1.Member States shall assess in accordance with their institutional and legal framework and in the context of the preparation of the programmes and, where appropriate, the Partnership Agreement, whether the ex ante conditionalities laid down in the respective Fund-specific rules and the general ex ante conditionalities set out in Part II of Annex XI are applicable to the specific objectives pursued within the priorities of their programmes and whether the applicable ex ante conditionalities are fulfilled.
Ex ante conditionalities shall apply only to the extent and provided that they comply with the definition laid down in point (33) of Article 2 regarding the specific objectives pursued within the priorities of the programme. The assessment of applicability shall, without prejudice to the definition laid down in point (33) of Article 2, take account of the principle of proportionality in accordance with Article 4(5) having regard to the level of support allocated, where appropriate. The assessment of fulfilment shall be limited to the criteria laid down in the Fund-specific rules and in Part II of Annex XI.
2.The Partnership Agreement shall set out a summary of the assessment of the fulfilment of applicable ex ante conditionalities at national level and for those which, pursuant to the assessment referred to in paragraph 1, are not fulfilled at the date of submission of the Partnership Agreement, the actions to be taken, the bodies responsible and the timetable for the implementation of those actions. Each programme shall identify which of the ex ante conditionalities laid down in the relevant Fund-specific rules and the general ex ante conditionalities set out in Part II of Annex XI are applicable to it and, which of them, pursuant to the assessment referred to in paragraph 1, are fulfilled at the date of submission of the Partnership Agreement and programmes. Where the applicable ex ante conditionalities are not fulfilled, the programme shall contain a description of the actions to be taken, the bodies responsible and the timetable for their implementation. Member States shall fulfil those ex ante conditionalities not later than 31 December 2016 and report on their fulfilment not later than in the annual implementation report in 2017 in accordance with Article 50(4) or the progress report in 2017 in accordance with point (c) of Article 52(2).
3.The Commission shall assess the consistency and the adequacy of the information provided by the Member State on the applicability of ex ante conditionalities and on the fulfilment of applicable ex ante conditionalities in the framework of its assessment of the programmes and, where appropriate, of the Partnership Agreement.
That assessment of applicability by the Commission shall, in accordance with Article 4(5), take account of the principle of proportionality having regard to the level of support allocated, where appropriate. The assessment of fulfilment by the Commission shall be limited to the criteria laid down in the Fund-specific rules and in Part II of Annex XI, and shall respect national and regional competences to decide on the specific and adequate policy measures including the content of strategies.
4.In the event of disagreement between the Commission and a Member State on the applicability of an ex ante conditionality to the specific objective of the priorities of a programme or its fulfilment, both the applicability in accordance with the definition in point (33) of Article 2 and the non-fulfilment shall be proven by the Commission.
5.The Commission may decide, when adopting a programme, to suspend all or part of interim payments to the relevant priority of that programme pending the completion of actions referred to in paragraph 2 where necessary to avoid significant prejudice to the effectiveness and efficiency of the achievement of the specific objectives of the priority concerned. The failure to complete actions to fulfil an applicable ex ante conditionality which has not been fulfilled at the date of submission of the Partnership Agreement and the respective programmes, by the deadline set out in paragraph 2, shall constitute a ground for suspending interim payments by the Commission to the priorities of the programme concerned that are affected. In both cases, the scope of suspension shall be proportionate, taking into account the actions to be taken and the funds at risk.
6.Paragraph 5 shall not apply in the event of agreement between the Commission and the Member State on the non-applicability of an ex ante conditionality or on the fact that an applicable ex ante conditionality has been fulfilled, as indicated by the approval of the programme and the Partnership Agreement, or in the absence of Commission observations within 60 days of the submission of the relevant report referred to in paragraph 2.
7.The Commission shall without delay lift the suspension of interim payments for a priority where a Member State has completed actions relating to the fulfilment of ex ante conditionalities applicable to the programme concerned and which had not been fulfilled at the time of the decision of the Commission on the suspension. It shall also without delay lift the suspension where, following amendment of the programme related to the priority concerned, the ex ante conditionality concerned is no longer applicable.
8.Paragraphs 1 to 7 shall not apply to programmes under the European territorial cooperation goal.