Council Decision of 25 June 2007 establishing the European Fund for the Integration of third-country nationals for the period 2007 to 2013 as part of the General programme ‘Solidarity and Management of Migration Flows’ (2007/435/EC) (repealed)

CHAPTER IV PROGRAMMING

Article 16 Adoption of strategic guidelines

1. The Commission shall adopt strategic guidelines setting out a framework for the intervention of the Fund, taking into account the progress in development and implementation of Community legislation in the area of immigration and other areas related to the integration of third-country nationals as well as the indicative distribution of the financial resources of the Fund for the period concerned.

2. For each of the objectives of the Fund, those guidelines shall in particular give effect to the priorities of the Community with a view to promoting the Common Basic Principles.

3. The Commission shall adopt the strategic guidelines relating to the multiannual programming period by 31 July 2007.

4. The strategic guidelines shall be adopted in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 52(2).

Article 17 Preparation and approval of national multiannual programmes

1. Each Member State shall propose on the basis of the strategic guidelines referred to in Article 16 a draft multiannual programme which shall consist of the following elements:

(a) a description of the current situation in that Member State as regards the implementation of national integration strategies in light of the Common Basic Principles and, where available, as regards the development and implementation of national admission and introduction programmes;

(b) an analysis of requirements in the Member State in question in terms of the national integration strategies and, where available, admission and introduction programmes, and an indication of operational objectives designed to meet these requirements during the period covered by the multiannual programme;

(c) the presentation of an appropriate strategy to achieve these objectives and the priorities attached to their attainment, and a description of the actions envisaged to implement these priorities;

(d) an indication of whether that strategy is compatible with other regional, national and Community instruments;

(e) information on the priorities and their specific targets. Those targets shall be quantified using a limited number of indicators, taking into account the principle of proportionality. 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;

(f) a description of the approach chosen for the implementation of the principle of partnership laid down in Article 10;

(g) a draft financing plan which sets out, for each priority and each annual programme, the Fund's proposed financial contribution and the overall amount of public or private co-financing;

(h) a description of measures taken to ensure complementarity of actions with those financed under the ESF;

(i) the provisions laid down to ensure that the multiannual programme is made public.

2. Member States shall submit their draft multiannual programme to the Commission no later than four months after the Commission has provided the strategic guidelines for the period in question.

3. In order to approve the draft multiannual programme, the Commission shall examine:

(a) the draft multiannual programme's consistency with the objectives of the Fund and the strategic guidelines defined in Article 16;

(b) the relevance of the actions envisaged in the draft multiannual programme in the light of the strategy which is proposed;

(c) the compliance of the management and control arrangements set up by the Member State for the implementation of the Fund's interventions with the provisions of this Decision;

(d) the draft multiannual programme's compliance with Community law and in particular with Community law aiming at ensuring the free movement of persons in conjunction with the directly related accompanying measures with respect to external borders controls, asylum and immigration.

4. Where the Commission considers that a draft multiannual programme is inconsistent with the strategic guidelines or does not comply with the provisions of this Decision setting out management and control systems or with Community law, it shall invite the Member State to provide all necessary information and, where appropriate, to revise the draft multiannual programme accordingly.

5. The Commission shall approve each multiannual programme within three months following its formal submission, in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 52(2).

Article 18 Revision of multiannual programmes

1. At the initiative of the Member State in question or the Commission, the multiannual programme shall be re-examined and, if necessary, revised for the rest of the programming period in order to take greater or different account of the Community priorities. Multiannual programmes may be re-examined in the light of evaluations and/or following implementation difficulties.

2. The Commission shall adopt a decision approving the revision of the multiannual programme as soon as possible after the formal submission of a request to that effect by the Member State concerned. The revision of the multiannual programme shall be carried out in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 52(2).

Article 19 Annual programmes

1. The multiannual programmes approved by the Commission shall be implemented by means of annual programmes.

2. The Commission shall provide the Member States, by 1 July of each year, with an estimate of the amounts to be allocated to them for the following year from the total appropriations allocated under the annual budgetary procedure, calculated as provided by Article 12.

3. Member States shall submit to the Commission, by 1 November of each year, a draft annual programme for the following year, established in accordance with the multiannual programme and consisting of the following elements:

(a) the general rules for selection of projects to be financed under the annual programme;

(b) a description of the actions to be supported under the annual programme;

(c) the proposed financial breakdown of the Fund's contribution between the programme's various actions and an indication of the amount requested to cover technical assistance under Article 15 for the purpose of implementing the annual programme.

4. When examining the draft annual programme of a Member State, the Commission shall take account of the final amount of the appropriations allocated to the Fund under the budgetary procedure.

Within one month of the formal submission of the draft annual programme, the Commission shall inform the Member State concerned whether it can be approved. If the draft annual programme is inconsistent with the multiannual programme, the Commission shall invite that Member State to provide all necessary information and, where appropriate, to revise the draft annual programme accordingly.

The Commission shall adopt the financing decision, approving the annual programme, by 1 March of the year in question. The decision shall indicate the amount allocated to the Member State concerned and the period for which the expenditure is eligible.

Article 20 Mid-term review of the multiannual programme

1. The Commission shall review the strategic guidelines and where necessary, adopt, by 31 March 2010, revised strategic guidelines for the period 2011 to 2013.

2. If such revised strategic guidelines are adopted, each Member State shall re-examine its multi-annual programme and where appropriate, revise it.

3. The rules laid down in Article 17 on the preparation and approval of national multi-annual programmes shall apply mutatis mutandis for the preparation and approval of these revised multi-annual programmes.

4. The revised strategic guidelines shall be adopted in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 52(2).