Article 1 Subject matter and scope
A Community programme (the ‘Programme’), is hereby established for the period from 1 January 2010 to 31 December 2013 to support the activities of bodies which contribute to the achievement of the policy objectives of the Community in relation to supervisory convergence and cooperation in the field of financial services and in relation to financial reporting and auditing.
Article 2 Objectives
1. The general objective of the Programme is to improve the conditions for the functioning of the internal market by supporting the operation, activities or actions of certain bodies in the fields of financial services, financial reporting and auditing. 2. The following activities are covered by the Programme: (a) those supporting the implementation of Community policies aimed at supervisory convergence, in particular by means of training the personnel of national supervisory authorities and management of information technology projects in the field of financial services; and (b) those developing or providing input to the development of standards, applying, assessing or monitoring standards or overseeing standard setting processes in support of the implementation of Community policies in the field of financial reporting and auditing. 3. The independence of the Committees of Supervisors provided for in Decisions 2009/77/EC, 2009/78/EC and 2009/79/EC shall not be undermined by the implementation of the Programme.
Article 3 Access to the Programme
To be eligible for Community financing under the Programme, a beneficiary shall fulfil the following conditions: (a) it must be a non-profit-making legal person, with the objective of promoting public interest and pursuing aims of general European interest as provided for in Article 162 of Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 2342/2002; and (b) it must not be, at the time of the award of the grant, in one of the situations referred to in Article 93(1), Article 94, or point (a) of Article 96(2) of the Financial Regulation.
Article 4 Beneficiaries of the Programme
1. The beneficiaries listed in the Annex shall benefit under the Programme. 2. Beneficiaries that carry out international activities in third countries, such as the IASCF and the PIOB, shall not continue to benefit under the Programme if after the first 2 years of co-financing they have not made significant progress towards ensuring that neutral funding arrangements form a majority of their total funding, including from third-country participants.
Article 5 Award of grants
1. The Commission shall provide financing under the Programme in the form of grants and only upon receipt of an appropriate work programme and an estimated overall budget. 2. Community financing shall be awarded in the form of operating grants or action grants, subject to the following conditions: (a) in the case of the beneficiaries listed in Section A of the Annex, Community financing must be awarded in the form of operating grants; and (b) in the case of the beneficiaries listed in Section B of the Annex: (i) the beneficiaries may choose between an action grant and an operating grant; and (ii) when submitting its work programme and estimated overall budget to the Commission pursuant to paragraph 1, the beneficiary must provide the Commission with written confirmation that its request for financing does not undermine the independence of the Committee of Supervisors to which that beneficiary provides an administrative support function. 3. Operating grants shall be granted only to finance the operating costs and expenses of the beneficiaries including the running of their secretariats and the remuneration of their employees. In the event of renewal, operating grants shall not be automatically decreased. 4. Action grants shall be granted only for the activities set out in Article 6 and shall be subject to the following conditions: (a) their exclusive aim must be to enable the beneficiaries listed in Section B of the Annex to provide an administrative support function to the Committees of Supervisors to develop and implement the projects identified in the decisions providing for the action grants; and (b) the administrative support function of the beneficiaries listed in Section B of the Annex must be clearly set out in their respective statutes. The administrative support function referred to in point (b) shall be the sole purpose of the beneficiaries listed in Section B of the Annex and shall include the carrying out of the activities laid down in Article 6 for the benefit of the Committees of Supervisors. 5. The Commission shall decide on the amounts and the maximum percentage of financing and shall make such decisions public.
Article 6 Eligible activities of beneficiaries for action grants
Without prejudice to Article 2(3) and Articles 3 and 5, the following activities shall be regarded as being eligible for action grants as specific projects with a Community dimension: (a) information technology projects; (b) training programmes and staff secondment schemes for staff from national supervisors; (c) hosting conferences, seminars, training sessions and meetings of experts; (d) preparing and issuing publications, preparation and execution of other information activities; (e) carrying out research, preparing studies; and (f) other specific supporting activities relevant to Community law or policy in the field of accounting and auditing or supervisory convergence or cooperation.
Article 7 Selection of new beneficiaries
1. The Commission may select new beneficiaries for the Programme and amend the Annex accordingly. Those measures, designed to amend non-essential elements of this Decision by supplementing it, shall be adopted in accordance with the regulatory procedure with scrutiny referred to in Article 13(2). 2. To qualify as a new beneficiary, a body shall fulfil the criteria set out in Article 3 and at least one of the following criteria: (a) it must be a direct successor of one of the beneficiaries listed in the Annex; (b) it must pursue activities supporting the implementation of Community policies aimed at supervisory convergence and cooperation in the field of financial services; or (c) it must be directly involved in the process of developing or providing input to the development of international standards, applying, assessing or monitoring those standards or overseeing standard-setting processes in support of the implementation of Community policies in the field of financial reporting and auditing. 3. Where a body selected by the Commission as a new beneficiary: (a) fulfils the criterion set out in paragraph 2(a) of this Article, it may be awarded the grant of its predecessor listed in the Annex, provided that, in the case of an action grant, such body also fulfils the criteria for eligible activities set out in Article 6; or (b) fulfils the criteria for eligible activities set out in Article 6 and the criteria set out in points (b) or (c) of paragraph 2 of this Article, it may be awarded an action grant. Under point (b) of this paragraph, the maximum amount of financing available under the action grant shall not exceed, on an annual basis, the unused credits in the context of the grants awarded for specific actions or operating grants pursuant to Article 9.
Article 8 Transparency
Any beneficiary of funding awarded under the Programme shall indicate in a prominent place, such as a website, a publication or an annual report, that it has received funding from the budget of the European Union.
Article 9 Financial provisions
1. The financial envelope for the implementation of this Decision over the period 2010-2013 shall be EUR 38 700 000. Within that envelope, commitment appropriations to the beneficiaries listed in Section B of the Annex shall be at least EUR 13 500 000, those to the IASCF shall be no more than EUR 12 750 000, and those to the EFRAG shall be no more than EUR 11 250 000. 2. The annual appropriations allocated in accordance with this Decision shall be authorised by the budgetary authority within the limits of the financial framework. 3. Where the Commission presents its first appropriation request as part of the preliminary draft budget to the budgetary authority in relation to the IASCF, it shall, 1 month in advance of such request, provide a report on the governance reforms of the IASCF to be delivered to the European Parliament and the Council. That report shall be assessed, in an appropriate manner, by the European Parliament and the Council. The report shall focus on the governance structure and processes, including the composition and powers of the Monitoring Board, in particular on the ability of that body to accomplish its public interest mission in a transparent and efficient manner. The report shall also set out progress as regards the roadmaps for third countries to apply IFRS to their domestic issuers. 4. Where the Commission presents its first appropriation request as part of the preliminary draft budget to the budgetary authority in relation to the year following the first 2 years of financing of the IASCF and the PIOB, it shall, 1 month in advance of such request, provide a report on whether the IASCF and the PIOB have made significant progress towards ensuring that neutral funding arrangements form a majority of their total funding, including from third-country participants. That report shall be assessed, in an appropriate manner, by the European Parliament and the Council with regard to whether significant progress towards neutral funding, including from third-country participants, has been made.
Article 10 Implementation
The measures necessary for the implementation of this Decision shall be adopted by the Commission in accordance with the procedures set out in the Financial Regulation and Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 2342/2002.
Article 11 Monitoring
1. The Commission shall ensure that: (a) for any action financed by the Programme under an action grant, the beneficiary submit annually a technical and financial report on the progress of work and a final report after completion of the action; and (b) for any work programme financed by the Programme under an operating grant, the beneficiary submit annually an activity and financial report on the implementation of the work programme and a final report after the end of the period of eligibility for Community funding. The Commission shall determine the form and content of the reports referred to in points (a) and (b). 2. Without prejudice to the audits carried out by the Court of Auditors in liaison with the competent national audit bodies or department pursuant to Article 248 of the Treaty, or any inspection carried out pursuant to point (b) of the first subparagraph of Article 279(1) of the Treaty, officials and other staff of the Commission may carry out on-the-spot checks, including sample checks, on actions financed under the Programme and in accordance with Council Regulation (Euratom, EC) No 2185/96 of 11 November 1996 concerning on-the-spot checks and inspections carried out by the Commission in order to protect the European Communities’ financial interests against fraud and other irregularities ( 12 ) . Where necessary, investigations shall be conducted by the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) and these shall be governed by Regulation (EC) No 1073/1999 of the European Parliament and the Council ( 13 ) . 3. The Commission shall ensure that contracts and agreements resulting from the implementation of the Programme provide, in particular, for supervision and financial control by the Commission (or any representative authorised by it), including by OLAF, and for audits — if necessary on-the-spot — by the Court of Auditors. 4. Commission staff and outside personnel authorised by the Commission shall have appropriate right of access, in particular to the beneficiary’s offices and to all the information, including information in electronic format, needed in order to conduct such audit. 5. The Court of Auditors and OLAF shall enjoy the same rights, in particular as regards access, as the Commission. 6. The beneficiary of an operating or action grant shall keep available for the Commission all the supporting documents, including the audited financial statement, regarding expenditure incurred during the grant year, for a period of 5 years following the last payment. The beneficiary of such a grant shall ensure that, where applicable, supporting documents in the possession of partners or members are made available to the Commission. 7. On the basis of the results of the reports and sample checks referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2, the Commission shall ensure that, if necessary, the scale or the conditions of allocation of the financial support originally approved and the timetable for payments are adjusted. 8. The Commission shall ensure that all steps necessary to verify that the actions financed are carried out properly and in compliance with this Decision and the Financial Regulation are taken.
Article 12 Protection of the Community’s financial interests
1. The Commission shall ensure that, when the activities financed under the Programme are implemented, the financial interests of the Community are protected by the application of preventive measures against fraud, corruption and other illegal activities, by effective checks and by the recovery of amounts unduly paid and, if irregularities are detected, by effective, proportionate and dissuasive penalties, in accordance with Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 2988/95 ( 14 ) , Regulation (Euratom, EC) No 2185/96 and Regulation (EC) No 1073/1999. 2. For the Community activities financed pursuant to this Programme, the notion of irregularity shall, in accordance with Article 1(2) of Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 2988/95, mean any infringement of a provision of Community law resulting from an act or omission by an economic operator, which has, or would have, the effect of prejudicing the general budget of the European Union or budgets managed by the Communities, either by reducing or losing revenue accruing from own resources collected directly on behalf of the Communities, or by an unjustified item of expenditure. 3. The Commission shall ensure that the amount of financial support granted for an action is reduced, suspended or recovered if it finds irregularities, including non-compliance with this Decision, the individual decision or the contract or agreement granting the financial support in question, or if it transpires that, without Commission approval having been sought, the action has been subjected to a change which conflicts with the nature or implementing conditions of the project. 4. If the time limits have not been observed or if only part of the allocated financial support is justified by the progress made with implementing an action, the beneficiary shall submit observations to the Commission within a specified period. If the beneficiary does not give a satisfactory answer, the Commission may cancel the remaining financial support and demand the repayment of sums already paid out. 5. The Commission shall ensure that any undue payment is reimbursed. Interest shall accrue on any sums not repaid in good time under the conditions laid down in the Financial Regulation.
Article 13 Committee procedure
1. The Commission shall be assisted by a committee. 2. Where reference is made to this paragraph, Article 5a(1) to (4) and Article 7 of Decision 1999/468/EC shall apply, having regard to the provisions of Article 8 thereof.
Article 14 Evaluation
1. No later than 6 months before the end of the Programme, the Commission shall submit to the European Parliament and the Council a report on the achievement of the Programme’s objectives. That report shall be based, inter alia, on the annual reports referred to in Article 11(1). That report shall appraise at least the overall pertinence and coherence of the Programme, the effectiveness of its execution and the overall and individual effectiveness of the various actions in terms of achievements of the objectives as set out in Article 2. The report shall be forwarded to the European Economic and Social Committee for information. 2. The European Parliament and the Council shall, in accordance with the Treaty, decide whether to continue the Programme after 31 December 2013. 3. The Commission shall present to the European Parliament and the Council as soon as possible, and in any event by 1 July 2010, a report on the need for further reforms of the financial supervisory system in the European Union, taking account of the responsibilities under the Treaty, and shall, as appropriate, put forward the necessary legislative proposals. 4. The Commission shall present to the European Parliament and the Council, together with the preliminary draft budget for 2011, a report on the possible adjustments to be made to the total financial envelope with regards to commitment appropriations to the beneficiaries listed in Section B of the Annex. 5. The Commission shall, by 1 July 2010, present a report on reinforcing European audit firm oversight cooperation.
Article 15 Entry into force
This Decision shall enter into force on the 20th day following its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union .