17.12.2013 EN Official Journal of the European Union L 338/70
COMMISSION IMPLEMENTING DECISION
of 9 December 2013
on an additional financial contribution towards Member States’ fisheries control programmes for 2013
(notified under document C(2013) 8576)
(Only the Bulgarian, Croatian, Danish, Dutch, English, Estonian, Finnish, French, Greek, Italian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Maltese, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Spanish and Swedish texts are authentic)
(2013/762/EU)
THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION
,
Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,
Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 861/2006 of 22 May 2006 establishing Community financial measures for the implementation of the common fisheries policy and in the area of the Law of the Sea (1), and in particular Article 21 thereof,
Whereas:
(1) Based upon the requests for Union co-financing that have been submitted by Member States in their fisheries control programmes for 2013, the Commission has adopted Implementing Decision 2013/410/EU of 10 July 2013 on a Union financial contribution towards Member States’ fisheries control programmes for 2013 (2), which has left some of the 2013 budget available unused.
(2) That unused part of the 2013 budget should now be allocated by a new Decision.
(3) In conformity with Article 21(2) of Regulation (EC) No 861/2006, Member States have been asked to submit programmes related to additional funding in the priority areas as defined by the Commission in its letter to Member States of 7 June 2013, i.e. projects aiming at adaptation of the Electronic Recording and Reporting Systems (ERS) in Member States in order to cater for the future obligation to land all catches including adaptation of Member States databases, interoperability of the ERS systems, measurement of engine power, and traceability of fishery products. Requirements to be met by operators and/or Member States carrying out investments in traceability projects were defined by the Commission in its letter to Member States of 14 May 2012.
(4) On that basis and given budgetary constraints, requests in the programmes for Union funding related to actions such as training and initiatives raising awareness on the common fisheries policy rules have been rejected, since they were not dedicated to the priority areas defined above. Within the priority areas indicated by the Commission, not all the projects in the programmes could be retained, due to budgetary restraints. The Commission had to select the projects to be co-financed on the basis of an evaluation of their conformity with the defined priorities.
(5) As to traceability projects, it is important to ensure that they are developed on the basis of internationally recognised standards, as required by Article 67(8) of Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 404/2011 (3).
(6) The applications for Union funding have been assessed with regard to their compliance with the rules set out in Commission Regulation (EC) No 391/2007 of 11 April 2007 laying down detailed rules for the implementation of Council Regulation (EC) No 861/2006 as regards the expenditure incurred by Member States in implementing the monitoring and control systems applicable to the Common Fisheries Policy (4).
(7) It is appropriate to fix the maximum amounts and the rate of the Union financial contribution within the limits set by Article 15 of Regulation (EC) No 861/2006 and to lay down the conditions under which such contribution may be granted.
(8) In order to encourage investment in the priority actions defined by the Commission and in view of the negative impact of the financial crisis on Member States’ budgets, expenditure related to the above-mentioned priority areas should benefit from a high co-financing rate, within the limits laid down in Article 15 of Regulation (EC) No 861/2006.
(9) In order to qualify for the contribution, projects co-financed on the basis of this decision should comply with all the relevant provision of Union legislation and, in particular with Implementing Regulation (EU) No 404/2011.
(10) The measures provided for in this Decision are in accordance with the opinion of the Committee for Fisheries and Aquaculture,
Subject matter
This Decision provides for an additional Union financial contribution towards expenditure incurred by Member States for 2013 in implementing monitoring and control systems applicable to the common fisheries policy (CFP), as referred to in Article 8(1)(a) of Regulation (EC) No 861/2006. It establishes the amount of the Union financial contribution for each Member State, the rate of the Union financial contribution and the conditions on which such contribution may be granted.
Closure of outstanding commitments
All payments in respect of which a reimbursement is claimed shall be made by the Member State concerned by 30 June 2017. Payments made by a Member State after that deadline shall not be eligible for reimbursement. Unused budgetary appropriations related to this Decision shall be de-committed at the latest by 31 December 2018.
New technologies and IT networks
1.   Expenditure incurred, in respect of projects referred to in Annex I, on the setting up of new technologies and IT networks in order to allow efficient and secure collection and management of data in connection with monitoring, control and surveillance of fisheries activities, shall qualify for a financial contribution of 90 % of the eligible expenditure, within the limits laid down in that Annex.
2.   As far as traceability projects are concerned, the EU contribution shall be limited to EUR 1 000 000 in case of investments carried out by Member State authorities, and to EUR 250 000 in case of private investments. The total number of traceability projects carried out by private operators shall be limited to eight per Member State and per financing decision.
3.   In order to qualify for the financial contribution referred to in paragraph 2, all projects co-financed according to this decision shall satisfy the applicable requirements laid down in Council Regulation (EC) No 1224/2009 (5) and Implementing Regulation (EU) No 404/2011.
4.   Projects BG/13/02 related to Omega gauges, EL/13/10 related to tablets to be used for inspection purposes and PT/13/08 related to weighing equipment, which are referred to in Annex I, shall qualify for a financial contribution of 50 % of the eligible expenditure, within the limits laid down in that Annex.
Automatic localisation devices
1.   Expenditure incurred, in respect of projects referred to in Annex II, on the purchase and fitting on board of fishing vessels of automatic localisation devices enabling vessels to be monitored at a distance by a fisheries monitoring centre through a vessel monitoring system (VMS) shall qualify for a financial contribution of 90 % of the eligible expenditure, within the limits established in that Annex.
2.   In order to qualify for the financial contribution referred to in paragraph 1, automatic localisation devices shall satisfy the requirements laid down in Implementing Regulation (EU) No 404/2011.
Electronic recording and reporting systems
Expenditure incurred, in respect of projects referred to in Annex III, on the development, purchase, and installation of, as well as technical assistance for, the components necessary for electronic recording and reporting systems (ERS) in order to allow interoperability of ERS systems between Member States as well as to enable the implementation of the obligation to land all catches (‘discard ban’), shall qualify for a financial contribution of 90 % of the eligible expenditure, within the limits laid down in that Annex.
Pilot projects
Expenditure incurred, in respect of projects referred to in Annex V, on pilot projects on new control technologies shall qualify for a financial contribution of 50 % of the eligible expenditure, within the limits laid down in that Annex.
Total maximum Union contribution per Member State
The planned expenditure, the eligible share thereof, and the maximum Union contribution per Member State are set as follows:
(EUR)
Member State Expenditure planned in the national fisheries control additional programme Expenditure for projects selected under this Decision Maximum Union contribution
Belgium 430 000 280 000 252 000
Bulgaria 35 791 35 791 24 031
Denmark 4 195 144 1 251 235 876 285
Estonia 400 000 400 000 360 000
Ireland 200 000 200 000 180 000
Greece 228 500 78 500 50 650
Spain 2 989 879 1 037 300 769 570
France 2 058 585 1 356 145 631 082
Croatia 267 490 267 490 227 400
Italy 1 850 000 422 000 379 800
Cyprus 100 000 100 000 90 000
Latvia 124 038 124 038 111 634
Lithuania 99 919 99 919 89 927
Malta 1 470 510 615 000 553 500
Poland 1 487 812 1 389 812 1 090 831
Portugal 443 954 161 500 143 150
Romania 40 000 0 0
Finland 1 800 000 1 050 000 945 000
Sweden 2 450 000 1 150 000 1 035 000
United Kingdom 31 553 25 710 23 140
Total 20 703 175 10 044 440 7 833 000
Addressees
This Decision is addressed to the Kingdom of Belgium, the Republic of Bulgaria, the Kingdom of Denmark, the Republic of Estonia, Ireland, the Hellenic Republic, the Kingdom of Spain, the French Republic, the Republic of Croatia, the Italian Republic, the Republic of Cyprus, the Republic of Latvia, the Republic of Lithuania, the Republic of Malta, the Republic of Poland, the Portuguese Republic, Romania, the Republic of Finland, the Kingdom of Sweden and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.