Article 1 Subject-matter and scope
1. A Union programme (the ‘Programme’) is hereby established for the period from 1 May 2017 to 31 December 2020 to support the activities of the organisations referred to in Article 3(1). Those activities contribute to the achievement of the policy objectives of the Union in relation to enhancing the involvement of consumers and other financial services end-users, as well as stakeholders representing their interests, in Union and in other relevant multilateral policy-making in the area of financial services. 2. In order to achieve its objectives, the following activities shall be co-financed by the Programme: (a) research activities, including production of own research and data, and development of expertise; (b) engaging with consumers and other financial services end-users by liaising with existing consumer networks and helplines in Member States in order to identify issues relevant for Union policy-making for the protection of the interests of consumers in the area of financial services; (c) activities for raising awareness, dissemination activities, and the provision of financial education and training, directly or through their national members, including to a wide audience of consumers, other financial services end-users and non-experts; (d) activities reinforcing the interactions between the members of the organisations referred to in Article 3(1) as well as advocacy and policy advice activities fostering the positions of those members at Union level and fostering the public and general interest in financial and Union regulation.
Article 2 Objectives of the Programme
1. The Programme shall have the following objectives: (a) to enhance further the active participation and involvement of consumers and other financial services end-users, as well as stakeholders representing the interests of consumers and other financial services end-users, in Union and in other relevant multilateral policy-making in the area of financial services; (b) to inform consumers and other financial services end-users, as well as stakeholders representing their interests, about issues at stake in the regulation of the financial sector. 2. The Commission shall ensure that the Programme is regularly assessed against the objectives set out in paragraph 1, in particular by requiring each beneficiary to provide the following: (a) a yearly description of the actions performed by the beneficiary under the Programme; (b) an annual activity report which shall include quantitative and qualitative indicators for each activity planned and conducted by the beneficiary; (c) a financial report. Such assessment shall include the drawing up of the report referred to in Article 9(1).
Article 3 Beneficiaries of the Programme
1. Finance Watch and Better Finance shall be beneficiaries of the Programme (‘beneficiaries’). 2. In order to benefit from the Programme, a beneficiary shall remain a non-governmental, non-profit legal entity, independent of industry, commerce or business. It shall have no conflicting interests and shall represent through its members the interests of Union consumers and other end-users in the area of financial services. In order to represent the interests of consumers and other financial services end-users in as many Member States as possible, a beneficiary shall seek to expand its network of active members within the Member States and to ensure comprehensive geographical coverage. The Commission shall assist the beneficiaries in identifying potential members in Member States. The Commission shall also ensure that each beneficiary continues to comply with the criteria set out in the first and second subparagraphs of this paragraph for the duration of the Programme, by including them in the annual work programmes referred to in Article 7 and by assessing annually whether the beneficiaries meet those criteria, before awarding the action grants referred to in Article 4. 3. In the event that the beneficiaries merge, the resulting legal entity shall become the sole beneficiary of the Programme.
Article 4 Award of grants
Financing under the Programme shall be provided in the form of action grants awarded on an annual basis and shall be based on the Proposal submitted by a beneficiary in accordance with Article 7(2).
Article 5 Transparency
1. Any communication or publication related to an action performed by a beneficiary and funded under the Programme shall indicate that the beneficiary has received funding from the budget of the Union. 2. Each beneficiary shall, within two months of the adoption of annual work programmes by the Commission, provide the following information simultaneously to the public and to relevant consumer non-profit organisations: (a) the organisation, and scope, of work; (b) the possibility of becoming a member, the conditions of membership and the structure of the beneficiary; (c) which of its activities are covered by Article 1(2).
Article 6 Financial provisions
1. The financial envelope for the implementation of the Programme for the period from 1 May 2017 to 31 December 2020 shall be up to a maximum of EUR 6 000 000 in current prices. 2. The annual appropriations shall be authorised by the European Parliament and the Council within the limits of the multiannual financial framework.
Article 7 Implementation of the Programme
1. The Commission shall implement the Programme in accordance with Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012. 2. In order to benefit from the Programme, each beneficiary shall submit every year, before 30 November, to the Commission a description of the activities referred to in Article 1(2) planned for the following year that pursue the policy objectives of the Programme (the ‘Proposal’). Those activities shall be described in detail, including their objectives, expected results and impact, estimated costs and timeframe, as well as relevant indicators by which to assess them. 3. The Commission shall implement the Programme by means of annual work programmes in accordance with Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012. The annual work programmes shall set out the objectives to be pursued, the expected results of the actions to be performed by the beneficiaries, the method of implementation of those actions and the total amount of funding required to perform those actions. They shall also contain a description of the actions to be financed, an indication of the amount of funding allocated to each action and an indicative implementation timetable. For the action grants, the annual work programmes shall establish the priorities, the essential award criteria and the maximum rate of co-financing. The maximum rate of direct co-financing shall be 60 % of eligible costs. In the event that a beneficiary receives funding from members who are themselves recipients of funding under Union financing programmes, the Commission shall limit its annual contribution to ensure that total direct and indirect Union funding for actions under the Programme to that beneficiary does not exceed 70 % of total eligible costs. 4. The Commission shall adopt the annual work programmes by means of a financing decision.
Article 8 Protection of the financial interests of the Union
1. The Commission shall take appropriate measures to ensure that, when actions financed under this Regulation are implemented, the financial interests of the Union are protected by the application of preventive measures against fraud, corruption and any other illegal activities, by effective checks and, if irregularities are detected, by the recovery of the amounts wrongly paid and, where appropriate, by effective, proportionate and dissuasive administrative and financial penalties. 2. The Commission or its representatives and the Court of Auditors shall have the power of audit, on the basis of documents and of on-the-spot inspections, over all grant beneficiaries, contractors and subcontractors who have received Union funds under the Programme. 3. The European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) may carry out investigations, including on-the-spot checks and inspections, in accordance with the provisions and procedures laid down in Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 883/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council ( 6 ) and in Council Regulation (Euratom, EC) No 2185/96 ( 7 ) , with a view to establishing whether there has been fraud, corruption or any other illegal activity affecting the financial interests of the Union in connection with a grant agreement or grant decision or a contract funded under the Programme. 4. Without prejudice to paragraphs 1, 2 and 3, cooperation agreements with third countries and with international organisations, contracts, grant agreements and grant decisions resulting from the implementation of this Regulation shall contain provisions expressly empowering the Commission, the Court of Auditors and OLAF to conduct such audits and investigations, in accordance with their respective competences.
Article 9 Evaluation of the Programme
1. No later than 12 months before the end of the Programme, the Commission shall submit to the European Parliament and to the Council an evaluation report on the achievement of the Programme's objectives and upon request shall provide them with the information used for the evaluation work and available to the Commission, while respecting applicable data protection rules and confidentiality obligations. The evaluation report shall evaluate the overall relevance and added value of the Programme, the effectiveness and efficiency of its execution, and the overall and individual effectiveness of the beneficiaries' performance in terms of the objectives set out in Article 2(1). 2. The evaluation report referred to in paragraph 1 shall be forwarded to the European Economic and Social Committee for its information.
Article 10 Transitional provision
Beneficiaries shall submit to the Commission the Proposal for the first year of the Programme by 3 June 2017.
Article 11 Entry into force
This Regulation shall enter into force on the day of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union . It shall apply from 1 May 2017 until 31 December 2020.