Article 1 Objective of the programme
1. This Decision establishes a Community programme to promote safer use of the Internet and other communication technologies, particularly for children, and to fight against illegal content and harmful conduct online. The programme shall be known as the ‘Safer Internet’ programme (‘the Programme’). 2. The following action lines shall be addressed: (a) ensuring public awareness; (b) fighting against illegal content and harmful conduct online; (c) promoting a safer online environment; (d) establishing a knowledge base. The activities to be carried out under these action lines are set out in Annex I. The Programme shall be implemented in accordance with Annex III. 3. For the purpose of this Decision ‘children’ means persons under 18 years of age, unless the relevant national law confers on them, under certain conditions, full legal capacity under that age.
Article 2 Participation
1. Participation in the Programme shall be open to legal entities established in: (a) the Member States; (b) European Free Trade Association (EFTA) countries which are members of the European Economic Area (EEA), in accordance with the conditions laid down in the EEA Agreement; (c) accession countries and candidate countries benefiting from a pre-accession strategy, in accordance with the general principles and general terms and conditions for the participation of those countries in Community programmes established in the respective Framework Agreements and Association Council Decisions; (d) countries of the Western Balkans and the European neighbourhood, in accordance with the provisions to be determined with those countries following the establishment of Framework Agreements concerning their participation in Community programmes; (e) a third country being a party to an international agreement with the Community, under the terms or on the basis of which it makes a financial contribution to the Programme. 2. The Programme shall also be open to international organisations and legal entities established in third countries other than those mentioned in points (b) to (e) of paragraph 1 under the conditions set out in Annex III.
Article 3 Competences of the Commission
1. The Commission shall be responsible for the implementation of the Programme. 2. The Commission shall prepare annual work programmes on the basis of this Decision. 3. In implementing the Programme, the Commission shall, in close cooperation with the Member States, ensure general consistency and complementarity with other relevant Community policies, programmes and actions. 4. The Commission shall act in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 4(2) for the purposes of: (a) adopting and modifying the annual work programmes, including determining the priority areas for international cooperation; (b) assessing the projects proposed following calls for proposals for Community funding where the estimated Community contribution is equal to, or more than, EUR 500 000; (c) implementing measures for evaluating the Programme. 5. The Commission shall inform the committee referred to in Article 4 of progress in the implementation of the Programme. In particular, the Commission shall inform that committee immediately about all selection decisions taken on matters falling outside of the scope of paragraph 4 of this Article.
Article 4 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 three months.
Article 5 Monitoring and evaluation
1. In order to ensure that Community aid is used efficiently, the Commission shall ensure that actions under this Decision are subject to prior appraisal, follow-up and subsequent evaluation. 2. The Commission shall monitor the implementation of projects under the Programme. 3. The Commission shall evaluate the manner in which the projects have been carried out and their impact in order to assess whether the original objectives have been achieved. 4. The Commission shall, by 24 June 2011, report to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions, on the implementation of the action lines referred to in Article 1(2). 5. The Commission shall submit a final evaluation report at the end of the Programme.
Article 6 Financial provisions
1. The Programme shall cover a period of five years from 1 January 2009. 2. The financial envelope for the implementation of the Programme for the period from 1 January 2009 to 31 December 2013 shall be EUR 55 000 000. 3. The annual appropriations for the period from 2009 to 2013 shall be authorised by the budgetary authority within the limits of the financial framework. 4. An indicative breakdown of expenditure is set out in Annex II.
Article 7 Entry into force
This Decision shall enter into force on the date of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union .