Article 1 Definitions
For the purpose of this Decision: (a) ‘participating Member States’ shall mean the Member States of the European Union, except Denmark; (b) ‘contributing States’ shall mean the Member States contributing to the financing of the military operation in question in accordance with Article 28(3) of the Treaty on European Union and the third States contributing to the financing of the common costs of this operation pursuant to agreements between themselves and the European Union; (c) ‘operations’ shall mean the EU operations having military or defence implications; (d) ‘military supporting actions’ shall mean the EU operations, or parts thereof, decided by the Council in support of a third State or a third organisation, which have military or defence implications, but which are not under the authority of EU Headquarters.
Article 2 Establishment of the mechanism
1. A mechanism to administer the financing of the common costs of operations is hereby established. 2. The mechanism shall be called Athena. 3. Athena shall act on behalf of the participating Member States or, regarding the specific operations, the contributing States as defined in Article 1.
Article 3 Legal capacity
With a view to the administrative management of the financing of European Union operations with military or defence implications, Athena shall have the necessary legal capacity, in particular, to hold a bank account, acquire, hold or dispose of property, enter into contracts and administrative arrangements and be a party to legal proceedings. Athena shall be non-profit-making.
Article 4 Coordination with third parties
To the extent necessary to achieve its tasks, and in conformity with the objectives and policies of the European Union, Athena shall coordinate its activities with the Member States, Community institutions and international organisations.
Article 5 Management bodies and staff
1. Athena shall be managed, under the authority of the Special Committee, by: (a) the administrator; (b) the commander of each operation, in relation to the operation which he/she commands (hereinafter referred to as the ‘operation commander’); (c) the accounting officer. 2. Athena shall use existing administrative structures of the European Union to the greatest possible extent. Athena shall resort to staff made available as necessary by the EU institutions or seconded by Member States. 3. The Secretary-General of the Council may provide the administrator or the accounting officer with the staff needed for them to carry out their functions, which may be on the basis of a proposal by a participating Member State. 4. Athena's bodies and staff shall be activated on the basis of operational needs.
Article 6 The Special Committee
1. A Special Committee composed of one representative of each participating Member State is established (Special Committee). The Commission shall attend the meetings of the Special Committee without taking part in its votes. 2. Athena shall be managed under the authority of the Special Committee. 3. When the Special Committee is discussing the financing of the common costs of a given operation: (a) the Special Committee shall be composed of one representative of each contributing Member State; (b) the representatives of contributing third States shall participate in the proceedings of the Special Committee. They shall neither take part in nor be present at its votes; (c) the operation commander or his/her representative shall participate in the proceedings of the Special Committee, without taking part in its votes. 4. The Presidency of the Council of the European Union shall convene and chair the meetings of the Special Committee. The administrator shall provide the secretariat for the Special Committee. He/she shall draw up the minutes of the result of the Committee's discussions. He/she shall not take part in its votes. 5. The accounting officer shall participate as necessary in the proceedings of the Special Committee, without taking part in its votes. 6. If a participating Member State, the administrator or the operation commander so requests, the Presidency shall convene the Special Committee within at most 15 days. 7. The administrator shall suitably inform the Special Committee of any claim or dispute addressed to Athena. 8. The Special Committee shall decide unanimously amongst its members, taking into account its composition as defined in paragraphs 1 and 3. Its decisions shall be binding. 9. The Special Committee approves all budgets, taking into account the relevant reference amounts, and generally exercises the competences foreseen by Articles 20, 21, 22, 23, 26, 27, 29, 31, 33, 34, 38, 39, 40 and 41. 10. The Special Committee shall be informed by the administrator, the operation commander and the accounting officer as provided for in the present Decision. 11. The text of the acts approved by the Special Committee pursuant to articles 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 26, 29, 31, 33, 34, 39, 40 and 41 shall be signed by the chairman of the Special Committee at the time of their approval and by the administrator.
Article 7 The administrator
1. The Secretary-General of the Council, after informing the Special Committee, shall appoint the administrator and at least one deputy administrator for a period of three years. 2. The administrator shall discharge his/her duties on behalf of Athena. 3. The administrator: (a) shall draw up and submit to the Special Committee any draft budget. The expenditure section for an operation in any draft budget shall be drawn up on the basis of a proposal from the operation commander; (b) shall adopt the budgets after their approval by the Special Committee; (c) shall be the authorising officer for the revenue, common costs incurred in preparation for, or further to, operations and operational common costs incurred outside the active phase of the operation; (d) as regards revenue, shall implement the financial arrangements made with third parties in relation to the financing of the common costs of the Union's military operations. 4. The administrator shall ensure that the rules established by the present Decision are complied with, and that the decisions of the Special Committee are applied. 5. The administrator shall be authorised to adopt any measures which he/she deems necessary to implement the expenditure financed through Athena. He/she shall inform the Special Committee thereof. 6. The administrator shall coordinate work on financial questions relating to the Union's military operations. He/she shall be the contact point with national administrations and, as appropriate, international organisations on these matters. 7. The administrator shall be accountable before the Special Committee.
Article 8 The operation commander
1. The operation commander shall discharge his/her duties on behalf of Athena in relation to the financing of the common costs of the operation which he/she commands. 2. For the operation which he/she commands, the operation commander shall: (a) send the administrator his/her proposals for the ‘expenditure — operational common costs’ section of the draft budgets; (b) as authorising officer, implement the appropriations relating to the operational common costs; he/she shall exercise his/her authority over any person participating in the implementation of those appropriations, including pre-financing; he/she may award contracts and enter into contracts on behalf of Athena; he/she shall open a bank account on behalf of Athena for the operation which he/she commands. 3. The operation commander shall be authorised to adopt any measures which he/she deems necessary to implement the expenditure financed through Athena, for the operation which he/she commands. He/she shall inform the administrator and the Special Committee thereof.
Article 9 The accounting officer
1. The Secretary-General of the Council shall appoint the accounting officer and at least one deputy accounting officer for a period of two years. 2. The accounting officer shall discharge his/her duties on behalf of Athena. 3. The accounting officer shall be responsible for: (a) proper implementation of payments, collection of revenue and recovery of amounts established as being receivable; (b) preparing the accounts for Athena each year, and, after completion of each operation, the accounts for that operation; (c) supporting the administrator when he/she submits the annual accounts or the accounts for an operation to the Special Committee for approval; (d) keeping the accounts for Athena; (e) laying down the accounting rules and methods and the chart of accounts; (f) laying down and validating the accounting systems for revenue and, where appropriate, validating systems laid down by the authorising officer to supply or justify accounting information; (g) keeping supporting documents; (h) treasury management, jointly with the administrator. 4. The administrator and the operation commander shall provide the accounting officer with all the information necessary for the production of accounts which accurately represent Athena's financial assets and budget implementation administered by Athena. They shall guarantee its reliability. 5. The accounting officer shall be accountable before the Special Committee.
Article 10 General provisions applicable to the administrator, the accounting officer and Athena's staff
1. The functions of administrator or deputy administrator, on the one hand, and accounting officer or deputy accounting officer, on the other, shall be mutually incompatible. 2. Any deputy administrator shall act under the authority of the administrator. Any deputy accounting officer shall act under the authority of the accounting officer. 3. A deputy administrator shall stand in for the administrator when he/she is absent or prevented from attending. A deputy accounting officer shall stand in for the accounting officer when he/she is absent or prevented from attending. 4. Officials and other servants of the European Communities, when carrying out functions on behalf of Athena, shall remain subject to the rules and regulations applicable to them. 5. The staff made available to Athena by the Member States shall be subject to the same rules as those set out in the Council decision concerning the rules applicable to national experts on secondment, and to the provisions agreed on by their national administration and the Community institution or Athena. 6. Before their appointment, the staff of Athena must have received clearance for access to classified information up to at least ‘Secret UE’level held by the Council, or equivalent clearance by a Member State. 7. The administrator may negotiate and enter into arrangements with the Member States or Community institutions with a view to designating in advance those staff who could, if need be, be made immediately available to Athena.
Article 11 Administrative arrangements with Member States or EU institutions
1. Administrative arrangements may be negotiated with Member States or EU institutions in order to facilitate procurement in operations at the most economical conditions. These arrangements shall take the form of an Exchange of Letters between Athena represented by the operation commander or, where there is no operation commander, the administrator, and the competent administrative authorities of the Member States or EU institutions concerned. 2. The Special Committee shall be consulted before any such arrangement is signed.
Article 12 Administrative arrangements with a third State or an international organisation
1. An administrative arrangement may be negotiated with a third State or an international organisation in order notably to facilitate procurement in theatre at the most economical conditions taking into account operational constraints. These arrangements shall take the form of an Exchange of Letters between Athena, represented by the operation commander or, where there is no operation commander, the administrator, and the competent administrative authorities of the third State or the international organisation concerned. 2. Any such arrangement shall be submitted to the Special Committee for approval before it is signed.
Article 13 Standing and ad hoc administrative arrangements on modalities for the payment of third States' contributions
1. In the framework of the agreements concluded between the EU and third States indicated by the Council as potential contributors to EU operations or as contributors to a specific EU operation, the administrator shall negotiate with these third States standing or ad hoc administrative arrangements, respectively. These arrangements shall take the form of an exchange of Letters between Athena and the competent administrative services of the third States concerned establishing the modalities necessary to facilitate swift payment of contributions to any future EU military operation. 2. Pending the conclusion of the agreements referred to in paragraph 1, the administrator may take the necessary measures to facilitate payments by the contributing third States. 3. The administrator shall inform the Special Committee in advance of the envisaged arrangements, before signing them on behalf of Athena. 4. When a military operation is launched by the Union, the administrator shall, for the amounts of contributions decided by the Council, implement the arrangements with the third States contributing to that operation.
Article 14 Opening and purpose
1. The administrator shall open one or more bank accounts on behalf of Athena. 2. Any bank account shall be opened at a first-rate financial institution with its head office in a Member State. 3. The contributions from contributing States shall be paid into these accounts. They shall be used to pay for the costs administered by Athena and to make the necessary advances to the operation commander for the implementation of expenditure relating to the common costs of a military operation. No bank account may be overdrawn.
Article 15 Management of funds
1. Any payment from Athena's account shall require the joint signature of the administrator or a deputy administrator on the one hand and the accounting officer or a deputy accounting officer on the other. 2. Funds administered by Athena, including those entrusted to an operation commander, may not be deposited other than with a first-rate financial institution in euro in a current or short-term account.
Article 16 Definition of common costs and periods for eligibility
1. The common costs listed in Annex I shall be at the expense of Athena whenever they are incurred. When entered in an article of the budget showing the operation to which they are most related, they shall be regarded as operational costs of this operation. Otherwise, they shall be regarded as common costs incurred in preparation for, or following, operations. 2. Furthermore, Athena shall bear the operational common costs listed in Annex II during the period from the approval of the Crisis Management Concept for the operation until the appointment of the operation commander. In particular circumstances, after the Political and Security Committee has been consulted, the Special Committee may modify the period during which these costs shall be borne by Athena. 3. During the active phase of an operation, which runs from the date on which the operation commander is appointed to the day on which the operation headquarters ceases its activity, Athena shall bear as operational common costs: (a) the common costs listed in Annex III-A; (b) the common costs listed in Annex III-B, when the Council so decides. 4. During the active phase of a military supporting action, as determined by the Council, Athena shall bear as operational common costs the common costs defined by the Council on a case-by-case basis by reference to Annex III. 5. The operational common costs of an operation also include the expenditure necessary to wind it up, as listed in Annex IV. The operation is wound up when the equipment and infrastructure commonly funded for the operation have found their final destination and the accounts for the operation have been drawn up. 6. No expenditure incurred with a view to covering costs which would in any case have been borne by one or more contributing States, a Community institution or an international organisation, independently of the organisation of an operation, may be eligible as a common cost. 7. The Special Committee may decide on a case-by-case basis that, in view of particular circumstances, certain incremental costs other than those listed in Annex IIIB shall be regarded as common costs for one given operation during its active phase. 8. The Council and the Special Committee shall be informed by the Member States, through the administrator, of cost-sharing arrangements in which they take part in the context of an EU operation.
Article 17 Exercises
1. The common costs of the European Union's exercises shall be financed through Athena following rules and procedures similar to those for operations to which all participating Member States contribute. 2. These exercise common costs shall be composed of, firstly, incremental costs for deployable or fixed headquarters and, secondly, incremental costs incurred by EU recourse to NATO common assets and capabilities when made available for an exercise. 3. Exercise common costs shall not include costs related to: (a) capital acquisitions, including those related to buildings, infrastructure and equipment; (b) the planning and preparatory phase of exercises; (c) transport, barracks and lodging for forces.
Article 18 Reference amount
Any joint action by which the Council decides that the Union will conduct a military operation and any joint action or decision by which the Council decides to extend a Union operation shall contain a reference amount for the common costs of this operation. The administrator shall, with the support in particular of the Union military staff and, if he/she is in post, the operation commander, evaluate the amount judged necessary to cover the common costs of the operation for the planned period. The administrator shall propose this amount through the Presidency to the Council bodies responsible for examining the draft joint action or decision.
Article 19 Budgetary principles
1. The budget, drawn up in euro, is the act which for each financial year lays down and authorises all the revenue and expenditure administered by Athena. 2. All expenditure shall be linked to a specific operation, except where appropriate for the costs listed in Annex I. 3. The appropriations entered in the budget are authorised for the duration of a financial year which begins on 1 January and ends on 31 December of the same year. 4. Budget revenue and expenditure must balance. 5. No revenue nor expenditure may be implemented other than by allocation to a heading in the budget and within the limit of the appropriations entered there.
Article 20 Establishment and adoption of the annual budget
1. Each year the administrator shall draw up a draft budget for the following financial year, with the assistance of each operation commander for the ‘operational common costs’ section. The administrator shall propose the draft budget to the Special Committee by 31 October at the latest. 2. The draft shall include: (a) the appropriations deemed necessary to cover the common costs incurred in preparation for, or further to, operations; (b) the appropriations deemed necessary to cover the operational common costs for ongoing or planned operations, including, where appropriate, to reimburse common costs which have been prefinanced by a State or third party; (c) a forecast of the revenue needed to cover expenditure. 3. The commitment and payment appropriations shall be classified in titles and chapters grouping expenditure together by type or purpose, subdivided as necessary into articles. Detailed comments by chapter or article shall be included in the draft budget. One specific title shall be dedicated to each operation. One specific title shall be the general part of the budget and shall include the common costs incurred in preparation for, or further to, operations. 4. Each title may include a chapter entitled ‘provisional appropriations’. These appropriations shall be entered where there is uncertainty, based on serious grounds, about the amount of appropriations needed or the scope for implementing the appropriations entered. 5. Revenue shall consist of: (a) contributions payable by the participating and contributing Member States and, where appropriate, by contributing third States; (b) miscellaneous revenue, subdivided by title, which includes interest received, revenue from sales and the budget outturn from the previous financial year, after it has been determined by the Special Committee. 6. The Special Committee shall approve the draft budget by 31 December. The administrator shall adopt the approved budget and notify the participating and contributing States.
Article 21 Amending budgets
1. In the case of unavoidable, exceptional or unforeseen circumstances, in particular when an operation arises during the course of the financial year, the administrator shall propose a draft amending budget. the draft amending budget substantially exceeds the reference amount for the operation concerned, the Special Committee may request the Council to approve it. 2. The draft amending budget shall be drawn up, proposed, approved and adopted and notification given in accordance with the same procedure as the annual budget. However, when the amending budget is linked to the launch of a Union military operation, it shall be accompanied by a detailed financial statement on the common costs anticipated for the whole of the operation. The Special Committee shall discuss it taking account of its urgency.
Article 22 Transfers
1. The administrator, where appropriate on the basis of a proposal by the operation commander, may make transfers of appropriations. The administrator shall inform the Special Committee of his/her intention, in so far as the urgency of the situation permits, at least one week in advance. However, the prior approval of the Special Committee shall be required when: (a) the planned transfer will amend the total of the appropriations provided for an operation; or (b) the planned transfers between chapters during the financial year exceed 10 % of the appropriations entered in the chapter from which the appropriations are being drawn, as appearing in the adopted budget for the financial year on the date when the proposal for the transfer in question is made. 2. When he/she deems this to be necessary for the proper conduct of an operation, in the three months following the date of launching of the operation, the operation commander may make transfers of appropriations allocated for the operation, between articles and between chapters in the ‘operational common costs’ section of the budget. He/she shall inform the administrator and the Special Committee thereof.
Article 23 Carryover of appropriations
1. In principle, the appropriations intended to cover the common costs incurred in preparation for, or further to, operations, which have not been committed are cancelled at the end of the financial year. 2. Appropriations intended to cover the cost of storing material and equipment administered by Athena may be carried over once to the following financial year, when a commitment to that effect was made before 31 December of the current financial year. Appropriations intended to cover operational common costs may be carried over if they are necessary for an operation which has not been fully wound up. 3. The administrator shall submit proposals for the carrying over of appropriations from the preceding financial year to the Special Committee by 15 February. These proposals shall be deemed approved unless the Special Committee decides otherwise by 15 March.
Article 24 Anticipated implementation
Once the annual budget has been approved, appropriations may be used to cover commitments and payments in so far as operationally necessary.
Article 25 Determination of contributions
1. Payment appropriations to cover the common costs incurred in preparation for, or further to, operations which are not covered by miscellaneous revenue shall be financed by contributions from the participating Member States. 2. Payment appropriations to cover the operational common costs of an operation shall be covered by contributions from the Member States and third States contributing to the operation. 3. The contributions payable by the contributing Member States for an operation shall be equal to the amount of the payment appropriations entered in the budget and intended to cover the operational common costs of that operation, minus the amounts of the contributions payable for the same operation by contributing third States pursuant to Article 13. 4. The breakdown of contributions between the Member States from whom a contribution is required shall be determined in accordance with the gross national product scale as specified in Article 28(3) of the Treaty on European Union and in accordance with the Council Decision 2000/597/EC, Euratom of 29 September 2000 on the system of the European Communities' own resources ( 3 ) , or any other Council Decision which may replace it. 5. The data for the calculation of contributions shall be those set out in the ‘GNI own resources’ column in the ‘Summary of financing of the general budget by type of own resource and by Member State’ table appended to the latest budget adopted by the European Communities. The contribution of each Member State from whom a contribution is due shall be proportional to the share of Gross National Income (GNI) of that Member State in the total GNI aggregate of the Member States from whom a contribution is due.
Article 26 Schedule for payment of contributions
1. When the Council has adopted a reference amount for a Union military operation, the contributing Member States, shall pay their contributions at the level of 30 % of the reference amount, unless the Council decides on a higher percentage. 2. The Special Committee, on the basis of a proposal by the administrator, may decide that additional contributions will be called before the adoption of an amending budget for the operation. The Special Committee may decide to refer the matter to the competent preparatory bodies at the Council. 3. When the appropriations intended to cover the operational common costs of the operation have been entered in the budget, the Member States shall pay the balance of the contributions which they owe for that operation in application of Article 25 after deduction of the contributions already called from them for the same operation in the same financial year. However, when the operation is planned to last more than six months, the balance of contributions shall be paid in half-yearly instalments. In such a case, the first instalment shall be paid within two months of the launching of the operation; the second instalment shall be paid by a deadline to be set by the Special Committee acting on a proposal from the administrator, taking into account operational needs. The Special Committee may depart from these provisions. 4. When a reference amount or a budget has been adopted, the administrator shall send the corresponding calls for contributions by letter to the national administrations whose details have been communicated to him/her. 5. Without prejudice to the other provisions in this Decision, the contributions shall be paid within 30 days following despatch of the relevant call for contributions. 6. Each contributing State shall pay the bank charges relating to the payment of its own contribution. 7. The administrator shall acknowledge receipt of contributions.