Article 1 Subject
This Decision establishes the rules concerning the Community's contribution to the financing of European standardisation in order to support the implementation of specific policies, measures, actions and Community legislation.
Article 2 Bodies eligible for Community financing
Community financing may be granted to the recognised European standardisation bodies listed in Annex I to Directive 98/34/EC for the implementation of the activities listed in Article 3 of this Decision. However, Community financing may also be granted to other bodies for the implementation of the preliminary and ancillary work in connection with European standardisation referred to in Article 3(1)(b), as well as for the programmes referred to in Article 3(1)(f).
Article 3 Standardisation activities eligible for Community financing
1. The Community may finance the following European standardisation activities: (a) the production and revision of European standards or any other standardisation product which is necessary and suitable for the implementation of Community policies and legislation; (b) the performance of preliminary or ancillary work in connection with European standardisation, such as studies, programmes, evaluations, comparative analyses, research work, laboratory work, inter-laboratory tests and conformity evaluation work; (c) the activities of the central secretariats of the European standardisation bodies, such as policy development, the coordination of standardisation activities, the processing of technical work and the provision of information to interested parties; (d) the verification of the quality, and conformity to the corresponding Community policies and legislation, of European standards or any other standardisation product; (e) the translation, where required, of European standards or any other European standardisation product used in support of Community policies and legislation into official Community languages other than the working languages of the European standardisation bodies; the drawing up of documents to explain, interpret and simplify standards, as well as the drawing up of user guides and best practice documents; (f) activities seeking to carry out programmes of technical assistance, cooperation with third countries and the promotion and enhancement of the European standardisation system and of European standards among interested parties in the Community and at international level. 2. The activities referred to in paragraph (1)(a) shall be eligible for Community financing only if the committee set up by Article 5 of Directive 98/34/EC has been consulted on the requests to be submitted to the European standardisation bodies.
Article 4 Financing
The appropriations allocated to the activities referred to in this Decision shall be determined each year by the budgetary authority within the limits of the financial framework.
Article 5 Financing arrangements
1. Community financing shall be provided: (a) in the form of grants without a call for proposals, to European standardisation bodies to carry out the activities referred to in Article 3 and to bodies mandated in a basic act in accordance with Article 49 of the Financial Regulation to carry out, in collaboration with the European standardisation bodies, the work referred to in Article 3(1)(b) of this Decision; (b) in the form of grants after a call for proposals, or by public procurement procedures, to other bodies to carry out, in collaboration with the European standardisation bodies, the standardisation work referred to in Article 3(1)(b) or the programmes referred to in Article 3(1)(f). 2. The activities of the central secretariats of the European standardisation bodies referred to in Article 3(1)(c) may be financed on the basis either of grants for actions or of operating grants. In the event of renewal, operating grants shall not be automatically decreased. 3. The Commission shall decide on the financing arrangements referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2, on the amounts and, where necessary, on the maximum percentage of financing by type of activity. The decisions of the Commission in this regard shall be made public. 4. Grant agreements may authorise flat-rate cover of the beneficiary's overheads up to a maximum of 30 % of total eligible direct costs for actions, except where the indirect costs of the beneficiary are covered through an operating grant financed from the general budget of the European Union. 5. Co-financing in the form of contributions in kind shall be acceptable. The evaluation of contributions in kind shall be performed in accordance with Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 2342/2002. 6. The common cooperation objectives and the administrative and financial conditions relating to the grants awarded to European standardisation bodies shall be defined in the framework partnership agreements signed by the Commission and the European standardisation bodies, in accordance with the Financial Regulation and Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 2342/2002. The European Parliament and the Council shall be informed of the conclusion of these agreements.
Article 6 Management and monitoring
1. The appropriations determined by the budgetary authority for the financing of standardisation activities may also cover the administrative expenses relating to the preparation, monitoring, inspection, auditing and evaluation which are directly necessary for achieving the objectives of this Decision, and particularly studies, meetings, information and publication activities, expenses relating to informatics networks for the exchange of information and any other expenditure on administrative and technical assistance which the Commission may use for standardisation activities. 2. The Commission shall evaluate the relevance of the standardisation activities receiving Community financing in the light of the requirements of Community policies and legislation and inform the European Parliament and the Council about the outcome of such evaluation at least every five years.
Article 7 Protection of the Community's financial interests
1. The Commission shall ensure that, when the activities financed under this Decision are implemented, the Community's financial interests 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 Regulations (EC, Euratom) No 2988/95, (Euratom, EC) No 2185/96 and (EC) No 1073/1999. 2. For the Community activities financed pursuant to 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. Any agreements and contracts resulting from this Decision shall provide for monitoring and financial control by the Commission or any representative which it authorises and for audits by the Court of Auditors, which if necessary may be conducted on the spot.
Article 8 Entry into force
This Decision shall enter into force on the 20th day following its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.