goal and programmes supported by the EMFF to give an immediate boost to investment. In addition, in order to improve the effective use of available cohesion policy funding for the financing of operations under programmes adopted for the 2007-2013 period, it proposes to increase the maximum co-financing rates and to raise the ceiling for payments to programmes at the end of the programming period.
Revised version (Article 96 Content, adoption and amendment of operational programmes under the Investment for growth and jobs goal):
1. An operational programme shall consist of priority axes. A priority axis shall concern one Fund and one category of region, except in the case of the Cohesion Fund, and shall correspond, without prejudice to Article 59, to a thematic objective and comprise one or more of the investment priorities of that thematic objective, in accordance with the Fund-specific rules. Where appropriate and in order to increase its impact and effectiveness through a thematically coherent integrated approach, a priority axis may: (a) concern more than one category of region; (b) combine one or more complementary investment priorities from the ERDF, the Cohesion Fund and the ESF under one thematic objective; (c) in duly justified cases combine one or more complementary investment priorities from different thematic objectives in order to achieve the maximum contribution to that priority axis; (d) for the ESF, combine investment priorities from different thematic objectives set out in points (8), (9), (10) and (11) of the first paragraph of Article 9 in order to facilitate their contribution to other priority axes and in order to implement social innovation and transnational cooperation. Member States may combine two or more of the options in points (a) to (d). 2. An operational programme shall contribute to the Union strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth and to the achievement of economic, social and territorial cohesion and shall set out: (a) a justification for the choice of thematic objectives, corresponding investment priorities and financial allocations having regard to the Partnership Agreement, based on an identification of regional and, where appropriate, national needs including the need to address the challenges identified in relevant country-specific recommendations adopted in accordance with Article 121(2) TFEU and the relevant Council recommendations adopted in accordance with Article 148(4) TFEU, taking into account the ex ante evaluation in accordance with Article 55; (b) for each priority axis other than technical assistance: (i) the investment priorities and corresponding specific objectives; (ii) in order to strengthen the result-orientation of the programming, the expected results for the specific objectives, and the corresponding result indicators, with a baseline value and a target value, where appropriate quantified in accordance with the Fund-specific rules; (iii) a description of the type and examples of actions to be supported under each investment priority and their expected contribution to the specific objectives referred to in point (i) including the guiding principles for the selection of operations and where appropriate, the identification of main target groups, specific territories targeted, types of beneficiaries, the planned use of financial instruments and major projects; (iv) the output indicators, including the quantified target value, which are expected to contribute to the results, in accordance with the Fund-specific rules, for each investment priority; (v) identification of implementation steps and financial and output indicators, and where appropriate, result indicators, to be used as milestones and targets for the performance framework in accordance with Article 21(1) and Annex II; (vi) the corresponding categories of intervention based on a nomenclature adopted by the Commission, and an indicative breakdown of the programmed resources; (vii) where appropriate, a summary of the planned use of technical assistance including, where necessary, actions to reinforce the administrative capacity of authorities involved in the management and control of the programmes and beneficiaries; (b) for each priority axis other than technical assistance: (i) the investment priorities and corresponding specific objectives; (ii) in order to strengthen the result-orientation of the programming, the expected results for the specific objectives, and the corresponding result indicators, with a baseline value and a target value, where appropriate quantified in accordance with the Fund-specific rules; (iii) a description of the type and examples of actions to be supported under each investment priority and their expected contribution to the specific objectives referred to in point (i) including the guiding principles for the selection of operations and where appropriate, the identification of main target groups, specific territories targeted, types of beneficiaries, the planned use of financial instruments and major projects; (iv) the output indicators, including the quantified target value, which are expected to contribute to the results, in accordance with the Fund-specific rules, for each investment priority; (v) identification of implementation steps and financial and output indicators, and where appropriate, result indicators, to be used as milestones and targets for the performance framework in accordance with Article 21(1) and Annex II; (vi) the corresponding categories of intervention based on a nomenclature adopted by the Commission, and an indicative breakdown of the programmed resources; (vii) where appropriate, a summary of the planned use of technical assistance including, where necessary, actions to reinforce the administrative capacity of authorities involved in the management and control of the programmes and beneficiaries; (c) for each priority axis concerning technical assistance: (i) specific objectives; (ii) the expected results for each specific objective, and, where objectively justified given the content of the actions, the corresponding result indicators, with a baseline value and a target value, in accordance with the Fund-specific rules; (iii) a description of actions to be supported and their expected contribution to the specific objectives referred to in point (i); (iv) the output indicators which are expected to contribute to the results; (v) the corresponding categories of intervention based on a nomenclature adopted by the Commission, and an indicative breakdown of the programmed resources. Point (ii) shall not apply where the Union contribution to the priority axis or axes concerning technical assistance in an operational programme does not exceed EUR 15 000 000 . (c) for each priority axis concerning technical assistance: (i) specific objectives; (ii) the expected results for each specific objective, and, where objectively justified given the content of the actions, the corresponding result indicators, with a baseline value and a target value, in accordance with the Fund-specific rules; (iii) a description of actions to be supported and their expected contribution to the specific objectives referred to in point (i); (iv) the output indicators which are expected to contribute to the results; Point (ii) shall not apply where the Union contribution to the priority axis or axes concerning technical assistance in an operational programme does not exceed EUR 15 000 000 . (d) a financing plan containing the following tables: (i) tables specifying for each year, in accordance with Articles 60, 120 and 121, the amount of the total financial appropriation envisaged for the support from each of the Funds, identifying the amounts related to the performance reserve; (ii) tables specifying, for the whole programming period, for the operational programme and for each priority axis, the amount of the total financial appropriation of the support from each of the Funds and the national co-financing, identifying the amounts related to the performance reserve. For priority axes, which concern several categories of region, the tables shall specify the amount of total financial appropriation from the Funds and the national co-financing for each category of region. For priority axes, which combine investment priorities from different thematic objectives, the table shall specify the amount of total financial appropriation from each of the Funds and the national co-financing for each of the corresponding thematic objectives. Where the national co-financing is made up of public and private co-financing, the table shall give the indicative breakdown between the public and the private components. It shall show, for information purposes, the envisaged participation from the EIB; (d) a financing plan containing the following tables: (i) tables specifying for each year, in accordance with Articles 60, 120 and 121, the amount of the total financial appropriation envisaged for the support from each of the Funds, identifying the amounts related to the performance reserve; (ii) tables specifying, for the whole programming period, for the operational programme and for each priority axis, the amount of the total financial appropriation of the support from each of the Funds and the national co-financing, identifying the amounts related to the performance reserve. For priority axes, which concern several categories of region, the tables shall specify the amount of total financial appropriation from the Funds and the national co-financing for each category of region. For priority axes, which combine investment priorities from different thematic objectives, the table shall specify the amount of total financial appropriation from each of the Funds and the national co-financing for each of the corresponding thematic objectives. (ii) tables specifying, for the whole programming period, for the operational programme and for each priority axis, the amount of the total financial appropriation of the support from each of the Funds and the national co-financing, identifying the amounts related to the performance reserve. For priority axes, which concern several categories of region, the tables shall specify the amount of total financial appropriation from the Funds and the national co-financing for each category of region. For priority axes, which combine investment priorities from different thematic objectives, the table shall specify the amount of total financial appropriation from each of the Funds and the national co-financing for each of the corresponding thematic objectives. Where the national co-financing is made up of public and private co-financing, the table shall give the indicative breakdown between the public and the private components. It shall show, for information purposes, the envisaged participation from the EIB; (e) a list of major projects for which the implementation is planned during the programming period. The Commission shall adopt implementing acts concerning the nomenclature referred to in points (b)(vi) and (c)(v)of the first subparagraph. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 150(3). (e) a list of major projects for which the implementation is planned during the programming period. The Commission shall adopt implementing acts concerning the nomenclature referred to in points (b)(vi) and (c)(v)of the first subparagraph. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 150(3). 3. Taking into account its content and objectives, an operational programme shall describe the integrated approach to territorial development, having regard to the Partnership Agreement, and showing how that operational programme contributes to the accomplishment of its objectives and expected results, specifying, where appropriate, the following: (a) the approach to the use of community-led local development instruments and the principles for identifying the areas where it will be implemented; (b) the indicative amount of the ERDF support for integrated actions for sustainable urban development, to be implemented in accordance with Article 7(4) of the ERDF Regulation and the indicative allocation of ESF support for integrated actions; (c) the approach to the use of the ITI instrument other than in cases covered by point (b), and their indicative financial allocation from each priority axis; (d) the arrangements for interregional and transnational actions, within the operational programmes, with beneficiaries located in at least one other Member State; (e) where Member States and regions participate in macro-regional strategies and sea-basin strategies, subject to the needs of the programme area as identified by the Member State, the contribution of the planned interventions under the programme to such strategies. 4. In addition, the operational programme shall specify the following: (a) where appropriate, the identification of whether and how it addresses the specific needs of geographical areas most affected by poverty or target groups at highest risk of discrimination or social exclusion, with special regard to marginalised communities, and persons with disabilities, and where relevant the contribution to the integrated approach set out in the Partnership Agreement; (b) where appropriate, the identification of whether and how it addresses the demographic challenges of regions or specific needs of areas which suffer from severe and permanent natural or demographic handicaps, as referred to in Article 174 TFEU and the contribution to the integrated approach set out in the Partnership Agreement to this end. 5. The operational programme shall identify: (a) the managing authority, the certifying authority, where applicable, and the audit authority; (b) the body to which payments are to be made by the Commission; (c) the actions taken to involve the relevant partners referred to in Article 5 in the preparation of the operational programme, and the role of those partners in the implementation, monitoring and evaluation of the operational programme. 6. The operational programme shall also set out the following, having regard to the content of the Partnership Agreement and taking into account the institutional and legal framework of the Member States: (a) mechanisms to ensure coordination between the Funds, the EAFRD, the EMFF and other Union and national funding instruments, and with the EIB taking into account the relevant provisions laid down in the CSF; (b) for each ex ante conditionality, established in accordance with Article 19 and Annex XI, which is applicable to the operational programme, an assessment of whether the ex ante conditionality is fulfilled at the date of submission of the Partnership Agreement and operational programme, and where ex ante conditionalities are not fulfilled, a description of the actions to fulfil the ex ante conditionality, the bodies responsible and a timetable for such actions in accordance with the summary submitted in the Partnership Agreement; (c) a summary of the assessment of the administrative burden on beneficiaries and, where necessary, the actions planned, accompanied by an indicative timeframe, to reduce the administrative burden. 7. Each operational programme, except those where technical assistance is undertaken under a specific operational programme, shall, subject to the Member State's duly justified assessment of their relevance to the content and objectives of the operational programmes, include a description of: (a) the specific actions to take into account environmental protection requirements, resource efficiency, climate change mitigation and adaptation, disaster resilience and risk prevention and management, in the selection of operations; (b) the specific actions to promote equal opportunities and prevent discrimination based on sex, racial or ethnic origin, religion or belief, disability, age or sexual orientation during the preparation, design and implementation of the operational programme and in particular in relation to access to funding, taking account of the needs of the various target groups at risk of such discrimination and in particular the requirements to ensure accessibility for persons with disabilities; (c) the contribution of the operational programme to the promotion of equality between men and women and, where appropriate, the arrangements to ensure the integration of gender perspective at operational programme and operation level. Member States may submit an opinion from the national equality bodies on the measures set out in points (b) and (c) of the first subparagraph with the proposal for an operational programme under the Investment for growth and jobs goal. 8. When a Member State prepares a maximum of one operational programme for each Fund, the elements of the operational programme falling under point (a) of the first subparagraph of paragraph 2, points (a), (c) and (d) of paragraph 3, paragraph 4 and paragraph 6 may be incorporated solely under the relevant provisions of the Partnership Agreement. 9. The operational programme shall be prepared in accordance with a model. The Commission shall, in order to ensure uniform conditions for the implementation of this Article adopt an implementing act laying down that model. That implementing act shall be adopted in accordance with the advisory procedure referred to in Article 150(2). 10. The Commission shall adopt a decision, by means of implementing acts, approving all the elements, including any of its future amendments, of the operational programme falling under this Article, except those falling under points (b)(vi), (c)(v) and (e) of the first subparagraph of paragraph 2, paragraphs 4 and 5, points (a) and (c) of paragraph 6 and paragraph 7, which remain under the responsibility of the Member States. 11. The managing authority shall notify the Commission of any decision amending the elements of the operational programme not covered by the Commission decision, referred to in paragraph 10, within one month of the date of that amending decision. The amending decision shall specify the date of its entry into force, which shall not be earlier than the date of its adoption.
Article 97 Specific provisions on the programming of support for the joint instruments for uncapped guarantees and securitisation under the Investment for growth and jobs goal
In accordance with Article 28, operational programmes referred to in point (b) of the first subparagraph of Article 39(4) shall include only the elements referred to in point (b)(i), (ii) and (iv) and point (d) of the first subparagraph of Article 96(2), Article 96(5) and point (b) of Article 96(6).
Article 98 Joint support from the Funds under the Investment for growth and jobs goal
1. The Funds may jointly provide support for operational programmes under the Investment for growth and jobs goal. 2. The ERDF and the ESF may finance, in a complementary manner and subject to a limit of 10 % of Union funding for each priority axis of an operational programme, a part of an operation for which the costs are eligible for support from the other Fund on the basis of eligibility rules applied to that Fund, provided that such costs are necessary for the satisfactory implementation of the operation and are directly linked to it. 3. Paragraphs 1 and 2 shall not apply to programmes under the European territorial cooperation goal.
Amendment rationale: CONTEXT OF THE PROPOSAL Reasons for and objectives of the proposal The Russian war of aggression against Ukraine has brought a series of unexpected challenges for the European Union just when the Union and its Member States have been engaged in the recovery of our economies and societies after the COVID-19 pandemic. Since Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine on 24 February, the Union has received over 6.2 million Ukrainian nationals fleeing Russian aggression. The EU has reacted rapidly, supporting Member States and regions in managing this arrival of people by mobilising all available funding. However, with the rising number of arrivals, it is clear that further action is required. The special meeting of the European Council in May 2022 invited the Commission to “present new initiatives … within the Multiannual Financial Framework” to support the effort of providing protection to millions of refugees fleeing the war in Ukraine. In addition to providing support to Member States in the context of the inflow of displaced persons, the Commission has also been monitoring closely the on-going impact of Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine on the implementation of cohesion policy in particular. The consequences on infrastructure projects have been especially noted, both in terms of the availability and costs of raw materials and the availability of labour force. The European Parliament, the Council and regions have all raised concerns about the effect these issues may have on finalising the implementation of the 2014-2020 programmes and ensuring the start up of the new 2021-2027 programmes. Since 24 February, the Commission has already tabled a number of proposals, under Cohesion’s Action for Refugees in Europe (CARE), to ensure that all the funding available under the 2014-2020 cohesion policy and European Fund for the Most Deprived programmes are speedily mobilised to address the immediate challenges faced by the Member States and several of their eastern regions in particular, notably as regards those fleeing Russian aggression. These amendments have secured the possibility to mobilise available funding to address the immediate consequences of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine, while allowing Member States to continue their efforts to ensure a green, digital and resilient recovery of their economies from the crisis resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. The possibility to use the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and the European Social Fund (ESF) for operations addressing the migratory challenges resulting from the military aggression by Russia under the rules of the other fund enables the use of available resources for existing needs, without the need for a transfer. Furthermore, these operations are made eligible as from the date of the invasion, to allow support for all related needs. Moreover, a new unit cost has been introduced and reporting arrangements on participants have been simplified to reduce the administrative burden for both beneficiaries and Member State administrations in the context of addressing migratory challenges. Finally, the possibility to make use of up to 100% co-financing was extended for these measures also to the accounting year ending on 30 June 2022 in order to contribute to alleviating the burden on Member States’ public finances, and the substantial increase of pre-financing from REACT-EU resources provided Member States with liquidity needed to cover the most pressing needs. The consequences of the Russian military aggression have grown in scope and its impact has expanded. As a result, Member States are facing continuous substantial inflows of persons fleeing the Russian aggression. At the same time, some Member States are facing labour shortages and a scarcity of input materials in certain sectors. This situation comes on top of the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic, notably the disruption of value chains, which challenges public budgets that were focused on the recovery of the economy, but also risks delaying investments, especially in infrastructure. While the measures already adopted have played a major role in supporting Member States and regions addressing the immediate effects of the war, it is clear that the evolving situation calls for additional action. In particular, increased flexibility will help optimise the use of the remaining 2014-2020 resources and allow a smoother phasing of delayed projects between 2014-2020 and 2021-2027 programmes. Consequently, further flexibility to allow quicker and more complete support from the Funds should be introduced to alleviate the burden on national budgets and facilitate the implementation of operations addressing both migratory challenges, as well as market disruptions of key economic sectors. For operations addressing migratory challenges resulting from the military aggression by the Russian Federation , i t is therefore appropriate , as part of that more complete support and as an exceptional measure , without prejudice to the rules that should apply under regular circumstances, to derogate from the requirement s linked to the location of the operation within a given Member State , given that the persons fleeing the war may move location more than once . In addition, given the continuation of the Russian aggression , an extension in time and increase of the newly established unit cost allow ed to cover the basic needs and support of persons granted temporary protection or other adequate protection under national law in accordance with Council Implementing Decision (EU) 2022/382 1 and Council Directive 2001/55/EC 2 in all Member States is justified . Furthermore, i t is also proposed to allow the remaining resources from the 2014-2020 Cohesion Fund to support operations falling within the scope of either the ERDF or the ESF, in accordance with the rules applicable to those Funds. This implies the extension to the Cohesion Fund of the flexibility for the use of ERDF and ESF resources introduced with Regulation (EU) 2022/562 of the European Parliament and of the Council 3 . Similarly, given that the eligibility for operations addressing the migratory challenges as a result of the military aggression by Russia was set as of 24 February 2022, the possibility to declare expenditure for such operations also when they are already physically completed or fully implemented should be made possible. These possibilities should also be extended to the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund ( EMFF ) as a result of the consequences of the war on the fishery and aquaculture sector. In the same spirit and with the intention of alleviating the administrative burden on Member States that are constantly adjusting to the evolving needs, transfers between thematic objectives within a priority and within a Fund and category of region should be made possible without the need for a decision of the Commission amending the programme. In addition, it is proposed to increase the ceiling of the flexibility between priorities for calculating the final balance of the contribution from the Funds. Moreover, for priorities promoting the socio-economic integration of third country nationals, including those dedicated to operations addressing migratory challenges as a result of the military aggression by the Russian Federation, the possibility of a co-financing rate up to 100% should be established in both programming periods, in order to support Member States in addressing the needs of displaced people both now and in the future. To reflect the easier conditions for phasing of projects between programming periods, it is also necessary to introduce targeted flexibilities for the 2021-2027 programming period. In order to assist all Member States in addressing the impact of the war with their 2021-2027 programmes, support from the ERDF, ESF+ and Cohesion Fund under the Investment for jobs and growth goal should be mobilised quickly by increasing the rate of pre-financing. In addition, the co-financing rate of up to 100% should be introduced for priorities promoting the socio-economic integration of third country nationals from the 2021-2027 programmes until mid-2024 and should be reviewed on the basis of how it has been used. Finally, the ceiling for the possibility to phase operations from the 2014-2020 programmes to those of the 2021-2027 programming period should be lowered to enlarge this possibility to more operations facing delays. Moreover, the second phase of operations under 2021-2027 programmes should be made eligible in accordance with 2014-2020 rules and managing authorities should be given the possibility to grant support to such operations directly, provided that a limited number of key conditions are met. Such phasing flexibility will not affect Member States’ obligations to comply with thematic concentration requirements and climate contribution targets. 
Revised version (Article 98 Joint support from the Funds under the Investment for growth and jobs goal):
1. The Funds may jointly provide support for operational programmes under the Investment for growth and jobs goal. 2. The ERDF and the ESF may finance, in a complementary manner and subject to a limit of 10 % of Union funding for each priority axis of an operational programme, a part of an operation for which the costs are eligible for support from the other Fund on the basis of rules applied to that Fund, provided that such costs are necessary for the satisfactory implementation of the operation and are directly linked to it. 3. Paragraphs 1 and 2 shall not apply to programmes under the European territorial cooperation goal. 4. Operations addressing the migratory challenges as a result of the military aggression by the Russian Federation may be financed either by the ERDF or the ESF on the basis of the rules applicable to the other Fund. In addition, such operations may also be financed by the Cohesion Fund on the basis of rules applicable either to the ERDF or the ESF. In such cases, those operations shall be programmed under a dedicated priority axis of that other Fund contributing to its corresponding investment priorities. Where a dedicated priority axis makes use of the possibility set out in the first and second subparagraph, at least 30 % of the financial allocation of that priority axis shall be attributed to operations which have beneficiaries that are local authorities or civil society organisations operating in local communities, or both. Member States shall report on the fulfilment of that condition in the final implementation report required under Article 50(1) and Article 111. Where that condition is not fulfilled, reimbursement by the Commission under the priority axis concerned shall be reduced proportionately to ensure that that condition is respected when calculating the final balance to be paid to the programme. Where data on participants is required to be reported for operations under the priority axis referred to in the third subparagraph, that data shall be based on informed estimates and shall be limited to the total number of supported persons and the number of children under 18 years of age. The same reporting requirements shall also apply to other priority axes supported by the ESF which are only supporting operations addressing migratory challenges as a result of the military aggression by the Russian Federation. This paragraph shall not apply to programmes under the European territorial cooperation goal.
Article 99 Geographical scope of operational programmes under the Investment for growth and jobs goal
Unless otherwise agreed between the Commission and the Member State, operational programmes for the ERDF and the ESF shall be drawn up at the appropriate geographical level and at least at NUTS level 2, in accordance with the institutional and legal framework of the Member State. Operational programmes with support from the Cohesion Fund shall be drawn up at national level.
Article 100 Content
As part of an operational programme or operational programmes, which have been subject to a Commission decision under Article 96(10) of this Regulation or under Article 8(12) of the ETC Regulation, the ERDF and the Cohesion Fund may support an operation comprising a series of works, activities or services intended in itself to accomplish an indivisible task of a precise economic or technical nature which has clearly identified goals and for which the total eligible cost exceeds EUR 50 000 000 and in the case of operations contributing to the thematic objective under point (7) of the first paragraph of Article 9 where the total eligible cost exceeds EUR 75 000 000 (the 'major project'). Financial instruments shall not be considered to be major projects.
Article 101 Information necessary for the approval of a major project
Before a major project is approved, the managing authority shall ensure that the following information is available: (a) details concerning the body to be responsible for implementation of the major project, and its capacity; (b) a description of the investment and its location; (c) the total cost and total eligible cost, taking account of the requirements set out in Article 61; (d) feasibility studies carried out, including the options analysis, and the results; (e) a cost-benefit analysis, including an economic and a financial analysis, and a risk assessment; (f) an analysis of the environmental impact, taking into account climate change adaptation and mitigation needs, and disaster resilience; (g) an explanation as to how the major project is consistent with the relevant priority axes of the operational programme or operational programmes concerned, and its expected contribution to achieving the specific objectives of those priority axes and the expected contribution to socio-economic development; (h) the financing plan showing the total planned financial resources and the planned support from the Funds, the EIB, and all other sources of financing, together with physical and financial indicators for monitoring progress, taking account of the identified risks; (i) the timetable for implementing the major project and, where the implementation period is expected to be longer than the programming period, the phases for which support from the Funds is requested during the programming period. The Commission shall adopt implementing acts establishing the methodology to be used based on recognised best practices, in carrying out the cost-benefit analysis referred to in point (e) of the first paragraph. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the advisory procedure referred to in Article 150(2). At the initiative of a Member State, the information in points (a) to (i) of the first paragraph may be assessed by independent experts supported by technical assistance of the Commission or, in agreement with the Commission, by other independent experts ("quality review"). In other cases, the Member State shall submit to the Commission the information set out in points (a) to (i) of the first paragraph as soon as it is available. The Commission shall be empowered to adopt delegated acts, in accordance with Article 149, laying down the methodology to be used in carrying out the quality review of a major project. The Commission shall adopt implementing acts establishing the format for submission of the information set out in points (a) to (i) of the first paragraph. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the advisory procedure referred to in Article 150(2).
Article 102 Decision on a major project
1. Where a major project has been appraised positively by a quality review by independent experts, on the basis of their assessment of the information referred to in the first paragraph of Article 101, the managing authority may proceed with the selection of the major project in accordance with Article 125(3). The managing authority shall notify the Commission of the selected major project. That notification shall consist of the following elements: (a) the document referred to in point (c) of Article 125(3) setting out: (i) the body to be responsible for implementation of the major project; (ii) a description of the investment, its location, timetable and expected contribution of the major project to the specific objectives of the relevant priority axis or axes; (iii) the total cost and total eligible cost, taking account of the requirements set out in Article 61; (iv) the financing plan, and the physical and financial indicators for monitoring progress, taking account of the identified risks; (b) the quality review of the independent experts, providing clear statements on the investment's feasibility and the economic viability of the major project. The financial contribution to the major project selected by the Member State shall be deemed to be approved by the Commission in the absence of a decision, by means of an implementing act, refusing the financial contribution within three months of the date of the notification referred to in the first subparagraph. The Commission shall refuse the financial contribution only on the grounds that it has established a significant weakness in the independent quality review. The Commission shall adopt implementing acts establishing the format for the notification referred to in the first subparagraph. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 150(3). 2. In cases other than those referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article, the Commission shall appraise the major project on the basis of the information referred to in Article 101 in order to determine whether the requested financial contribution for the major project selected by the managing authority in accordance with Article 125(3) is justified. The Commission shall adopt a decision on the approval of the financial contribution to the selected major project, by means of an implementing act, no later than three months after the date of submission of the information referred to in Article 101. 3. The approval by the Commission under the second subparagraph of paragraph 1 and paragraph 2 shall be conditional on the first works contract being concluded, or, in the case of operations implemented under PPP structures, on the signing of the PPP agreement between the public body and the private sector body, within three years of the date of the approval. At the duly motivated request of the Member State, in particular in the case of delays resulting from administrative and legal proceedings related to the implementation of major projects, and made within the three year period, the Commission may adopt a decision, by means of an implementing act, on the extension of the period by not more than two years. 4. Where the Commission does not approve the financial contribution to the selected major project, it shall give in its decision the reasons for its refusal. 5. Major projects notified to the Commission under paragraph 1 or submitted for approval under paragraph 2 shall be contained in the list of major projects in an operational programme. 6. Expenditure relating to a major project may be included in a request for payment after the notification referred to in paragraph 1 or after the submission for approval referred to in paragraph 2. Where the Commission does not approve the major project selected by the managing authority, the declaration of expenditure following the adoption of the Commission decision shall be rectified accordingly.
Amendment rationale: CONTEXT OF THE PROPOSAL The financial crisis had led to persistently negative growth rates in Greece and to serious liquidity problems and a lack of public funds available for much needed investments to boost growth and job creation. Therefore, as an exceptional measure and given the unique situation this has created in Greece, the Commission in its Communication "A new start for Jobs and Growth in Greece" proposes three elements to ensure that the available EU funding from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), the European Social Fund (ESF), the Cohesion Fund (CF) and the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF), is effectively used for investments on the ground and reaches beneficiaries as rapidly as possible. In this context, the Commission proposes to increase the level of initial pre-financing of the funding available for the 2014-2020 period for cohesion policy programmes under the Investment for Growth and Jobs Goal and programmes supported by the EMFF to give an immediate boost to investment. In addition, in order to improve the effective use of available cohesion policy funding for the financing of operations under programmes adopted for the 2007-2013 period, it proposes to increase the maximum co-financing rates and to raise the ceiling for payments to programmes at the end of the programming period.
Revised version (Article 102 Decision on a major project):
1. Where a major project has been appraised positively by a quality review by independent experts, on the basis of their assessment of the information referred to in the first paragraph of Article 101, the managing authority may proceed with the selection of the major project in accordance with Article 125(3). The managing authority shall notify the Commission of the selected major project. That notification shall consist of the following elements: (a) the document referred to in point (c) of Article 125(3) setting out: (i) the body to be responsible for implementation of the major project; (ii) a description of the investment, its location, timetable and expected contribution of the major project to the specific objectives of the relevant priority axis or axes; (iii) the total cost and total eligible cost, taking account of the requirements set out in Article 61; (iv) the financing plan, and the physical and financial indicators for monitoring progress, taking account of the identified risks; (a) the document referred to in point (c) of Article 125(3) setting out: (i) the body to be responsible for implementation of the major project; (ii) a description of the investment, its location, timetable and expected contribution of the major project to the specific objectives of the relevant priority axis or axes; (iii) the total cost and total eligible cost, taking account of the requirements set out in Article 61; (iv) the financing plan, and the physical and financial indicators for monitoring progress, taking account of the identified risks; (b) the quality review of the independent experts, providing clear statements on the investment's feasibility and the economic viability of the major project. The financial contribution to the major project selected by the Member State shall be deemed to be approved by the Commission in the absence of a decision, by means of an implementing act, refusing the financial contribution within three months of the date of the notification referred to in the first subparagraph. The Commission shall refuse the financial contribution only on the grounds that it has established a significant weakness in the independent quality review. The Commission shall adopt implementing acts establishing the format for the notification referred to in the first subparagraph. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 150(3). 2. In cases other than those referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article, the Commission shall appraise the major project on the basis of the information referred to in Article 101 in order to determine whether the requested financial contribution for the major project selected by the managing authority in accordance with Article 125(3) is justified. The Commission shall adopt a decision on the approval of the financial contribution to the selected major project, by means of an implementing act, no later than three months after the date of submission of the information referred to in Article 101. 3. The approval by the Commission under the second subparagraph of paragraph 1 and paragraph 2 shall be conditional on the first works contract being concluded, or, in the case of operations implemented under PPP structures, on the signing of the PPP agreement between the public body and the private sector body, within three years of the date of the approval. At the duly motivated request of the Member State, in particular in the case of delays resulting from administrative and legal proceedings related to the implementation of major projects, and made within the three year period, the Commission may adopt a decision, by means of an implementing act, on the extension of the period by not more than two years. 4. Where the Commission does not approve the financial contribution to the selected major project, it shall give in its decision the reasons for its refusal. 5. Major projects notified to the Commission under paragraph 1 or submitted for approval under paragraph 2 shall be contained in the list of major projects in an operational programme. 6. Expenditure relating to a major project may be included in a payment application after the notification referred to in paragraph 1 or after the submission for approval referred to in paragraph 2. Where the Commission does not approve the major project selected by the managing authority, the declaration of expenditure following the adoption of the Commission decision shall be rectified accordingly.
Article 103 Decision on a major project subject to phased implementation
1. By way of derogation from the third paragraph of Article 101 and Article 102(1) and (2), the procedures set out in paragraphs 2, 3 and 4 of this Article shall apply to an operation which satisfies the following conditions: (a) the operation consists of the second or subsequent phase of a major project under the previous programming period for which the preceding phase or phases are approved by the Commission not later than 31 December 2015 pursuant to Regulation (EC) No 1083/2006; or in the case of Member States which acceded to the Union after 1 January 2013, no later than 31 December 2016; (b) the sum of the total eligible costs of all phases of the major project exceeds the respective levels set out in Article 100; (c) the major project application and assessment by the Commission under the previous programming period covered all the planned phases; (d) there are no substantial changes in the information referred to in the first paragraph of Article 101 of this Regulation for the major project compared to the information provided for the major project application submitted under Regulation (EC) No 1083/2006, in particular as regards the total eligible cost; (e) the phase of the major project to be implemented under the previous programming period is or will be ready to be used for its intended purpose as specified in the Commission decision by the deadline of the submission of the closure documents for the relevant operational programme or programmes. 2. The managing authority may proceed with the selection of the major project in accordance with Article 125(3) and submit the notification containing all the elements set out in point (a) of the first subparagraph of Article 102(1) together with its confirmation that the condition under point (d) of paragraph 1 of this Article is fulfilled. No quality review of the information by independent experts shall be required. 3. The financial contribution to the major project selected by the managing authority shall be deemed to be approved by the Commission in the absence of a decision, by means of an implementing act, refusing the financial contribution to the major project within three months of the date of the notification referred to in paragraph 2. The Commission shall refuse the financial contribution only on the grounds that there have been substantial changes in the information referred to in point (d) of paragraph 1 or that the major project is not consistent with the relevant priority axis of the operational programme or programmes concerned. 4. Article 102(3) to (6) shall apply to decisions on a major project subject to phased implementation.
Article 104 Scope
1. A joint action plan is an operation the scope of which is defined and which is managed in relation to the outputs and results to be achieved. It comprises a project or a group of projects, not consisting of the provision of infrastructure, carried out under the responsibility of the beneficiary, as part of an operational programme or programmes. The outputs and results of a joint action plan shall be agreed between a Member State and the Commission and shall contribute to specific objectives of the operational programmes and form the basis of support from the Funds. Results shall refer to direct effects of the joint action plan. The beneficiary of a joint action plan shall be a public law body. Joint action plans shall not be considered to be major projects. 2. The public expenditure allocated to a joint action plan shall be a minimum of EUR 10 000 000 or 20 % of the public support of the operational programme or programmes, whichever is lower. For the purpose of undertaking a pilot project, the minimum public expenditure allocated to one joint action plan for each operational programme may be reduced to EUR 5 000 000. 3. Paragraph 2 shall not apply to operations supported under the YEI.
Amendment rationale: CONTEXT OF THE PROPOSAL Reasons for and objectives of the proposal The objective of the proposal is to adapt the amounts of resources available for the Investment for growth and jobs goal and for the European territorial cooperation goal set out in Articles 91(1) and 92(5) of Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013 1 and the annual breakdown of commitment appropriations reflected in Annex VI in order to reflect changes in the financial programming for the Youth Employment Initiative ('YEI'). More specifically, in line with the adopted budget for 2018, commitment appropriations for the specific allocation for the YEI should be increased by an amount of EUR 116.7 million, bringing the overall amount for 2018 up to EUR 350 million. The commitment appropriations for 2020 were adjusted to reflect the frontloading to 2018. In addition, it is necessary to correct some errors with regard to the amounts and percentages concerning the resources for the Investment for Growth and Jobs goal set out in point (2)(a) of Article 1 of Regulation (EU) 2017/2305, amending Article 92(1) of Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013. 
Revised version (Article 104 Scope):
1. A joint action plan is an operation the scope of which is defined and which is managed in relation to the outputs and results to be achieved. It comprises a project or a group of projects, not consisting of the provision of infrastructure, carried out under the responsibility of the beneficiary, as part of an operational programme or programmes. The outputs and results of a joint action plan shall be agreed between a Member State and the Commission and shall contribute to specific objectives of the operational programmes and form the basis of support from the Funds. Results shall refer to direct effects of the joint action plan. The beneficiary of a joint action plan shall be a public law body. Joint action plans shall not be considered to be major projects. 2. The public expenditure allocated to a joint action plan shall be a minimum of EUR 5 000 000 or 5 % of the public support of the operational programme or one of the contributing programmes, whichever is lower. 3. Paragraph 2 shall not apply to operations supported under the YEI, to the first joint action plan submitted by a Member State under the Investment for growth and jobs goal or the first joint action plan submitted by a programme under the European territorial cooperation goal.
Article 105 Preparation of joint action plans
1. The Member State, the managing authority or any designated public law body may submit a proposal for a joint action plan at the same time as or subsequent to the submission of the operational programmes concerned. That proposal shall contain all the information referred to in Article 106. 2. A joint action plan shall cover part of the period between 1 January 2014 and 31 December 2023. The outputs and results of a joint action plan shall give rise to reimbursement only if attained after the date of the decision of approval of the joint action plan referred to in Article 107 and before the end of the implementation period defined in that decision.
Amendment rationale: CONTEXT OF THE PROPOSAL Reasons for and objectives of the proposal The objective of the proposal is to adapt the amounts of resources available for the Investment for growth and jobs goal and for the European territorial cooperation goal set out in Articles 91(1) and 92(5) of Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013 1 and the annual breakdown of commitment appropriations reflected in Annex VI in order to reflect changes in the financial programming for the Youth Employment Initiative ('YEI'). More specifically, in line with the adopted budget for 2018, commitment appropriations for the specific allocation for the YEI should be increased by an amount of EUR 116.7 million, bringing the overall amount for 2018 up to EUR 350 million. The commitment appropriations for 2020 were adjusted to reflect the frontloading to 2018. In addition, it is necessary to correct some errors with regard to the amounts and percentages concerning the resources for the Investment for Growth and Jobs goal set out in point (2)(a) of Article 1 of Regulation (EU) 2017/2305, amending Article 92(1) of Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013. 
Revised version (Article 105 Preparation of joint action plans):
1. The Member State, the managing authority or any designated public law body may submit a proposal for a joint action plan at the same time as or subsequent to the submission of the operational programmes concerned. That proposal shall contain all the information referred to in Article 106. 2. A joint action plan shall cover part of the period between 1 January 2014 and 31 December 2023.
Article 106 Content of joint action plans
A joint action plan shall contain: (1) an analysis of the development needs and objectives justifying it, taking into account the objectives of the operational programmes and, where applicable, the relevant country-specific recommendations and the broad guidelines of the economic policies of the Member States and of the Union under Article 121(2) TFEU and the relevant Council recommendations which the Member States are to take into account in their employment policies under Article 148(4) TFEU; (2) the framework describing the relationship between the general and specific objectives of the joint action plan, the milestones and the targets for outputs and results, and the projects or types of projects envisaged; (3) the common and specific indicators used to monitor outputs and results, where relevant, by priority axis; (4) information on its geographic coverage and target groups; (5) its expected implementation period; (6) an analysis of its effects on the promotion of equality between men and women and the prevention of discrimination; (7) an analysis of its effects on the promotion of sustainable development, where appropriate; (8) its implementing provisions, including the following: (a) the designation of the beneficiary responsible for the implementation of the joint action plan, providing guarantees of its competence in the domain concerned as well as its administrative and financial management capacity; (b) the arrangements for steering the joint action plan, in accordance with Article 108; (c) the arrangements for monitoring and evaluating the joint action plan including arrangements ensuring the quality, collection and storage of data on the achievement of milestones, outputs and results; (d) the arrangements ensuring the dissemination of information and communication in relation to the joint action plan and to the Funds; (9) its financial arrangements, including the following: (a) the costs of achieving milestones, outputs and result targets with reference to point (2), based on the methods set out in Article 67(5) of this Regulation and in Article 14 of the ESF Regulation; (b) an indicative schedule of payments to the beneficiary linked to the milestones and targets; (c) the financing plan by operational programme and priority axis, including the total eligible amount and the amount of public expenditure. The Commission shall, in order to ensure uniform conditions for the implementation of this Article, adopt implementing acts laying down the format of the model for the joint action plan. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the advisory procedure referred to in Article 150(2).
Amendment rationale: CONTEXT OF THE PROPOSAL The financial crisis had led to persistently negative growth rates in Greece and to serious liquidity problems and a lack of public funds available for much needed investments to boost growth and job creation. Therefore, as an exceptional measure and given the unique situation this has created in Greece, the Commission in its Communication "A new start for Jobs and Growth in Greece" proposes three elements to ensure that the available EU funding from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), the European Social Fund (ESF), the Cohesion Fund (CF) and the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF), is effectively used for investments on the ground and reaches beneficiaries as rapidly as possible. In this context, the Commission proposes to increase the level of initial pre-financing of the funding available for the 2014-2020 period for cohesion policy programmes under the Investment for Growth and Jobs Goal and programmes supported by the EMFF to give an immediate boost to investment. In addition, in order to improve the effective use of available cohesion policy funding for the financing of operations under programmes adopted for the 2007-2013 period, it proposes to increase the maximum co-financing rates and to raise the ceiling for payments to programmes at the end of the programming period.
Revised version (Article 106 Content of joint action plans):
A joint action plan shall contain: (1) an analysis of the development needs and objectives justifying it, taking into account the objectives of the operational programmes and, where applicable, the relevant country-specific recommendations and the broad guidelines of the economic policies of the Member States and of the Union under Article 121(2) TFEU and the relevant Council recommendations which the Member States are to take into account in their employment policies under Article 148(4) TFEU; (2) the framework describing the relationship between the general and specific objectives of the joint action plan, the milestones and the targets for outputs and results, and the projects or types of projects envisaged; (3) the common and specific indicators used to monitor outputs and results, where relevant, by priority axis; (4) information on its geographic coverage and target groups; (5) its expected implementation period; (6) an analysis of its effects on the promotion of equality between men and women and the prevention of discrimination; (7) an analysis of its effects on the promotion of sustainable development, where appropriate; (8) its implementing provisions, including the following: (a) the designation of the beneficiary responsible for the implementation of the joint action plan, providing guarantees of its competence in the domain concerned as well as its administrative and financial management capacity; (b) the arrangements for steering the joint action plan, in accordance with Article 108; (c) the arrangements for monitoring and evaluating the joint action plan including arrangements ensuring the quality, collection and storage of data on the achievement of milestones, outputs and results; (d) the arrangements ensuring the dissemination of information and communication in relation to the joint action plan and to the Funds; (8) its implementing provisions, including the following: (a) the designation of the beneficiary responsible for the implementation of the joint action plan, providing guarantees of its competence in the domain concerned as well as its administrative and financial management capacity; (b) the arrangements for steering the joint action plan, in accordance with Article 108; (c) the arrangements for monitoring and evaluating the joint action plan including arrangements ensuring the quality, collection and storage of data on the achievement of milestones, outputs and results; (d) the arrangements ensuring the dissemination of information and communication in relation to the joint action plan and to the Funds; (9) its financial arrangements, including the following: (a) the costs of achieving the milestones and the targets for outputs and results with reference to point (2), based on the methods set out in Article 67(5) of this Regulation and in Article 14 of the ESF Regulation; (b) an indicative schedule of payments to the beneficiary linked to the milestones and targets; (c) the financing plan by operational programme and priority axis, including the total eligible amount and the amount of public expenditure. (9) its financial arrangements, including the following: (a) the costs of achieving the milestones and the targets for outputs and results with reference to point (2), based on the methods set out in Article 67(5) of this Regulation and in Article 14 of the ESF Regulation; (b) an indicative schedule of payments to the beneficiary linked to the milestones and targets; (c) the financing plan by operational programme and priority axis, including the total eligible amount and the amount of public expenditure. The Commission shall, in order to ensure uniform conditions for the implementation of this Article, adopt implementing acts laying down the format of the model for the joint action plan. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the advisory procedure referred to in Article 150(2).
Article 107 Decision on the joint action plan
1. The Commission shall appraise the joint action plan on the basis of the information referred to in Article 106 in order to determine whether support from the Funds is justified. Where the Commission, within two months following the submission of a joint action plan proposal, considers that it does not meet the appraisal requirements referred to in Article 104, it shall make observations to the Member State. The Member State shall provide to the Commission all necessary additional information requested and, where appropriate, revise the joint action plan accordingly. 2. Provided that any observations have been adequately taken into account, the Commission shall adopt a decision, by means of an implementing act, approving the joint action plan no later than four months after its submission by the Member State but not before the adoption of the operational programmes concerned. 3. The decision referred to in paragraph 2 shall indicate the beneficiary and the general and specific objectives of the joint action plan, the milestones and targets for outputs and results, the costs of achieving those milestones, outputs and result targets, and the financing plan by operational programme and priority axis, including the total eligible amount and the amount of public expenditure, the implementation period of the joint action plan and, where relevant, the geographical coverage and target groups of the joint action plan. 4. Where the Commission refuses, by means of an implementing act, to allow support from the Funds to be allocated to a joint action plan, it shall notify the Member State of its reasons within the period laid down in paragraph 2.
Amendment rationale: CONTEXT OF THE PROPOSAL The financial crisis had led to persistently negative growth rates in Greece and to serious liquidity problems and a lack of public funds available for much needed investments to boost growth and job creation. Therefore, as an exceptional measure and given the unique situation this has created in Greece, the Commission in its Communication "A new start for Jobs and Growth in Greece" proposes three elements to ensure that the available EU funding from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), the European Social Fund (ESF), the Cohesion Fund (CF) and the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF), is effectively used for investments on the ground and reaches beneficiaries as rapidly as possible. In this context, the Commission proposes to increase the level of initial pre-financing of the funding available for the 2014-2020 period for cohesion policy programmes under the Investment for Growth and Jobs Goal and programmes supported by the EMFF to give an immediate boost to investment. In addition, in order to improve the effective use of available cohesion policy funding for the financing of operations under programmes adopted for the 2007-2013 period, it proposes to increase the maximum co-financing rates and to raise the ceiling for payments to programmes at the end of the programming period.
Revised version (Article 107 Decision on the joint action plan):
1. The Commission shall appraise the joint action plan on the basis of the information referred to in Article 106 in order to determine whether support from the Funds is justified. Where the Commission, within two months following the submission of a joint action plan proposal, considers that it does not meet the appraisal requirements referred to in Article 104, it shall make observations to the Member State. The Member State shall provide to the Commission all necessary additional information requested and, where appropriate, revise the joint action plan accordingly. 2. Provided that any observations have been adequately taken into account, the Commission shall adopt a decision, by means of an implementing act, approving the joint action plan no later than four months after its submission by the Member State but not before the adoption of the operational programmes concerned. 3. The decision referred to in paragraph 2 shall indicate the beneficiary and the general and specific objectives of the joint action plan, the milestones and targets for outputs and results, the costs of achieving those milestones and targets for outputs and results , and the financing plan by operational programme and priority axis, including the total eligible amount and the amount of public expenditure, the implementation period of the joint action plan and, where relevant, the geographical coverage and target groups of the joint action plan. 4. Where the Commission refuses, by means of an implementing act, to allow support from the Funds to be allocated to a joint action plan, it shall notify the Member State of its reasons within the period laid down in paragraph 2.
Article 108 Steering committee and amendment of the joint action plan
1. The Member State or the managing authority shall set up a steering committee for the joint action plan, distinct from the monitoring committee of the relevant operational programmes. The steering committee shall meet at least twice a year and shall report to the managing authority. The managing authority shall inform the relevant monitoring committee of the results of the work carried out by the steering committee and the progress of the implementation of the joint action plan in accordance with point (e) of Article 110(1) and point (a) of Article 125(2). The composition of the steering committee shall be decided by the Member State in agreement with the relevant managing authority, respecting the principle of partnership. The Commission may participate in the work of the steering committee in an advisory capacity. 2. The steering committee shall carry out the following activities: (a) review progress towards achieving the milestones, outputs and results of the joint action plan; (b) consider and approve any proposal to amend the joint action plan in order to take account of any issues affecting its performance. 3. Requests for amendment of joint action plans submitted by a Member State to the Commission shall be duly substantiated. The Commission shall assess whether the request for amendment is justified, taking account of the information provided by the Member State. The Commission may make observations and the Member State shall provide to the Commission all necessary additional information. The Commission shall adopt a decision, by means of an implementing act, on a request for amendment no later than three months after its submission by the Member State, provided that any observations made by the Commission have been satisfactorily taken into account. The amendment shall enter into force from the date of the decision, unless otherwise set out in the decision.
Amendment rationale: CONTEXT OF THE PROPOSAL Reasons for and objectives of the proposal The objective of the proposal is to adapt the amounts of resources available for economic, social and territorial cohesion set out in Article 91(1) of Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013 1 , the amount of resources for the specific allocation for the Youth Employment Initiative ('YEI') set out in Article 92(5) of that Regulation and the annual breakdown of commitment appropriations reflected in Annex VI of that Regulation to reflect the increase of the resources of the YEI, in line with the adopted budget for 2019. More specifically, commitment appropriations for the specific allocation for the YEI should be increased by an amount of EUR 116,7 million in current prices, bringing the overall amount for 2019 up to EUR 350 million. In addition, in view of past experience in the context of the increase of the resources of the specific allocation for the YEI, which triggered extensive amendments to programmes to provide amounts from the European Social Fund ('ESF') to match the support from the YEI specific allocation, the EU co-legislators asked the Commission to propose facilitating measures to ensure the swift programming of the additional YEI resources in 2019 in order not to hamper the overall implementation progress of the 2014-2020 operational programmes. Therefore, the proposal introduces relevant provisions to address this request.
Revised version (Article 108 Steering committee and amendment of the joint action plan):
The composition of the steering committee shall be decided by the Member State in agreement with the relevant managing authority, respecting the principle of partnership. The Commission may participate in the work of the steering committee in an advisory capacity. 2. The steering committee shall carry out the following activities: (a) review progress towards achieving the milestones, outputs and results of the joint action plan; (b) consider and approve any proposal to amend the joint action plan in order to take account of any issues affecting its performance. 3. Requests for amendment of joint action plans submitted by a Member State to the Commission shall be duly substantiated. The Commission shall assess whether the request for amendment is justified, taking account of the information provided by the Member State. The Commission may make observations and the Member State shall provide to the Commission all necessary additional information. The Commission shall adopt a decision, by means of an implementing act, on a request for amendment no later than three months after its submission by the Member State, provided that any observations made by the Commission have been satisfactorily taken into account. The amendment shall enter into force from the date of the decision, unless otherwise set out in the decision.
Article 109 Financial management and control of the joint action plan
1. Payments to the beneficiary of a joint action plan shall be treated as lump sums or standard scales of unit costs. The ceiling for lump sums set out in point (c) of the first subparagraph of Article 67(1) shall not apply. 2. The financial management, control and audit of the joint action plan shall be aimed exclusively at verifying that the conditions for payments defined in the decision approving the joint action plan have been fulfilled. 3. The beneficiary of a joint action plan and the bodies acting under its responsibility may apply their accounting practices for the costs of implementing operations. Those accounting practices and the costs actually incurred by the beneficiary shall not be subject to audit by the audit authority or the Commission.
Amendment rationale: CONTEXT OF THE PROPOSAL Reasons for and objectives of the proposal The objective of the proposal is to adapt the amounts of resources available for the Investment for growth and jobs goal and for the European territorial cooperation goal set out in Articles 91(1) and 92(5) of Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013 1 and the annual breakdown of commitment appropriations reflected in Annex VI in order to reflect changes in the financial programming for the Youth Employment Initiative ('YEI'). More specifically, in line with the adopted budget for 2018, commitment appropriations for the specific allocation for the YEI should be increased by an amount of EUR 116.7 million, bringing the overall amount for 2018 up to EUR 350 million. The commitment appropriations for 2020 were adjusted to reflect the frontloading to 2018. In addition, it is necessary to correct some errors with regard to the amounts and percentages concerning the resources for the Investment for Growth and Jobs goal set out in point (2)(a) of Article 1 of Regulation (EU) 2017/2305, amending Article 92(1) of Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013. 
Revised version (Article 109 Financial management and control of the joint action plan):
1. Payments to the beneficiary of a joint action plan shall be treated as lump sums or standard scales of unit costs. 2. The financial management, control and audit of the joint action plan shall be aimed exclusively at verifying that the conditions for payments defined in the decision approving the joint action plan have been fulfilled. 3. The beneficiary of a joint action plan and the bodies acting under its responsibility may apply their accounting practices for the costs of implementing operations. Those accounting practices and the costs actually incurred by the beneficiary shall not be subject to audit by the audit authority or the Commission.
Article 110 Functions of the monitoring committee
1. The monitoring committee shall examine in particular: (a) any issues that affect the performance of the operational programme; (b) progress made in implementation of the evaluation plan and the follow-up given to findings of evaluations; (c) implementation of the communication strategy; (d) implementation of major projects; (e) implementation of joint action plans; (f) actions to promote equality between men and women, equal opportunities, and non-discrimination, including accessibility for persons with disabilities; (g) actions to promote sustainable development; (h) where applicable ex ante conditionalities are not fulfilled at the date of the submission of the Partnership Agreement and operational programme, progress on actions to fulfil the applicable ex ante conditionalities; (i) financial instruments. 2. By way of derogation from Article 49(3), the monitoring committee shall examine and approve: (a) the methodology and criteria used for selection of operations; (b) the annual and final implementation reports; (c) the evaluation plan for the operational programme and any amendment of the evaluation plan, including where either is part of a common evaluation plan pursuant to Article 114(1); (d) the communication strategy for the operational programme and any amendment of the strategy; (e) any proposal by the managing authority for any amendment to the operational programme.
Amendment rationale: CONTEXT OF THE PROPOSAL Reasons for and objectives of the proposal The objective of the proposal is to adapt the amounts of resources available for the Investment for growth and jobs goal and for the European territorial cooperation goal set out in Articles 91(1) and 92(5) of Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013 1 and the annual breakdown of commitment appropriations reflected in Annex VI in order to reflect changes in the financial programming for the Youth Employment Initiative ('YEI'). More specifically, in line with the adopted budget for 2018, commitment appropriations for the specific allocation for the YEI should be increased by an amount of EUR 116.7 million, bringing the overall amount for 2018 up to EUR 350 million. The commitment appropriations for 2020 were adjusted to reflect the frontloading to 2018. In addition, it is necessary to correct some errors with regard to the amounts and percentages concerning the resources for the Investment for Growth and Jobs goal set out in point (2)(a) of Article 1 of Regulation (EU) 2017/2305, amending Article 92(1) of Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013. 
Revised version (Article 110 Functions of the monitoring committee):
1. The monitoring committee shall examine in particular: (a) any issues that affect the performance of the operational programme; (b) progress made in implementation of the evaluation plan and the follow-up given to findings of evaluations; (c) implementation of the communication strategy, including information and communication measures, and of measures to enhance the visibility of the Funds; (d) implementation of major projects; (e) implementation of joint action plans; (f) actions to promote equality between men and women, equal opportunities, and non-discrimination, including accessibility for persons with disabilities; (g) actions to promote sustainable development; (h) where applicable ex ante conditionalities are not fulfilled at the date of the submission of the Partnership Agreement and operational programme, progress on actions to fulfil the applicable ex ante conditionalities; (i) financial instruments. 2. By way of derogation from Article 49(3), the monitoring committee shall examine and approve: (a) the methodology and criteria used for selection of operations, except where those criteria are approved by local action groups in accordance with point (c) of Article 34(3); (b) the annual and final implementation reports; (c) the evaluation plan for the operational programme and any amendment of the evaluation plan, including where either is part of a common evaluation plan pursuant to Article 114(1); (d) the communication strategy for the operational programme and any amendment of the strategy; (e) any proposal by the managing authority for any amendment to the operational programme.
Article 111 Implementation reports for the Investment for growth and jobs goal
1. By 31 May 2016 and by the same date of each subsequent year until and including 2023 the Member State shall submit to the Commission an annual implementation report in accordance with Article 50(1). The report submitted in 2016 shall cover the financial years 2014 and 2015, as well as the period between the starting date for eligibility of expenditure and 31 December 2013. 2. For the reports submitted in 2017 and 2019, the deadline referred to in paragraph 1 shall be 30 June. 3. Annual implementation reports shall set out information on: (a) implementation of the operational programme in accordance with Article 50(2); (b) progress in preparation and implementation of major projects and joint action plans. 4. The annual implementation reports submitted in 2017 and 2019 shall set out and assess the information required under Article 50(4) and (5) respectively and the information set out in paragraph 3 of this Article together with the following information: (a) progress in the implementation of the evaluation plan and the follow-up given to the findings of evaluations; (b) the results of the information and publicity measures of the Funds carried out under the communication strategy; (c) the involvement of the partners in the implementation, monitoring and evaluation of the operational programme. The annual implementation reports submitted in 2017 and 2019 may, depending on the content and objectives of operational programmes, set out information and assess the following: (a) progress in the implementation of the integrated approach to territorial development, including development of regions facing demographic challenges and permanent or natural handicaps, sustainable urban development, and community-led local development under the operational programme; (b) progress in the implementation of actions to reinforce the capacity of Member State authorities and beneficiaries to administer and use the Funds; (c) progress in the implementation of any interregional and transnational actions; (d) where appropriate, the contribution to macro-regional and sea basin strategies; (e) the specific actions taken to promote equality between men and women and to prevent discrimination, in particular accessibility for persons with disabilities, and the arrangements implemented to ensure the integration of the gender perspective in the operational programme and operations; (f) actions taken to promote sustainable development in accordance with Article 8; (g) progress in the implementation of actions in the field of social innovation, where appropriate; (h) progress in the implementation of measures to address the specific needs of geographical areas most affected by poverty or of target groups at highest risk of poverty, discrimination or social exclusion, with special regard to marginalised communities and persons with disabilities, long term unemployed and young people not in employment, including, where appropriate, the financial resources used. By way of derogation from the first and second subparagraphs, and in order to ensure consistency between the Partnership Agreement and the progress report, Member States with no more than one operational programme per Fund may include the information relating to ex ante conditionalities referred to in Article 50(3), the information required by Article 50(4) and the information referred to in points (a), (b), (c) and (h) of the second subparagraph of this paragraph in the progress report instead of the annual implementation reports submitted in 2017 and 2019 respectively and the final implementation report, without prejudice to point (b) of Article 110(2). 5. The Commission shall, in order to ensure uniform conditions for the implementation of this Article, adopt implementing acts establishing the models for the annual and final implementation reports. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the advisory procedure referred to in Article 150(2).
Article 112 Transmission of financial data
1. By 31 January, 31 July and 31 October, the Member State shall transmit electronically to the Commission for monitoring purposes, for each operational programme and by priority axis: (a) the total and public eligible cost of the operations and the number of operations selected for support; (b) the total eligible expenditure declared by beneficiaries to the managing authority. 2. In addition, the transmission made by 31 January shall contain the above data broken down by category of intervention. That transmission shall be considered to fulfil the requirement for the submission of financial data referred to in Article 50(2). 3. A forecast of the amount for which Member States expect to submit payment applications for the current financial year and the subsequent financial year shall accompany the transmissions to be made by 31 January and 31 July. 4. The cut-off date for the data submitted under this Article shall be the end of the month preceding the month of submission. 5. The Commission shall, in order to ensure uniform conditions for the implementation of this Article, adopt implementing acts establishing the model to be used when submitting the financial data to the Commission for monitoring purposes. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 150(3).
Amendment rationale: CONTEXT OF THE PROPOSAL Reasons for and objectives of the proposal The Russian war of aggression against Ukraine has brought a series of unexpected challenges for the European Union just when the Union and its Member States have been engaged in the recovery of our economies and societies after the COVID-19 pandemic. Since Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine on 24 February, the Union has received over 6.2 million Ukrainian nationals fleeing Russian aggression. The EU has reacted rapidly, supporting Member States and regions in managing this arrival of people by mobilising all available funding. However, with the rising number of arrivals, it is clear that further action is required. The special meeting of the European Council in May 2022 invited the Commission to “present new initiatives … within the Multiannual Financial Framework” to support the effort of providing protection to millions of refugees fleeing the war in Ukraine. In addition to providing support to Member States in the context of the inflow of displaced persons, the Commission has also been monitoring closely the on-going impact of Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine on the implementation of cohesion policy in particular. The consequences on infrastructure projects have been especially noted, both in terms of the availability and costs of raw materials and the availability of labour force. The European Parliament, the Council and regions have all raised concerns about the effect these issues may have on finalising the implementation of the 2014-2020 programmes and ensuring the start up of the new 2021-2027 programmes. Since 24 February, the Commission has already tabled a number of proposals, under Cohesion’s Action for Refugees in Europe (CARE), to ensure that all the funding available under the 2014-2020 cohesion policy and European Fund for the Most Deprived programmes are speedily mobilised to address the immediate challenges faced by the Member States and several of their eastern regions in particular, notably as regards those fleeing Russian aggression. These amendments have secured the possibility to mobilise available funding to address the immediate consequences of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine, while allowing Member States to continue their efforts to ensure a green, digital and resilient recovery of their economies from the crisis resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. The possibility to use the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and the European Social Fund (ESF) for operations addressing the migratory challenges resulting from the military aggression by Russia under the rules of the other fund enables the use of available resources for existing needs, without the need for a transfer. Furthermore, these operations are made eligible as from the date of the invasion, to allow support for all related needs. Moreover, a new unit cost has been introduced and reporting arrangements on participants have been simplified to reduce the administrative burden for both beneficiaries and Member State administrations in the context of addressing migratory challenges. Finally, the possibility to make use of up to 100% co-financing was extended for these measures also to the accounting year ending on 30 June 2022 in order to contribute to alleviating the burden on Member States’ public finances, and the substantial increase of pre-financing from REACT-EU resources provided Member States with liquidity needed to cover the most pressing needs. The consequences of the Russian military aggression have grown in scope and its impact has expanded. As a result, Member States are facing continuous substantial inflows of persons fleeing the Russian aggression. At the same time, some Member States are facing labour shortages and a scarcity of input materials in certain sectors. This situation comes on top of the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic, notably the disruption of value chains, which challenges public budgets that were focused on the recovery of the economy, but also risks delaying investments, especially in infrastructure. While the measures already adopted have played a major role in supporting Member States and regions addressing the immediate effects of the war, it is clear that the evolving situation calls for additional action. In particular, increased flexibility will help optimise the use of the remaining 2014-2020 resources and allow a smoother phasing of delayed projects between 2014-2020 and 2021-2027 programmes. Consequently, further flexibility to allow quicker and more complete support from the Funds should be introduced to alleviate the burden on national budgets and facilitate the implementation of operations addressing both migratory challenges, as well as market disruptions of key economic sectors. For operations addressing migratory challenges resulting from the military aggression by the Russian Federation , i t is therefore appropriate , as part of that more complete support and as an exceptional measure , without prejudice to the rules that should apply under regular circumstances, to derogate from the requirement s linked to the location of the operation within a given Member State , given that the persons fleeing the war may move location more than once . In addition, given the continuation of the Russian aggression , an extension in time and increase of the newly established unit cost allow ed to cover the basic needs and support of persons granted temporary protection or other adequate protection under national law in accordance with Council Implementing Decision (EU) 2022/382 1 and Council Directive 2001/55/EC 2 in all Member States is justified . Furthermore, i t is also proposed to allow the remaining resources from the 2014-2020 Cohesion Fund to support operations falling within the scope of either the ERDF or the ESF, in accordance with the rules applicable to those Funds. This implies the extension to the Cohesion Fund of the flexibility for the use of ERDF and ESF resources introduced with Regulation (EU) 2022/562 of the European Parliament and of the Council 3 . Similarly, given that the eligibility for operations addressing the migratory challenges as a result of the military aggression by Russia was set as of 24 February 2022, the possibility to declare expenditure for such operations also when they are already physically completed or fully implemented should be made possible. These possibilities should also be extended to the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund ( EMFF ) as a result of the consequences of the war on the fishery and aquaculture sector. In the same spirit and with the intention of alleviating the administrative burden on Member States that are constantly adjusting to the evolving needs, transfers between thematic objectives within a priority and within a Fund and category of region should be made possible without the need for a decision of the Commission amending the programme. In addition, it is proposed to increase the ceiling of the flexibility between priorities for calculating the final balance of the contribution from the Funds. Moreover, for priorities promoting the socio-economic integration of third country nationals, including those dedicated to operations addressing migratory challenges as a result of the military aggression by the Russian Federation, the possibility of a co-financing rate up to 100% should be established in both programming periods, in order to support Member States in addressing the needs of displaced people both now and in the future. To reflect the easier conditions for phasing of projects between programming periods, it is also necessary to introduce targeted flexibilities for the 2021-2027 programming period. In order to assist all Member States in addressing the impact of the war with their 2021-2027 programmes, support from the ERDF, ESF+ and Cohesion Fund under the Investment for jobs and growth goal should be mobilised quickly by increasing the rate of pre-financing. In addition, the co-financing rate of up to 100% should be introduced for priorities promoting the socio-economic integration of third country nationals from the 2021-2027 programmes until mid-2024 and should be reviewed on the basis of how it has been used. Finally, the ceiling for the possibility to phase operations from the 2014-2020 programmes to those of the 2021-2027 programming period should be lowered to enlarge this possibility to more operations facing delays. Moreover, the second phase of operations under 2021-2027 programmes should be made eligible in accordance with 2014-2020 rules and managing authorities should be given the possibility to grant support to such operations directly, provided that a limited number of key conditions are met. Such phasing flexibility will not affect Member States’ obligations to comply with thematic concentration requirements and climate contribution targets. 
Revised version (Article 112 Transmission of financial data):
1. By 31 January, 31 July and 31 October, the Member State shall transmit electronically to the Commission for monitoring purposes, for each operational programme and by priority axis: (a) the total and public eligible cost of the operations and the number of operations selected for support; (b) the total eligible expenditure declared by beneficiaries to the managing authority. By 31 January, 31 July and 31 October, the Member State shall transmit electronically to the Commission for monitoring purposes, for each operational programme and by priority axis: (a) the total and public eligible cost of the operations and the number of operations selected for support; (b) the total eligible expenditure declared by beneficiaries to the managing authority. 2. In addition, the transmission made by 31 January shall contain the above data broken down by category of intervention. That transmission shall be considered to fulfil the requirement for the submission of financial data referred to in Article 50(2). 3. A forecast of the amount for which Member States expect to submit payment applications for the current financial year and the subsequent financial year shall accompany the transmissions to be made by 31 January and 31 July. 4. The cut-off date for the data submitted under this Article shall be the end of the month preceding the month of submission. 5. The Commission shall, in order to ensure uniform conditions for the implementation of this Article, adopt implementing acts establishing the model to be used when submitting the financial data to the Commission for monitoring purposes. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 150(3).
Article 113 Cohesion Report
The report of the Commission referred to in Article 175 TFEU shall include: (a) a record of progress made towards achieving economic, social and territorial cohesion, including the socio-economic situation and development of the regions, as well as the integration of the Union's priorities; (b) a record of the role of the Funds, EIB funding and the other instruments in, as well as the effect of other Union and national policies on, the progress made; (c) where appropriate an indication of future Union measures and policies necessary to strengthen economic, social and territorial cohesion, as well as to deliver the Union's priorities.
Article 114 Evaluation
1. An evaluation plan shall be drawn up by the managing authority or Member State for one or more operational programmes. The evaluation plan shall be submitted to the monitoring committee no later than one year after the adoption of the operational programme. 2. By 31 December 2022, managing authorities shall submit to the Commission, for each operational programme, a report summarising the findings of evaluations carried out during the programming period and the main outputs and results of the operational programme, providing comments on the reported information. 3. The Commission shall carry out ex post evaluations in close cooperation with the Member States and managing authorities. 4. Paragraphs 1 and 2 of this Article shall not apply to the dedicated programmes referred to in point (b) of the first subparagraph of Article 39(4).
Amendment rationale: CONTEXT OF THE PROPOSAL Reasons for and objectives of the proposal The objective of the proposal is to adapt the amounts of resources available for the Investment for growth and jobs goal and for the European territorial cooperation goal set out in Articles 91(1) and 92(5) of Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013 1 and the annual breakdown of commitment appropriations reflected in Annex VI in order to reflect changes in the financial programming for the Youth Employment Initiative ('YEI'). More specifically, in line with the adopted budget for 2018, commitment appropriations for the specific allocation for the YEI should be increased by an amount of EUR 116.7 million, bringing the overall amount for 2018 up to EUR 350 million. The commitment appropriations for 2020 were adjusted to reflect the frontloading to 2018. In addition, it is necessary to correct some errors with regard to the amounts and percentages concerning the resources for the Investment for Growth and Jobs goal set out in point (2)(a) of Article 1 of Regulation (EU) 2017/2305, amending Article 92(1) of Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013. 
Revised version (Article 114 Evaluation):
1. An evaluation plan shall be drawn up by the managing authority or a Member State for one or more operational programmes. The evaluation plan shall be submitted to the monitoring committee no later than one year after the adoption of the operational programme. In the cases of dedicated programmes referred to in point (b) of the first subparagraph of Article 39(4) adopted before 2 August 2018, the evaluation plan shall be submitted to the monitoring committee no later than one year after that date. 2. By 31 December 2022, managing authorities shall submit to the Commission, for each operational programme, a report summarising the findings of evaluations carried out during the programming period and the main outputs and results of the operational programme, providing comments on the reported information. 3. The Commission shall carry out ex post evaluations in close cooperation with the Member States and managing authorities.