Council Decision 2013/755/EUShow full title

PART FOUR U.K. INSTRUMENTS FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

Chapter 1 U.K. General provisions

Article 74 U.K. General objectives

The Union shall contribute to the achievement of the association’s overall objectives through the provision of:

(a)

adequate financial resources and appropriate technical assistance aimed at strengthening the OCTs’ capacities to formulate and implement strategic and regulatory frameworks;

(b)

long term financing to promote private sector growth.

Article 75 U.K. Definitions

For the purposes of this Part, the following definitions shall apply:

(a)

‘programmable aid’ means the non-repayable aid under the European Development Fund allocated to the OCTs in order to finance territorial or regional strategies and priorities set out in programming documents;

(b)

‘programming’ means the process of organisation, decision-making and allocation of indicative financial resources intended to implement, on a multi-annual basis, in an area referred to in Part Two of this Decision, the action to achieve the association’s objectives for the sustainable development of the OCTs;

(c)

‘programming document’ means the document which sets out the OCTs’s strategy, priorities and arrangements and translates the objectives and targets of the OCTs for its sustainable development in an effective and efficient way to pursue the objectives of the association;

(d)

‘development plans’ referred to in Article 83 means a coherent set of operations defined and financed exclusively by the OCTs in the framework of their own policies and strategies of development, and those agreed upon between an OCTs and the Member State to which it is linked;

(e)

‘territorial allocation’ means the amount allocated to individual OCTs for the programmable aid under the European Development Fund in order to finance territorial strategies and priorities set out in programming documents;

(f)

‘regional allocation’ means the amount allocated for the programmable aid under the European Development Fund in order to finance regional cooperation strategies or thematic priorities common to several OCTs and set out in programming documents;

(g)

‘financing decision’ means the act adopted by the Commission specifying the details of the Union’s financial contribution and authorizing to grant financial aid from the European Development Fund.

Article 76 U.K. Principles of finance cooperation

1. Union financial assistance shall be based on the principles of partnership, ownership, alignment on territorial systems, complementarity and subsidiarity.

2. Operations funded within the framework of this Decision can take the form of programmable or non-programmable aid.

3. Union financial assistance shall:

(a) be implemented with due regard to the OCTs respective geographical, social and cultural characteristics, as well as their specific potential;

(b) ensure that resource flows are accorded on a predictable and regular basis;

(c) be flexible and tailored to the situation in each OCTs; and

(d) be conducted in full compliance with the respective institutional, legal and financial powers of each of the partners.

4. The authorities of the OCTs concerned shall be responsible for implementing operations without prejudice to the powers of the Commission to ensure sound financial management in the use of Union funds.

Chapter 2 U.K. Financial resources

Article 77 U.K. Sources of financing

OCTs shall be eligible for the following sources of funding:

(a)

resources allocated for the OCTs under the Internal Agreement between the Member States of the Union establishing the 11th European Development Fund (EDF);

(b)

the Union programmes and instruments provided for in the Union’s general budget; and

(c)

funds managed by the EIB under the EIB’s own resources, and the resources allocated to the EDF Investment Facility, in accordance with the conditions of the Internal Agreement between the Member States of the Union establishing the 11th EDF(1) (the ‘11th EDF Internal Agreement’).

Chapter 3 U.K. Specific provisions for the financial assistance under the 11th EDF

Article 78 U.K. Subject-matter and scope

Within the framework of the strategy and priorities established by the OCTs concerned at local or regional level, and without prejudice to humanitarian and emergency aid, financial support may be given to the following activities helping to achieve the objectives set out in this Decision:

(a)

sector policies and reforms as well as projects that are in coherence with them;

(b)

institutional development, capacity building and integration of environmental aspects;

(c)

technical cooperation; and

(d)

additional support in the event of fluctuations in export earnings from exports of goods and services referred in Article 82.

Article 79 U.K. Humanitarian and emergency aid

1. Humanitarian and emergency aid shall be granted in the OCTs faced with serious economic and social difficulties of an exceptional nature resulting from natural or man-made disasters or extraordinary circumstances having comparable effects. Humanitarian and emergency aid shall be maintained as long as necessary to deal with the urgent problems which arise in such situations.

Humanitarian and emergency aid shall be granted solely on the basis of the needs and interests of disaster victims.

2. The aim of humanitarian and emergency aid shall be to:

(a) save human lives, prevent and alleviate suffering and maintain human dignity in crisis and post-crisis situations;

(b) contribute to the financing and delivery of humanitarian aid and to the direct access to it of its intended beneficiaries by all logistical means available;

(c) carry out short-term rehabilitation and reconstruction to enable the victims to benefit from a minimum of socioeconomic integration and, as soon as possible, create the conditions for a resumption of development on the basis of long-term objectives;

(d) address the needs arising from the displacement of people, such as refugees, displaced persons and returnees, following natural or man-made disasters so as to meet, for as long as necessary, all the needs of refugees and displaced persons, regardless of where they are located, and facilitate action for their voluntary repatriation and re-integration in their country of origin; and

(e) assist the OCTs in setting up short term disaster prevention and preparedness mechanisms, including for prediction and early warning, with a view to reducing the consequences of disasters.

3. The aid provided for by this Article may also be granted to OCTs taking in refugees or returnees to meet acute needs not covered by emergency assistance.

4. Aid provided for by this Article shall be financed from the general budget of the Union. However, it may exceptionally be financed from the allocations laid down in Annex II, in addition to the funding from the budget heading concerned.

5. Humanitarian and emergency aid operations shall be undertaken at the request of the OCTs affected, the Commission, the Member State to which the OCTs is linked, international organisations or local or international non-governmental organisations. Such aid shall be administered and implemented under procedures that facilitate rapid, flexible and effective operations.

Article 80 U.K. Capacity development

1. Financial assistance may contribute to, among other things, supporting the OCTs with developing the necessary capacities to define, implement and monitor territorial and/or regional strategies and actions in view of achieving the general objectives for the areas of cooperation mentioned in Parts Two and Three.

2. The Union shall support the efforts of the OCTs in developing reliable statistical data regarding those areas.

3. The Union may support OCTs in their efforts to improve comparability of their macroeconomic indicators.

Article 81 U.K. Technical assistance

1. On the initiative of the Commission, studies or technical assistance measures may be financed in order to ensure the preparation, monitoring, evaluation and supervision necessary for implementing this Decision and for its overall evaluation. Technical assistance provided locally shall be implemented in all instances in accordance with the rules applicable to decentralised financial management.

2. On the initiative of the OCTs, studies or technical assistance measures may be financed in relation to the implementation of the activities scheduled in the programming documents. The Commission may decide to finance such action either from the programmable aid or from the envelope earmarked for technical cooperation measures.

Article 82 U.K. Additional support in the event of fluctuations in export earnings

1. In order to mitigate the adverse effects of any short-term fluctuations in export earnings, in particular in the agricultural, fisheries and mining sectors, which might jeopardise the attainment of the development objectives of the OCTs concerned, a system of additional support shall be instituted within the financial allocation referred to in Annex II.

2. Support in the event of short-term fluctuations in export earnings shall be aimed to safeguard macroeconomic and sectoral reforms and policies that are at risk as a result of a drop in revenue and remedy the adverse effects of instability of export earnings in particular from agricultural and mining products.

The dependence of the OCTs economies on exports, in particular in the agricultural and mining sectors, shall be taken into account in the allocation of resources referred to in Annex V. In this context the isolated OCTs referred to in Annex I shall receive more favourable treatment in accordance with the criteria set out in Annex V.

3. The additional resources shall be provided in accordance with the specific modalities of the support mechanism as set out in Annex V.

4. The Union shall also provide support for market-based insurance schemes designed for OCTs seeking to protect themselves against the risk of fluctuations in export earnings.

Article 83 U.K. Programming

1. For the purpose of this Decision, programmable aid shall be based on a programming document.

2. The programming document may take into account the territorial development plans or other plans agreed upon between the OCTs and the Member States to which they are linked.

3. Pursuant to Article 10, the OCTs authorities shall assume the primary responsibility for the formulation of strategies, priorities and arrangements through the preparation of programming documents in coordination with the Commission and the Member State to which the OCTs is linked.

4. The OCTs authorities shall be responsible for:

(a) establishing their priorities on which the strategy shall be based; and

(b) formulating project and programme proposals submitted to and examined with the Commission.

Article 84 U.K. Preparation, appraisal and approval of the Programming Document

1. The competent Territorial or, in the case of regional programmes, Regional Authorising Officer shall prepare a proposal for a Programming Document following consultations with the widest possible range of stakeholders and shall draw on lessons learned and best practices.

2. Each proposal for a Programming Document shall be adapted to the needs and specific circumstances of each OCTs. It shall set out the focal sector(s) selected for Union financing, the specific objectives, the expected results, the performance indicators by which it shall be assessed and evaluated and the indicative financial allocation. It shall promote local ownership of cooperation programmes.

3. The proposal for the Programming Document shall be the subject of an exchange of views between the OCTs and Member State concerned and the Commission since the early stages of the programming process and with a view to promoting complementarity and consistency among their respective cooperation activities.

4. The Commission shall appraise the proposal for the Programming Document to determine whether it contains all the elements required and is consistent with the aims of this Decision and the relevant Union policies. The Commission shall consult with the European Investment Bank on the draft Programming Document.

5. The OCTs shall provide all the necessary information, including the results of any feasibility studies, to make the appraisal of the draft Programming Document by the Commission as effective as possible.

[X1 6. The OCTs authorities and the Commission shall be jointly responsible for approving the programming document. The Commission shall approve the programming document following the procedure provided for in Article 87.]

Editorial Information

X1 Substituted by Corrigendum to Council Decision 2013/755/EU of 25 November 2013 on the association of the overseas countries and territories with the European Union (‘Overseas Association Decision’) (Official Journal of the European Union L 344 of 19 December 2013, p. 1).

Article 85 U.K. Implementation

1. The Commission shall adopt the financing decision corresponding to a programming document in accordance with the standards set out in the Financial Regulation applicable to the 11th EDF and following the procedure provided for in Article 87.

2. The Commission shall implement OCTs 11th EDF resources in any of the ways set out in the Financial Regulation applicable to the 11th EDF and in accordance with the conditions set out in this Decision and in the measures implementing that Decision. To this end, it shall conclude financing agreements with the relevant authorities of the OCTs.

3. The OCTs authorities shall be responsible for:

(a) preparing, negotiating and concluding contracts;

(b) implementing and managing projects and programmes; and

(c) maintaining projects and programmes and ensuring their sustainability.

4. The relevant authorities of the OCTs and the Commission shall be jointly responsible for:

(a) ensuring equality of conditions for participation in invitations to tender and contracts;

(b) monitoring and evaluating the effects and results of projects and programmes; and

(c) ensuring the proper, prompt and efficient execution of projects and programmes.

5. To facilitate the exchanges of views, technical meetings shall be held at least once a year between the Territorial Authorising Officers, the Member States concerned and representatives of the Commission involved in the programming, notably through the use of modern technologies or, if possible, as an extension of the OCTs-EU Forum dialogue.

6. Actions financed under the 11th EDF may be implemented with parallel or joint co-financing subject to provisions of the Financial Regulation applicable to the 11th EDF.

Article 86 U.K. Territorial and Regional Authorising Officers

1. The Government of each OCTs shall appoint a Territorial Authorising Officer to represent it in all operations financed from the resources of the 11th EDF managed by the Commission and the European Investment Bank. The Territorial Authorising Officer shall appoint one or more deputy Territorial Authorising Officers to replace him when he is unable to carry out his duties and shall inform the Commission of this appointment. Wherever the conditions regarding institutional capacity and sound financial management are met, the Territorial Authorising Officer may delegate his functions for implementation of the programmes and projects concerned to the body responsible within the competent OCTs authority. The Territorial Authorising Officer shall inform ex-ante the Commission of any such delegation.

When the Commission becomes aware of problems in carrying out procedures relating to management of resources from the 11th EDF, it shall, in conjunction with the Territorial Authorising Officer, make all contacts necessary to remedy the situation and take any appropriate steps. The Territorial Authorising Officer shall assume financial responsibility only for the executive tasks entrusted to him.

Where resources from the 11th EDF are managed indirectly and subject to any additional powers that might be granted by the Commission, the Territorial Authorising Officer shall:

(a) be responsible for the coordination, programming, regular monitoring and reviews of implementation of cooperation, and for coordination with donors;

(b) in close cooperation with the Commission, be responsible for the preparation, submission and appraisal of programmes and projects.

2. Where 11th EDF resources are managed in an indirect way and subject to any additional powers that might be granted by the Commission, the relevant Territorial Authorising Officer shall act as the Contracting Authority for programmes implemented by means of tenders or calls for proposals, under the ex-ante control of the Commission.

3. The Territorial Authorising Officer shall, during the execution of operations and subject to the requirement to inform the Commission, decide on:

(a) technical adjustments and alterations to programmes and projects in matters of detail so long as they do not affect the technical solution adopted and remain within the limits of the reserve for adjustments provided for in the financing agreement;

(b) changes of site for multiple-unit programmes or projects where justified on technical, economic or social grounds;

(c) imposition or remission of penalties for delay;

(d) acts discharging guarantors;

(e) subcontracting;

(f) final acceptance, provided that the Commission has endorsed the provisional acceptance, the corresponding minutes and, where appropriate, is present at the final acceptance, in particular where the extent of the reservations recorded at the provisional acceptance necessitates major additional work; and hiring of consultants and other technical assistance experts.

4. In the case of regional programmes, the authorities of the participating OCTs shall designate a Regional Authorising Officer among the actors of cooperation referred to in Article 11. The duties of the Regional Authorising Officer correspond mutatis mutandis to those of the Territorial Authorising Officer.

Article 87 U.K. EDF-OCTs Committee

1. The Commission shall, where appropriate, be assisted by the Committee created by the 11th EDF Internal Agreement.

2. When exercising the powers conferred on it by this Decision, the Committee shall be known as the ‘EDF-OCTs Committee’. The procedures of the Committee laid down in the 11th EDF Internal Agreement and the Implementation Regulation applicable to the 11th EDF shall apply to the EDF-OCTs Committee. Until the entry into force of the latter Regulation, the procedures laid down in Council Regulation (EC) No 617/2007(2) shall apply.

3. The Committee shall focus its work on the substantive issues of cooperation at OCTs and regional level. In the interests of coherence, coordination and complementarity, it shall monitor the implementation of the Programming Documents.

4. The Committee shall give its opinion on:

(a) draft Programming Documents and any amendments to them; and

(b) the financing decisions for implementing this Part of the Decision.

Article 88 U.K. Role of Union delegations

1. Where the Union is represented by a Delegation under the authority of a Head of Delegation, the provisions of the Financial Regulation applicable to the 11th EDF concerning authorising officers and accounting officers by subdelegation shall apply.

2. The Territorial and/or Regional Authorising Officer shall cooperate and work closely with the Head of Delegation, who shall be the main contact for the different actors of cooperation in the OCTs concerned.

Article 89 U.K. Rules on nationality and origin for public procurement, grants and other award procedures for OCTs

1. General rules on eligibility:

(a) Participation in the award of procurement contracts, grants and other award procedures for actions financed under this Decision for the benefit of third parties shall be open to all natural persons who are nationals of, and legal persons which are effectively established in, an eligible country or territory as defined in paragraph 2, and to International Organisations.

(b) In the case of actions jointly co-financed with a partner or other donor or implemented through a Member State in shared management or through a Trust Fund established by the Commission, countries which are eligible under the rules of that partner, other donor or Member State or determined in the constitutive act of the trust fund, shall also be eligible.

In the case of actions implemented through entrusted bodies, which are Member States or their agencies, the European Investment Bank or through International Organisations or their agencies, natural and legal persons who are eligible under the rules of that entrusted body, as identified in the agreements concluded with the co-financing or implementing body, shall also be eligible.

(c) In the case of actions financed under this Decision and, in addition, under another Instrument for external action, including the Partnership Agreement between the members of the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States, of the one part, and the European Community and its Member States, of the other part, signed in Cotonou on 23 June 2000(3), as last amended in Ouagadougou on 22 June 2010(4), the countries identified under any of these Instruments shall be considered eligible for the purpose of that action.

In the case of actions of a global, regional or cross-border nature financed under this Decision, natural and legal persons from countries, territories and regions covered by the action may participate in the procedures implementing such actions.

(d) All supplies purchased under a procurement contract, or in accordance with a grant agreement, financed under this Decision shall originate from an eligible country or territory. However, they may originate from any country or territory when the amount of the supplies to be purchased is below the threshold for the use of the competitive negotiated procedure. For the purposes of this Article, the term ‘origin’ is defined in Article 23 and 24 of Council Regulation (EEC) No 2913/92(5) and other Union legislation governing non-preferential origin.

(e) The rules under this Article do not apply to, and do not create nationality restrictions for, natural persons employed or otherwise legally contracted by an eligible contractor or, where applicable, subcontractor.

(f) Eligibility as defined in this Article may be restricted with regard to the nationality, localisation or nature of applicants, where required by the nature and the objectives of the action and as necessary for its effective implementation.

(g) Natural and legal persons who have been awarded contracts shall respect applicable environmental legislation including multilateral environmental agreements as well as internationally agreed core labour standards.

2. Tenderers, applicants and candidates from the following countries and territories shall be eligible to funding under this Decision:

(a) Member States, candidate countries and potential candidates as recognised by the Union, and members of the European Economic Area;

(b) OCTs;

(c) developing countries and territories, as included in the OECD-DAC list of ODA Recipients, which are not members of the G-20 group;

(d) countries for which reciprocal access to external assistance is established by the Commission. Reciprocal access may be granted, for a limited period of at least one year, whenever a country grants eligibility on equal terms to entities from the Union and from OCTs;

(e) Member States of the OECD, in the case of contracts implemented in a Least Developed Country;

(f) when announced in advance in the documents of the procedure:

(i)

countries having traditional economic, trade or geographical links with neighbouring beneficiary countries;

(ii)

all countries, in the case of urgency or of unavailability of products and services in the markets of the eligible countries.

3. Tenderers, applicants and candidates from non-eligible countries or goods from non-eligible origin may be accepted as eligible by the Commission in duly substantiated cases where the eligibility rules would make the realisation of a project, a programme or an action impossible or exceedingly difficult.

4. For actions implemented in shared management, the relevant Member State to which the Commission has delegated implementation tasks is entitled, on behalf of the Commission, to authorise participation of tenderers, applicants and candidates from other countries and authorise goods from other countries within the meaning of point (f) of paragraph 2, and to accept as eligible, tenderers, applicants and candidates from non-eligible countries within the meaning of paragraph 3, or goods from non-eligible origin within the meaning of point (d) of paragraph 1.

Article 90 U.K. Protecting the Union’s financial interests and financial controls

1. The Commission shall take appropriate measures ensuring that, when actions financed under this Decision are implemented, the financial interests of the Union are protected by the application of preventive measures against fraud, corruption and any other illegal activities, by effective checks and, if irregularities are detected, by the recovery of the amounts wrongly paid and, where appropriate, by effective, proportionate and deterrent penalties.

2. The Commission and the Court of Auditors (ECA) shall have the power of audit, on the basis of documents and on-the-spot, over all grant beneficiaries, contractors and subcontractors who have received Union funds.

The European Anti-fraud Office (OLAF) may carry out on-the-spot checks and inspections on economic operators concerned directly or indirectly by such funding in accordance with the procedures laid down in Council Regulation (Euratom, EC) No 2185/96(6) with a view to establishing whether there has been fraud, corruption or any other illegal activity in connection with a grant agreement or grant decision or a contract concerning Union funding.

Without prejudice to the first and second subparagraphs, agreements with third countries and international organisations, and grant agreements and grant decisions and contracts resulting from the implementation of this Decision shall expressly empower the Commission, the ECA and OLAF to conduct such audits, on-the-spot checks and inspections, in accordance with the relevant EDF Financial Regulation.

3. OCTs shall bear primary responsibility for the financial supervision of the Union funds. This shall be carried out, where appropriate, in coordination with the Member State to which the OCTs is linked in accordance with the applicable national legislation.

4. The Commission shall be responsible for:

(a) ensuring that management and control systems exist and function properly in the OCTs concerned so as to ensure that the Union funds are used correctly and effectively; and

(b) in the event of irregularities, sending recommendations or requests for corrective measures to remedy those irregularities and rectify any management shortcomings found.

5. The Commission, the OCTs and, where appropriate, the Member State to which it is linked, shall cooperate on the basis of administrative arrangements at annual or biannual meetings to coordinate programmes, methodologies and the implementation of controls.

6. With regard to financial corrections:

(a) the OCTs concerned shall be responsible in the first instance for detecting and correcting financial irregularities;

(b) however, in the event of shortcomings by the OCTs concerned, the Commission shall take action, if the OCTs fails to remedy the situation and attempts at conciliation are unsuccessful, to reduce or withdraw the balance of the overall allocation corresponding to the financing decision of the Programming Document.

Article 91 U.K. Monitoring, evaluation, review process and reporting

1. Financial cooperation shall be sufficiently flexible to ensure that operations are kept constantly in line with the objectives of this Decision and take account of any changes occurring in the economic situation, priorities and objectives of the OCTs concerned, in particular by means of an ad hoc review of the Programming Document.

2. The review may be launched by the Commission or at the request of the OCTs concerned and following the agreement of the Commission.

3. The Commission shall examine the progress made in implementing the financial assistance provided to the OCTs, under the 11th EDF, and shall submit to the Council a report every year starting in 2015 on the implementation and results and, as far as possible, the main outcomes and impacts of the Union’s financial assistance. The report shall also be sent to the European Parliament, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions.

4. The report referred to in paragraph 3 shall contain information relating to the previous year on the measures financed, the results of monitoring and evaluation exercises, the involvement of the relevant partners, and the implementation of the 11th EDF commitments and payments appropriations. The report shall assess the results of the assistance, using as far as possible, specific and measurable indicators. It shall reflect the main lessons learned and the follow-up to the recommendations of the evaluations of the previous years.

Chapter 4 U.K. Principles of eligibility

Article 92 U.K. Eligibility for territorial financing

1. The OCTs public authorities shall be eligible for financial support provided for in this Decision.

2. Subject to the agreement of the authorities of the OCTs concerned, the following entities or bodies shall also be eligible for financial support provided for in this Decision:

(a) local, national and/or regional public or semi-public agencies, departments or local authorities of the OCTs and in particular their financial institutions and development banks;

(b) companies and firms of the OCTs and of regional groups;

(c) companies and firms of a Member State, so as to enable them, in addition to their own contribution, to undertake productive projects in the territory of an OCTs;

(d) OCTs or Union financial intermediaries promoting and financing private investments in the OCTs; and

(e) actors of decentralised cooperation and other non-governmental actors from OCTs and from the Union, to enable them to undertake economic, cultural, social and educational projects and programmes in the OCTs in the framework of decentralised cooperation, as referred to in Article 12.

Article 93 U.K. Eligibility for regional financing

1. A regional allocation shall be used for operations benefiting and involving:

(a) two or more OCTs regardless of their location;

(b) one or more OCTs and one or more outermost regions referred to in Article 349 TFEU;

(c) one or more OCTs and one or more neighbouring ACP and/or non-ACP States;

(d) one or more OCTs, one or more outermost regions and one or more ACP and/or non-ACP States;

(e) two or more regional bodies of which OCTs are members;

(f) one or more OCTs and regional bodies of which OCTs, ACP States or one or more of the outermost regions are members;

(g) the OCTs and the Union as a whole; or

(h) one or more entities, authorities or other bodies from at least one OCTs, being members of an EGTC in accordance with Article 8, one or more outermost regions and one or more neighbouring ACP and/or non-ACP States.

2. The funding to enable participation of the ACP States, outermost regions and other countries shall be additional to funds allocated to the OCTs under this Decision.

3. The participation of ACP States, outermost regions and other countries to programmes established pursuant to this Decision shall be envisaged only to the extent that:

(a) the centre of gravity of the projects and programmes funded under the multi-annual financial framework of cooperation remains in an OCTs;

(b) equivalent provisions exist in the framework of the Union’s financial instruments; and

(c) the principle of proportionality is respected.

4. Appropriate measures will allow for matching of funding of credits from the EDF and the general budget of the Union to finance cooperation projects between the OCTs, the ACP Countries, the outermost regions as well as other countries, in particular simplified mechanisms for joint management of such projects.

Article 94 U.K. Eligibility for Union programmes

1. Natural persons from an OCTs, as defined in Article 50, and, where applicable, the relevant public and/or private bodies and institutions in an OCTs, shall be eligible for participation in and funding from Union programmes, subject to the rules and objectives of the programmes and possible arrangements applicable to the Member State to which the OCTs is linked.

2. OCTs shall also be eligible for support under programmes of the Union for cooperation with other countries, notably developing countries, subject to the rules, objectives and arrangements of those programmes.

3. The Commission shall report to the EDF-OCTs Committee on the participation of OCTs to Union programmes, on the basis of information contained in the Annual Implementation Report submitted by OCTs and other information available.

(1)

Internal Agreement between the Representatives of the Governments of the Member States of the European Union, meeting within the Council, on the financing of European Union aid under the multiannual financial framework for the period 2014 to 2020, in accordance with the ACP-EU Partnership Agreement, and on the allocation of financial assistance for the Overseas Countries and Territories to which Part Four of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union applies (OJ L 210, 6.8.2013, p. 1).

(2)

Council Regulation (EC) No 617/2007 of 14 May 2007 on the implementation of the 10th European Development Fund under the ACP-EC Partnership Agreement (OJ L 152, 13.6.2007, p. 1).

(3)

OJ L 317, 15.12.2000, p. 3.

(4)

OJ L 287, 4.11.2010, p. 3.

(5)

Council Regulation (EEC) No 2913/92 of 12 October 1992 establishing the Community Customs Code (OJ L 302, 19.10.1992, p. 1).

(6)

Council Regulation (Euratom, EC) No 2185/96 of 11 November 1996 concerning on-the-spot checks and inspections carried out by the Commission in order to protect the European Communities’ financial interests against fraud and other irregularities (OJ L 292, 15.11.1996, p. 2).