Council Regulation (EC) No 1698/2005 (repealed)Show full title

TITLE II THE STRATEGIC APPROACH TO RURAL DEVELOPMENT

CHAPTER I THE COMMUNITY STRATEGIC GUIDELINES

Article 9 Content and adoption

1. The Council shall adopt Community strategic guidelines for rural development policy for the programming period from 1 January 2007 to 31 December 2013 in the light of the policy priorities set at Community level.

These strategic guidelines shall set at Community level the strategic priorities for rural development for the programming period with a view to implementing each of the axes laid down in this Regulation.

2. By 20 February 2006, a decision on the Community strategic guidelines shall be adopted according to the procedure laid down in Article 37 of the Treaty. The decision shall be published in the Official Journal of the European Union.

Article 10 Review

With a view to taking account of major changes in the Community priorities in particular, the Community strategic guidelines may be subject to review.

CHAPTER II NATIONAL STRATEGY PLANS

Article 11 Content

1. Each Member State shall submit a national strategy plan indicating the priorities of the action of the EAFRD and of the Member State concerned taking into account the Community strategic guidelines, their specific objectives, the contribution from the EAFRD and the other financial resources.

2. The national strategy plan shall ensure that Community aid for rural development is consistent with the Community strategic guidelines and that Community, national and regional priorities all coordinate. The national strategy plan shall be a reference tool for preparing EAFRD programming. It shall be implemented through the rural development programmes.

3. Each national strategy plan shall include:

(a) an evaluation of the economic, social and environmental situation and the potential for development;

(b) the strategy chosen for joint action by the Community and the Member State concerned, showing the consistency of the choices made with the Community strategic guidelines;

(c) the thematic and territorial priorities for rural development under each axis, including the main quantified objectives and the appropriate monitoring and evaluation indicators;

(d) a list of the rural development programmes implementing the national strategy plan and an indicative EAFRD allocation for each programme, including the amounts provided for in Article 12(2) of Regulation (EC) No 1290/2005;

(e) the means to ensure coordination with the other common agricultural policy instruments, the ERDF, the ESF, the CF, the Community support instrument for fisheries and the EIB;

(f) if appropriate, the budget for achieving the Convergence Objective;

(g) a description of the arrangements and the indication of the amount earmarked for establishing the national rural network referred to in Articles 66(3) and 68.

Article 12 Preparation

1. Each Member State shall prepare a national strategy plan after the Community strategic guidelines are adopted.

This plan shall be prepared in accordance with the Member States’ institutional arrangements, following close collaboration with the partners referred to in Article 6. It shall be drawn up in close collaboration with the Commission and shall cover the period from 1 January 2007 to 31 December 2013.

2. Each Member State shall send the Commission its national strategy plan before submitting its rural development programmes.

CHAPTER III STRATEGIC MONITORING

Article 13 Summary reports by Member States

1. For the first time in 2010 and no later than 1 October each second year, each Member State shall submit to the Commission a summary report setting out the progress made in implementing its national strategy plan and objectives and its contribution to the achievement of the Community strategic guidelines. The last summary report shall be submitted no later than 1 October 2014.

2. The report shall summarise the previous years’ annual progress reports referred to in Article 82 and shall describe in particular:

(a) the achievements and results of the rural development programmes relative to the indicators set out in the national strategy plan;

(b) the results of the ongoing evaluation activities for each programme.

3. By way of derogation from paragraph 1, for single programmes as referred to in Article 15(2) Member States may include in the annual progress reports referred to in Article 82 the elements provided for in paragraph 2 of this Article within the time limit set in Article 82.

Article 14 Commission report

1. For the first time in 2011 and at the start of each second year, the Commission shall present a report summarising the main developments, trends and challenges relating to the implementation of the national strategy plans and the Community strategic guidelines. The last Commission report shall be presented at the start of 2015.

This report shall be based on the Commission’s analysis and appraisal of the Member States’ summary reports referred to in Article 13 and any other available information. It shall indicate the measures taken or to be taken by the Member States and Commission in order to provide an appropriate follow-up to the report’s conclusions.

2. The Commission report shall be sent to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions.