II
(Non-legislative acts)
REGULATIONS
COMMISSION REGULATION (EU) No 80/2010
of 28 January 2010
amending Regulation (EC) No 718/2007 implementing Council Regulation (EC) No 1085/2006
establishing an instrument for pre-accession assistance (IPA)
THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,
Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European
Union,
Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 1085/2006 of
17 July 2006 establishing an Instrument for Pre-Accession
Assistance (IPA) (
1
) (the IPA Regulation) and in particular
Article 3(3) thereof,
Whereas:
(1) Commission Regulation (EC) No 718/2007 of 12 June
2007 implementing Council Regulation (EC) No
1085/2006 establishing an instrument for pre-accession
assistance (IPA) (
2
) provides detailed rules for the imple
mentation of the IPA Regulation.
(2) In the light of the experience gained in the first years of
implementation of the IPA Regulation, it has appeared
necessary to proceed with a limited revision of Regu
lation (EC) No 718/2007 with a view to removing
some inconsistencies and erroneous cross–references,
enhancing clarity in the text of some articles and
amending some of the specific provisions with a view
to enhancing coherence, efficiency and effectiveness in
the implementation of the instrument.
(3) It is necessary to further clarify when common
provisions are subject to specific provisions under
different IPA components. The provisions concerning
the evaluation of assistance should be brought into line
with the requirements of Council Regulation (EC,
Euratom) No 1605/2002 of 25 June 2002 on the
Financial Regulation applicable to the general budget of
the European Communities (
3
) and Commission
Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 2342/2002 of
23 December 2002 laying down detailed rules for the
implementation of Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No
1605/2002 on the Financial Regulation applicable to the
general budget of the European Communities (
4
) while
ensuring a better consistency between common
provisions applicable to all IPA components and
specific provisions applicable to each IPA component.
(4) The specific provisions concerning the Transition
assistance and institution building component should
better reflect the provisions of the IPA Regulation,
namely as regards the areas of assistance to countries
listed in Annex I to the IPA Regulation and the possi
bility to programme assistance through multi-annual as
well as annual programmes. Furthermore, in view to
ensure a coherent approach among IPA components,
the ceiling of the Community contribution in the case
of investment operations should be raised to 85 % of the
eligible expenditure so as to align with the revised aid
intensity for investments applicable under the Regional
development component.
(5) In the specific provisions of the Cross-border cooperation
component, namely for cross-border programmes
between beneficiary countries and Member States, it
appears necessary to substantially increase the pre-
financing amount paid to the body designated by the
participating countries to receive the payments made
by the Commission.
(6) Some of the specific provisions of the Regional devel
opment component, the Human resources development
component and the Rural development component need
to be further aligned with the rules governing the
Structural and Cohesion funds and the Rural devel
opment funds in EU Member States, of which they are
the precursor.
(7) The provisions laid down in this Regulation are in
accordance with the opinion of the IPA Committee,
29.1.2010 Official Journal of the European Union L 25/1 EN
(
1
) OJ L 210, 31.7.2006, p. 82.
(
2
) OJ L 170, 29.6.2007, p. 1.
(
3
) OJ L 248, 16.9.2002, p. 1. (
4
) OJ L 357, 31.12.2002, p. 1.HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:
Article 1
Regulation (EC) No 718/2007 is amended as follows:
1. in Article 8(4), point (c) is replaced by the following:
‘(c) provisions relating to the establishment and regular
updating, by the beneficiary country, of a road map
with indicative benchmarks and time limits to achieve
decentralisation without ex ante controls by the
Commission as referred to in Articles 14 and 18;
these provisions are only required for those
components or programmes where the Commission
Decision of the conferral of management powers as
referred to in Article 14 provides for ex ante controls
to be performed by the Commission.’;
2. Article 31 is replaced by the following:
‘Article 31
Specific bodies
Within the overall framework defined by the structures and
authorities as set out in Article 21, the functions described
in Article 28 may be grouped and assigned to specific
bodies within or outside the operating structures
designated. This grouping and assignation shall respect
the appropriate segregation of duties imposed by Regu
lation (EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002 and ensure that the
final responsibility for the functions described in the said
Article shall remain with designated operating structure.
Such a structure shall be formalised in written agreements
and shall be subject to accreditation by the national au-
thorising officer and the conferral of management by the
Commission.’;
3. Article 34 is amended as follows:
(a) in paragraph 2, the second subparagraph is replaced by
the following:
‘Launch of calls for proposals or calls for tenders may
also be eligible prior to the initial conferral of
management and after 1 January 2007, subject to this
initial conferral of management being in place within
the time limits defined in a reserve clause to be inserted
in the operations or calls concerned, and, except for the
rural development component, subject to the prior
approval of the documents concerned by the
Commission. The calls for proposal or calls for tender
concerned may be cancelled or modified depending on
the decision on conferral of management.’;
(b) in paragraph 3, the introductory phrase is replaced by
the following:
‘3. Unless otherwise provided for under the specific
provisions laid down under each IPA component, the
following expenditure shall not be eligible under the
IPA Regulation:’;
4. in Article 35(3), the second indent is replaced by the
following:
‘— the regional development component.’;
5. Article 36 is replaced by the following:
‘Article 36
Property of interests
Any interest earned on any of the component-specific euro
accounts opened by the national fund in the event of
decentralised management remains the property of the
beneficiary country. Interest generated by the financing by
the Community of a programme shall be posted exclusively
to that programme, being regarded as a resource for the
beneficiary country in the form of a national public
contribution, and shall be declared to the Commission, at
the time of the final closure of the programme.’;
6. in Article 37, paragraph 2 is replaced by the following:
‘2. All operations receiving assistance under the various
IPA components shall require national and Community
contributions, unless otherwise provided for under the
specific provisions laid down under each IPA component.’;
7. in Article 40, paragraph 7 is replaced by the following:
‘7. Amounts set out in the programme submitted by the
beneficiary country, in certified statements of expenditure,
in payment applications and in expenditure mentioned in
the implementation reports, shall be denominated in euro.
Beneficiary countries shall convert the amounts of expen
diture incurred in national currency into euro using the
monthly accounting rate of the euro established by the
Commission for the month during which the expenditure
was registered in the accounts of the national fund or the
operating structure concerned, as appropriate.’;
8. in Article 47(1), the third indent is replaced by the
following:
‘— de-commitment of the final balance of the budgetary
commitment by the Commission.’;
9. Article 50 is amended as follows:
(a) paragraph 1 is replaced by the following:
‘1. The national authorising officer, who bears in the
first instance the responsibility for investigating irregu
larities, shall make the financial adjustments where
irregularities or negligence are detected in operations
or programmes, by cancelling all or part of the
Community contribution to the operations or the
programmes concerned. The national authorising
officer shall take into account the nature and gravity
of the irregularities and the financial loss to the
Community contribution.’;
(b) paragraph 2 is replaced by the following:
‘2. In case of an irregularity, the national authorising
officer shall recover the Community contribution paid
to the final beneficiary in accordance with national
recovery procedures.’;
L 25/2 Official Journal of the European Union 29.1.2010 EN 10. Article 57 is amended as follows:
(a) paragraph 2 is replaced by the following:
‘2. Multiannual indicative planning documents, as
described in Article 5, shall be subject to ex-ante
evaluation, carried out by the Commission.’;
(b) paragraph 4 is replaced by the following:
‘4. Programmes shall be subject to ex-ante
evaluations, as well as interim and/or ex-post
evaluations, as appropriate, in accordance with the
specific provisions laid down under each IPA
component in Part II of this Regulation and in
accordance with Article 21 of Regulation (EC,
Euratom) No 2342/2002.’;
(c) paragraphs 5 and 6 are deleted;
(d) paragraph 7 is replaced by the following:
‘7. The results of evaluations shall be taken into
account in the programming and implementation
cycle.’;
11. in Article 58, paragraph 1 is replaced by the following:
‘1. In the case of decentralised management, the bene
ficiary country shall, within six months after the entry into
force of the first financing agreement, set up an IPA moni
toring committee, in agreement with the national IPA coor
dinator and the Commission, to ensure coherence and
coordination in the implementation of the IPA
components.’;
12. in Article 59, paragraph 1 is replaced by the following:
‘1. The IPA monitoring committee shall be assisted by
sectoral monitoring committees set up under the IPA
components within six months after the entry into force
of the first financing agreement, in accordance with the
specific provisions laid down in Part II. The sectoral moni
toring committees shall be attached to programmes or
components. They may include representatives of civil
society, where appropriate.’;
13. Article 60 is replaced by the following:
‘Article 60
Monitoring in the case of centralised and joint
management
In the case of centralised and joint management, the
Commission may undertake any actions it deems
necessary to monitor the programmes concerned. In the
case of joint management, these actions may be carried
out jointly with the international organisation(s) concerned.
The national IPA coordinator may be associated with the
monitoring actions.’;
14. in Article 62, paragraph 2 is replaced by the following:
‘2. In the case of decentralised management, the
operating structures shall be responsible for organising
the publication of the list of the final beneficiaries, the
names of the operations and the amount of Community
funding allocated to operations. They shall ensure that the
final beneficiary is informed that the acceptance of funding
is also an acceptance of their inclusion in the list of final
beneficiaries published. Any personal data included in this
list shall be processed in accordance with the requirements
of Regulation (EC) No 45/2001 of the European Parliament
and the Council (*).
___________
(*) OJ L 8, 12.1.2001, p. 1.’;
15. in Article 64, the following phrase is added at the end of
paragraph 2:
‘On a case-by-case basis, the Commission may decide to
grant assistance under this component for the above areas
to beneficiary countries listed in Annex I to the IPA Regu
lation that have not yet been conferred management
powers referred to Article 14.’;
16. in Article 66(3) the following point (c) is added:
‘(c) costs relating to a bank guarantee or comparable surety
to be lodged by the final beneficiary of a grant.’;
17. in Article 67(2) the two figures ‘75 %’ are replaced by
‘85 %’ and the figure ‘25 %’ is replaced by ‘15 %’;
18. in Article 68, the introductory phrase is replaced by the
following:
‘Assistance under this component shall in principle take the
form of:’;
19. in Article 69, paragraphs 1, 2 and 3 are replaced by the
following:
‘1. National programmes shall be adopted by the
Commission on the basis of proposals from the beneficiary
country, which shall take into account the principles and
priorities set out in the multiannual indicative planning
documents referred to in Article 5. Proposals shall in
particular list the priority axes to be covered in the bene
ficiary country concerned, which may include the areas of
assistance laid down in Article 64.
2. Beneficiary countries’ proposals shall be selected
through transparent procedures, including consultation of
the relevant stakeholders while proposals are being drafted.
3. Each year, following discussions between the
Commission and the beneficiary country about their
proposals, project fiches shall be submitted to the
Commission by the beneficiary country. The project
fiches shall set out clearly the priority axes, the envisaged
operations and their chosen implementing methods.
Financing proposals shall be prepared by the Commission
in view of the project fiches.’;
29.1.2010 Official Journal of the European Union L 25/3 EN 20. in Article 72, paragraph 3 is replaced by the following:
‘3. The regional programmes shall cover beneficiary
countries in the Western Balkans. The programmes shall
in particular target reconciliation, reconstruction and
political cooperation in the Region.’;
21. in Article 73, paragraph 3 is replaced by the following:
‘3. Regional and horizontal programmes shall be imple
mented by the Commission on a centralised basis or by
joint management with international organisations as
defined by Article 53d of Regulation (EC, Euratom) No
1605/2002.’;
22. Article 75 is amended as follows:
(a) in paragraph 1, point (a) is replaced by the following:
‘(a) organise the preparation of the proposals as
referred to in Article 69;’;
(b) in paragraph 2, the first subparagraph is replaced by the
following:
‘With reference to Article 28, the operating structure
shall include one or more implementing agencies,
which shall be established within the national adminis
tration of the beneficiary country or under its direct
control.’;
23. Article 78 is replaced by the following:
‘Article 78
Implementation principles in the event of participation
in Community programmes and agencies
In the case of participation in Community programmes and
agencies, implementation shall consist in the payment, to
the programme and agency budget, of the part of the
financial contribution of the beneficiary country which is
financed under IPA. The payment shall be made by the
national fund in the case of decentralised management
and by ministries or other public bodies concerned in the
beneficiary countries in the case of centralised management.
In the latter case, there will be no pre-financing payments
of the Community contribution by the Commission.’;
24. Article 82 is replaced by the following:
‘Article 82
Evaluation
1. Programmes under the transition assistance and insti
tution building component shall be subject to ex-ante as
well as interim and/or ex-post evaluation, in accordance
with Article 57.
2. Prior to the conferral of management powers on the
beneficiary country, all evaluations shall be carried out by
the Commission.
After the conferral of management powers, the beneficiary
country shall be responsible for carrying out interim
evaluation, as appropriate, without prejudice to the
Commission’s rights to perform any ad-hoc evaluations it
deems necessary.
Responsibility for ex-ante and ex-post evaluations shall
remain with the Commission even after the conferral of
management powers, without prejudice to the beneficiary
country’s right to carry out any such evaluations as it
deems necessary.
3. In line with Article 22 of the IPA Regulation, the
relevant evaluation reports shall be sent to the IPA
Committee for discussion.’;
25. in Article 86, paragraph 4 is replaced by the following:
‘4. The cross-border cooperation component may also
support, where appropriate, the participation of eligible
regions of the beneficiary countries in transnational and
interregional programmes under the European territorial
cooperation objective of the Structural Funds and in multi
lateral sea basin programmes under Regulation (EC) No
1638/2006 of the European Parliament and of the
Council (*). The rules governing the participation of bene
ficiary countries in the above programmes shall be estab
lished in the relevant programming documents and/or in
the relevant financing agreements, as appropriate.
___________
(*) OJ L 310, 9.11.2006, p. 1.’;
26. Article 89 is amended as follows:
(a) in paragraph 2, point (b) is deleted;
(b) in paragraph 3, the following point (g) is added:
‘(g) The purchase of land for an amount up to 10 % of
the eligible expenditure of the operation
concerned.’;
27. Article 92 is amended as follows:
(a) in paragraph 1, the second subparagraph is replaced by
the following:
‘Where the cross-border programme is implemented
under the transitional arrangements referred to in
Article 99, annual or multiannual financing agreements
shall be concluded between the Commission and each
of the beneficiary countries participating in the
programme. Each such financing agreement shall
cover the Community contribution for the beneficiary
country and the year(s) concerned, as specified in the
financing plan referred to in Article 99(2).’;
L 25/4 Official Journal of the European Union 29.1.2010 EN (b) paragraph 2 is replaced by the following:
‘2. For cross-border programmes concerning the
cooperation referred to in Article 86(1)(b), annual or
multiannual financing agreements shall be concluded
between the Commission and each of the beneficiary
countries participating in the programme on the basis
of the decision referred to in Article 91(6). Each such
financing agreement shall cover the Community
contribution for the beneficiary country and the
year(s) concerned, as specified in the financing plan
referred to in Article 94(2), second subparagraph.’;
28. in Article 94(1)(h), point (iii) is replaced by the following:
‘(iii) as applicable, information about the competent body
for receiving the payments made by the Commission
and the body or bodies responsible for making
payments to the final beneficiaries;’;
29. Article 95 is amended as follows:
(a) in paragraph 1, the second subparagraph is replaced by
the following:
‘Participating countries may also identify joint
operations outside calls for proposals. In that event,
the joint operation shall be specifically mentioned in
the cross-border programme or, if it is coherent with
the priorities or measures of the cross-border
programme, shall be identified any time after the
adoption of the programme in a decision taken by
the joint monitoring committee referred to in
Article 110 or in Article 142.’;
(b) paragraph 3 is replaced by the following:
‘3. For cross-border programmes concerning coop
eration referred to under Article 86(1)(a), operations
selected shall include final beneficiaries from at least
one of the participating Member States and one of
the participating beneficiary countries.’;
30. Article 96 is replaced by the following:
‘Article 96
Responsibilities of the lead beneficiary and the other
final beneficiaries
1. For cross-border programmes concerning the coop
eration referred to under Article 86(1)(a), the final bene
ficiaries of an operation shall appoint a lead beneficiary
among themselves prior to the submission of the
proposal for the operation. The lead beneficiary shall be
established in one of the participating countries and shall
assume the following responsibilities:
(a) it shall lay down the arrangements for its relations with
the final beneficiaries participating in the operation in
an agreement comprising, inter alia, provisions guaran
teeing the sound financial management of the funds
allocated to the operation, including the arrangements
for recovering amounts unduly paid;
(b) it shall be responsible for ensuring the implementation
of the entire operation;
(c) it shall be responsible for transferring the Community
contribution to the final beneficiaries participating in
the operation;
(d) it shall ensure that the expenditure presented by the
final beneficiaries participating in the operation has
been paid for the purpose of implementing the
operation and corresponds to the activities agreed
between the final beneficiaries participating in the
operation;
(e) it shall verify that the expenditure presented by the final
beneficiaries participating in the operation has been
validated by the controllers referred to in Article 108.
2. For cross-border programmes concerning cooperation
referred to under Article 86(1)(a) implemented under the
transitional arrangements laid down in Article 99:
(a) the final beneficiaries of an operation in the partici
pating Member States shall appoint a lead beneficiary
among themselves prior to the submission of the
proposal for the operation. The lead beneficiary shall
be established in one of the participating Member States
and shall assume the responsibilities under points (a) to
(e) of paragraph 1 for the part of the operation taking
place in the Member States;
(b) the final beneficiaries of an operation in each partici
pating beneficiary country shall appoint a lead bene
ficiary among themselves prior to the submission of
the proposal for the operation. The lead beneficiaries
shall be established in the respective participating bene
ficiary country and shall assume the responsibilities
listed under points (a) to (d) of paragraph 1 for the
part of the operation taking place in the respective
country.
The lead beneficiaries of the participating Member States
and beneficiary countries shall ensure a close coordination
of the implementation of the operation.
3. For cross-border programmes concerning cooperation
referred to under Article 86(1)(b), the final beneficiaries of
an operation in each participating beneficiary country shall
appoint a lead beneficiary among themselves prior to the
submission of the proposal for an operation. The lead
beneficiaries shall be established in the respective partici
pating beneficiary country and shall assume the responsi
bilities listed under points (a) to (d) of paragraph 1 for the
part of the operation taking place in the respective country.
The lead beneficiaries of the participating beneficiary
countries shall ensure a close coordination of the imple
mentation of the operation.
4. Each final beneficiary participating in the operation is
responsible for irregularities in the expenditure which it has
declared.’;
29.1.2010 Official Journal of the European Union L 25/5 EN 31. in Article 97(1), the second subparagraph is replaced by the
following:
‘At project level, in exceptional cases, expenditure incurred
outside the programme area as defined in the first
subparagraph, may be eligible, if the project could only
achieve its objectives with that expenditure.’;
32. in Article 103(1), point (c) is replaced by the following:
‘(c) verifying the regularity of expenditure. For this
purpose, the relevant provisions of Article 13 of Regu
lation (EC) No 1828/2006 shall apply mutatis mutandis.
The managing authority shall satisfy itself that the
expenditure of each final beneficiary participating in
an operation has been validated by the controller
referred in Article 108;’;
33. in Article 104, point (g) is replaced by the following:
‘(g) sending the Commission, by 31 March each year, a
statement identifying the following for each priority
axis of the cross-border programme:
(i) the amounts withdrawn from statements of expen
diture submitted during the preceding year
following cancellation of all or part of the public
contribution for an operation;
(ii) the amounts recovered which have been deducted
from statements of expenditure submitted during
the preceding year;
(iii) a statement of amounts to be recovered as at 31
December of the preceding year classified by the
year in which recovery orders were issued;
(iv) a list of amounts for which it was established
during the preceding year that they cannot be
recovered or which are not expected to be
recovered, classified by the year in which the
recovery orders were issued.
For the purposes of points (i), (ii) and (iii), aggregate
amounts related to irregularities reported to the
Commission under Article 28 of Regulation (EC) No
1828/2006, in accordance with Article 138(2) of this
Regulation, shall be provided for each priority axis.
For the purposes of point (iv), any amount related to
an irregularity reported to the Commission under
Article 28 of Regulation (EC) No 1828/2006, in
accordance with Article 138(2) of this Regulation,
shall be identified by the reference number of that
irregularity or by any other adequate method.
For each amount referred to in point (iv), the certifying
authority shall indicate whether it requests the
Community share to be borne by the general budget
of the European Union.
If, within one year from the date of the submission of
the statement, the Commission does not request
information for the purposes of Article 114(2) of
this Regulation, inform the participating countries in
writing about its intention to open an enquiry in
respect of that amount or request that the participating
countries continue the recovery procedure, the
Community share shall be borne by the general
budget of the European Union.
The time limit of one year shall not apply in cases of
suspected or established fraud.’;
34. in Article 105(1)(d), the date ‘31 December’ is replaced by
‘31 March’;
35. in Article 108, paragraph 2 is replaced by the following:
‘2. Each participating country shall ensure that the
expenditure can be validated by the controllers within a
period of three months from the date of its submission
by the final beneficiary to the controllers.’;
36. Article 112 is amended as follows:
(a) in paragraph 1, second subparagraph, the wording ‘31
December of the fourth year’ is replaced by ‘31 March
of the fifth year’;
(b) in paragraph 2(b), point (i) is replaced by the following:
‘(i) the expenditure paid out by the final beneficiary
included in application for payments sent to the
managing authority and the corresponding public
contribution;’;
37. in Article 115(2), point (d) is replaced by the following:
‘(d) the procedures by which final beneficiarie’s appli
cations for reimbursement are received, verified and
validated, and the procedures by which payments to
final beneficiaries are authorised, executed and entered
in the accounts;’;
38. in Article 121, paragraph 1 is replaced by the following:
‘1. For the award of service, supply and work contracts,
the procurement procedures shall follow the provisions of
Chapter 3 of Part 2, Title IV of Regulation (EC, Euratom)
No 1605/2002 and Chapter 3 of Part 2, Title III of Regu
lation (EC, Euratom) No 2342/2002, as well as
Commission Decision C(2007) 2034 on the rules and
procedures applicable to service, supply and work
contracts financed by the general budget of the European
Communities for the purposes of cooperation with third
countries, with the exclusion of Section II.8.2.
Those provisions shall apply in the whole area of the cross-
border programme, both on the Member State’s and on the
beneficiary countries’ territory.’;
L 25/6 Official Journal of the European Union 29.1.2010 EN 39. in Article 124, paragraph 2 is replaced by the following:
‘2. Where the contribution from the Community funds
is calculated with reference to public expenditure as
provided for in Article 90(2), any information on expen
diture other than public expenditure shall not affect the
amount due as calculated on the basis of the payment
request.’;
40. Article 126 is replaced by the following:
‘Article 126
Wholeness of payment to final beneficiaries
The provisions laid down in Article 40(9) apply mutatis
mutandis.’;
41. in Article 127(3), the second subparagraph is replaced by
the following:
‘The amount shall be converted into euro using the
monthly accounting exchange rate of the Commission in
the month in which the expenditure was submitted by the
final beneficiary to the controllers referred to in
Article 108. This rate shall be published electronically by
the Commission each month.’;
42. in Article 128(1), the amount of pre-financing of ‘25 %’ is
replaced by ‘50 %’;
43. Article 139 is amended as follows:
(a) in paragraph 5, point (c) is replaced by the following:
‘(c) For the part of the cross-border programme
concerning the respective country, the imple
menting agency shall undertake tendering,
contracting, payments, accounting and financial
reporting of the procurement of services, supplies
and works and contracting, payments, accounting
and financial reporting of grants.’;
(b) paragraph 6 is replaced by the following:
‘6. In the event of centralised management,
functions and responsibilities of the operating
structures shall be defined in the relevant cross-border
programmes.’;
44. in Article 140(1), point (a) is replaced by the following:
‘(a) approve the criteria for selecting the operations
financed by the cross-border programme including
those operations identified outside calls for proposals
as referred to in Article 95(1);’;
45. in Article 141, the third paragraph is replaced by the
following:
‘In the event of decentralised management, the Commission
may perform any ad-hoc evaluations it deems necessary.’;
46. Article 148 is amended as follows:
(a) paragraph 2 is replaced by the following:
‘2. In addition to the rules set out in Article 34(3),
depreciation costs for the infrastructures shall not be
eligible.’;
(b) the following paragraph 3 is added:
‘3. By way of derogation from Article 34(3),
operating costs, including rental costs, exclusively
related to the period of co-financing of the operation,
may be eligible.’;
47. in Article 149, paragraph 2 is replaced by the following:
‘2. The Community contribution shall not exceed the
ceiling of 85 % of the eligible expenditure at the level of
the priority axis.’;
48. Article 150 is amended as follows:
(a) paragraph 1 is replaced by the following:
‘1. For the purposes of this component, a revenue-
generating project means any operation proposed for
pre-accession assistance involving an investment in
infrastructure, the use of which is subject to charges
borne directly by users and which generates revenues,
or any operation involving the sale or rent of land or
buildings or any other provision of services against
payments.’;
(b) paragraph 2 is replaced by the following:
‘2. Eligible expenditure for revenue-generating
projects, used for calculating the Community
contribution in accordance with Article 149, shall not
exceed the current value of the investment cost minus
the current value of the net revenue from the
investment over a specific reference period for (a)
investments in infrastructure; or (b) other projects
where it is possible to objectively estimate the
revenues in advance.’;
(c) the following paragraph 5 is added:
‘5. The provisions of this Article do not apply to:
(a) operations co-financed under this component, the
total cost of which is equal or less than
EUR 1 million;
(b) revenues generated throughout the economic
lifetime of the co-financed investments in the case
of investments in firms;
(c) revenues generated within the framework of
financing instruments which facilitate access to
revolving financing through venture capital, loan
and guarantee funds.’;
49. in Article 152(2), the following point (d) is added:
‘(d) costs relating to a bank guarantee or comparable surety
to be lodged by the beneficiary of the grant.’;
29.1.2010 Official Journal of the European Union L 25/7 EN 50. in Article 156(1), point (c) is replaced by the following:
‘(c) following the revision of the multiannual indicative
planning document;’;
51. in Article 160, the following paragraph 4 is added:
‘4. In the case of the regional development component,
at the time of the revision of operational programmes as
referred to in Article 156, the pre-financing referred to in
paragraph 3 of this Article may be increased up to a
maximum of 30 % of the Community contribution for
the three most recent years.’;
52. in Article 167(4), point (c) is replaced by the following:
‘(c) examine at each meeting the results of implementation,
particularly the achievement of the targets set for each
priority axis and measures and interim evaluations
referred to in Article 57; it shall carry out this moni
toring by reference to the indicators referred to in
Article 155(2)(d).’;
53. in Article 181, paragraph 2 is replaced by the following:
‘2. Beneficiary countries shall elaborate a training
strategy for the implementation of the operations
envisaged under paragraph 1. The strategy shall include a
critical assessment of the existing training structures, an
analysis of the training needs and objectives. It shall also
establish a set of criteria for the selection of training
providers. A de::blocked::ion of the training strategy shall be
included in the programme.’;
54. in Article 182, paragraph 2 is replaced by the following:
‘2. The sectoral monitoring committee for this
component shall be consulted on the technical assistance
activities. It shall approve each year an annual action plan
for the implementation of technical assistance activities.’;
55. in Article 184, paragraph 2 is replaced by the following:
‘2. Each programme shall include:
(a) a quantified de::blocked::ion of the current situation
showing disparities, shortcomings and potential for
development, the main results of previous operations
undertaken with Community and other bilateral or
multilateral assistance, the financial resources deployed
and the evaluation of results available;
(b) a de::blocked::ion of the national rural development strategy
proposed, based on an analysis of the current situation
in the rural areas;
(c) a de::blocked::ion of the strategic priorities of the
programme, based on the national rural development
strategy and on an analysis of the sectors concerned,
involving independent expertise. It shall also include
quantified objectives, indicating for each priority axis
set out under Article 171(1) the appropriate monitoring
and evaluation indicators;
(d) an explanation of how the overall strategic approach
and sectoral strategies identified in the multiannual
indicative planning document of the beneficiary
country are translated into specific actions within the
rural development component;
(e) an indicative overall financial table summarising the
national, Community and, where appropriate, the
private financial resources provided for and corre
sponding to each rural development measure, as well
as the EU co-financing rate by axis;
(f) a de::blocked::ion of the measures chosen from Article 171
including:
— the definition of final beneficiaries,
— the geographic scope,
— the eligibility criteria,
— the ranking criteria for selecting projects,
— monitoring indicators,
— quantified target indicators;
(g) a de::blocked::ion of the operating structure for the imple
mentation of the programme, including monitoring and
evaluation;
(h) the names of the authorities and bodies responsible for
carrying out the programme;
(i) the results of consultations and provisions adopted for
associating the relevant authorities and bodies as well as
appropriate economic, social and environmental
partners;
(j) the results and recommendations of the ex-ante
evaluation of the programme, including the de::blocked::ion
of the follow-up undertaken by the beneficiary
countries on recommendations.’;
56. in Article 193(1), the introductory phrase is replaced by the
following:
‘1. Under this component, the sectoral annual reports
referred to in Article 61(1) shall be submitted to the
Commission, the national IPA coordinator and the
national authorising officer within six months of the end
of each full calendar year of programme implementation.’;
57. in the Annex, point 3(o) is replaced by the following:
‘(o) Segregation of duties
— ensuring that different tasks in the life of the same
transaction are allocated to different staff to ensure
some automatic cross-checking controls.’.
L 25/8 Official Journal of the European Union 29.1.2010 EN Article 2
Entry into force
This Regulation shall enter into force on the first day following its publication in the Official Journal of the
European Union.
This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.
Done at Brussels, 28 January 2010.
For the Commission
The President
José Manuel BARROSO
29.1.2010 Official Journal of the European Union L 25/9 EN
