Article 1 
Establishment and duration of the Programme 1. This Decision establishes the Community Programme for Employment and Social Solidarity, called Progress (the Programme), to support financially the implementation of the objectives of the European Union in the fields of employment and social affairs, as set out in the Commission Communication on the Social Agenda, and thereby contribute to the achievement of the Lisbon Strategy goals in those fields. 2. The Programme shall run from 1 January 2007 to 31 December 2013.
Article 2 
General objectives 1. The Programme pursues the following general objectives: (a) to improve the knowledge and understanding of the situation prevailing in the Member States and in other participating countries through analysis, evaluation and close monitoring of policies; (b) to support the development of statistical tools and methods and common indicators, where appropriate broken down by gender and age group, in the areas covered by the Programme; (c) to support and monitor the implementation of Community law, where applicable, and Community policy objectives in the Member States, and assess their effectiveness and impact; (d) to promote networking, mutual learning, identification and dissemination of good practice and innovative approaches at European level; (e) to enhance awareness of the Community policies and objectives pursued under each of its five sections among stakeholders and the general public; (f) to boost the capacity of key European level networks to promote, support and further develop Community policies and objectives, where applicable. 2. Gender mainstreaming shall be promoted in all sections of and activities under the Programme. 3. The results achieved in the Programme sections and activities shall be disseminated to those involved and to the public as appropriate. The Commission shall conduct exchanges of views with the main stakeholders as appropriate.
Article 3 
Structure of the Programme The Programme shall be divided into the following five sections: 1. Employment; 2. Social protection and inclusion; 3. Working conditions; 4. Antidiscrimination and diversity; 5. Gender equality.
Article 9 
Types of actions 1. The Programme shall finance the following types of actions, which may be implemented, where appropriate, within a transnational framework: (a) Analytical activities: (i) collection, development and dissemination of data and statistics; (ii) development and dissemination of common methodologies and, where appropriate, indicators or benchmarks; (iii) carrying out of studies, analyses and surveys and dissemination of their results; (iv) carrying out of evaluations and impact assessments and dissemination of their results; (v) elaboration and publication of guides, reports and educational material via the Internet or other media. (a) Analytical activities: (i) collection, development and dissemination of data and statistics; (ii) development and dissemination of common methodologies and, where appropriate, indicators or benchmarks; (iii) carrying out of studies, analyses and surveys and dissemination of their results; (iv) carrying out of evaluations and impact assessments and dissemination of their results; (v) elaboration and publication of guides, reports and educational material via the Internet or other media. (b) Mutual learning, awareness and dissemination activities: (i) identification of, and exchanges on, good practices, innovative approaches and experiences, and organisation of peer review and mutual learning, by means of meetings/workshops/seminars at European, transnational or national level, taking account, where possible, of specific national circumstances; (ii) organisation of Presidency conferences/seminars; (iii) organisation of conferences/seminars in support of the development and implementation of Community law and policy objectives; (iv) organisation of media campaigns and events; (v) compilation and publication of materials to disseminate information as well as results of the Programme. (b) Mutual learning, awareness and dissemination activities: (i) identification of, and exchanges on, good practices, innovative approaches and experiences, and organisation of peer review and mutual learning, by means of meetings/workshops/seminars at European, transnational or national level, taking account, where possible, of specific national circumstances; (ii) organisation of Presidency conferences/seminars; (iii) organisation of conferences/seminars in support of the development and implementation of Community law and policy objectives; (iv) organisation of media campaigns and events; (v) compilation and publication of materials to disseminate information as well as results of the Programme. (c) Support for main actors: (i) support for the running costs of those key European level networks whose activities are linked to implementation of the objectives of the Programme; (ii) organisation of working groups of national officials to monitor the implementation of Community law; (iii) funding of specialised seminars addressed to those working in the field, key officials and other relevant actors; (iv) networking among specialised bodies at European level; (v) funding of experts' networks; (vi) funding of European level observatories; (vii) exchange of personnel between national administrations; (viii) cooperation with international institutions. (c) Support for main actors: (i) support for the running costs of those key European level networks whose activities are linked to implementation of the objectives of the Programme; (ii) organisation of working groups of national officials to monitor the implementation of Community law; (iii) funding of specialised seminars addressed to those working in the field, key officials and other relevant actors; (iv) networking among specialised bodies at European level; (v) funding of experts' networks; (vi) funding of European level observatories; (vii) exchange of personnel between national administrations; (viii) cooperation with international institutions. 2. The activities provided for in point (b) of paragraph 1 shall have a strong European dimension, be of an appropriate scale in order to ensure a real European added value and be carried out by national, regional or local authorities, specialised bodies provided for under Community law or actors considered to be the key players in their area. 3. The Programme shall not finance any measures for the preparation and implementation of European Years.
Article 10 
Access to the Programme 1. Access to the Programme shall be open to all public and/or private bodies, actors and institutions, in particular: (a) Member States; (b) public employment services and their agencies; (c) local and regional authorities; (d) specialised bodies provided for under Community law; (e) the social partners; (f) NGOs, in particular those organised at European level; (g) higher education institutions and research institutes; (h) experts in evaluation; (i) national statistical offices; (j) the media. 2. The Commission may also directly participate in the Programme insofar as the activities provided for in points (a) and (b) of Article 9(1) are concerned.
Article 11 
Method of application for support 1. Activities of the type referred to in Article 9 may be financed by: (a) a service contract following a call for tenders, in which case the Eurostat procedures shall apply in respect of cooperation with national statistical offices; (b) partial support following a call for proposals, in which case, the Community co-financing may not exceed, as a general rule, 80 % of the total expenditure incurred by the recipient. Any financial support in excess of this ceiling may be granted only in exceptional circumstances and after close scrutiny. 2. Activities of the type provided for in Article 9(1) may be granted financial support in response to requests by, for example, Member States, in accordance with relevant provisions of Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002 of 25 June 2002 on the Financial Regulation applicable to the general budget of the European Communities ( 14 ), in particular Article 110 thereof, and Commission Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 2342/2002 of 23 December 2002 laying down detailed rules for the implementation of Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002 on the Financial Regulation applicable to the general budget of the European Communities ( 15 ), in particular in Article 168 thereof.
Article 12 
Implementing provisions 1. The measures necessary for the implementation of this Decision that relate to the following matters shall be adopted in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 13(2): (a) the general guidelines for the implementation of the Programme; (b) the annual work programme for the implementation of the Programme, divided into separate sections; (c) the financial support to be granted by the Community; (d) the annual budget, subject to Article 17; (e) the procedures for selecting the actions to be supported by the Community and the draft list of actions to receive such support submitted by the Commission; (f) the criteria for evaluating the Programme, including those relating to cost effectiveness and the arrangements for disseminating and transferring results. 2. The measures necessary for the implementation of this Decision that relate to all matters other than those referred to in paragraph 1 shall be adopted in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 13(3).
Article 13 
Committee 1. The Commission shall be assisted by a Committee. 2. Where reference is made to this paragraph, Articles 4 and 7 of Decision 1999/468/EC shall apply, having regard to the provisions of Article 8 thereof. The period laid down in Article 4(3) of Decision 1999/468/EC shall be set at two months. 3. Where reference is made to this paragraph, Articles 3 and 7 of Decision 1999/468/EC shall apply, having regard to the provisions of Article 8 thereof. 4. The Committee shall adopt its rules of procedure.
Article 14 
Cooperation with other committees 1. The Commission shall establish the necessary links with the Social Protection Committee and the Employment Committee in order to ensure that they are regularly and appropriately informed about the implementation of activities referred to in this Decision. 2. The Commission shall also inform other relevant committees of the action taken under the five sections of the Programme. 3. Where appropriate, the Commission shall establish regular and structured cooperation between the Committee referred to in Article 13 and the monitoring committees established for other relevant policies, instruments and actions.
Article 15 
Consistency and complementarity 1. The Commission shall, in cooperation with the Member States, ensure overall consistency with other Union and Community policies, instruments and actions, in particular by establishing appropriate mechanisms to coordinate the activities of the Programme with relevant activities relating to research, justice and home affairs, culture, education, training and youth policy, and in the fields of enlargement and the Community's external relations, and with regional policy and general economic policy. Special attention shall be devoted to the possible synergies between this Programme and those in the field of education and training. 2. The Commission and the Member States shall ensure consistency and complementarity and the absence of duplication between activities under the Programme and other relevant Union and Community actions, in particular under the Structural Funds, especially the European Social Fund. 3. The Commission shall ensure that expenditure covered by and charged to the Programme is not charged to any other Community financial instrument. 4. The Commission shall keep the Committee referred to in Article 13 regularly informed of other Community action that contributes to achieving the Lisbon strategy goals in the field of the Social Agenda. 5. Member States shall make all possible efforts to ensure consistency and complementarity between activities under the Programme and those carried out at national, regional and local levels.
Article 16 
Participation of third countries The Programme shall be open to the participation of: — the EFTA/EEA countries in accordance with the conditions established in the EEA Agreement, — the accession and candidate countries associated to the European Union, as well as the western Balkan countries included in the stabilisation and association process.
Article 17 
Financing 1. The financial envelope for implementing the Community activities referred to in this Decision for the period from 1 January 2007 to 31 December 2013 is hereby set at EUR 743 250 000. 2. Over the entire period of the Programme, the financial breakdown between the different sections shall respect the following lower limits:
Article 18 
Protection of the Community's financial interests 1. The Commission shall ensure that, when actions financed under this Decision are implemented, the financial interests of the Community are protected by the application of preventive measures against fraud, corruption and any other illegal activities, by effective checks and by the recovery of the amounts unduly paid and, if irregularities are detected, by effective, proportional and dissuasive penalties, in accordance with Council Regulations (EC, Euratom) No 2988/95 of 18 December 1995 on the protection of the European Communities financial interests ( 16 ) and (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 ( 17 ), and with Regulation (EC) No 1073/1999 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 May 1999 concerning investigations conducted by the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) ( 18 ). 2. For Community actions financed under this Decision, the notion of irregularity referred to in Article 1(2) of Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 2988/95 shall mean any infringement of a provision of Community law or any breach of a contractual obligation 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 it, by an unjustified item of expenditure. 3. Contracts and agreements as well as agreements with participating third countries resulting from this Decision shall provide, in particular, for supervision and financial control by the Commission (or any representative authorised by it) and audits by the Court of Auditors, if necessary, on the spot.
Article 19 
Monitoring and evaluation 1. In order to ensure the regular monitoring of the Programme and to allow for any necessary reorientations, annual activity reports focusing on the results of the Programme shall be drawn up by the Commission and forwarded to the European Parliament and to the Committee referred to in Article 13. 2. The various sections of the Programme shall also be the subject of a mid-term evaluation, which will provide an overview of the Programme as a whole in order to measure the progress made in meeting the objectives of the Programme, the efficiency of the use of resources and its European added value. This evaluation may be supplemented by on-going evaluations. These shall be carried out by the Commission with the assistance of external experts. When available, their results shall be reported in the activity reports referred to in paragraph 1. 3. An ex-post evaluation covering the whole Programme shall be carried out, by 31 December 2015, by the Commission with the assistance of external experts, in order to measure the impact of the Programme objectives and its European added value. The Commission shall submit the expert evaluation to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions. 4. The implementation of the individual sections of the Programme, including the presentation of results and dialogue on future priorities, shall also be discussed within the framework of the Forum on the implementation of the Social Agenda.
Article 20 
Entry into force This Decision shall enter into force on the 20th day following its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union .