1.The Commission shall automatically decommit any part of a budget commitment in an operational programme that has not been used for payment of the pre-financing or interim payments or for which an application for payment has not been sent in conformity with Article 86 by 31 December of the second year following the year of budget commitment under the programme, with the exception mentioned in paragraph 2.
2.For Member States whose GDP from 2001 to 2003 was below 85 % of the EU-25 average in the same period, as listed in Annex II, the deadline referred to in paragraph 1 shall be 31 December of the third year following the year of the annual budget commitment from 2007 to 2010 under their operational programmes.
This deadline shall also apply to the annual budget commitment from 2007 to 2010 in an operational programme falling under the European territorial cooperation objective if at least one of the participants is a Member State referred to in the first subparagraph.
3.That part of commitments still open on 31 December 2015 shall be automatically decommitted if the Commission has not received an acceptable application for payment for it by 31 March 2017.
4.If this Regulation enters into force after 1 January 2007, the period after which the first automatic decommitment as referred to in paragraph 1 may be made shall be extended, for the first commitment, by the number of months between 1 January 2007 and the date of the first budget commitment.