Commission Regulation (EC) No 718/2007Dangos y teitl llawn

TITLE II U.K. CROSS–BORDER COOPERATION COMPONENT

CHAPTER I U.K. Object of assistance and eligibility

Article 85 U.K. Additional definitions for the cross-border cooperation component

For the purpose of this Title, in addition to the definitions provided in Article 2, ‘participating countries’ shall mean Member States and/or beneficiary countries which participate in a cross–border programme under this component.

Article 86 U.K. Areas and forms of assistance

1. The cross-border cooperation component shall provide assistance to the following:

(a) cross–border cooperation between one or more Member States and one or more beneficiary countries;

(b) cross-border cooperation between two or more beneficiary countries.

2. The Community assistance under paragraph 1 shall be aimed at strengthening cross-border cooperation through joint local and regional initiatives, combining both external aid and economic and social cohesion objectives. In particular, the cooperation shall pursue one or more of the following broad objectives:

(a) promoting sustainable economic and social development in the border areas;

(b) working together to address common challenges in fields such as environment, natural and cultural heritage, public health and the prevention of and fight against organised crime;

(c) ensuring efficient and secure borders;

(d) promoting joint small scale actions involving local actors from the border regions.

3. The objectives referred to in paragraph 2 may in particular be pursued by:

(a) encouraging entrepreneurship, in particular, the development of small and medium-sized enterprises, tourism, culture, and cross-border trade;

(b) encouraging and improving the joint protection and management of natural and cultural resources as well as the prevention of natural and technological risks;

(c) supporting links between urban and rural areas;

(d) reducing isolation through improved access to transport, information and communication networks and services, and cross-border water, waste and energy systems and facilities;

(e) developing collaboration, capacity and joint use of infrastructures, in particular in sectors such as health, culture, tourism and education;

(f) promoting legal and administrative cooperation;

(g) ensuring efficient border management, facilitating legal trade and passage while securing borders against smuggling, trafficking, organised crime, communicable diseases and illegal migration, including transit migration;

(h) encouraging cross-border contact at regional and local level, enhancing exchanges and deepening economic, social, cultural and educational cooperation between local communities;

(i) promoting the integration of cross-border labour markets, local employment initiatives, gender equality and equal opportunities, training and social inclusion;

(j) promoting the sharing of human resources and facilities for research and technology development.

[F1 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 multilateral sea basin programmes under Regulation (EC) No 1638/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council (1) . The rules governing the participation of beneficiary countries in the above programmes shall be established in the relevant programming documents and/or in the relevant financing agreements, as appropriate.]

Textual Amendments

F1 Substituted by 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).

Article 87 U.K. Partnership

The provisions of Article 11(1) and (2) of Council Regulation (EC) No 1083/2006(2) shall apply mutatis mutandis to Member States and to beneficiary countries in the context of the cross-border cooperation referred to in Article 86(1).

Article 88 U.K. Territorial eligibility

1. For the purposes of cross-border cooperation as referred to in Article 86(1)(a), the eligible areas for financing shall be as follows:

(a) NUTS level 3 regions or, in the absence of NUTS classification, equivalent areas along land borders between the Community and the beneficiary countries;

(b) NUTS level 3 regions or, in the absence of NUTS classification, equivalent areas along maritime borders between the Community and the beneficiary countries separated, as a general rule, by a maximum of 150 kilometres, taking into account potential adjustments needed to ensure the coherence and continuity of the cooperation action.

Immediately following the entry into force of this Regulation, the Commission shall adopt the list of the eligible regions in the Community and in the beneficiary countries. This list shall be valid from 1 January 2007 to 31 December 2013.

2. For the purposes of cross-border cooperation as referred to in Article 86(1)(b), the eligible areas for financing shall be as follows:

(a) NUTS level 3 regions or, in the absence of NUTS classification, equivalent areas along land borders between beneficiary countries;

(b) NUTS level 3 regions or, in the absence of NUTS classification, equivalent areas along maritime borders between beneficiary countries separated, as a general rule, by a maximum of 150 kilometres, taking into account potential adjustments needed to ensure the coherence and continuity of the cooperation action.

The list of eligible regions shall be included in the relevant cross-border programmes referred to in Article 94.

3. For the purposes of participation in the programmes referred to in Article 86(4), the eligible regions of the beneficiary countries shall be established in the relevant programming document, as appropriate.

Article 89 U.K. Eligibility of expenditure

1. Expenditure under this component shall be eligible if it has actually been paid between 1 January 2007 and 31 December of the third year following the last budgetary commitment, for operations or part of operations implemented within Member States, and incurred after the signature of the financing agreement for operations or part of operations implemented within beneficiary countries.

2. In addition to the rules set out in Article 34(3), the following expenditure shall not be eligible:

(a) interest on debt;

[F2 ((b)] F2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

3. By way of derogation from Article 34(3), the following expenditure shall be eligible:

(a) value added taxes, if the following conditions are fulfilled:

(i)

they are not recoverable by any means;

(ii)

it is established that they are borne by the final beneficiary; and

(iii)

they are clearly identified in the project proposal.

(b) charges for transnational financial transactions;

(c) where the implementation of an operation requires a separate account or accounts to be opened, the bank charges for opening and administering the accounts;

(d) legal consultancy fees, notarial fees, costs of technical or financial experts, and accountancy or audit costs, if they are directly linked to the co-financed operation and are necessary for its preparation or implementation;

(e) the cost of guarantees provided by a bank or other financial institutions, to the extent that the guarantees are required by national or Community legislation;

(f) overheads, provided they are based on real costs attributable to the implementation of the operation concerned. Flat-rates based on average costs may not exceed 25 % of those direct costs of an operation that can affect the level of overheads. The calculation shall be properly documented and periodically reviewed[F1 ;]

[F3 (g) The purchase of land for an amount up to 10 % of the eligible expenditure of the operation concerned.]

[F4 Operating costs, including rental costs, exclusively related to the period of co-financing of the operation, may be considered eligible on a case-by-case basis.]

4. In addition to the technical assistance for the cross-border programme referred to Article 94, the following expenditure paid by public authorities in the preparation or implementation of an operation shall be eligible:

(a) the costs of professional services provided by a public authority other than the final beneficiary in the preparation or implementation of an operation;

(b) the costs of the provision of services relating to the preparation and implementation of an operation provided by a public authority that is itself the final beneficiary and which is executing an operation for its own account without recourse to other outside service providers if they are additional costs and relate either to expenditure actually and directly paid for the co-financed operation.

The public authority concerned shall either invoice the costs referred to in point (a) of this paragraph to the final beneficiary or certify those costs on the basis of documents of equivalent probative value which permit the identification of real costs paid by that authority for that operation.

The costs referred to in point (b) of this paragraph must be certified by means of documents which permit the identification of real costs paid by the public authority concerned for that operation.

5. Without prejudice to the provisions of paragraphs 1 to 4, further rules on eligibility of expenditure may be laid down by the participating countries in the cross-border programme.

Textual Amendments

F1 Substituted by 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).

F2 Deleted by 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).

F3 Inserted by 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).

F4 Inserted by Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 1292/2011 of 9 December 2011 amending Regulation (EC) No 718/2007 implementing Council Regulation (EC) No 1085/2006 establishing an instrument for pre–accession assistance (IPA).

Article 90 U.K. Aid intensities and rate of Community contribution

1. For the purposes of this component, the eligible expenditure as referred to in Article 38(1) shall be based either on the public expenditure or on the total expenditure, as agreed by the participating countries and laid down in the cross-border programme.

2. The Community contribution for cross-border programmes at the level of priority axis shall not exceed the ceiling of 85 % of the eligible expenditure.

3. The Community contribution for each priority axis shall not be less than 20 % of the eligible expenditure.

4. No operation shall benefit from a higher co-financing rate than the one relating to the priority axis concerned.

5. During the period of eligibility referred to in paragraph 1 of Article 89, in addition to the provisions of Article 34(4):

(a) an operation may receive Community assistance under only one cross-border programme at a time;

(b) an operation shall not receive assistance to a value greater than the total allocated public expenditure.

6. For State aid to enterprises in the meaning of Article 87 of the Treaty, public aid granted under cross-border programmes shall observe the ceilings on State aid.

CHAPTER II U.K. Programming

Section 1 U.K. Programmes

Article 91 U.K. Preparation and approval of cross-border programmes

1. Assistance to the cross-border cooperation referred to in Article 86(1) shall in principle be granted within the framework of multi-annual programmes for cross-border cooperation, hereinafter referred to as the ‘cross-border programmes’.

2. Cross-border programmes shall be drawn up for each border or group of borders by an appropriate grouping at NUTS level 3 regions or, in the absence of NUTS classification, equivalent areas.

3. Each cross-border programme shall be jointly drawn up by the participating countries, in cooperation with the partners referred to in Article 11 of Regulation (EC) No 1083/2006.

4. The participating countries shall jointly submit a proposal for a cross-border programme to the Commission, containing all the elements referred to in Article 94.

5. The Commission shall appraise the proposed cross-border programme to determine whether it contains all the elements referred to in Article 94 and whether it contributes to the goals and priorities of the relevant multi-annual indicative planning document(s) referred to in Article 5.

Where the Commission considers that a cross-border programme does not contain all the elements referred to in Article 94 or is not in line with the goals and priorities of the multi-annual indicative planning document(s), it may invite the participating countries to provide all necessary additional information and, where appropriate, to revise the proposed programme accordingly.

6. The Commission shall adopt the cross-border programme by decision.

Article 92 U.K. Financing agreements

1. For cross-border programmes concerning the cooperation referred to in Article 86(1)(a), multi-annual 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).

[F1 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).]

[F1 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.]

Textual Amendments

F1 Substituted by 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).

Article 93 U.K. Revision of cross-border programmes

1. At the initiative of the participating countries or that of the Commission in agreement with the participating countries, cross-border programmes may be re-examined and, if necessary, the remainder of the programme revised, in one or more of the following cases:

(a) in order to update the financing plan, according to the revision of the multi-annual indicative financial framework referred to in Article 5 of the IPA Regulation;

(b) following significant socio-economic changes;

(c) in order to take greater or different account of major changes in Community, national or regional priorities;

(d) in the light of the evaluation referred to in Article 109 or Article 141;

(e) following implementation difficulties;

(f) following the termination of transitional arrangements referred to in Article 100 or any other modification of the implementing provisions, including the transition in the beneficiary countries from centralised to decentralised management.

2. The Commission shall adopt the revised cross-border programme by decision and a new financing agreement(s) as mentioned in Article 92 shall be concluded accordingly. Where relevant, the provisions of Article 9(3) of the IPA Regulation shall apply.

Article 94 U.K. Content of cross-border programmes

1. Each cross-border programme shall contain the following information:

(a) a list of the eligible areas covered by the programme in accordance with Article 88, including the flexibility areas as referred to in Article 97;

(b) an analysis of the situation of the eligible cooperation areas in terms of strengths and weaknesses and the medium term needs and objective deriving from that analysis;

(c) a description of the cooperation strategy and the priorities and measures chosen for assistance, having regard to the relevant multi-annual indicative planning document(s) of the beneficiary country(ies) and other relevant national and regional strategic documents, as well as the results from the ex ante evaluation referred to in Article 109 or in Article 141;

(d) information on the priority axes, the related measures and their specific targets. Those targets shall be quantified using a limited number of indicators for output and results, taking into account the proportionality principle. The indicators shall make it possible to measure the progress in relation to the baseline situation and the effectiveness of the targets implementing the priorities;

(e) the rules on eligibility of expenditure referred to in Article 89;

(f) a specific technical assistance priority axis covering the preparatory, management, monitoring, evaluation, information and control activities related to the implementation of the programme, together with activities to reinforce the administrative capacity for implementing the programme, up to a maximum of 10 % of the Community contribution allocated to the programme. In exceptional cases, as agreed by the Commission and the participating countries, an amount above 10 % of the Community contribution for the programme may be allocated to this priority;

(g) information on complementarity with measures financed by other IPA components or other Community instruments, where relevant;

(h) the implementing provisions for the cross-border programme, including:

(i)

designation by the participating countries of the structures and authorities stipulated in Article 102 and, where applicable, Article 139;

(ii)

a description of the monitoring and evaluation systems;

(iii)

[F1 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;]

(iv)

as applicable, a definition of the procedures for the mobilisation and circulation of financial flows in order to ensure their transparency;

(v)

the elements aimed at ensuring the publicity and the information of the cross-border programme as referred to in Article 62;

(vi)

as applicable, a description of the procedures agreed between the Commission and the participating countries for the exchange of computerised data.

2. Furthermore, the cross-border programmes concerning cooperation referred to under Article 86(1)(a), shall contain a single financing plan based on the multi-annual indicative financial framework with no breakdown by participating countries, comprising a table specifying for each year covered by the multi-annual indicative financial framework and for each priority axis, the amount of the Community contribution and its rate, as well as the amount financed by the national counterparts.

The cross-border programmes concerning cooperation referred to under Article 86(1)(b) shall contain a financing plan based on the multi-annual indicative financial framework comprising a table for each participating country specifying for each year covered by the multi-annual indicative financial framework and for each priority axis, the amount of the Community contribution and its rate, as well as, where appropriate, the amount financed by the national counterparts.

Textual Amendments

F1 Substituted by 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).

Section 2 U.K. Operations

Article 95 U.K. Selection of operations

1. Cross-border programmes shall finance joint operations which have been jointly selected by the participating countries through a single call for proposals covering the whole eligible area.

[F1 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.]

2. Operations selected for cross-border programmes shall include final beneficiaries from at least two participating countries which shall cooperate in at least one of the following ways for each operation: joint development, joint implementation, joint staffing and joint financing.

[F1 3. For cross-border programmes concerning cooperation 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.]

4. The selected operations fulfilling the above-mentioned conditions may be implemented in a single country provided that they deliver a clear cross-border benefit.

5. Each programme shall establish eligibility rules for the selection of operations which prevent a duplication of efforts among different cross-border programmes, being under the IPA or other Community instruments.

Textual Amendments

F1 Substituted by 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).

[F1 Article 96 U.K. Responsibilities of the lead beneficiary and the other final beneficiaries

1. For cross-border programmes concerning the cooperation referred to under Article 86(1)(a), the final beneficiaries 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 guaranteeing 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 participating 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 participating beneficiary country shall appoint a lead beneficiary among themselves prior to the submission of the proposal for the operation. The lead beneficiaries shall be established in the respective participating beneficiary 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 participating beneficiary 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 beneficiary countries shall ensure a close coordination of the implementation of the operation.

4. Each final beneficiary participating in the operation is responsible for irregularities in the expenditure which it has declared.]

Textual Amendments

F1 Substituted by 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).

Article 97 U.K. Special conditions governing the location of operations

1. In duly justified cases, Community funding may finance expenditure incurred in implementing operations or parts of operations up to a limit of 20 % of the amount of the Community contribution to the cross-border programme in NUTS level 3 regions or, in the absence of NUTS classification, equivalent areas, adjacent to the eligible areas for that programme. In exceptional cases as agreed between the Commission and the participating countries, this flexibility may be extended to the NUTS level 2 regions or, in the absence of NUTS classification, equivalent areas in which the eligible areas are located.

[F1 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.]

2. The participating countries of each programme shall ensure the legality and regularity of these expenditures.

The selection of operations outside the eligible area as referred to under paragraph 1 shall be confirmed:

(a) by the managing authority referred to in Article 102 for programmes or part of programmes implemented in shared management with Member States;

(b) by the operating structures referred to in Article 28 for programmes or part of programmes implemented in beneficiary countries under decentralised management;

(c) by the Commission for programmes or part of programmes implemented in beneficiary countries under centralised management.

Textual Amendments

F1 Substituted by 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).

CHAPTER III U.K. Implementation

Section 1 U.K. General provisions

Article 98 U.K. Implementing modalities

1. For cross-border cooperation referred to under Article 86(1)(a), the programmes shall in principle be implemented through shared management with Member States by the authorities referred to in Article 102 bearing responsibility for the implementation of the cross-border programme in the participating Member States and beneficiary countries.

To this end, the Member States and beneficiary countries participating in a cross-border programme must be able to implement the whole of the programme in the entire eligible territory according to the provisions referred to in Section 2 of this Chapter.

Prior to the adoption of the cross-border programme in accordance with Article 91(6), the Commission may request from the participating countries any information it deems necessary to ascertain the capacity of the authorities referred to in Article 102 to comply with the obligations set under Section 2 of this Chapter.

Where Member States and beneficiary countries participating in a cross-border programme are not yet ready to implement the entire programme according to these modalities, the transitional arrangements laid down in Article 99 shall apply.

2. For cross-border cooperation referred to under Article 86(1)(b), the programmes shall be implemented under centralised or decentralised management in accordance with Article 53 of Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002, with respectively the Commission or the national authorising officer and the operating structures in each participating country bearing responsibility for the implementation of the programme in the respective country.

In this context, the cross-border programmes shall be implemented according to the provisions referred to in Section 3 of this Chapter.

For cross-border cooperation referred to under Article 86(1)(b), for all beneficiary countries the objective shall be decentralised management.

Article 99 U.K. Transitional arrangements

1. For cross-border cooperation referred to under Article 86(1)(a) where the participating countries are not yet ready to implement the entire cross-border programme in shared management with Member States according to the provisions laid down in Section 2 of this Chapter, the programme shall be implemented according to the transitional arrangements laid down in this Article.

2. The financing plan included in the cross-border programme referred to in the first subparagraph of Article 94(2) shall contain:

(a) a table covering all participating Member States, and

(b) a table for each of the participating beneficiary countries.

3. The part of the cross-border programme concerning the participating Member States shall be implemented according to the provisions referred to in Section 2 of this Chapter.

The part of the cross-border programme concerning the participating beneficiary countries shall be implemented according to the provisions referred to in Section 3 of this Chapter, with the exception of Article 142. The provisions concerning the joint monitoring committee of Article 110 shall apply.

4. The implementing provisions contained in the cross-border programme as referred to in Article 94(1)(h) shall differentiate between the modalities applying to participating Member States and those applying to participating beneficiary countries.

5. Following the selection of joint operations in accordance with the provisions of Article 95, the managing authority shall issue a grant to the lead beneficiary of the participating Member States.

In the event of decentralised management, the operating structures in the participating beneficiary countries shall issue grants to the lead beneficiaries of their respective countries.

In the event of centralised management, the Commission shall issue a grant to the lead beneficiary in each participating beneficiary country.

Article 100 U.K. Termination of transitional arrangements

1. When the participating countries are ready to switch to implementation through shared management in accordance with paragraph 1 of Article 98, they shall submit to the Commission a revised cross-border programme which shall include a single financing plan based on the multi-annual indicative financial framework for the following three years, together with a revised description of the management and control systems accompanied by a revised report and opinion in accordance with Article 117.

The Commission shall re-examine the cross-border programme and appraise the documents submitted in accordance with Article 117. It shall decide whether to adopt a new decision amending the programme so that it may be implemented under the arrangements referred to in Article 98(1).

2. The budgetary commitments for the part of the programme concerning the participating beneficiary countries which were taken during the transitional arrangements shall continue to be implemented according to the provisions referred to in Article 99.

Section 2 U.K. Cross-border programmes between beneficiary countries and Member States

Sub-section 1 U.K. Management and control systems

Article 101 U.K. General principles

The management and control systems of cross-border programmes set up by participating countries shall provide for:

(a)

the definition of the functions of the bodies concerned in management and control and the allocation of functions within each body;

(b)

compliance with the principle of separation of functions between and within such bodies;

(c)

procedures for ensuring the correctness and regularity of expenditure declared under the cross-border programme;

(d)

reliable accounting, monitoring and financial reporting systems in computerised form;

(e)

a system of reporting and monitoring where the responsible body entrusts the execution of tasks to another body;

(f)

arrangements for auditing the functioning of the systems;

(g)

systems and procedures to ensure an adequate audit trail;

(h)

reporting and monitoring procedures for irregularities and for the recovery of amounts unduly paid.

Article 102 U.K. Designation of authorities

1. The countries participating in a cross-border programme shall appoint a single managing authority, a single certifying authority and a single audit authority, all to be located in one of the Member States participating in the cross-border programme. The certifying authority shall receive the payments made by the Commission and, as a general rule, shall make the payments to the lead beneficiary, in accordance with the provisions laid down in Article 104.

The managing authority, after consultation with the countries participating in the programme, shall set up a joint technical secretariat. The joint technical secretariat shall assist the managing authority and the joint monitoring committee referred to in Article 110 and, where appropriate, the audit authority and the certifying authority, in carrying out their respective duties.

The joint technical secretariat may have antennae established in other participating countries.

2. The audit authority for the cross-border programme shall be assisted by a group of auditors comprising a representative of each country participating in the cross-border programme carrying out the duties provided for in Article 105. The group of auditors shall be set up within three months of the decision approving the cross-border programme at the latest. It shall draw up its own rules of procedure. It shall be chaired by the audit authority for the cross-border programme.

The participating countries may decide by unanimity that the audit authority is authorised to carry out directly the duties provide for in Article 105 in the whole of the territory covered by the programme without the need for a group of auditors as defined in the first subparagraph.

The auditors shall be independent of the control system referred to in Article 108.

3. Each country participating in the cross-border programme shall appoint representatives to sit on the joint monitoring committee referred to in Article 110.

4. Where one or more of the tasks of a managing authority or certifying authority are performed by an intermediate body, the relevant arrangements shall be formally recorded in writing.

The provisions of this Regulation concerning the managing authority, the audit authority and the certifying authority shall apply to that intermediate body.

Article 103 U.K. Functions of the managing authority

1. The managing authority shall be responsible for managing and implementing the cross-border programme in accordance with the principle of sound financial management and in particular for:

(a) ensuring that operations are selected for funding in accordance with the criteria applicable to the cross-border programme and that they comply with applicable Community and national rules for the whole of their implementation period;

(b) ensuring that there is a system for recording and storing in computerised form accounting records of each operation under the cross-border programme and that the data on implementation necessary for financial management, monitoring, verifications, audits and evaluation are collected;

[F1 (c) verifying the regularity of expenditure. For this purpose, the relevant provisions of Article 13 of Regulation (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;]

(d) ensuring that the operations are implemented according to the public procurement provisions referred to in Article 121;

(e) ensuring that final beneficiaries and other bodies involved in the implementation of operations maintain either a separate accounting system or an adequate accounting code for all transactions relating to the operation without prejudice to national accounting rules;

(f) ensuring that the evaluations of cross-border programmes are carried out in accordance with Article 109;

(g) setting up procedures to ensure that all documents regarding expenditure and audits required to ensure an adequate audit trail are held in accordance with the requirements of Article 134;

(h) ensuring that the certifying authority receives all necessary information on the procedures and verifications carried out in relation to expenditure for the purpose of certification;

(i) guiding the work of the joint monitoring committee and providing it with the documents required to permit the quality of the implementation of the cross-border programme to be monitored in the light of its specific goals;

(j) drawing up and, after approval by the joint monitoring committee, submitting to the Commission the annual and final reports on implementation referred to in Article 112;

(k) ensuring compliance with the information and publicity requirements laid down in Article 62.

2. The managing authority shall lay down the implementing arrangements for each operation, where appropriate in agreement with the lead beneficiary.

Textual Amendments

F1 Substituted by 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).

Article 104 U.K. Functions of the certifying authority

The certifying authority of a cross-border programme shall be responsible in particular for:

(a)

drawing up and submitting to the Commission certified statements of expenditure and applications for payment;

(b)

certifying that:

(i)

the statement of expenditure is accurate, results from reliable accounting systems and is based on verifiable supporting documents;

(ii)

the expenditure declared complies with applicable Community and national rules and has been incurred in respect of operations selected for funding in accordance with the criteria applicable to the programme and complying with Community and national rules;

(c)

ensuring for the purposes of certification that it has received adequate information from the managing authority on the procedures and verifications carried out in relation to expenditure included in statements of expenditure;

(d)

taking account for certification purposes of the results of all audits carried out by or under the responsibility of the audit authority;

(e)

maintaining accounting records in computerised form of expenditure declared to the Commission. The managing authorities and the audit authorities shall have access to this information. At the written request of the Commission, the certifying authority shall provide the Commission with this information, within ten working days of receipt of the request or any other agreed period for the purpose of carrying out documentary and on the spot checks;

(f)

keeping an account of amounts recoverable and of amounts withdrawn following cancellation of all or part of the contribution for an operation. Amounts recovered shall be repaid to the general budget of the European Union prior to the closure of the cross-border programme by deducting them from the next statement of expenditure;

(g)

[F1 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 expenditure 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.]

Textual Amendments

F1 Substituted by 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).

Article 105 U.K. Functions of the audit authority

1. The audit authority of a cross-border programme shall be functionally independent of the managing authority and the certifying authority and shall be responsible in particular for:

(a) ensuring that audits are carried out to verify the effective functioning of the management and control system of the cross-border programme;

(b) ensuring that audits are carried out on operations on the basis of an appropriate sample to verify expenditure declared;

(c) by 31 December each year from the year following the adoption of the cross-border programme to the fourth year following the last budgetary commitment:

(i)

submitting to the Commission an annual control report setting out the findings of the audits carried out during the previous twelve month period ending on 30 June of the year concerned and reporting any shortcomings found in the systems for the management and control of the programme. The first report, to be submitted by 31 December of the year following the adoption of the programme, shall cover the period from 1 January of the year of adoption to 30 June of the year following the adoption of the programme. The information concerning the audits carried out after 1 July of the fourth year following the last budgetary commitment shall be included in the final control report supporting the closure declaration referred to in point (d) of this paragraph. This report shall be based on the systems audits and audits of operations carried out under points (a) and (b) of this paragraph;

(ii)

issuing an opinion, on the basis of the controls and audits that have been carried out under its responsibility, as to whether the management and control system functions effectively, so as to provide a reasonable assurance that statements of expenditure presented to the Commission are correct and as a consequence reasonable assurance that the underlying transactions are legal and regular.

When a common system applies to several IPA cross-border programmes, the information referred to in point (i) may be grouped in a single report, and the opinion and declaration issued under point (ii) may cover all the cross-border programmes concerned;

(d) submitting to the Commission at the latest by [F1 31 March] of the fifth year following the last budgetary commitment a closure declaration assessing the validity of the application for payment of the final balance and the legality and regularity of the underlying transactions covered by the final statement of expenditure, which shall be supported by a final control report. This closure declaration shall be based on all the audit work carried out by or under the responsibility of the audit authority.

2. The audit authority shall ensure that the audit work takes account of internationally accepted audit standards.

3. Where the audits and controls referred to in paragraph 1 points (a) and (b) are carried out by a body other than the audit authority, the audit authority shall ensure that such bodies have the necessary functional independence.

4. If weaknesses in management or control systems or the level of irregular expenditure detected do not allow the provision of an unqualified opinion for the annual opinion referred to in paragraph 1 point (c) or in the closure declaration referred to in paragraph 1 point (d), the audit authority shall give the reasons and estimate the scale of the problem and its financial impact.

Textual Amendments

F1 Substituted by 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).

Article 106 U.K. Audit trail

For the purposes of the audits referred to in Article 105(1)(b), an audit trail shall be considered adequate where, for the cross-border programme concerned, it complies with the following criteria:

(a)

it permits the aggregate amounts certified to the Commission to be reconciled with the detailed accounting records and supporting documents held by the certifying authority, managing authority, intermediate bodies and lead beneficiaries as regards operations co-financed under the cross-border programme;

(b)

it permits verification of payment of the public contribution to the lead beneficiary and each final beneficiary;

(c)

it permits verification of application of the selection criteria established by the joint monitoring committee for the cross-border programme;

(d)

it contains, in respect of each operation, the technical specifications and financing plan, documents concerning the grant approval, documents relating to public procurement procedures, progress reports and reports on verifications and audits carried out.

Article 107 U.K. Audits of operations

1. The audits referred to in Article 105(1)(b) shall be carried out each twelve-month period from 1 July of the year following the adoption of the cross-border programme on a sample of operations selected by a method established or approved by the audit authority in agreement with the Commission.

The audits shall be carried out on the spot on the basis of documentation and records held by the final beneficiary.

The participating countries shall ensure the appropriate repartition of those audits over the implementation period.

2. The audits shall verify that the following conditions are fulfilled:

(a) the operation meets the selection criteria for the cross-border programme and has been implemented in accordance with the approval decision and fulfils any applicable conditions concerning its functionality and use or the objectives to be attained;

(b) the expenditure declared corresponds to the accounting records and supporting documents held by the final beneficiary;

(c) the expenditure declared by the final beneficiary is in compliance with Community and national rules;

(d) the public contribution has been paid to the final beneficiary in accordance with Article 40(9).

3. Where problems detected appear to be systemic in nature and therefore entail a risk for other operations under the cross-border programme, the audit authority shall ensure that further examination is carried out, including additional audits where necessary, to establish the scale of such problems. The necessary preventive and corrective action shall be taken by the relevant authorities.

4. No less than 5 % of the total expenditure declared by lead beneficiaries and certified to the Commission in the final statement of expenditure shall be audited in accordance with paragraph 2 before the closure of a cross-border programme.

Article 108 U.K. Control system

1. In order to validate the expenditure, each participating country shall set up a control system making it possible to verify the delivery of the products and services co-financed, the soundness of the expenditure declared for operations or parts of operations implemented on its territory, and the compliance of such expenditure and of related operations, or parts of those operations, with Community, when relevant, and its national rules.

For this purpose each participating country shall designate the controllers responsible for verifying the legality and regularity of the expenditure declared by each final beneficiary participating in the operation. Participating countries may decide to designate a single controller for the whole programme area.

Where the verification of the delivery of the products and services co-financed can be carried out only in respect of the entire operation, such verification shall be performed by the controller of the participating country where the lead beneficiary is located or by the managing authority.

[F1 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.]

Textual Amendments

F1 Substituted by 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).

Sub-section 2 U.K. Evaluation and monitoring

Article 109 U.K. Evaluation

1. Evaluation shall aim to improve the quality, effectiveness and consistency of the assistance from the Community funds and the strategy and implementation of cross-border programmes while taking account of the objective of sustainable development and of the relevant Community legislation concerning environmental impact and strategic environmental assessment.

2. Participating countries shall jointly carry out an ex ante evaluation covering each cross-border programme.

Ex ante evaluations shall aim to optimise the allocation of budgetary resources under cross-border programmes and improve programming quality. They shall identify and appraise the disparities, gaps and potential for development, the goal to be achieved, the results expected, the quantified targets, the coherence with the relevant multi-annual indicative planning documents(s), the Community value-added, the lessons drawn from the previous programming and the quality of the procedures for implementation, monitoring, evaluation and financial management.

The ex ante evaluation shall be annexed to the cross-border programme.

3. During the programming period, participating countries shall carry out evaluations linked to the monitoring of the cross-border programme in particular where that monitoring reveals a significant departure from the goals initially set or where proposals are made for the revision of cross-border programme. The results shall be sent to the joint monitoring committee for the cross-border programme and to the Commission.

Where the results are conducive to a revision of the reminder of the programme as referred to in Article 93, they shall be discussed within the IPA Committee at the time of the submission of the revised cross-border programme.

4. Evaluations shall be carried out by experts or bodies, internal or external, functionally independent of the certifying and audit authorities referred to in Article 102. The results shall be published according to the applicable rules on access to documents.

5. Evaluation shall be financed from the budget for technical assistance referred to in Article 94(1)(f).

Article 110 U.K. Joint monitoring committee

1. The participating countries shall set up a joint monitoring committee for each cross-border programme within three months from the date of the notification to the participating countries of the decision approving the cross-border programme.

The joint monitoring committees shall meet at least twice a year, at the initiative of the participating countries or of the Commission.

In the event of a cross-border programme implemented according to the transitional arrangements referred to in Article 99, for the beneficiary countries where the assistance is implemented on a decentralised basis, the joint monitoring committee fulfils the role of the sectoral monitoring committee referred to in Article 59.

2. Each joint monitoring committee shall draw up its rules of procedure within the institutional, legal and financial framework of the participating countries and in compliance with a joint monitoring committee mandate set out by the Commission, in order to exercise its missions in accordance with the present Regulation. It shall adopt them in agreement with the managing authority and, in the case of a programme implemented according to the transitional arrangements referred to in Article 99, in agreement with the national IPA coordinator(s) of the participating beneficiary country(ies).

3. The joint monitoring committee shall be chaired by a representative of one of the participating countries or the managing authority.

In deciding its composition in accordance with Article 102(3), the participating countries shall take due account of the provisions of Article 87.

4. The Commission shall participate in the work of the joint monitoring committee in an advisory capacity. A representative of the European Investment Bank and the European Investment Fund may participate in an advisory capacity for those cross-border programmes to which the European Investment Bank or the European Investment Fund makes a contribution.

5. The joint monitoring committee shall satisfy itself as to the effectiveness and quality of the implementation of the cross-border programme, in accordance with the following provisions:

(a) it shall consider and approve the criteria for selecting the operations financed by the cross-border programme and approve any revision of those criteria in accordance with programming needs;

(b) it shall periodically review progress made towards achieving the specific targets of the cross-border programme on the basis of documents submitted by the managing authority and, in the case of a programmes implemented according to the transitional arrangements referred to in Article 99, by the operating structures in the participating beneficiary countries;

(c) it shall examine the results of implementation, particularly achievement of the targets set for each priority axis and the evaluations referred to in Article 57(4) and Article 109;

(d) it shall consider and approve the annual and final reports on implementation referred to in Article 112 and, in the case of a programme implemented according to the transitional arrangements referred to in Article 99, it shall examine the reports referred to in Article 144;

(e) it shall be informed of the annual control report, referred to in Article 105(1)(c) and, as applicable in the case of a programme implemented according to the transitional arrangements referred to in Article 99, of the annual audit activity report(s) referred to in Article 29(2)(b) first indent, and of any relevant comments the Commission may make after examining those reports;

(f) it shall be responsible for selecting operations but may delegate this function to a steering committee reporting to it;

(g) it may propose any revision or examination of the cross-border programme likely to make possible the attainment of the objectives referred to in Article 86(2) or to improve its management, including its financial management;

(h) it shall consider and approve any proposal to amend the content of the cross-border programme.

Article 111 U.K. Arrangements for monitoring

1. The managing authority and the joint monitoring committee shall ensure the quality of the implementation of the cross-border programme.

2. The managing authority and the joint monitoring committee shall carry out monitoring by reference to financial indicators, as well as the indicators referred to in Article 94(1)(d).

3. Data exchange between the Commission and the authorities referred to in Article 102 for the purpose of monitoring shall be carried out electronically.

Article 112 U.K. Annual report and final report on implementation

1. By 30 June each year at the latest, the managing authority shall submit to the Commission an annual report on the implementation of the cross-border programme approved by the joint monitoring committee. The first annual report shall be submitted in the second year following the adoption of the programme.

The managing authority shall submit a final report on the implementation of the cross border programme by [F1 31 March of the fifth year] following the last budgetary commitment at the latest.

2. The reports referred to in paragraph 1 shall include the following information:

(a) the progress made in implementing the cross-border programme and priorities in relation to their specific, verifiable targets, with a quantification, wherever and whenever they lend themselves to quantification, using the indicators referred to in Article 94(1)(d) at the level of the priority axis;

(b) the financial implementation of the cross-border programme, detailing for each priority axis:

(i)

[F1 the expenditure paid out by the final beneficiary included in application for payments sent to the managing authority and the corresponding public contribution;]

(ii)

the total payments received from the Commission and quantification of the financial indicators referred to in Article 111(2); and

(iii)

the expenditure paid out by the body responsible for making payments to the beneficiaries;

(c) the steps taken by the managing authority or the joint monitoring committee to ensure the quality and effectiveness of implementation, in particular:

(i)

monitoring and evaluation measures, including data collection arrangements;

(ii)

a summary of any significant problems encountered in implementing the cross-border programme and any measures taken, including the response to comments made under Article 113 where appropriate;

(iii)

the use made of technical assistance;

(d) the measures taken to provide information on and publicise the cross-border programme;

(e) information about significant problems relating to the compliance with Community rules which have been encountered in the implementation of the cross-border programme and the measures taken to deal with them;

(f) the use made of assistance which, following financial corrections as referred to in Article 138, has been made available to the managing authority or to another public authority during the period of implementation of the cross-border programme;

(g) in case of programmes implemented under the transitional arrangements referred to in Article 99, the progress made towards the implementation under shared management in the whole territory of the cross-border programme.

Where appropriate, the information referred to in points (a) to (g) of this paragraph may be provided in summary form.

Information referred to in points (c) and (f) need not be included if there has been no significant modification since the previous report.

3. The Commission shall inform the participating countries of its opinion on the content of an annual report on implementation submitted by the managing authority within three months from the date of receipt. For the final report on a cross-border programme, the time limit shall be a maximum of five months from the date of receipt of the report. If the Commission does not respond within the time limit laid down, the report shall be deemed to be accepted.

Textual Amendments

F1 Substituted by 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).

Article 113 U.K. Annual examination of programmes

1. Every year, when the annual report on implementation referred to in Article 112 is submitted, the Commission and the managing authority shall examine the progress made in implementing the cross-border programme, the principal results achieved over the previous year, the financial implementation and other factors with a view to improving implementation.

Any aspects of the operation of the management and control system raised in the last annual control report, referred to in Article 105(1)(c)(i), may also be examined.

2. Following the examination referred to in paragraph 1, the Commission may make comments to the participating countries and the managing authority, which shall inform the joint monitoring committee thereof. The participating countries shall inform the Commission of the action taken in response to those comments.

Sub-section 3 U.K. Responsibility of participating countries and of the Commission

Article 114 U.K. Management and control

1. Participating countries shall be responsible for the management and control of cross-border programmes in particular through the following measures:

(a) ensuring that management and control systems for cross-border programmes are set up in accordance with Articles 101 and 105 and function effectively;

(b) preventing, detecting and correcting irregularities and recovering amounts unduly paid together with interest on late payments where appropriate. They shall notify these to the Commission, and keep the Commission informed of the progress of administrative and legal proceedings.

2. Without prejudice to the participating countries' responsibility for detecting and correcting irregularities and for recovering amounts unduly paid, the certifying authority shall ensure that any amount paid as a result of an irregularity is recovered from the lead beneficiary. The final beneficiaries shall repay the lead beneficiary the amounts unduly paid in accordance with the agreement existing between them. If the lead beneficiary does not succeed in securing repayment from a final beneficiary, the participating country on whose territory the relevant final beneficiary is located shall reimburse the certifying authority the amount unduly paid to that final beneficiary.

Article 115 U.K. Description of management and control systems

1. Before the payment of the pre-financing referred to in Article 128, the Member State on whose territory the managing authority is located shall submit to the Commission a description of the management and control systems, covering in particular the organisation and procedures of:

(a) the managing and certifying authorities and intermediate bodies referred to in Article 102;

(b) the audit authority and any other bodies carrying out audits under its responsibility as referred to in Article 102.

2. As regards the managing authority, the certifying authority and each intermediate body, the Member State referred to in paragraph 1 shall provide the Commission with the following information:

(a) the description of the tasks entrusted to them;

(b) the organisation chart of the body, the allocation of tasks between or within their departments, and the indicative number of posts allocated;

(c) the procedures for selecting and approving operations;

[F1 (d) the procedures by which final beneficiarie’s applications for reimbursement are received, verified and validated, and the procedures by which payments to final beneficiaries are authorised, executed and entered in the accounts;]

(e) the procedures by which statements of expenditure are drawn up, certified and submitted to the Commission;

(f) reference to the written procedures established for the purposes of points (c), (d) and (e);

(g) eligibility rules laid down by participating countries and applicable to the cross-border programme;

(h) the system for keeping the detailed accounting records of operations under the cross-border programme.

3. As regards the audit authority and other bodies, the Member State referred to in paragraph 1 shall provide to the Commission the following information:

(a) the description of their respective tasks and their interrelationship;

(b) the organisation chart of the audit authority and of each of the bodies involved in carrying out audits concerning the cross-border programme, describing how their independence is ensured, the indicative number of posts attributed and the qualifications of the staff;

(c) the procedures for monitoring the implementation of recommendations and corrective measures resulting from audit reports;

(d) the procedure, where appropriate, for the supervision of the work of bodies involved in carrying out audits concerning the cross-border programme by the audit authority;

(e) the procedures for the preparation of the annual control report and the closure declarations.

Textual Amendments

F1 Substituted by 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).

Article 116 U.K. Assessment of management and control systems

1. The description referred to in Article 115 shall be accompanied by a report setting out the results of an assessment of the systems set up and giving an opinion on their compliance with Articles 101 and 105. If the opinion contains reservations, the report shall indicate the seriousness of the shortcomings. The participating country concerned shall inform the Commission of the corrective measures to be taken and the timetable for their implementation, and subsequently provide confirmation of the implementation of the measures and the withdrawal of the corresponding reservations.

2. The report and the opinion referred to in paragraph 1 are established by the audit authority or by a public or private body functionally independent of the managing and certifying authorities which shall carry out its work taking account of internationally accepted audit standards.

3. Where the management and control system concerned is essentially the same as that in place for assistance approved under Regulation (EC) No 1083/2006, account may be taken of the results of audits carried out by national and Community auditors in relation to that system for the purposes of establishing the report and opinion referred to in paragraph 1.

4. The report referred to in paragraph 1 shall be deemed to be accepted, and the pre-financing payment shall be made, in the following circumstances:

(a) within two months of the date of receipt of the report when the opinion referred to above is without reservations and in the absence of observations by the Commission;

(b) if the opinion contains reservations, upon confirmation to the Commission that corrective measures concerning key elements of the systems have been implemented, and the corresponding reservations withdrawn, and in the absence of observations by the Commission within two months of the date of confirmation.

Article 117 U.K. Requirements at change over from transitional arrangements

1. In the case of a cross-border programme implemented according to the transitional arrangements referred to in Article 99, when the participating countries are ready to switch to implementing modalities referred to in Article 98(1), they shall submit to the Commission a revised description of the management and control systems, accompanied by a revised report and opinion in accordance with Article 116(1).

2. Where the opinion contains reservations, the decision from the Commission modifying the programme may only be taken if the Commission has received confirmation that corrective measures concerning key elements of the systems have been implemented and the corresponding reservation withdrawn.

Article 118 U.K. Conclusion and communication of arrangements between participating countries

In addition to the information listed in Article 115(2) and (3), the description of the management and control system shall include the arrangements agreed between participating countries to allow the managing authority, the certifying authority and the audit authority to exercise their duties arising from this Regulation and to ensure compliance by the participating countries with their obligations as regards the recovery of undue payments as set out in Article 114(2).

Those arrangements, together with the provisions concerning the rules and procedures for public procurements as referred to in Article 121, shall be included in a written agreement concluded between the participating countries and annexed to the description of the management and control systems referred to in Article 115.

Article 119 U.K. Responsibilities of the Commission

1. The Commission shall satisfy itself, in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 116, that the participating countries have set up management and control systems that comply with Articles 101 and 105 and, on the basis of the annual control reports and the annual opinion of the audit authority as referred to in Article 105(1)(c) and its own audits, that the systems function effectively during the period of implementation of the cross-border programmes.

2. Without prejudice to audits carried out by participating countries, Commission officials or authorised Commission representatives may carry out on the spot audits to verify the effective functioning of the management and control systems, which may include audits on operations included in cross-border programmes, with a minimum of ten working days' notice, except in urgent cases. Officials or authorised representatives of the participating countries may take part in such audits.

Commission officials or authorised Commission representatives, duly empowered to carry out on-the-spot audits, shall have access to the books and all other documents, including documents and metadata drawn up or received and recorded on an electronic medium, relating to expenditure financed by Community funds.

Those powers of audit shall not affect the application of national provisions which reserve certain acts for agents specifically designated by national legislation.

3. The Commission may require a participating country to carry out an on-the-spot audit to verify the effective functioning of the systems or the correctness of one or more transactions. Commission officials or authorised Commission representatives may take part in such audits.

Article 120 U.K. Cooperation with the audit authorities

The Commission and the audit authorities of cross-border programmes shall cooperate to coordinate their respective audit plans and audit methods and shall immediately exchange the results of audits carried out on management and control systems in order to make the best possible use of resources and to avoid unjustified duplication of work.

The Commission and the audit authorities shall meet on a regular basis, and at least once a year unless otherwise agreed between them, in order to examine together the annual control report and opinion presented under Article 105 and to exchange views on other issues relating to the improvement of the management and control of the cross-border programmes.

Article 121 U.K. Procurement

[F1 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 Regulation (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.]

2. The provisions under paragraph 1 shall be included in the written agreement concluded between the participating countries as referred to in Article 118.

3. In the case of cross-border programmes implemented under transitional arrangements referred to in Article 99, paragraph 1 shall not apply to the part of programme implemented in the Member States' territory unless otherwise decided by the participating Member States.

Textual Amendments

F1 Substituted by 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).

Sub-section 4 U.K. Financial management

Article 122 U.K. Common rules for payments

1. Payments by the Commission of the contribution from the Community funds shall be made in accordance with the budget appropriations. Each payment shall be posted to the earliest open budget commitments.

2. Payments shall take the form of pre-financing, interim payments and payment of the final balance. They shall be made to the body designated by the participating countries.

3. At the latest by 30 April each year, the certifying authority shall send the Commission a provisional forecast of its likely payment applications for the current financial year and the subsequent financial year.

4. All exchanges concerning financial transactions between the Commission and the authorities and bodies designated by the participating countries shall be made by electronic means. In cases of force majeure, and in particular of malfunction of the common computerised system or a lack of a lasting connection, the certifying authority may forward the statement of expenditure and the payment application in hard copy.

Article 123 U.K. Common rules for calculating interim payments and payments of the final balance

Interim payments and payments of the final balance shall be calculated by applying the co-financing rate for each priority axis to the eligible expenditure mentioned under that priority axis in each statement of expenditure certified by the certifying authority.

However, the Community contribution through the interim payments and payments of the final balance shall not be greater than the public contribution and the maximum amount of assistance from the Community funds for each priority axis as laid down in the decision of the Commission approving the cross-border programme.

Article 124 U.K. Statement of expenditure

1. All statements of expenditure shall include, for each priority axis, the total amount of eligible expenditure, in accordance with Article 89 paid by final beneficiaries in implementing the operations and the corresponding public expenditure paid or due to be paid to the final beneficiaries according to the conditions governing the public expenditure. Expenditure paid by final beneficiaries shall be justified by receipted invoices or accounting documents of equivalent probative value.

[F1 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 expenditure other than public expenditure shall not affect the amount due as calculated on the basis of the payment request.]

Textual Amendments

F1 Substituted by 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).

Article 125 U.K. Accumulation of pre-financing and of interim payments

The provisions laid down in Article 40(5) apply mutatis mutandis.

[F1 Article 126 U.K. Wholeness of payment to final beneficiaries

The provisions laid down in Article 40(9) apply mutatis mutandis .]

Textual Amendments

F1 Substituted by 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).

Article 127 U.K. Use of the euro

1. Amounts set out in the submitted cross-border programmes of the participating countries, certified statements of expenditure, payment application and expenditure mentioned in the annual and final report on implementation shall be denominated in euro.

2. Commission decisions on cross-border programmes, Commission commitments and payments, shall be denominated and carried out in euro.

3. Lead beneficiaries for projects involving final beneficiaries in participating countries which have not adopted the euro as their currency on the date of the payment application shall convert into euro the amounts of expenditure incurred in national currency.

[F1 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.]

4. When the euro becomes the currency of a participating country, the conversion procedure set out in paragraph 3 shall continue to apply to all expenditure recorded in the accounts by the certifying authority before the date of entry into force of the fixed conversion rate between the national currency and the euro.

Textual Amendments

F1 Substituted by 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).

Article 128 U.K. Pre-financing

1. Following the Commission decision approving the cross-border programme, and upon acceptance of the report referred to in Article 116, a single pre-financing amount shall be paid by the Commission to the body designated by the participating countries.

The pre-financing amount shall amount to [F1 50 %] of the first three budgetary commitments to the programme.

The pre-financing amount may be paid in two instalments, where necessary with regard to the availability of budgetary commitment.

2. The total amount paid as pre-financing shall be reimbursed to the Commission by the body designated by the participating countries if no payment application under the cross-border programme is sent within twenty-four months of the date on which the Commission pays the first instalment of the pre-financing amount.

Textual Amendments

F1 Substituted by 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).

Article 129 U.K. Interest

The provisions laid down in Article 36 apply mutatis mutandis.

Article 130 U.K. Clearance

The amount paid as pre-financing shall be totally cleared from the Commission accounts when the cross-border programme is closed in accordance with Article 133.

Article 131 U.K. Acceptability of applications for interim payments

1. Each interim payment made by the Commission shall be subject to the following conditions being met:

(a) the Commission must have been sent a payment application and a statement of expenditure in accordance with Article 124;

(b) no more than the maximum amount of assistance from the Community funds as laid down in the decision of the Commission approving the cross-border programme has been paid by the Commission during the whole period for each priority axis;

(c) the managing authority must have sent the Commission the most recent annual implementation report in accordance with Article 112;

(d) the absence of a reasoned opinion by the Commission in respect of an infringement under Article 226 of the Treaty, as regards the operation(s) for which the expenditure is declared in the payment application in question.

2. If one or more of the conditions referred to in paragraph 1 are not met, the participating countries and the certifying authority shall be informed by the Commission within a deadline of one month so that the necessary steps can be taken to remedy the situation.

Article 132 U.K. Date of presentation of applications for interim payment and payment delays

1. The certifying authority shall send requests for interim payments for each cross-border programme to the Commission, as far as possible, on three separate occasions a year. For a payment to be made by the Commission in the current year, the latest date on which a payment application shall be submitted is 31 October.

2. Subject to available funding, and the absence of a suspension of payments in accordance with Article 136, the Commission shall make the interim payment no later than two months after the date on which a payment application meeting the above conditions referred to in Article 131 is registered with the Commission.

Article 133 U.K. Conditions for the payment of the final balance

1. The Commission shall pay the final balance provided that:

(a) the certifying authority has sent a payment application comprising the following documents by 31 March of the fifth year following the last budgetary commitment:

(i)

an application for payment of the final balance and a statement of expenditure in accordance with Article 124;

(ii)

the final implementation report for the cross-border programme, including the information set out in Article 112;

(iii)

a closure declaration referred to in Article 105(1)(d); and

(b) there is no reasoned opinion by the Commission in respect of an infringement under Article 226 of the Treaty, as regards the operation(s) for which the expenditure is declared in the payment application in question.

2. Failure to send any of the documents referred to in paragraph 1 to the Commission shall automatically result in the de-commitment of the final balance, in accordance with Article 137.

3. The Commission shall inform the participating countries of its opinion on the content of the closure declaration within five months of the date of its receipt.

The closure declaration shall be deemed to be accepted in the absence of observations by the Commission within a deadline of five months.

4. Subject to available funding, the Commission shall pay the final balance within forty-five days from the later of the following dates:

(a) the date on which it accepts the final report in accordance with Article 112; and

(b) the date on which it accepts the closure declaration.

5. Without prejudice to paragraph 6, the balance of the budgetary commitment shall be de-committed twelve months following the payment of the final balance. The cross-border programme is considered closed as soon as one of the following events occurs:

(a) the payment of the final balance determined by the Commission on the basis of the documents referred to in paragraph 1;

(b) the sending of a debit note for sums unduly paid by the Commission to the participating countries in respect of the cross-border programme;

(c) the de-commitment of the final balance of the budgetary commitment.

The Commission shall inform the participating countries about the date of the closure of the cross-border programme within a deadline of two months.

6. Notwithstanding the results of any audits performed by the Commission or the European Court of Auditors, the final balance paid by the Commission for the cross-border programme can be amended within nine months of the date on which it is paid or, where there is a negative balance to be reimbursed by the participating countries, within nine months of the date on which the debit note is issued. Such amendment of the balance shall not affect the date of the closure of the cross-border programme as set out in paragraph 5.

Article 134 U.K. Availability of documents

1. Without prejudice to the rules governing State aid under Article 87 of the Treaty, the managing authority shall ensure that all the supporting documents regarding expenditure and audits on the cross-border programme concerned are kept available for the Commission and the Court of Auditors for a period of three years following the closure of a cross-border programme as defined in Article 133(5).

This period shall be interrupted either in the case of legal proceedings or at the duly motivated request of the Commission.

2. The documents shall be kept either in the form of the originals or in versions certified to be in conformity with the originals on commonly accepted data carriers.

3. The managing authority shall keep a record of the bodies holding the original supporting documents relating to expenditure and checks, comprising:

(a) documents relating to specific expenditure incurred and declared payments made under the assistance and required for a sufficient audit trail including documents constituting proof of the actual delivery of products or services co-financed;

(b) reports and documents relating to checks carried out by the bodies referred to in Article 102.

4. The managing authority shall ensure that the documents referred to in paragraph 1 are made available for inspection by, and extracts or copies thereof are supplied to, persons and bodies entitled thereto, including at least authorised staff of the managing authority, certifying authority, intermediate bodies and audit authority and authorised officials of the Community and their authorised representatives.

5. The following at least shall be considered as commonly accepted data carriers as referred to in paragraph 2:

(a) photocopies of original documents;

(b) microfiches of original documents;

(c) electronic versions of original documents;

(d) documents existing in electronic version only.

6. The procedure for certification of conformity of documents held on commonly accepted data carriers with the original document shall be laid down by the national authorities and shall ensure that the versions held comply with national legal requirements and can be relied on for audit purposes.

7. Where documents exist in electronic version only, the computer systems used must meet accepted security standards that ensure that the documents held comply with national legal requirements and can be relied on for audit purposes.

Article 135 U.K. Interruption of the payment deadline

1. The payment deadline may be interrupted by the authorising officer by delegation within the meaning of Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002 for a maximum period of six months if:

(a) in a report of a national or Community audit body there is evidence to suggest a significant deficiency in the functioning of the management and control systems;

(b) the authorising officer by delegation has to carry out additional verifications following information coming to his attention alerting him that expenditure in a certified statement of expenditure is linked to a serious irregularity which has not been corrected.

2. The participating countries and the certifying authority shall be informed immediately of the reasons for the interruption. The interruption shall be ended as soon as the necessary measures have been taken by the participating countries.

Article 136 U.K. Suspension of payments

1. All or part of the interim payments at the level of priority axes or programmes may be suspended by the Commission where:

(a) there is a serious deficiency in the management and control system of the programme which affects the reliability of the procedure for certification of payments and for which corrective measures have not been taken; or

(b) expenditure in a certified statement of expenditure is linked to a serious irregularity which has not been corrected; or

(c) there is a serious breach by participating countries of their obligations under Article 114.

2. The Commission may decide to suspend all or part of interim payments after having given the participating countries the opportunity to present their observations within a period of two months.

3. The Commission shall end suspension of all or part of interim payments when the participating countries have taken the necessary measures to enable the suspension to be lifted. Where the required measures have not been taken by the participating countries, the Commission may adopt the decision to cancel all or part of the Community contribution to the cross-border programme, in accordance with Article 138.

Article 137 U.K. Automatic de-commitment

Automatic and final de-commitment of any portion of the budgetary commitment for a cross-border programme shall follow the rules laid down in paragraph 3 of Article 166 of Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002.

Article 138 U.K. Financial corrections and irregularities

1. For the purpose of financial corrections, the relevant provisions contained in Articles 98, 99, 100, 101 and 102 of Regulation (EC) No 1083/2006 shall apply mutatis mutandis.

2. For the purposes of irregularities, the relevant provisions contained in Articles 27 to 34 of Commission Regulation (EC) No 1828/2006(3) setting out the rules for the implementation of Regulation (EC) No 1083/2006 and of Regulation (EC) No 1080/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council shall apply mutatis mutandis.

Section 3 U.K. Cross-border programmes among beneficiary countries

Sub-section 1 U.K. Management and control systems

Article 139 U.K. Structures and authorities

1. For each cross-border programme, each participating beneficiary country shall establish an operating structure for the part of the programme relating to the country concerned.

2. The duties of the operating structures shall include the preparation of the cross-border programmes in accordance with Article 91.

3. The operating structures of the participating beneficiary countries shall cooperate closely in the programming and implementation of the relevant cross-border programme.

4. For each cross-border programme among beneficiary countries, the relevant operating structures shall set up a joint technical secretariat to assist the operating structures and the joint monitoring committee referred to in Article 142 in carrying out their respective duties.

The joint technical secretariat may have antennae established in each participating countries.

5. In the event of decentralised management, the functions and responsibilities of the operating structures shall be, mutatis mutandis, those listed in Article 28. In addition, the following provisions shall apply:

(a) The operating structures in each participating beneficiary country shall include one implementing agency which shall be established within the national administration or under its direct control.

(b) The national authorising officer in each participating beneficiary country shall, after consulting the national IPA coordinator, designate a programme authorising officer to head the implementing agency.

The programme authorising officers shall be officials of the State administration of the beneficiary countries. He shall be responsible for the activities carried out by the implementing agency.

[F1 (c) For the part of the cross-border programme concerning the respective country, the implementing 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.]

Where relevant, the provisions laid down in Article 76 shall apply mutatis mutandis.

[F1 6. In the event of centralised management, functions and responsibilities of the operating structures shall be defined in the relevant cross-border programmes.]

Textual Amendments

F1 Substituted by 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).

Article 140 U.K. Role of the Commission in the selection of operations

1. In the event of centralised management, the Commission shall:

[F1 (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);]

(b) endorse the calls for proposals and their application packs (Guidelines for applicants) prior to publication;

(c) where relevant, endorse the composition of a steering committee entrusted with the selection of operations;

(d) formally confirm the operations selected by the joint monitoring committee referred to in Article 142. In all cases, the Commission shall retain the right of final approval of an operation selected for financing.

2. In the event of decentralised management, the Commissions' right to exercise ex ante control of the selection of operations shall be defined in the Commission decision on conferral of management in accordance with Article 14(3).

Textual Amendments

F1 Substituted by 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).

Sub-section 2 U.K. Evaluation and monitoring

Article 141 U.K. Evaluation

Article 109 shall apply mutatis mutandis. However, in the event of centralised management, the evaluations referred to in Article 109(3) shall be carried out under the responsibility of the Commission. In that event, the provisions referred to in Article 109(4) and Article 109(5) do not apply.

In the case of cross-border programmes among beneficiary countries, the need to carry out the ex ante evaluation referred to in Article 109(2) shall be decided by the Commission in agreement with the participating beneficiary countries, taking into consideration the Community funds allocated to the programme and in accordance with the proportionality principle. The ex ante evaluation may be carried out with the support of the Commission.

[F1 In the event of decentralised management, the Commission may perform any ad-hoc evaluations it deems necessary.]

Textual Amendments

F1 Substituted by 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).

Article 142 U.K. Joint monitoring committee

1. In the case of cross–border programmes among themselves, the participating beneficiary countries shall set up a joint monitoring committee for each cross-border programme. This joint monitoring committee fulfils the role of the sectoral monitoring committee referred to in Article 59. By way of derogation from Article 59(1), the joint monitoring committee shall be set up within three months after the entry into force of the first financing agreement relating to the programme.

The joint monitoring committees shall meet at least twice a year, at the initiative of the participating countries or of the Commission.

2. Each joint monitoring committee shall draw up its rules of procedures in compliance with a joint monitoring committee mandate set out by the Commission and within the institutional, legal and financing framework of the participating countries concerned, in order to exercise its mission in accordance with the present Regulation. It shall adopt these rules of procedures.

3. The joint monitoring committee shall be chaired by a representative of one of the participating countries.

Each participating country shall appoint its representatives, including representatives of the operating structure responsible for the programme, to sit on the joint monitoring committee. With regards to the composition of the joint monitoring committee, due account shall be taken of provisions of Article 87.

4. The Commission shall participate in the work of the joint monitoring committee in an advisory capacity.

5. The joint monitoring committee shall satisfy itself as to the effectiveness and quality of the implementation of the cross-border programme, in accordance with the following provisions:

(a) it shall consider and approve the criteria for selecting the operations financed by the cross-border programme and approve any revision of those criteria in accordance with programming needs;

(b) it shall periodically review progress made towards achieving the specific targets of the cross-border programme on the basis of documents submitted by the operating structures of participating beneficiary countries;

(c) it shall examine the results of implementation, particularly achievement of the targets set for each priority axis and the evaluations referred to in Article 57(4) and Article 141;

(d) it shall examine the annual and final reports on implementation referred to in Article 144;

(e) it shall be informed, as applicable of the annual audit activity report(s) referred to in Article 29(2)(b) first indent, and of any relevant comments the Commission may make after examining that report;

(f) it shall be responsible for selecting operations, but may delegate this function to a steering committee;

(g) it may propose any revision or examination of the cross-border programme likely to make possible the attainment of the objectives referred to in Article 86(2) or to improve its management, including its financial management;

(h) it shall consider and approve any proposal to amend the content of the cross-border programme.

Article 143 U.K. Shared tasks of the operating structures and the joint monitoring committee

The operating structures of the participating beneficiary countries and the joint monitoring committee shall ensure the quality of the implementation of the cross-border programme. They shall carry out monitoring by reference to the indicators referred to in Article 94(1)(d) and, in the event of decentralised management, the financial indicators specified in the cross-border programme.

Article 144 U.K. Annual report and final report on implementation

1. The operating structures of the beneficiary countries participating in a cross-border programme shall send the Commission and the respective national IPA coordinators an annual report and a final report on the implementation of the cross-border programme after examination by the joint monitoring committee.

In the case of decentralised management, the reports shall also be sent to the respective national authorising officers.

The annual report shall be submitted by 30 June each year and for the first time in the second year following the adoption of the cross-border programme.

The final report shall be submitted at the latest 6 months after the closure of the cross-border programme.

2. The reports referred to in paragraph 1 shall include the following information:

(a) the progress made in implementing the cross-border programme and priorities in relation to their specific, verifiable targets, with a quantification, wherever and whenever they lend themselves to quantification, using the indicators referred to in Article 94(1)(d) at the level of the priority axis;

(b) detailed information about the financial implementation of the cross-border programme;

(c) the steps taken by the operating structures and/or the joint monitoring committee to ensure the quality and effectiveness of implementation, in particular:

(i)

monitoring and evaluation measures, including data collection arrangements;

(ii)

a summary of any significant problems encountered in implementing the cross-border programme and any measures taken;

(iii)

the use made of technical assistance;

(d) the measures taken to provide information on and publicise the cross-border programme.

Where appropriate, the information referred to in points (a) to (d) of this paragraph may be provided in summary form.

The information referred to in point (b) shall be included in the reports only in the case of decentralised management.

Information referred to in point (c) need not be included if there has been no significant modification since the previous report.

Sub-section 3 U.K. Financial management

Article 145 U.K. Grants

Following the selection of joint operations in accordance with Article 95, the operating structures in the event of decentralised management and the Commission in the event of centralised management, shall issue a grant to the lead beneficiary of the participating beneficiary country concerned.

Article 146 U.K. Applicable rules

In the event of decentralised management, the provisions of Articles 79 paragraphs (1), (2) and (3), and 80 shall apply.

(1)

[F1 OJ L 310, 9.11.2006, p. 1 .]

(2)

OJ L 210, 31.7.2006, p. 25.

(3)

OJ L 371, 27.12.2006, p. 1.

Textual Amendments

F1 Substituted by 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).