Document ID: 31993D0010

COMMISSION DECISION of 22 December 1992 establishing implementing provisions for Council Decision 92/481/EEC on the adoption of an action plan for the exchange between Member State administrations of national officials who are engaged in the implementation of Community legislation required to achieve the internal market (Karolus Programme)
(93/10/EEC)THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community,
Having regard to Council Decision 92/481/EEC of 22 September 1992 (1) on the adoption of an action plan for the exchange between Member State administrations of national officials who are engaged in the implementation of Community legislation required to achieve the internal market, and in particular Article 10 thereof,
Whereas procedures should be established for the implementation of the exchanges of officials between Member State administrations and the training seminars referred to in Article 5 of the above Decision;
Whereas the organization of those exchanges must fulfil certain conditions in order to ensure that the measure is as effective as possible and can achieve the objectives referred to in Article 4 of the above Decision;
Whereas provision should be made for the preparation and organization of and follow-up to exchanges by defining the respective roles of Member States and the Commission;
Whereas the establishment of these implementing provisions is essential to the success of measures for the change of officials between Member State administrations and similarly to the action plan for the exchange between Member State administrations of national officials who are engaged in the implementation of Community legislation required to achieve the internal market;
Whereas certain financial provisions should be adopted which are essential to the practical organization of transfers of funds between the Commission, Member States and exchange officials, with regard both to exchanges of officials and to seminars;
Whereas the action plan should be given a name which distinguishes it from other Community training programmes;
Whereas the measures provided for in this Decision are in accordance with the opinion of the Committee referred to in Article 10 of Council Decision 92/481/EEC concerning the action plan,
HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:
Article 1
1. This Decision lays down certain implementing provisions in respect of Council Decision 92/481/EEC on the adoption of an action plan for the exchange between Member State administrations of national officials who are engaged in the implementation of Community legislation required to achieve the internal market; these provisions relate to:
- the organization of exchanges of officials,
- the organization of seminars,
- the financial procedures of the payment, by the Member States or the Commission, of their respective contributions and for the reimbursement of expenses in connection with the exchanges and seminars.
2. This Decision in no way affects the programmes established for the exchange of officials in specific fields.
Article 2
The action plan for the exchange between Member State administrations of national officials who are engaged in the implementation of Community legislation required to achieve the internal market shall be called 'Karolus Programme.'
Article 3
1. The service (hereinafter referred to as 'national coordinator') designated by each Member State in accordance with Article 7 of Decision 92/481/EEC for the purpose of organizing the exchanges shall be responsible for all activities under the action plan. The national coordinator shall be responsible for selecting applications and forwarding them to the Commission, and for approving applicants proposed by other Member States. It shall also participate in briefing officials from its own Member State and in promoting the exchange programme.
2. The national coordinators shall be the following:
B - BELGIUM
Direction générale de la sélection et de la formation
rue du Gouvernement provisoire, 15
B-1000 Bruxelles
Algemene Directie voor Selectie en Vorming
Voorlopig Bewindstraat, 15
B-1000 Brussel
DA - DENMARK
Finansministeriet, Administrations- og Personaledepartementet
Bredgade 43
DK-1260 Koebenhavn K
DE - GERMANY
Bundesministerium des Innern
Referat V.I.4
D-5300 Bonn 1
EL - GREECE
Ministère de l'économie nationale
Direction des relations avec les Communautés européennes
Platea Sintagmatos
GR-10180 Athènes
ES - SPAIN
Comisión Superior de Personal
Dirección General de la Función Pública (M.A.P.)
C/María de Molina, 50
E-Madrid
F - FRANCE
Direction générale de l'administration et de la fonction publique
Secteur international
32, rue de Babylone
F-75700 Paris
IRL - IRELAND
Careers and Appointments Section
Department of Finance
Agriculture House
Kildare Street
IRL-Dublin 2
IT - ITALY
Presidenza del Consiglio dei ministri
Dipartimento della Funzione Pubblica
Servizio i 'Affari generali'
reparto iv 'rapporti internazionali'
Corso Vittorio Emanuele 116
I-00186 Roma
L - LUXEMBOURG
Administration du personnel de l'État
2, rue Mercier
BP 1408
L-1014 Luxembourg
NL - NETHERLANDS
Rijkspsychologische Dienst (RPD)
Afdeling Advies
Bureau Internationale Ambtenaren
Postbus 20013
NL-2500 EA Den Haag
P - PORTUGAL
Direcçao Geral das Comunidades Europeias (DGCE) do Ministério dos Negócios Estrangeiros
Serviço do Mercado Interno
Rua da Cova da Moura, 1
P-1000 Lisboa
UK - UNITED KINGDOM
Cabinet Office
Office of Public Service and Science
70, Whitehall
UK-London SW 1
TITLE I EXCHANGES OF OFFICIALS Chapter I Length of exchanges
Article 4
Exchanges may, by way of exception, last for less than the minimum two-month period laid down in the third indent of Article 5 of Council Decision 92/481/EEC. In that event, the Commission must be notified in advance.
Chapter II Organization of exchanges
Article 5
1. Applications shall be submitted via the national coordinator, using the form at Annex I, accompanied by a curriculum vitae and a detailed description of the post held in the home administration, and a statement of areas of interest in the host administration.
2. The national coordinator shall satisfy itself that:
(a) the application:
- has submitted the documents specified in paragraph 1 above,
- is working in the priority areas decided in compliance with the sixth indent of Article 5 of Council Decision 92/481/EEC,
- fulfils the language requirements for the performance of his duties in the host administration,
- has obtained authorization from his home administration for his release for the period of the exchange concerned;
(b) provision has been made for the payment by the Member State of its contribution towards subsistence expenses.
Article 6
1. The national coordinator shall forward applications to the Commission so that it may organize the programme.
2. The Commission shall check that applications fulfil the criteria referred to in Article 5 (see: 'taking into account the funds available under the budget') that there is geographical balance, organize and ensure the proper conduct of exchanges and supervise the financial administration of the programme.
Article 7
1. All applications which fulfil the conditions referred to in Article 6 (2) shall be forwarded by the Commission to the coordinator designated by the host Member State.
2. The coordinator shall:
- ensure that the host administration can accept the proposed applicants,
- ensure that the host administration promotes favourable conditions of stay for exchange officials and provides any assistance required in connection with the organization of their stay in cooperation with the member of the committees of specialist convened by the Commission,
- inform the Commission, on the basis of the information available, of the further scope for receipt of exchange officials and of any difficulties which might arise regarding exchange places in certain priority areas.
Article 8
1. Exchange officials shall complete, on their return and at the latest within four weeks of the exchange, an assessment questionnaire using the model at Annex II.
2. Exchange officials shall also draw up a report on the lessons learnt from the exchange.
These two documents are to be countersigned by the superior of the official concerned and then sent to the national coordinator.
3. At the beginning of each month, each national coordinator shall send to the Commission all assessment questionnaires and reports from officials received during the preceding month, with any comments. The Commission shall send a copy of the abovementioned questionnaires and reports to the national coordinator of the host country concerned.
4. Once a year, the Commission shall send Member States a summary of any information contained in those reports which is of use in monitoring the implementation of instruments for the completion of the single market.
Chapter III Obligations of the Member States
Article 9
In implementing Article 6 (1) of Decision 92/481/EEC, each host Member State shall take into account the intended objectives of exchange officials and those of their home administrations.
Article 10
Each application shall be accompanied by a document certifying that the home Member State accepts responsibility for the payment of its contribution towards the subsistence expenses (Annex I).
Subsistence expenses shall be calculated on the basis of the scale at Annex III. Where the exchange lasts longer than one month, the subsistence allowance shall be reduced by 25 % for the period which exceeds one month. The Commission shall revise the scale in any case annually and also if there are significant variations in currency values or if this Decision is revised in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 10 of Decision 92/481/EEC.
TITLE II TRAINING SEMINARS
Article 11
The Commission shall draw up the programme of seminars to be held during the year. Two seminars shall be arranged for exchange participants: a training seminar within the meaning of the second ident of Article 58 of Decision 92/481/EEC and, following submission of the participants' reports, an assessment seminar within the meaning of the fifth indent of Article 5 of the above Decision. In drawing up the programme, the Commission shall take into account the priority areas decided in compliance with the sixth indent of Article 5 of Decision 92/481/EEC.
Article 12
The programme referred to in Article 11 above shall specify:
- the annual priorities for exchanges and seminars,
- the topics to be covered by the seminars,
- the venues for the seminars, at the Commission or in a Member State,
- the projected number of participants from each Member State.
Article 13
The Commission shall send the draft programme for each seminar to all national coordinators. This draft may, if necessary, be added to before the seminar is held. In that event, an amended final programme shall be sent to all national coordinators by the Commission.
TITLE III FINANCIAL PROVISIONS Chapter I Exchanges
Article 14
The Member State concerned shall pay direct to its officials its 50 % contribution towards the subsistence expenses relating to the exchange, on the basis of the estimate provided by the Commission when the applicant's selection is confirmed.
Article 15
Each exchange official shall arrange for the host administration to complete a certificate of arrival at the beginning of the exchange and a certificate of departure at the end of the exchange using the models at Annexes IV and V. These certificates shall forthwith be sent to the Commission.
Article 16
Exchange officials shall be entitled to a daily subsistence allowance in respect of each day spent in the host country as laid down in Article 10 above and to the reimbursement of the following travel expenses as laid down at Annex VI:
- two return journeys where the length of the exchange is two months or more,
- one return journey where the length of the exchange is less than two months in accordance with Article 4 above,
- where the stay is divided into separate periods, the travel expenses resulting from this division shall be reimbursed under the conditions set out in the two preceding indents for each of the periods.
Once the Commission has received certification of arrival in the host service and a photocopy or voucher copy of the travel documents, a payment corresponding to its contribution towards the daily subsistence allowance in respect of the first month of stay and the reimbursement of the cost of travel to the host service shall be made to the exchange official.
The balance of the Commission's contribution towards daily allowances shall be paid to the official at the beginning of the second month.
Expenses in respect of the mid-stay return journey shall be reimbursed after receipt by the Commission of a photocopy or voucher copy of the travel documents and the certificate of approval for mid-stay travel issued by the host service authorities using the model at Annex VII.
At the end of the stay, the originals of the travel documents shall be sent to the Commission.
Seminars
Article 17
Travel expenses incurred in respect of participation in a seminar shall be reimbursed to each participant by the Commission or the body assigned the task of assisting it, on submission of the ticket as laid down in Article 16 above.
The amount due in respect of subsistence expenses, laid down in Article 10 above, shall be paid to participants at the beginning of the seminar, after deduction of the cost of accomodation and meals provided or paid for directly by the seminar organizers.
Chapter II Common provisions
Article 18
An annual financial report on the implementation of the programme shall be sent by the Commission to the national coordinators, in order to enable them to monitor its implementation.
Article 19
This Decision shall apply from 1 January 1993.
Article 20
This Decision is addressed to all the Member States.
Done at Brussels, 22 December 1992.

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