Council Regulation (EC) No 1698/2005 (repealed)Show full title

TITLE VII MONITORING AND EVALUATION

CHAPTER I MONITORING

Article 77 Monitoring Committee

1. For each rural development programme a Monitoring Committee shall be set up within a maximum of three months following the decision approving the programme.

Each Monitoring Committee shall draw up its rules of procedure within the institutional, legal and financial framework of the Member State concerned and adopt them in agreement with the Managing Authority in order to perform its duties in accordance with this Regulation.

2. Each Monitoring Committee shall be chaired by a representative of the Member State or of the Managing Authority.

Its composition shall be decided by the Member State and shall include the partners referred to in Article 6(1).

At their own initiative, Commission representatives may participate in the work of the Monitoring Committee in an advisory capacity.

3. Member States with regional programmes may establish a national Monitoring Committee to coordinate the implementation of these programmes in relation to the national strategy and the uptake of financial resources.

Article 78 Responsibilities of the Monitoring Committee

The Monitoring Committee shall satisfy itself as to the effectiveness of the implementation of the rural development programme. To that end, the Monitoring Committee:

(a)

shall be consulted, within four months of the decision approving the programme, on the selection criteria for financed operations. The selection criteria shall be revised according to programming needs;

(b)

shall periodically review progress made towards achieving the specific targets of the programme, on the basis of the documents submitted by the Managing Authority;

(c)

shall examine the results of implementation, particularly achievement of the targets set for each axis and ongoing evaluations;

(d)

shall consider and approve the annual progress report and the last progress report before they are sent to the Commission;

(e)

may propose to the Managing Authority any adjustment or review of the programme aimed at achieving the Objectives of the EAFRD defined in Article 4 or improving its management, including its financial management;

(f)

shall consider and approve any proposal to amend the content of the Commission decision on the contribution from the EAFRD.

Article 79 Monitoring procedures

1. The Managing Authority and the Monitoring Committee shall monitor the quality of programme implementation.

2. The Managing Authority and the Monitoring Committee shall carry out monitoring of each rural development programme by means of financial, output and result indicators.

Article 80 Common monitoring and evaluation framework

The common monitoring and evaluation framework shall be drawn up in cooperation between the Commission and the Member States and adopted in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 90(2). The framework shall specify a limited number of common indicators applicable to each programme.

Article 81 Indicators

1. The progress, efficiency and effectiveness of rural development programmes in relation to their objectives shall be measured by means of indicators relating to the baseline situation as well as to the financial execution, outputs, results and impact of the programmes.

2. Each rural development programme shall specify a limited number of additional indicators specific to that programme.

3. Where the nature of the assistance so permits, the data relating to the indicators shall be broken down by sex and age of the beneficiaries.

Article 82 Annual progress report

1. For the first time in 2008 and by 30 June each year, the Managing Authority shall send the Commission an annual progress report on the implementation of the programme. The Managing Authority shall send a last progress report on the implementation of the programme to the Commission by 30 June 2016.

2. Each annual progress report shall contain the following elements:

(a) any change to the general conditions having a direct impact on the conditions for implementing the programme as well as any change to Community and national policies affecting consistency between the EAFRD and other financial instruments;

(b) the progress of the programme in relation to the objectives set, on the basis of output and result indicators;

(c) the financial implementation of the programme giving, for each measure, a statement of the expenditure paid to beneficiaries; if the programme covers regions eligible under the Convergence Objective, expenditure shall be identified separately;

(d) a summary of the ongoing evaluation activities in accordance with Article 86(3);

(e) the steps taken by the Managing Authority and the Monitoring Committee to ensure the quality and effectiveness of programme implementation, in particular:

(i)

monitoring and evaluation measures;

(ii)

a summary of the major problems encountered in managing the programme and any measures taken, including in response to comments made under Article 83;

(iii)

use of technical assistance;

(iv)

steps taken to ensure that the programme is publicised in accordance with Article 76;

(f) a declaration on compliance with Community policies in the context of the support, including identification of the problems encountered and the measures adopted to deal with them;

(g) where applicable, re-utilisation of aid recovered under Article 33 of Regulation (EC) No 1290/2005.

3. The report shall be judged admissible with a view to applying Article 26 of Regulation (EC) No 1290/2005 if it contains all the elements listed in paragraph 2 and enables programme implementation to be appraised.

The Commission shall have two months to comment on the annual progress report after it has been sent by the Managing Authority. That time limit shall be increased to five months for the last report of the programme. If the Commission does not respond within the time limit set, the report shall be deemed accepted.

4. Details concerning annual progress reports for specific programmes pursuant to Article 66(3) shall be fixed in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 90(2).

Article 83 Annual examination of programmes

1. Each year, on presentation of the annual progress report, the Commission and the Managing Authority shall examine the main results of the previous year, in accordance with procedures to be determined in agreement with the Member State and Managing Authority concerned.

2. Following that examination the Commission may make comments to the Member State and to the Managing Authority, which will inform the Monitoring Committee thereof. The Member State shall inform the Commission of action taken in response to those comments.

CHAPTER II EVALUATION

Article 84 General provisions

1. Rural development programmes shall be subject to ex ante, mid-term and ex post evaluations in accordance with Articles 85, 86 and 87.

2. The evaluations shall aim to improve the quality, efficiency and effectiveness of the implementation of rural development programmes. They shall assess the impact of the programmes as regards the strategic guidelines of the Community provided for in Article 9 and the rural development problems specific to the Member States and regions concerned, taking into account sustainable development requirements and environmental impact, meeting the requirements of relevant Community legislation.

3. The evaluation shall be organised, as appropriate, under the responsibility of either Member States or the Commission.

4. The evaluations referred to in paragraph 1 shall be carried out by independent evaluators. The results shall be made available subject to Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 May 2001 regarding public access to European Parliament, Council and Commission documents (1).

5. Member States shall provide the human and financial resources necessary for carrying out the evaluations, shall organise the production and gathering of the requisite data, and shall use the various pieces of information provided by the monitoring system.

6. Member States and the Commission shall agree evaluation methods and standards to be applied at the initiative of the Commission within the framework provided for in Article 80.

Article 85 Ex ante evaluation

1. Ex ante evaluation shall form part of drawing up each rural development programme and aim to optimise the allocation of budgetary resources and improve programming quality. It shall identify and appraise medium and long-term needs, the goals to be achieved, the results expected, the quantified targets particularly in terms of impact in relation to the baseline situation, the Community value-added, the extent to which the Community’s priorities have been taken into account, the lessons drawn from previous programming and the quality of the procedures for implementation, monitoring, evaluation and financial management.

2. Ex ante evaluation shall be carried out under the responsibility of the Member State.

Article 86 Mid-term and ex post evaluation

1. Member States shall establish a system of ongoing evaluation for each rural development programme.

2. The Managing Authority for the programme and the Monitoring Committee shall use ongoing evaluation to:

(a) examine the progress of the programme in relation to its goals by means of result and, where appropriate, impact indicators;

(b) improve the quality of programmes and their implementation;

(c) examine proposals for substantive changes to programmes;

(d) prepare for mid-term and ex post evaluation.

3. From 2008, the Managing Authority shall report each year on the ongoing evaluation activities to the Monitoring Committee. A summary of the activities shall be included in the annual progress report provided for in Article 82.

4. In 2010, ongoing evaluation shall take the form of a separate mid-term evaluation report. That mid-term evaluation shall propose measures to improve the quality of programmes and their implementation.

A summary of the mid-term evaluation reports shall be undertaken on the initiative of the Commission.

5. In 2015, ongoing evaluation shall take the form of a separate ex post evaluation report.

6. The mid-term and ex post evaluations shall examine the degree of utilisation of resources, the effectiveness and efficiency of the programming of the EAFRD, its socioeconomic impact and its impact on the Community priorities. They shall cover the goals of the programme and aim to draw lessons concerning rural development policy. They shall identify the factors which contributed to the success or failure of the programmes’ implementation, including as regards sustainability, and identify best practice.

7. Ongoing evaluation shall be organised on the initiative of the Managing Authorities in cooperation with the Commission. It shall be organised on a multiannual basis and cover the period 2007-2015.

8. The Commission shall organise measures on its initiative to provide training, exchanges of best practice and information for ongoing evaluators, experts in the Member States and Monitoring Committee members, as well as thematic and summary evaluations.

Article 87 Summary of ex post evaluations

1. A summary of ex post evaluations shall be made, under the responsibility of the Commission, in cooperation with the Member State and the Managing Authority, which shall gather the data required for its completion.

2. The summary of ex post evaluations shall be completed at the latest by 31 December 2016.

(1)

OJ L 145, 31.5.2001, p. 43.