Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013 of the European Parliament and of the CouncilDangos y teitl llawn

TITLE I U.K. OBJECTIVES AND FINANCIAL FRAMEWORK

CHAPTER I U.K. Mission, goals and geographical coverage of support

Article 89 U.K. Mission and goals

1. The Funds shall contribute to developing and pursuing the actions of the Union leading to strengthening of its economic, social and territorial cohesion in accordance with Article 174 TFEU.

The actions supported by the Funds shall also contribute to the delivery of the Union strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth.

2. For the purpose of the mission referred to in paragraph 1, the following goals shall be pursued:

(a) Investment for growth and jobs in Member States and regions, to be supported by the Funds; and

(b) European territorial cooperation, to be supported by the ERDF.

Article 90 U.K. Investment for growth and jobs goal

1. The Structural Funds shall support the Investment for growth and jobs goal in all regions corresponding to level 2 of the common classification of territorial units for statistics ('NUTS level 2 regions') established by Regulation (EC) No 1059/2003 amended by Regulation (EC) No 105/2007.

2. Resources for the Investment for growth and jobs goal shall be allocated among the following three categories of NUTS level 2 regions:

(a) less developed regions, whose GDP per capita is less than 75 % of the average GDP of the EU-27;

(b) transition regions, whose GDP per capita is between 75 % and 90 % of the average GDP of the EU-27;

(c) more developed regions, whose GDP per capita is above 90 % of the average GDP of the EU-27.

The classification of regions under one of the three categories of regions shall be determined on the basis of how the GDP per capita of each region, measured in purchasing power parities (PPS) and calculated on the basis of Union figures for the period 2007 - 2009, relates to the average GDP of the EU-27 for the same reference period.

3. The Cohesion Fund shall support those Member States whose GNI per capita, measured in PPS and calculated on the basis of Union figures for the period 2008 - 2010, is less than 90 % of the average GNI per capita of the EU-27 for the same reference period.

The Member States eligible for funding from the Cohesion Fund in 2013, but whose nominal GNI per capita exceeds 90 % of the average GNI per capita of the EU-27 as calculated under the first subparagraph shall receive support from the Cohesion Fund on a transitional and specific basis.

4. Immediately following the entry into force of this Regulation, the Commission shall adopt a decision, by means of an implementing act, setting out the list of regions fulfilling the criteria of the three categories of regions referred to in paragraph 2 and of Member States fulfilling the criteria of paragraph 3. That list shall be valid from 1 January 2014 to 31 December 2020.

5. In 2016, the Commission shall review the eligibility of Member States for support from the Cohesion Fund on the basis of Union GNI figures for the period 2012 - 2014 for the EU-27. Those Member States whose nominal GNI per capita falls below 90 % of the average GNI per capita of the EU-27 shall become newly eligible for support from the Cohesion Fund and those Member States which were eligible for the Cohesion Fund and whose nominal GNI per capita exceeds 90 %, shall lose their eligibility and shall receive support from the Cohesion Fund on a transitional and specific basis.

CHAPTER II U.K. Financial framework

Article 91 U.K. Resources for economic, social and territorial cohesion

1. The resources for economic, social and territorial cohesion available for budgetary commitment for the period 2014 - 2020 shall be EUR 325 145 694 739 in 2011 prices, in accordance with the annual breakdown set out in Annex VI, of which EUR 322 145 694 739 represents the global resources allocated to the ERDF, the ESF and the Cohesion Fund and EUR 3 000 000 000 represents a specific allocation for the YEI. For the purposes of programming and subsequent inclusion in the budget of the Union, the amount of resources for economic, social and territorial cohesion shall be indexed at 2 % per year.

2. The Commission shall adopt a decision, by means of implementing acts, setting out the annual breakdown of the global resources per Member State under the Investment for growth and jobs goal and the European territorial cooperation goal, and the annual breakdown of the resources from the specific allocation for the YEI per Member State together with the list of eligible regions in accordance with the criteria and methodology set out in Annexes VII and VIII respectively, without prejudice to paragraph 3 of this Article or to Article 92(8).

3. 0,35 % of the global resources after the deduction of the support to the CEF referred to in Article 92(6), and to the aid for the most deprived referred to in Article 92(7) shall be allocated to technical assistance at the initiative of the Commission.

Article 92 U.K. Resources for the Investment for growth and jobs goal and for the European territorial cooperation goal

1. Resources for the Investment for growth and jobs goal shall amount to 96,33 % of the global resources (i.e., a total of EUR 313 197 435 409) and shall be allocated as follows:

(a) 52,45 % (i.e., a total of EUR 164 279 015 916) for less developed regions;

(b) 10,24 % (i.e., a total of EUR 32 084 931 311) for transition regions;

(c) 15,67 % (i.e., a total of EUR 49 084 308 755) for more developed regions;

(d) 21,19 % (i.e., a total of EUR 66 362 384 703) for Member States supported by the Cohesion Fund;

(e) 0,44 % (i.e., a total of EUR 1 386 794 724) as additional funding for the outermost regions identified in Article 349 TFEU and the NUTS level 2 regions fulfilling the criteria laid down in Article 2 of Protocol No 6 to the 1994 Act of Accession.

2. In addition to the amounts set out in Article 91 and paragraph 1 of this Article, for the years 2014 and 2015, a further amount of EUR 94 200 000 and of EUR 92 400 000 respectively shall be made available as set out in the "Additional adjustments" under Annex VII. Those amounts shall be identified in the decision of the Commission referred to in Article 91(2).

3. In 2016, the Commission shall, in its technical adjustment for the year 2017 in accordance with Articles 4 and 5 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 1311/2013, review the total allocations under the Investment for growth and jobs goal of each Member State for 2017-2020, applying the allocation method set out in paragraphs 1 to 16 of Annex VII on the basis of the most recent statistics available and of the comparison, for the capped Member States, between the cumulated national GDP observed for the years 2014-2015 and the cumulated national GDP for the same period estimated in 2012 in accordance with paragraph 10 of Annex VII. Where there is a cumulative divergence of more than +/-5 % between the revised allocations and the total allocations, the total allocations shall be adjusted correspondingly. In accordance with Article 5 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 1311/2013, adjustments shall be spread in equal proportions over the years 2017-2020 and the corresponding ceilings of the financial framework shall be modified accordingly. The total net effect of the adjustments, whether positive or negative, shall not exceed EUR 4 000 000 000. Following the technical adjustment, the Commission, shall adopt a decision, by means of implementing acts, setting out a revised annual breakdown of the global resources for each Member State.

4. In order to ensure that sufficient investment is targeted at youth employment, labour mobility, knowledge, social inclusion and combating poverty, the share of Structural Funds resources available for programming for operational programmes, under the Investment for growth and jobs goal allocated to the ESF in each Member State, shall not be lower than the corresponding ESF share for that Member State laid down in the operational programmes for the Convergence and Regional competitiveness and employment objectives for the 2007-2013 programming period. To that share shall be added an additional amount for each Member State determined in accordance with the method set out in Annex IX in order to ensure that the share of the ESF as a percentage of total combined resources for the Funds at Union level, excluding the support from the Cohesion Fund for transport infrastructure under the CEF referred to in paragraph 6 and support from the Structural Funds for aid for the most deprived referred to in paragraph 7, in Member States is not less than 23,1 %. For the purposes of this paragraph, investment provided from the ESF to the YEI shall be considered to be part of the share of Structural Funds allocated to the ESF.

5. Resources for the YEI shall amount to EUR 3 000 000 000 from the specific allocation for the YEI and at least EUR 3 000 000 000 from ESF targeted investment.

6. The amount of support from the Cohesion Fund to be transferred to the CEF shall be EUR 10 000 000 000. It shall be spent for transport infrastructure projects in line with Regulation (EU) No 1316/2013 exclusively in Member States eligible for funding from the Cohesion Fund.

The Commission shall adopt a decision, by means of an implementing act, setting out the amount to be transferred from each Member State's Cohesion Fund allocation to the CEF, which amount shall be determined on a pro rata basis for the whole period. The Cohesion Fund allocation of each Member State shall be reduced accordingly.

The annual appropriations corresponding to the support from the Cohesion Fund referred to in the first subparagraph shall be entered in the relevant budget lines of the CEF as of the 2014 budgetary exercise.

The amount transferred from the Cohesion Fund to the CEF, referred to in the first subparagraph, shall be implemented by launching specific calls for projects implementing the core networks or for projects and horizontal activities identified in Part I of Annex I to Regulation (EU) No 1316/2013.

Rules applicable for the transport sector under Regulation (EU) No 1316/2013 shall apply to the specific calls referred to in the fourth subparagraph. Until 31 December 2016, the selection of projects eligible for financing shall respect the national allocations under the Cohesion Fund. As of 1 January 2017, resources transferred to the CEF which have not been committed to a transport infrastructure project shall be made available to all Member States eligible for funding from the Cohesion Fund to finance transport infrastructure projects in accordance with Regulation (EU) No 1316/2013.

In order to support Member States eligible for funding from the Cohesion Fund, which may experience difficulties in designing projects that are of a sufficient maturity, quality, or both, and which have sufficient added value for the Union, particular attention shall be given to programme support actions aimed at strengthening institutional capacity and the efficiency of public administrations and public services in relation to the development and implementation of projects listed in Part I of Annex I to the Regulation (EU) No 1316/2013. To ensure the highest possible absorption of the transferred funds in all Member States eligible for funding from the Cohesion fund, the Commission may organise additional calls.

7. The support from the Structural Funds for aid for the most deprived under the Investment for Growth and Jobs goal shall be not less than EUR 2 500 000 000 and may be increased by up to EUR 1 000 000 000 by additional support decided on a voluntary basis by Member States.

The Commission shall adopt a decision, by means of an implementing act, setting out the amount to be transferred from each Member State's Structural Funds allocation to aid for the most deprived for the whole period. The Structural Funds allocation of each Member State shall be reduced accordingly, on the basis of a pro-rata reduction by category of region.

The annual appropriations corresponding to the support from the Structural Funds referred to in the first subparagraph shall be entered in the relevant budget lines of the aid for the most deprived instrument with the 2014 budgetary exercise.

8. EUR 330 000 000 of the Structural Funds resources for the Investment for growth and jobs goal shall be allocated to innovative actions under direct or indirect management by the Commission in the area of sustainable urban development.

9. Resources for the European territorial cooperation goal shall amount to 2,75 % of the global resources available for budgetary commitment from the Funds for the period 2014-2020 (i.e., a total of EUR 8 948 259 330).

10. For the purposes of this Article, Articles 18, 91, 93, 95, 99, 120, Annex I and Annex X of this Regulation, Article 4 of the ERDF Regulation, Article 4 and Articles 16 to 23 of the ESF Regulation, Article 3(3) of the ETC Regulation, the outermost region of Mayotte shall be considered to be a NUTS level 2 region falling into the category of less developed regions. For the purposes of Article 3(1) and (2) of the ETC Regulation, the regions of Mayotte and Saint Martin shall be considered to be NUTS level 3 regions.

Article 93 U.K. Non-transferability of resources between categories of regions

1. The total appropriations allocated to each Member State in respect of less developed regions, transition regions and more developed regions shall not be transferable between those categories of regions.

2. By way of derogation from paragraph 1, the Commission may accept, in duly justified circumstances which are linked to the implementation of one or more thematic objectives, a proposal by a Member State in its first submission of the Partnership Agreement or, in duly justified circumstances, at the time of allocation of the performance reserve, or in a major revision of the Partnership Agreement, to transfer up to 3 % of the total appropriation for a category of regions to other categories of regions.

Article 94 U.K. Non-transferability of resources between goals

1. The total appropriations allocated to each Member State in respect of the Investment for growth and jobs goal and the European territorial cooperation goal shall not be transferable between those goals.

2. By way of derogation from paragraph 1, the Commission may in order to uphold the effective contribution of the Funds to the missions referred to in Article 89(1), in duly justified circumstances, and subject to the condition laid down in paragraph 3, accept by means of an implementing act a proposal by a Member State in its first submission of the Partnership Agreement to transfer a part of its appropriations for the European territorial cooperation goal to the Investment for growth and jobs goal.

3. The share of the European territorial cooperation goal in the Member State making the proposal referred to in paragraph 2 shall be not less than 35 % of the total allocated to that Member State in respect of the Investment for growth and jobs goal and the European territorial cooperation goal, and after transfer shall be not less than 25 % of that total.

Article 95 U.K. Additionality

1. For the purposes of this Article and Annex X, the following definitions apply:

(1)

'gross fixed capital formation' means all the resident producers' acquisitions, less disposals, of fixed assets during a given period and certain additions to the value of non-produced assets realised by the productive activity of producer or institutional units, as defined in Council Regulation (EC) No 2223/96(1);

(2)

'fixed assets' means all tangible or intangible assets produced as outputs from processes of production that are themselves used repeatedly, or continuously, in processes of production for more than one year;

(3)

'general government' means the totality of institutional units which, in addition to fulfilling their political responsibilities and their role of economic regulation, produce principally non-market services (possibly goods) for individual or collective consumption and redistribute income and wealth;

(4)

'public or equivalent structural expenditure' means the gross fixed capital formation of the general government.

2. Support from the Funds for the Investment for growth and jobs goal shall not replace public or equivalent structural expenditure by a Member State.

3. Member States shall maintain for the period 2014-2020 a level of public or equivalent structural expenditure on average per year at least equal to the reference level set in the Partnership Agreement.

In setting the reference level referred to in the first subparagraph, the Commission and the Member States shall take into account the general macroeconomic conditions and specific or exceptional circumstances, such as privatisations, an exceptional level of public or equivalent structural expenditure by a Member State in the 2007-2013 programming period and the evolution of other public investment indicators. They shall also take into account changes in the national allocations from the Funds as compared to the years 2007-2013.

4. Verification of whether the level of public or equivalent structural expenditure under the Investment for growth and jobs goal has been maintained for the period shall only take place in those Member States in which less developed regions cover at least 15 % of the total population.

In those Member States in which less developed regions cover at least 65 % of the total population, the verification shall take place at national level.

In those Member States in which less developed regions cover more than 15 % and less than 65 % of the total population, the verification shall take place at regional level. For that purpose, those Member States shall provide to the Commission information about the expenditure in the less developed regions at each stage of the verification process.

5. The verification of whether the level of public or equivalent structural expenditure under the Investment for growth and jobs goal has been maintained shall take place at the time of submission of the Partnership Agreement (the "ex ante verification"), in 2018 (the "mid-term verification"), and in 2022 (the "ex post verification").

The detailed rules relating to the verification of additionality are set out in point 2 of Annex X.

6. If it is established by the Commission in the ex post verification that a Member State has not maintained the reference level of public or equivalent structural expenditure under the Investment for growth and jobs goal set out in the Partnership Agreement and as set out in Annex X, the Commission may, in relation to the degree of non-compliance, carry out a financial correction by adoption of a decision by means of implementing act. In determining whether to carry out a financial correction the Commission shall take into account whether the economic situation of the Member State has significantly changed since the mid-term verification. The detailed rules relating to financial correction rates are set out in point 3 of Annex X.

7. Paragraphs 1 to 6 shall not apply to programmes under the European territorial cooperation goal.

(1)

Council Regulation (EC) No 2223/96 of 25 June 1996 on the European system of national and regional accounts in the Community (OJ L 310, 30.11.1996, p. 1).