TITLE IOBJECTIVES AND GENERAL RULES ON ASSISTANCE

CHAPTER IIIPRINCIPLES OF ASSISTANCE

Article 5Complementarity, consistency and conformity

1.The EAFRD shall complement national, regional and local actions contributing to the Community’s priorities.

2.The Commission and the Member States shall ensure that the assistance from the EAFRD and the Member States is consistent with the activities, policies and priorities of the Community. The assistance of the EAFRD shall be consistent with the objectives of Economic and Social Cohesion and those of the Community support instrument for fisheries in particular.

3.This consistency shall be provided by the Community strategic guidelines referred to in Article 9, the national strategy plan referred to in Article 11, the rural development programmes referred to in Article 15 and the Commission report referred to in Article 14.

4.In accordance with their respective responsibilities, the Commission and the Member States shall ensure the coordination between the assistance from the different Funds, the ERDF, the ESF, the CF, the Community support instrument for fisheries, and the interventions of the European Investment Bank (hereinafter the EIB), and of other Community financial instruments.

5.There shall also be consistency with the measures financed by the European Agricultural Guarantee Fund.

6.No support under this Regulation shall be granted to schemes eligible for support under common market organisations, subject to any exceptions yet to be defined, in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 90(2).

7.The Member States shall ensure that the operations financed by the EAFRD are in conformity with the Treaty and any acts adopted under it.