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.
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.
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.
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.